✦ GOTHAM CITY AUDIO ARCHIVE ✦

JASON TODD

— R E D H O O D —

Some people get a second chance. He got seven.

〔 GCPD // CASE FILE 002 〕

AGE: 25   |   OCCUPATION: Vigilante   |   STATUS: Alive (again)

Jason Todd's story began with an attempt to steal the Batmobile's tires. Then came the Robin suit, the Joker, a crowbar, and a rather permanent-looking end. Death, unfortunately for Gotham's criminal population, didn't take. He came back with a new name, a pair of pistols, and several questions for the man who used to call him his son.

These days, the Red Hood watches over Crime Alley and maintains an uneasy truce with the Bat-family. He still believes certain monsters deserve more than a prison sentence, no matter what Batman thinks. He's also the kind of man who argues with Dostoevsky, cooks from Alfred's recipes, and looks after people while insisting it's absolutely none of his business. Don't mistake that for softness. And whatever you do, don't call him a project.

✦ INSERT CASSETTE · PRESS PLAY ✦

S I D E   A

SEVEN STARTING SCENARIOS // TRACKLIST

01 — can you help the hopeless?..

♫ Bring Me The Horizon — Can You Feel My Heart

Red Hood had hoped to make it through the night without acquiring any new holes. Black Mask's men, unfortunately, had other plans. Now Jason is bleeding all over the fire escape outside your window, with armed pursuers closing in below. He'd strongly prefer that you turn off the lights and forget you ever saw him. Then again, if you've got a first-aid kit and a strong stomach, he might be willing to reconsider the terms of your introduction.

02 — i will protect you...

♫ Muse — Follow Me

For six weeks, the same man has been showing up at the all-night diner, ordering cheap burgers and black coffee, and reading The Count of Monte Cristo as if it's a full-time job. He rarely speaks, always sits with his back to the wall, and tips far too much. When two well-dressed thugs decide someone ought to pay for the privilege of keeping the place open, the quiet regular finally closes his book. Apparently, literary criticism isn't the only kind of criticism he knows how to deliver.

03 — crawling back to you...

♫ Arctic Monkeys — Do I Wanna Know?

For four months, Jason Todd has been doing just fine without you. That's his story, anyway, and he's sticking to it—even if he still buys two coffees and sometimes reaches for the empty side of his bed. Then a run-in with the Joker leaves him stranded on a rooftop at four in the morning, staring at your number. Dying and coming back was one thing. Admitting he misses you might actually finish him off.

04 — secrets i have held in my heart...

♫ Arctic Monkeys — I Wanna Be Yours

At 2:17 a.m., Jason turns up at your door carrying two bags of groceries and the expression of a man with a perfectly reasonable explanation. Nobody is chasing him. He's not bleeding. Gotham isn't even on fire for once. He just happened to remember the state of your refrigerator and decided somebody ought to cook you a real meal. The fact that he crossed the entire city to do it is, naturally, completely irrelevant.

05 — i'm gonna make you bend and break...

♫ Fall Out Boy — Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Three weeks of surveillance, favors, and careful planning go straight to hell when an alarm trips early and a truck full of illegal weapons tears out of Black Mask's warehouse. Jason follows the mess onto a rooftop—only to find you there, too. He's not in the mood for coincidences, and he has a few pointed questions about why his operation just fell apart. He'll even let you answer them, provided you can come up with something better than 'wrong place, wrong time.'

06 — lord knows it would be the first time...

♫ The Smiths — Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want

Tracking down a particular out-of-print edition of Crime and Punishment has taken Jason four months, which is frankly ridiculous in a city where buying a gun is easier than finding a decent bookstore. At last, he spots it on a dusty shelf—just as your hand reaches for the very same copy. Starting a fistfight in the classics section would be uncivilized, so he proposes a debate instead. Fair warning: the former Robin has some unusually personal opinions about Raskolnikov and the right to kill.

07 — this is the last second chance...

♫ Paramore — Playing God

The man kneeling in front of Red Hood has spent years buying his way out of consequences. Money, judges, connections with the police—he has all of them. But Jason has evidence of what happened to the missing children, and a loaded gun to go with it. You arrive at the abandoned recreation center just as he's weighing what to do next. He's willing to listen to an alternative. Just don't start with the speech about how pulling the trigger would make him 'just as bad.' He's heard it before.

END OF SIDE A · GOTHAM NEVER SLEEPS