Chapter Text
Jason had had a plan. It had been a good plan. It had included taking over and cleaning up crime alley, doing Batman’s job better than the man ever could. It had included a gang war and forcing Black Mask into a corner, so that he would do what Jason wanted. It had included a beat down in Titans Tower, where Jason reminded Bruce, and taught his replacement, what happened to the Robins. It had included a showdown between himself and Batman, where Jason would force Bruce to choose between Jason and the Joker.
Most things were going according to plan.
Crime Alley was Jason’s, and the crime rates were dropping. It would only take pushing a few more buttons, and Black Mask would break Joker out of Arkham for Jason. Bruce still didn’t know who the Red Hood was, and Jason still had access to the Tower. At this point, it was just a matter of patience, waiting for the last pieces to slot into place. Except Bruce wasn’t in Gotham, and Robin had decided to fly through Crime Alley.
Jason had planned to beat his replacement into the ground and then leave him broken, but alive in his tower for the Bats and his friends to find.
Plans change.
The tower wasn’t necessary. Robin was in his territory. Jason could make him disappear, take his time teaching his replacement a lesson. He could enjoy watching the Bats hunt for their missing bird.
Robin wasn’t supposed to be out. Robin was supposed to be at home. Robin was supposed to be safe.
Batman was on a mission with the Justice League, and Dick was finishing up a case in Bludhaven.
Robin wasn’t supposed to patrol without backup, especially not now, but Robins were stubborn and hated being benched even for one night. Tim was no exception. One night. Just one. That was all Dick had asked. One night. Tim hadn’t waited, and now Dick was missing a little brother.
Dick hit Crime Alley’s streets an hour and a half after Tim’s distress signal went off.
Nightwing didn’t smile as he began his search. Fury ran hot through his veins, a call for vengeance. Fifteen minutes in, Crime Alley began to take notice. Nightwing’s wrath began to be felt.
Dick was not losing another little brother. He was bringing him home.
Robin was still unconscious when the first reports of Nightwing in Crime Alley reached Jason. He didn’t immediately respond, but the reports from his men steadily increased in urgency. Nightwing was creating a significant disturbance in the Alley. Enough so that some of his people were actually scared. Jason scoffed at the idea. Dick Grayson was many things, but scary was not one of them, especially when you knew he was all bark and no bite. None of the Bats were willing to do what was needed. None of them was willing to make anything stick.
Still, Dick obviously cared about this bird in a way he had never cared about Jason. It made Jason’s blood boil. Where had that loyalty been when he was Robin? Where had Dick’s care been?
Jason was going to enjoy watching the Bats fall apart. He was going to enjoy watching them fail.
Nightwing had been in the Alley for an hour when Jason gave in and suited up. It wouldn’t look good for his reputation to allow a Bat to run unchallenged in his territory. Who was Jason kidding? He would have gone out anyway. It was too good an opportunity to rile up Nightwing. He couldn’t just pass it up. Robin was still out and waiting for him to wake up was boring. He could always wake him up, but again, there was a bird in his territory who didn’t belong, and while Jason hadn’t been planning on this confrontation, he was looking forward to it.
Nightwing spun as soon as Jason landed on the roof, his escrima sticks already out.
“Lose something?”
“Red Hood,” Nightwing growled.
“Got it on one,” Jason said, pulling one of his guns from its holster. “But Bats aren’t welcome in my territory.”
Nightwing ignored the clear threat. “Where’s Robin?”
“So, you did lose something. Well, that’s too bad,” Jason raised his gun. “Now get out before I throw you out.”
Nightwing’s only response to the gun pointed at him was a slight shifting of weight. Not that Jason had really expected anything more.
“This is your territory, so you know where Robin is,” Nightwing said.
“I can’t be bothered to know everything.” Jason grinned under his mask, the condescension in his voice coming through even with the modulator. “People disappear all the time, and no one cares.”
“That’s too bad for you,” Dick hissed. “Not knowing things can get painful. I’m only going to ask nicely one more time. What do you know about Robin?”
