A/N: Hey my fellow readers! How's it going? I'm sorry for the late update. I'm just not going to promise update times anymore. I suck at keeping my word. Just know that I will update eventually!
Speaking of updates, I apologize greatly for my terrible typo in the last one. I think I fixed it, but for those of you who were concerned, there will be a Part 3. There will not be a third story (although if there was, I'd totally throw in the Court of Owls).
Another apology I have to make that X59 made me aware of is that I never mentioned that Tim's mother died. What happened was that I thought I mentioned it in the prequel, but upon further review, I realized that I edited that part out before publishing! So I'm sorry for any confusion.
One last apology, when uploading this chapter, I had some formatting issues. I hope I fixed everything, but if I didn't feel free to shoot me a PM telling me what I missed. Sorry in advance for what I missed!
As this is another Deviation chapter, I won't have review responses. This one is a bit more connected to the story than the last one.
I own nothing! Red Hood is back so…LANGUAGE WARNING!
Thanks to my fabulous beta Sairey13! Transitioning to college is tough, so Sairey13 is the reason this chapter is here even this early!
Without further ado, here's the chapter!
Chapter 13- Deviation 2
"Any deviation is looked upon as a perversion, is feared, and is usually a target of hatred and prejudice."—Joey Skaggs
Jason Todd had never been the sort of guy to worry. The pure euphoria that adrenaline brought him in those situations where worry was warranted made the emotion rather pointless. Really, the only time he could remember feeling true worry was when his "brother," Dick Grayson, ran off with Deathstroke. There was also that time Dick lost his communicator during the beginning of his tenure as Nightwing. And the time Dick decided to walk into a bakery, without telling him while they were wandering the Blüdhaven streets as the Honeywells. Dick also made Jason worry when he'd had his first nightmare…Now that he thought about it, the only reason Jason had ever experienced worry was because of his "brother."
So, the reason he was pacing furiously on the roof of his hotel somewhere in Singapore, was clearly the fault of that little pest. What else could it be? He was the Red Hood. He had owned the biggest arms/drugs smuggling operation in Blüdhaven. He had been a highly skilled killing machine. He had been a badass! Then Dick Grayson wormed his way into his life and suddenly he became a big brother. It felt so wrong to admit it, but this overprotectiveness he felt to the kid who often called him his brother, was just that. Sibling affection. Just the thought of it made Red Hood want to puke.
But, it was the truth. Dick Grayson had softened the Red Hood. He'd left his cartel for the Outlaws. His killing quota was lower than it used to be. Hell, he was going by the name of Devon Honeywell! How could he get anymore fucking lame!?
Stopping his pacing to lie on the roof, Jason couldn't shake the steadily increasing anxiety he'd been feeling ever since that phone call he'd made to Dick over a month prior. Deathstroke was back in the states and what was he doing? He was chasing Gregor Dosynski around the world in order to hunt down his mentor, the assassin Anatoli Knyazev. Plots to off the American president normally didn't concern Jason, but it was a favor to Roy. Apparently, the two assassins had murdered a scientist friend of Jade's during their mission, so obviously it was personal.
Jason dug through his pockets for the lighter and cigarette he'd brought to the roof with him. Setting the tip of the "cancer stick"—as Dick referred to it—aflame, Red Hood couldn't help but question why he kept thinking about the trouble his not-brother could potentially be in. It was making his work very difficult.
While contemplating, staring at his shrinking cigarette, Jason heard the sound of feet coming closer to him. Lifting his head from the slightly damp rooftop, he saw the unmistakable form of Roy Harper towering over him.
"What part of 'don't you dare follow me' don't you understand Harper?" Jason growled, rolling himself onto his feet. Now standing, Jason finally looked at Roy's face. It was pale and terrified, illuminated only by the lights that the city provided.
"Jay-!" Roy started, only to stop and bite his lip nervously. It was a really childish action, Jason realized, and made the man look like some prepubescent punk who'd just sat on his mother's prized tomato plant.
Jason took a long drag of his cigarette and sent a glare towards his red-headed associate. "Spit it out, Roy-Boy, or leave me the hell alone. You're wasting my fucking time."
