"There ain't no grave can hold my body down

When I hear that trumpet sound I'm gonna rise right out of the ground

Ain't no grave can hold my body down." Ain't No Grave by Johnny Cash

When being given back life that was stolen from him there was this unexplainable anger inside him. At first it didn't cause any trouble, actually aiding him against people who were stupid enough to pick a fight with him. Then slowly over the few months he spent wandering near the spot where he first woke up the odd anger started to take over him. Suddenly his fuse was shorter and those who were lucky enough to be close by and doing something unlawful got beaten up by him.

The last straw was when he finally got back to Gotham. The anger took over him completely and roiled inside his body at the injustices that he saw when wondering the city and that even the vigilantes he once knew weren't doing enough to help the citizens. But this anger inside him clawed at him when he saw how much had changed at home when he tried to go back. The new sidekick that Bruce was able to replace him with in what felt like minutes to him made it claw at him desperately, wanting to be let out in any way.

This anger filled every crevice of his body and wanted take up more than his body. Wanted to take more than Jason could ever give it.

Quietly over the next few months as he gathered up everything and planned out what he wanted to happen, this unfamiliar anger grew. It stayed with him, pushing him forward and keeping him motivated in a way that Jason never experienced before. It wasn't long until he thought of the anger as his own, that it had always been there even before his death.

After all how could something so overpowering not be something he always had?

The first part of his plan ended with the bag of severed heads of the lieutenants being thrown down at the table of the several crime bosses of Gotham that they all sat around. Seeing the look of horror, disgust and revelation from each of them made something in Jason finally feel he had control over something for once in his life.

There was no Bruce giving him lectures on the strict code that the man created himself, none of his teammates trying to compare him to Dick for the umteenth time or the rich side of Gotham giving him the side eye when they though he wasn't looking. It was just Jason doing his part in making the city much safer. Better than what he did as Robin.

"Make no mistake. I'm not asking you to kick in with me. I'm telling you." With that he shot down at them and made his way out of the building without giving them time to try and track him.

The months after that were spent making sure that they were following his orders. A few of them were ballsy enough to try and defy him. They needed a threat or two more before giving into his demands. When Jason was certain that none would step out of line then he set his sights on Black Mask. That man was the only other one in the city that he needed to take down in order to take control of the whole area of Gotham.

While he was messing with the Black Mask, trying to get him to break was when he saw a familiar face during one of the moments he had to rest. On the tv in front of him was the pink flashes of something exploding to take down the villain that the X-Men were fighting this week. Pausing on a single frame, Jason saw someone he wasn't expecting to see anytime soon.

As he continued to stare at the screen wondering what Remy was doing there. While he had aged a bit during the 5 years that Jason spent dead, there was still this charm to Remy that made him look younger than he actually was. Plus he still kept that damn trench coat from falling apart during those years to make him easier to recognize.

It didn't surprise him that much that the Cajun was still hanging around and was doing what looked like heroic work instead of thieving those around him. Remy had this set of moral codes in him that even from a young age that Jason could tell would guide him one way or another to be a vigilante. What he just didn't expect the older man to be part of the X-Men team to become a vigilante.

Jason had heard a lot about the team of mutants from Bruce. Even if Bruce did disapprove of their flashiness with ranging powers and costumes like he did with most of the other heroes of the Justice League he interacted with when it came to saving civilians. (Most of that rant was said with a disapproving frown and slight agitated tone.) The only thing that kept them from being visited by Batman himself was the fact they were a team trying to keep mutants out of harm's way from attacks made by humans and others who didn't have the best interest for the race.

Still when he was Robin, he was strictly told he couldn't get too close to any of the X-Men. Which also meant no hero admiration like Jason had towards Wonder Woman. (Still Alfred would sneak him articles about a few of the members, especially when it was about Storm.)

But the fact that Remy was part of the X-Men made Jason stay away from him. There was something inside him that didn't want to drag the man into something that he had no part in. That Jason couldn't dare face the man who probably mourned him and moved on the best as he could from Jason's death.

As the plan progressed to the point where he revealed himself to Batman as the Red Hood that he finally met up with Remy again.

Jason hadn't expected the man to show up in one of his safe houses with nothing in hand, but a cigarette pack. He made sure that any of the houses he did enter that he wasn't being followed. But with Remy being a former thief and a good one at that, Jason should have known better than to expect the man to be like others in following him. The man did find out he was Robin after all.

