Teen Titans; ReBeL Yell – If I Had Stayed a Renegade

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Tumbled In Sore – Wake Me When It's Over

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Dick meets Red Hood in Blud as Renegade – years after Titans are left and probes become a solid reminder of his surviving betrayal. Dick tells Jason to stand down, yet you can't keep a good outlaw down now can you?

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There was smog covering this city too, he'd noticed upon his first night here in Jersey.

Right beside it, Blud.

The traffic was noisy.

Parkour was all the rage in some small tightly – knit communities. What was it but jumping like a dancer and leaping as if everyone had super powers?

The city smelled of the cheapest deals and the greatest problems, that was a cue to stick around. Cities like this one, attracted a great many criminal minds.

Red Hood took to one last gulp of air upon a church spire before swinging off to a second ledge up in front of him. He'd heard of it before; corruption at the core of life. It was here, he could taste it through the most of that filthy cloud obscuring his night vision of this city.

Something had roosted just before. That odd odor of a specific gunpowder, a clear shot.

No amateur could pull that off, snorted the hoodlum as he took to even higher sights. The air was a breeze to fly across, almost –

A gunshot went off, right on cue as Todd landed right by a building; with its glass both bullet and shatter – shock proof. And, who was climbing up?

And who was there, setting off shots in the dead of night?

This sure as hell wasn't Todd's city. It wasn't even the Bat's territory. In fact, no real patron saint owned Blud but the scum that ran underground smuggling rings and supported the carrying of illegal fire arms.

That was kid stuff compared to what files Red had looked at before leaving his roost up high and dry in Gotham. The Outlaws were fine, for a while until he got the deets on Sionas's new playground.

Here, the surprises just kept on coming.

/

Todd scaled the landing off to where the pair; a darkly clad soldier in black and with red racer stripes up his sides, and a masked marvel in full body armor head to foot.

Looks like Halloween had come early. Too cliché as he stayed a distance and listened into their requency to see what the couple was saying.

"Did you snag the blueprints to the device, Renegade."

Renegade…. Red Hood was sure he'd heard that name bounced around before. Kori had tears in her eyes and Cy…

Wait.

He listened in a bit longer, just to tell…

"Yes, sir." The darkly clad younger retrieved a stash of folders from his pack he'd taken to be sure they looked unimportant. "As you said; they'd be heavily guarded."

"Excellent."

The man was slippery, who was he?

Jason leaned a bit, not noticing his finger on the button as a screwball move could happen and did.

His ear piece went wild and screeched in his ear.

His helmet ear was racketing up a migraine before he looked up, to see them… gone.

The swish of air had him on his back, a katana to his torso as it old him to stay put where he was.

"Caught ourselves a little spy." Slade looked on as Dick held the sword steadily over the hooded male's chest.

"Tell me, are you not from around here?" The man had his hands behind his back, posing the villain with such a silkily spoken question to reach the outlaw's still ringing ears. Had to fix that stupid glitch in his tech…he wasn't Babs or Bruce. Wasn't Tim either, the little genius in Christmas colors back home.

That question was annoying, sure. It was also as intimidating as the man's mask.

A memory popped up, the League of Assassins….and a man with a white eye patch as the sword moved to dip just above Jay's throat.

"I'm not." Jay cleared his throat, seeing the elder's eyebrow dip up in amusement.

"What should we do with him, sir." The racer - stripe suit wearing masked pupil it looked, was not a fan of others being as annoying as his face was about to be by now.

Todd didn't push it, as he tried to think of multiple ways to keep that blade from cutting him down the middle.

Only one came to mind as he strapped on the charm and stayed perfectly still.

"Bet you think I'm afraid, right? Wouldn't dare step on your toes if you made me piss myself silly?"

"Are you done?" Renegade sniffed, the blade moving just to make Jay flinch if it could.

"Yah, no. I came here looking for a guy called…. Black Mask. He left my stomping ground early and we never got to say goodbye." Sighed the anti – hero.

"Shame too, my gal and I were hoping he'd swing in to tell us about his… villainous exploits. Being an anti- hero has its ups and downs, don't you know it."

Jay chuckled.

" Deathstroke ."

/

The concealed face of Deathstroke the Terminator's hired help was something to marvel. Jay's smile turned into an upward grin as he let his poker face speak for itself.

"Didn't think you had the mind power to pull off revealing any identities, Red Hood." Slade's eye dipped in vague praise at the other bird's well directed assault on the man's privacy.

