FANFIC: a son's land (DC comics / No Man's Land)

Last week I was away and couldn't get around to crosspost much, so this week you'll get double dose! Today it's another Three Sentence Ficathon 2024 fic, but this time it's a triple drabble

Title: a son's land.
Fandom: DC comics (Batman / No Man's Land).
Character/Pairing: Gotham City & Jason Todd.
Rating/Warnings: T, none.
Summary: For the prompt: "DC comics, Jason Todd, No Man's Land."
Word count: 300.

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Avidly following the news, Jason’s breath stutters when the announcement of Bruce Wayne’s failure to convince the government to give Gotham its fair shake finally breaks –all those efforts to protect his identity, each equally Herculean and Machiavellian, such as playing vapid socialite or covering up the truth about the murder of a derelict son… he wonders, aloud: how must Bruce feel at this very moment, knowing each of them lead to this monumental catastrophe; this inability to protect the one thing he truly loves?

Jason writes a most heartfelt letter to Talia, humbly thanking her for her patronage and for the care she offered when he most needed it, most sincerely reassuring her that he’s abandoned any murderous intent against her beloved, and he returns home; to abandon his training, the important work he’s doing overseas, is a grave disappointment, but Gotham always comes firsts and, among its tattered walls, Park Row is the priority, monopolizing his attention as soon as he finds his way into the city –there, with far less gravitas than the gesture deserves, he dons a new mask, a ghostly appearance, and he helps: he drives rogues and gangs alike out with viciousness; he exchanges goods for Ivy and her children in exchange for fresh food for the neighborhood; he shares intel with the mysterious Oracle, always working in the shadows; occasionally, he even fights side by side with the new Batgirl, swallowing every bit of the bitterness the mere sight of her (wrong, wrong, where’s the red mane of hair floating in the air behind her) puts on his tongue.

Batman returns to a nearly unrecognizable city, and he does it one-hundred days too late; he thinks himself her savior, but the loss of Gotham’s faith in her former hero only mirrors Jason’s own.

A/N: For those who might be unfamiliar with the comics' arc, the Batgirl referenced here is Helena Bertinelli: Cass only becomes Batgirl later, after Bruce's already arrived to the city.