Chapter Text
It was like any other night but this time the air felt different, like different types of toxins filling the air at once making it feel horrible to breath N woke up in what looks like an alley way that he didn't recognise and he was feeling so much pain all over his body,and his head especially like his body parts got taken out piece by piece and they had done that to N before and that was when he was a butler and he had disobeyed orders. But this time he felt like he got put back together but wrongly this time like his body and mind didn't fit anymore and it felt wrong like a stranger in his own skin,wait skin? His hands didn't look like they were made out of metal anymore and N didn't know what to think.
so N was panicking more now when he looked at his hands and feet again and Skin human skin what the heck last time he checked he was Serial Designation N-0X0010010 sent to destroy run away A.I like the worker drones in Copper 9 and he was a worker drones turned Disassembly Drone so why is he in a place he can't remember why can't he remember anything else he remembers Uzi,V,Tessa,J but why can't he remember anything else why can't he remembers what he was doing before he landed in this alleyway.
At this time N thought the best thing to do is to find shelter and that's what N did roaming the street for what felt like hours and feeling as if he was walking in circles because everything looked the same the same type of buildings,same structure same colours like black red and grey like seriously are everybody emo in this city, ,N really needs to find a library but he doesn't even know where he is not less to go find a library and with how the city looks N can guess that the people in this city are all that friendly because the city looks gothic with black clouds covering the city so much so that N couldn't even see the stars in the sky and it looked like it may be morning but he doesnt know the place is really dark and it seened like luck was in N's favour as he looked up and saw a sign on a Bill board he hadn't seen before It said welcome to Gotham run while you can right? and that's not ominous N says as he rolls his eyes this city is emo and there may be a lot of crime happening also.
But all jokes aside N couldn't believe it what exactly is Gotham he doesn't have anything like that in his data base and it just seemed like one of the random words Uzi would just utter about her anime and stuff that she downloaded in her data base,but had he finally lost it? Has he suddenly become more insane.
And again N couldn't tell whether the place was night time or if it was day and he desperately needed to know so that he can plan but N was sure the mist is the kind of mist that you get from having factories produce stuff like zeroFOG" which causes a lot of mist but for the whole sky to be covered with mist then it should mean that the whole city should have factories but that wasn't the case,N has been wondering for what felt like hours as he felt his stomach growl that was weird his stomach doesn't usually do that but the point is N hasn't seen a single factory that isn't abandoned,there was a lot of abandoned places too but N didn't want to risk it he wasn't that desperate right?.It was stupid to ask himself that but his brain probably hates him because he keeps thinking that he will be that desperate
N kept wondering the streets till he found an abandoned newspaper on the street and it read Batman puts the Joker in Arkham asylum,was this Batman dude a Disassembly Drone like Me or what? but this looks different on the photo of the newspaper there were humans,am I in Earth N thought but he already knew that was impossible Earth was destroyed by Cyn years ago what the hell was happening he was sopoose to be on Copper 9 and not Earth and so N sat down it was not N's best decision he was exposed and not to mention he was sitting on the floor but N didn't want to think about that he just held his head and curled into a ball as he tried to rethink the whole situation N started to think about how he enede up in another universe or alternative universe but it was all blurry like someone intentionally removed it from his memories but who would do that he wasn't sure.
N was starting to miss Uzi,J and V now he missed them desperately with him and Uzi arguing or having ome of their useless banter it was useless but he was starting to miss it with V and J calling him stupid all the time but couldn't help but feel a pool of dread in his stomach what if he never saw them again?, what happened to them? Why are his memories so blank? what happened to himself that his hands and feet look human and that he has a human skin,he needs to find a glass so that he can look at himself but N is afraid to even look at himself in a mirror because seeing himself would make this whole situation feel real that it just being a horrible nightmare which is why he avoided mirrors when he was strolling through the city,N almost forgot that he was injured key word almost and N also feels short or were the stuff in the city just too tall or was N just too short or did he shrink.?N was in deep thought and curled up on the floor
"Hey kid, what are you doing here past curfew"N raised his head from where he was curled up to see a man with a jacket and grey body armor that has a red bat symbol he is probably related to that batman dude N just kept staring at the man in front of him why was the guy built like a freezer and why did he have a bucket for a head? These were all questions in N"s mind sorry what did you say N finally said
The freezer dude upon hearing that immediately said again what are you doing here past curfew?
