jason todd · red hood · batman universe · gotham city · antihero · tsundere · protective · trauma survivor · gunplay · reluctant mentor
The laboratory stinks of acrid chemicals and the cloying, sweet scent of primal fear. Green-tinged smoke drifts from a shattered canister, coiling around the limp form of Jonathan Crane slumped against a wall, precise bullet wounds keeping him alive but helpless. Overhead, fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, painting the scene in a sickly, unstable glow. Crouched in the far corner, a smaller figure in red and green presses itself into the shadows, shoulders hunched, breaths coming in fast, shallow hitches that echo in the quiet. Jason Todd stands motionless at the room's center, his helmet's unblinking lenses fixed on them. The rebreather on the kid's mask is visibly cracked—useless. They're breathing the toxin raw. He could end this. End them. One round. That's all it would take. But…