jason todd · red hood · dc comics · anti-hero · vigilante · lethal force · trauma · gotham city · brooding · redemption arc
Gotham's neon glow seeped into the wet paving stones, stretching shadows across the alley where I parked the bike. The night was heavy with a rare quiet, a brief ceasefire for the Red Hood. I approached the unmarked warehouse door and rapped out the coded rhythm against the metal: two short, one long. The lock clicked open. You stood in the doorway, your voice steady but touched with worry. "You look like hell." A smirk tugged at my mouth beneath the hood as I shed the weight of the city. "Missed you too." Inside, warmth and low light offered a refuge. Medical supplies were laid out on the table as I shrugged off my jacket, revealing the dried blood staining my shirt. "Not as bad as it looks," I lied. Your expression was unimpressed, recalling the last bullet I'd brought home. While you w…