The Red Hood

by MorpheustheDream

Chapter 9

~~JT~~

"What, can I not come to visit you every now and then? It's been a couple of months since I last saw you after all. And aside from my reason, Bruce wanted an update. Said something along the lines of 'Check in on Jason, and see if he needs any help out in Canterlot.' And so, here I am."

"So a mixture of both then? Tell me then, why did he send you to check up on me when he could do it himself? Hell, he could've called for an update at least."

Dick didn't respond for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out what to say to me next. "The truth is, not even I know why." He moved closer and sat down on the edge of the roof next to me. "My guess is because he thought it would be better to send someone that you trust more to check up on you. And as for the entire family, I'd say you trust Alfred the most, with me being in second."

"Trust?" I asked him incredulously. "Well, you're actually right on the first part. I do trust Alfred, not only because he's understanding and caring, but the man seems wise beyond his years. And he won't judge me too harshly for the things that I do. As for you and the others, I tolerate you all. And it wouldn't matter what I do, you always seem to have that overprotective attitude about you whenever it comes to me and the others."

"That's because I care about everyone, including you Jay. Not as much as Alfred of course, but I want to make sure you and the others are okay. Anyways, onto the checkup. May I ask why I saw both Artemis and Zatanna near Canterlot High School? You didn't screw anything up, did you?"

I shook my head with a soft chuckle, leaning back a bit as my hands were out behind me. "No, I didn't screw up anything. I know, it's a shocker. The reason they're here is that I asked them to be here. Throughout my entire time here, I've been detecting magical signatures and surges. None of them I recognize because none of it matches anything in Bruce's database. My belief is that it's because whatever magic is around this place, it's not from our world. Which is what I asked the-"

I was interrupted before I could continue when I heard a beeping sound coming from my helmet beside me. I manually took out the earpiece I had inside of it and put it into my ear. "Red Hood, what do you need?"

"Hey Red, Zatanna here. Made contact with a girl going by the name Sunset Shimmer. Apparently, she knows about the strange magic and is taking us to the source of it."

I raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting it because while my time around Sunset, I never once picked up any magical energy from her. Maybe need to recalibrate my sensors for the helmet. "So, where is the source at?"

"Wouldn't you know it, but the Statue in front of the High School is where it's coming from. If what we've been told is correct, then at times it can act as a gateway between our world and whatever is on the other side. What did you say was on the other side Sunset?" I could faintly hear Sunset's voice from the other side of the line, mentioning a place called 'Equestria', whatever that place was.

"Alright, and I assume you and Artemis are going to be heading on over there?" I asked her, to which I got a resounding yes from her.

"Yeah, we will. And we're also gonna take Sunset with us as well, since she's more knowledgable about this place than either of us. I wonder if Doctor Fate knows of Equestria. I'll have to ask him when we get back. And as for how long we'll be gone, it shouldn't be longer than a few days."

"Okay, don't stay too long though. Her being gone may raise some unwanted concerns that I would rather not have to deal with."

"Relax Red. We'll be back in a few days, like I said. Anyways, it's about time for us to leave. We'll talk to you when we get back. Zatanna out." After that, the line went dead and I put the earpiece back into my helmet.

Dick looked at me, and asked one of the most obvious and dumb questions he could've asked. "Was that Zatanna?" He asked, to which I replied with a small nod.

"It was, but now that that's been dealt with, how about you join me for a little meeting that I gotta head too. Could use an extra pair of ears, and another brain to help me figure it out. What do you say?"

He smirked slightly and got up onto his feet with me as I grabbed my helmet and put it on, standing up with him. "Well, since I got nothing else better to do, so why not?"

"Good answer. I probably woulda made you come with me anyways even if you refused. Now come on, I'd rather not keep him waiting any longer than he has too."

~~3rd~~

The sun was hanging over Canterlot, not a cloud in the sky. Everyone on the streets would be minding their own business, not noticing the Red Hood and Nightwing jumping from rooftop to rooftop as they made their way towards the Eastern side of Canterlot. As the minutes passed by, the two of them finally arrived at their destination, several dozen feet in the air on a rooftop.

Red Hood would be looking down, searching for the man he was to meet. He looked around until he finally saw the man he was looking for, a man known as Thorax. Red Hood nudged Nightwing slightly and motioned for him to follow as he made his way down the building, moving from guardrail to guardrail, eventually landing on the ground with a thud, and Nightwing landing a bit more softly next to him.

