Chapter Text
Jason is having a blast, pun fully intended.
Everything is falling into place after months of careful planning and an explosive execution (or eight). Ever since, the name ‘Red Hood’ has spread across the streets of Gotham. Black Mask and others sent people after him and Hood promptly took down or recruited every street thug and goon sent after him, fully establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with.
His rules were established, loud and clear:
1. Crime Alley belonged to the Red Hood.
2. No selling drugs on his turf, especially no selling to kids.
3. If you hurt one of the working girls, you lose your privates and fingers.
4. No Bats allowed.
Said Bats didn’t seem to get the memo on that last one. But that was fine. Only more opportunities to teach them, my dear…
Hood isn’t the sweet little kid Bat sent out with a basket of cookies anymore. He is a wolf, a hunter. Hopefully, tonight, Batman is going to learn how sharp his teeth are.
Right on cue, a shadow appears on the rooftop where Hood was also standing. Most wouldn’t have noticed his appearance but Hood was not most people.
“Red Hood,” Batman says, voice grave and dark.
“Batman,” Hood mocks back.
“Nightwing,” a third voice interjects, the only one without a voice modular but still a surprising imitation of the Batman voice.
They both look at the third man that decided to join them.
“What?” Nightwing shrugs. “I didn’t want to be left out.”
They both ignore him.
“Where’s the little birdy?” His blood thrums with anger over even mentioning his replacement. He revels in the feeling the power the Lazarus pit gives him.
“That is none of your concern,” Batman growls.
Perfect. Get angry.
“I haven’t seen him around for a while. Did you let this one off himself too?”
Batman and Nightwing’s stances went on the offensive at his comment.
“Don’t you dare speak of the last Robin!” Nightwing scowls at him.
“Can’t I? You all seem to have gotten over him pretty quick, if you ask me? How long was it before you put another kid in his colors?”
“Robin is honoring his memory!” Nightwing defends.
“That doesn’t answer my question. I don't think Jason would appreciate that you put another kid in his suit without his permission.”
They flinch at the use of Robin number two’s civilian name.
“C’mon! It’s obvious to everybody else. As soon as the street rat wasn’t useful anymore, you discarded him and found another. Someone tell little Timmy he’s bound for the same fate.”
Nightwing attacks first, always too hot headed for his own good. Red Hood blocks, then kicks him away. Nightwing goes in for a punch. Hood grabs his arm but the slinky bastard uses Jason as a balance beam to lift his body off the ground and kicks under his chin. Hood nearly loses his balance and is forced to let Nightwing go.
“Witty banter here!” Nightwing calls out as he leaps into the air to kick Hood again.
“What?” Hood asks.
“I couldn't come up with anything,” Nightwing shrugs. “‘Lot easier to come up with fun stuff to say when fighting Quilt Man.”
As soon as Hood gets his footing, he lunges at Nightwing, slamming into his stomach.
They both hit the ground, Hood on top of Nightwing, crushing him under his weight. Hood goes in for a punch to his face but his elbow is grabbed from the Bat behind him. Hood swings his head to face his new opponent but makes the mistake of looking away from ‘Wing who slides out from under him. Nightwing hits him with his escrima stick but Hood manages to land a hit on Nightwing’s face.
Batman throws a batarang and it cuts into Hood’s arm. Luckily he’s wearing a jacket so the cut is shallow but his sleeve is torn.
He aims another punch at Nightwing but he dodges, flipping backwards away from him.
Hood gets into a fighting stance, ready for his next move but then he hears it.
A slight intake of breath coming from where Batman is standing.
He risks a glance over at him then quickly turns his eyes back to Nightwing, who has gone slack, the fight in him gone. Their expressions are the same.
Like they’ve seen a ghost.
Hood is confused for a moment until he remembers.
His sleeve has been cut open. His right arm is exposed.
He looks down.
…and sees a distinctive mark tattooed into his skin, clearly visible.
Hood runs.
He jumps from rooftop to rooftop as fast as he can, taking advantage of his familiarity of the streets in case they run after him. He doesn’t stop until he’s back in his safehouse and even then his heart won’t slow down.
