Later, upon returning to the church, the three friends bake several pounds of wings and stuff their faces. They then spend the afternoon practicing combat and self-defense together. After that, they bake more wings and stuff their faces again. At that point, Harley’s ready for bed and decides to hit the hay.

 

Midnight in the sanctuary.

 

Jason and Dante lie on the pews. Both in the front row, the aisle down the middle separating Jason to the left, and Dante to the right. The lights are low but they’re not tired. Instead of sleeping, they’ve started a conversation about Red X.

 

“When that X paints itself on my face, I really do feel like it’s magic. Makes me remember the good times I had being Red X.”

 

“So, Red X was your name for a while?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“After you were Robin?”

 

“After I was Robin.”

 

“Then you changed it to Red Hood? Why’d you change it?”

 

“You really wanna know?”

“That’s why I asked.”

 

“Okay, angel, but this is a rabbit hole.”

 

“I’ve got time.”

 

“I did something idiotic and went to Gotham as Red X, before I became a Devil Hunter. I spotted Batman one night and followed him. Made up my mind that I was gonna jump him and go from there. Underneath, I was hoping he’d figure out who I was and, I dunno, love me again. I didn’t realize I was so unstable until I pounced on him from behind. We wrestled and he got the upper hand really fast.”

 

“Oh shit.”

 

“He started telling me that Red X was wanted for grand theft and he would be taking me into the GCPD. I told him that’s what I wanted because I wanted to ride in the Batmobile one last time. He asked me what I meant by that, which was what I wanted.”

 

“Oh man.”

 

“I said I wanted him to strap me up and pull off my mask. He told me that wouldn’t be happening, that he was gonna let me have the pleasure of riding in the back of a police car instead. So he tied me up and called the police and while he was on the phone with them, I lost my shit. I screamed at him, right as he hung up, I screamed his real name.” 

 

He pauses, the past is vivid, “BRUCE! Don’t abandon me again, Bruce!”

 

“And then I fucking started crying like a little boy.”

 

He stares at the unlit vaulted ceiling.

 

“Nice architecture. Soooo was this a Catholic Church?”

 

“I’m not sure,” Dante replies, also gazing at the symmetrical artistry above. 

 

“In an alternate reality, I think I would have become a priest.”

 

“Then you wouldn’t be friends with me.”

 

“No, I’d definitely be friends with you.”

 

“If you say so.” 

 

“This is gonna be a confession.”

 

“Fine by me. I wanna know what Batman did when you said his real name.” 

 

“He pulled off my mask. I told him I waited over a year for him to take Joker’s black bag off my head in Arkham Asylum. That’s when he saw my face and realized I was Robin. He started to show some emotion, seemed like he cared, but only for a split second, because the stupid police were already there. Hadn’t considered that the GCPD was only a block away.”

 

“Isn’t Batman your father?”

 

“Technically."

 

“So, he called the cops on his own son?”

 

“Yeah. He told me he was going to have to let them take me in and that he would work out a way to see me again. I was so upset, I actually don’t even remember the car ride, or getting booked and placed in jail on a million dollar bond. All I remember was staring up at a rod in my cell and contemplating how to rig my cape to hang myself.”

 

“You couldn’t throw an X, I’m guessing.”

 

“They disarmed me, took my gloves. Never got ‘em back, not until I came here.”

 

“You got ‘em back through Killer-Red?”

 

“I did, and they’re even better this time around.”

 

“Did the cops stop you when you tried to hurt yourself? Or did you change your mind?”

 

“I didn’t go through with it. I knew if I failed and got caught, they’d put me on suicide watch. I held out for Bruce Wayne to pay the bond.”

 

“Bruce Wayne? Is that Batman’s real name?”

 

“It’s a secret but yes, that’s Batman’s real name.”

 

“I won’t tell anybody.”

 

“I dunno if he did it through a proxy or what but they let me out the next day. A hoity-toity taxi service came for me and took me to Wayne Manor.”

 

He takes a deep breath, then continues as honestly as he can.

 

“When I got out of the car, after it drove away, I crumbled in the gravel and lost it again. Started crying so hard, I thought I was gonna pass out.”

 

He covers his eyes with his forearm.

 

“Alfred came outside and saw me, was expecting me. He pulled me to my feet and brought me inside. Told me to get cleaned up, gave me some clothes, fed me, took care of me. Made me feel at home for a few hours. I started to think everything was gonna be okay until Bruce showed up.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“He pulled me into his office and asked me a whole bunch of questions. I felt like I was being interrogated. Why wasn’t he hugging me? Didn’t he miss me? I couldn’t get through it. I snapped again and yelled at him. I asked him if he ever loved me. Why didn’t he come looking for me? Why did he let Joker have me?”

 

“Why did he?”

 

“We finally embraced when he realized how traumatized I was. He stopped making excuses and apologized. I didn’t care to hear that he thought I was dead, that Joker tricked him into thinking he’d killed me. He knew better than to keep trying to convince me, that was a good enough reason not to save me. He even admitted he failed me.”

 

“Yeah well, he did.”

 

“He wanted me to stay in Wayne Manor after that. Wanted to get me some mental health care, wanted me to give up being Red X.”

 

“That seems unfair, to take Red X away.”

 

“I thought so too, but he said he’d even help me evade whatever legal ramifications might be waiting for me, for being such a successful thief.”

