divine-my-own-future:

likeamantra:

He leaned against the brick wall, one foot kicked against the wall, as she ran down the list of things she thought he should do. He let her talk, let her finish. 

“That’s the thing, Batsie. I’m a bat, just not his bat.”

He unzipped his worn brown leather jacket, revealing the upper half of his black armor. The stylized bat he’d put there as a last minute decision was muted, bloodred. His voice was low as he responded to her.

"I’m not a sign of hope, some urban legend to frighten the weak. I’m a warning, a sign of what will happen to evil.” 

Zipping the leather back up, he shook his head, slowly.

"I’ll only go to him if I’m desperate. But you? You’re different. You’re independent. Headstrong. Doesn’t seem like you take much shit from anyone above you. I respect that." 

Pulling out a basic prepaid phone, he tossed it to her, watching it sail through the air.

"There’s only one number in it. Anytime you want some help, call it. I’ll show up.”

Stepping forward, he brushed past her, hand lingering just a second on her hip as he strode by. Turning his head back, he nearly whispered, letting the words float behind him.

“Thanks for the assist, Batsie. See you around.”

Barbara sneered, hint of a smile playing at her lips as she shook her head. “You only think you aren’t a symbol of hope. I’m sure that girl in there would argue differently.” Snatching the phone midair, she gave it a once over before tucking it into her belt. No acknowledgement beyond a quick nod of her head was made. As much as her mind was telling her it was a bad idea, you didn’t discard allies. Truthfully, if their last meeting was any proof, she needed all the assistance she could get.

His hand swept against her, and she swallowed back a lump, her beating heart pushing against her ribs. She stared at him for longer than was comfortable, her posture stiff. Barbara didn’t respond to his farewell, the words too twisted in her mouth.  As soon as he was out of sight, she turned toward the wall and slammed her fist against the brick. Wincing, she walked back into the clinic, rubbing her swelling knuckles.

One day her temperament would get the better of her. Until then she would continue making stupid, impulsive mistakes.

Barbara sat with the young woman as she came out of the recovery unit, holding her hand and reading from the outdated magazine pile. Tonight had been a bruise to her ego, especially since it was clear the girl would have preferred it if Hood had stayed instead of her. She took it in stride, though, too exhausted to care.

It was well past dawn when Barbara made her way home, tired, worn eyes barely able to stay open. Her normally busy mind was finally quiet enough to allow her rest, no matter how fleeting it would be. 

[COMPLETED]

divine-my-own-future:

Arms had been crossed and uncrossed over her chest at least a half dozen times, weight shifting from one leg to the other. If she didn’t feel like Hood would immediately call her out, she would have anxiously began pacing up and down the dilapidated sidewalk.  She still had a few ounces of dignity left, although they were hanging on by a thread. Instead, she opted to lean against the cool brick of the old building, hazy vision spanning up to the darkened sky.

It took more than a few moments to gather her thoughts and even then they weren’t exactly clear in her head. There was still part of her that felt like she should have stayed behind; a guilt that was eating into her gut. She’d had that feeling more and more lately; perhaps it was a side effect of her new persona. Or maybe it was just her empathy kicking into overdrive.

Hood’s gratitude, spoken practically under his breath and thrown into the night air, startled her.  Barbara didn’t show it, but it was definitely surprising.  Of course, he’d done nothing but do that exact same thing since the night they’d met. This was beginning to become a theme: the Red Hood consistently defying her expectations.

Rubbing her eyes with the heels of gloved palms, she pushed herself off the masonry, one eyebrow arched up in question. “Yeah, you kind of did piss me off. If you wanted to use someone solely for their symbolism or name,” She pointed to the bat on her chest with her index finger. “You should have gone directly to him.” Crouching down, she ran her hands over the mismatched pavement. “I don’t need a sidekick.” Barbara stared at the ground for several silent moments before snapping her head up towards the helmeted man. “You should go have them check your wound. As many gadgets and tools as I have in my belt, I don’t have a doctor.” A tiny smile pulled at her mouth as she slowly stood up.

