Title: knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend
Fandom: DCU animated/Avengers movieverse
Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Donne
Warnings: Discussion of death/violence/torture – basically, everything Red Hood and Winter Soldier's respective backstories has.
Pairings: Jimmy/Jason
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 505
Point of view: third
Prompt: Author's choice, author's choice, safehouse
Batman's greatest strength has always been fear.
His greatest weakness is that he leaves his enemies alive.
Red Hood has that same strength – but not that weakness. He learned that lesson well beneath a crowbar while a madman laughed.
It was a question he'd never thought to ask as Robin: What do you do with the ones who aren't afraid?
As Red Hood, he knows the answer: You kill them.
.
Batman thinks of Gotham in its entirety as his territory. Red Hood considers only the slums his, where those without silver spoons and butlers and a fleet of cars live. The working girls and the hungry kids, the mothers with three jobs and the fathers with broken backs doing their best – even the criminals.
They're terrified of him, every last one of them, but give it time. Everyone was scared of Batman in the beginning, too.
.
Jason always believed in Bruce's crusade. But Bruce is only scooping water out of sinking boat.
Red Hood believes in second chances. What he doesn't allow is thirds.
.
Part B of Phase Three means letting Batman catch Red Hood. Jimmy hates it. But even Jimmy has to admit that Bruce isn't going to rough him up too badly, and besides, Jimmy'll be lurking by with a modified rifle for a wingshot if he feels that Bruce goes too far.
If Jimmy actually vetoed it, Jason would come up with something else. But he finally sighs and mutters, "Fine."
The condition, of course, is that if Jimmy feels he needs to, Batman will die. So Jason'll have to remember that.
.
Red Hood lets himself be spotted by a police cruiser going into a known brothel. Two pimps who like to sample the goods are arguing with the madam and Red Hood takes offense to that. And also their faces.
He takes out the trash and Batman is waiting.
.
Jason goes quietly. He lets Batman cuff his hands, lets Batman shove him into an out-of-the-way alley. And when Batman finally has him up against the wall, glaring at the hood, Jason says, "Figured it out yet?"
"What's your endgame?" Batman demands. "Why are you consolidating power?"
Jason shrugs. "Seemed like the thing to do."
"All of the cops you killed were dirty," Batman says. "All of the criminals were quick executions, except for the Joker. With him, it was personal. Why?"
"Aww, rich boy," Jason drawls, "what's the fun in me givin' you all the answers?"
Batman slams him against the wall. Jason laughs, low and dark. "Give it time," he says. "It'll come to you." Then he headbutts him.
.
Batman gives chase, of course. But this, this part of Gotham – it belongs to the Red Hood. The tracker is dropped from the roof of a ramshackle apartment building and he vanishes into the night.
Jimmy meets up with him on top of the GCPD and together they watch Commissioner Gordon summon Batman.
"It's quite the show," Jimmy murmurs before Batman arrives.
"And it's just getting started," Jason replies.