Roy ran a hand through his hair. He looked scared shitless and because Jason had no clue why, it was really pissing him off. If there was one thing Jason hated, it was not knowing important information…That and the Joker, Batman, Deathstroke, lectures, Arkham, soy milk, speed limits, Superman…
Well, he hated a lot of things, but that wasn't the point.
The point was that Roy knew something and he wouldn't spill. The longer he had to wait, the more furious Jason got. At present, he was seriously thinking about pointing a gun at the guy's head to get some info. Just as he was reaching for the holster at his side to follow through with the thought, Roy heaved a sigh.
'Finally!' Jason thought, crossing his arms in front of him. 'Whatever's got Roy Boy spooked had better be worth it.'
"Jay, call Dick," was all Roy said, but the way he said it…
"Why?" Jason asked. When his ally didn't respond right away, the Red Hood tossed his cigarette onto the ground and pulled out the gun he'd almost drawn a few seconds earlier. "Why the fuck do you want me to call him? What do you know, Harper?"
Roy looked at the gun before turning his attention to the ground. Jason removed the safety.
"Now, Harper!" Jason shouted, "Not when it's convenient! You know the punk is in danger; what the hell do you know?"
"He didn't answer for Kori or me," Roy said calmly. He was well accustomed to Jason's spurts of uncalled for violence, especially when it came to the safety of Dick. "Please, call him."
Returning his weapon to the holster, Jason closed his eyes and took a long, calming breath. When he was done, he asked, "Roy, why the sudden urge to call Dick?"
The red-head looked Jason straight in the eyes. The resurrected ex-sidekick saw something that he'd never seen in his friend's blue gaze before. He saw terror. Unadulterated terror brought about not by the fear of death, but from concern for another.
"Jay, call Dick."
Whipping out his cellphone, Jason dialed Dick's number. It rang and rang and rang. Nobody answered. Jason looked back to Roy, brows furrowed. Something was happening to his little brother. It was time to be all business.
"While you were up here," Roy said, acknowledging Jason's change of mood, "Kori and I went on the internet to look into how things were back in the States. We learned that Nightwing was allied with the League, just as we planned."
"That's not what you're here to tell me, Harper. For fuck's sake, stop farting around and get to what I need to know."
"There's been an incident. On May fifteenth, three days ago, an apartment building in Blüdhaven was blown up. It was yours."
"Damn. Anything about-?"
"Chester Honeywell was missing for forty eight hours after the event. He went to the police in Blüdhaven to report he was alive. Kori and I looked into what he's been doing since. Somehow he bribed the school to give him his diploma early; according to his school's records, he graduated yesterday."
"Where's he now, Roy?" Jason already knew the answer, an ice cold feeling making its way down his back.
"We don't know. He's gone off the grid. There's been no sighting of either Chester or Nightwing."
"Damn it, Roy! How can the League keep an eye on him if he's vanished! For all we know, that bastard Deathstroke has him! Dick can't go through what that asshole did to him again!"
"It gets worse." Roy stated solemnly. If it had been under any other circumstances, Jason would have mocked how unnaturally serious his partner in crime was behaving. "Nightwing is under investigation by the Gotham PD... For murder."
That was the final nail in the coffin. No wonder Jason had been feeling so anxious recently! Dick had gotten himself into a world of trouble! "Who's he done in?" Jason asked, pacing around like he'd done earlier that night.
"Blockbuster."
"Well, good riddance then!" Batman's ex-protégé cried out, "It shouldn't matter if Nightwing's the one who'd done it! Why do they need to investigate?"
"Because Batman's looking into it, too. Apparently, the new Robin's dad was killed off at a party at the same time Blockbuster was killed."
"So, Bruce must've known Nightwing was looking for Blockbuster in Gotham. That means Batman ran into Dick at some point. From the dates you've given, here's our timeframe: the explosion was May fifteenth, so Blockbuster was murdered on the sixteenth. Chester was declared himself to not be missing on the seventeenth; then he graduated and disappeared on the eighteenth."