“I don’t need a sidekick. But I wouldn’t say no to assistance with patrol. We could always add some bat ears to your helmet.”

He leaned against the brick wall, one foot kicked against the wall, as she ran down the list of things she thought he should do. He let her talk, let her finish. 

“That’s the thing, Batsie. I’m a bat, just not his bat.”

He unzipped his worn brown leather jacket, revealing the upper half of his black armor. The stylized bat he’d put there as a last minute decision was muted, bloodred. His voice was low as he responded to her.

“I’m not a sign of hope, some urban legend to frighten the weak. I’m a warning, a sign of what will happen to evil." 

Zipping the leather back up, he shook his head, slowly.

"I’ll only go to him if I’m desperate. But you? You’re different. You’re independent. Headstrong. Doesn’t seem like you take much shit from anyone above you. I respect that." 

Pulling out a basic prepaid phone, he tossed it to her, watching it sail through the air.

"There’s only one number in it. Anytime you want some help, call it. I’ll show up.”

Stepping forward, he brushed past her, hand lingering just a second on her hip as he strode by. Turning his head back, he nearly whispered, letting the words float behind him.

“Thanks for the assist, Batsie. See you around.”

divine-my-own-future:

Her eyes were searching the ground, trying to grasp at thoughts that just weren’t coming. Her mind felt like it was a sieve; anything and everything filtering through tiny holes, slowly filling up with nothing but useless information. Typically she did well under pressure, but Hood had this knack for making her feel like an amateur. Like a child. It was obvious she had little control over this situation and it was grating, infuriating.

Choking down her ego for the second time that evening, Barbara rose from her crouch. She bit back the urge to reply with a snarky quip about how it was obvious he was just using her for her reputation and reputation alone. She’d know better next time. This wasn’t the place.

“Yeah, it’s safe.” The statement was huffed out, tinged with hints of bitterness and fatigue. She was hesitant to leave the young women here, but the sirens in the distance gave her some reassurance. Eyes raked over the group of girls, huddling together and she could feel her heart swell with anger and sorrow.

Tonight was more than a reality check. It had been a blow; the kind of hit that knocks you on your ass, and sends you spiraling in a direction you could never foresee. Like an uppercut to the chin that forced you to re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about the world. She hated those the most. Barbara had always been certain of herself, and her situations. Most of all, she was certain of what she knew. And damn if this Red Hood character didn’t have a way of mucking all of that up.

Nodding her head, Barbara began walking to the other side of the building. “Let’s go.”

Less than an hour later, they had reached the clinic, where a kindly older woman took the Russian girl with no questions, murmuring softly in a dialect that Jason recognized, but didn’t speak. 

That left Batgirl and him alone, standing somewhat awkwardly outside the neon glow of a “Safe Haven” sign that pulsed with the unreliable electricity that only Crime Alley could supply.

“Thanks, Batsie." 

It was mumbled, humble. He knew that he very well could have died if not for her timely rescue, and he wouldn’t forget it. His side hurt like hell, and he considered taking a brief refuge in the clinic, if for no other reason than he could pass a few hours of the pain away under sedation.

He eyed her, through the lenses of his helmet. She was hunched, though trying not to appear so. Angry. Biting her lip, mulling over hidden thoughts that swirled in between those pointy ears.

"I know I pissed you off tonight, Batsie. Let me make it up to you. I’ll give you three nights, of your choice. Your sidekick. Take it or leave it.”

divine-my-own-future:

Barbara had tried to push the sounds of steel slicing skin out of her mind, but it was more than a little distracting. She winced, swallowing hard, desperate to keep her attention on the young woman. The girl couldn’t have been more than fifteen – if that. Tentatively, Barbara had reached for her hand before the girl snapped it away, trembling, and as much as she understood, it still stung. It was beyond frustrating being unable to communicate with the girl, to tell her that she meant her no harm, she was just trying to help. So when Hood approached, Barbara was secretly relieved, even if her pride suffered.