Stupid fucking mark. He used to be proud of it, this proof that someone out there was destined for him. But ever since he came back to Gotham, it’s been nothing but inconvenient. Always having to keep it hidden, wearing long sleeves in hot weather, making sure it doesn’t get seen by anyone especially the Bats.
Of all the fucking people-
Fuck fuck fuck.
This ruins all his plans! He wanted a different, more dramatic reveal than this. All the days and nights he spent on his script down the drain.
They know.
There’s no way they don’t know.
…
Back in the Bat Cave, four vigilantes investigate the footage from their latest run in with the Red Hood. It would have been six but the current Robin was with his team and Barbara was on vacation with her father.
Dick paces, sorting through his thoughts. Thankfully the others are silent as they wait for something to happen. All he hears are Hood’s words echoing in his head and the tapping of the BatComputer keyboard.
He knows our identities. And is it just me, or did he take Jason’s “replacement” as Robin awfully personally.
“Watcha lookin’ at?” Steph asks, as if Bruce hasn’t been staring at the same thing for the past fifteen minutes.
“That mark,” Dick says. “It can’t be, right?”
There’s no way. He’s been gone for years.
“I’m checking the databases now,” Bruce says.
The BatComputer is zoomed in on Red Hood’s soulmark and is flashing through records, trying to find a match.
“You recognize his mark?” Cass signs.
“Yeah, it looks just like…” Dick’s voice fades off as the BatComputer beeps.
They stare at the results, Dick more than the rest of them completely gobsmacked.
“There’s no way.”
…
Jason is fucked. Jason is so royally fucked.
He can just hear Damian’s laughter when he finds out how quickly Jason’s plans went to shit. And he was doing so GOOD, too!
He had taken control of all the underground drugs in Gotham, made a name for himself, only for it all to be screwed because of a stupid mark on his skin.
Whose idea was it for everyone to be born with a distinctive mark anyway? Some people are trying to keep a secret identity here!
He suits up anyway, puts on his new leather jacket and gets to work. Even if the Bats know who he is, he still has a job to do.
He only gets to patrol for an hour before he runs into Nightwing. Just great.
Hood has a gun pointed at him before he can get a word in.
“Look, it doesn’t matter what you think you know. I ain’t changing my plans and I’m definitely not changing my rules. No. Bats.” He growls out the last two words.
Nightwing raises his hands up in a defenseless gesture, not that Hood would ever be stupid enough to believe he could ever be truly defenseless.
“Look, Roy-” He starts.
Wait. Who the fuck is Roy
Nightwing keeps going. “It doesn’t have to be this way. You used to be good. We ran in the same team, though not for as long as I would have liked.”
“Yeah, right.” Hood rolls his eyes, not that Nightwing could see it.
Nightwing shakes his head. “It’s true. I would have loved to have gotten closer to you back then.”
Hood’s heart squeezes at that. For a moment, he can’t remember why he’s so mad at Dick.
“We love Jason,” Nightwing keeps talking, encouraged by Hood’s silence. “We miss him so much. Put down the gun and we’ll tell you about him. I know it’s not the same but I’m sure he would have liked you.”
Wait. What? What the fuck is he talking about?
Hood recalls what Nightwing said earlier. Had called him earlier. Roy.
Who does he think he is exactly?
Hood stares at his older brother in confusion. Did they not get as good of a look at his soulmark as he thought? Was his cover not blown?
Later, Jason looks up the guy they think he is.
He goes off what he has. Someone named Roy who used to know Dick. He starts with the Titans database. Tons of young heroes have been in and out of the Titans over the years. They were constantly breaking the team up and getting back together with slightly different members, new and old. Dick would be familiar with most of them.
Bingo. Roy Harper aka Speedy.
Jason’s surprised to find he was actually one of the original members. But then something must have happened because a few years later, he disappeared. He digs further into it, having to hack into government files to learn more.
Records that he was in an addiction recovery program, encrypted CBI files showing a history of undercover work, and a birth certificate paint a full picture.
So does the scan of Roy’s soulmark inside his government files.
Jason sits back in his chair.
“My family are a bunch of idiots.”