The Red Hood is back in Gotham after a year long international trip, only to find that another anti-hero has come to control crime in his absence.
When they meet, he is drawn into a dangerous game that she has been playing for a long time, which was...
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The moment the boat reached the docks was the moment Jason knew he was home.
He hated it, but it was the truth.
__________
It was the dead of night. The crescent half-moon glimmered, barely visible beneath the layer of smog hanging over the city, but at least it was his city. As the twenty-five year old made his way towards his waiting apartment, he remembered the view from above the clouds, from the tops of the skyscrapers that towered overhead like pillars of light. That was the first time he'd actually ever seen a proper star.
A lone siren wailed in the far distance.
This was usually the time when illegal activity was around its most common, and Jason should have known, so he found it particularly strange that the streets he was walking through were practically empty, like everyone was afraid to be out. This was a bad part of town, Crime Alley. He grew up here, he knew how it worked. So why did it seem broken?
Jason had to consciously calm his unease. This wasn't natural, and it wasn't like Bruce had finally sucked it up and started killing to make his point, was it? He checked over his shoulder out of habit, scanning the rooftops for silhouettes or strange shapes.
There. A shadow following his movements. Just one, lean, fast, very quiet. A flash of an emblem on his chest declaring the letter 'R' in the moonlight. Rolling his eyes, Jason stopped, then very deliberately turned and walked into an alley. It smelled dank, and a huge dumpster sat against the far wall. A fire escape for the apartment on his left was attached to the other, which stretched up four storeys. Abruptly, seemingly out of nowhere, Robin materialised from the gloom and landed with a light thud on the metal railings, out of reach. Perhaps on purpose. He probably practiced these entrances, doing them over and over again until it looked like he just appeared from the night, Jason was thinking, unable to help the smirk.
"Todd," Robin said, curiosity seeping into his cracking voice. "So it is you."
"The one and only. Why were you following me?" When the sixteen year old responded, he noted the accusatory tone in Jason's voice and accepted the verbal fencing match about to begin.
"I... saw you on the docks."
"What were you doing on the docks?"
"Working on a case, reconnaissance."
"Without Batman?" Robin hesitated, looking fleetingly guilty all of a sudden. Jason narrowed his eyes in success. He'd hit a nerve, now he needed to pull. "Where is he, loyalsidekick?" Jason mocked, enjoying the way the teenager's face darkened murderously, furious with being called a 'sidekick'. He remembered the feeling quite clearly, having previously been one of the members of the exclusive 'Robin club', of which there had only ever been five members. Constant underestimation and downgrading was common among villains, heroes and anti-heroes alike. It must have hit the blood son's pride, he thought to himself. "I know he didn't let you out all on your own, kid, so fess up," Jason grinned, folding his arms. The boy glared at him, but seemed to lose heart.
