| DC/Marvel: Age of Infinite Heroes | ||||||||||
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Red Hood with red metal mask stands atop a building, silhouetted against the glaring lights of Gotham City and its dark, seemingly churning as they often do in the night sky. It is dearie, as if respectful of the seemingly solemn moment as he stares down the street where he and Batman met so many painful years ago.
The clock hits midnight, a church nearby has tolls that chime. Red Hood looks to the sky line for the oncoming terror of the night, the man he once worshiped and desired the approval of so badly. Beneath the mask his mouth presses into a thin line of bitterness as those old emotions churn inside him. His gloved hands form into fists.
"It is time," Red Hood says primarily to himself.
Cape fluttering in the night wind, the Dark Knight of Gotham lands on the rooftop behind Red Hood--Jason Todd, once his protege. He lands heavily, intending to make his presence known.
There really was only one good vantage point of that spot, and Batman is not surprised Hood has chosen it. Still, he slowly stands up to his full height, intelligent blue eyes staring out from within the cowl, narrowing slightly as they take in this, once protege, once son, now adversary. He does not speak, not yet-- though he tenses, ready to move if needed.
Red Hood doesn't turn around at first, taking a moment or two to gather himself as he looks away from the skyline and turns to look at Batman. He then flings his arms wide, "Father!" The word used quite sarcastically. "Or should it be 'Dad', touching little show you had at the Stark Expo, truly." He then darkly chuckles, "I'd ask if you missed me, but I was just a 'Good Soldier'. Well, hope I've impressed you since my 'return' as the 'Best Soldier'." His tone is biting, the words meant to draw a reaction.
Batman is silent, contemplative, measuring. Those piercing eyes that Jason remembered well seem to judge him.
The voice. The stance. His face may be hidden behind a mask, but Batman's calculations were correct, especially with /those words/. "You're alive," he says. The inflection in his voice has the tinge of emotion for those two words. He doesn't ask how. He has his suspicions. And they don't matter, not yet.
His tone, the emotion, it fades. His lips are set into a straight line. He is the Batman, and he is more than just a man. Whatever happens, that must stay so.
"Come home," he says. Orders. Requests. It is all those things, and none.
Red Hood shakes his head, "And lock me up in some hole to forget about me all over again? Come on now, I can't make it that easy on you," he says. He then reaches to his pocket and presses a button through it, causing music to start playing.
Just as Three Days Grace - "Just Like You" begins to play, Red Hood says, "Life is never that easy or painless." And then he moves.
Red Hood just doesn't move however, he glides and becomes a reflection of violence. The training that he gained from Batman gave him a foundation, a layer that made each form and art he studied afterwards just another thing for him to master with a deadly edge. This was the gift Batman gave Red Hood that lingered even within his madness.
The lunge is seemingly direct and simple, but at the last moment he spin to the side with a kick toward Batman and pulling out a gun to actually shoot the man that once was his caretaker. There is no hesitation, no pause, and unlike he did with Nightwing, Red Hood is not going to hold back.
The music is a distraction, but Batman ignores it, his focus on the movement, the lunge. He was already prepared, and his own movements are smooth as he moves, not to the side, or away, but /towards/ the violence, hands moving in to disarm the boy.
That portion of his training obviously didn't stick-- the boy had a gun. And like any parent seeing his child playing with something dangerous, his instinct is to take it away, regardless of personal risk. He takes the blow to the side without hesitation.
Red Hood's form is very good as visible when he was mimicking Nightwing's fighting style in the video footage on the roof top. His kick is solid, though as the gun goes off it is being sweep away, and Red Hood purposely drops it to free his wrist as he continues to spin to try and kick Batman away a bit as he pushes away from Batman with his foot. It seems more of a Nightwing move that, but he soon pushes himself up off the rooftop and twists, before landing.
"No fun," Red Hood states. "But fine, let's do this the hard way.
A new song starts: Three Days Grace - "Animal I Have Become" begins to play from Red Hood's pocket as he goes to attack again. This time he works to keep it personal and closer, as he lashes out to punch Batman to distract him from a knee attack. This entire time, his other gloved hand is palming a knife which he is working to try and slip in to cut Batman's 'toy belt' away. Revenge for one of his guns being taken.
But Red Hood's attack his aggressive and meant to try and push Batman back, and when that fails, he plans to fall back and lead Batman away from his precious belt to another roof top.
Batman's moves are defensive only: dodging a punch, absorbing a kick, moving out of the way of as many of Jason's furious rain of blows without striking back. His movements are fluid.
Red Hood moves with Batman, sometimes mimicking his moves, other times countering them to get beneath his defenses, but each one is meant to try and draw out the pain. He seems a bit surprised when he manages to push Batman back a bit. But he soon kicks off Batman's defensive arms and flips over onto a third roof.
