Anger and Instinct

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Park

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#1  Edited By Park

“Bruce I forgive you for not saving me. But why on God’s Earth is he still alive?!”

“Jason is… complicated.” Bruce sighed. He turned towards the screen and played the video. Dick, Tim and Damian watched with various reactions. Cassandra stayed back reading their bodies. Bruce had not invited her to this meeting. Jason Todd was a family matter, and she was not family, not yet. Bruce’s body moved heavy with sorrow, it slowed each of his motions to a deliberate point. Dick was concerned for his brother but tried to remain positive, always trying to pull away from the Bat’s shadow. Tim was angry, a man he had never known had attacked him and beaten him and Damian, Damian was scared. He would never show it but he was holding himself with his crossed arms, the easiest to read out of all of them. “After he came back he studied under many of my former mentors, and some new ones. His style of fighting is a mixture of everything he’s ever been taught, but if you pay attention you can see parts of Mexican Boxing, Krav Maga, Muay Thai and Wing Chun.”

“Like Bruce Lee?” Dick piped in. Bruce cut him off with a stern look before Dick could continue to chatter. Cassandra turned her attention to the video. A man in a leather jacket, Jason, was fighting, no killing, several men in front of a bar. His fighting was fluid and solid at the same time, equal parts intuition and brutality. She watched the video play through before concluding that Bruce was wrong. Jason Todd had no fighting style, he was pure instinct.

“I’d advise you all to steer clear of him until the matter is handled,” Bruce warned them. “But if you’re forced into conflict just remember that he’s not just some other ‘bad guy’ or villain. He’s one of us and he needs our help.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Tim exploded. His whole body was tense and shaking as he shouted. “He practically beat me to death! He vandalized Titan Tower with my blood and you’re pitching the power of love?”

“Tim—” Dick tried to defuse the situation.

“Make no mistake,” Bruce started silencing Tim with a glare. “Jason is dangerous, and he needs to be handled, but this is not about our egos. We’re out there to help people, not ourselves.”

Cassandra always admired the discipline Bruce had instilled in his wards. Tim shut up and stalked off angrily. Bruce pulled on the cowl as he and Damian headed towards the batmobile.

“Ok, I’ll just… hold down the fort then…” Dick muttered as the batmobile roared to life and out of the cave. He turned to watch the replaying video. “Jason, how can we help you?”

“Make no mistake, I’m not asking you to kick in with me. I’m telling you.”

Jason made it back to his hideout just before sunrise, not that Gotham had much of a sunrise. His hideout was just an apartment in a condemned building next to crime alley. He knew it was a bit on the nose but still, this was his home. Besides he knew Batman wouldn’t bother to look for him here. No Bruce would play the good detective and investigate the crime scenes, maybe even check the waterfronts for any suspicious activity, but he wouldn’t start to theorize about Jason’s whereabouts, not yet.

Jason looked around his apartment. The wallpaper was peeling off to reveal the cracked brownstone exterior. His mattress lay unsupported on the floor. The only thing that gave the room any character was the computer setup on the far wall. It had been made to mirror the batcave’s, albeit on a much smaller scale, with files on every gangster and crime lord in Gotham.

He dropped his guns and tossed his jacket and shirt to the side before falling onto his mattress and letting his body work out the bruises and injuries of the night with rest. The last thing he saw was the sun rising through the haze and pollution of Gotham’s skyline, it looked like someone had set fire to the whole city. Jason fell asleep with a smirk, that wasn’t such a bad idea.

“He was brash. Impulsive: Headstrong. Never looking before he lept…”

Cass had spent the night running training simulations. She was surprised to find no programs of Red Hood. Bruce had programs of almost every cape and tights on Earth, he had compiled endless data on the bat family but there training room had no trace of Jason Todd. She decided she’d ask Dick about it in the morning as she went back to her room. She gave the whole room a once over before decided it was safe.

“Cassandra.” Bruce’s voice materialized behind her. Before she even thought about it her foot shot towards the source. Bruce dodged to the left and raised his hand to stop her. “We need to talk.”

Cass nodded for him to continue.

“I know you were in the cave tonight.” He spoke. Cassandra waited for him to continue. He was hesitant, ashamed. “Jason isn’t your problem. Let us take care of him.”

Cass folded her arms and matched Bruce’s gaze.

“Cassandra I need to know you’ll sit this one out.” He raised his voice. It would work on the Robins, and she needed him to trust her now more than ever. Bruce’s stance relaxed slightly when Cass nodded. “Ok, Oracle might have some work for you in the mean time.”

“He’s reckless. He’s impetuous. He’s too certain of himself.”

“And the other Boy Wonder wasn’t?”

Dick had dropped by the Clocktower to warn Barbara that Jason was back. Bruce had called a few hours later asking her to find Cassandra a suitable mission to keep her productive but out of the firing line. Barbara sighed as her fingers flew over the keyboard scanning Gotham for trouble.

“Barbara.” Cassandra said from behind her.

“Nice try Cass, motion sensors picked you up a minute ago.” Barbara smiled wheeling herself around to face the new/old/new Batgirl/Black Bat.

“Right.” Cass nodded. “Tell me.”

