This chapter was beta read by McKennaC
AN: this chapter has some dark moments, and themes. Read with caution.
A group of 15 people had come aboard the bus.
Five of them were supposed to be there, but the other 10 weren't, and Skye's internal paranoia was going off.
Her brother had taught her that if something felt off, then something was wrong, and something was very wrong with this situation.
Skye went to the lab where she had hoped to tell FitzSimmons about it, but they were to busy looking at whatever they had just brought onboard. So she went to Phil.
She looked into his office and saw him talking with the woman who had come aboard. Something about her gave Skye the creeps.
She went to the pilot cabin, but couldn't work the nerve up to knock on the door. May seemed really angry, and while she could take Ward in a fight if she caught him off guard, there was no way she could take May on, they had to call her the cavalry for a reason. Right?
So that left Ward. She didn't like Ward, and she knew he didn't like her ever since she beat him in the alleyway.
She was walking to the den, when she saw someone who looked familiar, but she couldn't get a good look at him because he went into the bathroom.
She made her way into the den, when a black bag was put over her head, and she was hit with the sickly sweet smell of chloroform.
"Okay Skye" Jason said. "We are going to practice what to do when you get kidnapped."
"Will it hurt?"
"If they hit you in the back of the head, it might. The other option, is using chloroform."
"What's that?"
"It's a sickly sweet smelling chemical that's illegal to use."
"Then why do they use it?"
"Because, they are bad guys, and bad guys break the rules."
"Does that make you a bad guy?"
"What do you mean?"
"You hurt people, and you have a bottle of chloroform."
"No. I'm not a bad guy. I hurt the bad guys. As for the chloroform, I'm going to teach you how handle getting kidnapped."
Skye woke up with her hands zip cuffed behind her back. The grogginess was lifting and her head was clearing, but at the same time, her head was killing her. 'Okay, think Todd, you have been kidnapped, where are you?'
She heard the engines, she was on a plane. 'Keep your eyes closed Todd, don't let them know you're awake yet.'
"Is skye awake yet?" A smooth female British accent asked.
"Hey, Skye?" Ward asked.
Skye didn't budge.
"The poor dear." The British voice, Skye realized it was Simmons. "They must have used to much chloroform."
"Let's get out of here." Fitz said, the anger in his tone evident.
"And do what?" Ward snapped. "We'd get killed. They outnumber us two to one, and only two of us can actually fight."
It was time for Skye to "wake up". "I 'an figh'." She slurred out, the way Jason had taught her.
"Not in that condition you can't." Ward growled.
Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots.
"Who would be stupid enough to fire guns in a moving plane?" Fitz asked.
"Those are M1911's." May said, her weird knowledge of every weapon giving Skye hope.
Skye took the chance and reached into her shirt sleeve and pulled out her switchblade that Jason had bought her all those years ago. She cut through the zip cuffs like a hot knife through cold butter. When she was free, she cut May and Ward free, realizing that they were her best chance at getting out of this alive. Then she moved on to cutting FitzSimmons free.
Once they were all free they started planning to retake the bus.
They had just put the finishing touches on their plan, when the door open and three men came into the cargo bay.
Then they heard it. A slight metallic breathing as a figure in a red motorcycle helmet walked into the cargo bay. His eyes were pure white as if he was infused with some ancient power, and he was armed to the teeth, literally.
He looked at the three soldiers, and they began cowering.
"Who are you?" The first asked.
"Me? I'm the Red Hood. Larry."
'Could it be? Was this Jason?' Skye wondered.
The Red Hood walked up to the trio and one tried to run away.
"Uh, uh, uh, Curly." The Red Hood said as he aimed and shot him in the back of both of his kneecaps.
The one he'd dubbed Larry had also ran, but he ran to the control panel and lowered the ramp.
The Red Hood shot him in the head and he fell out of the bus.
While Larry and Curly had distracted the Red Hood, the other soldier ran to Skye and put her in a chokehold, and used her like a human shield. "Let me go, and she lives." The soldier said.
"No, Moe." The Red Hood said. "You will die."
"How?" Moe said. "You can't do anything to me, otherwise you might kill the girl."
"I never said that I would be the one to kill you." The Red Hood said.
Skye took her switch blade and stabbed Moe in the leg, hoping that she'd hit his femoral artery.
"You stupid b!@ch!" Moe shouted throwing Skye away.
"Is that anyway to treat a lady?" The Red Hood asked.
Skye knew it, the Red Hood was Jason, he was the only one who ever called her a lady when someone said anything mean to her, even if it was another kid.
"Who are you?" A boy asked.
