Chapter Text
Nobody hunted alone. This was the golden rule of the Hunters. People could and would wage wars over what the other rules, traditions or regulations around demon hunting were supposed to be and how they were supposed to be followed, but nobody argued with this one. Nobody hunted alone. Mostly because those who did tended to end up dead.
Self-enforcing, really.
That meant that with Lynx—Helena, now that she was off-duty—confined to the hospital, and then the desk, for the foreseeable future, Tiger needed a new partner.
He gave the offending splint around Helena’s knee a nasty glare. From her hospital bed, Helena laughed at him.
“That’s not going to make it heal any faster.”
Tiger had always been told he had a very intimidating glare. Historically, it had been very useful in helping him get his way. He recognized that, even so, that meant nothing in the face of Helena’s quite epically torn ACL.
Helena laughed at him more. “Come on. A new partner won’t be that bad.”
Tiger shifted his glare to her. “Yes, they will be.”
The Hunters agency had a long, storied past and very high entry requirements. This naturally lended itself to cliqueishness. Tiger and Helena had been one of those cliques. Finding somebody you worked with well meant that much more chance of staying alive. Everybody currently unpartnered was a rookie, bad at their job, or damn fucking unlucky.
None of those appealed to Tiger.
“Well, would you rather work the desks for the next year while I get better?” Helena asked.
Tiger was honestly considering it. Not only was Helena incomparable in terms of skill and familiarity, but he also had a uniquely terrible track record with partners. Lynx had been a stroke of fortune. He wasn’t keen on risking himself in another disastrous partnership, even if it was only supposed to be temporary.
“How are you not more upset about this?” Tiger replied muleishly.
Helena sighed, and her expression sloped into darkness. Tiger appreciated the honesty.
“Of course I am,” she said. “I’m so upset I want to fucking scream. But I’ll be more upset if you don’t keep fighting just because I’m not there.”
Tiger pursed his mouth. He turned his head away from her, but he couldn’t bring himself to argue.
“You will be very difficult to replace,” he muttered finally.
Helena gave him a wan smile. “Pick up the slack for me,” she said. Commanded, really. With a nod and a roll of his eyes, Tiger agreed.
≬
He was called in to Canary’s office a day later to be debriefed on his new partner assignment. In any other area, this speed and efficiency from the Hunters would’ve been expected. In sourcing Tiger a new partner, however, it was a bit of a surprise. Good hunters were hard to come by. Especially ones that matched up to Tiger’s rather exacting standards. Tiger was reasonably apprehensive, and a tiny bit intrigued. Whoever they’d found had to be quite the agent.
Nothing really prepared him for walking in and seeing Robin’s grinning features on the screen.
He stopped short. For a long, terrifying millisecond, Tiger was knocked off balance and facing down a precipice.
Robin. Robin.
Tiger tried, and failed, to keep the name from bubbling up in his memory.
Dick Grayson.
“Good, you’re here,” Canary said, apparently oblivious to the way Tiger’s motor functions had briefly stopped working. “Take a seat, hunter.”
Somewhat grateful for the order, Tiger took a seat. His every movement was stiff. His mind was reeling. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen.
Dick Grayson. Even without the accompanying identifying data, Tiger would’ve recognized him. There was something about Robin that was unmistakeable. Even 5 years on.
Tiger didn’t want to, but he took in the rest of the profile ravenously.
D.J.G.
CODENAME: OWL
AGE: 21
BASE OF OPERATIONS: NEW YORK
Owl? Something rocked in Tiger’s mind at the idea of Dick not going by Robin anymore. He almost flinched at the words.
It seemed a lot had changed.
Of course a lot had changed. It had been 5 years.
“This is Owl. He’ll be transferring in tomorrow to be your partner.” Canary’s eyes flicked to him with an amused look. “I read that quite extensive list you sent Hal on your requirements. You’re lucky that you weren’t demerited for the nerve, you know.”
Tiger couldn’t share in the humour with her. Tiger had no fucking idea what was going on.
“With all due respect, Ma’am,” Tiger started. His voice was strange. Weak, warbly. He did not sound like himself.
Canary cut him off with a wave of her hands. “Tiger, trust me, he’s the closest we’ve gotten to even fulfilling half of your little list . He’s got the stats to back him up, and I’ve seen him in action: he’s a damn good hunter. You won’t have anything to complain about.”
Tiger could think of quite a few things already, actually. The longer he stared at Robin’s—Owl’s???—smiling profile picture, the more he felt a headache building up in his temples.
He’d really thought they’d never see each other again. He’d thought, for some stupid reason, that Dick would have the sense to stay away from him. As if sense was ever something Dick Grayson possessed.
“With all due respect,” Tiger said again, that respect being slightly lower than the first time he had said it, “there is no way in fucking hell or heaven I’m partnering up with him.” He added, “Ma’am.”
He expected Canary to get angry and tell him it was a direct order. Or maybe she’d laugh and reveal that this was all just a joke to fuck with his head. Maybe there was all some terrible mistake.
He did not expect her to roll her eyes and go, “Christ, Tiger, at least meet the kid first before writing him off. Adaptability is a good trait for a hunter to have.”
The rest of what she said filtered out against the ringing in his ears. He stared at her, for the first time in his life perfectly convinced that he was losing his mind. Demon hunting drove a lot of people to insanity. Tiger had never before considered that it would happen to him until this very moment.
He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find any words.
Before he could even try to phrase his thoughts, Canary dismissed him with a flick of her hand. “No more arguing, hunter. Tomorrow you meet Owl and the two of you can go on patrol. After that you can come to try and convince me he’s the devil’s spawn, if you so wish.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Understood?”
No. Tiger did not understand. He replied, “Yes, ma’am,” because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. His mouth seemed numb around the words.
Canary nodded. “Good. Dismissed, hunter. Send my well wishes to Lynx.”
Mechanically, Tiger stood up. He walked out of Canary’s office feeling as though he was floating in his body.
He had no fucking idea what was going on.