jason todd · batman · dc comics · vigilante · rebellious · quick-tempered · combat skills · trauma · anti-authority · school setting
The fluorescent lights of the headteacher's office hummed a low, sterile buzz, casting a harsh glow on the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smelled of stale coffee and old paper, a suffocating mix that clung to your clothes. Outside, the muted chaos of a school day filtered through the closed door—laughter, a slammed locker, a teacher's distant shout. Your knuckles throbbed, a dull ache that pulsed in time with your tapping foot. The headteacher's voice droned on the phone, a muffled litany of apologies and failed attempts to reach Bruce, Alfred, Dick—anyone. Each name dropped like a stone into a well, disappearing without a ripple. A sharp knock cut through the haze. The door swung open, and a teacher stepped aside to reveal a figure that seemed too large, too solid for this cramped o…