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Gloved fingers typed away quickly at the wall panel, waiting for the Zeta-Beam to appear and whisk him away. Unsure of what would happen if he was caught, he decided against taking any unnecessary risks. Though, he thought warily, what would they think if they saw him, the big bad Red Hood, in their base all the way up in the sky.
The watchtower was an almost sacred place, orbiting the planet below like the kind eyes of a parent watching their child. It was a place that shouldn’t, couldn’t, be broken into. At least, not by most people.
But, someone trained by the bat himself might just be able to. Especially if said boy’s access code hadn’t yet been removed or blacklisted. “Designation: B-13. Welcome Robin II.” The watchtower’s robotic voice was strange to hear after so long. She hadn’t forgotten him.
When the space around him finally appeared, he let out his breath. No one else would be on the tower at this time, Jason had made sure of that. All the on-world members, Superman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Canary, Flash, and the old man, of course, should all be preoccupied with the distractions he left them in their cities. Well, except Arthur, Jason just knew that he went back to Atlantis on the weekends.
It had all been perfectly planned. The second Sunday of April, the bombs and their respective rumours, even the fire drill at STAR Labs, it all had to be perfect.
It had to be perfect, and so perfect it was. But, even perfection would only but him a handful of minutes alone; the clock was already ticking.
The clock was ticking; so, he rushed towards the computer. Pulling up the search bar in the ‘Allies’ database, he scrolled to the near bottom, all the way to the name he had been searching for since he heard the news.
“Freeze, intruder!” He turned his body suddenly, highlighting the back of his helmet with the light from the computer. In front of him, Wonder Woman stood imposingly tall. No, no no no no no! She should be off-world! Why was she here! His thoughts whirred in his mind. One seemed to stand out from the others.
If she was back, then the whole team would be back as well. Manhunter, Lantern, Plastic Man, anyone on that team would be blocking his way back to the tube. Even if he did run, he didn’t have the information he came for.
Will Harper’s file filled the wall behind him.
Then, before he could even turn back to look at the location, Diana’s lasso was beside him. It would’ve got him if he wasn’t the Bat’s son that is.
She tried by herself for a while, committed to the foolish idea that she could take down one Gotham Rogue by herself. Gothamites were hardened in a way others couldn’t understand. They were stronger, tougher, better than expected, even without powers.
She kept trying for another ten minutes before calling in the others. Who would come, Jason wasn’t completely sure.
It took three of them to finally restrain him, Diana, Lantern, and Manhunter. Meanwhile, Plastic Man alerted the others of his intrusion.
Thick metal cuffs kept his hands behind him while they waited for the others to arrive. Not everyone had been called, luckily. Only the boy scout, Flash, and daddy dearest were deemed necessary.
Immediately, he started picking at the locking mechanism. It would take another 10 minutes at least, he only hoped he had enough time. Being on his knees with his arms locked behind him would make getting up difficult, let alone running.
He could feel the rope finally tighten around his chest when the Zeta-Tube called out three new entries. The trio took a second to examine the situation when the arrived in the control room, Batman stepped forward.
“How did he get in?” Bruce’s voice rang out through the room, prompting everyone to begin the search for clues. Diana undid her lasso to help look around, thankfully.
“Uhhh, Bats, you might want to see this.” Flash was checking the Zeta-Tube history. He would be discovered.
Unless... “Oh, checking the log are we?” Yes, yes, play it cocky, Jason. “I do hope you like what you see there, old man. It was difficult to get it to work.” Yeah, it could work. The Red Hood just stole Robin II’s fingerprint or something. That was believable. What wasn’t believable was that he could still get off the watchtower.
“Take off the helmet. Computer still doesn’t have a name for him; let’s change that tonight.” That was fine. He could spare the helmet. He still had the domino underneath and the cuffs were almost off.
There was a brief pause as everyone debated who should have to unmask him. Superman, it seemed, was the unlucky one. Superman also was one of the only people the trap latches wouldn’t work on, damn it all.
It was becoming apparent that he wouldn’t be able to get out of the cuffs before they ripped off the domino as well. He put in his most innocent and childish voice. “Oh, Batman~ I think you and I need to go talk in another room real quick.”
