Arkham Knights

Rage. That was what he had been filled with for as long as he could remember. Jason Todd grew up on the streets with a drug addled mother and a career criminal father who took off and left them to fend for themselves. From the moment he had been born, Jason's life he been cruel, unfair, and nobody cared, nobody batted an eye.

And when his mother finally died, when he was only twelve, he was forced to employ the skills his father had taught him to survive. He stole, often times employing violence and then escaping the cops by hiding in the sewers with the rest of Gotham's unfortunate. It wasn't until he was fourteen when things started to turn around for him.

Fortune, it seemed, favored him that day, that fateful day when his entire life changed. He found the batmobile, parked and left alone on the streets of the Bowery, and with a tire iron in hand, he went about trying to steal its tires. He'd gotten the last one off when he looked up and was staring down Batman. His first thought? Shit.

But that turned out to be the first bright moment in his life. Batman took him off the streets and to an orphanage, not the shitty run down hell hole in the Bowery, but in Midtown, a rather decent place. At first, he had been pretty angry because he felt abandoned once again, but only because those were the only two things he'd known his whole life; abandonment and anger.

But it turned out to be just another shit hole after all; the man in charge was training these kids to be criminals, and those who refused the work were starved for several days at a time. Fortunately, Batman returned and revealed his secret identity to Jason; Bruce Wayne, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. The man adopted him, much to his surprise, and trained him to become Robin, Boy Wonder. It was truly the happiest moment in his life.

Fighting crime alongside Batman, being the son of Bruce Wayne, but more importantly, being able to live a real life, to not have to live in fear of starving, to not have to fight tooth and nail to merely survive, it was...there were no words. Jason could scarcely believe that his life had turned around so drastically.

But then he met Dick Grayson, the first Robin, now Nightwing. Dick became like his older brother, someone else other than Bruce who cared for him, who gave the time to get to know him. Someone almost his age. By this time, he was 15 and Dick had recently celebrated his 18th. But this brotherly bond they shared, slowly started to turn into something more...at least for Jason. He began to admire Dick; his personality, his compassion for others, the way he looked past all of Jason's faults to see the good. And then on the physical side, there was absolutely no denying that the man was gorgeous. Well built body, strong and agile, the body of an highly skilled acrobat and fighter.

But, more than that, Dick had managed something Jason had never thought possible. Dick soothed his anger, calmed his rage, and chased away the darkness. When he was with Dick, he could forget the darkness of his own past. Bruce took him in and gave him a new life, but Dick saved him.

He didn't know if it was love, maybe a sort of platonic brotherly bond more than anything else. He wasn't really sure, because he'd never experience...well, any of this before. From the moment he showed up at the manor, Dick welcomed him with open arms. The first thing the older boy had done when he showed up was hug him, and that threw him for a loop. Nobody had ever truly cared for him before...

And then, when things finally started to look up for him again, the darkness came back. Because then...he died...

The Red Hood stood on the roof of Gotham Cathedral, looking out over the city below. He was decked out in heavy black Kevlar armor with a red bat symbol on the chest, with light Kevlar at the joints for maximum flexibility. He wore a black jacket with dark camouflage paramilitary pants, black metallic gauntlets and boots with small blades on the sides. But the most telling feature was his blood red mask with ghost white lenses. It had been five years now, five long years but he was home at last and things hadn't changed at all. That was a problem he had returned to correct, to clean up after his mentor.

The first phase of his plan had been completed; sneaking his men into Gotham City. Next would be to take over the gangs and go after Black Mask. And lastly on his shit list; the Joker. He wasn't going to make the same mistake Bruce made; he was going to out two, right in the Joker's skull. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him or get in his way.

"Sir, what are your orders? We've slain all their lieutenants as ordered," one of his men asked over the comm link. The Red Hood was silent for a moment, watching as the cars below flew past.

"Take their heads. Send word of a meeting. Gather up the city's crime lords. We're going to have a little chat," he replied.

"Right away, sir," came the reply. He pulled out a grappling hook and dived off the building, firing the gun and then swinging off into the dark of night.

