Under the Helmet

Forty minutes have passed since Jordan revealed the possible identity of the new Red Hood. Unconvinced, Bruce wants Jordan to explain everything when they return to the Batcave. The Batmobile enters the secret entrance and drives through the curved road. The car reaches the center of the sacred hideout and stops. The two vigilantes hop out of the car and walk towards the Batcomputer.

"You haven't made any changes to this place in the last couple years. It looks the same," said Jordan.

"Why would I make changes? I'm not a child," said Bruce.

"Well, it gets boring to look at the same things over and over again," said Jordan.

"Oracle, did you analyze the footage that I sent you?" asked Bruce.

"Yeah, and I found something a little special," said Barbara.

"Barbara, long time no see," said Jordan.

The paraplegic spins around in her wheelchair and looks at her old friend now older and in a different suit.

"Jordan, you came back? I haven't seen you in such a long time. Have you gotten taller?" said Barbara.

'Yeah, and it seems you're the same old Barbara. Even though you're in a wheelchair," said Jordan awkwardly.

"She may be in a wheelchair, but she is very useful. She quit being Batgirl and became my helper from the cave," said Bruce.

"So, how did you get this footage?" asked Jordan.

"My cowl records everything. I do that to catch things that I can't see when I'm at that location," said Bruce.

"What's so important about this footage? We were there," said Jordan.

"Yes, we were there, but we didn't hear everything. Barbara, what did you find?" said Bruce.

"Well, when I first got the footage, I thought nothing of it. Just a very skilled guy getting away from you two, but I decided to slow down the footage and analyze his words," said Barbara.

"What did he say?" asked Jordan.

"Just listen," said Barbara.

Barbara presses a button and rewinds the footage. She presses another button to enhance the volume to max and another to unscramble the dialogue. The three heroes stare intently.

"You're still in shape, Bruce," said Red Hood.

Barbara plays the footage over and over and over in a loop, but the same thing is said. They're not hearing things. The Red Hood knows Bruce's identity.

"How would he know?" asked Barbara.

"It's because he was part of our family. That guy is Jason," said Jordan.

"Impossible," said Barbara.

"Why couldn't he be? He knows Bruce's identity, so he must know all of ours. He is well trained just like Jason. Jason was trained by both Slade and us. He was able to cut the cable before it went taut. He was able to escape us twice. He's an amazing marksman and driver. It has to be him," said Jordan.

"We can't just make assumptions like that. There are hundreds of assassins that could do these things," said Bruce.

"But, they won't call you little bro," said Jordan.

"Huh?" asked Bruce.

"When I was chasing him in Jump City he called me little bro. He even found my secret base. Plus, he stole my suit," said Jordan.

"What?" asked Bruce.

"I tried to get closer to Slade, so I became the Red Hood, but he found out easily and I locked away the suit. Jason broke into the tower and stole it. He made some upgrades and decided to purge crime," said Jordan.

"We need something to prove that this guy is Jason. He could just be an obsessed fanboy," said Barbara.

"We need a blood sample," said Bruce.

"Well, I'm glad that I grabbed some," said Jordan.

"How did you get that?" asked Barbara.

"After I found out that he broke into the tower, I went searching for how he did it. I found out where he did and found this drop of blood. He must have been rusty," said Jordan.

"That would work. Hand it over," said Barbara.

Jordan gives Barbara the blood sample and she pours it on a glass disk. She then presses a button and a scanning gadget pops out. The scanning gadget scans the blood sample and starts to analyze it.

"This computer should be able to compare this guy and Jason's blood. If they match, then they're the same person," said Barbara.

"This is pointless. This is Jason. What we should do is hunt him down and talk to him," said Jordan.

"We need confirmation. This could be Jason, or it could be a clone. Maybe even a Jason from an alternate universe," said Bruce.

"How would we find out? We wouldn't know unless he told us," said Jordan.