The next song that starts playing from Red Hood's pocket makes the man pause slightly. Three Doors Down - "Pain".
"Now that one is ironic, I'm telling you, it's like this band gets inside my head." A bitter comment from Red Hood. "Man, we are a lot alike though old man," he says. "After all, we keep trying even though we know it's going to fail. You failed so many times, but me? Your greatest failure, that is until the demon brat. What you going to do when your actions cut his wings off and bury him six feet deep too? He already almost murdered Nightwing."
Batman's eyes narrow, watching Jason from the second rooftop.
"I never considered you a failure."
And then he moves, leaping onto the rooftop where Jason is. "I failed you, Jason. You didn't fail me." He stands there, tall and steady, and then he reaches out a hand. "Come home." he asks again.
"You are like a broken record, and I'm supposed to be the broken one. But you know what? This all started because you are right, you DID fail me! It wasn't even the fact you let me die, I know how human you are." But a new song is starting by Three Days Grace - "Get Out Alive".
"Here is your song," Red Hood says. He then starts fighting again, even more aggressively, "If you think this is how you are going to win, think again! It just goes to prove, just how clueless and helpless you are! That I'm the better Batman, because I won't fail people, I won't stop short of doing what needs to be done!"
Red Hood is striking out, his body twisting and moving as his knife is slipped back away, the belt left behind and here has Batman even noticed? Still, he has sly hands! As he moves and twists about, his feet tricking out to Batman's knee as he then twists to get behind him, his hand reaches out to yank the mask off. A special current goes through his gloved hand at that moment to counter the protective feature Batman has installed in his mask so that Red Hood can try and yank it off before flipping back from what should prompt a counter-attack.
Batman flows, returning the aggressive moves now-- the shock releasing his mask as Red Hood yanks it back, his dark hair gleaming in the moonlight. He launches a palm strike and goes to grab Hood, throwing him across the roof.
Red Hood grunts at the palm strike that helps send him flying back and out of range of further hand-to-hand attacks. "See, this is what happens when you hold back, shown up by a so-called upstart in the City of THE Bat." And Red Hood holds the mask out as he steps back out of general hand-to-hand range. He snorts, as a new song starts by Three Days Grace - "Time of Dying".
"My song again," Red Hood comments as he waggles Bruce Wayne's mask. "I waited a long time, you never came. And when I came to you, I found out nothing has changed, and I was unavenged," the words bitten out. But he then tosses the mask back to Bruce.
"Turnabout is fair play I suppose." He reaches up after tossing Batman's mask back to unhook his own metal mask and pulls it off, revealing a red domino covered face and a cock grin. His bangs are a pure white, something he didn't have before.
Red Hood pauses for a dramatic moment as he flashes his traditional Robin grin at Batman. "Face to face, figuratively," as knowing Bruce, he will put the Batman mask back on.
Bruce catches his mask, and takes a solid, long look at Jason's domino-masked face.
"Jason. I don't want to fight you."
Red Hood then tosses his red metal mask to Batman smoothly, "Here, I don't need that anymore," he states just as a new song starts from Three Days Grace - "Chalk Outline"
"You know, for once, it doesn't matter what YOU want Bruce," breaking the carnal rule of not speaking real names while in uniform. "After all, you are old news! I'm the new, better Batman! I keep crime under control, and when it doesn't behave, I snuff it out! The gang I took out had was beating the elderly and disabled and even killing them while posting videos about it as if it was something worth getting OFF about? No one moved in after I took care of them," he declares! "And those mafia morons? I didn't even bother killing them, weren't worth the time or effort, no point! Most of them do organized crime, not killing random innocent people in the damn street."
And if Batman caught that mask and kept ahold of it, he would get one mighty surprise as it suddenly beeps at him.
"Killing people, even criminals, makes you no better than a criminal yourself--" Bruce begins. But then the mask starts beeping. His eyes widen, and he dives and rolls away as it explodes.
Tugging his own mask back on, he begins to turn towards Jason.
A new song begins to play, this time by Skillet - "Monster" after the explosion goes off, perhaps leaving Batman's ears ringing. Still, it's at least something different, a different beat.
Red Hood is running however and soon leaps off the roof without fear, flying for a moment before he actually releases his grapple gun. And Bruce if he hasn't realized it before, will figure out his belt is gone and Red Hood is about to get away, still believing he is in the right! That dark side of the young man Batman saw so long ago and wanted to save him from, let loose and running amonk.
Bruce dives off the rooftop, slamming into Jason and grabbing onto him, being dragged with him.
There is a heavy grunt from Jason when Bruce slams into him full-force and grabs ahold of him. The Grapple line as a result doesn't react like it should, but luckily the two are soon slamming through a widow with Jason's body being cushion. He crashes in hard, his arms somewhat protecting his face though he is forced to let go of his grapple line as the two tumble inside the abondoned living room of the apartment building. Jason grunts as he connects with the form, and doesn't make anymore sounds as the air is knocked out of him. That...is going to take a moment for him to pick himself up to.
