ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ

ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪғ ɪ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ sᴄᴜᴍ ᴅɪᴇs?

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

“Hey @ShimTarOutlaw, I just ordered pizza. You want some?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— at his reflection for a moment.

“It’s my fault—, I pushed him to this. I. . . Wanted to hurt him, to break him. . . I didn’t think he’d do this. . .”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

A breath leaves his nose—; bloodied fingers pry off his domino mask, turning it over in his hands. Eyes staring down at the white lenses.

“. . . I didn’t know he’d do this.”

Jason’s voice was soft.

Over a year with the Joker in the forgotten underbelly of Arkham, —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-could have laid low; he had the means! But to take his life, to leave Gotham like this?! This...this hell, and I should know!”

Much like he, she died once.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“...why didn't you stop him?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— being twisted to hate Bruce. To hate the Bat. Yet after everything that happened? It still stung.

“Bruce was smart—, he was strong and he never gave up. . . So this—, this shouldn’t have happened.”

He can feel the tension filling him. Muscles tensing as he stared —

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— best way out? Was death. He and Alfred. . . Blew the cave and the manor to kingdom come. . .”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

He’s quiet for a long moment; his brows furrowing as he attempts to think of how to best relay everything, though he opts to treat it like a bandaid.

“. . . You’ve been gone years. Years that I got bitter and angry. . .”

His jaws clench, finding it difficult to speak —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“…I expected you to say that it was Joker and you ended Joker. Not...not this.”

This had to be a parallel to where she left.. how long ago?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“H-how long were we gone?”

A rhetorical question but a question all the same.

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— on.

“I made a plan—, I wanted Bruce to experience what I felt. The fear, the anger, the heartache. . . Scarecrow unmasked him live on television.”

His hands balled up, clenching into fists out of sheer anger.

“So the old man. . . Ha—, Bruce thought the —

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— as he takes a seat.

“. . . A lot’s happened. Let’s start with the obvious. Bruce is dead—, and. . .”

His throat tightened. He refused to let the words stay hidden.

“. . . Bruce is dead, and it’s my fault.”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

A hand motions upward, almost beckoning her to follow as he grapples upward and out of public view. There was no sense in disappointing her where everyone could see.

Once up, he’d walk toward the edge of the roof. His grip failing him, letting the Red Hood drop to his side —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-Putting her sword away, she couldn't help but stare at the man who was more fitted out than a brand new Batmobile. He looked like he could take a punch from a semi-truck and shrug it off.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“…What happened here? To you?”

The air was tense and telling.

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— seems to permeate from his very being, though it only made him think. . . Why tonight?

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

A gloved hand rises, the faint click of a butting disengaging the locks of his helm. Fingers clutching it in order to remove it, his domino mask the only remaining thing concealing his identity.

She looks different.

He can’t pin it.

“Yeah—, it’s. . . Yeah, it’s —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-vigilante shroud.

But that didn't deter her from asking...pondering...hoping.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“…Jason?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— me.”

Who knew the absence of the Outlaws would’ve sent him spiraling this far out of control; certainly he never would’ve thought this would’ve happened, but he was bound to slip eventually.

His chest feels tight.

He can’t stand this sensation; the anxiousness that —

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— was sobering.

“. . . Artemis?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

The sounds of someone yelling caught the Hood’s attention; drawing him near an alley, one that was considered a memorial of sorts.

That’s when he’d intervene.

Dropping down, letting boots clump against the wet pavement as he’d narrow his gaze at the woman. He stared for a —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“BUT, HOW?! WHY?!”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— long moment, as if attempting to recognize the woman. Then the gears in his would finally click into place with recognition of the red head.

His voice seemingly lost in his throat as he just stared at her, almost unable to believe she was really standing there before him. It—

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— for the best he hasn’t seen her. No if he saw her? It’d be like seeing a ghost, a phantom from a better time. Yet with both pistols resting in their holsters, he grapples upward to escape the streets.

She’s lucky she didn’t come earlier, otherwise she’d be in shock.

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

It was Gotham.

Gotham after a tragedy.

If she squinted, she’d see him. Striding out of the alley; hands holstering his pistols before he tilts his head upward, as if expecting to see the Bat overhead.

For some reason, it bothers him.

The absence stings, so it’s likely —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-with a loud

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“𝗥𝗨𝗡!”

A look of judgment passed her face, her wrist rotating to settle the sword at her side with pensive eyes. If there was fright on the streets, there must've been a signal in..the...sky...

Empty.
Cloudy.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“…What is this place?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— some part of him still looked up to him.

Maybe that was why he was prowling still, maybe that was why the muted sounds of gunfire could be heard followed by someone running past the Amazonian as if fearing for their life. . .

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

The streets were abandoned—, empty. The distant howl of sirens and squealing tires could be heard, accompanied only by the barking of stray dogs that roamed the dimly lit alleys of the city.

Gotham had always been a dark city, but these were difficult days.

Not Bat-Signal —

[𝘈 𝘳 𝘵 𝘦 𝘮 𝘪 𝘴 𝘎 𝘳 𝘢 𝘤 𝘦 @ShimTarOutlaw]

-two things.

1. Find Bizarro.
2. Find Jason.

And if anyone knew anything; when you're lost, you go to the one place you know.

The Outlaws base.
Now, the question was...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ“Where in Gotham am I?”

[ᴊᴀsᴏɴ ᴛᴏᴅᴅ @HoodedCrimson]

— disbanded, Jason forced those memories from his mind. Vengeance and anger clouded his judgment, all of which lead him to making deals with Scarecrow and mercenaries like Deathstroke. Looking back at it, it was sickening. Sure he was nothing like his father, like Batman but —