"I'm Skye. Who are you?"
"I'm Allen, Allen Thompson. Who are you here with?"
"What do you mean?" Skye asked genuinely confused.
"Are you here with the help?"
"Help?"
"Are you with one of the servers?" Allen asked.
"Oh. No, I'm here with my brother?"
"Whose your brother? Is he a server?"
"No. My brother is Jason Todd."
"There is no way in hell that you are Jason Todd's brother you lying b!@ch." Allen said bringing his hand back to smack her.
Skye was used to being hit, not so much since moving in with Jason, at least when Jason got her it had a purpose other than causing pain, he was training her how to defend herself. But Allen had to be at least three or four years older than her, and outweighed her by at least fifty pounds. What was she going to do against that, she had just turned eight today. 'What do I do? What do I do?'
Allen's hand never hit her. Instead, she heard the sound of his hand making contact with something, but it wasn't her.
"Is that any way to treat a lady?" Jason's voice rang out like a fog horn in the darkness pulling Skye from her thoughts.
"Who are you?" Allen said harshly before realizing who he was talking to.
"I'm Jason Todd. Who are you?"
"I-I'm A-Allen T-Thompson."
"Well Allen Thompson, Why are you attacking my sister?" Jason said with steel in his voice.
"What? She can't be your sister."
"Why not?" Jason asked, his voice as cold as Mr. freeze's frozen heart.
"Because- because. You don't need one. You're to awesome to have a sister."
Jason glared at Allen with a stare that could have killed if it were possible. "I suggest you find your parents and leave Allen." Jason's voice filled with venom and hatred.
Jason knelt down and dried Skye's eyes that she hadn't noticed had filled with tears, till he had done so, had her blow her nose into his pocket square, picked her up and took her to her room.
The guests who had seen the scene unfold knew it was time to leave, once people started leaving, everyone else began leaving.
When The Thompson's found out what Allen had said, they were furious and made him clean Wayne manor for a month for the jab at both Jason and Skye being "the help."
He never bothered Skye again.
"SKYE!" A voice shouted breaking skye out of her thoughts.
She looked up and saw the sky, Wait. Something was wrong, what happened?
On the bus, moments earlier.
The Red Hood saw the man throw Skye away. His first reaction was "is that anyway to treat a lady?" He had to let Skye know he was there for her, he'd been dropping hints like crazy since he found her in the cargo bay of the bus.
Then he watched in horror as Skye was sucked out of the bus. "SKYE!" He shouted. He shot Moe in the other leg hitting his femoral artery, he'd be dead in a matter of minutes. He threw a metallic disk at the red car, it had a propulsion system for whatever reason, Phil Coulson May be weird, but his weirdness was going to save Skye. Then he ran off the cargo bay ramp.
As soon as he let gravity take effect, he clamped his arms at his side and curled into a ball letting himself roll so he was facing the ground, and he dove after Skye.
Skye.
'Well, this is it. I'm going to die, I wish- I wish that I could have said goodbye to Jason.' Skye said to herself as she was plummeting to the earth below, but she noticed something. Someone... had just jumped out of the bus.
The figure rolled into a ball and straightened so their head was facing down towards her.
She noticed a hint of red, and she knew who it was. A few seconds later the Red Hood had grabbed her and said. "Hold onto me, and don't let go for any reason, do you understand?"
"Yes!" She shouted up at him.
"ACTIVATE!" The Red Hood yelled.
On the bus.
Phil walked into the cargo bay as Lola shot out, and flew off.
"Who? What? How? Lola." Phil was reduced to babbling by that one act.
As Phil thought about what had happened, he came to a conclusion. Someone had stollen Lola. "Who? Stole? Lola?"
Jason and skye.
Jason was looking at the ground, it was coming up fast. "Come on, come on, come on."
They were getting closer and closer to the ground.
'Well, this is just great. I get back to my sister just to end up getting us both killed.'
No sooner had he said it when a 1962 Chevy corvette flew under them.
Jason landed on the seat, put Skye in the passenger seat, sat in his seat, and hit the breaks.
Had anyone been watching and paying attention, they would have seen a car that was plummeting out of the sky stop in mid fall and start ascending.
"Buckle up Skye." Jason said putting his own seat belt on.
"I'm so glad your not dead." Skye replied buckling her seatbelt.
"We have five years of catching up to do, but let's play it safe and only talk in your room."
"Why?"
"We don't know anything about Phil Coulson or his crew, or team, or whatever he's calling it."
"Okay." Skye said wringing her hands together."
"You can tell me." Jason said.
"Since you've been gone... I've been... kind of... seeing someone."