"There's a gap in your theory," Roy pointed out, deep in thought. "Assuming Nightwing had something to do with Blockbuster's murder, his absence from the time of the murder to when Chester reappeared can easily be accounted for as time he needed to recover. His reappearance to graduation is also easily explained: he was with the cops answering questions and then he crashed at his friend Joey's place. So what happened between the fifteenth and the sixteenth? Clearly he ran into Batman, but surely it wouldn't take a whole day!"
"Unless," Jason started, using the detective skills that people always forgot he possessed, "he made a pit stop. Think about it, Harper, our apartment just got destroyed. That means his computer was taken with it. In order to track his enemy, he'd need a place to get all of the shit he needed. From his last email to Kori, the Zeta Tube still recognizes him. He went to the Mini Spandex Brigade's Mountain."
"Mount Justice. Great. So that fills in, what, an hour? There's still hours we're missing."
"If one of the sidekicks found out what Nightwing wanted and where he was headed, the big broody Bat would be informed. If he thought Wing was out for blood, you can bet he'd restrain him. The Cave has a specific area for Batsy to hold heroes he doesn't trust with a case. That's where Dick was between the explosion and the murder."
"And Batman wanted Nightwing apprehended because if he wouldn't have chosen murder, he'd have been able to save Drake's father during the party."
"Right on the nose, Roy-Boy! If I can contact Alfie, I may be able to-"
"Friends!" Starfire's urgent cry drew the boys' attention as she descended from the sky. "Nightwing has called me! He wishes to speak with his brother." Landing next to her allies, the orange skinned alien extended her cell phone to Jason.
Not wanting to give Dick time to reconsider his call, Jason quickly snatched the device.
Opening his mouth to lay it to his irksome little not-brother, the anti-hero was stopped by the voice on the other end that speaking first.
"Jay," said voice stated.
It was emotionless. Dick had regressed to Renegade mode and nobody was there to get him out of it before he did something completely stupid…Well, stupider.
"Dick," Jason greeted as calmly as possible. It was like that night on the rooftop two-ish years ago. That night when Red Hood finally met Renegade. The night that occasionally has him lying awake into the odd hours of the morning, pondering how one wrong word could have caused everything to turn out much, much worse.
From the other side of the phone conversation, Dick made what sounded like an annoyed sigh. "No need for the tone, Hood," Dick—Renegade—commanded monotonously. "I'm perfectly aware that you know what's happened. Starfire has informed me of her discoveries. I am…recovering from the events."
Jason nodded, a bit relieved actually. Dick was using Renegade as a defense mechanism while his mind sorted through everything. Speaking of everything…
"Did you do it?"
"No."
"Then maybe you should inform the Do-Gooders Club in the satellite about-"
"But I didn't stop it. I was there and going to kill Blockbuster. I don't regret that; he killed over twenty people in his attempt to get at me. He deserved death, but it was Tarantula who pulled the trigger. I let her. In a month or two from now, I may feel differently, but for now…I've got bigger fish to fry."
Dick's professional tone, this Renegade mindset, it always unsettled Jason. It didn't worry him. He was not the sort of guy to worry. He just knew that whenever Dick used it…well, shit happened. Last time Jason had witnessed Dick using this no-nonsense mode, the kid had taken out an entire drug cartel...In one night. Apparently they'd killed a student at Dick's school, not even one of the punk's friends. Back then, the kid had reverted to normal once the deed was done. Blockbuster was dead. Why was Renegade still present? Unless, Dick had unveiled a larger scheme, in which case, he was planning something big.
"You're going after Deathstroke," Jason concluded.
"Yes. I've already leaked information to the Team regarding him. The less space he has to work in, the easier everything will be. You see Jay, I have begun a game. In order to win, Deathstroke must be brought down."
"Don't do any half-assed ideas until the Outlaws get back to the states. We can get back on the first flight tomorrow."
"No you can't," Dick stated smugly, an ounce of emotion returning to his voice. "If you even try, apparently all flights to and from Singapore will be cancelled for the next three days. With the mad rush of tickets destined to happen afterward, you may get to the States next week."
Jason narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked dangerously. Kori and Roy sent their friend a concerned glance from where they were conversing. When the Red Hood used that tone, something big was happening.
"I may be in possession of a very nasty virus."