“Unlikely, Red Hood. Do it, Superman.”There was a familiar feeling of the pressure stabilising and metal clicking apart before he could feel the air on his face again. Now, his only covering was the red domino mask. His mind blanks, only coming up with a singular idea. It’s not a very good one.
“Come on, old man. This is the best day of my life.” He knows it’s something that Bruce will recognise, and, without his voice modifier, it was painfully obvious just how young he was. “So, you gonna take me up on that deal now?”
A grunt was all he got in response before he was lifted violently back onto his heels. He walked with Bruce into one of the adjacent rooms, contemplating how he could escape the new situation.
Truthfully, he hadn’t been thinking when he tried to stir the older man’s memory. What would it get him, pity? As if.
His domino is still ripped off, tearing painfully at his skin in the process. “It’s good to see you too, B.”
Bruce offers only a scowl in response. “How did you get in?” Jason can’t help but laugh at the response, at how much denial Bruce was in.
“Oh, isn’t it obvious, Bruce? You just have to connect the pieces, Bruce. You let me die, Bruce.” He knows he likely made his point after the first time; but, it doesn’t hurt to rub it in. How many people really know his identity? How many of them could he be? It isn’t difficult to figure out.
Still, Bruce remains strangely silent, going as far as to peel off his own cowl.
Icy blue eyes meet unnaturally green ones, neither man has the courage to speak first. At least, not until Bruce pulls him into a hug. That gets Jason to talk. “Stop it,” he pulls away. “You don’t get to do this, to just find me and pretend to care all of a sudden. You have no right!”
“Jason, I-“ Bruce has to stop. He doesn’t even know what to say, what Jason wants him to say.
“Leave it. Now, you’re gonna call a ceasefire and bring me back my hood. Or, I could up the stakes a bit; I’m sure that’d be fun.” Jason has to fight to keep his emotions in line. They weren’t supposed to meet like this! They weren’t supposed to meet at all until the Joker was rotting in his own grave. Letting him live was a mistake Jason couldn’t let go unfixed. Then, when it was done, they could meet. But, no, Bruce had to fling himself back into his life before schedule. What was the damn point, Jason realised, if he couldn’t even get Roy’s, no Will’s, location out of the whole ordeal?
Bruce stepped out of the door, facing the league outside with a grim look. His cowl was back on, hiding the complex expression he wore beneath. “Call off the attack. He gets out unharmed. And bring me the hood, Superman.”
None of them stand down. It’s all too easy, Batman would never let a criminal get away with something like this. Yes, they all think, he’s been hypnotised or something.
Diana moves first, catching him with the lasso due to his unaware stance. It’s clear he doesn’t want to fight them. Honestly, it’s possible he let himself be caught by her, likely even. “The Lasso of Truth compels you. Why should we stop attacking the Red Hood?”
“Because he is my son. I will not harm my son, not after he has been returned to me. He has requested a ceasefire along with his helmet.” Diana releases him, Clark hands over the helmet, and Bruce disappears back into the locked room.
The metal helm is placed before him gently like Bruce is still trying to be in his good graces. It was hopeless for him to keep trying, he wouldn’t forgive him, not as long as the Joker was still free. Still, he did do as requested. “Thanks. Now I’m gonna walk right out that door and to the computer. I need information. Then, I will leave and you will not stop me.”
There’s a sad look behind the black cowl. Bruce can’t fathom the idea of losing his son so soon after he was thrust back into his life. There was a lot of things that he didn’t want to accept: Jason’s apparent hatred for him, his sudden reappearance, his previous crime sprees. It didn’t add up in his head.
Jason quickly took note of the location still displayed on the screen. A security firm in Star City. It wouldn’t be difficult to find. Especially not when he had the exact address. He doesn’t bother to close the window, Batman or Cyborg could easily track what he had looked at. It would be a waste of his time.
His time that now needed to be spent finding a way to Star City as soon as the left the watchtower.
He walked past the League, sans Batman, on his way out. The confused looks were priceless to him. Did Bruce even tell them he was dead? Would he tell them he was alive? Probably not, knowing him.
“Designation: B-13. Goodbye Robin II.”
When Bruce saw what was pulled up on the screen, he added one more item to his list of things to look into. Bowhunter Security was now at the top.