Only a little bit more pushing. Jason could see the tightly reined-in fury in Nightwing’s body, but after all, that was the problem. Dick’s fury wasn’t worth anything when it was never let off its leash. It wasn’t dangerous. It wasn’t a threat. It was a joke.
“If the bird was foolish enough to come here, that’s his problem. But don’t worry, I’m sure his body will turn up eventually,” Jason cocked his head. “Assuming it’s not at the bottom of the harbor.”
Dick threw himself to the side as Jason pulled the trigger. The next second, Dick was on him, and he exchanged his gun for knives. Jason couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement. Since leaving the League, he hadn’t had an opponent that could stand against him for more than a minute. Even in the League, there were very few who could come anywhere close to matching Nightwing. Jason was going to enjoy this fight, and not for the least of reasons, because he wanted to watch Dick bleed.
“What’s the big deal anyway?” Jason asked, ducking under an escrima, only to immediately pivot to the side away from the second one. “You can always replace this one like you did the last one.”
Nightwing snarled and pushed his attack harder.
Jason didn’t move away from Dick’s next strike; instead, lunging into it. Pain bloomed through his side, but it was worth it when he caught Dick’s arm. He jerked forward and down. Dick’s grunt of pain as Jason’s knee drove into his stomach was satisfying. The next second, Dick was twisting to sweep Jason’s feet out from under him. Jason maintained his footing, but was forced to release Dick’s arm. Still, Dick had lost an escrima, and Jason was having fun.
“Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there’s something special about this bird? Was the last one a defective model, and this one was supposed to be the shiny new upgrade? Although he can’t be that special since he was dumb enough to come into Crime Alley by himself.”
Watching the fury grow in Dick was one of the best things Jason had ever seen. The night was shaping up to be an amazing one.
“Maybe it’s for the best. If you’re lucky, the next one won’t be so stupid and won’t run off and get himself killed. Then again, who cares if he does? I wonder how many birds will die before you find a good enough one? I can’t imagine it’s too hard to beat the last model, and this one really didn’t seem to shape up to be much. A real disappointment, both of them.”
Nightwing didn’t answer with words or even a sound, but he did answer. Jason could feel it in the increased rhythm of the fight, the speed, the strength, and the aggression reaching a new level. Jason had never fought Dick when he was this angry.
Most fighters became blinded and sloppy when angry. In most fighters, anger was weakness, but there were the ones who learned to use it. Jason had worked hard to hone his anger into a weapon. He knew Bruce and Dick could fight angry without becoming too sloppy, but this wasn’t what he had been expecting.
A seed of doubt slipped in. Maybe he had pushed Dick too hard. He wasn’t worried, but he wasn’t sure he could get the clean outcome he had planned on. He was taking more of a beating than he wanted. He had done what he wanted. He had had his fun riling Dick up. Now it was time to disengage.
The next blow Jason blocked with his arm sent shooting pain all the way up to his shoulder. He didn’t have a chance to pull back. Dick was on him, breaking through his defenses. He didn’t see the blow coming. His head snapped back from the force, sending him reeling. The back of his legs hit the ledge. He barely recovered in time to stop himself from going over the side.
He saw the second one, but wasn’t recovered enough to block it. His helmet went dark, but that didn’t matter as he felt himself go airborne. A hand fisted in his jacket halting his fall before he could panic. He was jerked back and slammed into the roof. He had a split second to scoff at Dick and his inability to let anyone die before his world was lit up with pain.
The scream tore its way out of his throat. His body seized up. He couldn’t do anything. It felt like hours before the pain stopped. He went limp against the roof. His body still ached, but he could at least think again.
It also meant he could feel the press of metal against the soft flesh of his neck. Dick had gotten his escrima into the small seam between the top of his armor and his helmet.
Jason didn’t move. The threat of the escrima and the shock it could deliver kept him pinned as efficiently as anything else could. Even if he wasn’t weak from the first shock and could see, he would be hard-pressed to get away before Dick flipped the switch. It was okay though. Dick couldn’t hold him like that forever. He would have to do something, and when he did, Jason could make his move. Any minute now, Dick would try to cuff him.
There was a tug at his side, a gun being pulled from its holster. Okay, Dick was going to try to disarm him first. That was fine.