Brows furrowed in astonishment as the girl easily let Hood cradle her in his arms, and had the situation been different she may have been resentful or bitter. Now wasn’t the time for egos, though, and Barbara nodded at the Red Hood’s request. She sprinted for the exit, eyes scanning the lot for the group of girls – spotting them all huddled together on the broken asphalt.

“There’s a place in midtown, a clinic. Anonymous, low profile. Should be safe.” Propping open the door, she waited for Hood and the girl to pass through before securing the area. Heading in the direction of the group, she swept the perimeter, ensuring they didn’t have any unexpected tails. Barbara crouched down, running a gentle hand over the shoulder of one of the sobbing young women. “You going to be able to take her with that injury?” Eyes flicked to the man’s side. “I can stay here with them, make sure they’re safe until the authorities arrive, if you can handle it.”

He didn’t catch the resentment in her pose, so occupied with his injuries and the girl. Shaking his head, he spoke just through the comms, not wanting to alarm the girl with more indecipherable language.

“They won’t trust me if I go alone. Someone needs to go with me, and it’s gotta be you. Otherwise…” He glanced down at the girl, frightened and clinging to his neck. “I don’t think she’ll make it. Is your clinic safe? Can I stay there with her, at least until she gets into surgery?”

He didn’t mention that he himself needed attention; it seemed obvious. 

“Look. The cops can handle this, right? Case like this, Gordon or at least Chandler will be here. They can take care of it.” He paused, his next words bouncing around his skull before he spoke them. 

“I need your help again, Batsie. Just drive the truck to your clinic, introduce me and her. Then you can ghost.”

divine-my-own-future:

Barbara’s forehead wrinkled as she scowled. She wasn’t there to be his gun for hire and yet she had felt like she was not only rented muscle, but part babysitter as well.  She didn’t appreciate being either. “You know, if you just needed someone to watch your ass, I’m sure you could have gotten anyone else.” She chided, snatching the weapon with expert grace. “If you tell anyone I used a gun, I will hunt you down.”

Standing sentry, she cradled the gun with two hands, eyes only periodically looking down at his progress. The girls clambered out of the cells and Barbara motioned for them to be quiet as she helped guide a few stragglers toward the exit.  As the last of the prisoners filed out, Barbara caught up to the Red Hood, keeping a few paces behind him, eyes methodically scanning their surroundings.

Out of the corner of her eye, Barbara spotted her. Clinging to the shadows, segregated from the rest of the holding area, a young woman covered in filth. She appeared to be injured.  Barbara began motioning toward Hood, but he was already too far ahead. “We missed one.” She whispered into her comm as she silently stalked over to the wired door. Frowning, she smashed the rusted lock with relative ease, kicking in the gate.

“Are you ok?” The girl flinched but didn’t respond. With a gloved index finger, she touched the symbol on her chest. “I’m here to help.” Curling bloodied legs up towards her chest, the girl tucked herself farther into the corner. “I don’t think she understands me, Darth.”

“Может вы ходьбы?” Grimacing, she began nervously tapping her boot against the ground. “Ok, I either asked her if she could walk or if she liked pickles. I don’t know Russian.”

His wound was long forgotten, and he danced through the Russians like a deadly ballet, sword flashing in the light. Limbs hit the ground like rain, blood covering the floor as he carved through the guards. 

He finished with a mighty swing that severed two heads before spinning to find the room empty, save for Batgirl. She was on edge, tense and staring. She nodded at a corner, and he followed her eyeline to see a grungy woman, clearly petrified. 

Batgirl’s Russian was clearly from a book, and her accent was atrocious. Sweeping her aside, he knelt down in front of the girl.

