12!
Tim is only halfway through his explanation of the case he's been working when Bruce sighs and says, "I'll bring Hood in."
He's so astonished by this idiocy that it genuinely takes him a few seconds to recover; he has to run to catch up. Then, since he's running anyway, he uses his momentum to slide into place a few steps ahead, blocking Batman's path.
In the Cave, that's more symbolic than anything--there's plenty of room to go around him--and B respects that much, at least. He stops in his tracks.
"No, you won't," Tim says very clearly.
Batman frowns. "Red Robin."
"Batman," he returns, and Batman's frown deepens.
He's wearing the cowl now, having pulled it on as he walked--steeling himself for what he's decided he has to do. Shutting Bruce away so his paternal affection doesn't slow him down.
As usual, he's being a complete moron. World's Greatest Detective, Tim's ass.
"Red Robin," Batman says again, "your attachment to Red Hood--"
"--has nothing to do with this," Tim interrupts. "Jason didn't do it."
His pointed use of Jason's actual name goes unacknowledged; Batman sets his shoulders to loom and doubles down.
"The victim profile is clearly in line with Hood's usual targets," he says. "The victim's own victims were children, specifically children from Crime Alley, and his crimes against them were exactly the kind that Hood punishes the most severely. You can't deny that."
He's using the Batman growl and still looming over Tim...why, Tim's not exactly sure. It's not like he ever backed down from this kind of display even when he was a literal child facing down a Batman half-mad with grief. As an adult and a vigilante in his own right, who's been facing down the city's, world's, and occasionally galaxy's worst for nearly a decade...Batman is barely going to make him blink.
So he meets the eerie white lenses of the cowl straight on when he says, "No, I can't deny any of that. But Jason still didn't do it."
"You're being unrealistic," Batman says sharply. "Basing your conclusion on emotion instead of fact."
"No, that would be you," Tim corrects, just as sharp. "You're blinded by your issues with Jason's way of doing things. If you were actually thinking straight--"
"Hood makes a habit of targeting rapists, pedophiles, and anyone who breaks his so-called 'rules' in the territory he claims as his." Batman looms harder. "All three apply to the victim. What evidence do you have to support his innocence?"
"The fact that this isn't how Jason works."
Batman's face blanks out, scowl wiped away as he forcefully suppresses his reaction to Tim's words.
"Hood has never agreed with the no-kill rule," he says, "and despite our truce, he never committed to not using lethal force. It was only a matter of time before he crossed the line again, and this is precisely how he likes to 'punish' those he deems guilty."
Tim has to take a second to deliberately calm himself before he can trust his voice. His hands ache for how tightly he's fisted them.
"No," he says, once he's sure his voice won't shake with the anger trembling in his fists. "No, it isn't."
"Tim--"
"It's true that Jason isn't opposed to lethal force," he says over Batman. "It's also true that he particularly targets people who break his rules and/or prey on children. But not like this!"
If he were anyone but Batman, Tim would say Bruce falters.
"Explain."
Tim doesn't hesitate.
"Yes, Jason is willing to kill," he says. "Yes, he'll even make it hurt if the crime is bad enough. But his goal isn't to punish anyone--it's to protect people."
Batman's flat expression--what little Tim can see of it beyond the cowl, at least--says he doesn't appreciate the difference.
Tim tries again. "Jason doesn't kill because he enjoys it, he kills because he thinks it's the only way to stop the worst of the worst. That's why he goes after the people the system can't or won't contain."
Still, Batman is unmoved. Tim gets to the point.
"Our victim was tortured over the course of several hours," he says again. It was one of the first lines in his little presentation on the case, and should have immediately disqualified Jason as a potential perpetrator. "I estimate at least twelve hours passed between the infliction of the first wound and his death, which was the result of a combination of shock and blood loss."
"You said that already," Batman says, unamused.
"Yes, and you should've known that it ruled out Jason!" Tim snaps. "If Jason had done this, he might have, have kneecapped the guy first, or shot him in the gut, or something, because yes, he'd have wanted to make him hurt. But the death still would have been measured in minutes, because at the end of the day, Jason's main priority is to end suffering, not cause it."
For a long, tense moment, Batman stares at him. Tim's trembling with emotion--not just anger that Batman is doubting him, but fear at what Batman might do to Jason if Tim can't stop him.
For all of Bruce's talk about Jason crossing lines...when it comes to Jason, Bruce tends to cross plenty himself.
Finally, Batman (and he is still so very Batman) says, "I wish I could believe that, but I can't."
"Then believe in me," Tim says, seizing the opening at once. "Just give me a day or two, okay? I'll find the real killer and prove that Jason didn't do this."
After either a few seconds or a lifetime, Batman finally--finally--backs down.
"You have a week," he says, and turns away. "And if you're wrong..."
Tim isn't about to humor that ominous trailing off. "I'm not. You'll see."
"I hope so," Bruce says quietly.
Prompt #12 was one character standing up for the other! Good choice! ♡♡