"A common misconception is that clones or alternate versions of people have the same DNA. They may look the same or have the same parents or have a similar body type, but their genetic makeup is always a little different," said Bruce.

"The analysis is almost complete. What do we do if it is Jason?" said Barbara.

"We bring him back to the light," said Jordan.

"If he can come back to it. He's killing criminals. You can never come back from this," said Bruce.

"Are you kidding me? This guy isn't just a regular criminal. He's family. You shouldn't act like he's just a regular goon for Joker or something," said Jordan.

"If this is Jason, I won't stop until I bring him back. I will never," said Bruce.

"Analysis complete," said the Batcomputer.

The images of the Red Hood and Jason combine and the words "same match" appear on the screen. Jason Todd is the Red Hood.

"It's him," said Barbara.

"I knew it," said Jordan.

Tableware hits the ground behind the three heroes and immediately breaks. They turn around and see Alfred, absolutely shocked about the return of their once dead ally.

"If this is our Jason, the only person that would bring him back would be Ra's Al Ghul, but why?" asked Jordan.

"I don't know, but first, we have to find out who we buried," said Bruce.

Twenty minutes pass. Jordan and Bruce are now outside the manor. Bruce operates a construction vehicle and digs up Jason's grave. Jordan provides light from a flashlight.

"Who do you think we buried that day?" asked Jordan.

"Not Jason," said Bruce.

A few seconds pass before Bruce reaches the casket. He hops out of the vehicle and picks up a crowbar. He then starts to open the casket. He opens the casket and sees Jason?

"That can't be his real body," said Jordan.

"It's because it isn't. This is not flesh," said Bruce.

Bruce picks up the fake corpse by the collar and its wig falls off.

"They couldn't even give him a good fake corpse," said Bruce angrily.

"Ra's isn't the type of guy who cares about others other than himself and his League of Assassins," said Jordan.

"We should have made sure that this was a real body instead of just accepting this. Maybe we could have got Jason back before he became a killer. We were stupid and careless," said Bruce.

"Well, we had just lost a member of our family. Of course, we wouldn't notice this," said Jordan.

"It was still stupid and careless," said Bruce angrily.

"We're going to make a late-night visit to the Demon's Head," said Jordan.

"Yes. We're visiting that bastard," said Bruce.

Two hours pass. Two guards slowly walk around the perimeter of the League of Assassins hideout. One hears a noise and walks towards it while the other just stands near the ledge. This is a mistake and he is grabbed by Batman. The other guard hears this and prepares to shoot the intruder, but he is grabbed from behind by Jordan and his head is slammed on the wall.

"Where is he?" asked Bruce.

"He's in his study like usual. I didn't know he liked to read," said Jordan.

"He won't be reading much after we're done with him," said Bruce.

The Dark Knight and the leader of the Titans sneakily walk through the foundation until they reach Ra's's study. As the immortal man walks towards the window, he is grabbed by Batman and slammed on the ground.

"What did you do to Jason?" asked Bruce.

"We're not in a good mood, so get to chatting," said Jordan.

"If you don't, the Lazarus Pit won't save you this time," said Bruce.

"If you hadn't disabled the roof sensors, my guards would have already been here," said Ra's.

"We don't give a damn about your roof sensors or your guards, so start talking before we start breaking bones," said Jordan.

"I would like to call off my guards before they swarm this palace. I like to talk in privacy," said Ra's.

"We won't be here for long if you stop complaining and start telling us what we want to know," said Jordan.

"Do you remember what I was trying to do that day?" asked Ra's.

"Topple the Middle East's economy. It wasn't that hard. The Middle East was already unstable," said Bruce.

"Well, I hired the Joker to help me out. It was all going well until Jason decided to come here. The Joker found out that he was here and decided to stop working for me. He found his mother and used her to get to him. Then, he murdered the boy. I overestimated my ability to control that psychopath," said Ra's.

"Why do you feel bad? You always kill people to get what you want," said Jordan.