In the meantime, that damn player still plays: The Pretty Reckless - "Going To Hell" comes on, the woman's singing voice wicked and rebellious sounding.
Bruce rolls and tumbles, dragging himself to his feet as best he can. "Are you all right?" he calls out, looking for Jason.
That does it, "What the hell is WRONG with you?!" Yes, Jason is losing it. "You never really cared before!"
3 doors down - Kryptonite begins to play over the music player hidden within Jason's pocket. Hood has picked himself up and moves to open a closet door and yanks someone up by a chain wrapped about him and the chair he sits on. He drags them out with a grunt and shows a beaten up Joker to Bruce before he pulls out his gun and holds it to the back of Joker's head. "You let this piece of trash live after what he did to me!"
The Joker. Batman's eyes narrow, looking at the gun. He's silent, for the moment.
The Joker is beaten up and bloodied, but still smiling. When he sees Batman there as well, he starts laughing. "Hehe...hehe...HAHA...HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA!" He lolls his head up abit as Jason puts the gun to his head. "Gotta give the boy credit, Batsy! He came back from the dead to put this whole shin-dig together! It's like a grand old family reunion! Hey! What about that pizza! From the hideout with that faux nutsy sidekick of your was? Or cake! WE CAN ALL HAVE CAKE and take pictures of us! First me and the kid! Then you and the kid! Then all of us together!" He thinks. "And then Bob.... Bob's still around right? Or is he dead? OH! OH ... and then Me, Bob, and the crowbar!... and then..."
The butt of the gun knocks across Joker's head, "Shut up!" But Red Hood is careful not to knock Joker out. "The sad part, at least he doesn't sound like a broken record," a jab at Batman. Red Hood looks at Batman, really looks at him, his own blue eyes appearing tired and hurt.
"I forgave you Bruce, I didn't do it over night, I didn't do it for years to come, but eventually I forgave you for not saving me." But his teeth then grit. "But letting him GO! Over and over again! If he had done to you what he did to me, I would have hunted him down and made him beg me for death before I killed him! But no....you let him go, and then you let him hurt Barbara Gordon, and countless other people. Dead, their lives destoryed, ripping Gotham City to pieces," Red Hood bites out. "Your true greatest FAILURE."
As Red Hood talk winds down, a new song begins: Three Days Grace - "Home".
"You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood. It's easy to kill. It's too damned easy." He grits his teeth, giving Jason a level look. "Not a day goes by where I don't want to kill him-- where I don't think about subjecting him to all the horrific things he's inflicted upon so many others--and then /end him/."
"But if I allow myself to fall to that level, if I do this..." Batman's hands fall to his sides. "If I go into that dark place within myself, there is no returning from it. I'll never come back."
Joker murmurs to himself on the ground. "Party poopers.... no cake for either of you." Then peeks up when Batman admits that he wants to kill him. "Awwwww! So sweet! You DO think of me!" He makes kissy noises up at Batman.
Red Hood completely ignores Joker other than pointing his spare gun at him. "I'm not asking you to kill Riddler or Penguin! Just HIM! Only HIM!" His voice breaking a bit. "It doesn't make you a psychotic, it doesn't make you a monster or mad man," he points out.
Hood is quiet for a few moments. "I thought you would do it simple because he took me from YOU," the confession pulled painfully from Jason. That is when "Someone Who Cares" by Three Days Grace starts to play.
"But; I got tired of waiting and hoping, that if it wasn't losing me, that it be what he did to all the others. Just eventually, you would do the RIGHT thing," emphasizing the word 'right'. "So I came back to show you what it means to see what failing to do the right thing brings about," he threatens, "and to force your hand to do the right thing. You may have moved on and found a 'replacement', but I haven't. It's time you gave me that chance finally. Because if you don't, then you will need to kill me."
Red Hood then reaches into a coat pocket after he unbuttons it and tosses a gun to Batman to catch. "One bullet. You have a choice," and he lowers his own gun. "Kill him, or finally put me out of my misery, kill me."
Bruce barely catches the gun, and then stares at the gun in his hands.
After several long moments, he drops it to the ground, turning his back on them both, and beginning to walk towards the door.
The Joker whistles. "Oooh...... jeopardy time. Dum dum dum dum, dum dum dum..." he hums as he sits there.
Red Hood looks shocked, "That's...that's it?! That's your big decision?!" He starts to raise his gun. "Damn you to hell!" He isn't raising it to Joker or himself, he's raising it pointed to Batman to pull the trigger. Well, now wouldn't that be ironic for the Joker, to watch Batman die in a blaze of gunfire and he didn't even get to participate?
