Red Hood And Company- My Life as an Outlaw

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Chapter 11: Hustle Culture

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"You four, yes. You." Roy came out of his room about three days later. Jason was mooching with a map or ten on the coffee table – with a pot if pitch black brew, and beer. He did sleep for three days, planning everything while Artie stood watch. Roy was putting up applications for a side job in security. The company would pay well. He was about to flip Jason's switch when Bizzi walked over with a tray of muffins. His kitchen didn't belong to him.

His sofas were taken, and those were a damned down payment!

His bathroom sink was a hoarder's worst nightmare of…of…

"We really have to talk –

"No food to eat today?"

"Not now, Bizz. I have to focus."

"Sure." Roy grabbed one off the tray and with the might of a Frisbee throw, he chucked it at the back of Jason's head.

"Not the muffins!! Those were my breakfast! Nice going, host."

"Dami. Katas first, then –

"No more mooching off of my place! Damn it!" Roy shouted as Dami hopped down from the sofa arm and clicked his tongue, swiping up a muffins to take a bite. "Needs less raisins. Why not try walnuts next –

"DISCIPLINE THE KID, PLEASE!"

Dami turned back with a crumb at his lip at the two men. Jason was hunched over as he stood, huffing and taking the map to put a finger to one spot. One.

"We're hitting this, then we'll have a chance to go wherever we want to."

"So, robbing a cargo. A parked, cargo."

"Maybe that's all we need. I can do it. Can't you? A few low lives lose a couple pounds and we get hit first? I'd say, perfect trap." Jason rolled up the map with a grin. "A good enough trap, for a bat and his hunting crew. I need to talk to old Bruce about getting our arsenal back online. You want in, or is the new normal more exciting?"

"I'm getting clean. After the other night, it's not worth it to stop. I have to…"

"You got baggage." Jason shrugged. "Damian has a murderer after him. Arte was banished from her tribe on another world, and Bizzi is an escaped lab rat. I'm a wounded soldier than almost forgot his damned purpose, but I found it. In them. And you, if you'll such it up for one last job."

"You're going to get caught. Dick us more rogue than you since he's been back. Just know he will know you as a criminal for real if you try to run off again. And the fact the kid is here…B has to have figured it all out. I, can try to hold down your secrets, but you need to keep as far away from this place. I'm not staying, not more than a few months."

"Security, are you going to clean shit up, or…" Jason cocked his head at the papers in Roy's hand.

"It's legit, dipwad."

"You want someone to take care of your housing crisis, Todd." Dami swiped another muffin as the first was too much. "Needs more cinnamon too." Throwing it back on the tray, the one thing none expected was for Bizzi to be angry.

"THIS CHILD IS GOOD; HE NEEDS NO SENSE OF KINDNESS. YOU ARE ALL GOOD TEACHERS FIR HIM." Bizzi swiped up the muffins and eyed Dami with an unforgiving glare "Don't apologize to your friends, they don't care about you."

"FINE." Sneered the kid as he walked away, Bizzi stopping him with a tight grip. "Don't apologize. Tomorrow."

"Let, me –

The others didn't do anything, as Dami looked to see the tired eyes of Todd and the annoyed twitch of Roy's upper lip now dropping.

"I'm sorry…when can we get our own place back?"

"When things pick up. I'm calling Bruce." Roy pulled out his cell as Dami grabbed a muffin and chucked both that and the cell into the wall.

"I…STILL HAD FPUR PAYMENTS ON THAT!!"

"PLEASE, FIGHT!"

"Knock it off, right this minute."

At the door, two faces showed with Jason's head dodging back to see Officer Grayson beside Artie. "Hiya, Little Wing. Can we talk?"

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"You pushed me away, then you wanted to jump in on a heist and…" Dick rubbed the back of his neck while Roy took a drag. Bizzi had Dami help him remake the recipe from scratch with Artie supervising.

"You have our number, what made you pose your cool, Little Wing?"

"When I lost all respect for our pops." Grunted the younger ex Robin. "Red hood is what I got now, and I still…without Slade trying to come after the kid, he'd be swiped up the first step out that door. He's not going to let us out alive either."

"What did Dami do?"

"He messed with him, because he was Ra's right hand before B came along. Says a lot to a gorilla that hefty on his remarks about owning your –

"Haven't seen him since the fallout in Blud. Came back to supervise because Bruce had just come home. Staying with her, made him regret a lot when we found out about the coup."

"You did…" Sighed Jason. "I ran away before you could guess who survived."

"Talia is Bruce's mistress, Damian…then, he's a Wayne. You knew that."

"I was his bodyguard, teacher and best friend when Talia wanted me too. I nursed him into the little monster he is as much as she did making him so proud of his heritage."

"He does know who Ra's was, right?"

"Depends." In the background, Dami had just gotten batter from the beaters in his hair. "This contraption is pitiful! I'd assume this country had better inventions already. We used to do this by hand. Like so-

" With fingers??"

