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Jason’s patrol was different from the others. Batman and his followers focus on surveillance, their pattern recognition helping them notice when things are off. That and Oracle would spoon feed them information.
But Jason has a different approach. Crime Alley was a strange community, to the outside eye. One would think that the crime would make everyone paranoid. And it did. But from that paranoia, strong bonds of trust were made. Every person had a group of people they would trust with their lives.
And something else happened. Red Hood became one of those people Crime Alley trusted. Jason had always loved Crime Alley. Even when he was forced onto the streets at 8, Crime Alley looked out for him.
Whether that be Willis’s old poker friends or their neighbor who would bring Catherine leftovers from the diner down the road. He could always find someone to look out for him.
Now he paid that back. He hated what his home had become. He had tried while he was Robin to help Crime Alley. From what he could tell, the most Batman had ever gone into Crime Alley was during his Robin years.
But now, as Red Hood, he had become her protector. Someone the people would turn to.
~~~
Fear gas was crawling through the streets of Crime Alley. Despite multiple checks, Scarecrow was still in Arkham. Which meant the people of Gotham were not prepared for the attack. Typically, once a Rogue escapes Gotham, her people get all the necessary measures to remain safe. But this wasn’t a Rouge. Something else was happening here.
Batman and Oracle had called a meeting in the cave, everyone needed to work together to get a sample of this fear gas, make an antidote, and give it to those affected. All while stopping whoever was responsible.
Jason was sitting towards the back of the cave, as far from the rest of his family as possible. He knew this meeting was important, but he couldn’t focus on what Bruce was saying while his people were suffering.
“Jason.” Bruce said, his voice is stern, laced with the kind of annoyance that comes from repeating yourself. Jason’s head snaps up, finding six pairs of eyes trained at him. “Do you have anything to add?”
He shifts, looking at Bruce. “Yeah, actually, I do. Why are we here?”
“We have to make a plan of action, we do not know who is behind these attacks.” Damian responds. Jason rolls his eyes.
“What about the people?” Jason snaps back.
He scoffs at the questioning gazes, “Really. You sit here all high and mighty, but Gotham is out there suffering. My people are suffering and we’ve decided that sitting here on our asses is more productive than doing something.”
“Jay we can’t help them if we get dosed too.” Dick exclaims.
“Well, it’s a good thing I have a built-in filter.” He said, putting on his helmet and stalking towards the door. He hears Bruce sigh as he gets onto his bike. If they want to stay inside and talk, they can do that, but Jason has people depending on him. And he can’t just ignore that, not while he is capable of doing something about it.
He makes it to Crime Alley in record time. He knows the others will be pissed that he left, but it’s not like he was doing much in the cave. Out here he could help.
He parked his bike in the abandoned apartment complex he used as a base of operations. The attack happened further in Crime Alley, along a residential street. He sent a text to his lieutenants, hoping one of them was coherent enough to give him the run down of who got hit and possible suspects.
He was about to head out into the streets to get an idea of what he would be dealing with, when he heard the side door open. Jason could tell who it was before he even turned around.
“What are you doing here, dickhead?” Jason didn’t even bother turning around. Instead, Jason focused on preparing his guns. He started walking towards the storage area, pulling a thin backpack and filling it with gas masks.
“I’m here to help you out. B, didn’t want you going out alone and he started working with Red Robin for a cure.” Dick said, following Jason into the next room.
Jason rolled his eyes, Bruce knew the one person Jason couldn’t leave behind was Dick. Everyone else Jason could lose quickly, especially in Crime Alley. But as soon as Jason even thought of running, Dick would wrap him in one of those infamous ‘Grayson Octopus Hug’s.’ Even Jason could not escape from those.
Jason grunted, grabbing another bag and stack of gas masks. If Dick was going to follow him around all night, the least he could do is help out. When he shoved the bag into Dick’s hands he was met with a smile. Sometimes Jason wished he wasn’t wearing the helmet. He would be giving Dick a glare to rival Batman’s.
“Where are we going, Little Wing?” Dick asked.
