03x02 - Red Hood

[bunniefuu]

[Valeska] I thought you called it.

[Telly] I thought Perez called it.

[Santiago] Why the f*ck
would I wanna see any of you?

Especially tonight.

You hear anything, Valeska?

I've heard plenty.

My guy says he cracked
the Joker's head in two.

One swing, and the man's brains
spilled out like wedding soup.

It wasn't him.

We all know the Bat doesn't do m*rder.

He does now.

Well, let's do this again
when one of you dies.

[knocks on table]

[g*ns cocking]

What the f*ck?

[man] Open it.

Jimmy.

Like I said, until the next time.

[man] Open the bag!

[g*nsh*t]

sh*t, where the f*ck is this guy?

[projectile fires]

[grunts, screams]

The bag.

[man ] Oh, sh*t.

f*ck me.

That's Danny. That's my sister's kid!

All your number-twos are in there.

Who the f*ck are you?

I'm the guy you want on your side.

I can protect you.

- From the Bat?
- Batman's gone. I retired him.

Check the sky every night. No more
Bat Signals. The nightmare's over.

Any problems with cops or other masks,

I take care of it from now on.

It'll cost you % of what you make.

And trust me,

you're about to make a lot more.

f*ck this...

[thudding]

Any more questions?

[theme music playing]

They said you were
undercover before this.

Yeah.

Vice?

Gangs?

Narcotics?

- A little bit of everything.
- Wow.

How long you been on the force?

You ask a lot of
questions, Tod-with-one-D.

No, I... It's just funny, you know.

You show up a few months ago,

nobody knows from where,
people are whispering... IA?

I'm not IA.

I was with a special branch
of law enforcement before this.

Like Secret Service?

I was a bird, Tod.

A big, red bird with latex talons
and a composite beak-like helmet.

Okay, Mr. Mystery. [clicks
tongue] Have it your way.

[policeman on radio]
th & Grand. sh*ts fired.

- I'll take the tunnel.
- Yeah, I'll take th.

[bicycle bell ringing]

[Hank] Stop running!

[grunting]

- [Hank] That was fast.
- [Dove] Yeah.

[man grunts]

Practically delivered himself to me.

[Hank] Wanna grab a coffee?

I... I have a lunch.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Boat salesman.

The broker.

Um, I'll be around if you need me.

We still got it.

[Dove] Always will.

- [man groans]
- [handcuffs clicking]

[female reporter on TV]
Late breaking news:

Confirmed by several sources,

the man who terrorized
Gotham for a generation,

known only as "the Joker", is dead.

He was brutally m*rder*d
last night in Arkham Asylum.

Prison staffers have unofficially

speculated the assailant was the Batman,

but police have yet to confirm.

Calls to health officials...

[Gordon] Of course, Mr.
Mayor. Yeah. Night and day.

No special dispensation.

Can I help you?

I'm d*ck Grayson.

Yeah, I know.

You picked a nice time for a reunion.

And you are?

[Gordon] Thanks, Vee.

: last night, Bruce's jet
took off. Changed IFR in mid-air.

Nobody knows where he touched down.

- Except maybe you?
- [scoffs] I wish I did.

- What happened?
- I was asleep.

Bruce came into my room and dropped
a bloody crowbar on the floor.

Said it was over with him and
the Joker. That he ended it.

Then he said he was done with
Gotham, the Bat, all of it.

So that's it? No note? Marching orders?

He said be a better Batman.

[scoffs softly] That's some
f*cked-up parent jiu-jitsu.

- Trying to reel you back...
- [indistinct radio chatter]

Trying to reel you back home.

"Be a better me, son."

[sighs]

You're not serious.

I can't leave now, can I?

You know how crazy that is, right?

Trying to step into your father's shoes?

I do, Commissioner Gordon.

"Be a better Batman", huh?

[d*ck] Bruce wasn't
perfect, okay? He got sloppy.

Let it get personal with the Joker.

What happens when Gotham
takes one of yours, d*ck?

I'm not gonna go around Gotham
swinging a f*cking crowbar, am I?

I'm sorry.

We'll see.

Any other headlines?

I'm bringing in the Titans.

Are you sure about that?

[male reporter] Arriving
from San Francisco,

the Titans have been
spotted in Gotham City

just one day after the Joker
was m*rder*d in Arkham Asylum.

The Titans did not answer questions,

but sources say that the timing of
their appearance is not coincidental.

First Robin's m*rder, then Joker, the...