"I do, but I always have goals. Greater goals that will help save this world. The boy's death was unnecessary and I decided to not fight against you again and to fix my mistake," said Ra's.

"You brought back Jason with the Lazarus Pit," said Bruce.

"Yes, I did, but he didn't return like a normal person. He had the skills that you had taught him, but he wouldn't talk or eat. It took him a few months to return to his normal state, but he was back to normal. After dying he had a new goal: to purge crime all around the world. I, my daughter, and many assassins trained him to become even more dangerous than he already was. After a few years, he decided to return to the United States to watch you all. After watching you all for a short amount of time, he decided to steal the Red Hood suit that Jordan created and start his purge on crime," said Ra's.

"Why did you give us the fake body? Why didn't you tell us that you brought him back?" asked Jordan.

"He didn't want you to know. He wanted to do this without being stopped," said Ra's.

"All of the people that he is killing are on you. Their blood is on your hands," said Jordan.

"I know and I am sorry," said Ra's.

"I know you aren't. This will make taking over the world easier," said Jordan.

"I am. I swear," said Ra's.

"What do we do now?" asked Jordan.

"We have to find Jason before he does anything reckless," said Bruce.

"Well, I think that you guys are too late to stop that from happening," said Barbara.

"Oracle, what's happening?" asked Bruce.

"It's Jason. He has kidnapped the Joker and killed Black Mask," said Barbara.

"He killed Sionis? That dude is pretty effective," said Jordan.

"Where is he?" asked Bruce.

"An abandoned building in Crime Alley," said Barbara.

"Of course he would go there. He's playing mind games with us," said Jordan.

"We'll be back in Gotham in a couple hours. We will stop Jason and bring him home," said Bruce.

"Hopefully," said Jordan.

Two hours pass. The Batwing arrives at Crime Alley and the two vigilantes hop out and land in the alley right in front of the memorial of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

"At least the memorial is still perfectly in place," said Jordan.

"My first failure was causing my parents' deaths. He brought us here just for that," said Bruce.

"Your intelligence is still the same, Bruce," said Red Hood.

"This ends tonight. All of it," said Bruce.

"You can't end something that just started, Bruce," said Red Hood.

"Let's just talk this out. There's no need to fight. I hate family squabbles," said Jordan.

"I would rather fight!" exclaimed Red Hood.

Red Hood pulls out a few shuriken from his jacket and throws them at his two old friends. They easily jump over them to dodge the shurikens. Jordan then places two gadgets on the dumpster next to them and sends the dumpster rocketing towards the antihero. Red Hood jumps over the dumpster, but he is grabbed by Bruce's grappling hook.

"You and your toys. I almost forgot how much you loved them, but you aren't the only ones with toys," said Red Hood.

Red Hood cuts the rope and grabs it. He then pulls out a taser and tases Bruce. Jordan takes advantage of this and throws a couple explosives under Red Hood.

"Shit," said Red Hood.

The explosives explode and send Red Hood flying into the air. Red Hood grabs onto a balcony and starts to climb to the next. Jordan grapples to the rooftop while Bruce jumps onto the balcony and starts to climb to the next one. Red Hood reaches the rooftop, but Jordan jumps onto him. Red Hood pulls out a knife and stabs Jordan's cape to the rooftop, preventing him from moving. He then punches Jordan a couple times, but Jordan gets up. Jordan then punches Red Hood a couple times. Each punch pushes Jason closer to the edge. When he gets to the edge, Batman grabs his foot while Jordan runs up to him. He then tackles the antihero towards the large church next to them. They fight in the air as they land on the statues that line the church. Jordan then kicks Red Hood and he lands on the ground. Jordan runs towards him, but Jason throws a smoke bomb towards Jordan and it explodes in his face. Using this distraction, Red Hood runs behind Jordan and rips off his cowl. He then kicks Jordan in the back and he stumbles forward out of the smoke.

