Five years later.
On the shady side of Vale, in an old, run down warehouse, a group of the cities biggest drug lords sat around a large circular wooden table.
"The hell you say!" One man shouted raising his hands in the air. "You didn't set this up? Then whose party is this?"
"I thought it was you east-side losers." Another large man replied. "You already rolled over for Junior and I figured you were gonna ask us in.
"Rolled over. Junior whacked six of my crew in a month. Six! Some of my best people."
"So, you set up this meet?" The large man accused a middle aged Asian woman.
"No, I thought it was yours," She replied calmly. The group continued to argue until the first man that had spoken decided he'd had enough.
"Oh, the hell with this. I'm gone. You brain donors wanna hang around be my guest."
"Sit down, Freddie," A female voice from a nearby ledge ordered. The group looked up to make out the outline of a person hidden in the shadows. "It's my meeting."
"It's her. Thorn."
"We didn't do nothing," Freddie claimed.
"Well, we all know that's a lie." She laughed as she stepped into the light revealing her appearance. The woman wore black combat pants, gloves and boots. Attached to each thigh were holsters carrying handguns. She wore a grey and black leather jacket and underneath was an armoured grey shirt. Finally, she wore a red helmet, hiding her face. She looked over the group, a machine gun in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" They demanded.
"Doesn't matter. Smoke her!" Another shouted. However, before they could, she began opening fire at the table they sat around, forcing them to dive to the ground for cover.
"I said, sit down!"
"You wanna die?" Freddie cried as he picked himself up. "There's easier ways to kill yourself."
"Yeah, like yelling at the lady who's holding the AK-47. Listen to me, you drug-peddling scumbags. I will be running the drug trade from now on. You eight are the most prosperous street dealers in Vale. I'm offering you morons a deal. You go about your business as usual, but kick up forty percent to me. That's a much sweeter deal than the scraps Junior is leaving you. In return, you will have total protection from both Junior and Thorn. But, you stay away from kids and school yards. No dealing to children, got it? If you do, you're dead."
"Okay, crazy lady, this is all very generous. But why in the hell should we listen to you?"
The lady tossed a bag onto the table in front of them. They all step backed in disgust, some even vomiting as they took a look at what was inside.
"Those are the heads of all of your lieutenants. That took me two hours. You wanna see what I can get done in a whole evening?
"Who are you?" The Asian lady asked.
"I am the Red Hood. Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to kick in with me. I'm telling you." Once again, she began firing at the table forcing them to duck for cover a second time. When the firing stopped and they looked up, the Red Hood was gone.
VALE DOCKS
Tires screeched as two men drove down the docks in a large truck.
"Go, go, go!" The passenger shouted to the driver as they continued to pick up speed. "Where's Raymond and Denny?" The driver asked.
"She got them. Just grabbed them up. Forget about them and just go, get us out of here."
When they continued driving and nothing stopped them they began to believe they'd gotten away.
"I think I lost her. You think I lost her?"
"I think you lost her. I think we're good." Suddenly, a woman in a grey body suit landed on the hood of the truck, her long black hair flapping wildly in the wind. She wore armoured gauntlets and boots, and a utility belt around her waist that was black with yellow lining. In the middle of her chest was the image of a circle of green thorns and in the centre a small red rose. Covering her face, was a black metal domino mask, making her eyes appear white.
"No, you're anything but good," She threatened before punching the windscreen shattering it to pieces and sending tiny shards of glass into the two criminals. The passenger pulled out a gun and began to fire just as Thorn leapt into the air. They were so distracted with the vigilante that neither noticed the road spikes laid out in front of them until it was too late.
Their tires burst and they were sent crashing into a shipping container. The driver looked over at his friend who was stuck in his seat. Suddenly, a pair of hands smashed through the window and dragged him out of the truck. She handcuffed him to the font of the truck and did the same for the passenger.
"Who are you working for?" Thorn demanded, punching her across the face.
"Nobody. Look, we just boosted the truck and ahh!" He screamed as Thorn broke three of his fingers.
"Lie to me again and crashing into a wall head-on will be the least painful activity of your evening," She threatened.
"No, I swear to." A sudden roar from the back of the truck interrupted him.
"What the hell is that?" The driver cried.
"Your cargo. It's called a Beringel."
The back of the truck flew off and a large gorilla like Grimm leapt out of the back. The beast spun around to face them and with a monstrous roar slammed its fists into the ground sending a shock wave towards them. Thorn jumped into the air and landed on top of the truck. She grabbed a metal ball from her belt and threw it at the Grimm who caught it in its giant hands. As the beast caught the ball it blew up surrounding him in a cloud of smoke. Thorn ran through the smoke and leapt up to the Beringel punching it across the face. She jumped onto its back and as she leapt off the Grimm grabbed her leg and threw her into a shipping container.