Jason brushed past him, “Most of my men have given Gas masks and brought those affected to a base outside of Crime Alley.” He moves to the stairwell in the back, Dick following behind him. “There's a safehouse I made in an old bank. It’s known by the kids of Crime Alley as a safe place to stay. I need to check it out.”
Both vigilantes made their way up the stairs. Once they were on the roof, they pulled out their grapple guns. Dick followed Jason as he moved through the night.
Jason slowed once they neared the Bank, dropping down by the front door. Dick starts to head in, but Jason puts a hand on his chest, stopping Dick before he can go inside. Dick gives him an annoyed look.
“You can’t just barge in there.” Jason said.
“Really, Mr. ‘We should be helping.’ Now it’s a problem when I want to help.”
Jason sighs at Dick’s dramatics, “No, dickhead.” Dick scoffs at the nickname. “The kids that live here won’t trust you and if you just walk in they will run.” Jason makes sure to emphasize the last three words. He cannot have these kids running into the streets. It took him months to convince them this would be a safe place to stay, he would not compromise that now.
Dick pauses at his words, raising his hands in surrender, “Lead the way.”
Jason walks up the stairs, giving a rhythmic knock before heading inside. The lights of the first floor were off. All the kids knew their way around. Their beds were on the second floor, right next to the back stairwell in case they needed to run.
Jason walked towards the main staircase. He made sure each step was audible, pausing before he climbed the last step. “Max,” Jason yelled, “I’m here with Nightwing to help get you and the others somewhere safe.”
Dick froze after Jason yelled, listening for any sound that could reveal a child. Jason braced himself as he heard the sound of little feet running towards him. He smiled under the helmet, bending down waiting for the inbound collision.
Red Hood came to this hideout every day. The kids that lived here relied on him, and Jason had come to rely on them. They served as a reminder of what he was fighting for, of how far he had come.
Dick let out a surprised laugh as a small child came running out from the dark corner near the stairs. Her dark hair in two thin braids, they had little red bows at the end of each braid. He heard a voice whisper “Lynn, no” as the little girl bounded towards Red Hood. Who had his arms out, waiting for her to make it to him.
Jason wrapped his arms around the six year old as she came crashing into him. She buried her face into his neck. With Lynn now still, Jason could feel her shaking.
Lynn had started living in the bank after her mom died. It took him awhile to get her to trust him, but once she did Jason didn’t stop smiling for weeks.
The other children trusted him too, but the first time Lynn hugged him, everyone else realized that Red Hood was safe. Jason had even taken his helmet off around them. They took Red Hood’s secret very seriously.
“Hey, Lynn,” Jason whispered, “How are you feeling?”
Lynn shook her head, squeezing her arms against Jason. He could hear her crying now. He started whispering reassuring words to her, rubbing his hand up and down her back to calm her.
Jason sighed, keeping one hand on her, he shifted to take off his helmet. Once the helmet was off Dick noticed he didn’t have a domino mask on. But the kids weren’t surprised. If anything they seemed relieved as they made their way out into the light.
Dick felt at a loss, these kids trusted Jason. And Jason was willing to show his face around them. Dick decided if Jason felt safe enough to remove his helmet, he could remove the mask. He kept his domino on, but he figured the mask may be too intimidating.
“Hey Max,” Jason was now looking up at the kids, giving them a reassuring smile. “I bet you all had an eventful evening, huh?”
Max nodded, his dusty brown hair falling in front of his eyes. Other children moved closer, watching Jason with wide eyes.
“There’s been an attack on Crime Alley.” Jason explains. Making sure he looks each child in the eyes. “You are too close to the attack and we need to move you somewhere safe for the night. Nightwing is here to help me.”
All the kids are now suddenly looking at Dick. He has a feeling that one wrong move would set them off. He decided that he would offer a small wave, crouching down to be eye level with them.
“Nightwing and I have some masks you need to wear to be outside, once we get to a safe place you can take them off. There’s fear gas going around, at the safe house they will give you a shot that will make you feel better.”
Some of the kids flinch back. Jason notices this, “Hey, remember what I told you. I will never make you do something you don’t want to do, but I need to keep you safe.” The kids relax at his words.
