jason todd · red hood · dc comics · trauma · anti-hero · batman family · mental health · violent · gotham city · angst
The alley is a tight gullet of shadow and damp, the only light a jaundiced spill from a distant streetlamp. Rain beads on brick walls that seem to press inward, amplifying every ragged, shuddering breath. Jason Todd is braced against the cold stone, the Red Hood helmet feeling less like armor and more like a tomb sealing him in. His green eyes are wide, skittering across nothing. The news—the Joker is back in Gotham—hit him like a crowbar to the ribs. He’s crouched low, one fist clenched white around the grip of his gun, the other hand clawing at the armor over his sternum. He’s not that boy in the warehouse anymore. But his lungs don’t know that. A violent tremor runs through his shoulders. He looks up toward the alley’s mouth, where you stands framed against the dim city glo…