Wait there is a curfew N thought no wonder he didn't see anybody on the streets and then he immediately replied saying sorry and that he wasn't aware there was a Curfew and that he was new to the city and it was at that moment that N knew he fucked up,N saw how Gotham looks like so why would anyone voluntarily visit Gotham
The freezer guy looked at N as if he had grown a second head before looking at N for every detail as if commiting everything to memory as if N was another case he had to deal with then finally the freezer guy said "why did you come to Gotham of all places? N needed to think of a way to get out of the situation he didn't know the guy and then the guy was suddenly looking at him like he expected answers when N was just as clueless as him not to mention he didn't even know the guy's name.
The man asked again why did N come to Gotham of all places ,N immediately replied that he was in gotham for a vacation but froze upon seeing the man's black stare from the white side that has the eyes in the helmet it looked kinda scary but N couldn't help but feel stupid why would he say he was here on a vacation of all places that would be suspicious and the more reason to ask why N was alone whiles N was in deep thought the man scoffed and said yeah? and where are your parents and what is your name N immediately said that his name is .....Nathaniel but call me N,N had thought about it in that moment that he would take the name Nathaniel it seemed almost natural to him and it rolls off the tongue nicely and he said it because he cant just tell this random stranger that his name is N the Frezzer guy would ask what n stands for and N stands for Serial Designation N-0X0010010 but at the same time N thought he should tell this freezer guy about his situation but he didn't trust a random guy that just came up to him aked him what he was doing outside curfew and started asking a bunch of questions and all N could think about was run away he didn't hear when the man started asking about the blood in his shirt and the man grabbed N's shoulder gently almost caring and N couldn't help but feel warm inside he doesn't remember the last time he was held this gently by someone other than friends and before N could even register it the freezer guy carried N and N was noticeable light to Red hood N barely felt like any real weight and N couldn't help but snuggle into the freezer guy's warmth before his consciousness faded
When N woke up he still felt pain but it was lesser and it seemed to be that he was in some kind of hospital and his wounds were bandaged by a professional,N could tell because it looked like an expert did it and the wound one N's stomach had stitches he didn't think the would needed stitches but he could be wrong he wasn't the best at human anatomy or biology.
N tried to get up and sit down it was a big mistake as he felt pain through all his body as he started to see black spot before a hand went to his chest to press him down so that he could lie down but N was protesting even with the pain before the person said easy N you don't want to pop your stitches open you are still in pain.
N could recognise the modulated voice anywhere it was the freezer guy but he seemed to be with a woman that looks like she was in her fifties and N could barely register that the woman placed a needle in his right arm to give him drip because apparently he lacked minerals and so stuff,that is what he heard the freezer and the woman were talking about before N started to drift in and out of consciousness.
Red hood's mind was racing a bit,because he couldn't tell that the kid Nathaniel well "N" purposefully left out the parent part when he had asked him about it before and the way the kid had snuggled onto him when Redhood picked him up he could tell that the kid was touch starved and was probably an orphan who had been forced somehow to come into Gotham and by the looks of it the kid didn't even know who he was which is surprising because the bats were famous everywhere so he must have heard about them but the Kid didn't seem to know instead he was more confused was N taken and experimented on and just escaped? Which would explain his clothes and condition.
It was either that or N got into a fight with another street kid which wasn't possible because the injuries seemed like an expert did it with the sole purpose of hurting him the wounds were in places that would most likely hurt a lot and remove a lot of blood.
Which means the person intended Nathaniel...."N" to die
redhood was snapped out of his thought when he saw Leslie putting something in the kids Iv bag it was probably something to help him sleep
N saw that the woman must have placed something again in the iv bag to make him sleep because apparently the previous dose wasn't enough to make N pass out and the last thing he heard was the woman talking to freezer saying who is he "hood"? hood must be an abbreviation N would just call with the colour of his helmet which is red so red hood also why is he called hood if he wears a helmet that is so weird N thought before he passed out