 

“As he should, being your dad and all.”

 

“See, he wanted to give me a clean slate. Coming from him, that’s a big deal. Normally he’s very gungho about letting the law run it’s course.”

 

“He didn’t mean it, did he.”

 

“Worse.”

 

“Great.”

 

“The thing is, I was excited to get a chance to be Robin again. Then he told me…”

 

He laughs a sort of painful laugh.

 

“He told me, I already have a new Robin.”

 

“What?!”

 

“I’ve never met him, because… I wasn’t allowed in the Batcave anymore. Bruce was afraid I would steal something.”

 

“But you’re, he, he replaced Robin? How can Batman replace Robin? I don’t understand.”

 

As though it’s happening all over again, Jason begins to speak as though he’s speaking to Bruce.

 

“Dick got to stay Robin with the Titans while I was Robin. I only held onto Red X because I didn’t think you wanted Robin anymore. You left him for dead, now he’s come back to you and you still don’t want him. Not as long as he’s… me.”

 

Dante sits up, concerned that Jason’s been covering his eyes. 

 

“Dick? Whose Dick?”

 

“His favorite Robin. When Dick grew up, he wanted to have his own life. But Bats still wanted a Robin. I was an experiment, a kid off the streets.”

 

“Wait.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“If this Dick guy was Robin before you, then how old is he now?”

 

“Why does it matter?”

 

“I’m confused.”

 

“Dante, he’s somewhere between the ages of thirteen and thirty. Don’t think about it. It might open a black hole.”

 

“Sorry. So, you were a kid off the streets? Same here. That sucks, man.”

 

“It really does. Bats wanted me to promise I would never become Red X again.”

 

“That’s stupid. What was that gonna do?” 

 

“Right? I think he really believed Red X was the problem, but he wasn’t around much and I started to internalize that what Joker did to me, was my fault. And I started thinking more and more about ending myself.”

 

He feels a pull to sit up too. When he turns his head and realizes that Dante’s quite invested in him, he quickly looks away. Forcing a slight smile, he focuses on the floor.

 

“I knew I would need to leave.”

 

He rests his palms beside his legs, pushing down on the seat of the pew, his shoulders tightening as he hunches and crosses his ankles. 

 

“When I left, I didn’t say goodbye. Instead, I left a note for Alfred, mentioning I wouldn’t be Red X, but mostly thanking him for taking care of me. I was already experimenting with a new identity, Red Hood. I still had weapons stashed away with Robin’s ruined uniform. Truth is, I keep it around to remind me that only I decide who ends this.”

 

“Oh man, Jason-“

 

“And I’d already killed a few maggots, both, as Red X and Red Hood. Thugs who were gonna keep hurting innocent people if they weren’t eradicated. I kept this from him pretty well, but he figured it out a few months after I left. He almost caught Red Hood after a gang-massacre. He could never prove it was me but he tried to catch me for a while.”

 

Stressed, he rubs the back of his neck.

 

“When the demon invasion migrated from Jump City to Gotham, we ran into each other again. I saved him from a devil that he wasn’t sure was human or not. He couldn’t bring himself to kill it and if I hadn’t shown up, Batman wouldn’t be here. He knows that.”

 

“Did he get his act together after that?”

 

“He tried one more time to convince me to come home, tried to pull the clean slate thing again since the Red Hood was using his powers for good, but I couldn’t do it. He told me my letter to Alfred left the butler in tears.”

 

Dante gets up and comes towards him. Something about this makes Jason’s heart race…

 

“Is he going to sit with me? Does he know how sad I am?”

 

He takes a seat beside him. Without saying anything, he puts his arm around him, and lovingly presses his head against his shoulder. 

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“No.”

 

He rests his cheek on the crown of Jason’s head. Jason shuts his eyes and lets the heartache silently trickle down his face, down his neck. His friend’s body is warm, his pulse is steady.

 

“It’s okay, Jason.”

 

Quiet.

 

“Did you hear me?”

 

Jason sniffles and sits up, trying to pull it together.

 

“Dante, I’m imagining what it would be like to snatch some building supplies from the Hub so we could fix this place up. I like working with tools. I’d repair the walls and the floors, the roof. I think the plumbing and the electric could use some attention too.”

 

“They’re supernaturally functioning just fine.”

 

Jason chuckles, wiping his face.

 

“Explain to me how.”

 

“This church is probably a mirror.”

 

“A mirror?”

 

“Some rifts are mirrors.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It means that somewhere, in the Human World, there’s a church like this one, with the capacity for electricity and running water.”

 

“So is this place siphoning those things from another church? is that what you’re saying? Their utilities bill must be up the ass.”

 

“Hell is draining those things from a mirrored church in the Human World. I dunno how to open the rift though.”

 

“Well, just so you know, I would make it really nice in here if I had the equipment. I still really like it though. I’m glad I ended up here. I’m glad you found me.”

 

“I’m glad too.”

 

“Can this be my home?”

 

“I thought you already knew that it was.”

 

“I did but after everything I just said-”

 

“I’m not put off by anything you told me.”

 

Jason rests his head on Dante’s shoulder again, feeling safe.

 

“That’s a weight lifted. Thank you for listening to me.”

 

“Anytime, Killer-Red.”