[d*ck] Thank you all for
coming on such short notice.

I wish it was under
better circumstances.

[Kory scoffs] Nobody calls
us under better circumstances.

I appreciate you for coming,

but I should warn you,
you're not in San Francisco.

This city breeds a
special class of criminal.

People die here.

Not just regular people. People like us.

I don't wanna lose anybody else.

We know what we're up against.

You're family. We'd never
let you do this alone.

Can we see the Batsuit?

No.

The Batmobile?

- Guys!
- What? He made me ask.

I did not. d*ck!

There'll be enough time for all of that,

but right now we need to
focus on the task at hand.

Word's out in Gotham that Batman's
gone. News like that travels fast.

So we'll have our hands full.

Get some food. Get some
rest. Could be a long night.

[computerized female voice] Incoming
call from Barbara Gordon.

Looks like it already started.

[breathes deeply]

[indistinct conversations]

This is Hoskins. Yeah, go ahead.

Her name's Ann Williams. She's a
-year-old marketing consultant.

No record, no religious groups,
no t*rror1st affiliations.

Married?

She's a widow. She has
a -year-old daughter.

- Where's she?
- We're looking.

She ask for a lawyer?

She hasn't said a word
since we brought her in.

She just brought this note.

Asking to talk to Nightwing.

Looks like it was written on the
back of a textbook page or something.

Play it.

She's terrified.

Red hood.

Joker started out his
career wearing one.

Think it might be related?

I hope not.

[expl*si*n]

[Ann] The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. [breath trembling]

He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures.

[whimpers]

- You asked to speak to me?
- [gasps]

- Can you speak?
- Mmm-mmm.

The red hood you were wearing...

Was that something to do with the Joker?

Why do you wanna talk to me?

Who did that to you?

Am I supposed to call that?

- - ...

- - ...

- - - .

[keyboard clacking]

[dialing]

[line ringing]

[gasps]

You okay?

- Hey.
- [groans]

Make it stop.

Hang up the call!

Hang up the call.

Make it stop!

[gasps]

We found Ann's daughter wandering
around the bus station an hour ago.

Also wearing a red hood.

She said some strange man in
a mask snatched her out of bed.

So Ann wasn't working alone.

Or he used the kid to coerce her.

No money, no political manifestos.

Doesn't sound like a
Joker copycat to me.

So what does he want?

What's any t*rror1st want?

Create chaos, paranoia,
fear. The noisy kind.

Toxicology came back.

The woman had a subdermal drug
delivery system in her arm.

Our guy said it was some
sort of Flakka derivation.

Like nuclear bath salts.

He juiced her with some
serious chemical strength.

A b*mb and pharmacology.

Points to a science
background, maybe m*llitary.

Well, that narrows it down
a few hundred thousand.

Probably with a mental
health issue, too.

Might help narrow the profile.

I wasn't gonna mention this,

but for cases like these, we've
been using a consultant, a profiler.

And we've gotten good results,
but you're not gonna like it.

Okay.

You're really not gonna like it.

Scarecrow.

What?

Told you you wouldn't like it.

You know, Batman put him in
Arkham years ago for a reason.

Oh, he's still there.

He's just helping us out on the side.

This is nuts. You're taking
advice from a f*cking crazy person.

It was Bruce's idea.

He thought that Crane had value.

And so far, he's been right.

When it comes to profiling
the criminally insane,

I hate to admit it, but
he's the best that we've got.

And after what happened today,

I think that we need the best.

[sighs]

I'll call ahead, make an introduction.

"I, Richard D. Grayson,
under no circumstances,

not death, nor love, nor loneliness,

will ever give comfort to fear."

Welcome to Camp Cruel and Unusual.

[gasping]

This is insane. Batman's
actual books! [chuckles]

The Red Book by Carl Jung.
Original estate manuscript.

Meditations of the Emperor
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

- What are you doing?
- What?

Don't put food on his books, man.

Were you raised in a barn?

Mmm. Test tube, actually.

Hey, does Superman have a library?

Mmm, I don't know.

I feel like he's got a whole
bunch of space rocks and sh*t.

[Kory speaking Tamaranian]

Oh, hey Kory, you gotta
check this out. It's...

[continues speaking Tamaranian]

Uh, Kory?

[continues speaking Tamaranian]

[continues speaking Tamaranian]

Kory, talk to me.

[gasps]

Please tell me that was a grease fire.

[panting]

[cell phone ringing]

The famous Starfire
finally returns a call.

