Wearing the Red Hood

Chapter 2:

This chapter is once again dedicated to OtakuGoku because her comments legit make me happy af. They never fail to make me smile, laugh or agree. She is one hell of an amazing reader, and the reason I am doing this double upload. Enjoy!!! <3 And she also has a fanfic about the child of the certain Clown Prince of Crime! I don't know about you guys, but I'm totes checking it out ;)

Jason

I was angry. Well, angrier than usual, although I knew it wasn't really because of Asteria.

I was angry at myself for being affected. As I reached the car and got in, my anger had faded enough for me to realize that I should apologize to Asteria for my outburst. Placing my arms on the steering wheel, I rested my head on it and closed my eyes as the memories came back.

** Flashback **

It was a few days after Dick's birthday, and Christmas was fast approaching. Tim and I were together on patrol, because I didn't trust anyone else to go with me. Except maybe Asteria, but it was understandable she'd want to be with Dick. And Dick would probably kill me if I took his fiancée away from him.

Tim and Damian were ecstatic about the news that the soon- to- be Mr. And Mrs. Grayson had ordered us some food from Burger King. However, before Tim could say that we were almost done with our patrol, a piercing scream reached our ears. It was coming from the alley right below the building we were perched on. Not really thinking about it, I threw my body into the air, loving the feeling of free fall. I used the stairs of the fire escape to slow my fall until my feet touched the ground, and I was met with a familiar sight I'd seen countless of times. Except, I knew the woman in this scenario.

Around four men stood one woman with familiar brown hair and warm brown eyes. Right now, she was far from the calm and collected doctor I knew. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her mouth was still open from her scream. The man standing in front of her held a gun to her face, but all eyes were on me. When Tim landed with a soft thud beside me, their eyes widened even more.

"Look boys," Tim said in a bored tone. "I'd really like to get this over with and have some Burger King."

I turned to him for a split second, and if it weren't for the helmet covering my head, he would've seen the funny look I was giving him. "Well, I can't argue with the kid. Burger King does sound a lot better than staring at all your faces," I told them as I turned back to them. When my eyes landed on Dr. Anders, I thought to add, "Well, maybe except for her."

"Stay back or I'll shoot," the man holding the gun threatened us. I stood up taller and crossed my arms, raising my eyebrows in a challenge.

"Really?" I asked, noticing his unsteady hand. I pulled out my own babies and smirked. "Want to see who's a better shot?"

I saw the man's finger twitch and knew he was going to shoot her. Not really thinking about it, I flipped in the air and landed in front of the doctor. My arms instinctively went around her, with my back towards the gun. I felt the bullet go through me before my feet even touched the ground. I cursed at the pain, but stared into the frightened eyes of the doctor. "You're okay. Just stay behind me," I whispered to reassure her. No need to let her know the pain was nearly unbearable.

Not really waiting for a reply, I turned back towards the man. He now looked a bit frightened to see me still standing. "Oh my god, you're bleeding!" I heard Dr. Anders exclaim, when she saw the bullet that was meant for her lodged in my back.

"That tends to happen when you get shot," I replied sarcastically, though in truth, the wound felt like it was burning me from the inside. My suit may have been thick, but it wasn't that great with close- range bullets. The biker jacket over it made the impact softer though. "You just put a bullet hole through my favorite jacket," I spoke through gritted teeth, aiming my guns at the man who pulled the trigger. "Do you know how much this costs?"