Year Ten: Scarlet

Parents know their children.

His own mother failed to live up to that standard whenever she was on one of her highs. He'd find her crumbled on the ground or splayed on the couch, and she'd stare at him through that glazed, unknowing gaze of her. Sometimes she confused him for his father; when that happened, she went off on scathing rants splattered with choice words he himself used a lot as an adult.

So Jason had never put much stock in the saying, but it ran through his mind one night, when he caught sight of a costumed figure in pursuit of a thugs. Clad in black and red and wearing night vision goggles, she seemed to be in her mid-teens. Her bright orange hair glowed against the darkness.

Jason watched her dive in front of her prey and dodge his punches. He was close enough that he saw her suppress a smile before aiming a kick to the stomach, followed by an elbow strike to the shoulder. The man fell to the ground with a pained shout and clutched his shoulder defensively.

"Honestly, this is just sad," the girl put her hands on her hips as she planted a foot on the man's stomach. He let out a discomforted oof and winced as she dug her heel in. "Tell me, was it worth getting your ass kicked by a teenage girl? Not that gender should matter here, but you seem like someone who takes pride in his masculinity, so it probably does to you."

Jason's eyes narrowed underneath his helmet, and he stepped out of his hiding spot to approach the girl. "Kid," he called out.

The girl, who up to that point had kept on a mask of control, jumped as if electrocuted. "R-Red Hood!" She stammered. She took a step forward then retreated so there was distance between them. "Um-H-Hi. Hello."

"Never seen you before," Red Hood started. "You new around here?"

"...Yes and no." The girl straightened up. "I'm from here. It's my first night on patrol, though."

"I figured." Red Hood glanced at the thug, who had grown pale once he entered the scene. "This guy giving you trouble?"

"Are you kidding me? I had more trouble designing my costume." She flourished her red cape and twirled in demonstration. She then bounced on the balls of her feet. "I spent weeks on it. It took me a while to find the right material and...but you wouldn't care about that," she sounded abashed. "Sorry, Hood."

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged her apology away, thinking all the while. "What are you called?"

"Oh! Yeah. I'm Scarlet. Nice to meet you."

"Interesting name."

Scarlet preened. "Thank you."

She was thriving off his attention. A stark contrast to the rest of Gotham's populace, who either yielded to him or regarded him with cautious cordiality. His own brothers tended to be somewhat hesitant whenever they met on the field. Scarlet showed no apparent fear of him. She welcome Red Hood's presence wholeheartedly, which either made her very brave or very stupid.

There was another option, one that had been nagging his brain ever since he laid eyes on the girl. He didn't like it and the girl's carrot top kept him from giving it real consideration. There was, however, one way to find out for sure...

He took the plunge. "You did a good job taking that scumbag down. I was impressed."

"Thanks," she said, voice stuffed with pride and shielded delight.

She broke out into a huge smile. A familiar smile. Not speaking another word, he whacked the thug on the floor into unconsciousness and then grabbed 'Scarlet' by the wrist. "Hey!" She protested with the hint of a whine. His resolve hardened and he led her to a secluded alley, where he let her go.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The girl in front of him stiffened. "I don't know-"

Giving the area another sweep, he removed his helmet in order to give her a proper glare. "I know it's you, Catherine," he hissed under his breath. "Now you wanna tell me what's going on, or should we wait til we get home? Fair warning, I won't be so willing to listen later."

She stared at him for a few seconds defiantly and then deflated. "I was hoping you wouldn't recognize me." Catherine muttered, taking off her goggles to reveal the green eyes she and her father shared.

"Catherine, I was trained by Batman. And I'm your father. Of course I was going to know it was you." Jason brought a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "What were you thinking?"

"That I could go more than one patrol before having this conversation," she said.

He scowled. "Catherine-"

"I shouldn't have to explain this to you of all people," Catherine said hotly. "Or to anyone in this family. You're the ones who taught me how to fight. You didn't think this was gonna happen eventually?"

"We taught you martial arts so you could defend yourself, not so you could put yourself in danger!" A headache brewed in his temple. Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. "Honey. You know what can happen to you out here."

"Yeah, I know. It's what happens to you and Uncle Dick and Grandpa whenever you're out here!" Catherine whisper-shouted. Her fists clenched. "I don't see what the big deal is. You were my agewhen you became Robin. Dick was nine when he started out."

"The difference was we weren't out on the field alone," Jason said. "We had someone to watch our backs."

"Okay, then I'll stick with you. We'll be like the father-daughter version of Batman and Robin. Problem solved!"

"Dammit, no." The headache spread. Visions of Catherine beaten half to death invaded his mind. He thought he could hear a bomb ticking in the distance. Fear filled Jason's veins, and he forced himself to take a deep breath.

Getting control of his temper, he put his hands on his daughter's shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, I want you to head home."

"But Dad-"

"Now," His tone left no room for debate. His daughter scowled. She gave him a scathing glare as she put back on her goggles, and didn't spare him another glance as she ran off. Jason let out a deep, shaky breath.

What's up, my old friends. What's that, it's been two years since the last update? I have no idea what you're talking about.

I think you guys can guess what inspired this latest update. YOUNG JUSTICE IS BACK! SEASON 3 is HAPPENING. It took four years, but never late than never. They're even getting the original show runners back. Guess it goes to show you there's always a chance for things to change.

Scarlet is the moniker of Red Hood's sidekick in the comics, so just imagine Catherine wearing her outfit. Also, the orange hair is a wig.

Honestly, I'm not sure how Jason would react to his child wanting to fight crime as a vigilante. On the one hand, he can understand the drive to fight back against injustice. On the other hand, he fucking died on the job. A brutal way to learn you're infallible, that death is a very real possibility, and I doubt any father wants their child to risk their lives like that.

If any of you readers are still out there, then, if you're willing, hit me up with suggestions on what you wanna see happen with Jason and Catherine. I'm hardpressed for scenarios to write about XD.

WE'RE BACK!