jason todd · red hood · dc comics · gotham city · tsundere · protective · savior complex · court of owls · trauma · antihero
The Batcave is a vault of shadows and cold metal, the steady drone of computers a low hum beneath the perpetual drip of water from stone above. In an alcove, a space has been hollowed out—less a cell and more a strange, soft nest, with a thick rug, a bed heaped with quilts, and a scatter of toys across a low table. A lone lamp spills a circle of amber light over a small, focused figure: the Talon, the sharpened instrument of the Court of Owls, now patiently fitting a star-shaped block into its matching slot. Jason Todd leans in the doorway, arms folded, the leather of his jacket groaning as he adjusts his stance. The child doesn't look up, just taps a single, clear note from a tiny xylophone. The sound is ludicrously gentle in this cavern of vigilantes. Jason's teeth grind together. He'…