Working Odd Jobs in Gotham

(Also known as "Taking Red Hood from the Start")

Priss Stopp has a name that sounds like a joke, and a life to match.

As a street-level nobody with hardly any presence, her daily routine can be summed up in a few words: work for whoever pays, take whatever jobs come her way, and show her face just in time to get taken out.

She could write a book called "Me and My More Than Ten Supervillain Bosses," but doing her job properly? Not a chance. Not in this lifetime.

As a temp worker who just wants to get paid by the hour, the most she'll do is work for her boss and, when a passing vigilante's thighs choke her out, shakily give a thumbs-up before pretending to be unconscious.

Luckily, the dull routine of saving up money takes a turn when a certain antihero shows up.

A few weeks after Red Hood takes over the Iceberg Lounge, in a city where money just flows from one of Wayne's hands to the other, Stopp holds the crowbar her young boss tossed her and watches him dance with Gotham's shadows. She can't help wondering how things got this way.

Forget it. It's nine o'clock. Time to head to the next job.

I've fallen for DC again, so now I'm making things up as I go.

Reader advisory:

1. There is no pairing in the main story, but the heroine clearly favors the second Robin. The story revolves around her, and she unconsciously revolves around him, so the plot diverges significantly from canon and has been rewritten. Please keep that in mind.

2. The heroine is a money-loving, fiercely dedicated wage worker. Aside from the second Robin, she cares about nothing but money, and she has no rule against killing. Please keep that in mind.

3. Some supervillains are portrayed less favorably. Please keep that in mind.

4. The author has plenty of personal headcanons to share. If anything makes you uncomfortable while reading, don't force yourself to continue.

Theme: Don't take it to heart. Someone will love you unreasonably.