After Batman sent the file over, Robin, Cyborg, and Jason began looking it over.

"We're going to need you to fill in some of the blanks," Robin said to Jason. "Only you know everything that happened to you."

"I hoped I'd be able to leave this behind me," Jason said, "but I guess you can't run from your problems forever."

"I'm analyzing the data now," Cyborg said. "Looks like while you were Robin, the Joker was your biggest threat."

"That asshole was Gotham's worst nightmare," Jason said. "He and Harley ruled the criminal underground for a while. Every threat we faced was connected in some way to that psychopath."

"What is this?" Cyborg asked. "Looks like there was a huge accident at the ACE Chemicals building."

"That's the place where Joker fell into a vat of acid," Jason said. "Bruce figured that out after some serious digging. Apparently, the Joker took Harley there as well. She used to be a psychiatrist working out of Arkham Asylum until the Joker seduced her. Now she's at his beck and call, his little squeeze box or something."

"Man, the Joker worked with all kinds of freaks," Cyborg said. "The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two Face. I mean, I know a lot of these names from what Robin's told me, but this is crazy."

"This is a big part of why I left Gotham in the first place," Jason said. "The city consistently ranks at the bottom for violence and crime."

"Hang on," Cyborg said. "Looks like the data gets way more sparse towards the end here. Is this when you were held captive and presumed dead?"

"Yes," Jason said, still a twinge of pain in his voice, "and I can tell you how they pulled it off. Clayface played the role of my corpse, and Bruce took the bait. He was buried while playing the part of me. There was a funeral and everything. Afterwards, I guess someone dug him up and covered their tracks."

"I think we need to know exactly what happened when you were being held captive," Robin said.

"Trust me, Dick, you don't want to hear it."

"Try me," Robin said.

"I don't see how it's relevant," Jason said. "Look at my face. Look at this." Jason turned around and pulled his shirt up. On his back was the letter "J" that almost looked like a tattoo.

"J for Jason?" Cyborg asked. "Or Joker?"

"I don't know," Jason said, "but when I got it, it hurt like a mother for hours."

"Huh," Cyborg said. "I didn't think getting a tattoo hurt that much."

"It's not a tattoo," Jason replied. "It's a brand."

Neither Robin nor Cyborg felt comfortable responding to that. Jason pulled his shirt back down and turned to face them again.

"Wait a minute," Cyborg said. "Now I'm seeing a lot of stuff about Slade."

"What?" Robin asked, moving to Cyborg's side to see what he was looking at. "I know Slade followed me out of Gotham. I didn't realize he was working with the Joker."

"It's like I said," Jason replied. "Every criminal had a connection to that clown."

"Looks like they were found conspiring together right around the time you left Gotham," Cyborg said, indicating Robin. "Slade's been fighting us for years, but I didn't know that he had any kind of working relationship with the Joker."

"How did I never know this?" Robin asked. "I've done plenty of research on Slade, but none of it ever revealed a connection to the Joker."

"Uh...Robin? I think I might have an answer for that," Cyborg said. "All records of Slade were expunged when he left Gotham."

"What are you talking about?" Robin asked.

"I'm saying that any connection Slade might have had to Gotham was removed from the file, only to be readded today. Looking at the version histories of these files, the dates check out."

"So who expunged the records?" Robin asked.

"Who do you think, Boy Wonder?" Jason asked. "It was Bruce."

For a moment, Robin was stunned as he took it in. His shock quickly became anger. "I need to call him back," he said.

Cyborg grabbed his arm. "No way, man. Shouting at Batman isn't gonna solve anything."

"When I left Gotham," Robin said, "I knew Slade had pursued me, but I didn't know that the Joker was involved. Clearly, Bruce didn't want me to know. Why would he hide that from me?"

"You think Batman is the pinnacle of justice?" Jason asked. "Come on, Dick, you and I both know him better than that. He manipulates everything to his advantage. We were the pawns in his twisted game of revenge. His parents die, and he spends the rest of his life fighting crime to try to fill the hole it left behind. He might be stopping bad guys, but that doesn't make him all good. He clearly didn't want you making the connection to Gotham. He was shielding you from it."

"So you're saying Bruce did this to try to protect me?"

"He knew you wanted a fresh start," Jason said, "so he decided to shield you from Slade's connections to Gotham so you could have a clean break. Compared to what happened to me, you have it easy."

"Seems like the Joker's influence is now too big to hide the truth," Cyborg said. "That's why I have these files now. Batman's attempts to shelter you from Gotham's troubles have backfired. What's important now is that we stop the bad guys. We don't have time to do anything else."

"Fine," Robin said, "but I'm going to confront him eventually. I feel like such an idiot."

"That's not you," Jason said. "I'm pissed that I let him manipulate me, make me feel like I was special, and then leave me in the hands of that clown."