Jason shifts around Lynn, keeping her in his arms while he gets the gas masks from his bag. Dick mirrors his movements, going slower than Jason so he doesn’t alarm the kids.
The kids took the masks from them, Jason told the ones who were nervous that they could pretend to be him.
The last kid without a helmet was Lynn, she still had her face in Jason’s neck. Jason patted her back to get her attention, giving her a small smile as she looked up at him with teary eyes.
“C’mon, princess, can you put the helmet on for me?”
Lynn gives a small nod, leaning forward so Jason can put the mask over her head.
Once her mask was on, Jason put his own helmet back on. He stands up. Facing the kids, “I’ll lead the way, Nightwing will follow behind. Got it?” The kids give various versions of acceptance.
Jason walked back down the stairs. Dick stood to the side, letting the kids pass as he put his mask back on.
They move through the streets quickly, Jason leads the group with Lynn still in his arms. A kid named Ezekiel told Dick as they were leaving the bank that Nightwing was his favorite hero. He held Dick’s hand the whole walk.
They made it to the safe house with no fanfare, the rest of the Bats working on a cure and cleaning the streets. Jason made it up the stairs first, holding open the heavy door so the kids could get in first. He put his free hand on each kid's head, counting them as they went inside.
Ezekiel ran inside to catch up to his older brother, leaving Dick alone with Jason and Lynn. Dick raised his arm so he could hold the door, allowing Jason to walk through without sacrificing his hold on the little girl.
Jason gave him a look that conveyed his thanks. Dick gave him a smile that let Jason know this would be brought up, preferably in front of the family.
Jason ignored Dick’s look. Too focused on making sure Lynn was ok. It wasn’t hard to see that she had been exposed to the fear toxin. All of the kids have some sort of exposure, but Lynn’s was bad. Normally she would talk Jason’s ear off, climbing all over him like he was her personal jungle gym.
If he was being honest with himself, her being quiet scared him. He hoped she would take the shot of antidote, but in this state he couldn’t be too sure.
He stayed with his back to the wall, waiting for the kids that wanted shots to get them. He was surprised at how many were willing to sit through them. The ones that had been nervous before requested that he be in the room so they could hold his hand. He tried to act like he didn’t notice Tim and Bruce glancing at him every chance they got.
“Princess, think you can take a shot?”
Lynn sits up, lifting her face off his shoulder. Jason has to hold back a laugh when he sees the indents of his armor in her round cheeks.
“You have to hold me the whole time.” She put on her best pout to make sure Jason understood how serious she was about her cuddles.
Jason laughs at her declaration, “Whatever you say, princess.”
A side effect of the antidote was drowsiness. The kids had all moved to one big pile in the corner of a separate room. Except for Lynn. Jason had tried to put her down but she tightened her grip and almost started crying again. However, he had managed to find a room with a couch and some chairs that was unoccupied. Jason sat down in one of the chairs, putting his helmet off to the side. Lynn didn’t mind as long as he was with her.
She had managed to fall asleep on him, her breath tickling the skin on the base of his neck. One of his hands was playing with one of her bows. She had managed to convince the old lady that owned a fabric shop near the bank to give her the two red ribbons. She told anyone who would listen that she chose red because Red Hood saved her.
Jason loved this kid so much it hurt. He’d make sure that he would keep her safe, no matter what.
~~~
Dick was sure he had the sappiest grin on his face. How could he not, his little brother who liked to pretend he was a stone cold killing machine was currently cuddling a six year old. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen.
He had even managed to sneak a picture of the two, weathering Jason’s glare as he sent it to the family group chat. He’s pretty sure the Batgirls are printing it out to give to Bruce.
Dick had asked Barabra to find any information on Lynn, hoping there was some paperwork they could work with. Jason may not want to admit it, but he had totally inherited Bruce’s adoptions tendencies.
Even if Jason did not immediately adopt Lynn, Dick knew he would eventually. Especially if the whole family spoiled her. And Dick was so excited to spoil his first niece.