Seven men and a woman sat around a table in an abandoned warehouse, several bodyguards surrounding each of them. The room was thick with the smell of tobacco smoke, but also apprehension. Nobody seemed to know who called this 'meeting' and that seemed to put them all on edge; especially considering the heavily armed bodyguards each one of them possessed. The atmosphere tensed because violence could break out at any moment.

"...You didn't set this up? Then whose party is this?" Leon demanded to know, approaching the table and pointing at each of them. They all looked at each other, trying to determine who set this up, when suddenly their bodyguards started dropping dead. Panicked, they all jumped to their feet and attempted to escape, but they soon found themselves surrounded by heavily armed men. They wore Kevlar armor hidden beneath simple street clothing and wielding high-tech military weapons.

"I'm the one who called the meeting. Now sit down, shut up, and listen, or I'll blow you all the fuck away," came a voice from the catwalks above. The Red Hood stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself, toting an AK-47. He leaned against the railing and looked down at the scum below.

"And who the fuck are you?!" One of the drug lords growled. The Red Hood made a mock gasping sound.

"Oh my, where are my manners!" He tossed a duffel bag onto the table below and said "you can call me the Red Hood. Or boss. Open it up and have a little peak." The Crime Lords looked at the bag wearily before one of them reached for it and tugged the zipper open. Inside the found the heads of all their lieutenants. One of them doubled over and threw up and the others staggered back in a mix of fear, shock and disgust.

"Black Mask is a boil on Gotham's ass, a boil I'm going to lace. And you're going to help me," Hood said smoothly, pacing back and forth on the walkway above. He turned to the drug lords below and pointed his gun down at them.

"Here's the deal; you kick up forty percent of your profits to me and you get to go about your way, keep the other sixty percent, and oh yeah, most importantly, you get to live." The Red Hood leaned against the railing and added "oh yeah, and no dealing to children. If I catch you on any schoolyards, using children as mules, dealing to children, involving them in anyway, I'll hunt you down and blow your brains out." He stood up straight then and fired off a bunch of rounds onto the table below.

"Understood?"

"What about Batman?" One of them, a woman asked. Red Hood laughed in amusement and waved his hand dismissively.

"Batman wont be a problem. You'll have my protection, but it extends only to Gotham...You let me handle Batman and Black Mask, you just go about your business. The only difference is now you work for me and my crew." The Crime bosses exchanged looks, skeptical, but given their current situation.

"Sounds like a deal," one of them replied.

"Good. Let them go," he called to his men who lowered their weapons. The Crime Lords moved to leave, but The Red Hood stopped them, clearing his throat.

"One more thing," he said in a low tone. They looked up at him patiently, waiting for him to speak.

"Spread the word; Black Mask's days are done and Gotham belongs to the Arkham Knights now." The Crime Lords exchanged another round of glances before shuffling out of the building. Hood hopped down from the catwalk above and leaned his gun against his shoulder, heading for the exit with his men trailing behind him.

"What's our next move, sir?" one of them asked. Red Hood glanced over his shoulder and laughed.

"Our next move? Now we build our network. Go to the homeless, spread the word. They'll be our ears and eyes throughout the city," he turned to his men waving his arm out in an arc in front of all of them.

"Let it be known that they have our direct protection. Anyone harms them, we blow their asses away. If any of them decline to work for us, let them go their own way," he continued, turning toward the exit. He kicked down the door and finished "they will be well taken care of. Gotham's Elite have freeloaded long enough. It's time to make a change. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," they all said in unison before dispersing. Red Hood looked up to the bat symbol in the sky and his eyes narrowed.

"And you, my old friend...you're right at the top of my shit list."

Author's Note: So credit to Lawlipop9991 for inadvertently helping me to conceive this idea! :D Also, a warning before you decide to proceed to future chapters, this story is going to be a bit darker than my usual work. If that bothers you, then this fic is not for you, but not to worry. It's not too dark. Even I have angst limits. x) Also, you may notice, I've chosen to have a bit of fun and combine elements of Arkham Knight and Under the Red Hood here. My own personal little twist. Anywho, enjoy. ^^