Robin took a moment to think. "You know what," he finally said. "I left Gotham, but I didn't leave everything behind. I kept the namesake that he gave me. Now Bruce has a third Robin in Gotham, so I think it's time for me to rebrand."

"I've been thinking the same thing," Jason said. "Red X was your thing. I copied it because I liked what it stood for. Now that I know you a lot better, I think a rebranding is in order for me as well."

"When Starfire traveled in time," Robin said, "she saw an identity that I had made for myself. I think it might be time to work on that. Cyborg, are you willing to help with the design?"

"Sure thing, man," Cyborg said. "We'll keep that part of the timeline consistent."

Robin smiled and hit him playfully in the arm. "Maybe you can help Jason with his idea, too."

"No problem," Cyborg said, "as long as he's okay with working with me."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Jason asked.

"I think that's the best answer you're gonna get," Robin said to Cyborg. "I'll call the other Titans and brief them."

Robin dialed the other Titans on his communicator while Cyborg closed out the files. The three of them realized that what lay ahead was likely one of the biggest threats they would ever have to face.

Slade had been stripped of his armor and placed in an orange suit when he had arrived at the prison. Normally, he'd be held in jail, but because of the prevalence of supercriminals like himself, the policy of Jump City was to hold them in a more secure location. No matter, this was exactly where he needed to be.

They had offered him an eyepatch for his missing eye, which he had begrudgingly accepted. He didn't want anyone else going for his eye hole if he got into a fight.

At the moment, he was being held in solitary in a maximum security unit. It was the part of the prison where the most dangerous criminals were held, and the part of the prison he needed to be in for the next part of the plan.

There was a knock on the door of his cell around six o'clock, and a guard came in with a tray of food. Slade took the meal from the guard, who seemed to be out of sorts. The guard held his stomach, and as he tried to leave the cell, he keeled over.

Slade was impressed. He hadn't expected this part of the plan to start so soon, but he was grateful for it.

The guard keeled over and lay unconscious, leaving the door to Slade's cell open. Slade walked out of his cell, shut and locked the door, and began roaming the hallway. The next part of the plan relied on him performing at his best.

He made his way through the halls, incapacitating any other guards that he saw throughout the complex before they could sound an alarm. He finally found the room he was looking for, the warden's office. In there was a set of keys that belonged to the other cells in the maximum security unit.

Slade worked fast, taking the keys and starting to unlock the doors of the other prisoners. They were all surprised and grateful for the chance to escape. As he opened more doors, the prisoners began rioting through the halls. An alarm finally did start to sound, and Slade knew that the doors to the prison would be locked down so no one could escape.

At this point, Slade returned to his old cell, where the guard was still lying unconscious. He grabbed the body and began running with it, hoping he had enough time before the final part of the plan could be implemented.

He sprinted through the halls, able to avoid the guards because they were dealing with a riot, and made it to an exit. He put the guard up against the door, stepped back, and waited. Suddenly, there was an explosion which destroyed the door leading out of the prison. Slade slipped through, and no guards were nearby to stop his progress.

He made it to the front gates and opened them with the keys he had taken from the warden's office. At this point, the complex was in utter chaos. He would have to move fast, because the Titans would certainly be expected to respond to the crisis. Outside of the gate, there was a car waiting for him, driven by a guy wearing clown makeup.

"You're one of his goons, aren't you?" Slade asked.

"Just get your ass in here before someone shows up," the clown said. Slade abided, and the car took off.

"Geez, when the Joker plans something, he really goes all out," the clown said.

"The Titans will be well aware of my escape," Slade said, "so all is still according to plan."

"Sure, I guess," the clown said. "Do you know what happens after I drop you at the rendezvous point? The Joker didn't tell me."

Slade knew what that meant, so he chose to play dumb. "I don't know either. Sorry."

"Eh, it's fine," the clown said. "I know I'm s'posed to be operating on a 'need to know' basis. Just comes with the territory."

"Sure," Slade said, looking out the car window.

"You're gonna need a change of clothes," the clown said. "That neon orange could be seen for miles I bet."

"It'll be fine," Slade said. "Now, if you don't mind being quiet, I would like some time to think."

"Sure thing, boss," the clown said.

Slade hadn't really wanted to think, but he had wanted to shut up this goon. He really knows how to pick them, he thought to himself.

Finally, the car arrived at the rendezvous point, underneath a bridge near the coast. Slade and the clown got out of the car. Waiting for them there was a woman in clown makeup and a red and black suit.

"How's it hanging, Sladey?" the woman asked.

"Slade is fine, thank you," he replied. "I wasn't expecting you to be here, Harley."

"Sorry, sweetheart. Mr. J's dealing with something back at Gotham, so he sent me here instead. He told me to give you this change of clothes."

