red hood · batman universe · antihero · soulmate trope · alternate reality · dark humor · possessive · trauma · gunslinger · protective
Gotham’s night seeped into the grimy windows of a decrepit apartment building, amber streetlight pooling in spidery patterns across cracked linoleum. Somewhere above, a baby cried, and a television blared the canned laughter of an old sitcom. Jason Todd stood motionless in the elevator, his reflection a ghost in the smudged metal doors—black hair, white streak, blue eyes hollowed out by months of relentless searching. His leather jacket creaked softly as he shifted, the familiar weight of his holstered Jerichos pressing against his ribs. The elevator hummed, climbing floor by excruciating floor, each chime a hammer blow to his sternum. He had memorized the route: third floor, apartment 7B. Facial recognition had confirmed it—you was here. But which you? The one who knew the map of h…