“Я Красная шапочка. Я здесь, чтобы спасти вас. Вы можете прийти со мной, пожалуйста? Я хочу взять тебя в безопасное место. Меня не волнует, что вы сделали; Я просто хочу, чтобы вы были свободны. Вы можете доверять мне, честное слово, как русский.”

She nodded, slowly and unsure. Scooping her up in his arms, he turned to Batgirl.

“We gotta go. Cops will be here soon. She’s coming with us. Can you make sure the other girls get out? I don’t think this one is gonna go with anyone but me.”

As if on cue, the girl curled into Jason’s chest, her head finding the space between helmet and shoulder.

Swiveling back to Batgirl, h sealed his helmet, closing the girl from his words. 

“She needs a doctor, now. She’s got at least three broken ribs, and what looks like internal bleeding around her stomach. Who do you use? Batcave, Gotham General, Mercy?" 

The sound of sirens did not give him much hope. 

divine-my-own-future:

With an exaggerated cant of her head, Barbara stared at him. “I don’t feel sorry for you at all.” She looked down to the floor below as reality hit her again; with Hood all but incapacitated, there was no way she was getting these girls out of there. With her eyes, Barbara mapped the narrow pathway between cells to the end where a pack of guards huddled together, guns slung haphazardly over shoulders and around hips.

What was that?

Barbara leaned over the railing, glancing across from the occupied cells. Rows and rows of additional holding areas sat completely empty. Frowning, she gripped the railing, puzzled. At the opposite area of the basement, the section nearest to them, a piece of ripped paper was taped to the crumbling sheetrock. From this distance she couldn’t tell what it was, but it must have held importance for someone to go to the trouble.

Turning her attention back to the bleeding man, she pursed her lips in distaste. “Maybe next time, don’t be so cocky.” Pushing herself up, she chewed on her bottom lip. Pointing with a gloved index finger, she indicated to the staircase and the paper hanging to the wall. “Stay here, and make yourself useful – see if you can spot your friend’s kid. I’m going to grab that and see what it is.”

Barbara bounded down the rickety iron staircase with ease and stealth. She triple checked her line of sight before emerging from the shadows, approaching the wall, slowly, dumbfounded with what she saw. Snatching the paper, she made her way back to the main floor. “It’s a postcard. But,” she moved the damaged paper towards him. “For one thing, the picture on the front is a movie poster for an infamous lost film, which is completely random. And for another, it looks like there are geographic coordinates handwritten on the back.” Flipping the postcard over, she displayed the scrawled numbers, and shrugged.

His poorly swathed wound caught her eye, and she shook her head. “I think you’re done for the night, Darth. You should get out of here before you pass out from blood loss.”

Batgirl did not, as it turned out, have a plan.

Instead, she was spitting insults at him and leaving, off to grab a fucking postcard that one of the girls probably left as a cry for help.

Jason took advantage of the time, rewrapping and dressing the wound best he could. He confirmed that it hadn’t done more than skim muscle, which was optimal. No organs were hit, and he was damn lucky for that. The clotting factor had started working, and the bleeding was slowing down. A quick spray of alcohol, a gauze pad, and more tape. Better than nothing. Henri would have to take a look at it when he was home. If he made it home.

He peered through the cells, looking for any identifying factor he could distinguish. Nothing. Just hair color and rough height, which wouldn’t be useful for much longer if they didn’t get the girls to safety soon.

She was back now, and damn proud of her postcard. She showed it off, a confused frown tugging at her lips. Jason rolled his shoulders in a dismissive way, not sharing her intrigue.

“Stash it. We have work to do.” At her meaningful glance towards the bandage, he flashed her a grin. “I’ve had worse and done more. Come on. I think I’ll be able to work the locks off. There’s what, twelve cells that are full? Not too hard to shatter twelve locks. All I need you to do is lay down some cover fire.” She stared at him. He sighed.

