Chapter Text
The night Dick got back from the Olympics, Batman summoned him down to the Batcave to talk.
“So….you had Red Hood covering for you as Nightwing,” Batman said.
“Yes,” Dick said, “I told you I found someone skilled to cover for me.”
“Admittedly, I had assumed it would be one of the Titans, I was surprised that it was the Red Hood. I didn’t realize that the two of you were that close, that you would trust him with such a thing,” Batman said.
“Considering you left Jean-Paul Valley in charge as Batman, you have no room to judge my decisions,” Dick said, reminding Batman of his past mistakes.
“Touche,” Batman said, “I am surprised to say that Red Hood did well, even with the Arkham breakout. He was very resistant to speaking with me upon my return however, said if we were to meet he would insist on you being there to mediate.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Dick said, “Why are you so insistent on meeting him?”
“Admittedly, I find myself curious about him. Cass reported that his fighting style showed evidence of League of Assassins training. Do you know his identity?” Batman said.
“Yes, I know his identity, no, I will not be telling you his identity. And no, he’s not currently with the League of Assassins,” Dick said.
“Why won’t you tell me who he is? You haven’t filled out a proper file on him, you surely know more than you have shared,” Batman said.
“I won’t share information that was revealed to me in confidence, that would be a breach of trust,” Dick said.
“What exactly is the nature of your relationship with the Red Hood? I’ve heard rumors..” Batman trailed off, hoping Dick would explain.
“What kind of rumors have you heard?” Dick asked.
“Just that you and Red Hood have been spotted interacting in a rather familiar fashion. Are you uh in a relationship with him?” Batman asked awkwardly.
“Oh, hell no, definitely not, eww,” Dick said, disgusted with the idea of being in a relationship with his brother, “Our relationship is firmly platonic.”
“That’s good,” Batman said, clearly relieved, “Is there anything you will tell me about him?”
Dick hesitated, “I know in our original profile of him we estimated him to be in his late 30s or early 40s, have you updated that assessment?”
“No, but based on the way you said that I’m guessing we should. How old is he?” Batman asked.
“He’s around my age or younger,” Dick answered vaguely.
“That…completely changes the profile. I understand better why you have been trying to rehabilitate him, if he is so young. He is still killing sometimes though,” Batman said.
“He’s been doing better, sometimes his kills weren’t intended to be deadly but only became so due to inadequate medical care. Sometimes he does kill people he finds truly unredeemable, especially people who hurt kids, he’s very protective of kids,” Dick said.
“He was possibly hurt as a child, that explains that particular sense of justice,” Batman said, “And we’d previously established he was likely from Crime Alley? Though that seems less likely if he was trained by the league.”
“I believe both are true, that he was from Crime Alley and ended up getting trained by the League,” Dick said carefully.
“I feel like you’re trying to lead me to an answer,” Batman mused.
“Not necessarily, more trying to get you to have an open mind about him,” Dick said. Dick noticed Batman glancing at where the memorial case used to be before Dick had insisted on removing it, Batman still had the habit of staring at it.
“Do you think you can arrange for me to meet him?” Batman asked.
“That depends, are you going to cause a fuss about him killing people?” Dick asked.
“I won’t lie, I don’t approve of him killing people, it is not our place to be Judge, Jury, and Executioner. But admittedly….things have been so much better and more peaceful since the Joker and Scarecrow died, I ran the numbers based on the trends of how many more people probably would have died if they were still alive. And I suppose that makes me more understanding of alternative viewpoints regarding killing. Though it shouldn’t be done carelessly. Do you think we could convince him to start using rubber bullets more often? I know they’re normally harder for people to acquire but if he were willing to try and do things nonlethally more often, I would be happy to provide the supplies to facilitate that,” Bruce said.
“I think he might be able to be convinced, to at least use rubber bullets most of the time,” Dick agreed, “I’ll arrange a meeting.”
“Good, good. That is all for tonight,” Batman said, dismissing him.
The next night, Dick went out as Nightwing and met up at the safe house with Red Hood as planned to get back the suit and other gear.
“Hey Hood,” Nightwing greeted him cheerfully, “Thanks again for covering for me, reports all say you did a very good job.”
Red Hood ducked his head shyly at the compliment. “Is B still wanting to meet with me?” Red Hood asked.
“Yeah, and honestly, I think you should. I think he’s as ready as he can be to take the news well and I think it’s been long enough. Even not knowing who you are, he was expressing understanding towards your perspective on killing, albeit not agreeance. He was suggesting we set you up with rubber bullets so you can better avoid accidentally killing people,” Nightwing said.
“It is annoying when random thugs I shoot end up bleeding out because the ambulance is too slow,” Red Hood said, agreeing to the idea, “I’ll still keep a properly loaded gun, but I’m willing to try rubber bullets most of the time.”
“That’s great. Perhaps you could come to the cave with me after patrol tonight?” Nightwing suggested.
“I still don’t feel ready,” Red Hood said.
“I don’t think you’ll ever feel completely ready,” Nightwing pointed out.
Red Hood sighed, “You’re probably right. Fuck it, okay, I’ll come after patrol tonight.”
“Alright, I’ll meet you in the Bowery at the end of your patrol?” Nightwing said.
“Yeah, sure,” Red Hood said.