“Okay there’s an armed robbery taking place at Gotham’s Trust. Cameras show four men with automatic weapons in the bank, two more men in the vault and the seventh is on the roof covering the technical details.” She said going into her ‘Oracle-voice’ turning back to the computer screens. “There are thirty hostages and Gotham Police can’t get anywhere near them.”

When she was met with no response she wheeled around to find an empty room.

Batgirl weaved in and out of traffic screaming to a stop in front Commissioner Gordon. She was off the bike and dashed into the alley by the bank before he could waste her time with unneeded words. She grappled up to the roof where one chubby robber was struggling with the electric panels.

“Red wire or blue wire… blue wire… had to be the blue wire…” He murmured to himself nervously. Batgirl just shook her head, why did people waste their breath talking when they should be acting. “That’s it, I’m cutting the red.”

Batgirl snuck up behind the robber and cold clocked him unconscious. His body hit the roof with a thud and she stepped over him and into the stairwell below. When she reached the main room she snuck behind the counters to the vault. Two men were busily shoving cash and gold into duffel bags. She made short work of them. Lastly she walked out into the main room and proceeded to beat the men down.

“Who are you working for?” She demanded grabbing the leader by his collar. The robber just laughed.

“You bats have nothing on the Red Hood, you all keep running around in these circles but even when you win you lose! I swear—” Cas cut him off with a quick punch to the jaw. The Red Hood. Jason Todd.

“But Jason didn’t know what the hell he was doing or why, and Tim spends half his time trying to decide if it’s even worth doing…”

Dick paced around the cave trying to think of how to help Jason, waiting for something to click into place. Jason was like his brother, he thought everything was a competition but he still enjoyed himself. Dick didn’t think he was evil, just misguided. Of course, Tim didn’t necessarily agree.

“He beat me and rampaged through the tower! He desecrated the memorial and Bruce just wants to save his poor lost son!” Tim shouted at no one in particular as he stopped his bike inside the cave.

“So… how was patrol?” Dick offered lightly.

“Terrible,” Tim spat ripping off the cowl. “It’s like every drug dealer and thug in Gotham is working for the Red Hood.”

“You mean Jason.” Dick corrected. “Tim, it’s bad enough with just Jason gone bad, we don’t need two Robins gone rogue. We need to stick together now more than ever, stay focused.”

“You’re…” Tim began in anger but stopped and hung his head. “You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just… do you really think he can come back after everything?”

“I’m not sure.” Dick said after a moment. “But we have to try.”

“If you say so.” Tim said heading up to the lift. “But if we fail, you know we can’t let him go on like this. We’ll have to stop him.”

“Tim,” Dick said grabbing his shoulder. “I know you plan ahead, it’s what your good at, but don’t confuse your gift for strategies with giving up hope on Jason. You’re so convinced that Jason’s a lost cause you’re already looking to pick a fight with him.”

“I’m trying to be a realistic!” Tim shouted. “He’s killed people Dick—”

“Tim, are you sure this isn’t about something else?” Dick asked with concern creeping into his voice.

“Oh no, not you too Dick, don’t make this into some grudge match.” Tim said whipping around to face Dick. “This isn’t about egos anymore, Jason crossed the line, and it’s not like he was a saint before he died. He was headstrong and arrogant. He took on odds he could never win against—”

“Exactly.” Dick said cutting him off. “Listen to yourself, who exactly are you describing?”

“What are you talking about?” Tim shouted before taking a step back. “Steph,” He said after a pause. “I’m describing Stephanie…” Dick’s grip on Tim’s shoulder relaxed but he didn’t let go. “We couldn’t— I couldn’t save her.”

“I know, but it wasn’t your fault Tim, it wasn’t your fault.” Dick pleaded with Tim to move past the guilt he’d been covering up. Tim sat down on the stairs and held his face in his hands. Dick sat down next to him. “Listen, I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone like that but I don’t think she’d want you to keep this anger, this guilt, eating away at you. You have to do something but you can’t keeping shoving it down it’ll kill you.”

“How do you do it?” Tim asked sadly. “You lost your parents, how do you keep up the smiles and the quips.”

“Well for one there’s Bruce.” Dick said comfortingly. “I mean he’s like a pillar when he puts on the cowl, unshakeable in his belief of right and wrong, but as Bruce he’s been a father, he’s the guy we can always trust.”

“And two?” Tim asked lifting his head up.

“Well there’s Jason, seeing how it all could’ve gone wrong, the example of what not to do, it’s helped. Don’t get me wrong if me making all the mistakes I’ve ever avoided meant Jason staying with us I wish I could have screwed up, but seeing the way it is now does give me clarity. They’re two sides of the same coin we just have to stay on the right side.” Dick finished.

“You know,” Tim said after a beat. “I think you owe Two-Face royalties for that speech.”

“Oh now you’re a comedian huh?” Dick smile and Tim laughed. “We go from neck deep in angst to cracking jokes, is that it?”

“Hey, as long as I keep my head above water.” Tim said getting up.

“Ok, ok,” Dick said. “Just as long as you remember that I’m the funny one.”

“Thanks Dick.” Tim said as the lift doors slid shut.

“You’re welcome Tim.” Dick said to the empty cave.