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The sounds of someone screaming and falling into a dumpster were never exactly a good sign. Especially in Crime Alley of all places.
It also made it Jason’s problem. He growled, heading into the alley, cocking his gun as he went. This better not be one of his fucking siblings. He was not in the fucking mood to deal with their bullshit. He would have thought that almost killing the Replacement would have gotten them to leave him alone but no. Dickie kept trying to get close to Jason and Bruce-
Green started filling his vision as Jason stormed to the dumpster. He pointed his gun at the person lying halfway through the broken lid. “Ok, Replacement. Why are you-” Jason cut himself off as he got a good look at the figure.
That wasn’t one of the Bats. Jason didn’t know who that was. It looked like just some kid in what had to have been matching blue sweatshirt and sweatpants with a red hoodie over top of it and red socks over his sweatpants. Jason could see what looked like a modified ski mask with what had to be some sort of goggles clutched in the kid’s hand. Was this kid trying to be a vigilante on his own? Outside of the bats?
If he was, he was way out of his depth. The kid was unconscious and bloody. Jason could see several gashes in the suit as well as blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Not to mention numerous burns.
Fuck, this kid was going to die if Jason didn’t do something.
He growled low in his throat, shoving his gun in its holster. He reached in, pulling the mystery teen out of the trash. It took some doing to pry the mask out of his hand, but one he got it he shoved it on his head as best he could. He didn’t know why it wasn’t on but he could respect wanting privacy. Hell, Jason went full face too. He wasn’t about to out this kid, even if he was dying. He didn’t have beef with whoever this was.
Jason hurried to his bike, carrying the teen. He got on, one arm holding him close. The drive back was rough, but he did get some signs of life out of the teen in the form of occasional groans. Still unconscious the whole way.
Jason stopped at his closest safehouse, throwing the teen over his shoulder as he made his way up the fire escape and climbed into the apartment. Once they were inside, he dumped the kid on his couch, grabbing the first aid kit he kept under said couch. He took his helmet off, setting it on the coffee table, before getting to work removing the half-destroyed suit so he could patch the kid up.
Peter groaned, pressing one hand against his face. His head hurt. Honestly, his everything hurt. He was in so much pain. He felt like he got pushed through a tube or something.
“Good. You’re awake.”
Peter’s eyes flashed open and he tried to sit up. That hurt and caused his head to spin. Gentle but firm hands were soon helping ease him back down. His vision started to come into focus and he could see someone with dark hair except for one white streak hovering over him. Even with the red domino mask on, Peter could tell he seemed worried.
“Try not to sit up. You hit your head when you fell. Must have knocked yourself out. You’ve been out for a while.”
“Where- where am I?” Peter asked, glancing around. His face felt weird, reaching up he felt his face with one hand. It felt like he had a domino mask on. He knew he didn’t have one of those.
“Safehouse.”
“Who are you?”
“I’d ask you the same thing. What the hell were you thinking? Just decided to throw on a sweat suit and run around Gotham? Not even an ounce of protection on you.”
Peter looked up at him confused. “Gotham?”
The man sighed. “Get some rest. I’m making soup. You can eat some once it’s done. Got it?”
Peter nodded. He watched as the man stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Peter could smell something cooking on the stove. He slowly relaxed into the couch cushions. He was on edge. He didn’t feel actively in danger, which was great, but he didn’t feel completely safe.
Something felt wrong and Peter didn’t know what it was.
“Did you put a mask on me?”
“Yeah. Mostly for your benefit. You had your mask in your hand when I found you. I’ve seen your face. Don’t know you though, if that’s any comfort,” he said, chopping some carrots and adding them to the soup.
He glanced down to see that he was in a pair of slightly big grey sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt.
“Where’s my suit?”
“Ruined mostly.” The man turned to look at him. Something on Peter’s face must have worried him because he sighed. “Look, kid, I don’t know why you decided to make a suit in the first place, but you need to protect more than your identity. Take my advice, go home. Go home and forget about becoming a vigilante. This business will eat you alive and it’ll consume your whole life.”
Peter sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I can help people.”
