Nero laughed at Farrah's joke, the drink he was sipping now all over poor Grant. Said teen wiped the coke off of him with a napkin. He glared at Nero, who sheepishly waved. A few of the other kids snickered, but that was mostly it.
"Man that was a good one though. Where'd you hear that one from Farrah?" Nero asked. Farrah - fourteen, redhead - took a bite of the pasta Nero had made. "Hood told it to me a few weeks back." Nero raised an eyebrow. One of the other kids - Tanner, thirteen - asked Nero's question though. "You know Hood?" Farrah gave a shrug. "Not really? He'd saved me when my foster dad tried to get me back. Took me to a Batburger afterwards." Farrah took another bite of her food.
"We talked for a bit and then he sent me on my way." Farrah, using her fork, pointed at her plate. "Speaking of, this is better than Batburger dude. How do you do it?" Nero smiled. "Trade secret sadly. Though if you really like good food, come over when Kyrie fixes pasta. Nowthatis to die for." Grant gives Nero's chest a small smack. "You mean we're being forced to eat the 'We've got that at home' version?" Grant shook his head.
"I used to think you were cool dude." Most of the kids laugh, and Nero sighs. "Kyrie, they're picking on me." He says in a sad tone to his girlfriend. She giggles softly. "Now kids, Nero's food is perfectly fine and you should all be very thankful that he made it." Nero inwardly smiled as a lot of the kids got misty eyed. They weren't used to being able to eat whenever they wanted. Hell, Nero could be the worst cook in the world and these kids would have asked for seconds at least once at some point in their lives.
He leans over to Kyrie, and rubs a hand up and down her back. She gives him a small pat on the knee, as she kisses him. It's quick, but still more than enough for him. Especially with all the noises going around at the sight. Grant chuckles as he takes the last bite of his food. "Well, if you two are gonna get cozy, I'm getting out." He stands up, and a few more kids - Farrah included - also start to leave the table. Kyrie is fast on the draw though.
"If any of you would like to take a shower before you go, you're more than welcome." Two of them, Farrah and Elliot - Eleven, bruise on his face - stand at the table while the other three kids - Jarrod, twelve, Riley (Jarrod's sister) thirteen, still skittish, Michael, fourteen, still distrustful - leave. Grant moves to follow the kids, and Nero knows he's gonna try to talk them into staying. It's appreciated, but Nero doesn't want to force it.
If they force it, and the kids leave, they may never come back.
"I could use a shower I think." Elliot says quietly. Farrah nods. Kyrie just stands up, her ever permanent smile plastered across her face. "I'll show you two where you can clean up. We should have some spare clothes to fit you if you want to change." The two follow her, and Nero just shakes his head. Not a single kid has managed to dislike or not trust Kyrie after five minutes of knowing her. If he can get a kid in the door and they meet Kyrie, he knows that they're gonna come back, if not stay permanently.
Make no mistake, Nero knows that none of these kids are getting adopted in an orphanage from a place called Crime Alley. There had been two attempts once. Both times were sleezy assholes who definitely didn't have good intentions. On a completely related note, there's a reason that they have a sign that has their number on it. No one comes in the building unless first vetted by Nero. Sometimes Grant, but the kid had never had the chance to actually do so.
Nero takes a look at the other kids around the table, as they finish their food. He sighs. Never would he have ever guessed that this would be his life. But that... That's fine by him. He wouldn't trade it for the world.
...
A loud banging sound has Nero on high alert. Before he's even fully awake, he's already out of bed, grabbing Blue Rose and rushing downstairs. It's once he actually gets halfway there that he finally wakes up, and his scent picks up Jake at the front door. He doesn't stop moving though, and not even twenty seconds after the knocking, does he arrive at the door, swinging it open. Jake rushes forward.
"Nero! Nero please, they got Grant and I didn't know who else-" Pain hits Nero's heart, before he quickly knocks it down. "Wait, wait!" He kneels down and puts a calming hand on Jake's shoulder. "What do you mean Jake? Who has Grant?" Jake takes a deep, shaky breath. "I'm pretty sure it was some of Black Mask's men. They were wearing his stupid fucking masks." Jake says. Nero flicks his nose.
