Chapter Text
Snow fell, coating the rooftops. They were slippery, more so than usual, which meant he was moving across the city at a slower rate and being far more careful than he would’ve. Slipping, falling off a rooftop and breaking his neck was not ideal and kind of ruined literally all of his plans.
He landed on another rooftop, rolling across it. He stopped dead, one knee still on the ground as a figure stood in front of him. The figure turned and looked at him, red helmet gleaming.
“Oh hey, fancy running into you here. Heard you were in a bad spot, got out then? Always knew you would. I mean, you bat people are always much harder to get rid of than one would expect.” Roy said, standing up and slinging the bow back over his shoulder.
A gun shimmered under the moonlight as it was aimed at him.
“Woah man! Chill!” Roy said, throwing his hands up.
“I am not a bat.” Red hood snapped.
Roy laughed and rolled his eyes, putting his hands down. Typical Jaybird and his crazy mood swings. “Yeah, sure Jay, whatever you say. It’s not like you’re wearing a bat on your uniform.” He said, gesturing to the red bat splashed across his chest.
“What- it’s ironic! I’m claiming back the sigil!” Red hood exclaimed, lowering the gun.
“Suurreee, keep telling yourself that.” Roy said, tucking his hands into his pockets. He forgot how cold winter was in Gotham. He moved over to the roof edge and sat down, dangling his feet over and looking at the neon lights reflecting off of fresh snow below. The whole city was lit up, lights strun everywhere, providing a blindingly beautiful mirage of colours that the dark and bleeding city rarely had.
“Fine, whatever. How the fuck do you know who I am?” Red hood asked, growling through the mask and standing behind Roy, looming over the red arrow.
Roy craned his neck back, looking up at the vigilante. “Are you serious? You don’t remember the gun range, the alleyway?” He asked in a confused tone.
Red Hood started to laugh and took off his helmet. “No. I don’t. Think you have me confused with someone else.” He said, looking very much like Jay. How could he be confused- wait. Where was the brand?
“Hey, where’s your brand? Did Batman finally pay for plastic surgery?” Roy asked.
He rocketed forwards, slipping off the rooftop. A line was taught around his stomach, slamming him into the side of the building, the imprint of a boot still in his back.
“No. I am not the fucking imposter, clone, alternate universe, whatever the fuck that creature is!” Red Hood snapped.
“Huh? But if you’re not Jay then who are you?” Roy asked, dangling from the line.
“I’m the red hood! The real Jason Todd!” Jason yelled.
Ohhh that sorta makes sense. No wonder Jay didn’t remember like, anything. Roy thought it was a result from whatever happened to him, but if he was from a different world, or a clone, then no wonder he didn’t know.
“Oh, right. Okay. I thought you were dead, then the other you showed up and was weirdly nice to me? Then he sort of demanded I stay with him until he was kidnapped and I thought you were him cause he talked about some red hood thing but clearly you’re not.” Roy explained, trying to gesture but failing due to the rope wrapped around him, still slowly rotating as he spoke.
Jason, the other one, pinched his nose as he slowly reeled him up. Roy was unceremoniously dumped on the rooftop, the line cut off of him with a dagger far too close to his skin. Unfortunately for this little jaybird, he was used to the others tactics and the other Jay was way better at threatening cause you never knew when it was just a threat and when he would follow through. He’d seen him follow through more than once and, yikes.
“Fine. Because you two seem so close, tell me about him.” Red Hood said, bending down in front of Roy and casually pulling out a gun. Another subtle threat, which would have worked were he not exposed to Jay’s very unsubtle threats. Threatening to shove a taser cable down someone’s throat then activate the taser was a very scary threat. Especially considering he watched him do it to a guy in crime alley. It… did not look pleasant.
“Really? A gun? You know, the other one loves guns too. They don’t scare me, cause a gun will hurt then it will stop or be treated. Yeah it might do a lot of damage or just outright kill me, but Jay? Phew, thank god I’ve not been on the recieving end of his threats. Apparently the joker taught him torture and if the clown knows anything, it’s how to hurt people.” Roy ranted, standing up despite Red Hood bristling at the movement.
“The joker took him as an <em>apprentice?”</em> Red Hood snarled. The white of his domino lenses, which who wears a mask under a mask? Flashed green, a soft glow permeating through them. That was kind of weird. But it was gone quickly so Roy didn’t think too much of it.
He waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, not like that. Jay didn’t really talk about it but I think his entire teenage years were spent in Jokers hands as his toy or something. I don’t know, anything he said was during a bad time so I didn’t press. And he kept making weirdly concerning off hand remarks while hurting criminals about how he learned that one from Joker, which was usually paired with a scar. So whatever it was, it probably wasn’t good.” Roy said calmly, casually, watching the snow fall from above.
Roy felt the press of a gun to the back of his head. So Jaybird was still jumpy, figures. Roy would probably be super freaked out if he was mistaken for his clone or whatever. Well and that his clone or alternate universe version had basically taken his place and sort of friends. It wasn’t like Roy and Jason were friends before he died, Roy was Dick’s friend. He just knew him a bit, met him a few times very quickly and right before missions, so it wasn’t like they had the chance to be friendly. Now he was friends with someone else that wasn’t Jason but was. He could already see the similarities.
His Jay was just as jumpy and untrusting as this one. Paranoid too. But what bat wasn’t paranoid?
Apparently this Jason wasn’t paranoid enough.
The metal jammed into his skull, leaving his vision white very momentarily, before the pressure was gone. A heavy impact sounded right next to him. Roy’s vision came back, and he could see the Arkham Knight straddling the Red Hood, wrists pinned to the ground.
The Red Hood bucked and tried to slip an arm loose, turning and actually dislocating his shoulder. Roy winced as it came free from the socket, allowing Red Hood enough room to headbutt the knight.
The screen cracked on the helmet, image fritzing with glitches along the face and eyes. The Knight let go of Red Hood’s wrists and reached for his hip, grabbing Red Hood’s own gun and pressing it against his neck in one swift movement.
“Get away from Red Arrow or I give you a rooftop tracheotomy.” The Knight threatened, voice robotic and synthesised as he growled the words out.
Red Hood started laughing, spitting blood onto the rooftop. Blood was leaking from his nose, the bone offset. Some of that blood was pooling in his mouth, staining his teeth red. “Yeah? Why do you care? Hasn’t the sidekick outlived it’s usefulness yet?” He asked in a cutting tone.
Is that really all he was seen as? A sidekick and a tool that was broken and couldn’t be used? No wonder he wasn’t friends with this Jason, he was kind of an asshole. This Jason was a sidekick too, surely he would know what it feels like to never live up to the so called original, to be constantly compared and deemed to be less than satisfactory.
“Red Arrow was his friend. He cared about him, and you touch anything he cares about? You fuck with me. You’re lucky I haven’t put you down yet, replacement.” The Knight snarled.
Roy had no idea what he meant by ‘him’ but it was a sweet sentiment. He really did care about him and his well being, even if it didn’t always seem like it. He would hug the Knight if he knew it wouldn’t get his kneecaps shot off. Or a car battery attached to his nutsack.
Red Hood started laughing. “Oh I’m the replacement?! What about you, you’re not even from this world, you’re not real!” He shouted.
Roy knew that was exactly the wrong thing to say. His Jaybird had a loose grip on reality to begin with. Telling him he wasn’t real would only make things worse, he would probably snap and either try to prove it wasn’t real, or believe it and do something stupid because consequences didn’t apply to the imaginary.
He had to do something. Before either one of them, or both, died. He didn’t want Batman blaming him. (He always didn’t want their deaths on his conscience.)
“Woah. Stop. First of all Jay, you absolutely are real. Second of all, I love that you care, that’s really sweet. But I can defend myself. And fourth of all, do you really need to fight? Nobody is replacing anyone. I mean I’m sure Bats and the others would want both of you under his roof. He’s been weirdly protective of both of you ever since either one first appeared.” Roy interjected.
Red Hood stared at him. “Fourth? Where did third go?” He asked then shook his head. “Whatever. You just stay out of my way. Go back to your own world or whatever the fuck, you’re not wanted here.”
“We fucking can’t! There is no way home for us! Home is where Batman is dead, Nightwing is an addict, and Robin keeps trying to kill us!” The Knight snapped.
Roy.. did not know that. Well, he didn’t even know the Knight was from a different world, but all of it sounded pretty bad. No wonder the Knight was the way he was, it sounded like he had a pretty bad life. And Roy was sure he had the tiniest pieces of the very large puzzle. Arkham Knight never spoke about himself and there was probably a very good reason for it. Especially given the little information he had given out. All information that was deeply concerning.
“You’re lucky you’re not dead yet! Only reason is cause joker is the priority with putting someone in the ground. You don’t matter. Yet. You’re nothing. Look how easily I won against you.” The Knight taunted, cocking the hammer back on the gun.
