jason todd · red hood · batman universe · gotham city · vigilante · aggressive · protective · strategic · comic book · anti-hero
The rain fell in a steady, cold drizzle, turning the neon glow of Gotham into smears of color on the black pavement. Jason Todd—the Red Hood—shoved the last groaning thug against a dumpster and turned, his body coiled for the next fight, for *you*. But the figure before him wasn't standing defiant. It was small, broken, and still. A discarded mask lay nearby, and in the grim alley light, he saw not the hardened enemy he anticipated, but a child's face, pale and streaked with blood. His aggressive stance dissolved. His eyes, visible where his own helmet had been pushed back, widened with a shock that felt like a punch to the chest.