“Lots of people can help people. Doesn’t mean you need a mask.”
Peter sighed. He didn’t know how to explain it. This guy was a total stranger. But he did this sort of thing. It would be safe to tell him the truth, right? “I have to.”
“Why?”
Peter took a deep breath, swinging his legs off the couch as he sat up. He saw the man take a step forward out of the corner of his eye. It didn’t set off the tingle, which was a good sign.
“I got bit by a spider and I got these powers. I can help people. I have to help people. I don’t know what I would do with them otherwise.”
The man drew in a breath before slowly letting it out. He turned, adjusting something on the stove before walking over to Peter. He knelt down on the ground in front of him, one hand on Peter’s knee. Peter looked up at him, meeting the white of the mask’s eyes.
“This shit will consume you. It’ll become your whole life. You can still get out now.”
Peter shook his head. “I can’t.”
The man sighed, nodding. There was understanding there. “Ok.” He pat Peter’s knee a couple times as he stood to head back to the kitchen. Peter watched as he got back to cooking on the stove. He frowned, realizing something.
“You never answered my question.”
The man chuckled. “What, who I am?” He glanced back at Peter, who nodded. He turned back to the stove before responding. “Call me Red Hood.”
Peter nodded. They were using their made-up names then. That made sense. Red Hood had put a mask on Peter and was wearing a mask of his own. “I’m Spider-man.”
The man glanced back at Peter again for a moment. “Already got a secret identity name picked out, hu.”
“I mean, I got bit by a spider. It’s on brand.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, suppose so. You got someone that can pick you up after you eat?”
Peter nodded. “Yeah. Do you have a phone I could borrow?”
“Yeah.” Red Hood pulled a phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Peter. He caught it.
“Thanks.”
Red Hood nodded, turning back to the pot. Peter typed in Aunt May’s phone number and pressed call, holding the phone to his ear. His leg bounced as he waited for her to pick up. She picked up on the third ring.
“What do you want?”
Peter froze, his blood running cold. That wasn’t Aunt May. That was the voice of an upset and likely drunk man. There shouldn’t be right. This was the home phone. It was just him and Aunt May.
“Hello? Anyone there?” The man was getting more annoyed.
“S-sorry. Wrong number.” Peter quickly hung up, cutting off whatever retort the man had started to say. He lowered the phone slowly, looking at the screen. Aunt May’s number looked up at him from the call history. He stared at it numbly.
“Kid?” Peter looked up as Red Hood called out to him. He looked over to see the older man looking at him concerned. “Everything alright?”
Peter sighed, leaning back and letting his head fall to rest on the top of the sofa back. “I called but it wasn’t her. It was the right number. I checked.”
“Ok. It’s ok. Look, you can stay here for now until we can get you home. Alright?”
Peter stared at the ceiling. He felt numb. “I’ve got school…”
Red Hood was quiet for a moment. “It’ll be ok, kid.”
Peter didn’t say anything. He didn’t know how much time passed before he heard Red Hood walk over. He looked over, not moving his head. The man was standing there holding two bowls of soup.
“Sit up properly so you can eat this. And don’t spill it.”
Peter sighed, shifting into a normal sitting position. Red Hood held a bowl out to him and Peter took it. The man sat down on the other side of the couch, leaving room between him and Peter. He appreciated that. The soup smelled really good. He picked up his spoon, blowing on the soup before taking a bite.
“This is really good soup.”
The man smiled. “Thanks.”
Peter started eating hungrily. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until he’d gotten the first spoonful in his mouth. When had he last eaten? How long had it been?
A hand rested on Peter’s shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. “Slow down. I don’t need you choking. There’s plenty more if you want seconds.”
Peter smiled, feeling a little self-conscious but very appreciative. “Thanks.”
Jason looked over at where Spider-man was sitting cross-legged on the couch, Jason’s laptop on the coffee table in front of him. There was a frown on his face and his brows pinched together. It had been three days since Jason had found him in the dumpster and two days ago. Spider-man had done away with the mask. He had a very expressive face. Though, for the past three days the expression on that face had primarily been worry and anxiety.