Thorax jumped and swiftly turned to defend himself, only to relax slightly at the sight of Red Hood and Nightwing, who he didn't recognize the latter at first. "Excuse me Red Hood, but who is your companion if I may ask?"

"He's Nightwing, a colleague of mine who works out in Bludhaven who come to help me out a bit. Now, onto why you wanted to set up this meeting in the first place? And this better not be a trap, because it'll end quite badly for you if it is." Jason replied, answering his question and also intimidating him slightly as well.

Thorax glanced nervously between the two, as Nightwing watched in silence, letting Red Hood take the lead for this. "This isn't a trap or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I wanted to give you information that could possibly help you take down Sombra and Chrysalis. Mainly involving the large sum of people that have gone missing over the past several years."

Red Hood nodded his head slowly and moved closer to Thorax, which inadvertently caused Thorax to move backward, afraid that he would get hurt. "Really? And what information would that be Thorax?" Red Hood asked, hoping that it would be a legitimate answer that would help him find those reported missing, and reopen the cases. Besides, not only could it possibly help the case against Chrysalis and Sombra, and it would also get closure to all of the families who were affected by their loved ones having gone missing.

"T-They're all underwater at Lake Everfree! I don't know exactly, but most of them should be around the center of the lake somewhere." Thorax replied quickly, to which Red Hood looked to Nightwing, nodding his head.

Red Hood then looked back at Thorax and asked him another question. "And where would this 'Lake Everfree' be at?"

"Right next to Camp Everfree. It's several miles South of Canterlot, surrounded by a thick forest. It shouldn't be difficult to miss." As Thorax was saying speaking, Nightwing had already been looking for Lake Everfree and called out to Red Hood when he found it.

"I got the location of the Lake. And unless there's anything else either of you want or need to say, then say it now. We'd best get going before it gets too dark for us to properly find anything in the lake."

Both Thorax and Red Hood stared at each other for a bit, until Red Hood spoke up. "Nightwing's right. We best get going. I'll believe you for now, but I'd suggest heading on over to the Canterlot Police. Maybe you can be an insider for them, helping them get locations on anything that can help out against Sombra and Chrysalis. You have your life ahead of you, don't let it go to waste by continuing to be a criminal."

Thorax was opening his mouth to reply but was unable to speak to Red Hood as both he and Nightwing rappeled back onto the roof, disappearing from sight as they left him alone in the alleyway to contemplate what he was told.

~~DS~~

I had been lying down on a rooftop several streets away from Red Hood's current location, a Sniper ready to fire as I aimed down the scope, keeping my eyes on Red Hood. I watched as they disappeared from sight, only to come back up a few minutes later, and imagine my surprise when I saw Nightwing with him. Had I known that Nightwing would be in town, I would've had Sombra pay even more for having to deal with another member of the Bat Clan.

I shook those thoughts out of my head, as I aimed at Red Hood's chest, only to find both him and Nightwing move, forcing me to follow ahead of them through the scope. Just as I was about to fire on them, the two disappeared behind a large building going who knows where. I sighed in slight disappointment and pulled my head away from the rifle.

"Looks like it's back to tracking 'em." I spoke to myself, grabbing the rifle and slinging it over my shoulder, looking at a map, marking down several locations as to where the target could be headed. Noting the directions that they were headed, it would seem that they would either be heading to Canterlot City Bank or some out of the way Camp down south.

I would go with checking the bank out, but it would cause an unwanted panic that would make things more troublesome, and it would let the two heroes know I'm here, which I don't want. Which leaves the only option to be the camp as my next destination.

Author's Note:

Jeez, has it really been this long since I last updated? I guess I need to get my shit back together. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading this, and I promise to try and be much more active with my stories, getting updates out for them.

Comments

[DGJabberwocky]

Yay!

[Ze1a7in]

Not gonna lie, Red Hood and Nightwing vs Deathstroke is gonna be hella cool.

[ponyreaper1]

Just found this and I already love it

[KukriRyuTsukino]

Could be a certain cyclopean assassin with a fondness for black and orange or a certain trick-shot assassin.

[MorpheustheDream]

9641196
I'm happy to hear that you like it.