“I’m gonna go free some ladies. When you see guards, start shooting near them. Hopefully they’ll stay down.” He tossed her the pistol in his left hand, the one he’d taken from Tyson earlier. “There’s a few other clips back there. It’s small caliber, 9mm. Just aim low. You don’t want to kill any of them, I don’t think.” Standing, he donned his hood, wincing as it slid on. Tapping his temple, he spoke through the vents. “I’m on frequency 371.R, if you don’t mind.”

He clambered down the stairs, slipping noiselessly into the holding area. He lobbed a smoke bomb into the guards area, not stopping to wait for the explosion. Using the butt of the revolver, he smashed the first three locks, all of which had six or more girls inside.

“Go. Outside. GCPD should be waiting.” He pointed at the exit, not waiting to escort them off. Drawing his sword, he sliced through the next nine, only stopping to remove one of the guard’s heads. The last three locks got a .357 slug, the gates swinging open uselessly.

Looking up to Batgirl, he gave her a nod before charging the guards again-this time with cover. 

divine-my-own-future:

Truthfully, she hadn’t even noticed his hair. In fact, she was trying desperately not to look at his face at all. Her eyes had darted everywhere but. Now, she couldn’t help but stare. Barbara hadn’t known a lot of men that dyed their hair, let alone highlighted it, but to each their own. Shoulders shrugged up as she focused on the more important feature of his frame: a bleeding wound.

Kneeling back down, lines creased on her forehead, more than likely invisible through the cowl, as she stared blankly at the gash. However, her tight, pursed lips were plainly visible, unable to hide her obvious concern.  She was going to have to work on her poker face. Green eyes flicked up to him as he gave her his best nonchalant look, but she didn’t buy it for a second. This had to hurt. There was no way he was immune to pain.

“Yeah, cute was exactly what I was going for.” Barbara stood up, holding out the gun she had confiscated towards him. She swallowed hard, looking from the Hood to the only conscious guard.  This situation kept getting worse and she was completely over her head. She could feel her heart beat pounding in her ears, a thrumming echo as her breathing increased. Trying desperately to keep herself calm, she looked at the floor, her boots, her hands, anywhere else.  Never in a million years would she have even remotely thought she would be working with the Red Hood and never in a million years would she have thought she would be facing down death and dismemberment so quickly after it had just begun.

Nodding her affirmation, Barbara spun around and jogged out of the room in the direction the guard had pointed, hoping to find the helmet as quickly as possible. They needed to pick up their pace if they had any hope of making it out before the remainder of the guards were alerted. Focus switched, though, as soon the sound of gunfire resonated through the stuffy warehouse air. Stopping dead in her tracks, her jaw slacked, mouth agape.

She should have known.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

With growing rage, Barbara threw open the utility closet and grabbed the red helmet, slamming the door shut so hard she almost took the door off its hinges. There was that famous Gordon temper.

Reentering the room, Barbara’s mouth was a taut, harsh line across her face. She didn’t bother looking at the guards, she already knew their fate. Instead, her vision narrowed on the Hood as she forced the helmet into his abdomen, just centimeters from the open wound. Huffing out a lungful of air, she twirled around, heading for the exit. “We have some girls to free. Push your guts back in and come help me or get the hell out of the building.”

He’d already reloaded and reholstered the revolver by the time she returned. The spent casings went into a belt pouch, and the gun went back in the holster at the small of his back. 

He was leaning against the wall, grimacing and poking a finger into the wound when she slammed the helmet into him, grinding his glove into muscle fibers and driving the wind out of him. 

Ouch. Maybe she’s not as into guns as I thought. That’s fine, we’ve got a long fight ahead of us.

“Right.”

No quip, no snark. Maybe it was the blood loss, but she was gone before he had a comeback prepared. 

He took a moment to stuff a quick clot bag into the bullet hole-fuck, that hurts like a motherfucker-and held it for a few moments. Then, he was out the same way she went.

