Chapter 8

Following shutting down Roulette's operations Helena did not see Jason again for about a week afterwards. However all the while she was also looking for the slightest hint of any activity on his part. But no matter where in Gotham she looked she came up with nothing every time.

Probably just biding his time again… Helena noted as she returned to her apartment after another night of fruitless searching for Jason.

-X-

It had become such a stranger to him.

As he held his red helmet in his hands and continued to stare at it, Jason couldn't help but feel a sense of unfamiliarity with the most distinctive part of his costume, as it had been over two months now since he'd last worn it. And a lot had happened in that period of time.

Huntress had been fighting tooth and nail to get him to change, and he'd humored her just this once out of gratitude for her saving his life and because he wasn't so inflexible that he couldn't experiment. But now that that was behind him Jason was pretty content to continue as he had before. Seeing criminals be put into prisons that would never keep them for any acceptable length of time only served to remind Jason of the righteousness of what he was doing.

But despite the fact that Jason remained resigned to his crusade there was one difference. Two actually.

The first was that Jason had taken some time to consider Huntress' words about how unfulfilling revenge was for her, and thinking about it decided that she may have made a valid point. Much as Jason hated both the Joker and Bruce in equal measure, what he was really after he found was not revenge, but satisfaction. And that was something he wouldn't get from just killing the clown or the old man.

No, satisfaction would come in proving that he was right and that Bruce was wrong. As to how he'd accomplish that, he was already working out a few ideas. He would show why his way was the only one that would ever work.

The second thing was that Jason now realized and accepted that he had finally come to truly, genuinely care about someone other than himself. And that someone was the woman who had gone out of her way to change him for the better and to whom he now owed his life. That last part wasn't something he claimed to be happy about, but he had to admit that not only did he care about Helena and her well-being, but that it felt...good, to care about someone else. And feeling good was a rare occurrence in Jason's life, before and after coming back from the dead.

Jason shook his head. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to feel, not like this. He was supposed to focus on the mission, the way Bruce always did only to an even greater degree. There was no room for anything else…

...but at the same time Jason found that he thought about Helena a lot. About where she was, what she was doing, all manner of insignificant things that he nevertheless paid a great deal of attention too whenever his mind wasn't totally fixated on something else. Not to mention that the image of her beautiful face tended to appear in his mind rather often.

Jason let out a sigh. He'd allowed himself to feel again, and what was worse, he found that he liked it.

-X-

Huntress knew the second she saw the bodies that it was Jason's handiwork.

Several men on the ground filled with holes before any of them had even been able to fire a shot. All of them criminals. True, gang violence was a common occurrence in a place like Gotham but Huntress knew Jason too well to not realize it was him. She could feel his rage, his fury, his hunger for a more brutal justice all radiating off of the bodies of the men he'd just killed, as though he'd left behind an intense and powerful aura that Huntress felt she could feel in a way no one else could.

And it felt fresh too.

Huntress took off in the direction that was to the left of where the bodies were, as she did feeling the same aura of rage with every step. She could feel his presence. Even though she had no supernatural or inhuman powers that would allow her to track him Huntress didn't need them. She was connected enough to the man behind that crimson helmet that she could feel him. And that was all she needed.

Sure enough making his way across the rooftops was the man himself, his red helmet standing out to her like a beacon in the darkness of the city. Wasting no time, Huntress sprinted after him and grappled onto one of the buildings. So began a chase across the rooftops of Gotham City, which had been the sight of many such chases in the past, though with decidedly different participants than this night. Nevertheless, Huntress couldn't help but note the similarity.

So this is how Bruce feels when he's chasing Selina.

Finally Huntress began to gain on her target, who at last realized he was being followed and turned to see who it was. Upon seeing that it was Huntress, Red Hood skidded to a halt, which surprised Huntress so much she nearly forgot to stop herself.

The two stared each-other down on the roof of a five-story high building as the moonlight reflected off of Red Hood's distinctive helmet. Giving no ground, Huntress said: "Looks like you've been busy tonight"

"Don't act so surprised your highness" Red Hood replied sarcastically. "I told you I was going back to doing things my way"

"So us working together meant nothing to you?"

"I wouldn't say that" Red Hood replied. "I didn't mind working with you. What I did mind was not finishing the job. You know every one of those people the police nabbed will be free again right? And then they'll just pick up where they left off. And it's not like they're gonna be kept for very long anyway"

"Actually some of those supervillains have rap-sheets of their own. I don't think they'll be walking anytime soon"

"You'd be amazed at the different ways the scum have managed to cheat justice" Red Hood snarled. "Sportsmaster used to tell me about his days with the Suicide Squad. A place where supervillains can trade their prison sentence for a sheriff's badge. Some world we live in huh?"

To that Huntress had no response to give. Mostly because that was something she did agree with Jason on. The Suicide Squad's entire existence was repulsive to Huntress and for that matter every other self-respecting person who knew about it. Amanda Waller and the others heading it up argued that criminals they may be but they also had clear talents that could be put to use in the service of the US Government's agenda. That it also meant keeping them from answering for whatever crimes they may have committed beforehand was of no consequence. Needless to say, there was a reason why it was considered rather confidential information. If the general public knew…

Regardless, Huntress knew, and for once she and Jason were in total agreement on something. But that didn't mean she still approved of his general MO.

"Most criminals don't get put in the Suicide Squad though" Huntress pointed out.

"Doesn't mean a thing if they're free men just a few months later. Who do they think they're kidding? A few months won't change them. They'll just pick up where they left off and keep going until they cross the line. And who's fault is that really?"

