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"Trust Fall": Jason Todd can't help but notice the anxiety in the faces of the people who call themselves his friends when he asks them what kind of man he was. Despite wilfully having had his memory erased, he has decided that he can't move forward in his life witho

Quote1 STOP BEING SEXY AND FIGHT ME, DAMMIT! Quote2
Roy Harper

Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1 is an issue of the series Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 2013. It was published on May 29, 2013.

Synopsis for "Trust Fall"

Jason Todd can't help but notice the anxiety in the faces of the people who call themselves his friends when he asks them what kind of man he was. Despite wilfully having had his memory erased, he has decided that he can't move forward in his life without knowing what the darkness in his past is. Jason asks their computer to access all of the files on the costumed criminal known as the Red Hood. The computer returns data showing that he, the Red Hood, has a confirmed kill-count of 83 people.

Meanwhile, Roy Harper lies awake after a night of passion with Starfire. He thinks back on his time in Seattle, when his psychiatrist had been Dr. Hugo Strange. Roy had been frustrated at the time with the fact that he had lost the trust of his mentor, the Green Arrow.

Earlier that week, Roy had been frustrated by Oliver's failure to use the technology he was hired to design for him. Oliver's neglect had driven Roy to drinking, and he hoped that if Oliver wasn't going to use the technology he was designing, he could at least let him come out with him on missions. Oliver had refused. That lack of trust had been the end of their friendship.

Roy is shaken from his reverie by the perimeter alarms, and gets out of bed, pausing to look down on Kori. Thinking her asleep, he mutters that they need to talk. Since returning from the Acres of All, he had learned that she was lying to him for months, claiming to lack a long-term memory in order to avoid having to maintain long-term relationships. Having seen what a lack of trust does to relationships first hand, he doesn't want the same thing to happen to their relationship.

Despite having hit rock bottom, years ago, finding himself in a jail cell after getting drunk and digitally robbing ATMs, Roy was saved by Oliver Queen. Ollie had seen what kind of man Roy was, under the drinking and delinquency, and had recruited Roy to help him with cleaning up the city. Their relationship had been like brothers, and it had been one of the best feelings of his life, until it came to an end.

While investigating the perimeter, Roy is disturbed to discover that his security bots have been destroyed by Green Arrow, who has come to warn him of some kind of danger, and isn't especially pleased about the cold reception the robots gave him.

Meanwhile, Koriand'r gets dressed, cursing herself for failing to speak up when Roy spoke his mind to her. She chases after him, but on her way to find him, the lights in the base shut down, and she hears a voice speaking her name in the darkness.

Oliver warns that there is a bounty of five hundred million dollars each on Roy, Kori, and Jason - and that he has only come to help. Roy, however, notes that this island and base are a secret, and if Oliver knows where the island is, then someone could have followed him there, assuming that he and Roy are still close. This was probably a trap.

Kori calls out, thinking the voice belongs to Roy, and explains that the memories she had were like a poison killing her from the inside out. She had no choice but to bury them. She was trying to keep him at arm's length so that she wouldn't get hurt again. Suddenly, though, she smells something unusual, and unsure of what it is, she produces some fire, to see. That's when the voice announces that the smell was gasoline, and the base explodes. Outside, Roy is alerted by the blast, and he and Oliver rush back.

After the fire dies down, burning up all of the oxygen in the room, Kori begins to choke. The voice explains that once the oxygen was gone, it allowed an aerosol toxin to enter the room, and enter Kori's lungs. Kori collapses just as Roy arrives in time to see the woman who poisoned her. She introduces herself as Cheshire, and warns that he is her next target - but Jason is her primary target.

Unfortunately, Roy soon discovers that this Cheshire can make herself intangible, and therefore is not so easily filled with arrows. As she makes a run for it, Roy warns Oliver to look after his friend Jason, who is not exactly capable of taking care of himself just now.

Years ago, the relationship between Oliver and Roy had fallen apart when Roy had made a costume for himself and tried to accompany his mentor on a mission. Angrily, Oliver had thrown the costume into the trash, stating that he would not be made responsible for Roy's death.

Roy chases Cheshire down the halls, annoyed by her flirtatious teasing. Unfortunately, when he gets into close combat with her, she blows some dust into his face, and he collapses.

When Oliver finds Jason, he is surprised to take a fist in the jaw, after tapping the man's shoulder. He is further surprised to be bowled over by Cheshire as she finally makes her attack on Jason, whom she knows from some time ago.

Roy struggles to stand, aware that he's been poisoned, but that his death is not immediately imminent. He strengthens his resolve, promising not to let his friends die.

Angrily, Oliver attacks Cheshire, complaining that she used him to get to the island, so she could claim the bounty. She admits that while she had used him, she has not come for the bounty. Jason, in the meantime, has no recollection of her, which she finds frustrating given that they trained together for years, but slightly less frustrating than having to keep dodging Oliver's arrows. With that in mind, she resolves to kill him. She is prevented from doing so by Roy, who knocks her sword from her hand with an arrow. Tiring of all the distractions, she uses her poisoned nails to claw into his neck, overloading him with toxins, so that she can finally face Jason.

Oliver rushes to Roy's side, searching for the anti-toxins he keeps in his utility belt. Fortunately, he keeps them exactly where he used to put them when he would stock Oliver's belt. Injecting his former partner with the anti-toxin, Oliver complains that if Roy had died, he would never have been able to forgive himself, while Roy complains that if his friends die tonight, he will never forgive Ollie either.

Cheshire claims that whether Jason remembers her or not, he is a killer. It's his destiny. She and her employers have a bigger destiny in mind, and she prepares to paralyze him for easier transport. Suddenly, though, she yanked up off her feet, and realizes that she is being carried by a very angry Starfire over the ocean. Unfazed, Cheshire explains that she already has what she came for. Whatever else happens, Jason will join her. She exposes Starfire to more poison, blinding her for long enough to go intangible, and escape, warning with her parting words that she would gladly come back for Roy, and will keep his hat to remember him by. By the time Starfire recovers, Cheshire is gone.

With the threat gone, Jason turns on Roy, complaining that he had been lied to. He had been told he was a good man, but now he knows what they are. They are killers. He can't understand how he was able to live with himself up to this point, given what he has just learned about himself. As Starfire returns, Oliver tries to intervene, but Roy turns on him, explaining that coming back and saving his life wasn't enough to repair their relationship. Angrily, Roy explains that it was a lack of trust that tore them apart, casting a meaningful glance at Starfire before walking away.

Upon returning to the base, Roy and Starfire discover a note from Jason, who has decided to seek out his destiny without them.

As he leaves the island, Oliver reports back to Steve Trevor at A.R.G.U.S. that having Red Hood and the Outlaws taken to Belle Reve for their own protection will not be necessary. He has done enough to ruin Roy's life. In the meantime, he hopes A.R.G.U.S. will continue to lay off of them as a favour for him. Unbeknownst to Oliver, Jason Todd has stowed away on his vehicle.

Elsewhere on the island, Bronze Tiger and the League of Assassins celebrate their victory. Cheshire had done well in testing Roy's defence systems and Starfire's power levels. Soon, they will be able to take what is rightfully theirs.

Appearing in "Trust Fall"

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Notes

Trivia

  • Jason Todd's confirmed kill count is eighty three.


See Also


Links and References

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