Jason sighed, walking over and sitting down next to him, setting a cup of water down for the teen. “Any luck?”
He shook his head, leaning back and flopping on the sofa back with a heavy sigh. “No. Still nothing. Not a single trace.”
Jason sighed, sipping his tea. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
The teen shrugged. No, he hadn’t slept then. Jason reached over, closing the laptop.
“Hey!”
Jason looked at him. “You need sleep, kid. This all-nighter shit eats at you. And you’ve got the option to sleep.”
“Only because you won’t give me my suit back.”
“Like hell I’m letting you go out in that. That suit doesn’t protect anything!” Jason had hidden it behind one of his gun racks in his room. Spider-man didn’t go in there. At least not that Jason knew.
“I’m fine.”
“Maybe now. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the burns and cuts all over you when you got here. I had to stitch you up. And your palms are still not fully healed.” Jason was pretty sure Spider-man was meta, if he’d been reading the ‘spider bite gave me powers’ bit right. At the very least, he had some sort of healing factor.
“Actually, they’re all healed now,” he said, turning his palms over so Jason could see. He looked at them. The skin was a normal shade of pink, just slightly brighter where they’d been resting on the computer or table as he used the laptop.
Jason sighed. “Still no.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re 16 and I’m not letting some 16-year-old kid get shot or blown up because they decided to fight crime in spandex!” Jason might be projecting a little here.
“Then help me make a suit that’s stronger.”
Jason looked at the teen. “What?”
“You’ve got Kevlar. If you don’t want me to get shot, help me get some Kevlar or something else to make a new suit.” He looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. “I can help. Please.”
Jason rubbed his face, his fingers catching lightly on the edges of his mask. He’d been leaving it on because he expected Spider-man to end up contacting home and leaving within the first day. The morning of the second day at most. But now it had been three days and he didn’t seem to finding a way home any time soon. Jason’s skin was starting to get irritated from having the mask on all the time. He sighed and looked over, meeting his eyes.
“Do you have any idea what you’re asking to do?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I did some research on the guys you deal with. I can handle them. I delt with Vulture back home and he dropped a building on me. I can handle a few riddles.”
“He dropped a building on you?” Jason’s vision started to tint green and he saw Spider-man visibly tense up. He raised his hands, trying to calm Jason down.
“It’s ok! I was able to lift it off of me. And it’s not like it was the whole building, just a part of it. So, I was fine.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“When did that happen?” Jason asked, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, trying to tamp down the rage filling him up. He wanted to strangle someone but the person he wanted to strangle wasn’t here and Spider-man didn’t deserve this.
“Maybe twenty minutes before I ended up in the dumpster.”
Jason stood up sharply, pacing back and forth, hands clenching and unclenching his fists. After several long moments, he paused looking at Spider-man. The kid was tense, watching Jason closely. “Twenty minutes.”
He shrugged, trying to make the motion appear more casual than it was. “More or less.”
Jason took a deep breath. “You’re still going to go out if I don’t get you something safer, aren’t you.” This kid was stubborn. He reminded Jason too much of himself when he was younger. Younger than Spider-man was now. Just a stubborn little kid in tights trailing after Batman like a fucking puppy, trying to prove himself to him constantly.
Spider-man glanced away guiltily. Yes. That was a yes.
Jason sighed, resignation and acceptance falling over him like a heavy blanket. He walked back over to sit on the couch. Spider-man was still tense, keeping a close eye on him. Jason leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
He had a kid now. A teenage hero he was responsible for because the kid didn’t have anyone else and if Jason left him alone, he was going to get himself killed. He was surprised he hadn’t already honestly. But if he was in this for the long haul, he was going to have to be prepared to go all in. Fuck.
He reached up, picking at the edge of the mask until it started pealing up. He heard Spider-man suck in a breath next to him. “Fine. But if you’re doing this, you’re doing this right.” He got the mask all the way off and looked at the teen. He held out one hand. “Got it?”
Spider-man looked at him for a moment before reaching over and firmly grasping Jason’s hand. Fuck he had a strong grip. He shook his hand, nodding. “Got it. I won’t let you down.”
