SchizoAuthoress | Vonn Loren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schizoauthoress) wrote2012-12-11 10:22 am
schizoauthoress) wrote2012-12-11 10:22 am
FIC: Keep Your Head Down and You Keep It [DCU; original character POV]
Title: Keep Your Head Down and You Keep It
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: R
Spoilers: takes place during "Under the Hood", mentions of "War Games"
Warnings: strong language, casual mention of death, ableism
Prompt/Fill: from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
daggerpen -- "Tell me about that fic where one of Willis's old buddies/partners in crime wound up working for the Red Hood?"
Word Count: 592
Summary: How Gene Ma ended up working for the Red Hood.
Note: Extended from this version on Tumblr, with a better ending.
Keep Your Head Down and You Keep It
Gene Ma wasn’t a fool. He’d done the freakshow flunky thing almost a decade back and lost a bunch of good friends to the costumed psychopaths infesting Gotham City. So when the gang situation fucking imploded a year back, he’d kept his head down and his loyalties to the street clear. Gene and his buddies were harmless in comparison with the others, honest!
The Black Mask dude who showed up after all that made him laugh — not where anybody he didn’t trust could hear him, because he wasn’t a fool. Acting like he was so much better than the Penguin or Two-Face, like he wasn’t the same as the Bat or the fucking Clown with his stupid skull mask. He might put on a three piece suit and Cosa Nostra affectations, but he was just as sick as anybody with power in Gotham City. And because he was just as sick, that made him just as unsafe as any big name.
Gene wasn’t surprised when they tried to recruit the gang he ran with. Hell, the Black Mask’s guys were running around trying to recruit everyone and he made a habit of trying not to let life surprise him.
Gene wasn’t a big name anything, but he muttered his concerns in Frankie’s ear all the same. Frankie wasn’t much for listening to other people. He hadn’t been since Wil bought it working for fucking Dent. So they started running guns for the Black Mask.
He wasn’t surprised when that caught the attention of the newest player — the Red Hood. He wasn’t even surprised when Frankie ended up with a gut full of lead for trying to argue with the guy. He’d heard about the duffel bag thing, after all.
(Even Frankie had, but dismissed it as bullshit.) Gene had lived in Gotham too long and seen too much fucking messed up shit to do the same.
He wasn’t surprised with the ultimatum delivered — work for me or die — or the exorbitant kickbacks that the Red Hood expected. He wasn’t surprised when Frankie’s second capitulated to the demands with barely a murmur of protest.
Gene himself barely even flinched when the Red Hood’s blank crimson helmet swiveled toward him as he helped load the guns into the trucks that the Red Hood would be taking now, thank you very much. He did get a bit worried when the Red Hood singled him out and pointed him toward the outer door of the warehouse. He was bigger and broader built than the guy, but the years hadn’t been kind to Gene and he didn’t think he could do a damn thing against the Red Hood without getting cut down like Frankie, so he went.
He was really fucking shocked when, out there in the alley, the Red Hood turned to him and asked, “Uncle Gene, what the fuck are you doing with these assholes?”
There'd only been one kid who called him "uncle", because Gene was an only child. But that kid was supposed to be dead, like his daddy, who had been Gene's best friend. It shouldn't have been possible. But Gene was a Gothamite. Stranger things had happened. So he talked.
He talked and then the Red Hood pulled off that red helmet and it was him -- it was Willis Todd's son, Jason.
He had to work for the Red Hood after that. It was a family thing.
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: R
Spoilers: takes place during "Under the Hood", mentions of "War Games"
Warnings: strong language, casual mention of death, ableism
Prompt/Fill: from
daggerpen -- "Tell me about that fic where one of Willis's old buddies/partners in crime wound up working for the Red Hood?"Word Count: 592
Summary: How Gene Ma ended up working for the Red Hood.
Note: Extended from this version on Tumblr, with a better ending.
Keep Your Head Down and You Keep It
Gene Ma wasn’t a fool. He’d done the freakshow flunky thing almost a decade back and lost a bunch of good friends to the costumed psychopaths infesting Gotham City. So when the gang situation fucking imploded a year back, he’d kept his head down and his loyalties to the street clear. Gene and his buddies were harmless in comparison with the others, honest!
The Black Mask dude who showed up after all that made him laugh — not where anybody he didn’t trust could hear him, because he wasn’t a fool. Acting like he was so much better than the Penguin or Two-Face, like he wasn’t the same as the Bat or the fucking Clown with his stupid skull mask. He might put on a three piece suit and Cosa Nostra affectations, but he was just as sick as anybody with power in Gotham City. And because he was just as sick, that made him just as unsafe as any big name.
Gene wasn’t surprised when they tried to recruit the gang he ran with. Hell, the Black Mask’s guys were running around trying to recruit everyone and he made a habit of trying not to let life surprise him.
Gene wasn’t a big name anything, but he muttered his concerns in Frankie’s ear all the same. Frankie wasn’t much for listening to other people. He hadn’t been since Wil bought it working for fucking Dent. So they started running guns for the Black Mask.
He wasn’t surprised when that caught the attention of the newest player — the Red Hood. He wasn’t even surprised when Frankie ended up with a gut full of lead for trying to argue with the guy. He’d heard about the duffel bag thing, after all.
(Even Frankie had, but dismissed it as bullshit.) Gene had lived in Gotham too long and seen too much fucking messed up shit to do the same.
He wasn’t surprised with the ultimatum delivered — work for me or die — or the exorbitant kickbacks that the Red Hood expected. He wasn’t surprised when Frankie’s second capitulated to the demands with barely a murmur of protest.
Gene himself barely even flinched when the Red Hood’s blank crimson helmet swiveled toward him as he helped load the guns into the trucks that the Red Hood would be taking now, thank you very much. He did get a bit worried when the Red Hood singled him out and pointed him toward the outer door of the warehouse. He was bigger and broader built than the guy, but the years hadn’t been kind to Gene and he didn’t think he could do a damn thing against the Red Hood without getting cut down like Frankie, so he went.
He was really fucking shocked when, out there in the alley, the Red Hood turned to him and asked, “Uncle Gene, what the fuck are you doing with these assholes?”
There'd only been one kid who called him "uncle", because Gene was an only child. But that kid was supposed to be dead, like his daddy, who had been Gene's best friend. It shouldn't have been possible. But Gene was a Gothamite. Stranger things had happened. So he talked.
He talked and then the Red Hood pulled off that red helmet and it was him -- it was Willis Todd's son, Jason.
He had to work for the Red Hood after that. It was a family thing.
no subject
Good thing poor Gene wasn't into working for Gotham's psychos anymore. :p
*applauds*
no subject
Thank you! I ended up kind of accidentally-on-purpose populating my fanon Gotham with some fun people, and I don't like killing them. :)