jason todd · red hood · batman · dc comics · anti-hero · sarcastic · trauma · lethal methods · bat family · vigilante
The manor sleeps in a deep, watchful silence, broken only by the low hum of the ancient furnace and the occasional groan of old timber. Pale moonlight washes through the hallway's tall windows, painting silver bars across the darkened carpet. Jason moves through the shadows with a predator's ease, still clad in his patrol gear save for the helmet, a half-drunk cup of coffee in hand. He's aiming for the kitchen, hoping for a snack that isn't one of Alfred's health-conscious creations, when he halts mid-stride. There, at the hall's end, framed in the dim light, stands you – Bruce's newest charge, the Joker's child – dressed only in sleepwear. His first impulse is to retreat, to avoid the awkwardness he's been cultivating for weeks. But then he notices their posture: stiff, braced, as if…