She was leaning on the second floor railing, peering down to the basement level of cells and guards. Kneeling next to her, he set his helmet down in front of him. At her inquisitive look, he shrugged.

“Face hurts too bad. Don’t wanna have it on any longer than I have to. Tight fit, and all.”

There were approximately twenty men left, some of which had been sent back to the matrix after being found unconscious of injured. They looked confused, scared; almost like they’d been threatened with death if they failed. 

Not untrue, though. They didn’t deserve the air they breathed. 

“I can’t take them out in a fight, not like this. It’s barely slowed down.” Lifting his hand, he showed her the ugly opening. The muscle was ripped apart, and there was a jagged hole roughly four inches long and two wide. He groaned.

“I think that’s peritoneum at the bottom. That’s good. Means nothing is gonna spill out.” He stuffed the clot bag back inside, wrapping a few passes of electrical tape around himself to hold it in. 

“That’s gonna have to do, I think. Let’s hope it stays there for the fight. Got a plan?”

He had several, but most of them involved more blood loss, and he didn’t feel like dying tonight.

divine-my-own-future:

She was woefully unprepared.

The sight made her stomach churn. Dozens of girls ranging in age but the majority appeared to be teenagers. All the young women were locked away like cattle – like animals ready for the slaughter. Her hand went to her mouth as she sucked in a lungful of air. She crouched down near the seam of where concrete met steel grating, just staring, eyes wide, unbelieving.

There were forty-four guards in total, she had counted twice. There was no way the two of them could take out that many men. The Hood had a reputation but she doubted even he was that good. She sure as hell wasn’t. He was dropping down to the sub-floor before she could protest, but she shot him a nasty look, lips pursed together so tightly she was sure the delicate skin would crack. It wasn’t the time or place for arguments, they needed as much stealth as possible, but it took all her will not to shout a nasty quip his way. Barbara had a feeling cocky and brash were his default setting.

Climbing the bare metal studs and risers, Barbara pulled herself up to the second floor. She had a much better view of the perimeter from here and could see that the bulk of the guards were centered in the holding area under the grating. Double edged sword; they wouldn’t have to worry about a second wave, but Hood was about to be swarmed.

Splitting up been the wrong strategy and if she got out of this alive she was never letting him hear the end of it. Peering from around a decaying column she saw everything in fragments and she swore her heart momentarily stopped. Glints of red metal, his hands over his head and assault rifles. She was up and running before she could see the rest play out. “Goddamn it.” Her voice barely above a whisper but she knew he could hear it over the comm.

“Batgirl, get out! Get out while you can!”

She shook him off, obviously he didn’t know how determined she was. Her father had always said she was too stubborn for her own good. There was no way in hell she was leaving him behind. Leaving him behind was a death sentence and the Russian mob didn’t take prisoners.

He had already taken out a good thirteen or so of the guards and she had removed six earlier. She could easily take out twenty five armed men, right? Her resolve was beginning to falter but the adrenaline was already pumping and before she knew it was she was heading straight into the fire without an extinguisher. Really stupid, Gordon.

Barbara had already put in a call to the GCPD, backup would be here soon, but that was too long for the Red Hood. He had minutes, maybe, and that was only if he could manage to bite his tongue long enough to not piss of the men more than she was sure he already had.

With little effort, Barbara took down the first wave of guards and the next group had been the victims of a combination of smoke pellets, gauntlets, and her taser. The remainder were at the opposite end of the complex and her attack had proved surreptitious enough to prevent any additional attention. Pressing her ear to the door, Barbara could hear the men holding Hood speak a combination of broken English and Russian. She cursed herself internally for taking Latin in college. Four years of a dead language had proved incredibly useless.