“Don’t do that.” Jason growled, letting go and trying to ignore how the teen flinched. “Don’t do everything just for someone else’s approval. Don’t do that shit. It’ll fuck your head up. So I better not catch you doing something just for my approval. Got it?”
The teen looked a little taken aback but nodded. Jason looked him over, judging his reaction. He seemed honest, if nervous. But also determined. That would have to do. He stuck his hand out again.
“Jason.”
He looked even more startled, glancing between Jason’s hand and his face before shaking it. It was not as bone-crushingly hard as before. “Peter.”
“You’re sure about this?” Jason’s modulated voice crackled in Peter’s ear.
Peter nodded, bouncing on the balls of his feet a bit and swinging his arms. “Yeah. This is going to be great.”
“I would feel a bit better if you would use the grappling hook.”
“I’ve used this formula before. It’ll work. And you’re here to catch me if I miss. Which I won’t.”
Jason chuckled. Peter could almost hear him shaking his head. “You’re going to be the death of me.” Peter grinned. “How’s the suit feel? You can still move alright with your weirdly flexible joints?”
Peter stretched a bit, stepping back towards the center of the roof. He did a backflip, landing neatly on his feet. “Yeah. Feels good. Little heavier than my old suit.”
“It’s more protective than your old suit. Which, need I remind you, was a sweatshirt and ski mask.”
“It worked.”
“I will lecture you on why it didn’t again if I have to.”
Peter groaned, tipping his head back. “No.”
“Good. Now stop showing off and let’s get this underway.”
Peter nodded, stepping up to the edge of the roof. He took a deep breath, looking down at himself. His suit was a little bulkier now, made out of Kevlar. There had been a lot of arguments between him and Jason over how much would be the strengthened fabric and how much would be bulletproof plates. Peter had wanted only the fabric for maximum flexibility. Jason vetoed that adamantly. The compromise was mostly fabric, especially at the joints, but plates at least on Peter’s chest and legs as well as a full helmet. The eyes were huge because Peter needed the large field of vision, but he’d managed to still make them a little expressive. Peter ran his hands over his web shooters, checking that they were still functional.
“You stalling?”
“Sorry. Just doing a quick run-through.”
“This better not become part of your nightly routine.”
“Just for tonight because it’s a new suit. Promise.” Peter took a deep breath, taking a few steps back so he could get some momentum. “Here we go!”
He ran to the edge of the roof and jumped, feet pushing off the edge. He seemed to float for a moment before gravity pulled him down towards the street. He reached one arm out, shooting a web off at the building. He felt it catch after a moment and pulled, swinging down the street. It only took a moment before he was back into the swing of things. He grinned, feeling the achingly familiar rush of wind around him. He swung around the block and launched himself past the roof Jason was standing on in his Red Hood gear, watching him closely. Peter couldn’t help but do a flip as he passed him.
“Showoff.” Jason chuckled in his ear.
Peter grinned to himself.
Jason could feel the eyes watching him. They’d been watching him stake out the warehouse for at least 20 minutes now. He heard the footsteps land lightly on the far side of the roof he was on. Dick walked over cautiously, not getting too close. Jason growled in warning as green started to creep into his vision and heard the footsteps stop several feet from him.
“The fuck do you want?” he growled, not turning his head.
“Hood?” Peter’s voice sounded confused and worried over the com.
“Not you.” He hissed, tapping the side of his helmet to turn off his com.
Dick took a couple more cautious steps until he appeared in the edge of Jason’s vision, still out of reach. “Hey Little Wing.”
“The big bat send you?” Jason growled. He didn’t miss the frown growing on Dick’s face as he sat down on the edge of the building, legs dangling over the edge.
“No. He doesn’t know I’m here.” There was a moment of silence as Dick watched him, Jason stubbornly not turning to look at him.
“What do you want?”
Dick sighed, tipping his head back. “I wanted to see how you’re doing. Sound like you’ve got yourself your own little Robin.”