[Kory on phone] Sorry,
Justin. I've been a rat.

That's okay.

Been busy saving San
Francisco, now Gotham.

- What's going on?
- Um...

We had a death in the family.

I'm sorry.

Jesus. Is there anything I can do?

Actually, there is.

I had a couple of strange episodes.

I didn't know who else to call.

I don't know what to make of them.

Well, grief can do that.

Yeah?

Crying, laughing, drinking.

Sleeping with strangers.

I wish it was that kind. It's not.

This is more of a...

"Blacking out in the middle of the day

and torching the walls" kind of episode.

Ah. That kind.

You've heard of that?

What you described sounds like
a violent parasomnia episode.

That's usually when our
subconscious is knocking,

saying, "Yo, something's
not right down here."

So, I'm nuts.

Yup. Like the rest of us.

If it happens again, call me.
Maybe I can prescribe something.

Thanks.

And if it doesn't happen
again, you can call me anyway.

I will.

What cell?

He's on the end. Only one down here.

Dr. Crane?

[duct tape ripping]

[Crane] Weed?

Look, if you want my help, and you do,

then I'm gonna need
some high-quality flower.

I'm talking - sativa.

Lemon Lyric is my favorite, but
I'm not a name-brand whore.

Just get me in the ballpark.

Anything above % THC, we can
have our little tete-a-tete.

[soft thudding]

[d*ck] You're doing the stoner act, huh?

It's not an act. It
helps my brain slow down.

Arkham isn't really a
venue for depressants.

Gotham PD actually
has you on the payroll?

[exhales] No.

But when I am a good little
doggie, they give me my treats.

A woman k*lled herself today, Doctor.

Very strange case.

[chuckles]

I heard.

She asked for a new guy, Nightwing.

Poor Batman.

I mean, the dude has one
little murdering spree

and all of a sudden he's
yesterday's news, right?

[chuckles]

You got rolling papers?

Ah. Love you, brother. Love ya.

[Crane exhales]

Somebody installed a
subdermal drug pump in her arm.

Yeah, Barb sent over a cheat sheet.

He's a vicious little fucker, this one.

Although, if we're being honest,

I mean, a subcutaneous drug pump?

[chuckles] That's too clever by half.

Gotta give him an A+
for originality, though.

The victim was a mother.
Afraid of losing her child.

So afraid, in fact, she
m*rder*d four strangers.

Wait, wait, wait. You know, when Barb...

When she said your name, it, uh...

it rung a little bell in my head.

The carney kid that Bruce
Wayne took in for PR?

You're that d*ck Grayson?

You know who I am.

And your story's biblical, brother.

I mean, really, you
ditched the family safety net,

you flee swinging Wayne Manor.

And then, years later,

like the m*therf*cking prodigal son,

home again, home again, jiggety jig.

I didn't come here to talk about myself.

If you've read the file,
maybe you have a few ideas?

Well, do you have a light?

No, sorry.

That's okay. I got connections.

Yes. The file.

Now... [clears throat] Um...

My best guess, and it's
just a guess, is that, uh,

he somehow knows who this
Nightwing character really is

and he has some sort
of jealousy complex.

- That's it?
- That's it.

Maybe he has a background in
expl*sives, m*llitary, construction.

Maybe just an Internet moog.

Okay, it's nice to see that higher

learning wasn't wasted on you, Doctor.

Thanks for your help.

It's the Bird's Opening.

What?

It's the Bird's Opening.

It's one of the oldest
known openings in chess.

It was made famous in
by Henry Edward Bird.

It's a classic king-pawn opening.

The two are connected,
relying on each other.

The King moves
stealthily in the shadows,

while the pawns are sent into the teeth

of destruction so that he may advance.

You got all that from
the police cheat sheet?

Yeah.

The note, it's written on the back
of a page torn from a chess manual.

It's just his opening move.

[d*ck] f d , Knight f g ,

e Bishop g , Bishop e ,

Knight f , castles, castles.

Is it some kind of code?

That's the Bird's Opening, chess moves.

I've been running the piece and
board numbers through the computer.

- Looking at all the combinations.
- For what?

A telephone number, bank
accounts... [breathes deeply]

Needle in a haystack.

[beeping]

"Robin".

The Bird's Opening, Robin.

That can't be random.

Ann lived at Blue Bird Way.

[keyboard clacking]

Let's get a list of all the
Gotham streets with bird names.

There's five in Gotham.

Blue Bird, Condor Court, Finch
Street, Falcon Way and Eagle Crest.