"No swearing in the orphanage." He says, and grips Jake's shoulder a bit tighter. Something else to help anchor the kid. Jake rubs his face with his hands, trying to stop tears from falling. "I think... I think Grant did something bad." Nero doesn't doubt it. Out of all the kids that he's met, Grant definitely is the biggest troublemaker. Not with him or any of the kids, but he's fairly certain that Grant's stolen shit before. Possibly even sells low end drugs. He's always given Nero money every few weeks and tells him to help the kids out.
Nero grits his teeth, hiding his anger. Doesn't matter what Grant's done. Fuck, if he killed someone, Nero would help him hide the damn body. Maybe he'd punch the kid hard if it was someone who didn't deserve it, but still... Still. "Ok, do you have any idea where he's at right now?" Jake shakes his head harshly. "No! I don't know anything about Mask or his hideouts." He says, and takes another shaky breath. "The Red Hood might, but you can't just walk up to his house and knock on the door." Nero chuckles.
"True. Wouldn't be a very good crime lord if you could just knock on his front door and arrest him." Jake gives him the barest of smiles, before his face turns pleading. "Please man, you gotta help Grant. Please." Nero nods assuredly. "Of course man, I'll always help." Even if it was at the dead of night and he runs the risk of running into a Bat. Jake hugs Nero tightly, and the half-devil rubs thehiskid's back reassuringly. "Do you at least know where they grabbed him?" Jake pulls away and nods.
"Yeah... We were near the Bowery, heading back to our hideout for the night when we got jumped. Grant told me to run so I did." Jake chews on his lips. "As I ran away, one of the men said to Grant that 'You'll be lucky if you live to regret what you did kid'." Nero closes his eyes. He doesn't need Jake freaking out if he sees them turn red. "Near the Bowery?" Jake nods again, giving him the exact street that he needs to go to.
When Nero turns around, a few kids are watching the exchange from upstairs. Kyrie quickly takes the reigns. "Come on children. We need to go back to sleep. Nero will get Grant back, I promise." The few kids there all stay quiet, and follow her as she ushers them all into their rooms. Nero meanwhile, heads back upstairs. He dresses properly for a fight (read: massacre) putting his best ass kicking clothes on, including his coat. He's almost tempted to take the Red Queen, but there's nothing these C-list thugs working for a D-list villain can do to even tickle him, much less require more than his fists to take down.
He does bring Blue Rose, though that is more for intimidation purposes than anything else. He's gonna enjoy beating these bastards into a bloody pulp. Once he's done getting dressed and prepared, he walks out of his room. Kyrie is right outside, a look of worry on her face. "Get him back. Quickly if possible." That look doesn't belong on her face. Nero gives her a quick hug and a kiss. "Don't worry, I'll get the kid and drag his sorry behind back here." Kyrie smiles at him.
"I know you will. Be safe." Nero nods as he heads downstairs. Those assholes don't have a single fucking clue who they're dealing with.
...
Jason was pissed. Fucking hell, can things not go right for justonefucking night? Three nights ago, another kid -George, thirteen - was found dead in the Alley. He was fucking rap - the Green threatens to swallow him whole - Jason takes a deep breath, the sound uncanny to anyone close enough to hear it through his helmet's voice modulator.
Then, two nights ago, he hears word of Black Mask trying to make a return to the Alley, and he's not letting that happen no matter who the fuck he's gotta kill - fuck you too, Bruce - and last night, he couldn't handle it anymore, and the Pits busted into his mind. By the time he was calm again, at least four traffickers were dead and the rest were lost in the wind - maybedadBruce was right and Jason really is a mindless killer.
...
Still, Jason has rules. Not many, but he's got them and all but one of those rules is, essentially,DON'T MESS WITH KIDS. Those should be easy rules to follow, but between dealers being greedy and some people being horny freaks, it's apparently really hard for them to follow his rules.
Because again they've been broken. Word on the street is that someone saw a kid get grabbed by one of Mask's men. If that's true, then the kid gloves are coming off. Jason's gonna fucking murder that asshole tonight, he doesn't care if all the bridges he's been rebuilding withhis familythe Bats get burned again.
He does. He does, because inside he's still a scared fifteen year old and Dad please, please save me.
Jason needs a stiff drink after this, he swears. It was so much easier when he let the Pit control him. So much easier to sleep at the end of the night hopped up on rage and anger and bitterness. The former Robin shook his head. No time to get caught up in the past. What's done is fucking done, and all that he can do is make sure that no one else can get hurt again. He loads up on all of his supplies; a few dozen bullets, two mags of armor piercing rounds, two flash bangs and four knives hidden on his person.
