Red Hood was having a pretty chill time tailing whoever it was that he was tailing, as ordered by Robin- god he hated being ordered around, but hey it was a usual occurrence if it was by the demon head. Besides, he was also working on the case and at least he didn't have to do a stakeout.

Watching from behind the mask he stared as the hooded dealer looked around all antsy, several packages tucked away in his backpack. The familiar ticks exposing the addiction within the other- twitchy fingers, dilated pupils, sweaty skin. Red Hood whistled, "seems like someone has been dipping into the stock," he noted under his breath.

Following this dude was boring, he barely did anything of note- just acting like the usual dealer- just way more codependent to what he was selling. The anti-hero tapped his fingers against his belt, keeping sight on the target. What was it that Robin had told him to do again? Right, watch where the money goes.

Should be simple enough.

But as time passed and the more he watched, he saw the junkie sell on the streets and pocket the money. Selling to a woman who definitely shouldn't have brought her baby along to the deal, selling to an elderly man who looked like he was on the verge of death, selling to two young teens- even younger than Damian. It made Red Hood sick. He knew what it was like to live on the streets, to be codependent on substances, he himself never did drugs but he sure as hell knew people who were- his mother included. He also knew what it was like to sell them to make ends meet, and even though he completely understood why these people did what they did... It still made him furious.

Furious because he had to watch a mother be addicted to some random shit and choose drugs over her childrens' needs. Furious because kids have to take care of their sick family members and get involved with gangs. Furious because the government didn't give a shit about the cycle of sin. They just perpetuated it. He hated that he was surrounded by that life, Batman was trying to help, but that was out of his own trauma- not because of a true feeling of empathy, right? Bruce Wayne on the other hand, pissed him off even more. Using his money to be a playboy philanthropist and throwing galas and doing charity events all while Crime Alley continued to spread disease. It was the main reason why Red Hood and Jason couldn't leave that area. He had to help the place that raised him, even if he hated it at the same time with every fiber of his being.

Pain and hatred pushed him forward, even the softer feelings left him feeling too weak to do anything so he had to pretend he wasn't someone capable of feeling. Even back when Damian was a toddler, he knew he got too attached. He was weak, he couldn't do a single thing except make it his priority to protect him. But it got to a point he felt the festering rage beneath his fingertips, so he had to leave.

Even now, with Damian hating his guts, he tended to show his softer side by begrudgingly doing whatever the other asked of him- even if the younger teen didn't know his true thoughts, thinking Jason hated him as well.

He was triggered out of his thoughts when the dealer made it back to an apartment building, assuming that that was where he lived. Red Hood sighed and decided to call it a night. Climbing up the rusty fire escape- he kept an eye on the windows, trying to figure out where the dealer had gone to. It was on the third floor up that Red Hood spotted him and he reached into his bag to pull out a mobile security camera. Waiting a bit more until the dealer eventually stumbled into the bedroom to go to bed- Red Hood pried the window open, sneaking himself inside.

The room was musty, smelled of mold and smoke. There were stains on the ground and on the walls, if Hood were to rub a finger against the yellow stained wall it would come clean with nicotine.

Snores came from the room down the hall so Red Hood figured he was safe, even if he wasn't- it was definitely no contest he'd win a brawl. Turning around to look for a good spot, he decided to fix the camera into a spot in the corner of the living room, hiding with the large spot of peeled paint.

With a job well done, the vigilante snuck back out of the apartment and turned on the camera from his phone. He saw the room where he had been previously standing in was black and white, recording a pathetic abode.

When he was making it back to his safehouse, he stopped by a convenience store to grab a quick hot dog. The cashier let him grab one on the house before waving him goodbye as Red Hood left with the greasy glizzy.

It was a quiet night, Red Hood took off his helmet revealing a red domino and messy black hair with a white fringe. He held the hot dog to his mouth and took a bite. It had delicious layers of mustard and ketchup with some chopped onions on top. Glancing down at his watch it was around 5:27AM, time to call it quits.

Chowing down the dog in three bites, he tossed the napkins into the trash before putting on his helmet and getting on his bike that was parked off on a side street. Starting up the engine- the man sped home.