“He’s not a Robin,” Jason growled, turning to look at Dick now. His vision was green as the Pit bubbled up inside him. He didn’t realize he’d pulled out his gun until he saw Dick’s hands raised. He didn’t put it away.
“Ok, ok. He’s not a Robin. I’m just surprised you’ve got someone after you exploded at B about Robin. Not here for a fight.”
Dick, unfortunately, had a point. Jason growled, shoving the gun away. “I didn’t do what B does. I didn’t just kidnap a kid off the street and shove him in a pair of tights and tell him to punch criminals.”
“I’m not saying you did,” Dick said quickly, scooting slightly closer to Jason. He stopped as Jason growled at him. “Where did he come from?”
Jason sighed, weighing how much he wanted to actually tell Dick. How much he was willing to let get back to Bruce. But he knew they wouldn’t leave him or Peter alone until they had answers.
“Found him on accident. He had a suit already. So I didn’t pull him into this shit! Got it?” He shot Dick a pointed look. The older man raised his hand in surrender.
“Got it. Is that what he’s been running around in?” Of course they’d been stalking him.
“No. It was sweatpants and a mask. No protection. I had to fight him for any sort of Kevlar plates.”
“Sounds like he’s pretty invested.”
“I tried to talk him out of it! But no, it was help him get a better suit or he was going to go off on his own with no protection.” He didn’t add that Jason was worried Peter would get killed. Or that Bruce would pick him up. He didn’t want either of those options. Without being able to get Peter home, keeping him close was the safest bet. Peter was his kid now.
He didn’t want to admit that having the kid around was helping with the green-tinged rage he’d been feeling ever since he came back to life. He hadn’t even told Peter about his death.
He saw Nightwing stiffen next to him as something moved out of the corner of his eyes. Jason stood up as Dick did, putting his hand on his gun as Dick reached for his escrima.
The action proved unnecessary as webs shot out, trapping Dick’s hands to his shoulders. Dick’s eyebrows rose in surprise before furrowing in concern when jerking his hands didn’t break the webbing. Peter jogged over to Jason’s side, tight as a spring and ready for action.
“Who’s this? Are we fighting him?”
“No,” Dick said, eyebrows shooting up again.
“Yes,” Jason growled at the same time.
Peter glanced between them. “You guys know each other?”
“Yeah. I’ve known Little Wing since he was in tights.”
“Tights?” Peter asked, looking over at Jason, a curious and amused tone in his voice.
Jason glared at Nightwing who looked completely unapologetic. “This Dick here is a real pain in my ass.” He put enough emphasis for Dick to know that was Dick with a capital D. Dick’s smirk showed the point got across.
Peter nodded, glancing between them. He seemed to relax but Jason hadn’t been living with this kid for two months to not learn anything about him. Peter had faster reflexes than just about anyone Jason had met, only beaten out by the Flash. He may look relaxed but he could move fast if Dick tried anything.
Dick was trying to get his hands free again. “What is this stuff?”
“Webs. I make them myself.”
“Really?” Dick looked interested.
“No. You don’t get to steal my kid.” Jason snapped, taking a step forward.
“I’m not-”
“Hush.” Jason held out a finger, which wouldn’t actually do anything because Peter had a helmet, but it still got Peter to stop talking for a moment at least. “You don’t get him. Got it? So back off. I’m not letting B get to him.”
“No harm meant. I’m just interested. Especially in how I get out.”
“It dissolves in a few hours,” Jason explained.
“It can also be cut, which you might want to do. We’re getting company.”
“Son of a bitch.” Jason turned, looking at the warehouse that had been practically forgotten. A group of men were heading their way. With guns. He might be upset with Dick but he couldn’t just leave him defenseless. He didn’t want him dead. And Jason was the only one with a knife. He pulled it out, storming towards Dick, green tinting his vision.
The older man tensed, his eyes glancing down at the knife as he took a half step back. Jason couldn’t exactly blame him. He had nearly killed the Replacement with a knife, the same knife, actually.
“Hold still,” He hissed, stopping in front of Dick and grabbing his arm. The whited-out eyes of Dick’s mask looked at the eyes of Jason’s helmet. He was standing very still as Jason brought the knife up towards his neck.
