Amid all the blaring car alarms and the sound of broken glass being crushed underneath heavy footsteps, the one sound that carried above them all was the auxiliary klaxon at Arkham Asylum. It was a constant among all the clamour in the Narrows, unrelenting and deafening, a warning to all the civilians in the area and a siren call to all officers. There was a breakout in the prison that held some of the most deranged criminals in all of Gotham and in this blackout, the city would be theirs for the taking. And Cass was still too far away to do anything to help.
She had abandoned her bike somewhere along the way -weaving through the mess that was the streets of the Narrows was not worth the impending accident. Instead, she had taken to the rooftops, running, leaping, gliding without stop knowing that each minute wasted meant another criminal escaping to the streets. Of all the times for a breakout, this was the worst -or when put in perspective, it was probably the best time. The police force was stretched too tight, scattered around the city trying to manage the riots that had sprung up, all the while having to deal with radio dead silence. Blind and deaf, gravitating to this one point, Cass couldn’t help wonder what exactly they were being herded away from as she landed with a grunt onto the pavement.
Making her way on foot as she neared the Asylum gates, Cass could hear the indistinguishable yells of the guardsmen as they waved their flashlights around, all running towards the same direction. From the looks of it, one of the gates from the super max holding area was down and the guards were struggling to seal it off. Heading towards the nearest to see what she could do, Cass crouched down as she felt air surge from the blast of a jet. Looking up, she was shocked to see the Batjet hovering around the Asylum. But as she squinted, she noticed that the design and color were all wrong. This jet was red -bright and daunting- and she knew of only one person who sported that particular red.
Picking up her pace and elbowing a straggler in the face, Cass pushed through into the courtyard and was shocked to see the Outlaws zip-tying the prisoners and helping the guards push them back into their cells. It had been over than a year since the team had been seen but from the broken concrete and bullet holes peppering the wall, it seemed that they had not lost any of their fight. Making her way towards Jason who seemed to be barking out instructions at the warden, Cass patted him on the shoulder and nimbly skipped back as she felt him tense. Nodding at Starfire’s smile, she addressed Jason, realizing it had been months since she had last seen him sporting the helmet.
“Red Hood. Nice Jet.” Knowing that he was smirking underneath the hood, she tapped her temple. “Haven’t seen you in awhile. Picked a good night to come back. Didn’t leave anything for me to do.” Cocking her head and pinning him with a stare, she asked “Why did you come back?”
With an deafening roar, the Dragon landed in the clearing, its jets slowing the descent to nothing. Jason climbed up into the cockpit, making sure to stash his guns there before he talked to any police. Not like they’d try to take him in tonight-still, he’d rather like to avoid weapons charges while trying to rescue his little brother. Kory had followed him, watching his movements with a neutral look that betrayed nothing of her feelings.
His firearms safely put away, Jason headed back to find the warden, who surely would have some questions about the Red Hood’s treatment of his inmates.
He did, and Jason spent several minutes tolerating a barrage of insults and accusations tossed his way, only Starfire’s knowing look keeping him from knocking the man unconscious. WHen the warden finally stopped yelling, Jason simply pointed at him whth the hammer. “I made a choice. Let people die, or stop the criminals. Would you rather have had more Narrows citizens get hurt?” By this time, the guards had taken over the grounds, leaving Red Hood with little more to do than direct traffic.
“Yeah, Building C. That’s where Grundy hit the water.” The warden nodded, yelling something unintelligible to the diver floating in the Gotham River. The diver, seemingly able to translate the barked order, went underwater with a small splash, searching for the mutilated body of the gray skinned behemoth. Jason was about to ask what he had said when-
Cass was here. Jason smiled, even though no one could see the expression. Tapping his helmet, he cocked his head to the side. With a nod from Cass, Jason opened up a line of communication to her, allowing him to talk without anyone around him hearing his words.
“Good to see you, Cassassin. Didn’t expect Bruce would let anyone out alone tonight. Saw the fireworks, did you?”
With a slight smile, she replied. “Haven’t seen you in awhile. Picked a good night to come back. Didn’t leave anything for me to do.”
He nodded. “Gotham doesn’t seem to want to let me retire. Sorry to steal the thunder, though. I’d have left you Sickle if I’d known you were coming.” With a small start, he realized he was still holding the hammer he’d used to kill the Russian. He kept it in his hand. Never knew when you’d need a weapon that devastating. With a flick of his wrist, he introduced Kory. “This is Starfire, the other Outlaw. NOt sure if you’ve met. She’s got…powers.” Cass stared intently when, on cue, Kor snapped her fingers, bringing a pink bolt of energy to her palm. “Don’t fuck with this one.” Kory smiled, a dangerous-yet intoxicatingly beautiful-expression. “What’s this, the first time I’ve been out in a good six weeks? And shit, you’ve been gone over a year.”
Cass cut in suddenly. “Why did you come back?”
WIth a neutral monotone, Jason replied. “Dick’s gone missing.” It was stated simply enough, although the words dropped with the weight of a small bomb. “I could use Bruce’s help, if he can spare it. Last time his tracker was active, it was here. Although-” Jason swept a gaze around the island, scanning for the slight radioactive pulse of the tracker.”-I don’t think he’s still here.” He redirected his gaze to Cass. “Think the old bastard will help?”
and all of this will never be the same again 