This part is dedicated to Martipuh17 for their idea. I hope y'all like it.
Dick huddled in the cold alley, not sure where to go after he'd ran away from Wayne Manor.
There was a soft meow that caught Dick's attention, and a large black cat came waltzing down the alley, stopping to rub its head against his ankles.
Dick had always been good with animals, and the cat seemed nice enough. So he bent down and scratched it behind the ears.
"Isis... what have you found?" came a voice out of the darkness. Catwoman emerged from the shadows and inspected the small boy in front of her. "You're Richard Grayson aren't you, the little boy that Brucie took in?" she asked.
Dick nodded. "H-he doesn't w-want me anymore. He said I-I was just a ch-charity case," he said with a sniffle.
Catwoman's brows furrowed. "Poor kitten... I didn't know Wayne could be so cold hearted," she said, putting a gloved hand on the side of Dick's head.
Dick leaned into her hand, the gentleness of the touch reminding him of his parents.
"Well Kitten... how'd you like to come home with me?" Catwoman asked, taking pity on the tiny boy.
"Really?" Dick asked, unsure whether Catwoman was joking or not.
She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you!" Dick said, wrapping her in a hug.
"You're welcome," she replied. "And you can call me Selina."
—————————————
10 years later
"Black Cat and Catwoman are on the move B." Jason called into his com unit, sprinting across rooftops in his Red Hood uniform. Following the form that seemed like little more than a shadow as it ducked into another abandoned apartment building.
Jason ran through the halls of the building, chasing after Black Cat.
The villain darted into a room in an attempt to ditch Jason, cursing his luck when he found himself in a windowless room, even more so when Jason stepped into the room behind him.
Jason took in Black Cat's appearance for the first time. He was slender but well muscled, probably about average height, nothing that would compare to Jason's 6'0". He had on a fitted black suit with a belt that hung long in the back, almost like a tail. The look was completed with a black domino mask and two pointed black ears nestled in a wild mess of curls.
"So we meet at last," Jason said, advancing towards the corner Black Cat had trapped himself in.
To Jason's surprise, the man smiled. "I would say it's a pleasure, but I'm afraid I was raised not to tell lies," he said.
"Kinda contradicts with the whole stealing thing doesn't it," Jason said, slightly amused by what Black Cat had said.
"Gotta make a living somehow," Cat said. "Not everyone's as well off as your homie Batsy. Plus, I was raised to steal, which has nothing to do with lying... usually."
Jason furrowed his brows as he continued advancing. Not that Cat could see his face with his red helmet on. "Well, unfortunately making a living by stealing gives us a reason to take you into custody," he said, almost within arm's reach of Cat.
Black Cat's eyes widened when his back bumped up against the wall.
Jason took this moment to strike, pinning Cat's arms above his head and reaching for a pair of handcuffs.
Before he could get the cuffs out, the thief wrapped his legs around Jason's neck, squeezing until he wasn't able to get any air.
Jason thrashed as much as he deemed was safe, not wanting to snap his own neck, but he couldn't get free. In a moment of panic, he grabbed one of his guns from the holster around his waist and fired blindly, taking in a deep grateful breath when the pressure around his neck was removed. His vision cleared and he saw Cat with a hand pressed over his stomach, blood seeping out from between his gloved fingers, a look of surprise on his face.
Jason stumbled back a step, still trying to catch his breath.
Cat tensed, looking panicked and ready to run.
"Wait!" Jason yelled, but it was too late, Black Cat was already sprinting out of the room.
"Hood, I've detained Catwoman. What's your status?" Bruce's voice crackled over Jason's com a few moments later.
"I had Black Cat cornered, but he got away. He's heavily wounded and on the run," Jason replied, pressing a finger to his ear.
"How'd he get wounded?" Bruce asked.
"Well, I kinda shot him," Jason said, starting to head out of the building now that he'd caught his breath.
"I thought we agreed—
Bruce was cut off by Jason. "Ya, I know what you said, but he was choking me. I didn't know whether he'd stop when I was unconscious or not, so I did the only think I could think of."
There was silence for a moment before Bruce said, "Meet me at the cave, I'm sure Catwoman will have some information as to where he might be."
"Roger that," Jason replied sarcastically, shooting his grappling hook and swinging off into the night.
—
Dick collapsed in a random abandoned building. There were plenty in downtown Gotham. He looked at his gunshot wound, hissing in pain when the slight movement sent spikes of pain shooting through his abdomen.
Why did Red Hood have to shoot him?
Dick knew he needed to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding, but he just didn't have the energy or tools. Instead, he slid his wide belt down and tightened it over the gushing wound, hopefully slowing the bleeding.
'Selina will find me,' he thought blearily as his eyes slid shut.
—
Dick woke up to the sound of some sort of explosive going off. Parts of the building rained down around him, a large piece already resting on his legs.
The building shuddered again as another explosion was heard, and Dick decided now would be a good time to activate his emergency tracker.
The building stilled for a moment before a third and final explosion sounded, sending an avalanche of rubble tumbling directly towards Dick.
—
Selina paced back and forth in the cell Bruce had put her in, stopping every so often to pound at the bulletproof glass surrounding her. She'd been left in there almost an entire day, completely alone save for the old butler who occasionally brought her food.
Bruce had taken everything she had that could even possibly be used as a weapon, including her gloves and belt, so there was no option of escaping or contacting Dick.
