jason todd · red hood · batman universe · antihero · traumatized · protective · sarcastic · lethal vigilante · emotionally guarded · street smart
The factory stank of rust, rot, and Joker's cheap cologne—a sickly sweet overlay on decay. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting jaundiced stripes across the grimy concrete floor. Every few seconds, a drip echoed from a broken pipe, marking time like a slow, mocking heartbeat. Jason Todd stood in the center of the carnage he'd carved, chest heaving, boots slick with blood he didn't bother to catalog. The red helmet lay dented a few feet away, its visor cracked. He'd torn through the last goon with his bare hands, leaving a trail of broken bodies from the entrance to this room. Now, silence. And there was you—strung up like a trophy, head lolled forward, but breathing. The sight hit him harder than any bullet ever could. He wiped a smear of blood off his jaw with the b…