Cold-Blooded

Retrograde

Suddenly I'm hit. Is this darkness of the dawn? And your friends are gone, and your friends won't come. So show me where you fit.

"...sure they don't try to..."

"...―n't worry, I got th―..."

Everything was loud. Everything hurt. He remembered his back and ribs shattering on impact with the concrete floor. He remembered his knee buckling out of place. He remembered her calling out his name, his real name, over and over again, but got no answer. He remembered her creating a dome of ice to shield them from the carnage that kept falling, how her face splintered once.

He remembered her taking off his cracked visor, the burning sorrow in her eyes, and her soft, delicate hands tracing the mark of his unwanted past before she pressed her forehead against his own. Her whispering the words he once said to her on multiple occasions, words that meant everything and nothing.

We promised, remember?

Her tears burned raw against her cheeks as she froze over Gotham and everyone in it, out of anger. Out of regret that she couldn't save the man she loved. Once again, she was alone in the world because she couldn't find his pieces.

He died, of excessive internal bleeding, irreparable fracture and shock. So why was he here, hearing her voice and the sound of her heels move closer towards him?

Red Hood lazily lifted his head up from the pillow, dazed by his snooze and the numbness, and tried to sit up but the wave of searing agony spread throughout his chest, and he moaned and clutched his torso in response. A blurry figure had turned and tilted their head before sauntering to him, a tray of food in their hands. They placed the tray on the bedside and sat beside him, and that was when his eyes regained focus; it was Alias, with her cloudy violet eyes and light pink hair, each freckle on her face as unique as the last.

"Hey," she smiled warmly and placed a hand on his chiseled chest, and he sighed in relief. Light curled around her fingertips as she glared down at him, not expecting to see a warmer gaze than last time. His internal injuries slowly healed, Red Hood feeling uncomfortable as his bones snapped back into place and the blood that spilled into his body was put back in its rightful place. It felt weird. But rather than holding onto her shoulder for reassurance he reached up for her face and cupped her cheeks, and she leaned into his touch.

"Why aren't you scared of me?"

"Why?" she echoed calmly and held his hand with both of her own. "Because I―"

I'll wait. So show me why you're strong. Ignore everybody else; we're alone now.

"―ey. Hey! Jason!"

Sound rose. Sensation rose. Heat signature rose.

Red Hood inhaled sharply before choking, his body cold upon the wintery concrete and his face burning red. He wasn't sure who was calling him, or shaking him, but they sounded familiar. Slowly but surely the sensory overload faded and his eyes widened at the sight of a beautiful pink-haired woman cowered over him with her face relaxing as they locked eyes. The world stopped moving, the snow stopped falling. Snowflakes had clung to her hair in a decorative fashion, and her eyes were glowing. She didn't understand how long he looked for her: his former HQ, her hotel room, her usual spots, even Arkham Asylum. He found the person that overlooked his mood swings, his flaws. He found her.

He finally found her.

"Blakelyn." Alias blinked in astonishment before rolling her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears cascading down her reddening cheeks, and nodded once.

"Jason," she whispered and leaned down to press her forehead against his, his hand moving to cup the nape of her neck. "It's you... It's really you. I finally found you..."

You're on your own, in a world you've grown. Few more years to go; don't let the hurdle fall.

Time moved slow. Bullets flew past her, bullets were smacked from its trajectory, bullets became encased in ice. Red Hood was determined to kill her. Alias was determined to save him. With all this momentum, she'd doubt he'd survive with a fatal injury.

But she could.

"I'm sorry." She had streamlined her body to fall faster and, when she was close enough, she coiled her arms and legs around him while steering her body to be the landing cushion. At first, the vigilante was unaware of why an enemy was hugging him for dear life but when he realised his grappling hook was missing, he stopped protesting.

Now, he was sure this was the real Alias.

He pulled her closer to his chest and held her tight, hooking his chin over her shoulder with a glad smile on the face underneath.

"We promised."

Alias gasped.

They impacted the floor, hard. He felt his ribs crack against the force and screamed out in pain, their bodies bouncing before awkwardly tumbling to a stop. For a moment, the world fell dark, dizzying, silent. He had opened his eyes and realised her hold on him was lost, and found her several metres away from his position; her face was splintered and fragments had fallen, revealing the icy blue flesh underneath. The adrenaline that violently coursed through his body gave him the strength to stand up, until the numbing pain swarmed his ankle and he collapsed in response. He didn't even realise his leg was broken too. "Shit...! Alias? A...alias!" His breathing came out in pained, raspy breaths as he dragged himself across the snowy terrain and cowered over Alias, examining her face with tears stinging his eyes. "Alias?" He cupped her face gently, but her head lolled to the opposite side. She wasn't responding.

"Alias!" His head cocked up as a section of metal and plaster fragmented as it struck the floor. "Alias, c'mon! Alias...ah, shit...you gotta wake up. You gotta wake up!" Another piece of debris fell but closer this time, and a shard had recoiled off the floor before being embedded into Red Hood's visor. Without hesitation, he reached for the back of his head, ready to take off the mask that hid who he was but a hand firm around his wrist stopped him.

She choked and liquid crimson dribbled down her lips, her eyes barely open. "J...Jason...don't...worry..."

"Alias!"

So be the girl you loved. Be the girl you loved.

Alias found herself aiming an ice replica of Red Hood's pistol at him and suddenly staggered back as all those possibilities flashed before her eyes, exhaling as if life was suddenly restored to her. What the hell was that? She saw her own death, felt her life thaw away, saw his face. Jason's face, and the scars that made him who he was then. He knew her name. Her real name. But she knew that wasn't her in those premonitions, because her ice wasn't blue.

She gradually dropped her icy aim and let the pistol slip from her hand and reached for her comm device. "Alias. What are you doing? You're wasting time." Rex's words fell on deaf ears as it only took her a moment to play with it before she realised what she was doing, and tossed the electronic by Red Hood's feet.

"You promised me something, Knight."

Red Hood chuckled, "You have me mista―"

"Don't make regret leaving you behind." She flicked her hand, "Let's go, Rex." Rex let out a disappointed grunt before turning around to walk past the fire exit and the Meta Mercenary soon followed closely behind. "If you want to meet me, I'll be at the hotel. Don't keep me waiting."

And with that she disappeared. Red Hood dropped his arm, his smile hidden by his glassy facade. "Glad to see you haven't changed at all, Alias."