Now this chapter will kind take elements from the New 52's Red Hood and the Outlaws run (specifically Starfire and Roy being part of the Outlaws with Jason). This will also reference a little bit from prior to the New 52 as well, and will focus on the origin of the tattoo phenomenon. I also bent my No one but the BatFamily, Ra's and Talia for this chapter just a little for three reasons 1) This chapter explaining the history of the tattoos to a non-Earthiling (Starfire) 2) Roy being part of the conversation and 3) there was at least two characters that I thought should be addressed since they are explaining it to Starfire. After this, not again.

For this chapter, I will be referring to Starfire as Kori (short for Koriand'r in case you were wondering) since this chapter is just between them.


A pained hiss escaped Jason as another stitch entered his side. It had started off as a simple enough task. A monstrosity of an experiment that had been unleashed in a neighboring city of Metropolis, a secretly funded creation of Lex Luthor from what they were able to deduce, and it needed to be handled. It was a stroke of luck that they happened to be in town, and Roy managed to talk them into stopping it.

At the end of the encounter, which had taken a detoured in a nearby field, everyone needed some medical treatment. Kori needed minimal patching up with a bandage placed on the bridge of her nose and left shoulder. With Roy patched up, Starfire correctly addressed a gash that Jason had received during the battle. With no remnants of his shirt in sight, she correctly administered the treatment on his Jason's ribcage.

"I don't understand it." She blurted out.

"Don't understand what?" Jason inquired.

"These tattoos."

Kori gently ran her hand over Jason's bicep. Her hands traced along an orange Siberian Tiger that looked as though it was walking toward her. Its determined blue eyes staring into her soul.

"As well as why Earthlings have them."

Her confused curiosity was understandable. Given the fact she wasn't from Earth, being a resident of Tamaran since birth, she was still getting used to Earth's customs. Though given the fact she had been on the planet for a few years now, Jason was a little puzzled as to why she was asking this now. However, he knew he should just address it since she was asking about it.

"Well, they are meant to represent one of our strongest trait, be it a physical, mental, psychological, or emotional one." Jason began. "For example, my strongest trait is my strength. As you can see, it is symbolically represented by the tiger on my bicep. As to why humans have them, it's kind of a complicated matter. It's said that thousands of years ago, an enchantress bestowing these tattoos on humans as either a gift or curse. The problem is, it hasn't been confirmed whether it's one or the other as any documentation on it has either been destroyed, subject to translation issues, or incompletion."

Kori didn't offer a rebuttal, taking in his story as she returned her sights to his injury. After a few moments she would set aside her equipment, allowing Jason to study her handiwork.

"That's very interesting and that does clear up my confusion." Starfire admitted. "However, it is still a very strange custom."

"I don't disagree, but it's our strange little custom."

"True." Roy intruded. "Here, let me show you mine."

Removing one of his long the fingerless glove from his arm, Roy sat between the two. Pointing to the area just shy of where his forearm and bicep met, two turtledoves appeared to dance. A fascinated stare graced Starfire's face as she studied the image.

"It's a symbol of friendship." Roy clarified before starting to put his glove back on. "Over the years, I met lots of people and created multiply friendships. With all that I've been through I've come to realize that I have never truly been alone. To be honest I thought it would be something different, a hawk because of my sharp eye as an archer or a bear that, in one instance, is said to represent healing given my past. However, I can see why I got what I got. The Titans and you guys. I've been able to make friends easy and there's always been someone there for me even when I didn't appreciate it."

"Interesting." Kori noted.

She was silent for a moment. A stare of contemplation gazed at the ground between them.

"Dick does not have his."

A shocked glance shot at her as a mix of surprise and intrigue drenched Jason's face. With her saying that, he began to realize why she may not have been too familiar with it. Roy, on the other hand, remained unchanged, noting where the statement was heading.

"Really?" Jason inquired. "You'd figure with all of his life experiences, he would have awakened his by now."

"Trust me, I looked everywhere, and I haven't seen anything."

Both Roy and Jason's faces went a deep shade of red at the statement, a little embarrassed about her observation and its implications. There was no getting around how blunt Kori could be at times, intentional or not, but it didn't make the situation any less awkward.

"Well some people are late bloomers." Roy admitted, awkwardly chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. "Mine didn't show up until about three years ago after my recreational stint."

"That maybe, but still, it's a little odd." Jason admitted. "Mine appeared moments before I arrived at my final resting place."

"Okay." Kori accepted. "Now my next question is, what about Garfield or Cyborg? Neither of them are what we'd consider normal human beings."

Roy took over. Having enough experience with both, he felt more suited to address the two of them.

"Cyborg's had been removed after his accident." Roy recalled. "If I recall correctly, he said it was a boar on his left shoulder. It's a symbol of vigilance, which isn't much of a surprise given what he's been through."

"True."

"Gar, on the other hand, will probably never see his come to life since he was experimented on in the way that he was. Not that it should matter since he can turn into whatever animal he wants to."

"That makes sense."

"And that will conclude our lesson for today." Jason concluded, as Kori and Roy's attention fell on him.

A sore hiss got away from Jason as he stood up and progressively put his shirt and jacket back on.

"It's getting late, and we have to get back to the base. We've got to get rested before our next freelance mission."

Roy and Kori joined him, standing up. With everyone ready, they departed from the city.


I know I thought about using a wolf for Jason but I decided to use a tiger instead. It representing his (physical) strength which is placed on his bicep. I chose that since, like Tim being considered as the "smart" Robin, Jason is kind of considered at the "strong" Robin (as well as the Robin who can do what Batman can't/won't do, but I digress). This was also something Cass kind of referenced in Batman and Robin Eternal. When looking up other symbols for a tiger some I came across were overcoming obstacles/fear, effectively handling strong emotions, danger, vengeance and punishment. All of whcih can relate to Jason (though I'll admit that there are times where Jason has strong strong emotions).

Now for Roy, I was trying to finding something that wouldn't overlap with anyone else's tattoo symbol (i.e. Fear, Intelligence and Strength as of this chapter and what I have planned for the others). The reason I went with two turtledoves was because of how there are people who care for him and how he is a good friend to others (Jason in the New 52 stuff as well as his time with the Titans). They represent friendship and love which I felt worked for him. I did look up Roy's original thoughts too. with the bear, I did find one thing saying that one Native American symbol for bear was healing (which would have represented his recovery from his addictions, however that did affect the placement of the turtle doves).

Beast Boy and CYborg were the main reason for my disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter. I knew that Roy probably wouldn't cause a problem, but I knew there would be exceptions in this universe. It was only going to be Beast Boy originally as well, but then I had to equate Cyborg too. The reason Beast Boy was an exception is because of how his DNA had been tampered with when he was given the serum to cure his sickness. As such, he would be unable to develop his. I decided that Cyborg would have his, since he had time to develop it prior to his accident. And yes, one thing the boar symbolizes is vigilance which suits how he had to be vigilant towards and overcome the struggles from his accident.