Author's Note: I debated for some time whether to post this as-is, or to expand on it some more in the morning when I have time for lengthy dialogue and advancement of plot. Then I remembered that I hadn't updated in a while, the chapter was over 1k words already, it was in a nice stopping point, and I really don't want to advance the plot too quickly. So I broke down and posted. Thanks for all the reviews, guys! It's really appreciated, and in the end it's really what keeps me going. That and the prospect of a sequel... To methegirl, I thought that'd make you happy. :) And yes, it is roughly movieverse, though (as you'll be able to tell with this chapter) I'm taking a lot of inspiration from comic sources as well. To Eavis, yes that part amused me. And it just kinda... came, ya know? Proof that my characters are the ones doing the talking I guess. Anyway, I also want to thank all of my "shadow readers", as Eavis so brilliantly put it in chapter 11 of No More Random Goils... Yeah, I see the hits. Just cuz you don't review doesn't mean I don't know you're still there. Your presence here is still appreciated. Please enjoy!

Chapter 5: Red Hood

Da first night Kid Blink went missin', neither of us t'ought much of it. It was a couple'a weeks afta da whole t'ing went down at R&D. Da t'ree'a us was gettin' usedta bein' dere, and we'd each kinda started doin' our own t'ing. Ya know, driftin' apart a bit. So dat night, when Blink didn't get back in til real late, we didn't do much thinkin' 'bout it. Guess we shoulda known he'd do somethin' behind our backs, ya know, kinda one-up us. Least, I shoulda known.

It weren't really til da fourth or fifth night we really noticed somthin' was goin' on. And it weren't in a row, neither. But dey was gettin' more frequent, and dat night we was readin' in da papes 'bout some new vigilante kid callin' himself da Red Hood. For some reason, Blink was real smug about it. Dat's when we first knew somethin' was up wit' him.

I knew we shoulda said somethin' 'bout it ta Cowboy, but Spot wouldn't let me. Said dat Cowboy would figure it out soon enough, an' dat he wanted ta see how t'ings panned out anyways. Me, I was too busy tryin' ta figure out which was worse: Goin' behind Spot Conlon's back, or goin' behind Bruce Wayne's. Cuz we was findin' out real quick dat, even wit'out da whole Batman t'ing, he was a pretty powerful guy in Gotham. Ya don't cross Bruce Wayne. Ya just don't.

But Blink's more'a da impulsive type. He don't always think 'bout t'ings like dat. He just does. An' we all knew it was gonna get him in trouble someday. We just didn't know it was gonna be so soon…

BANG!

The shot went off loud and clear, shattering the nightmarish quiet before anyone had a chance to move or react. A single ceramic mug clattered to the floor, spilling its contents and shattering, as the body tumbled backwards and smacked into the coffee table. Then the screaming started. There was blood everywhere. And that guttural, nerve-grinding cackle.

Barbara Gordon hadn't been working with Bruce for very long. Truth be told, she was technically still in training. But that didn't matter much now, because that gunshot had just marked the end. She was done. At this point, she'd be lucky if she lived through the next twenty-four hours, let alone ever fought alongside the Caped Crusader again. And the funny thing was, the Joker was trying to get at Gordon. The clown hadn't even had a clue about who she was.

Neither had Kid Blink. Bruce had been very careful about keeping Barbara far away from the boys. In fact he hadn't even told them about her. The last thing they needed was any kind of encouragement. But Blink knew who the Joker was, and he knew that the Joker had just shot somebody, and that this somebody had been a member of Commissioner Jim Gordon's family. And at the moment, that's all the information he needed.

Perched precariously on the rooftop across the street from the Gordon residence, Blink fiddled with the "borrowed" equipment on his belt and watched as the grisly figure vanished into the night, maniacal laughter filling the dark streets. An excited grin split beneath his make-shift red mask as he stood and began to follow. For the past couple of weeks, he'd been busting small-time crooks and petty criminals. But this time, it looked like he was getting a chance to catch some bigger game. He knew well what the smart thing to do was. As soon as he heard the gunshot, he should have gone straight to Bruce about it.

But Blink didn't always do the smart thing. Besides, he wanted to prove that he could do this stuff just as well as anybody. And he had this theory about the real reason Bruce had brought them out here in the first place…

As he ran along the rooftops, following the Joker down a dark alleyway, his mind was decidedly fixed on how proud Cowboy would be when he turned in the Crime Clown himself. Not to mention how jealous Spot and Race would be. Otherwise his foot might not have slipped. And possibly he might not have hit the fire escape with a loud clang on the way down. And it's conceivable that he'd have had more of a chance actually facing the Joker with the element-of-surprise plan that he'd been cooking up.

Unfortunately that's precisely what happened. He landed – relatively unhurt – on the ground behind the fleeing crook, giving out a loud grunt as he did so. The Joker stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the sound, turning slowly around to face the would-be adversary. He let out a grating chuckle when he saw who it was. "Hey, I know you," he quipped, his voice almost silky smooth. "You're that little brat who's been running around town trying to play bat. What is it the press has been calling you? Red Head?" And he burst out laughing.

Blink's fists shook with anger and embarrassment as he pushed himself to his feet. When he responded, he tried to sound confident, though in reality, with his plan no longer viable, he was feeling more than a little apprehensive. But he'd come this far already, so… "Look here, clown face. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Nodding in mock seriousness, the Joker paced casually around. "Oh, tough guy, eh? And just how did you plan on apprehending me?"

Blink resisted the urge to growl in frustration. The Joker was on his left now, and outside his limited range of vision. He could turn his head all the way in order to keep the clown in his line of sight, but he was pretty sure that'd give away his weakness. And he was not about to let the Joker get that advantage. He'd ditched the eye patch in exchange for the mask, hoping to keep his identity safe that way. But truth be told – and yes, some people had wondered – he was completely blind in his left eye.

The fact that the Red Hood's eyes were no longer trained on him must have tipped off the Joker anyway, though, because he stood right where he was and laughed again, mockingly this time. "Admit it, kid," he said when he'd finally caught his breath. "I'm way out of your league."

That's when his temper snapped. In a desperate rage, he grabbed the first thing on his belt that he could reach and threw it in the general direction of the Joker's voice. Unfortunately this was probably the worst decision he'd made all night, for several reasons. The first of which was that the first thing he happened to grab off of his impromptu equipment belt was a flash grenade. The second would be that the Joker was ready for such action. The third was that he had misjudged the distance between himself and the Joker to begin with.

They were much too close.

Blink never saw what actually happened. If he had, there wouldn't have been much he could do about it anyway. In his mind, the flash grenade simply detonated too early. But whether it really had detonated early, or the Joker caught it and tossed it back at his face, didn't really matter in the end. The result would have been the same. There was a piercingly bright flash of light, and a harsh ringing in his ears, and the next thing he knew he was plunged into darkness. For several agonizing moments, he couldn't tell if he'd actually blacked out or not.

And then the sharp, burning pain started in his right eye.

Author's Note: In case anyone reading this was not aware, Red Hood was Jason Todd's alter ego after his resurrection, since Tim Drake had taken over the role of Robin by then. It was also (ironically) the Joker's original alternate identity, the very one he was posing as when he fell into the vat of chemicals that made him what he is today. Just a little nod to comics history for ya. Hope you enjoyed it, and hope to hear what you think! I know it was short, and I know it cut off early, but now that I have decided to, in fact, continue on with this point in the plot, the next chapter will be much shorter in coming. I promise. Please review!