Lights passed him by as he zipped through the streets filled with early morning traffic, lane splitting to make the commute faster. Eventually though, he made it back to his own apartment.

His body tensed as he got up the stairs and to his front door where he noticed that lights were on. Someone infiltrated his abode. Reaching into his back pocket where his gun was held, he prepared to burst in- guns-a-blazing. But he heard some people talking from behind the door, before it swung open and revealed Damian... whom was staring at him unimpressed.

"You got this close to your apartment before noticing someone was there?" Damian asked with a bored little attitude.

Red Hood heaved a sigh, stashing his gun away. "Well considering you and the rest of the crew know how to disarm my security measures- I didn't receive a notice," he supplied, before pushing Damian aside so he could walk in.

On his couch was another teen he didn't recognize. They made eye contact and every hair on his body stood up. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Damian, glaring at the intruder with blood red eyes.

He's dangerous. I need to... Jason noticed that the unfamiliar teen found amusement in his distrustful body language with the way his lips quirked at the corners and the relaxed position he was residing in. Damian side stepped his older brother and walked in between the two, "Todd, this is Jonathan. Jon, this is Todd."

Recognition flashed in Jason's eyes before he lowered his guard a bit, but the uneasy feeling stayed. He took off his helmet and mask, tossing them onto the coffee table, and looked at this 'Jon' person. Superman's kid.

"Why are you and your little boyfriend here?" Jason questioned, ignoring the way Damian made a noise of indignation- focusing more on the delight written clear as day on Jon's face.

Damian crossed his arms, "I figured it would be easier if we just worked together since we are already on the case. It would also be faster to exchange information and come up with theories," he explained, trying to get Jason's attention off of the alien.

Unfortunately Jason didn't move from his spot, keeping eyes on Jon who didn't seem bothered by it as he was laying on his side, holding his head up with his hand as he rested his elbow into the arm of the couch.

"Tt. Jason ."

"Hm? Oh,"Jason turned to Damian who looked annoyed that he was being ignored, "yeah sure, makes sense or whatever. So what info do you got? I didn't get much from the dude I followed, he just sold some shit before going home. I did sneak in and plant a camera though so we can monitor him."

The teen hummed at that, "good idea... for us we found out that the supplier might be using the drugs as a weapon, or at least specific batches. It could also be tied into the disappearances of people, so we should go back and look into those cases so we can cross reference," Damian suggested, sitting on the open space at the other end of the couch- which Jon helpfully moved his legs.

Jon sat up, looking at Damian with intrigue, "d'you think we can get access to cameras near the disappearance sites?" He asked, "just so we can see if anyone went in or out."

"Well, duh," Jason unhelpfully replied, sitting on the recliner- pulling out a tablet from the side pockets. "New to crime fighting?"

The alien scrunched up his nose, "new to solving problems with my head before my fists," he stated, a vague threat behind that little sentence. His attention was turned to Damian though when the other nudged him with his foot- shooting him a scolding look. Jon huffed, but backed down, leaning into the arm of the couch once more.

Jason snorted at the interaction. Literally a dog in training. "Alright, so looking back I can find four people who are linked to a gruesome disappearance- they weren't reported officially, only stumbled upon later so it's hard to tell what went on at the scenes," he turned the tablet over to Damian who seemed surprised by the quickly gathered info. At the surprise, Jason shrugged, "honestly I had some hunches because of word on the street and my connections- also helps these were basically footnotes to a certain sector."

Jon switched from resting on the couch to leaning against Damian's side instead as he looked at the faces of four missing people. Three men and one woman. "Daisy Glade? That can't be a real name," he mumbled.

Damian covered up a laugh with a cough, "truthfully I wouldn't be surprised if people like this changed their names depending on their situation. If they got themselves into trouble before, they probably went into hiding. Boom, in trouble again," he commented, scrolling down the file with his finger on the screen.

"Daisy disappeared at the same time her husband and their neighbor were murdered. It was assumed she was kidnapped and pronounced dead due to lack of leads," Jason informed, "neighbor was a lady visiting their house at the time."