"That can affect a whole country! Dick, do you have any idea how much that could harm all of the people living here!?"
"Then I suggest you fix it should it be activated," Renegade, for this course of action was most definitely Nightwing-esque at all, said dully. "Note, however, that the premature solution to Singapore's problem will then activate a similar issue in Malaysia and then Indonesia. No matter your course of action, you will be preoccupied for a week." There was a pause on the line before the younger male continued, "Or you can promise me not to get back to the States for a week. If you do that, air travel will continue uninterrupted and you Outlaws can complete your current mission. Bear in mind, should you go against your promise, I'll know. If that happens, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia will all have the same problem at once. Then your hands will be very full."
"This sounds like blackmail, Dick, and not the do-gooder version of it." Jason was honestly in shock. Whatever his shithead of a brother-type-figure was planning on doing, he was obviously going to take a Machiavellian approach. The ends justify the means.
"Consider it a grey area. I need to ensure you're not here before I can successfully get everything set up. The pieces need to fall in place when I deem the time appropriate, if you get here prematurely, you could find me. I can't allow that. Not until the right time."
"I'm not a fucking pawn in your game, Dickhead!" Jason shouted into the cell. Nobody, NOBODY, used the Red Hood!
"Yes, you are!" Dick's furious response caused Jason to gape. "Everyone I meet is a piece. A variable. Something I have to calculate."
"This isn't a game!"
"Isn't it? It might not be one for you, but for me it is. The world is my playing field. Deathstroke is my opponent. And I will win."
"Do you realize how completely fucking psychotic you sound right now!?"
"Yes Jay, I do." Dick's tone shifted off of Renegade completely. He was now just Jason's little brother.
Jason's still mentally unstable little brother.
"But in order to win," the kid continued, "I need to take on that view. Deathstroke must be stopped. He's been playing this game with me without me even knowing. I will not be so blind again. I've made my move. Now I just need to see how he responds."
"Your move?"
"Yeah."
"Dick, what else have you done?"
The ex-Boy Wonder's response was enough to cause Jason to drop the cellphone. By the time he picked it back up, Dick had ended the call.
"What was all that about?" Roy asked the anti-hero, Kori hovering anxiously behind him.
"The punk is digging himself a fucking grave." Jason stated.
"What'd he do?"
"He's going after Deathstroke. Alone."
Kori gasped. "We cannot let Friend Nightwing to this by himself! We will assist him!" the alien cried out.
"We can't! The little fucker is blackmailing us by threatening the transportation of not one, but three countries! We can't catch a flight for a fucking week!" Jason shouted in a blind rage. Now that he had time to really think back on the conversation, he had concluded that Dick was officially an ass when it came to certain villains. Just like Batman. He wasn't however, just like Batman. He was strategic, like Deathstroke, and unafraid to get his hands dirty for the sake of justice, like Red Hood.
"Damn. The kid's got us trapped," Roy exclaimed, his tone betraying the fact that he was rather impressed.
"That's not all," Jason said.
Kori looked at the gun toting vigilante and asked, "What else has Friend Nightwing done?"
"That's just it," he responded coolly, "He's no longer 'Friend Nightwing', because he's temporarily no longer Nightwing. He said he's not returning to that name until Deathstroke is out of the way."
"So," Roy questioned the gathered allies, "what now?"
"We wait a week," Jason responded, "and then when we get back…We're going to find the little shit whether he wants us to or not."
A/N: Ta-Da! I missed writing Red Hood. It was actually a bit hard to write him after taking a break from the character. I hope he seems okay.
This particular interlude was meant to give you an idea of what the Outlaws are doing as well as provide you with some recap of recent events and where they land on the timeline.
I'm not sure I like how this one ended...
I hope you were entertained by the chapter!
AUTHOR'S QUESTION/ CHALLENGE: What's one thing you predict will happen in Part 3?
COMING UP IN NIGHTWING: ALLEGIANCES: I perform a Time-Jump, Clark has to entertain an intern, and Dick has a nightmare.
COMING UP IN PART THREE: Dick tries to outsmart Deathstroke, Renegade makes an appearance, and Nightwing has some tough decisions.