Doctor Leslie Thompkins was at her office at her clinic in Haysville, Downtown, going over some paperwork before she retired for the night. As she pored over the files, the power to the clinic was suddenly cut and she found herself in darkness. Fearing another robbery in progress, Leslie found her flashlight and .38 calibre revolver, before venturing out into the hallways. She was about to make her way outside to check the power box when a voice stopped her.

"You won't need that."

Leslie whirled around, cocking the revolver as she did and pointed it at the figure standing in darkness by the window. The street light highlighted part of his face, but not enough that Leslie could identify him.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "What do you want?"

"I'm an old friend," John said, disguising his voice, "I want to talk about Jason Todd with you. Do you remember him?"

"Yes, he used to Robin over ten years ago. But he's dead, dying of injuries he sustained at the hands of the Joker. I remember that night so well. Too well."

John did his best to force the memory back while trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"You operated on him. Are you one hundred per cent sure he died?"

"What do you mean by that? I was by his side when his heart gave out and he was calling for someone named John. I assumed it was Batman's name, but I didn't care about that."

"You wouldn't be lying to me about his death, would you? Tell me the truth. I…I need to know what really happened on that operating table."

Leslie was about to protest again, but decided against it with a sigh. It had been thirteen years and she wasn't getting any younger. It was about time someone knew the truth, even if it was to a stranger who claimed to be an old friend.

"We put him into an induced coma. Yes, many bones were broken and yes, he had internal bleeding, as well as second-degree burns, but I knew he could recover, provided with the right treatment. However, I made the decision to fake his death and lie to Batman because Jason was only a teenager, not even of legal age. He was too young to be used as Batman's soldier in the fight against criminals. He was still very much alive when I lied to Batman."

"What happened then?" John asked, fighting against his growing rage at having been lied to and being made to believe that Jason was dead, when the truth was very much the opposite.

"I…I smuggled him out of Gotham City," Leslie continued, tears in her eyes over her long-hidden secret, "And I took him to Africa. There was a Robinson Incorporations branch and they provided the best medical care in the world. Jason made a full recovery, although it did take a few years with all the physiotherapy he had to go through."

"Then what?"

"During his recovery, Jason became a very angry and distant person. I always assumed he was frustrated by the multiple therapies and traumatised by his near-death experience. After seven years, when he had completely recovered, Jason suddenly left and I never heard from him again, so I came back to Gotham. You have no idea what I went through-"

"You should have stayed in Africa," John said, doing his best to keep his anger out of his voice, "You caused all kinds of agony for Batman, who blamed himself for Jason's death. As you would know, Batman has friends here in Gotham and if they found out what you did with your lie, they will come for you and it won't be in a good way."

"What should I do?" Leslie asked fearfully, "Are you going to tell them?"

"Perhaps. I suggest for you that before they find out, you leave Gotham. Go back to Africa and make sure you never set foot here again."

"But – but this is my home-"

"Not anymore, not with your deceit," John said, "It's your best bet. Leave now."

And with that, he slipped away, leaving Leslie to decide her future.

-X-

"Jason Todd, huh?" Helena said as they danced through the crowd, "Can't say that the name is familiar, however, I might know you as someone else. The Red Hood?"

"Gold star for you, Huntress," Jason smirked.

Helena cast a quick glance around to make sure that no-one had heard him, glaring at an old couple nearby, before focusing her glare back on Jason and resisting the urge to deck him, as they danced expertly through the crowd, never entering earshot of her friends.

"How do you know me?" Helena asked, "I get that you snuck into the cave and learnt our secrets there, but how did you manage to bypass our security without setting anything off?"

"Let's just say that a certain friend of yours knows me. Just like I know him. Very well. So I know everything there is to know about you."

"And you're not going to tell me the name of this mutual friend of ours?"

"That would just ruin the fun."

"I see. I'm assuming that you haven't told anyone else about my secret identity?"

Jason smirked, "You could pay me a billion dollars and you still wouldn't know if I have or not. I hear there are others gunning for you, Helena and while it would be fun tell them everything and then sit back, I won't. I have my own plans for you."

"I can hardly wait to be part of them," Helena said sarcastically, just as she was dipped and she shot Jason a glare.

