The Curious Case of Jason Todd

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The four Wayne boys headed down for breakfast after the feathers had been pulled from their hair. Barbara arrived - to Jason's delight - just after finishing breakfast and they went down to the cave where Zatanna was waiting. Alfred had set up one of the medical cots for Jason to sit on and they crowded around as Zatanna pulled out her wand.

"Okay Little Wing? Remember what I said about magic? Well, Zatanna is going to perform some magic for you," Dick reassured the small boy. Jason was rather confused by the huge amount of attention he was getting but he didn't complain.

Zatanna perform some basic magic tricks that involved a lot of flashing lights and colors to keep Jason entertained before performing the real counter-curse. Jason was delighted by the little robins that she conjured out of thin air. Once the magic show was over, Zatanna packed up her kit, directed a pitying look at Bruce, and left the cave.

Jason let out a huge yawn and leaned over on Tim who had been sitting next to him the whole time. Zatanna warned that they had less than three hours before Jason would revert to his regular age and size. The first symptoms were tiredness followed by passing out.

"You look exhausted kiddo," Bruce tried to keep his voice steady as he picked his son up, "How about you have a quick nap. That pillow fight took a lot out of you."

"I'm not tired," Jason mumbled in denial of his eyes drooping closed. Bruce carried the child upstairs to his room, Alfred following behind. They completely undressed him and place Jason under the covers. Alfred turned to leave the room but Bruce paused.

"Master Bruce?"

"I think I'll stay here," and Bruce sat down in the chair beside Jason's bed. Alfred nodded and closed the door behind him. Tim stood outside the door, waiting.

For the next three hours, Bruce sat leaning on his knees with his hands clenched into fists as Jason went through fourteen years of growth. His bones cracked as they grew and reshaped themselves and his body grew larger under the covers. The skin on Jason's face tightened and stretched as the facial bones restructured. His face lost its baby fat, his cheekbones became more pronounced, and the angles of his jaw were sharper. Jason twisted and moaned but did not wake up throughout the process and Bruce was thankful for that.

About three and a half hours after Zatanna cast the counter-curse, Jason woke up.

"Oww ..." Jason gently wiggled in bed and opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling.

"Jason," Bruce's face popped into his vision, "How do you feel?"

"Ow!" Jason jerked in surprise and winced at the pain that racked his body, "That shit fucking hurts! Don't scare me like that Dad!"

Bruce blinked in astonishment and his hand paused just inches from his son's shoulder. The last time Jason had called him Dad - excluding his time as a child - was just before his death. But the grown Jason in front of him seemed oblivious to Bruce's surprise and was cataloging the pain in his body.

"What the hell happened? I feel like I got run over by a train. Last thing I remember was ... going to bed in my safe house. Why am I back home?"

His heart jumped into his throat but Bruce forcefully swallowed it down. That was the first time since Jason had been resurrected that he referred to the Manor as home. He reached over and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder which the young man didn't shrug off, "There was an accident with some magic. You've been out of commission for almost two weeks."

Jason rubbed his forehead as he considered Bruce's words, "Magic? You mean that crazy-ass wizard? His spell actually worked? I guess that's why my head is such a mess."