The Joker is busy fiddling with his hands behind his back, but he looks like he's having a jolly old time with this dinner theater. Without the dinner.
As he walks, Batman palms a batarang from inside his sleeve. The sound of the hammer cocking. The click of the trigger. And Batman hurls himself aside and turns in midair, whipping the batarang at the gun in Jason's hand.
The gun goes off toward the ceiling and a cry of pain from Red Hood as he stumbles back. He hits the couch, upturning it as he sprawls. The gun when flying. But with his good hand, Red Hood reaches into one of his many pockets and pulls something out as he kicks the fireplace, knocking boards aside to reveal the bomb. He then clicks the red button. "Fine," he grits out, tears in his eyes that he struggles to hold back, Hood's voice breaking. "May as well remove both of your regrets in one fell swoop, save you the effort," as he attempts to commit suicide with the Joker.
Jason wants to scream, he wants to break things, he wants for once to be told by Bruce that he understands! But Jason never knew how to ask, how to communicate, he knew how to destroy, how to lash out, how to rip things apart. He never had a chance to learn another way other than taking a bat to his own glass house.
And just as that button his hit and the five second counter starts counting down, the song by Three Days Grace - "World So Cold" begins to play.
The Joker laughs. "HAHAHAHA! I love this!" At which point he hops on the chair. Hard. Causing the wooden chair to break, which lets him get out of the chains. He whips the chain back at Jason, then rushes forward to tackle Batman. He's known Batman too long to know that if given a few seconds, he'd probably disarm the bomb with some sort of Bat-bomb-disarming device or some malarky! NO! Not this time! This time, rocks fall, everyone dies! He cackles, "YEAH! WE CAN ALL DIE TOGETHER! I'LL BE THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY GETS EVERYTHING HE WANTS!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"No!" Batman is knocked back by the Joker-- and he struggles for a moment, kicking upwards and hurling the clown-faced villain off of him.
Bruce's eyes widen, and he dives-- /towards/ Jason, knocking him back further from the explosives, the countdown ticking, shielding him with his body and cape. He would not let Jason die this way again.
Jaybird, the young man Talia raised into her lover, the one she wanted to save but ended up helping twist, almost looks satisfied at Joker's actions. Why the hell not? It's fitting, isn't it? But when Batman flings Joker aside and instead of escaping goes to cover Jason, his blue eyes widen. His mother...he tried to shield her with his body, more than anything he wanted to save her, to protect her. It didn't matter that she betrayed him, she was his mother.
And silent tears slip down Jason's face, even as Batman moves to cover him with his specially designed cape and the blast that is much too close goes off.
Fire, heat, pressure, it flares about and shatters, it crumbles and breaks what is around them. The rotting floor gives in, and the two fall down a floor, Jason hitting hard and blacking out for a few moments, but the debris from above never touches him, nor does the worse of the blast, heat, or fire as he was protected by Batman.
But finally, that damn music player is silent, the blast and impact great enough that it must have broke it.
As for the Joker?... when the smoke clears, he's nowhere to be found. With how close he was to the explosions, maybe he was just blown to smithereens. A few playing cards, burning, flutter to the ground, with a Joker card falling last.
Then again, it's the Joker, and he has more listings of his 'deaths' than the Gotham yellow pages.
The cape takes the flames and the blast, though the force and debris hits Batman in the spine and knocks him forward... and down, down as the floor breaks under him and Jason.
Under the cape and cowl, his skin is scorched-- more like a very bad sunburn, thanks to his suit, so it could have been worse. But the hits to his back, where it had been broken before-- those took a toll. And the force wave as well. He hits hard, and the last thing he sees before darkness takes him is Jason.
Safe.
He saved him.
Jason groans, and tries to lift himself up, but Batman is heavy thank you very much! But he pushes Batman to the side a bit. He's one floor down, so he can't see where Joker is though a card flutters down from above. But when he looks over to Batman, "Hey...Bats," he croaks out a bit. He tries to shake his father-figure, and when it draws no response, is stomach drops. "Batman...," panic starting to tinge his voice. Jason was always one to act first and think later, and this is likely one of his most horrifying moments of it. His wrist is hurting, his head is pounding, and his back feels like it is on fire, but he likely feels nothing like what Batman feels right now. His hands shake as they check on him best they can, and he searches for the car keys. He should have the Batmobile around here somewhere, right? Shit, his belt!!!! It's on the roof top!
"When did he start keeping batarangs in his suit itself anyway?" Well, it's called upgrading. Batman does that. Red Hood should have thought of that, but that isn't the point. He grunts in pain as he moves, trying to pick Batman up over his back and shoulder, groaning as he does so. "Damn you...damn you to hell!" Red Hood is complicated like this, cursing the man he loves and admires, even trying to save him after trying to kill him. It's called crazy.