"Look at you. You have barely aged. You should shave. You don't look good with a lot of facial hair," said Red Hood.

"You know my face, so show me yours," said Jordan.

"Fine. I am a fair guy," said Red Hood.

Red Hood takes off his hood and clicks a button on his helmet. The helmet opens and he takes off the helmet, revealing Jason Todd back in the flesh. Batman arrives on the church roof a second later.

"Jason," said the two vigilantes.

"Yes," said Jason.

"We don't want to fight. Especially not you," said Jordan.

"That's all evidence to the contrary," said Jason.

"We know everything. You don't have to run anymore. We can help you," said Bruce.

"So. you got talking to old man Ra's. Do you believe that one dip in his fountain of youth made me a mad man? Or is this just the real me?" said Jason.

"We can fix you. Just come with us," said Bruce.

"You can't fix someone that isn't broken," said Jason.

Jason kicks his helmet towards the two heroes. Jordan and Bruce look at it, then it starts to beep and explode. The explosion sends the two vigilantes flying backward as Jason wards through the smoke.

"What bothered you guys the most? That your ally returned from the grave or that I'm a better guardian than both of you?" asked Jason.

"You 'protect' by killing and intimidating criminals. You're nothing better than the criminals that you kill," said Bruce.

"I'm what this world needs," said Jason.

"This world needs heroes. Not murderers," said Jordan.

"But, you let those murderers walk. I got murdered, but that clown is still alive. Explain that," said Jason.

"We don't kill unless necessary," said Jordan.

"That's why you guys suck," said Jason.

Red Hood charges at the two vigilantes, but the Phoenix is tired of the fighting and sticks his hand into his utility belt. He pulls out a lighter and ignites the small flame. He then quickly gets up and grabs Jason.

"You have some nice toys. What will you be without them?" said Jordan.

Jordan places the lighter on Jason's hoodie and lights it on fire. He then kicks Jason in the stomach and the old ally stumbles back a few feet. Jason quickly takes off the hoodie and throws it off the roof. He then flips over Jordan and hops off the roof. He grabs a rope and makes his way to the building behind them. Jordan and Bruce hop off the roof and grab onto Jason's feet. Jason reaches the building behind them and slams the two vigilantes on the wall using his feet. He then hops off the building and dives through a window. The two vigilantes do the same and kick Jason into the old wall.

"Enough! It's over!" exclaimed Bruce.

"Not yet," said Jason.

Jason tries to punch Bruce, but he elbows him and punches him into the wall. Jordan then kicks Jason in the back of the head, smashing him further into the wall. Jason grabs a sharp piece of the wall and tries to stab Jordan with it, but the makeshift knife is kicked out of his hand and he is punched in the gut. Bruce rejoins the fight and claps Jason's head. He then punches him a few times before slamming him on the wall.

"You say that you want to be better than us, but it won't happen. Not like this!" said Bruce.

Bruce punches Jason once more and sends him flying through the wall.

"We shouldn't be fighting, little bro. We're all sorry that we couldn't give you a better life, but this won't make you feel better. We may have failed you, but we tried to save you. We're trying to save you now," said Jordan.

"Is this what you guys think this is about? I don't know what's blinder: you two or Daredevil. I don't care that I wasn't saved. Hell, dying helped me grow into this," said Jason.

Jason kicks the door down next to him, revealing the beaten body of the Joker.

"The only thing that I'm mad about is why on God's green Earth is this monster still alive," said Jason.

"You've got to give it to the kid. He came back from the grave to make sure this family reunion happens. We should start this with a game of pianta. The kid makes a good pianta. We could even use a crowbar," said the Joker.

"Shut the hell up before I send you to Hell before the reunion even starts," said Jason.

"Party pooper. No cake for you," said the Joker.

"The only thing this monster has ever done was cause pain to the world. He has single-handedly filled graveyards, crippled friends, and hurt innocent people. I thought that maybe after he got to me, one of you animal-themed bastards would finally rid the world of this filth, but I guess I was wrong. If he had killed one of you, I would have never stopped hunting him until I finally killed this piece of garbage and rid the world of a monster," said Jason.