"Skye? You are only fourteen years old. You aren't old enough to have a boyfriend."
"Why not?" Skye said pushing her lower lip out.
"Because, first of all your body hasn't finished developing yet."
"He seems to think so."
Jason slammed on the breaks. "Have you two been involved?"
"Yes." Skye said sheepishly.
"How old is he?"
"16."
"I'll kill him." Jason said quietly.
Skye recognized that voice. It was the same one he used on Allen Thompson. "He was there when I needed him." Skye said.
"Was he?" Jason asked sternly. "Or was he only interested in you for your..."
"NO! You don't know Miles!" Skye shouted. "He actually cares about me."
"I'll be the judge of that." Jason said.
Skye started crying.
"Skye. I'm only trying to look out for you. I was ripped out of your life when you needed me and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. All I want is for you to be safe. If this Miles guy is really a good person then he will say that he actually cares about you, and isn't using you for his own personal gain."
Skye dried her tears and said. "I'm sorry Jason, but I think I might actually like him."
"Do you mean love? Because if you do, I'm sorry to say that a 14 year old girl doesn't truly understand the meaning of love."
"Will you at least meet him without killing him. Please?"
Jason tried to resist. "You know that I can't say no to you."
Skye Hughes him and said. "Thanks. You're the best."
The ride back to the bus was filled with quiet anticipation.
In the bus's cargo bay.
Phil was pacing back and forth, he didn't know what to do or say. He was about to say something when he heard the melodic sound of a 1962 Chevy corvette come flying into the cargo bay. He straightened his tie, crossed his arms, plastered a scowl on his face, and began tapping his foot on the ground.
Jason got out of the corvette and walked around before letting Skye out.
The cargo bay doors closed a few seconds later.
"Uh oh. Phil looks mad." Skye's voice could barely be heard.
"First off." Phil said. "What gave you the right to take Lola? Second, who are you? And third, why did you fire off two pistols in a plane?"
"The answer to your first question is, I did it to save Skye. The answer to your second question is, I am the Red Hood. And the answer to your third question is, you're welcome for saving your crew. Now. Answer one of my questions."
Coulson nodded, giving the Red Hood the okay.
"Lola?" Jason asked.
"What?" Coulson asked, caught off guard by the question.
"Why did you name your car Lola?"
"It's an acronym for Levitating. Over. Land. Automobile." Coulson said.
"Huh. S.H.I.E.L.D and it's acronyms."
"What's wrong with it?" Ward asked.
Jason studied ward carefully for five excruciatingly long minutes before saying. "At least it's not HYDRA."
Wards eyes barely tensed and Jason launched himself at Ward before beating him senseless. "HOW! DARE! YOU! ATTACK! SKYE!!! SHE'S! JUST! A! 14! YEAR! OLD! GIRL!" Jason yelled with each punch.
It took everyone, including Skye, to pull Jason off of Ward.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Phil yelled.
Skye had never seen Phil raise his voice, it was kind of scary.
"You let that Neanderthal hurt Skye." Jason shouted back.
Skye had never seen Jason raise his voice, but she preferred it to Jason's quiet angry voice, because Jason's quiet angry voice could freeze the blood in a persons body.
"Did you just call Ward a Neanderthal?" Fitz asked.
"And if I did?" Jason snapped.
"Well your insult lacks credibility because Neanderthals were bigger than homo sapians, and they were hairier, usually stronger and..."
"Is there a point to all this?"
"Yes. Scientifically your insult is incorrect, Ward is no more a Neanderthal than you are."
"We don't even know who you are." Phil said. "For all we know you're a HYDRA agent waiting to strike when we least expect it."
"How do I know that you five aren't a HYDRA sleeper cell waiting to strike, and either assimilate Skye into your organization or kill her for not joining you?" Jason countered.
"Touché"
"In fact, how do I know that you are really who you say you are? You are a spy, how can I believe anything you say? Why don't I just blow this plane out of the Sky so I can be sure?"
"Well that took an unexpected turn."
May rolled her eyes at Phil and left the room, she didn't know who the Red Hood was, but he wouldn't save Skye just to kill her.
"Simmons. Can you help Ward?" Coulson asked.
The Red Hood picked Ward up and carried him to the medical table. When he put him on the table he whispered. "You know what I can do, leave HYDRA or else I'll end you next time." After he warned Ward, he left the lab and found Skye.
Skye's room.
Jason took his helmet off so Skye could look him in the face.
"It's really you." Skye said with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah sis. It's me."
Skye jumped into Jason's embrace and started crying.
Jason held her while she cried and just stood there as support for her.