He suits up in the new armor thathis dadBruce had made him. Once he took the trackers out, he found that he really liked it. The little red hood on his helmet added a nice sense of terror, he thinks. He feels like death. Which is appropriate, since he's about 99% certain Sionis is dying tonight.
Kidnapping or no, he's let Mask live for far too long now.
"Oracle, it's Hood. You copy?" He waits, and unsurprisingly, he doesn't get a response. Barbie probably knew he was planning on killing tonight. That or Bruce told her to stay away from him.
Or she finally wised up and decided to break all contact with him. He wouldn't blame her. He'd have given up on himself long before now.
He almost considers calling up Tim, but decides against it. No need to chat if they don't want to, after all. Instead, he pulls up his favorite henchmen on his phone. It rings twice before the guy answers.
"Yo boss! What's shaking?" Jason forces himself not to smile. "Hey Bill, I was wondering if you happened to know where I could find Sionis." There's a hiss of breath over the line. "Hey man, I haven't worked for Black Mask in like, two years. I've got no clue where Skeletor spends his evenings anymore." Jason hums. "No, but you do know one of his current buddies, right?" Bill pauses.
"I might know a few guys. What you need, just his current location or...?" Jason clicks his tongue. "Just where he's hiding like the dirty rat that he is." Bill chuckles. "Ah ok. Well, I've got a few buddies who still work for the bastard, I'll give them a call and get back to you. Sound good?"
"Yeah that's fine by me. Talk to ya soon Bill." Jason hangs up the phone. He hates waiting, he really does, but it's not like he has supernatural powers or metahuman senses. He can't just sniff the air and follow Mask's scent like a bloodhound.
...
Nero rushed through the Alley, his nose putting in overtime as he sniffed out where Grant could be. It took some time, but eventually he picked up thehisboy's scent deeper in the Bowery. He took off like a rocket, jumping high across the rooftops. He'd rather meet a Bat that he can outrun rather than put random people in danger because of his speed.
It's once he gets to the Bowery that Grant's scent turns stronger, and the trail gets much easier to follow. He sticks low to the ground now, being out of the Alley and all that. He doesn't want to cross a Bat if he can help it. He still stays fast, but now he's gone from superhuman speed to normal speed, so no one is gonna give him a second glance.
As Nero turns a corner at a sharp speed, he takes a deep sniff. Grant is close now. Really close. Nero slows his movements, so as to not be suspicious to the guards he knows have to be nearby. The half-devil takes a closer look at the buildings around him. Most of this neighborhood seems condemned, with at least three houses that Grant could be in scheduled for demolition in the coming days.
Nero takes a deeper whiff of the air, and the scent gets narrowed down to two houses. He cracks his knuckles. "Eeny meeny miney mo." Nero says under his breath, and picks the closest house. He walks up to it carefully, peaking through a broken window. He sniffs the air, and all he gets is stale oxygen, mold and mildew. Nero shakes his head, as he walks behind the house, and approaches the other one from the side.
It's as he does this, that he smells an odd scent in the air. A type of metal he thinks, along with... Electronics of some kind? He also smells steel and gunpowder. He quickly turns his head, and looks up. On top of the house he was standing by, was a shadow that didn't belong. Nero narrowed his eyes, before the Red Hood came into view.
Huh...Did he have natural cloaking powers, or was something else up with him? Nero got the same feeling as he did about the smog in the sky. A curse? No, was the... The city itself trying to help the Red Hood? Nero smacked his cheeks a few times. He needed to focus. The deal with Red Hood didn't matter. What did matter, was getting Grant back. Nero took a closer look at Red Hood. He was using binoculars and spying into the building Nero was heading into.
Why would Hood be here, out of the Alley? Was he after Black Mask? Was he trying to save Grant too? (Nero had heard that the man had a bunch of rules that all basically boiled down to 'if you fuck with kids then you're fucking with me') Nero doesn't need help to deal with a bunch of two-bit thugs, but if Grant gets hurt because Nero busted into the place without a plan? He'd never forgive himself.
He already has one death he won't forgive himself for, he doesn't need more. He still can remember times when he and Credo actually got along. When they were actuallybrothers.
It takes Nero a few more seconds to decide, before he jumps up, and lands on the roof. He tries to do it quietly, but the Hood can hear better than he thought, because the man whips around, a modified handgun pointing right at Nero's head.
"Alright, who the fuck are you, and what the fuck do you want?"