"Packs quite the punch for a monkey on steroids, huh?" A voice from above spoke. Thorn glanced up to see a man in a black body suit with a yellow V across the chest spanning from shoulder to shoulder. Over his forearms were large yellow wrist guards and across his waist was a yellow utility belt. He had blonde hair and over his face was a black domino mask similar to Thorns.
"Need a hand?" He offered.
"No," Thorn replied as she leapt into battle.
"Okay, well, how about I just stick around and watch?" He joked as he jumped off the shipping container and followed Thorn.
"Who's that other one? The pretty boy in the leotard?" The driver asked the passenger.
"That's Knightwing. He used to be partners with Thorn."
The Beringel grabbed a nearby shipping container and lifted it up over his head. With an animalistic roar, he chucked it at the two vigilantes. Thorn ducked under the crate and continued to run towards the beast while Knightwing jumped over it.
Knightwing reached into his utility belt and pulled out a set of iron knuckles. He ran up to the beast and hooked him across the face. The beast spun around just in time to see Thorn's knee collide with his chin. As the beast got up both Knightwing and Thorn raced at him on grappling hooks and punched him simultaneously across the face. The heroes landed on top of a shipping container and Thorn threw a throwing disk at the Grimm. As the disk lodged into the beast it exploded, giving them a chance to run.
"Will that do any good?" Knightwing asked.
"It'll slow it down."
"You think so?" He asked as he looked behind them to see the beast jump into the air and begin to chase them.
"Get to higher ground," Thorn ordered as she fired a grappling hook.
As Knightwing grappled away the Beringel grabbed him out of the air and began to crush him. He grabbed a pair of knives from his belt and slammed them into its head, sending an electric current through its body.
The beast dropped Knightwing and he leapt to safety as Thorn jumped over him and placed two balls of explosives over his eyes. As she reached cover she hit the detonator, blowing the beasts head off.
"Nice work," Knightwing complimented her. When he looked to face her Thorn was already walking back towards the goons.
Thorn stood in front of the tied-up thugs, Knightwing standing behind her, crane controls in hand.
"This shipment was meant for Junior. I doubt you're behind this. Who do you work for?" She demanded.
"I swear, we're not working for anybody. This was our gig, all our idea…"
"Let it go," Thorn ordered.
"Right," Knightwing replied as he pushed a button on the controls. The crooks cried in fear as a damaged shipping crate fell towards them.
"We'll talk, we'll talk. Just stop. Just stop!" They cried. Knightwing stopped the crane, moments before it hit them. "The Red Hood. We're working for the Red Hood. We don't have any choice. He's got-" The man slumped down as a bullet went through his head. A second shot whizzed by killing the remaining thug.
"Sniper," Thorn shouted as the heroes raced for cover.
"A good one. The shots came from the rooftop," Knightwing noted as he cautiously peered out from cover. "See him?"
"Yeah," Yang answered as she looked through a pair of military binoculars across the city, seeing a person in a red helmet. She pressed a button on her belt and a moment later her black motorcycle sped around the corner coming to a stop in front of her. Wordlessly she jumped on and sped off.
"Wait!" Knightwing shouted but was too late. "Great, leave me here with them," He complained looking at the dead thugs.
Thorn reached the rooftop where the sniper had been but by the time she got there the sniper was long gone. After a search of the area, Yang wasn't able to find any trace to follow. In fact, there was no evidence anyone was ever here. With nothing to go on, she jumped back on her bike and sped off.
Thorn raced into Mountain Glenn, the former expansion of Vale that was overrun and destroyed by the creatures of Grimm. As she reached a rundown building the wall slid to the side revealing a secret entrance. She drove through the building and down a ramp leading to an underground base.
The base was a cave with high-tech equipment all around. Including a giant computer, a vehicle bay and weapons rack. Most significantly was the glass cabinet to the side displaying Ruby's torn red hood and weapon, Crescent Rose.
"Glad to see you could join us," Jaune Arc joked, sitting at the computer. He'd stayed in his suit but had removed his mask.
"I didn't need your help," Yang replied.
"Thank you Juane. Why you're welcome Yang."
Yang removed her mask and walked over to a bench. She pressed a button on her belt and her hair turned from black back to her usual blond. Finally, she took off her gauntlets and belt laying them out next to her mask.
"This bit of intel is what brought me to town," Jaune explained as he plugged a usb into the computer. "Good thing I've always had perfect timing. Take a look. I got this shot from a snitch." On the screen a picture of the Red Hood appeared.
"He says that this lady's been making some serious moves. Goes by the name Red Hood."
"So I've heard," Yang replied as she walked over to him. "Several criminals have utilized this persona."
"One criminal of particular interest, though. But he's locked up. Not his m.o. either. There's been an uptick in heavy trafficking, but crime is down."
"Maybe we should go for a visit," He suggested, still watching the computer screen. The sound of a motorcycle starting caught his attention. He spun around to Yang geared up and preparing to leave. "Could you just once say, let's go? Is that so hard?" He cried as he put on his mask and jumped onto his own bike.
Author's Note: Incase anyone's wondering the way Knightwing is spelt is intentional.