I'll see if the numbers
correlate to the actual addresses

- and the addresses of the next victims.
- [whooshing]

I pedaled as fast as I could.

- [laughs] Hank!
- How are you doing, Kory?

- Hi. Oh!
- Good to see you.

- About time.
- Hey, buddy.

So, are we suiting up?

[laughing]

What the f*ck? You just show up.

- No phone call.
- Phone call?

You left me a message saying
you were going out of town.

Then I see the news.

- You weren't gonna tell me you were here?
- [scoffs]

I don't have to tell you my every move.

Oh, I guess I'm a little
fuzzy on the rules.

The rules are you do
your thing, I do mine.

Okay. Well, this is
kind of my thing, too.

[scoffs]

Look, when Donna d*ed, I
let you follow me to D.C.

because we both had roots
there. It made sense.

It still does.

Except, I still wanna suit
up, answer the call, you don't!

It's not that simple.

Putting on the Hawk suit and not
being together kind of sucked.

Are you planning on going back to D.C.?

I don't know.

[exhales]

That doesn't look like an overnight bag.

This is Gotham.

If you're gonna Dove, I'm gonna Hawk.

[groans softly]

Let's go. We have work to do.

Next time send a text.

[sirens wailing in distance]

Nobody in the back.

Hey. We cleared Finch Street.
Any luck on Eagle Crest?

Nothing. Conner called,
he and Gar came up empty.

- We're too late.
- [line beeping]

Hold on.

Talk to me.

d*ck. It's Barb. We've got a
problem. Bank robbery in progress.

Four armed men and hostages,
we don't know how many.

I wasn't gonna call you, but
they're all wearing red hoods.

Let's go.

[sirens wailing]

[policeman shouts indistinctly]

Hey.

They have hostages, but they won't
talk to us. Issued no demands.

It's not a bank robbery.
Tell your men to pull back.

Pull back?

It's a setup, just
like with Ann Williams.

They've been forced into this. I
think it's the same person behind it.

So what? We just pull back,
wait for the mayhem to start?

No, I can go in there and talk to them.

They're not criminals, they're parents.

They think their children are in danger.

Gar and Conner are searching
for the kids right now.

That's the leverage. We find
them, this all goes away.

Call your men off and let us handle it.

If you're wrong, this
is gonna be a bloodbath.

We got this.

Stand down!

[policemen clamoring]

[Nightwing] All right. Each
of us has a gunman to contain.

But remember, they're not professionals.

They're scared, may be on dr*gs,

so don't be surprised
if they're irrational.

No sudden moves. No loud
voices. The calmer the better.

[woman whimpers] Please...

[gunman ] Come on,
come on. Give me the bag.

Please don't...

[gunman ] It's time.

Do it. He has my son.

He has our kids.

[Nightwing] Wait.

Stay back!

Easy. Everyone, just relax.

You don't have to do this.

Look, we know somebody took your
children and forced you into this.

We're gonna find them and bring
them back to you safe and sound.

Nobody needs to get hurt.

We found the kids.

[over comms] Safe and sound.

The kids are safe. We found them.

Now put your g*ns down.

Nobody needs to get hurt. This is over.

No, it's not over. Not yet.

Conner!

[over comms] Those people in bank...

they aren't the parents.

Now it's over.

[pulsing]

[high-pitched ringing]

[fire alarm beeping]

[Gordon] They walked
out with $ million,

and drove off with my
men two blocks away.

You practically gave
them a police escort.

We got played. I'm
sorry, but it happens.

Didn't happen with Batman.

Be a better Batman, I believe
were the instructions, d*ck.

Whoever this is, this
is exactly what they want.

Which is?

- Mistrust between us.
- [scoffs]

Well, they should've called first.

That box was already checked.

Those guys at the bank
looked like Perez's people.

I find them, I find out
who's running this show.

The people who have sworn to
defend Gotham will handle it.

- The ones in this building.
- I can help.

I stood down for you tonight.

Nobody else could have
convinced me to do that.

- It wasn't professional.
- Right.

Keep it professional.

I'm sorry we failed you
tonight, Commissioner.

The city is on edge and it's my
job to protect them, not yours.

This is a police matter.

[d*ck] Hey, man.

What you eating?

I don't know.

Gar made it, I think.

Some kind of meat thing.

That's Krypto's.

[chuckles softly]

How'd it go with Barbara?

She said she wants us
to keep it professional.

Whoa. The "break up and work
together" thing is not for amateurs.