"Aren't you forgetting something else?" Slade asked.

Harley took a look at him, then at the clown. "Oh, shit, you're right," she said. "One sec." Harley pulled out a gun and shot the clown in the head. "There we go."

"Dump him in the ocean and give me my change of clothes," Slade said.

Harley winked at Slade and kicked the clown into the ocean, where his body floated off into the current. "Good thing it's high tide," she said. She gave Slade his suit.

Before Slade began changing, he gave Harley a look. "Can I have some privacy?" he asked.

"No way, Jose," Harley said. "You don't have to be so bashful with me. I'm sure you've got nothing downstairs that you need to be ashamed of."

Slade rolled his good eye but started taking off his jumpsuit. Harley started singing a "bow chicka wow" melody, which made Slade stop what he was doing.

"It's bad enough you're looking," Slade said. "Can you at least stop singing like that?"

"Fine," Harley said.

Slade continued disrobing. When the jumpsuit had been removed, Harley gave Slade a whistle. "You've got a massive...set of muscles," she said with a laugh.

Slade ignored her and put his mercenary suit back on. "Good, that's done," he said. "Now, how are we getting out of this damn city?"

"The same way I got here," Harley said. "This Cessna." Harley pointed out a plane that was resting downstream from where they were standing.

"You flew that thing all the way from Gotham to here?" Slade asked as the two headed for the plane. "I didn't even know you could fly."

"I didn't fly that thing, silly," Harley said. "That other clown did."

"The clown you just killed and dumped in the ocean?" Slade asked.

"You betcha!" Harley said, smiling for a moment before realization came to her. "Oh, shit…"

"It's fine," Slade said. "I know how to fly. I'll take the two of us back to Gotham."

"A killer body and a pilot? Too bad I'm spoken for."

"Just shut up and get on the plane," Slade said.

Harley obliged, and Slade climbed aboard and started up the engines. The two of them put on headsets so that they could hear each other over the sounds of the plane. Slade almost considered leaving his headset off so he wouldn't have to listen to Harley, but he put it on instead.

"Just so you're aware," he said, "I had been expecting your boyfriend to pick me up instead. He's weird like you, but I don't find his mannerisms quite so cloying. Given this, I expect conversation to be kept to a minimum."

"Sure thing, sweetie pie," Harley said. "I'll keep mum if you want."

"Thank you," Slade said. He realized that Harley would probably become too bored to keep to that promise, but he welcomed whatever silence he would be able to have before that time. Once they arrived in Gotham, he hoped the Joker would be available to receive them so that he could discuss with him the next part of their plan. Until then, he would have to focus on flying and tolerating Harley as best he could.

"Are you sure about this design?" Cyborg asked. He and Robin were sitting at the computer in Cyborg's room designing Robin's new costume. Jason was also in the room, but he remained stoic leaning against the wall.

"Yes," Robin said. "Why do you ask?"

"It's kinda silly," Cyborg said. "It's just...it seems like the black and blue is not totally your color. Blue is my thing. I always thought of you as the red guy."

"This is the design as best as Starfire could recall it," Robin said. He had called the team to discuss what they had found in Batman's files earlier and had used the opportunity to ask Starfire about the design of his costume. Starfire's ability to remember the details had been remarkable, and Robin was sure the design he had finalized was as perfect as possible.

"Can I just suggest one change, then?" Cyborg asked. He replaced the blue in the costume with red.

"Hmm...actually, this isn't bad," Robin said. "I could go with this if you want, even though it's not what Starfire described."

"This color change does one other thing," Cyborg said. "It might prevent us from going down that timeline. Based on what Star told us, you adjusted just fine, but the rest of us didn't. She never even found out what happened to Terra and Jinx. I think this is the better option."

"I agree," Robin said, "but one thing's for certain. I'm not changing the name."

"Gotcha," Cyborg said. "You know, it's gonna be weird getting used to not calling you Robin."

"You can call me Dick, if you want," Robin said. "At least when we're not fighting crime."

"Call me Vic, then," Cyborg said.

"Great," Jason said. "Can you show me my new costume now?"

"Sure thing, man," Cyborg said. "I designed it exactly as you specified."

Jason's costume appeared on screen. It consisted of a brown trench coat with black body armor underneath it. The most striking part of the costume was the bright red mask and the red hood draped over it. "This seems pretty edgy," Cyborg said. "Are you sure you want to go with this?"

"Absolutely," Jason responded. "Just like the identity of Robin doesn't belong to Dick, the identity of Red X doesn't belong to me. We're both redefining the people we want to be, and a new costume and new name is the perfect way to do it."

"So what are you gonna call yourself?" Cyborg asked. "Robin's taking the name of Nightwing, so what are we gonna call you?"

Jason straightened up and flashed Cyborg a grin. "Call me Red Hood."