“i don’t know, i think i’ll take new york over gotham any day.” maybe that was the bad memories speaking, but stephanie was so far preferring new york to gotham city. she wasn’t sure how she felt in time, but for now it was a good change. (not much of a change, admittedly, though stephanie was telling herself that baby steps was the way to go here). not to mention, she was in new york, and she couldn’t help the urge to hunt her down after everything that had happened. she was older, different now, and while she would never be the maternal type she couldn’t help the urge to want to see her at least. just once.
“you’ve gotta admit the food’s better, though.” stephanie quickly glanced at the emblem on his shirt, and clucked her tongue. “ah. i see you were also unfortunate enough to know bruce.” the insignia was a little different, though stephanie knew better than anyone who it referenced. she’d made sure this version of the spoiler suit was free of all batman references, as the last thing she wanted to do was affiliate herself anymore. “let me see here. my detective skills are a little rusty, but i think i can figure this out. i spent enough time in the batcave.” and really, it wasn’t all that difficult, considering the damned memorial that had been set up. unless he was a newer affiliate of the bat, and in that case, she’d take the loss. “you’re not number one, because i know him. or number three, because i knew him really well…which means you are…jason todd. robin number two. am i right? i’m totally right.” let alone the fact that he was supposed to be dead, but technically she was supposed to be as well. things were complicated. she pulled down the mask briefly to reveal a half grin on her face, evidently not too terribly concerned with her identity. “i’m the very short lived robin number four.”
mask pulled back up, she tilted her head as the man she’d kicked barely made a noise in response to the act. “people are stupid,” she mused as she idly gave the man another kick, this one certainly no gentler though the intention this time was to roll him over. “clowns were fucking creepy before him, and they’re even worse now.” crouching down, stephanie looked over the man in the street again. “he’s out for the count, by the way. out cold. my emphasis would be wasted.”
“ if by better you mean less likely to be sprinkled with rat shit.. yeah. it’s better. ” while his life had been a little more silver spoon when he lived with bruce, his life before that had been a shining example of gotham’s underbelly. the rats were practically friends of his growing up; in fact, he’d argue with a sly grin, they were more present in his life than his father. “ that’s not saying much. ” garbage might be better than sludge but it’s still garbage.
the next few comments hit him like punches. bruce is a hit to the stomach, catching him by surprise, and the fourth robin lands upside the head and has him seeing stars. so even the replacement’s got a replacement. he’s laughing before he even realizes it, yanking his helmet off since it’s clear she already knows who he is. THE FOURTH ROBIN. fuck, he can’t stop thinking about it. they’re just as expendable, replaceable, as boxes of tissues. finish one off ? just pull out a new one. no harm, no foul. “ yeah, you got me. ” he manages, when he feels less like the anger has him in a chokehold. “ it’s red hood now. ” he thinks he could leave it at that, could back-flip out of this conversation and beat the shit out of some petty criminals to make himself feel better... but he’s curious. “ tell me, ” he starts, helmet tucking under his arm. a free hand swipes through his hair, fingers the white streak momentarily as he speaks. “ you’re number four... failures one through three weren’t ENOUGH for him ? let me guess... replacement got too old, or too mouthy, and batman traded him in for a newer, shinier, more compliant, model ? ” he levels her with a stare, like he’s trying to see right through her. “ let me guess... no matter how hard you tried, no matter how many bullets, or punches, you took for him... it was never enough. ” he smirks, gaze hard as he laughs again. “ welcome to the club. ”
in truth, he cares very little about the goon by their feet. he might be always on the verge of flying off the handle, and a little more violent than he needs to be, but the fight’s no fun when it’s one-sided. he likes a challenge. instead he scowls, shrugging his shoulders. “ yeah. they are. tell me something i don’t know. ”