Dick held back a chuckle as Dami looked over his shoulder. "What's so humorous, officer? Were you hoping for a fresh batch of pastries??"

"Fresh mouth on him, did you teach the little demon a ton of cuss words too?"

"Hell no. He discourages that. It you don't believe me…Fuck off, Dick for brains!" Shouted Todd, as Dami came in with a spatula, wracking Jason on the back of the head with it. "You MUST have some dignity left, Todd. Use it wisely around your prince!"

"Sure thing, majesty –

"And you!" The spatula was weirded at a pressed and pristine officer of the law. "As punishment for this act of uncouth behavior, you are hereby banned from tasting the first or any muffins in this household until you apologize for trying to smear my family's good name in the mud, as they say."

"You, don't know the whole truth of it, Damian."

"None for you, then." The boy huffed, ignoring the man in blue as he stomped back to the kitchen, a bit of batter still on the top of his weapon of choice.

Dick waited until the spoiled little royal was gone before he perked up, annoying Jason to no end. "You can't do this alone, and they can't stay…here. With Roy already looking for some peace of mind, I'm still doing what I can too. This job I have pays the rent but I'm eating out of an old chipped coffee mug like some college student."

"Broke, bird – ass." Roy snickered in the doorway, earning a head toss from Grayson. "Go get that interview, then we can compare what today's economy has to offer. M' Kay, Harper?"

Roy shut the terrace door loudly, as he took another drag, staring at the next over row of buildings he could never afford.

"Harsh, Dickie. That was, kinda…shocking." Jason seethed, seeing Roy in a distant world with just one puff to go.

"I helped him out for a while, we took it one day at a time. He knows I'm not doing that to make him…"

"You used to be rivals, with Kori?"

"Times like that are over, Jace." Dick frowned, not hoping to renew the events of the break up that broke both of their fragile hearts apart. "Good times roll, you just hate admitting you have any left. It's why B groomed us to take over. Dami sure might if I give him the option, but he's a kid. A fucking child." Sighed the anarchist, softly. "Dick, I do need you, but mostly to hold up on getting him there. I want my own place back. We had one and lost it."

"Security for you wasn't tight enough?"

"I need that privacy so I can-

"Teach him how to get back at Deathstroke. You want him to go all gung-ho for his sifu, that it?"

"N- no!"

"So you could keep him safe while you brought together people who wanted to save this city, from DS coming after you in it? As your shield?"

Dami was in the kitchen as Dick's voice climbed a bit too high. "We were all in decision of that, detective. You left out the most important of details. I'm his student in combat training, to defend myself against those that would wish to do us harm."

"And we volunteered as bodyguards, the Outlaws…being still on the table." Artie added.

"As is my membership, right?" Roy groaned and cane in, smelling of smoke. Dami crinkled his nose and dug back into filling the paper baking cups before anyone saw. "This kid is like a damned prince, so yeah. If you still think you can count yourself as a team player."

"Bruce won't buy it."

"Then, try to let me get in, trial him on an investment of the "Outlaws," and I won't talk about the kid."

Dick stood up, his stance firm and right, where apologetically smiled down. "It's too late for that now, Jace. Bruce…he sent me to confirm everything."

/

"He's got a wire, swarm him. Bizzi!" Artie and Bizzi swooped in aa Dami set the kitchen timer to twelve minutes. At halfway time through the process, he'd check them with a toothpick

Dick was laughing as Jason felt unnerved for invoicing this trickster into another allies home – a possibility that he wasn't as Roy stood back, not speaking a word.

"What…. you set us up, Harper?"

"Dick is right, Todd. This is going on for way too long. I can't save you guys and I shouldn't have to shoulder the responsibility. Sorry."

"You are no longer included in our troupe, coward!" Artemis scowled, throwing Dick into a powerful head lock, even as the cop looked to be slipping down to feel next to nothing. "Look…out…the window…" He grunted, groaning as Bizzi then Jason all saw a looming Cowles figure at the terrace door, pulling back the glass with a swift sound.

"No Bats." Snarled Bizzi as Dick's abuser pulled off.

"Jason…" Bruce's eyes saw right through as he never yet pulled down the cowl to reveal his eyes.

"Who's at the door? Todd?"

Dami was by the island with a makeshift apron on and oven mitts.

Dick got off onto his knees in a wobble as Batman steadied his old partner. Jason looked at Dami who was holding the now first tray of half-baked treats he had to set back in for ten extra minutes.

"Dami." Dick dusted himself off, Dami hoping the fat cop had run out of steam to never talk to him again.

"What is he doing in Harper's home? Answer, Todd!"

"Dami, listen. Batman –

Bruce lifted the cowl and shifted a step forward.

"I'm your father, Damian."

The boy dropped the tray with a clatter onto the hardwood floor.

"And it's time to that you stayed to hear it. All of the truth." Todd looked away as Dick laid the finishing blow. That boy's eyes never once watered, yet he now knew he'd betrayed the kid's trust forever.

For good, as the unbelievable history of bloodshed was told without many censor bars to soften the blow.