The gun didn’t hit the roof.
“You know, Hood, you seem like the kind of guy to keep a round in the chamber. Should we test that theory and see if I’m right?”
Hearing Dick’s voice jarred Jason into the realization of how weird it was that Dick hadn’t talked at all during the fight.
There was a light tap against his armor right above his collarbone. Even with his armor, he was certain to end up with a broken collarbone at best.
Dick wouldn’t.
Jason snorted. “You Bats don’t use guns even when someone is trying to kill you. You aren’t going to use one now. Not when you have me pinned.”
“You seem to have me mistaken for a much nicer man.” Dick’s voice was cold. “So, I would suggest you stop wasting breath on things you know nothing about and focus on telling me about Robin. What did you do with him? Where did you take him?”
Jason huffed. “I told you I don’t know anything about Robin.”
“And for some reason, I don’t believe you,” Dick hissed. “You’ve made it clear that you hate Batman and Robin. You expect me to believe Robin could come here without you getting involved? You expect me to still believe that after your little speech? For someone who knows nothing about Robin, you seem to know a lot. And really, ‘He didn’t shape up to much,’ that sounds to me like someone who met him. Where. Is. Robin.”
Jason weighed his options. He still didn’t believe Dick would actually shoot him, but he would admit to being unsettled that Dick had even pulled the gun. Whether Dick would shoot him or not, he would absolutely shock him again, and Jason would prefer to avoid that.
It wasn’t looking like Dick had any intention of moving their conversation until he found out about Robin. Even if he did, getting away from him blind would be hard. Jason had forgotten how perceptive Dick was. He wasn’t going to convince him he didn’t have Robin or at the very least know where he was.
Jason wasn’t ready to give up Robin yet.
Jason sighed. “Warehouse seven on the docks.”
Dick hummed, but he didn’t move.
Jason waited for a moment. “Well? Are you getting your lost bird or not?”
“Oh, someone is, or someone is checking to make sure you’re not lying to me,” Dick said. “Oh, and if you are, and I find that out before you’ve decided to give me the real location, then I am going to pull this trigger. Then we’ll try again and see if you feel like being more honest.”
Jason felt a sliver of doubt work its way into his mind. Would Dick actually shoot him? Anger came with it because, really, where had this been for Jason?
It suddenly didn’t matter that he hadn’t planned on revealing himself yet. He was going to need to be able to see to get away from Dick, and more importantly, he wanted to shove his anger at Dick. He wanted to yell at him and find out where this care had been when he was around.
Jason was slow as he moved his hands up to his helmet. Dick pushed his escrima harder into his neck, but he didn’t turn it on. Jason unlatched his helmet and pulled it off.
Dick’s face froze for a split second, and then the surprise was gone. Jason’s words died in his throat. His anger was washed away in the flood of rage that swept over Dick’s face. Jason could practically taste it. The air seemed to crackle with it.
“How Dare You.” The words came out as close to Batman’s growl as Jason had ever heard Dick sound. Somehow, it was more terrifying. He had laughed at his men for being afraid of Nightwing. Staring up at him, at the wrath his expression promised, Jason understood. He had never seen Nightwing this incensed.
He jerked to the side as the gun went off, but there was no time to process that Dick had actually pulled the trigger before the escrima was on and the world dissolved in pain.
Things were not better when the pain stopped, and the world came back.
“How dare you taunt me with his death while wearing his face,” Dick growled. “How dare you wear his face while going by his murderer’s name.”
He needed to get away. Nothing else mattered. He rattled off the address Robin was at. Dick’s rage took a back seat for just a moment as he took the address in. Jason flicked the switch in his helmet and shoved it at Dick.
“Bomb,” Jason choked out.
Dick jerked back.
Jason used the space to lung to his feet and run. He didn’t look back as his helmet exploded. His legs trembled, but he didn’t stop until he was over ten blocks in the opposite direction from Robin.
Dick had been enraged because he thought Jason was someone just using Jason’s face. Dick had been enraged because… because. You didn’t have that level of response for someone you didn’t care about. Jason had miscalculated somewhere. Dick couldn’t care. He hadn’t even been at the funeral.
But what if he did?