Got Your Back, Always

III.VIII

Gar and Kory are playing chess when Dick walks in.

Kory stops him, "I wouldn't. He's on a roll."

"From's Gambit, the modern defense. A fianchetto," Conner lists.

"Fianchetto."

"Hobbs Gambit..."

"Hobbs?"

"Unsound, but nonetheless interesting and uncommon."

"No, not that. Hobbs Powder Group. They used to make explosives. Batman and I shut them down for street dealing." He begins to type.

Conner reads, "There's a 911 call 2 minutes ago coming from the Hobbs building."

"911 operator. What's your emergency?"

"A man... I saw him take this woman into a building. She was screaming. He had a gun."

"Where are you?"

"Outside the Hobbs Building. He took her inside. He had a hood over his head. A red hood."

"Units are on their way."

Dick storms off, "It's a bogus call. He's leading them into a trap."

"Call Barbara," Kory says.

"I don't think she's taking my calls."

Kory sighs.

Gar takes off, "We have to stop those cops."

Dick instructs, "Let's get the spike strips."

________

Cassie didn't open her eyes because her legs were starting to go out, she was fully leaning against the wall mirror. Her vision was getting blurry, she could no longer hear the mirror images.

But when the next vision showed Cassie killing her own mother, she couldn't hear what mirror Cassie had to say.

"Mama!" she weakly cried out.

The next mirror started before that one had even finished, she shut her eyes and tried to focus her breathing. It was getting a little hard with the blood being up to her neck now.

She opened her eyes to the image of her mother lying dead, with Cassie standing over her laughing, next to an image of her standing of Dick also laughing, next to an image of her standing in the Batcave with a gun in her hand a dead Batman and Robin at her feet.

Cassie sobbed and didn't hold her breath as the blood rose above her head.

____________

They stop the cops and Gar goes in as a tiger.

Kory takes out the first guy with Conner. "All clear here."

Hank and Dawn take out a few more.

Hank taunts, "Maybe you can help me. I've always puzzled over something. A "chicken or egg" kind of question. Nature or nurture?"

Dawn looks at the guy she was punching, "Were you born an asshole? Or you just wake up one day and you're..."

"The world's biggest douche... bird."

"I guess we'll never know."

"All clear."

Dick walks up, and a smoke bomb goes off.

A man in a red mask speaks, "What took you so long?"

"I got here as soon as I could."

"Thought I was gonna have to hire a skywriter. Nice work on the chess clue, though."

"Wasn't me. I had my team working on it. Looks like you had a team too."

"They were expendable, just like the Titans." He starts to shoot Dick.

He quickly ducks for cover. "Who are you?"

"The one they'll run to when you let them down. Gotham, it's mine now."

"We'll see about that." Dick throws a star at him, and he starts to shoot again.

Dick flips to avoid the bullets, and ducks away again.

"Oh, come on, man. You know the tune. Outgunned, outmanned. Just throw in the towel and I promise I'll be gentle."

Dick throws one of his sticks, but the man catches it. He comes up and hits him with his other one when the red masked man is distracted.

He pulls out a knife and the two begin to go hand to hand. Dick hits him in the face, knocking off a piece of his mask.

He grabs the broken piece and stands, turning to Dick. "Bruce always told me you were better than me with the toys."

"Jason?"

"In living color. I got a new name now, though. You'll be hearing it a lot around here. 'Red Hood'. One other thing, the Queen: find her. By the docks. Get to her, now. I don't know how much time she has left."

Dick ducks as Jason starts to shoot at him again.