There's nothing going
on between us anymore.

Of course.

- Serious.
- Oh, yeah, sure.

You want me to go out and grab a
shovel, help you dig a little deeper?

I disappointed her. f*cked it up again.

[sighs deeply]

Bruce wouldn't have
fallen for that bank sh*t.

Eh, nobody's perfect.

Not even Bruce.

He sure wasn't the other night.

Yeah, that must have been tough to see.

Before we took off, he asked me to stay.

Said the city's mine.

It's kind of like asking your
adult son to move back home,

sleep in your bed,

- wear your old slippers.
- [chuckles softly]

- It's a little weird.
- Yeah.

It was good to see the Hawk today.

Yeah, it felt good.

I got some repairs done.

Stu?

Wanted K for reconditioning.

Found a lady at the dry cleaner,
who did it for bucks.

You looked good.

Though Dawn tells me you rocked
the bike shorts back in D.C.

Hey, those are pursuit-and-att*ck
shorts, m*therf*cker.

[sighs] Let me go check on
Kory, see how she's doing.

Hey.

Whoever this is f*cking
with us, he's going down.

And we're gonna be the ones to do it.

So chin f*cking up, amigo.

Chin up.

Whenever you're ready,

I know what you're doing.

Psy ops. Mastered by the Russians.

[chuckles]

You do know I'm from
another planet, right?

Allegedly.

Do you always get this way
when you get competitive?

By "this way" I mean "insane".

I'm problem-solving.

The Bird's Opening. The
answer's right in front of us.

It's hidden in plain sight.

[chuckles] Hey, speaking of Russians.

This guy Bobby Fischer had the
fillings removed from his mouth

because he thought the Russians were
using it as a radio transmitter...

- Stop.
- It's a fact.

Hold on, Fischer took
out his own fillings?

I'm not sure if I should talk or not.

He did it because he thought the
Russians were trying to b*at him.

It was a defensive move.

[exhales] We're looking
at this the wrong way.

The answer isn't figuring out more of

Bird's Opening moves, it's how we b*at it.

Conner, top five defensive
moves against Bird's Opening.

[door opens]

I wouldn't. He's on a roll.

From's Gambit, the modern defense.

- A fianchetto.
- Fianchetto.

- Hobbs Gambit...
- Hobbs?

"Unsound, but nonetheless
interesting and uncommon."

No, not that. Hobbs Powder Group.
They used to make expl*sives.

Batman and I shut them down
for street dealing. [typing]

There was a call minutes
ago coming from the Hobbs Building.

[female operator on recording]
operator. What's your emergency?

[man speaking frantically] A man...

I saw him take this woman into a building.

She was screaming. He had a g*n.

[operator] Where are you?

[man] Outside the Hobbs
Building. He took her inside.

He had a hood over
his head. A red hood.

It's a bogus call. He's
leading them into a trap.

Call Barbara.

- I don't think she's taking my calls.
- [Kory sighs]

We have to stop those cops.

[d*ck] Let's get the spike strips.

Cops should've been here by now.

[tiger roaring]

[low growling]

What the...

- [Starfire] Hey there.
- [upbeat song playing]

♪ Oh, no ♪

What the f*ck!

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

- [radio beeps]
- All clear here.

♪ Sail on ♪

- [Hawk] Maybe you can help me.
- [grunts]

I've always puzzled over something.

♪ You told me to sail on ♪

A "chicken or egg" kind of question.

- Nature or nurture?
- [grunts]

Were you born an assh*le?

Or you just wake up
one day and you're...

The world's biggest douche... bird.

♪ We're gonna ♪

♪ We're gonna sail on ♪

I guess we'll never know.

- [radio beeps]
- All clear.

♪ Sail on ♪

[man] What took you so long?

I got here as soon as I could.

[man] Thought I was gonna
have to hire a skywriter.

Nice work on the chess clue, though.

It wasn't me. I had
my team working on it.

Looks like you had a team too.

[man] They were expendable,
just like the Titans.

Who are you?

[man] The one they'll run
to when you let them down.

Gotham, it's mine now.

We'll see about that.

[g*n cocking]

[man] Oh, come on,
man. You know the tune.

Outgunned, outmanned.

Just throw in the towel and
I promise I'll be gentle.

[groans]

[both grunting]

Bruce always told me you were
better than me with the toys.

Jason?

In living color.

I got a new name now, though.

You'll be hearing it a lot around here.

"Red Hood".

[theme music playing]