Riding a wave of temporary bravery, she kicked open the door, immediately dropping down to the floor and kicking out her leg, side sweeping the first of the men, grabbing his riffle and hitting him in the nose with the butt of the gun. The next man took an elbow to the clavicle and a right hook to the jaw, just enough to incapacitate him and allow her to snatch his pistol. Barbara turned on heel just in time to see the third and final guard squeeze a round off at Hood. Her fist was in his face before he could take another shot, slamming him against the wall. Slumping to the ground, the man laughed, spitting blood in her direction. With one hand on the trigger, the other cradling the base of the the gun, she aimed.

“You’re not going to shoot me, you’re with the Batman.” There was sarcasm laced in every syllable, like he was taunting her. “You don’t even know how to shoot a gun.”

“Funny story,” Barbara’s tone was relaxed and casual, not betraying how truly frightened she was. “My dad taught me how to shoot a gun after the captain of the football team asked me to prom. So, I know how to use this. Although…” Her words trailed off as she lowered the weapon towards the man’s groin. “It has been years since I’ve used one of these things, my aim could be way off.”

She could see realization flash in the man’s features and he dropped his own gun, kicking it across the room towards her. Smirking, Barbara scooped up the weapon before rushing over to the Red Hood, trying to not look at his exposed face. She pulled a knife out of her belt and cut the ligatures restraining his hands. Wincing, she stared at his wound. “Can you walk?”

“Remember, Jason. Interrogation is about the manipulation of fear and power. If you do not fear your captor, you cannot be intimidated. You will hold the power, not him.”

Ra’s’ words bounced around his head like a mantra, giving him a target to focus on while the Russian did his best Tyson impression. Sure, Jason had been worked over a few times in his life, but getting an orbital blowout wasn’t on his list of things to accomplish. So he did his best to take the blows on his chin and forehead, much to the fury of his torturer. 

His teeth rattled in his jaw; this guy had some serious stopping power. The domino did little to protect his face, but he supposed it was better than nothing.

Ten or twelve punches later and the room was starting to spin. Red haze was creeping in around the edges of his vision. He steeled himself against the encroaching blackout, rapidly exhaling to psyche himself up for the next blow.

It never came.

A navy and silver figure danced through the splintered door, taking out the first of the three men that had been tormenting Jason. The second dropped almost as fast, and the third was-

Fuck.

Wrenching his entire body weight to the right, he toppled the chair on its side, attempting to take the bullet that had been fired at his head in his pectoral armor. It struck with a hammer’s blow, knocking the chair back almost a foot.

Fuck, that hurt.

She was cutting his zipties now, helping him up. Asking if he was okay, if he could walk. Staring at him in abject horror.

“Yeah, the hair, I know. Where’s my helmet?”

She shook her head, pointing at his hip. Finally looking down, he found that the bullet had clipped the side of one plate of armor, ricocheted, and dug itself into his abdomen, shredding the polykevlar that his suit was made from. 

It was a large wound, to say the least. Not very deep, but wide, and probably all the way through the muscle wall. Taking a deep breath, he shook Batgirl off.

“I’ve had worse. Good job, by the way. I didn’t think you had it in you, picking up a gun. Cute story, with prom and all.” He stooped, ignoring the screams of protest from his wounded oblique as he drew his revolver.

The men would all have to die, he decided. The first two weren’t going to go anywhere soon; both were unconscious. The third man-Tyson, as he’d been dubbed by Jason-was sliding backwards in fear as a visibly bloody Red Hood knelt down, black and white hair inches from a scarred and ruddy face.

“Now, you’re going to tell me where my helmet is. If I think you’re lying, I’m going to have Batgirl here shoot your dick off. Got it?”

The man urinated on himself, pointing with a shaking hand at the adjacent utility room. 

Standing back up, he smiled widely at Batgirl.

“See, Batsie? All you gotta do is ask nicely. This is starting to hurt, so grab the Hood, would ya?" 

As soon as she went through the doorframe, his revolver was out and he was plugging shots into the men, one in each forehead. Tyson was last, slumping backwards against the wall as a pink cloud exploded out of the back of his skull.