After Skye stopped crying she said. "What happened to you? I saw you go into a building and you never came out, then it was blown to bits, and I saw you crawl out of it."
"Well. It's hard to explain. I went into the building and was beaten within an inch of my life with a crowbar..."
"WHAT! WHY?" Skye shouted.
"The man who killed me is a madman."
Skye looked up at Jason with tears in her eyes. "Then he blew the building up with you inside."
"Yes. I found an empty crate and climbed inside. That's how I was able to survive."
"You crawled out of the building. Crawled!"
"Yeah. You were the reason."
"What?"
"The one thing I was told when I 'came to' was that I kept saying sky. Now I realize that it was you. You're the reason I'm still alive. You needed me, and so I came back for you."
Skye hugged Jason. "Please don't leave me again."
"I won't." Jason said returning the hug.
A few days later.
Jason had taken the time to learn what had happened to Skye over the last five years, and he told her what happened to him.
Skye had ran away from the manor shortly after Jason had 'died'. She had picked up her computer skills from Barbara in the short two years she lived with Jason, and had learned some gymnastics from both Dick and Barbara in that time as well, but after Jason 'died' it didn't feel right with them. She felt like a burden, a nuisance, and a hindrance, so she left. She was found by a group called Rising Tide, who used her computer skills to 'help' the free world. That's where she met Miles.
Jason on the other hand, was found by Ra's al ghul. His daughter Talia took him under her wing and trained him, but he was no better than a mindless zombie only ever able to utter one syllable "Skye". Fearing that her father would kill Jason, Talia took him to the fabled 'Lazarus pit' where he was thrown in and came out a different person. He was more aggressive, more violent. His humanity was mostly gone, and was replaced by a monster. Talia moulded him into an assassin taking him to places to teach him how to acquire and hone new skills. After he had learned everything he could, he would find out something about the people training him. They all were involved with some kind of child crime. One was involved with human child trafficking, one was a Paedophile, one collected and distributed inappropriate images of children in compromising situations. Whatever the problem he handled it the same. He would kill them ruthlessly. When he was finished with his training. Talia gave him a parting gift. A red motorcycle helmet with a note that said.
"Jason,
It is time that you face your greatest fear. You have learned everything I can possibly teach you right now. Take what you have learned, and go back to your family.
Best regards,
Talia al ghul"
Jason didn't remember his family until he met up with Camilla Reyes, and she said Phil Coulson's name, then his memories came back like a floodgate, and he knew he had to find Skye. Now that he found her, he would make sure that she was safe and be there for her till she didn't need him.
Later
The bus had to make a pit stop for refueling and replenishing their supplies. With their free time Jason and Skye decided to visit the rest of the family.
Their first stop was Barbra and Dicks apartment. They knocked on the door, and waited a few minutes.
Dick answered the door, and was completely shocked to not only see skye, but also Jason. "Jason?" Dick asked.
"It's me."
"Skye?"
"Hi Dick."
"Come in."
The two were led into the apartment and to the front room.
"Wait right here while I go get Barbara."
Dick was gone for a few minutes, but came back pushing Barbara in a wheelchair.
"No." Jason said in shock. "Babs. What happened?"
"Please don't call me that." Barbara said closing in on herself.
"What happened Barbara?" Skye asked.
"It happened a year after you left." Dick said, though there was no hatred or malice in his voice. "I was out on patrol when I heard what had happened. My partner and I overheard a 10-52 at Jim's old apartment, Barbara and I were going to have dinner there that night. Unbeknownst to me, Barbara has gone over their early to help fix dinner. My partner and I sped over there as fast as possible, what we saw..." Dick stopped talking.
"What?" Jason asked, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Joker happened." Barbra said.
Jason was thrown back five years to when the Joker had attempted to kill him.
"What he did... it was terrible." Dick said. "I left the force and became a gymnastics teacher."
"What did he do?" Jason said feeling a lump rise in his throat.
"For starters he paralyzed me." Barbara said.
Skye gasped.
"If that was the worst of it, I'd probably still be on the force." Dick said.
"What happened?"
"You know how we had that miscarriage six years ago?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah. You were devastated." Jason said.
"We decided to try again. I was in my second trimester."
Jason had to swallow to keep the bile from rising.
"The Joker then used Barbara's blood to write messages all over the place." Dick said. "When Bruce found out, he was furious. He went to kill him, but Jim told him not to, so he didn't."
"WHAT!" Jason shouted slamming his fists on the coffee table, which surprisingly didn't break.
"This madman is the cause of so much pain and suffering, but Bruce just let him walk?"
"He..." Dick began.