"Was there any signs of another person there?" Jon questioned. If the special pills did indeed turn someone into a beast of some sort- then there had to have been someone else there, the bodies left behind weren't mutated. "Unless... Terrance wasn't the original target and we got it wrong?"

The caramel skinned boy beside his pasty ass paused, "if that's the case, maybe it wasn't random? Or maybe it was still random in Terrance's case because he threw a party and it was a mistake someone else paid for?"

Jason scratched his head, "so like, what do you mean a monster?" He asked, confusion written on his face, "you said that special batches could be used as a weapon? From what I recall at the condo, everyone took Bite and started killing each other. Or actually... maybe not, I doubt they'd be able to tear each other apart like that and my informant was the only one with self inflicted wounds."

Damian paused, forgetting all about the fact that Jason didn't know a big crucial detail. Shit... well if we're working together he might as well know, he of all people... knows what it is like to kill out of necessity. "When I was at the condo, there was a man there. He was giant and he had-" He gasped- a flicker of revelation in his eyes. "Jon, we were wrong. It wasn't a specific pill that turned a random person into that thing. I can't believe I forgot all about it- the giant had a doll mask fused to his face. That means the giant wasn't there since the beginning."

Jon blinked, "oh yeah- you're right. So the giant was a henchman which we originally thought, we don't know what the pills do, and people are still missing... greaaat. We're basically back where we started," he groaned, flopping back into the cushions.

"I'm still confused, so there was another guy there that you thought turned into a monster at the party but he wasn't at the party at all? Where'd he go?" Jason inquired, it was puzzling and he was only getting bits and pieces. Well I do have an idea... the puddle of blood and the smell of burnt flesh and... His eyes trailed to Jon.

It was an uncomfortable silence, just for a few moments, then Damian spoke. "I was attacked by a giant man in a doll mask, he sprayed me with that drug, but he was so incredibly strong- I'm positive he was the one who did all the carnage. His hands were bloody and raw... he- he wasn't there when you were there because..."

"Because I killed him," Jon said easily, his body language was calm, unafraid, even as Jason stared at him with a serious glint in his eyes.

"Why'd you kill him? Reasoning is everything," Jason interrogated.

"He hurt Dami. Simple as that, he deserved to die for laying a hand on him," Jon responded simply. To him, it didn't matter if the man killed plenty of others. He would've killed him anyways if prompted to- but killing him of his own volition without prompt because his Damian was hurt was the true testament to his actions.

Jason exhaled through his nose, shifting his gaze from Jon to Damian who had an unreadable expression. It was as if he was trying to fight an internal battle of morality. What would you even say to a guy that killed for you?

"I figured that something must have happened based on what you told me earlier about Jon and the fact that there was evidence left behind at the scene, and no I didn't tell anyone about it. Figured it would've just painted a bad picture of you no matter which way it went," Jason said, processing all he heard. He looked up at Jon once more, sensing the unhinged nature of his- yet Damian was also someone who could handle it. Right? He had a handle of his own boundaries so if something more serious were to occur he'd speak up. "How far would you go for Damian?"

"Pretty much anything he asks of me," Jon replied quickly, "he's the only thing that matters."

Damian stood up from the couch, annoyance on his face, "I am not going to sit here and listen to this kind of shotgun conversation. I can handle things myself, I don't need either of you to gauge what kind of protection I need or want," he insisted, stomping past them to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

His face was sour. It's so easy for you to say those things because you know what life is like without them. I'm only a placeholder... He thought bitterly, bringing the mug to his lips.

Jon and Jason exchanged looks. "I don't trust you, but it's his life," Jason stated, taking the tablet from the spot where Damian left it.

"Whatever, I don't need anyone's approval."

"I do have hidden kryptonite."

"Wow I'm so scared, so does Dames."

Jason nodded in approval, before starting a new file to create with the two teenaged 'sweethearts'. Two men in Damian's corner who share similar ideals- just how will he survive? And without a headache?

I be confusing myself with shit I forgot was a plothole... oh well I'll get back on track eventually LMFAO. Damian is still on the fence about romance and believing that he's actually that loved... hopefully he'll be convinced otherwise soon. I hope you enjoyed!