"Who doesn't know Waller's wingman – or, or….? The JLA had a chunky file on a big guy like you…" Lilted the anti-hero, Renegade's lip twitching by how they were going to be tired out by their very "dead" prey by the end of the night.

"Yeah, said you got your cozy digs up in California. Moved around and even picked up a stray or two…When did I miss that headline!"

"Last few years it's been since that time line came and went." Slade told the anti hero. "How is the old bat doing?"

"Dunno, dude." Jay shrugged, the racer stripe kid's arms looking achy.

"Hold your position, Renegade." The man told his pupil, informing him that there was some worth in buttering up no better a villain that this sociopathic wonder.

The nineteen-year-old bobbed his head, swords held as Slade moved to kneel before Todd. This was…

A bit awkward, and it led to a lot. Jason knew Deathstroke liked to toy with his prey whenever it fascinated him. Was –

"You came to this city to find a Bat villain." He responded coldly. "You can't have gotten lost in translation to him; tell the truth. Can he hear any of this –

"I'm not on call for the Dark Knight, sir." Sniffed the hood. "I run my own faction; one with a lot more to offer this city and his. We take turns breaking stuff."

Slade's eye behind that mask narrowed as if it were a slight jab, while Todd had one shot to duck and roll.

He twisted his neck to avoid a hit from the blade, near hearing it crack as he threw himself to the ground and rolled back, coming to a crouch before standing to dust his shoulders off. Stretching the kink in his neck as Slade's finger pointed.

And Renegade shot forth to finish their work, while Jason bolted to the next roof in a frenzy.

As fast as he was, grapple or no grapple, the kid was a menace. Too good, as in –

"YAA!"

He came down with those katana catching a bit of light off of a nearby motion sensing light, Todd ramming the door as he fell down and took the stairs, the boy a damn chimp as he leaped in and around to cut Todd off. He pulled out his knives and countered a blow, the stairwell ending as the door below was shaken loose with a little TNT.

Red Hood style anarchy, he was still being –

Todd gawked under the mask.

"Hos…. pital? Aw man! –

" HYA!"

The kid was onto him as he threw a flash bomb to stick to the wall, Todd running and dragging his as to the next hall. The place still active with beeping heart monitors and a few night crew members spilling their coffee on a twenty –four station.

"Gang way!! Move !" Todd warned the others as the shwing* of a set of katana had his metal ears perk up.

He nearly hit a hospital bed but somehow there were no causalities.

"Oh, shit…kid! I just –

"You insulted my Master, Red Hood." The kid ended up swapping to rangs with "S" logos on them. The rest –

A lot to clean up as dazedly, Red groaned, feeling a boot near his knuckle.

His hand felt a crunch as the crabby brat stepped on it, pretending it was a threat, knowing his mission was to eliminate any onlookers or spies for that matter.

Jason seethed through the steel toed misery with a grimace. "I swear! I'm not –

" GAAH !" The staff hid behind desks nearby and were powerless to stop the kid, let along fight him off or call the authorities.

He was kicked in the ribs then lifted with this Renegade holding his fist up to –

A sound of static had the monster's eyes change as he let his arm down.

~ You've gone too far, Renegade. ~

Dick protested, gasping a bit as if he'd been caught eating sweets after a light out...

"Sir, but I –

~ NO. Report back immediately. That's an order, Apprentice. ~

"Yes…. sir. Right away…"

Jay squinted up at his foe.

Was that sorrow in his voice?

Renegade snorted, he snarled and tossed Todd into a slumped set of sheets by the cabinet of the hall.

His face was bent, twisted in malice and a contempt that had gone to too far, until he had looked up to see the damage his actions had caused.

That then, Jay recognized that mask.

"I…I have to go." Renegade swallowed. "Don't come around us, or you'll be sorry you did and I'll finish what we started." His voice grew hard again as the room was soon abandoned of his footfalls. He skulked out past the night crew and any officers remaining brave enough to blow the whistle in time. The thought, of so many scared faces…of him…. he'd never taken that stupid serum for this exact reason.

If Dick died in the fire, he had to burn by it for what he'd be told was right, even when…he was just like Slade had wanted.

A criminal. A fool for trying to think he'd ever be anything more than a measly apprentice.

And Jay had seen it, so it was a good thing he'd left when he had.

Right?

Was it, just the right thing to do?...

/

Todd looked at the mess that had been because of his tussle and apologized greatly to the staff as he took the liberty of trying to clean up, before they'd kicked him out for being a klutz with the towels. Sadly, he'd still had a long way to go since Al didn't finish teaching him the proper folding method.