"NO! Look at what he did to you two, look what he did to me! And Bruce just lets him walk."
"You would have given him what he wanted." Barbara said.
Jason and Skye stayed for lunch, but everyone could feel the tension oozing off of Jason.
After lunch Jason took Skye to the bus where he left her with Phil, grabbed his gear, and went to Arkham.
Arkham.
The Joker was in his holding cell, when suddenly he wasn't, he was sitting in a private visitor area.
"What did I do this time bat brains?"
"Batman's not here Joker." Jason spat. "It's just you and me."
Joker took one look at Jason and said. "You know. When I wore that it was classy, less motorcycle fetish and more matre d'."
Jason punched Joker in the face sending him over the table. "This isn't a game. I'm here to do what Batman can't."
"Ask me to the prom?"
Jason took five knives off his person.
"Ooh. Looks like your into that bds..."
Jason stabbed the first knife into jokers hand ripping a cry on pain from the madman. "I may not have a crowbar, but I've got more weapons than any sane person should be aloud to carry." Jason said stabbing a second knife into the Jokers wrist. "I'm going to make you feel every ounce of pain you ever caused anyone. Needless to say, we're going to be here for a while." Jason stabbed two of the remaining knives into the Jokers other hand and wrist. "Oh, and don't worry about us being interrupted, the cameras in here are on a continuous loop of yesterday at this time only the date has been changed. And the guard on duty. He lost his wife and child to you, he's looking the other way."
"You're crazy." The Joker said, true fear entering his eyes and voice for the first time in years.
"No, worse. I'm a one man army with a single mission. Make you suffer."
Jason worked slowly over the next few hours listening to the Joker as he begged for mercy, and sobbed as the pain only intensified as his life was ripped from his body one piece at a time.
Jason looked at the pile of body parts lying in front of him that was once to Joker. He spit on the disgusting heap of appendages, bones, and organs before taking the fire bombs from his jacket pocket and burnt it to ashes. By the time anyone got there to do anything, all the evidence would be burned away.
Later.
Jason as the Red Hood was standing on a rooftop when he heard someone drop behind him. "Bruce."
"Who are you?"
Jason took the red hood mask off and dropped it.
"Jason!" Batman said in shock. "How can you be alive?"
"Skye. She's the reason I'm alive. She's my reason for living."
"Does she know that your also a murderer?"
"I do what I have to."
"And you had to slaughter the Joker like a wild animal?"
"YOU WEREN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING! HE NEARLY KILLED ME! AFTER WHAT HE DID TO BARBARA! TO JIM! HELL TO ANYONE HE EVER KILLED! WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO GROW THE BALLS AND BACKBONE TO DO WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE! HE WAS A PSYCHOTIC MONSTER WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED A LONG TIME AGO! WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT WHEN YOU REALISED HE WASN'T GOING TO STOP! WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL HIM AFTER HE PARALYZED BARBARA! WHY!... WHY!... WHY!!!"
"BECAUSE!... Jim told me not to take vengeance. Because it would be to easy to start killing anyone who crossed me. And because... I thought that there would come a time when he would change."
"Well f#@k you Bruce. Because of your hope for change, you cost me my life, and Barbara the use of her legs. Not to mention that she is so traumatized by what happened that her and Dick won't be having kids anytime soon."
"The next time I see you Jason, I will report you as the one who murdered Joker."
"Then you will be the only one who will hate me for it. Harley left him. She got professional help and become a T.V. Psychiatrist, and no one else seems to care. But think about this. Would you have stopped him eventually, or would you have let him kill to his hearts content?"
With that Jason picked up His helmet, put it on, and jumped off the roof.
Later that night on the bus.
Phil was in his office filling away his report of the day when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." He said.
"Phil." A mans voice said.
"Director Fury." Coulson said.
"Congratulations on getting Jason."
"He only came for Skye."
"I don't care if he came for a shave and a haircut. The point is that he's here, working for us."
"He is very good at what he does sir, but what he does isn't very nice."
"Apparently you haven't heard."
"Heard What sir"
"The Joker is dead. They found him an hour ago."
Coulson didn't know what to say. Was he supposed to be glad that the Joker was dead? Was he supposed to be mad at Jason for taking another life? How was Skye going to react.
"I don't want anyone on this plane knowing who killed the Joker. I don't know what set him off, but the last thing we need is Jason going crazy and killing everyone."
"I agree sir."
"See to the necessary details coulson, I'll keep in touch."
With that Fury disappeared into the night.
AN: this chapter incorporates ideas from: The Killing Joke, Batman: Under The Red Hood, and The Batman. Hope it was okay.