“You want to kill Joker?” Red hood asked. He sounded inquistive, interested. Like he wanted that idea more than anything, to the point that he might consider not killing the replacement.
“Hold on. Isn’t he already dead? I thought a building dropped on him in the sewers or something.” Roy interjected again.
“No.” They both snapped at him.
“This is the joker we’re talking about. Sure nobody has seen him, but I won’t believe anything until I see his corpse. He survives the most unsurvivable shit.” Red Hood said with a snort.
The Knight tilted his head slightly as if conceeding the point. Which considering literally everything that happens in Gotham, Roy sort of agreed. How anyone, including the villains, survived was actually a miracle. Whatever gothamites were made from should be studied. Maybe they could make an immortality pill from it.
“Well then why don’t you team up? We can all track him down! A true trio for the legends!” Roy said.
The two vigilantes looked at him. The Knight slowly backed off, handing the gun back to the Red Hood.
“Not a team up. But I still owe you for saving us, so a truce. I won’t put you in the motherfucking ground until after joker is dead.” Arkham Knight said when Red Hood took hold of the gun.
Red Hood snorted, lifting his helmet up from where it had lay discarded on the snow covered rooftop. “I’d like to see you try. You know shit all about me, how the fuck you think you’re gonna win?” He taunted the Knight.
Roy kind of did want to see who would win but he also absolutely did not because it would end with someone being buried. And then Batman would probably blame him and everything would go incredibly wrong and he would need to go on the run again and have no friends that cared or supported him.
Also for the record, his bets were on the knight. The red hood seemed to have a moral code and some sanity. The knight had neither of those, he would do whatever it took to take his opponent down. He once watched Jay keep fighting despite his ankle being completely shattered. He just kept going and did not stop. Even the guy they were going against was impressed and very scared. Which was valid. After all, what could you do against a guy who didn’t even flinch at a broken ankle? As formidable as the bats were, they all at least faltered when a bone broke. They didn’t give up, but they didn’t just act like it was nothing. Plus AK was his friend, he had an obligation to be on his side. You don’t bet against your bestie.
“I’ll win because that’s what I do.” The Knight snarled, reaching for his weapon.
Both of them had guns pointed at each other in the blink of an eye.
Roy stepped in between, hands out. “Woah! Let’s not do this! Not when one of you will end up dead and then neither of you will find joker and he gets what he wants. You don’t want to just give that to him for free do you?” He asked them. It was a dirty and poorly thought out tactic, a manipulation a baby could see through. It worked though.
They both lowered their weapons, tucking them away. “Fine. I won’t kill you. Right now.” Red Hood said.
The knight was silent, but put the weapon away anyway.
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. And then a second one when the Knight jumped off the rooftop. Wait, was he here just for Roy? That was actually kind of sweet. Also slightly concerning because how did he know? Was he watching him?
Oh right. He was a bat. Of course he was watching him. Duh.
Roy looked at the red hood and reached into his pocket. “Hey so listen. I was here because Dick gave me something from the butler and said it was for Jason. I assumed he meant my Jay but now I think it’s for you? Anyway. This is for you I guess. Thanks for not killing me? And sorry I thought you were your alternative universe version. Bye!” Roy said and pressed a crumpled envelope into Jason’s hand.
He drew his bow back and took off into the night, going to join the Knight’s patrol. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.
——-
Dear Master Jason,
I have been informed that you will not be coming home for an undetermined amount of time. While saddened by the news, I understand and respect that decision. I am writing to you to request that you suspend that for one evening. Next Wednesday I will be putting together a family meal and wish to have all the family there.
I do hope you will find the time to attend.
Alfred Pennyworth.
Jason swore when he read the letter. He let it fall onto the bed with stained covers and duct tape over the mattress where springs had started to poke out. The walls of his apartment were riddled with bullet holes and the floor littered in needles he had to sweep aside whenever he entered. He should dispose of those, but he wouldn’t be here long. He lay back on the bed, loose spring stabbing into his back. He ran his hands down his face, swearing again.
He wanted nothing more than to not face the family that had abandoned him, let him die, and refused to avenge or save him. That had replaced him with a far inferior copy that could barely function. The copy was completely insane, did no one see that? He thought he was crazy but my god was the Knight a whole new level of crazy. Talking about himself in third person? It was fucking weird.
But the issue here was it was Alfred asking. He couldn’t disappoint his second mom. Fuck, the clone would probably be there too. It was settled. He wouldn’t go. Fuck that noise, disappointing Alfred was better than having to deal with Bruce and literally everyone else.