The Narrows - 02:00 AM (Two Days After the Siege)
The cleanup of the Court of Owls was ongoing.
While the Manor was being repaired (again), the Bat-Family had taken to the streets to hunt down the straggler Talons who had escaped the siege.
It was a "Mob Cleanup Quest."
I stood on a gargoyle, observing the alley below.
Damian Wayne dropped from a fire escape. He landed silently behind a limping Talon.
"Target located," Damian whispered into his comms. "Engaging."
Damian drew his katana.
Flash.
Before Damian could strike, a red blur shot past him.
BANG. BANG.
Two shots rang out.
The Talon's head exploded. Not frozen. Not knocked out. Exploded.
The body crumbled to the wet pavement.
Damian froze. He looked at the corpse. Then he looked up at the water tower.
Standing there, silhouetted against the smog, was a figure in a leather jacket and a red helmet. He was holding two customized desert eagles.
The Red Hood (Jason Todd).
"You're slow, brat," Jason's voice modulated through his helmet. "If that zombie had been at full health, you'd be dead."
The Confrontation
Damian bristled. "Todd. You are interfering with official business. That was my kill."
"It's not a game, short stack," Jason jumped down, landing heavily. "These things don't stop unless you put a hollow point in their brain stem. Bruce's 'freeze tag' method is cute, but inefficient."
Nightwing (Dick) and Red Robin (Tim) swung down from the rooftops, landing beside Damian.
"Jason," Dick said, his voice weary. "Put the guns away. We're on the same side."
"Are we?" Jason holstered his guns, but his hand stayed near his belt. "I heard you guys had a party at the Manor. Didn't get an invite."
"It was an invasion, Jason," Tim said. "Not a party."
"Funny," Jason tilted his head. "Because I see the whole family here. The Golden Boy. The Replacement. The Demon Brat. And..."
Jason looked up at the gargoyle where I was standing.
"The Butler."
I glided down, landing softly between Jason and the boys.
"Master Jason," I bowed slightly. "It has been a while. I believe the last time we met, you tried to detonate the Batmobile."
"And you stopped me with a tea tray," Jason grunted. "I haven't forgotten."
Jason stepped closer to me. He was taller than Dick, broader than Tim. He radiated a chaotic, angry energy.
"Bruce is slipping," Jason said to me. "He's letting you run the show. He's letting a monster live in his house."
"I keep the house clean," I replied calmly. "Which is more than I can say for your apartment in Crime Alley."
"Watch your mouth, demon."
SHING.
Jason didn't draw a gun. He reached behind his back and drew two glowing, copper-colored swords.
The All-Blades.
My eyes widened slightly.
Analysis: Magical energy signature. Ancient. Lethal to supernatural entities. Threat Level: High.
"You know what these are?" Jason smirked beneath the helmet. "The All-Blades. Only summonable in the presence of absolute evil. And look... they're glowing like a Christmas tree."
He pointed the blades at me.
"That means you are the target."
The PvP Duel
"Jason, stop!" Dick shouted, stepping forward.
"Stay out of this, Dick!" Jason roared. "Bruce is compromised! He's trusting a thing from Hell because he's too weak to fight the war alone! I'm doing him a favor!"
Jason lunged.
He was fast. Much faster than the last time I saw him. He had been training with the All-Caste.
Swing.
I dodged the first blade by a millimeter. The air sizzled where it passed. It didn't just cut air; it cut reality.
If that hits me, I realized, it will bypass my physical immunity. It will cut my soul.
"Impressive," I noted, backflipping over a horizontal slash. "You have acquired legendary items."
"I leveled up," Jason grunted, spinning for a backhand strike. "Die!"
I caught his wrist—not with my hand, but with my shadow.
Bind.
The shadow tendrils wrapped around Jason's arms.
"Get off!" Jason flared his aura. The magic of the All-Blades burned my shadows away like fire burning paper.
He broke free and fired his gun point-blank.
BANG.
I tilted my head. The bullet grazed my cheek. A drop of black blood fell.
"You bleed," Jason laughed. "Good."
He prepared for a killing thrust.
The Father's Arrival
THUD.
A heavy black boot slammed into the ground between us.
Batman landed. He didn't look at me. He looked at Jason.
"That's enough," Batman growled.
Jason stopped. He looked at Bruce. The swords in his hands hummed.
"He's a demon, Bruce!" Jason shouted. "Look at him! The Blades want his head! Why are you protecting him?"
"Because he follows orders," Batman said coldly. "Something you never learned to do."
Jason flinched. That hit harder than a punch.
"Orders?" Jason laughed bitterly. "Is that all we are to you? Soldiers? Servants?"
He deactivated the All-Blades. They vanished in a spark of copper light.
"You replaced me with a Replacement," Jason pointed at Tim. "Then a Brat," he pointed at Damian. "And now... a Thing."
Jason holstered his guns.
"Fine. Keep your pet monster. But the Court of Owls isn't the only thing watching you, old man."
Jason turned to walk away. He paused.
"There's a bounty on the Wolf," Jason said cryptically. "A big one. The Underworld is taking bets on who kills the Butler first."
He looked at me.
"I just wanted to see if you were worth the price."
He fired a grapple gun and swung away into the night.
The Debrief
Silence returned to the alley.
"He has powerful weapons," Damian noted, eyeing the spot where Jason vanished. "Those swords... they felt dangerous."
"They are designed to kill immortals," I said, wiping the black blood from my cheek. "Master Jason has become a specialized hunter."
"He's hurting," Dick said softly. "He feels replaced."
"He is a loose cannon," Bruce said, turning back to the shadows. "But he gave us intel. A bounty."
Bruce looked at me.
"Why would the Underworld put a bounty on a butler?"
"Perhaps because I am disrupting the balance, Sir," I suggested, straightening my tie. "Demons usually cause chaos. I am preventing it. The competition... is displeased."
Bruce narrowed his eyes.
"We need to find out who placed the bounty."
"I believe I know a place to ask," I said. "There is a bar. The Oblivion Bar. It sits in a pocket dimension between Gotham and Hell."
"A magic bar?" Tim asked. "Do they serve nachos?"
"They serve information," I said. "And the currency is souls."
I looked at Bruce.
"If we want to stop the hunters, Sir... we must enter the hunting grounds."