Jesse watched the pair dance with a look of complete contempt for Jason, while Terry was wondering how he was going to hold the detective back in case he decided to tear Jason's head off. He was strong himself, capable of taking on ten men at once, but up against a bigger man like Jesse who would be fuelled by anger and in a public scene where he couldn't reveal his identity, Terry felt he didn't have much of a chance and instead settled for another drink.

"Why are you here in Gotham?" Helena asked, once she was righted and wanting to change the subject. Maybe she could learn something to use against him later on.

"I used to live here in West Harlow and I didn't have the privileged life you rich kids had. No, I didn't know my father and my mother wasn't all that well, so I stole car tyres in order to survive. In the end, it didn't help my mother, because she ended up dying, but I was still around, I still had to survive, so I kept stealing. Growing up in a life like that, you couldn't imagine my anger at the world. In comparison, everyone had it so damn easy and I often wondered 'why me?'"

"Yeah, I can only imagine to a slight extent," Helena said, "What happened next?"

"Well, I came across the jackpot of all car tyres and even though I had no way of getting them home, let alone getting them off the car, I tried anyway. And it changed my life. I guess you could say it was for the better, but really, it got worse from there."

"You're not telling me something. You really want to, but not with a crowd."

"You're smarter than they make you out to be in the tabloids," Jason smirked, "If you want to know more, meet me at the Gotham Docklands in one hour."

"It's not like you're really giving me a choice. Fine. Gotham Docklands in one hour."

Jason gave her a smile, then cupped her cheek, toying with a loose strand of her hair and before Helena could do anything, he was kissing her. He tasted of sin and spices and just as Helena clenched her fist, ready to deck him, he was gone, while Terry was doing his best to prevent Jesse from storming onto the dance floor and making a scene. Helena scanned the crowd for Jason, finding him at the doorway, as he locked eyes with her and smirked, then disappeared from sight. Angered, Helena was about to follow him, but decided that placating Jesse was currently the best course of action right now.

"I'm going to kill him and make it look like an accident," Jesse threatened.

"You're not the only one," Helena said, furiously rubbing her lips with a napkin to remove the taste of Jason, "You'll be fine here on your own?"

"Why, where are you going?"

"Going to get to the bottom of things. And put that gun away before you scare everyone."

-X-

The cargo ship docked and the containers were removed from its deck by crane, as the Great White Shark's men waited nearby, the bodies of the Red Hood's men currently being dropped into the water. Orders were being shouted out and the containers were opened to reveal stockpiles of firearms, munitions and drugs. Just as they started removing the contraband, there was the crack of a rifle being fired and a man dropped to the ground, a bullet wound in his head. The rest of the Shark's men aimed their guns towards the skyline, trying to find the Red Hood, as another gunshot rang out and another man fell. Frightened, they sought cover and the Red Hood dropped to the ground. From there, he hunted down each and every one of the Shark's minions, using chokeholds, brutal knockout blows and his combat knife to put them out of commission, finally reaching his prize. However, he was suddenly hit from behind and tossed to the ground, seeing the Whisper Gang standing around him, all wielding various melee weapons

"Let me guess, the Great White Shark hired you guys to take me out?" the Red Hood said, "The guy is getting desperate."

He whipped out his guns and fired off a few shots, killing several gangsters, but a steel bar smacked the guns from his hands and the Red Hood responded by punching the Whisper in the face. A Whisper lashed out at him with a chain, but the Red Hood caught it and yanked the Whisper close, then struck him in the throat, as another Whisper came at him, swinging a giant meat hook. Dodging the deadly weapon, the Red Hood elbowed the Whisper in the side of the head, but was then struck from behind thanks to a steel bar, as a Whisper stood over him, aiming a large crude knife at his throat.

"The Great White Shark is wasting his money. Why he thought he needed us, I'll never know, because this is a waste of our talents," he said, "At least the pay is good. Oh well."

"No, he's not wasting his money. I'm really worth it," the Red Hood said, "I'm just stalling."

"Stalling?" a Whisper chuckled, "Stalling for what?"

He suddenly went flying from a boot slamming into his face and when another Whisper turned to face the newcomer, blood filled his vision due to his broken nose and he collapsed to the ground.

"Me," the Huntress said.

-X-

AN: The way Jason's death was covered up was the same manner done to Stephanie Brown in the comics during War Games.