Oculus | J. Todd ✔

[03]

Unlike all others who had donned the identity of the Red Hood before him, Jason intended to leave a much lasting impact on Gotham city. He knew crime could not be stopped but from his experience in the dark and dreary city streets, he was well aware that crime could be controlled.

That sort of control could only be attained via fear. And for those who were not afraid, death would be a final blow.

So far he had gotten the Gotham drug trade under his control by calling up a meeting of all the drug dealers in Gotham and then offered them protection from Black Mask and Batman if only they agreed to stop their illegal work such as selling drugs to children and kick up 40 percent of their profit to him.

It was a fair deal in his opinion and to put the seal in the deal, he had thrown them a bag that contained the heads of their lieutenants that had taken him mere two hours to finish, letting them know that he was indeed not someone to be messed up with.

Further, he intended to hijack all of Black Mask's shipments so as to ensure that he could not concoct any trouble in Gotham. With all the drug trade snatched from Black Mask's hands so easily, the crime lord was more than just infuriated. To him, the new Red Hood was a great deal of trouble who was threatening to take over his own empire built upon the corpses of the innocent and the blood of the helpless.

Jason was standing at the rooftop of a building that offered him a clear view and perfect shooting range for the scene below, his face concealed by the red helmet. Batman and Nightwing were interrogating three of his men who had hijacked Black Mask's cargo containing the advanced android Amazo that had currently been destroyed by the two vigilantes.

He had mantled his sniper's rifle and took aim, silencing the three with a bullet to the chest each before they could tell anything to Batman. Soon as the shots had been fired, he packed up his weapon and dashed off knowing that by then Batman would already be on his trail.

A car was parked down at the ready and soon as he swerved it out on the road, he glimpsed the Batcopter looming behind him. His foot pressed down the accelerator and he dodged the speeding cars as he headed towards the Ace Chemicals factory.

Batman was close behind him and the anchor that shot down from his helicopter launched itself at the roof of the car so Jason quickly dislodged the roof and sped further down the underpass knowing that he could throw Batman off pursuit for a short while since the Batcopter could not enter the tunnel. 

However, Batman did not leave pursuit and was after him following him straight into the ACE Chemicals factory as he broke in through a weak steel shutter in the building.

Deep down he wanted Bruce to find out that it was him, Jason Todd, under the hood. He wanted him to know that he was the one causing him such a lot of trouble but indirectly putting a leash on the crime rates as well. He wanted him to realize that there could be other ways to control crime but in doing so the hard step had to be taken; some people had to be eliminated.

And as he stood at a level above Batman's majestic sweeping figure, hidden away in the shadows, he took his time to judge the nonexistent expressions on the man's barely visible face before making his presence known.

While wearing the cowl, Bruce was nothing short of an enigma. As Batman he was a concept, an idea, a perception. Hard to defeat. But as the man underneath, he had the same weaknesses as others, the same insecurities and the same regrets.

The biggest regret of which was none other than Jason himself.

"Hard to forget that night, huh?"

Batman looked up alert as he stepped out of the shadows. That look was what had always struck fear in the notorious criminals of Gotham.

But Jason knew the man underneath the cowl. It wasn't tough for him to get through the cowl that stood as a formidable barrier. Unlike other criminals, he had no fear of Batman. Because he had known both sides of his personality.

He knew Bruce could envision that night when he and the previous Red Hood had battled on those very decks and Batman could not save the man as he fell into a boiler of chemicals. Later on that very man had emerged as the Joker; the greatest plight to inflict Gotham city.

"In a way, Batman, this was the sight of your first great failure," he had cocked a gun at him, his voice reverberating and unrecognizable due to the red helmet, "maybe your greatest. But certainly not your last, right? Ah memories..."

His voice trailed off but instead of firing the bullet at Batman, he shot at his car that was jammed into the boiler underneath, setting off a series of explosions. He was able to escape even though Batman pursued but the explosions retained him.

Batman on the other hand propelled himself out of the building right in time for shortly afterwards the whole place exploded.

Smoke and flames lifted up from the building but his head was still crammed with the few words Red Hood had spoken to him. It seemed as if he knew him personally, as if the man under the hood was someone who had been closely connected to him in the past.

Someone who knew him much better than the others.

And for a man like Bruce who was balancing both his normal and vigilante life precariously, that revelation could prove to be hazardous.

He knew he simply had to find out the real identity of the current Red Hood. Because from his words and all that he had caused in Gotham city, it didn't seem as if he was an average criminal who could be dealt with easily.

***