Huntress sighed deeply. She'd heard this all before. Especially considering that she herself used to argue some of the very same things to Bruce, who was never moved by it in the slightest. He wouldn't back off from his moral high ground whereas Huntress at the time thought the whole notion of such a high ground was absurd. Amazing how much things had changed.

"You know you're right. At least partly. But if you think I'm doing this for the sake of the scum you and I fight everyday you're nowhere near as smart as you act. No Jason I'm doing what I'm doing for your sake"

"So you've made clear" Red Hood admitted. "But what makes you think I want to be saved?"

"Some people don't know how much they need help until after they've gotten it" Huntress said. "That's what a good man once told me. And I believe him. Whether you see it or not you need my help", then continuing: "Look: I've been tracking the movements of members of Intergang for a while now. I don't fancy taking them all on by myself and I don't like going to Bruce and his family for help".

"So you figured we could have another team-up instead?" Huntress nodded and Red Hood chuckled in response. "I can't promise you I won't do what needs to be done"

"Maybe but that all depends on if we can actually find them or not. As it so happens I know someone who may be able to help us find them…"

-X-

The Calculator was his name. Or at least, that was what everyone he ever did business with knew him as. That was how he liked it. Things could get messy if some of his more violent clients ever learned more about him, as one could never predict what some of the costumed psychopaths would do next.

For his part though, Calculator did his best to guess. In fact, he thrived off of doing such things. Every secret, every juicy bit of information, all the comings and goings of everyone Calculator could possibly get dirt on, all of it was his to own and sell to the highest bidder. It was a profitable life. Much moreso than his initial ill-advised foray into traditional supervillainy had been…

Calculator continued to look over some more recently acquired information as he beamed with pride at just how much he had managed to get his hands on. The audio files of the Falcones alone would fetch a pretty penny to people on both sides of the law. Only question then was who could shell out more money for it. As for the Falcones seeking retribution, Calculator wasn't concerned about that sort of thing. They'd be hard-pressed to track him down, and even if they could, quite a few high-profile supervillains owed Calculator favors. He could call them in to protect him whenever he desired.

Little did he realize that tonight he would never get the chance to call on such protection.

Hearing a loud knock on the door Calculator grabbed his handgun and demanded to know who it was. The answer he got was his door being kicked down. Calculator fired out with his gun but whoever had kicked the door was smart enough to anticipate a retaliatory gunshot and had moved out of the way beforehand. Next thing Calculator knew an arrow zipped through the air and disarmed him of his pistol. Considering that most costumed archers didn't call Gotham City home, Calculator was immediately able to deduce who he was dealing with. Her voice just confirmed it.

"Hello Kuttler. Still pretending you're the bad guy's Oracle?"

"What do you want?" Calculator demanded.

"We're looking for someone" Huntress said matter-of-factly as she strode into the room in full along with Red Hood. "Actually several people"

"Bully for you. And you expect me to help huh?" Calculator formed the slightest of smiles. "And how can you make it worth my while?"

The answer Calculator got was a punch from Red Hood's armored hand that knocked the wind out of him and brought him to his knees.

"We're not here to ask for permission Kuttler" Huntress growled.

"I gathered" Calculator wheezed as he struggled to force himself back up.

"Intergang" Huntress said. "A group of them left Metropolis and came here recently…"

"I know" Calculator replied matter-of-factly. "I know about the comings and goings of everyone that matters in this city. It's what I do. I still don't see any good reason why I should tell you a thing"

"This doesn't have to be difficult Kuttler" Huntress cautioned.

"Screw you. I don't give out information like candy. That's bad for business"

Red Hood turned to Huntress. "I'd punch him again but ladies first"

"Such a gentleman" Huntress replied sarcastically before swiftly kicking Calculator in the jaw and bringing him down yet again. Huntress swiftly planted her heeled boot on Calculator, who held up his hands to keep it away from his neck and head.

"Can't run any kind of business with a broken neck" Red Hood said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright!" Calculator shouted. "I get the picture! Get off me and I'll give you what you want!"

Huntress backed off and Calculator scrambled to his feet, coughing and gasping for air as he did. "I keep files on everyone of import who does anything in this city. Most of them aren't as smart or subtle as they think. It should be a simple matter to find what you're looking for…" Calculator walked over to his work-space and began looking through both computer files and physical ones. Finally he found something in the latter.

"Ah, here it is. Yes, Intergang members came into Gotham a week ago on an unscheduled freighter from Metropolis. I can probably guess why they left. Regardless I tracked them and they're in Cobblepot's section of the city last I checked. Probably there to do business with him. Speaking of which I believe that our business is concluded, so there's the door"

Red Hood drew one of his handguns and aimed it at Calculator, which caused him to jump in a start. "Don't be so quick to show us out. You're still a criminal Kuttler"

Calculator raised an eyebrow and frowned. "And? Are you going to kill me for that? That's not how you 'heroes' do things"

Red Hood smiled underneath his helmet. "Whoever said I was a hero? And hero or no, I've got nothing against putting one in your leg…or your lap"

But before Red Hood could fire Huntress grabbed his gun-arm and pulled it away. "You don't need to shoot him Red. We've got what we need and he's not any kind of threat. Besides, we could make use of him later on"

Red Hood angrily shaked Huntress' arm off but nevertheless seemed to consider what she was telling him. Finally he nodded and turned back to Calculator. "Well aren't you lucky? I've got an angel on my shoulder tonight. Don't let me see you again"

As Red Hood and Huntress turned to leave, Calculator called back to them: "Lots of luck to you two. If you're together, you're gonna need it"

Huntress stopped as Calculator said this and then spun around and kicked him so hard she broke his glasses and knocked him flat on his back. As she followed Red Hood out he muttered: "Hypocrite"

"I didn't shoot him"

"Touche"