"You don't understand. You never did," said Bruce.

"So, your moral code won't allow you to put an end to an evil bastard like this guy? Aren't you guys supposed to be heroes?" asked Jason.

"No. It's never something as small as a moral code. I would love to kill that piece of trash. A day has never gone by without me thinking about finding him, torturing him for weeks on end, and finally ending his evil reign on Gotham," said Jordan.

"So, you do care," said the Joker.

"If I were to kill him, what would stop me from killing Slade and Doctor Light and Penguin? What if they killed Dick or Barbara or Alfred or one of my friends? Would it be fair to send them to the same palace as this filth?" asked Jordan.

"They would never do that, but this bastard would. Don't think about killing your entire rogues gallery. Just think about ending this garbage's life. Do you know why I want to kill him? Easy answer. He took me away from my family," said Jason.

"Jason, I'm sorry, but we can't," said Bruce.

"No. No. No. You two don't get to choose. Either kill him or I will. It's time to decide," said Jason.

"Well, that's an easy choice. You can have him," said Jordan.

"Huh?" asked Jason.

"If this means that you will no longer be a killer, do what you want with him," said Bruce.

Jordan and Bruce turn around and start to walk away. Both the killer clown and antihero are shocked by the responses.

"Wait. You guys are just going to walk away. There will be no fun in that," said the Joker.

"Turn back around and end this bastard! Don't turn your backs on me! Don't make me do this!" exclaimed Jason.

"You're nearly grown, Jason. You have to make your own choices. We won't stop you anymore," said Jordan.

"I guess maybe this will get your attention," said Jason.

Jason pulls out a trigger and presses it. A bomb placed in the chimney starts to beep and count down. The two vigilantes notice this and run towards the bomb. Jason charges at them to prevent this while the clown prince of crime breaks out of his restraints and charges at them as well. Joker tackles Bruce and Jason kicks Jordan.

"I won't let you spoil this for me. We will all go out together with a bang," said Joker.

Bruce responds by punching the evil clown off him. He gets up and runs towards the bomb, but only six seconds remain. He then turns to see Jason and Jordan swapping hands. Bruce runs towards them, grabs them, and jumps out the window as the building explodes. No sound is made for a few minutes, but the limping of Jason as he tries to escape. He reaches an alley, but he is stopped by a sound coming from behind him.

"Jason, wait," said Jordan.

"What do you want? If you want me to come back to your little Batfamily, I won't. I refuse," said Jason.

"It's not that," said Jordan.

"Then, what do you want?" asked Jason.

"I want you to join something bigger. We need more members like you," said Jordan.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Jason.

"I want you to be a Titan," said Jordan.

"A Titan? Why would I want to be one of your little helpers?" asked Jason.

"You could at least be an honorary one," said Jordan.

"Whatever," said Jason.

"Just take this," said Jordan.

Jordan pulls a communicator out from his utility belt and throws it at Jason. Jason grabs the round communicator and looks at it.

"Why did you give me this? I don't want to be part of your Titans team," said Jason.

"I know, but if you're in trouble, you know who to call," said Jordan.

Author's Thought Extended (Read this before reading the Author's Thought below)

I am a pretty patient person, I think, but something is very irritating to me. When I get told things that are either untrue or things that I have already explained. I just got another review yesterday and it perpetuated the false narrative that this story is exactly the same as the animated series. So, I have decided to address this false information by listing every single difference between the two stories. Let's begin!

1. Jordan exists.

2. Carla King exists.

3. Hector exists.

4. Darius exists.

5. Carla is nearly killed.

6. The Mutants gang exists.

7. Jordan goes on a downward spiral.

8. Jordan trains to become Barbatos.

9. Barbatos exists.

10. Killer Croc exists and is defeated by Jordan.