Grumbling with his hands in his pockets, his unit went off once out in the vestibule and an angry looking Roy Harper showed; with crossed arms and a discontented look on his masked face, he had to be looking for a smug comment back.

~ What are you doing?? We got a signal that you were in Blud. The satellite system picked up your being in –

"I can't talk about it right this sec, Roy – boy." Winced the other outlaw, Roy cocking a brow at the dumb nick name. "Tell Star and the others I'll be safe an' sound by next flight in a couple of days." Jason said as he rubbed his wrist.

Roy looked ready to protest, had Jason not cut him off to seethe at the aching hand in the other.

" Oww ……man!" Jay howled, bending it back… God, did it fracture?? "He crushed me good…. augh…. How is this gonna heal in time to catch Sionas…." He whined and walked to –

The tap on his shoulder was of a nurse as Jay's acting was spot on. No way he was leaving to nurse his wounds without supplies. Bingo!

"You, took a pretty nasty hit. Even some criminals are supposed to be treated here in the ER. Do you have any insurance?"

He nodded. "As long as they don't give me reason to stay overnight." He shrugged a bit, it felt nippy all of a sudden at the moment.

"Got a thing about being at hospitals at night…." He lied before being led in to be treated for his mostly minor injuries.

And, it wasn't a total lie thanks to the Joker's torture methods. Doctors were the least of his concern if this thing swelled up red and puffy as a water balloon.

/

Back in his safe house, Jay kicked up his feet and just pretended to snooze. It would be a risky pain in his ass if he missed the "kick Sionas to the curb" train, and a sad day…

A day, that he'd seen that one lone boy wonder in the spotlight, not before.

"Renegade…." He whispered, before his unit buzzed away on the side table of his sofa.

He squinted at the screen, lifting it to eye level as he kept on his domino mask to be safe.

"No number…unknown caller…"

The thing went on, hijacked as he almost fumbled with the device.

"Deathstroke!" He shouted into the soulless box, and at an even more soulless individual.

~ You had my hands tied last night, I had to reel in my attack dog with that chase he gave…. did you have anything else to say to my apprentice by the way? ~

"No, just might know his identity from a hole in the wall. You can't tell how pissed I am, can ya?" Spat the antihero as he sat back down with the device in his grip.

~ Pity. You do know each other, and even if you don't, he does. ~ The smirking gorilla REAALLY had to rub it all in, huh?

"If I did, I won't tell a soul." Jay had his fingers crossed on that and Slade could sniff his deceit a mile off. "He can figure it out, so lemme talk to your soldier myself –

~No can do, Hood. ~ Slade shook his head slowly. ~You wore out my weapon, and that, comes at a price. If I EVER catch you trying to divert my attention away from something that underhanded as an intervention for him, even unintentionally…you'll lose more than a couple of days hauled up on that sofa. ~

"How did – Where is Dick??" Jason couldn't take this. He knew Slade was trying to make him lose his cool. His brother was still the victim, he'd even had that look. Regret in those masked eyes had proved it.

Dick wanted out of Slade's deal. Even if he couldn't lift a finger at the moment, Red Hood wouldn't submit. Not like Dick had, he knew how to sacrifice a life. He had BEEN an undead sacrifice to a cult before!

"And for your info, Dick isn't some tool, Dipshit." The kid pronounced his disgust in the most familiar way possible.

Foul language, which had Slade blink that slate grey eye right back.

The audacity! Most people did more than spit back, they fired a few insults. Got teste, so….

Was Death one of those people?

~I can see you still won't take my request seriously –

" Threat, you mean." Sneered the antihero.

~And it remains thusly…He's here and we have a deal. You know it, the Bat can't intervene or the Titans could lose everything. Even their lives. I know under that cocky attitude that you do have a brain, Red Hood. Use it once and a while. ~

He was protecting Dick his….

Todd threw the unit on the ground, his head in his hands as he realized it was true.

"Dick…. how do I get you to get yourself outta this..."

/

About the last night in Blud, Sionas had gotten his time.

Todd had stopped to smell the gnarly roses, while sighing atop a spire once more…

Was a little black bird with blood red stripes running down his sides. Marked for a good, long time.

Jason was just lounging with a smoke in hand while his entrapped sibling was busy contemplating the theory of all existence. Slade was right, Todd never used his head enough. He chucked the smoke, seeing it as a problem if Slade wasn't a fool. So, make this quick. Have supper on the table by six. Done deal.

