Rebellion Has Sharp Teeth

The scent of gunpowder and fresh blood was the only thing that could silence the constant, angry buzzing in Jade’s head. She was no longer Brianna "little prodigy," nor the second Robin who followed orders. Now, she was Red Hood, and Gotham was discovering that her rebellion had very sharp teeth.

Jade spun in mid-air, firing two precise shots from her custom pistol. Two of Black Mask’s henchmen dropped with perfect holes in their foreheads before they could even scream. She landed heavily on a third man’s chest, feeling the satisfying crack of his ribs beneath her reinforced boots.

"Where’s the boss, you piece of trash?" Jade’s voice came out distorted by her helmet’s modulator—metallic and cold.

The man tried to stammer something, but she had no patience for conversation. Jade grabbed his collar, hoisting him off the ground with a strength bordering on fury, and slammed him against the alley’s damp brick wall.

"I ask once. The second time is for you to decide whether you want to die now or in five seconds."

However, as she tightened her grip on the man's throat even further, Jade felt something. A familiar vibration. It wasn't a sound, but a pressure in the air, as if the very reality of Gotham were being... *edited*. She froze, her eyes fixed on the horizon.

She recognized that energy signature. It wasn't magic, nor was it Wayne Enterprises technology. It was something visceral. Something she felt deep in her soul—a bond that not even death—or resurrection—had managed to erase.

"Michael..." she whispered, her voice natural now, stripped of the modulator. It had been a year since she’d taken up the mantle of Red Hood as an act of pure rebellion, trying to distance herself from the shadow of everyone who had tried to mold her. But Michael was different. He wasn’t a mentor, nor a hero. He was the man who had taken her in when the world wanted nothing to do with a troubled orphan. He was the only person who never tried to "fix" her, because he knew that her brokenness was the most interesting part.

Jade released the henchman, who collapsed to the ground, coughing. She didn't care about Black Mask anymore. The energy radiating from the city center was now unbearable; it was as if an invisible sun had just risen amidst Gotham’s darkness, and that sun bore her father's name.

She felt a smile spread beneath her mask. The last time she’d seen Michael, he hadn't just been a man—he’d held a place in her heart.

"You always had a knack for dramatic entrances, old man," Jade murmured, reloading her weapon with a sharp click.

She glanced at the bodies around her and, with an acrobatic leap, began to run across the rooftops, vaulting between stone gargoyles. She didn't know what had happened, nor why the city seemed to be bending to the will of a single man, but she could feel the shift. Gotham’s hierarchy was being rewritten, and if Michael was at the top, Jade had no intention of being left behind.

If the world now belonged to him, she wanted to know if he still had a place for the rebellious daughter who liked blowing things up.

A figure landed right in front of her—Jade knew Batgirl very well. "Long time no see, Jade," Barbara said.

Jade frowned. "How did you find me?" With a calm smile, she replied, "It wasn't hard. You drew quite a bit of attention. But let's get to the point. Master Michael wants you here. We have some Owls in Gotham." Jade had a retort on the tip of her tongue, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted: "The Master promised you a reward." With a look of satisfaction, she agreed to go with Batgirl.

(images created by Lawless)