“I trust you, Jaybird,” Dick said softly.
Jason grit his teeth and cut through the webs. His eyes weren’t as tinted green as he moved to the second arm. He could hear Peter already going after the guys below. “Don’t.”
He started to turn away once Dick’s arms were free before turning back to him, pointing a finger at his face. “And you keep B far the fuck away from Spider-man. Got it? That’s my fucking kid and I’m not letting B get him.”
Dick smirked, pulling out his escrima. “Spider-man, hu? Let’s give him a hand.”
Jason growled, pulling out his guns and dropping down to join in the fight, taking out a couple knees. “Fuck you.”
“Love you too.” Dick grinned as he landed. A moment later he was gasping in amazement as he joined the fray. Jason didn’t have to guess, he knew it was from watching Peter fight. The kid’s fighting style was beyond unique. Not to mention he was almost more acrobatic than Dick in some ways.
Peter was using the most he could in a mostly open space. He webbed a light pole, swinging himself around it to kick one of the guys hard in the chest, sending him flying into another guy.
Jason punched a guy who was trying to shoot Peter. He grabbed the gun, kicking his knees as he tried to wrestle it away.
“Heads up!”
Jason quickly dropped and rolled to the side. Peter swung through the space he had just occupied, landing on the man Jason had been fighting. A moment later Peter was flipping out of the way as a spray of gunfire arced towards him. Jason shot at the gunman. The gun was pulled out of the goon’s hands by a web.
“You know, you can take someone’s eye out waving that around.”
Jason resisted rolling his eyes as he punched the guy unconscious. He looked around, at the unconscious bodies before turning to Peter.
“Injuries?”
“I’m fine. Do we need to take care of the warehouse?”
Jason growled, pointing at Peter’s chest. “I’m verifying no injuries later.”
He pointedly ignored Dick’s chuckle next to him.
Peter knew Jason wanted Peter to stay away from the other Gotham vigilantes. Something about bad blood with Batman. Jason hadn’t gone into details and had snapped at Peter, eyes going green, when he’d pressed too much. Peter didn’t know why Jason’s eyes went green sometimes, but he worried about him. Jason was always so much angrier when his eyes went green. He wondered if it was something like with Banner and the Hulk, though not as extreme.
Regardless of the possibility of Jason hulking out, Peter was curious about the other vigilantes. And he had a track record of not leaving something alone when he was told to.
Which was why he was sitting on a rooftop watching Batman and Robin talk with Commissioner Gordon instead of interacting with them. Observe before you act, that was something Jason taught him. Peter had listened to that. Maybe if he observed them enough he might be able to glean why there was so much bad blood between them and Jason.
Oh shit, he’d been spotted.
Peter made sure his helmet mic was muted as he stepped back from the edge. Batman's grapple, followed by Robin’s, caught on the top of the building. It didn’t take long for their two figures to catapult over the edge of the building.
A tingle of warning shot up his side. Peter dove to the side as the large and very intimidating form of Batman appeared. Something flew through the air, clattering on the roof behind him. Robin rushed towards him, staff in hand. Peter ducked down then to the side, avoiding the swings.
“I’m not here for a fight!” Peter exclaimed, shooting out a web and launching himself across the roof to perch on top of a gargoyle.
Robin moved to launch after him but was held back by Batman.
“Why are you here then?” His voice was rough and gravely. Peter got a sneaking suspicion he didn’t normally sound like that.
“Well, I was explicitly told to avoid you without being given a real reason why. So, I was curious why.”
“Who told you to stay away?” Robin asked suspiciously.
“You’re the new associate of Red Hood.” That was a very accusatory tone.
“I guess that’s one word you could use,” Peter said, shifting his position so his legs were dangling casually off the gargoyle. “But yeah, I know Hood. He seems to be angry with you, claims that he hates you but I’m pretty sure he’s lying about that. I mean, he hates Black Mask and I’ve seen how he reacts to him. And he definitely hates Joker. I can tell he doesn’t hate Robin or Nightwing. Told me to avoid all three of you but I think it mostly has to do with not wanting me around Batman for some reason.”