Selina stopped pacing when she saw a red blinking light on her belt. She quickly moved to the nearest glass wall and started pounding as loud as she could. It was Dick's emergency button. That oaf Red Hood had shot him, so who knew what kind of trouble he was in now.
Bruce walked over to the cell, his cowl down around his shoulders. Selina already knew his identity anyway, so there wasn't really any point in hiding his face. "What do you want?" he growled.
"Please," Selina begged. "My Kitten's in trouble. You have to go save him!" she said, pointing towards the blinking belt.
Bruce nodded, stoic as ever, grabbing the belt and walking away.
—
Jason dug through the rubble of the partially collapsed building, calling out to Bruce when he saw an arm covered in ripped black fabric.
Together they dug until they had unearthed Black Cat's entire body, which lay unnaturally still in a pile of blood speckled rubble. Jason gingerly felt for a pulse on Cat's neck, relieved when he felt the faint thrum under his fingertips. "He's alive," he said, backing up so Bruce could do a scan of Cat's body.
The scan showed the bullet wound and a fracture of his left leg.
"You're good to pick him up Hood, just be careful of the leg," Bruce said, typing a command into his belt, the batwing angling itself closer to the nearest hole in the wall.
—
Dick awoke feeling like trash, scratch that, trash probably felt better than he did. He groaned loudly and tried to sit up, but he was held down by two firm hands.
"Stay down Cat. You're hurt," came a voice he recognized as Red Hood's.
Unfortunately, hearing the voice of someone he considered to be an enemy telling him to stay down wasn't exactly good motivation to actually listen. In fact, Dick decided to do the exact opposite, jumping up off of the table... only to collapse next to it with a cry of pain.
"Hey! I told you to stay down," came Jason's voice, laced with worry.
Dick looked up at the man he knew as Red Hood, and for the first time he realized that Hood wasn't wearing his helmet, or even a domino mask.
Hood had dark black hair with a streak of white in the front. His blue-green eyes stared back at Dick, and his cheeks were dusted with a spray of freckles.
Suddenly Dick realized he was missing the usual readouts that his domino mask provided.
"Mask?" he horsely whispered.
Jason let out a laugh. "Ya, your mask is gone, but don't worry. We still have no idea who you are," he said. "Seriously, Bats has been trying to figure that out for the past hour," he whispered, leaning closer to Dick.
"W-where's S... where's Catwoman?" Dick asked.
"You can call her Selina. We already knew her identity... but she's in a detaining cell," Jason answered.
"Can I see her?" Dick asked.
"Ummm... sure," Jason said. "But you'll have to go in a wheelchair... I'm sure you noticed, but you're not really in any shape to walk."
Dick frowned. "Fine," he growled.
Jason wheeled over a wheelchair before gently picking Dick up and setting him into it.
Dick turned his face away, hoping Jason couldn't see the slight blush that colored his cheeks. He let Jason wheel him next to the detaining cell, where Selina was still pacing back and forth.
"Kitten!" Selina cried out when she saw Dick in front of her. She pressed herself as close to the glass as she could get, wanting to give Dick a much needed hug.
Dick smiled broadly when he saw Selina, pressing a hand to the glass.
"What on Earth happened to you dear?" Selina asked Dick, noticing that both his leg and chest were wrapped tightly in bandages.
"Well I met this guy... I was kinda into him, but he decided to shoot me... I knew if I played damsel in distress that he would come to his senses though," Dick teased.
One look at Jason showed that his teasing had done exactly what he wanted, as the man was blushing furiously.
"Oh," Selina said with a sly wink. "How are things now?"
Dick hummed, resting his chin on his hand. "Well he did rescue me and push me around in a wheelchair... What do you think?" He asked, turning to Jason. "That's pretty romantic."
Jason's blush grew darker and he sputtered, turning away to cover his burning face.
Dick and Selina both laughed loudly.
Their laughter was cut off when Bruce walked over and cleared his throat.
Dick immediately froze, staring at the man in front of him. "B-Bruce?" he stammered, voice unsteady. He quickly cleared his throat when he realized that Bruce didn't recognize him. "Bruce Wayne is Batman?"
Bruce nodded, slightly annoyed. He'd assumed that Selina would've told Black Cat his identity, and because of that he hadn't worn his cowl.
"Then that makes you Jason Todd..." Dick trailed off, looking at Jason. "You're supposed to be dead."
"Death didn't want me," Jason said with a shrug, finally recovering from his embarrassment.
"Now that our introductions are done, why don't you tell us who you are," Bruce said, voice sounding more like a growl.
Dick's brows pressed together and his mouth turned down into an uncharacteristic frown. "I don't have to tell you anything," he growled back at Bruce, sending the man a glare so intense that it made Jason flinch.
Bruce took a step back. Wondering why this kid seemed to hate him so much. "Fine," he said, sending a glare straight back at the kid. "You've been unassociated with most of Selina's crimes, and she has been the mastermind behind the ones you have been involved in. As a result, she will be imprisoned here where I can watch to make sure you don't break her out, and you will have a chance to use your skills for good as a partner to Red Hood."
"What?!" Dick and Jason both shouted at the same time.
Bruce gave them both a look that silenced their protests. Almost as an afterthought, he walked over to his computer and grabbed something off of the desk nearby. He paused for a moment with his back turned before briskly walking back to where Jason, Dick, and Selina were.
Before Dick knew what Bruce was doing, he had an inhibitor collar around his neck. He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he realized that it wouldn't do any good.
As Bruce walked away, Dick bit his lip, holding in tears. Bruce was still exactly the same.