The red irises of his eyes looked up at him with happiness that made Jason want to tightly hug the man and never let go. "Bonjour petit oiseau. Want to have a smoke before you leave again? Don't really want to piss off Wolvie by not being back in the next few days."

"Shouldn't really call me that anymore since I'm not Robin anymore and leave this place."

"Ah, but you'll always be mon petit oiseau no matter how old or big you get. It's like Papa always calling me his bébé garçon despite me being close to 24." Remy said teasingly. He came closer to Jason with a smirk on his face and holding the pack up to him. "Besides I'm here on a social call rather than anything else. Gotta talk to you a little bit"

"What? Did Bruce call you away from your team to try and get me to back down from my plan?" Jason said bitterly, turning away from Remy. "Or is guilt for not trying to get me to stay home and away from my birth mother back when I was 15? Which is it?"

He didn't see the sad look in Remy's eyes nor the way the older man's body sagged a bit. What he did hear was the tired sigh and the careful footsteps come closer to him. "Jason. I wasn't called by Bruce to push you one or another from this plan that you're executing. I just wanted to see for myself that the younger boy who I wasn't able to say goodbye too. To see that it was actually the friend I had lost and not rumours trying to break my heart once more."

When he felt the gentle touch of Remy's hand on his shoulder, Jason could the way his body tensed up. "You can leave now since you see I'm alive now. No use in drawing this meeting out more than it needs too."

"Jason, there's no need for these words. Old Remy just wants to make sure you're doing okay. A friend can do that, right?"

"Why do you still want this friendship Remy? Don't you have other people now with the X-Men to be your friend? Isn't there anybody in the Guild that could offer up something for you? Why me?" As the questions kept pouring out, he could feel the way his body started to tremble. Like everything inside him wanted to come apart despite the absolute need to finish his plan. As if that was the only thing that was currently keep his body and mind from falling apart completely.

"Jason, I don't need any reason to want your friendship other than the fact I like you and your company." He heard Remy say calmly. The trembles still racked through his body until he felt arms wrapping around him and the press of a solid body.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that with Remy holding on to him like a life line and Jason just accepting it without returning it. Then quietly Remy let go and took a step back from Jason.

He didn't know why the anger that he's had in him all this time didn't surface like it usually would. People touching, much less hugging him like Remy did made everything inside him want to fight everything. To tear everything apart that he could get his hands on.

Then suddenly in his line of sight was the pack of cigarettes being held up to him. The pack was the same brand as the ones he use to smoke when he was on streets and continued to smoke much to Bruce's displeasure. (The man could never figure out how he kept getting them despite keeping a close eye of Jason whenever he went out.) He could even bet that Remy bought them from the same place that he used to get them from when they were younger.

Only this time Jason didn't want them anywhere near him. Too many memories right before his death were associated with them. Plus he quit the habit since he entered back into the world.

"Think I'll pass on those Remy. Too much has happened since the last time we saw each other." He said softly, turning his body back towards the older man. Even with the few tremors going through his body, Jason watched as Remy shrugged and then took one for himself.

"Well I'm glad you finally quit these. A growing boy like yourself needs to think about his future." Remy said playfully and softly bumped Jason with his shoulder. Smoke drifted out of his mouth and he continued to speak. "Besides I think Jean might kill me for even smoking one of these."

"Then you better get rid the smell before going back home. Which means you need to leave."

"Aw, mon petit oiseau! Just when I thought we were bonding again! Why must you kick an old man out like this?"

For the first time in a long time, Jason felt himself laughing. With this new development he gently pushed Remy towards the fire escape. The man continued to complain, throwing in a few playful nicknames like it would get him to stay in the safe house. When finally out the window and making his way down, Jason saw that the latch on his window was loose.

Wiggling it back in forth all he could do was sigh tirely. Yet there was still a smile on his face at seeing this. "Remy LeBeau you know how to make people remember you, even if it was on accident."

This chapter was a bit harder to write than the other ones. I think it had to do with the fact that I've never really written for Jason when he first become Red Hood and don't quite know what I should do with him without making it feel out of character. But I'm glad that I was able to have him and Remy interact again.

Also gonna go abit further with the Under the Red Hood series before moving onto a different part of Jason's timeline (I totally want to Remy to meet Roy and Kori. He would give them embarrassing stories about Jason to use against him lol.)

Also I totally think that Jason would totally love Storm in his younger years if they were in the same universe.