Little Bird's Vengeance Chapter 38 Interlude
Red Robin spent the first half of the flight explaining the Quinjet's controls, which Red Hood patiently endured, most likely recognizing what was more an attempt to fill the silence than a lecture. Eventually the older of the pair begged the need to prepare his weaponry and retired to the rear of the jet.
Red Robin contemplated the consequences of his actions. He wasn't sure running off with an out-of-control vigilante was the most responsible course of action, but the Mission came first; it always did. When they'd deduced where the next drug shipment was coming, and when, they couldn't afford to wait. Besides, he and Hood had said their pieces. All that was left was to await Fury's decision. So of course they'd turned to work.
What would he do if Fury decided to incarcerate Hood? It was a reasonable reaction. But Hood wouldn't be happy. If Hood accepted it, all would be well and good. If he didn't, Red Robin would have to choose.
"Jason?" he called softly. The slight clickety-click of Hood playing with his guns ceased, but he said nothing. "Can we talk about our options?" Red Robin continued.
There was a flurry of noise as the weapons were reassembled, and Hood returned to the cockpit. "What?" he asked.
"Fury doesn't like you."
"Yeah? Gosh, I hadn't noticed."
"Please don't be sarcastic. I think he'll probably send you to a cell."
"Fuck him."
"I don't want to fight him," Red Robin sighed. "Aside from the fact that he is actually on our side, if we break with SHIELD we lose access to our best chance at getting home. How much would you be willing to compromise?"
"How have they reacted to you?" Hood asked cagily.
"Well, I appeared in Stark's living room, so naturally I woke up in SHIELD's most secure holding cell. They'd taken my gear and rewrapped my ribs, but didn't manage to unmask me. I was there for a week or so. They fed me, questioned me fairly gently; it wasn't too bad." Red Robin saw a pensive frown on Hood's face and continued. "The Helicarrier was attacked, and I was released for my own safety – that cell can be ejected fairly easily – so I retrieved my stuff and then got caught in the fighting. I was thrown off the Helicarrier, made it to shore and rode trains to New York. Met up with the Avengers, caught a cold, got put me under house arrest, Stark broke me out, we got chased by hit men, a SHIELD guy accidently shot me, got taken back to the Helicarrier, a minor interrogation and a job offer later, I was released. Business as usual ever since."
"We're gonna have a long talk about all that later," Hood grunted. "But what's their general attitude?"
"Initially suspicious," Red Robin replied. "They weren't cruel, though; they treated me decently while I was in their care. They're as good at reading body language as we are. I think the reason they were willing to trust me was that I was fairly open, and Fury does approve of what I do. You are different; your temper and violent streak are to your disfavour. I expect they'll want to lock you up until they have enough to trust you not to attack them or go on a killing spree, then release you to Barton, Romanov and Rogers' custody."
"I don't think that'll do me," Hood replied grumpily. "Why don't they just let me do my job, and I'll stick to the rules?"
"Because you keep trying to kill people," Red Robin retorted bitingly. "Maybe if you stopped acting like a homicidal maniac you wouldn't be mistaken for one." He stopped and took a deep breath, calming himself. "My apologies; that was uncalled-for. I think the chances of you being let go to do whatever you want are minimal. If we're lucky, we can get incarceration waived. How do you feel about being released to the Avengers' supervision?"
Hood frowned. "How far would they go if they thought I was out of line?"
"Banner, Thor and or Stark might accidently kill you if you push them far enough, but I think you'd have to be trying to get them sufficiently off-key," Red Robin explained. "Rogers might let you die in battle if you completely turned against them, but I think he'd probably try to spare you for my sake at least. Barton and Romanov would execute you if they got the order – try to, at least. I reckon the two of us could probably hold them off. They'll probably be given standing orders to keep you in line, but I can't predict exactly what that line would be. SHIELD's a lot more laissez-faire about lethal violence."
"So it would depend on who gets given custody," Hood mused.
"It would be Barton, Romanov and Rogers," Red Robin answered. "I was under supervised house arrest, remember? Banner, Thor and Stark weren't supervisors. Stark's too erratic, Thor is from too different a culture for that responsibility and Banner is very much out of control. Rogers supports SHIELD, even if he won't assassinate for them, and Barton and Romanov follow their orders."
"Rhodes?"
"Rogers' attitude; but not in with SHIELD." Red Robin frowned and thought for a moment. "I could request custody myself," he offered.
"You?" Hood said dubiously.
"Up until today, I had a relatively congenial relationship with SHIELD, and as I said, Fury likes me," Red Robin shrugged. "But considering I made it plain that I'd go against SHIELD for you, they may not trust me with you."
"What about your Titans?"
"They've only been here for a few days, so they haven't established a place yet. I honestly don't know what Fury thinks of them. But I intend to ask them to keep you alive, for the family's sake if nothing else."
Hood sighed irritably. "I don't really trust you. Why the hell are you protecting me so much? I've no love for you; fuck it, I've tried to kill you enough times."
"Jason Todd, Red Hood," Red Robin said clearly. "Yeah, that's right. Red Hood fights me; Jason Todd hates me. But forget that. You once were, and in some ways can still be, Jason Wayne, Robin. Of course I'll stand by a Robin; of course I'll defend a Wayne." He stopped, looked away, and bit his lip. "I can't ignore your past."
"Jason Wayne died a long time ago."
"Maybe he just got lost," Red Robin said softly. He checked the view and the controls. "We're coming in to land. Shall we go over the plan once more?"
AN: I won't deny it; this chapter is mostly filler. But I think it gives some insight into why Tim's acting the way he is. I'm late again, but not quite as late as last week. Now I just need to get back to my normal schedule...
I should point out that this is very much not compliant with Captain America: Winter Soldier. I love that film; but it doesn't quite fit. Same as Thor: Dark World and Iron Man 3. Oh, and for those who were unsure, "Goldie" is one of Jason's slightly mocking nicknames for Nightwing.
Also this week, more Family Ties. Next week, Black and Red and some Flashback too.
Please review.
Katara.