He shifted and flung over by grapple, the assassin not budging. Just staring out into the smog and hopelessness of this unfamiliar territory. He wanted to know if Dick wasn't brainwashed, maybe….

Unless it counted, Jason had a pretty strong memory at least for family and his crew. He knew Kori loved mustard and long talks. Dick had once cared for her, but…

That wasn't it. There was more to this story as Jason was too bold and too foolish, watching the ex-hero as one would refrain from wanting to pet a fluffy feline neighbor.

"Hey." He waved, yet Dick just kept looking out at the foggy sky line.

"You got off your leash, is he cool with yo –

"That's none of your business." Dick squinted at the ideal mockery. Of course, Jason was the biggest waste in the Bat clan's midst. That was why he was right up there. Renegade. A liar who couldn't even give a hug to his stupid younger brother…It was too late for that.

"Coulda' fooled me. He'd tan your ass and mine for getting this far…How many more flights outta here are left? Ten? Maybe… More? You could –

"I don't have any intention of fleeing."

"Robot." Snorted the younger with his hands behind his head, casually acting at bringing out the worst in his allies and enemies.

"Zombie." Dick sniffed back, killing the mood, yet still knowing their history. Just repressed, at least it wasn't some military sleeper agent junk. Only a few flipping freaks had that covered in Gotham.

"When do you leave for Gotham." Dick let his hands drop a bit more, the wind catching his now revealed black braid. Slade allowed that? How long did it take him to get from that to this?

Gawking, Jay felt a bit ignored by the question. Ah, so "no," sorry, Jace! How is your wrist doing?" Jason mimicked in a voice that was as juvenile as they came.

Dick did flinch, though then gripped his fists to his sides as soon as Jason had dropped his.

"You can go with." Murmured the antihero. "I have my own team; you could stay until you find…." Jay offered somewhat reluctantly, dismissing the rest as Dick looked ready to sock him one twice over. "Kori joined up in the last two years…The Titans aren't like you remember, Goldie."

Dick, for what Jay heard, it could have been a snort or a chuckle… but no.

It was something between a laugh and a sob.

Shoot…. bulls' eye….

"Sorry! Man, yo…you know I didn –

"You can go back, but tell them…that I won't stop. I'm not going anywhere." Dick felt at his ear gingerly. No doubt he was three strikes towards a bitter punishment by his…bird catcher.

"Go, I'll create a good story for him. For today, but don't expect me to let you mooch off of anyone in my territory."

"Wait, wait." Jason stuttered. "You're here? What about Slade's wonderful man – hunt safari around the globe? Or his "how to take over the world" tour??" He wondered, as the former elder boy wonder smirked into his collar, looking somewhat away from the Hood's masked and helmeted face.

"He promised me a seat here; if we want to take over the area, I am a prime option on how to gain Blud's favor."

Jason stood back. "He was going to have you stay here, as a –

"Posing as whatever he wants me to be, and if it's for them, Jay…I'd do it." Dick admitted with his ears itching badly. "That's my cue. Be quick. Slade bots might end up crashing the vibe." Renegade moved into the shadows and vanished, just like his master.

A false hero. Slade was going to rewrite Blud's politics and Dick had…

Squealed, for him!

God, he felt stupid. Jason shook his helmeted head and shot his grapple to a place at near ground level. His ride would be there, and so would his regrets continue to fester.

He'd left it all behind; family, his last face as a hero, yet moments to tear at someone from the inside so that a hero could finish the job?

"I hope he takes the crown seriously." Jason took one last look at Blud before he'd booked it over the water, right to a jet made of the tech he had through Wayne.

"Did you miss me, baby?" He cooed lovingly to the mini jet as his hatch opened, knowing it was ok to start over. And to start over, he'd have to treat Renegade as the menace he'd become. If he didn't ever find a way to stop Slade, he'd be just that. The Apprentice to the sworn enemy of the JLA and Interpol's most wanted.

"Good luck, Dickie Bird." Jason sighed and set the mini jet on autopilot. "See ya in a few hundred more days…."

Kicking his feet up, bomber jacket over his face, the antihero set off to the city with the most demons bound to claim him once more.

And, an orange - haired angel waiting to tell him that it was all going to be ok.

/

How was it? I thought a hospital made sense and that is actually a facility across from the firm Deathstroke fired his gun and Dick took the blueprints from a one, Desmond. Could be something, dunno so let me know with a comment if this is still T.