Batman watched with a very impassive expression on his face. It made the hair on the back of Peter’s neck stand up. Why was this guy such a blank slate of emotion? It was like there was nothing there.
Robin, conversely, seemed surprised to hear that Jason didn’t hate him. Peter saw his hand twitch slightly upwards like he was going to reach for something but restrained himself.
“You seem to spend a lot of time with Hood.”
“Yeah! I-” Peter paused. One thing he knew was that they were all detectives. Batman was looking for information on Red Hood, who obviously did not want him to have the information. “Why?” He narrowed his eyes, his mask doing the same.
Robin gasped, taking a step forward. “Your helmet is reactive? Did you use something to track eye motions? What’s the sensitivity on that?”
“Robin.”
The Boy Wonder glanced up at Batman before taking a step back away from Peter. Batman’s focus shifted back to exclusively on Peter.
“How do you know Red Hood?”
“Pretty sure that’s one of the things on the list of things I’m not supposed to tell you if I run into you. But, I might tell you if you give me some sort of idea for why he’s angry with you guys.”
Jason looked over as Peter got his third bowl of soup. The kid came back to sit down next to Jason on the couch, looking at the TV as the commercials played. Jason watched him eat out of the corner of his eye, his own empty bowl sitting on the coffee table his feet were propped up on.
Jason was pretty sure he’d figured out most, if not all, of Peter’s meta abilities by this point. It gave him a whole other reason to keep him away from B. Bruce didn’t like metas in his city. Bruce was too much of a fucking control freak. He hated unknowns.
Jason was scared he would hurt Peter.
“I ran into Batman and Robin tonight.”
Jason startled, looking over at Peter. “What?” It came out harsher than he technically meant for it to. But it wasn’t like it was unwarranted. “I told you to stay away from them!”
“It was fine.” Peter insisted, looking down at his bowl. “Robin wanted to meet up with you, just to talk. Batman said no. I don’t think Batman trusts me.”
“Batman doesn’t approve of my methods so he doesn’t trust you since you’re associated with me,” Jason growled.
“Your eyes always go green when you talk about Batman. Why?”
Jason looked over at Peter. The kid looked over at him with big, curious eyes. He looked so innocent. So soft.
He could punch a hole through a brick wall. Jason knew. He’d seen him do it.
Jason scrubbed one hand down his face, looking at the ceiling. He didn’t know how to even begin a conversation like this. Or if he wanted to. But the kid would keep asking if he didn’t say anything. Why did Peter have to be so stubborn?
He sighed. “We have… a history. He didn’t do something and it pisses me the fuck off.”
“Did you tell him?”
“I fucking tried! Bastard won’t listen. Thinks he knows what’s best for everyone. Basically disowned me after I came back different from the kid he remembered.” Jason let out a humorless laugh.
“Disowned you?”
Jason looked over at Peter. “Yeah. He disapproves of my methods.”
“Killing?”
“Yeah.”
Peter nodded. “You’re using rubber bullets now.”
“Like he gives a shit,” Jason growled. “I don’t need his fucking approval.”
Peter nodded, going back to his soup. Jason got the distinct feeling he didn’t believe him.
Peter had taken Jason’s suggestion of wearing a mask under the helmet. Which was why he was now sitting on the roof of an office building eating a burrito with Nightwing. He could feel the other vigilante’s eyes on him as they ate.
“Heard you ran into Batman and Robin the other night,” Nightwind said, breaking the silence.
Peter swallowed his bite of burrito and nodded. “Yeah. Guessing they told you.”
“Robin would not stop talking about you. Think it was really getting on Batman’s nerves.”
Peter chuckled. “He liked the eyes of my helmet.”
“Yeah. How did you get that to work anyway? It’s really well done.”
“What makes you think I’ll tell you when I didn’t tell Robin?”
Nightwing chuckled. “Touché.” He took another bite. “I’m surprised Hood isn’t on his way here to rescue you.”
“We had a talk. I managed to convince him that it would be for me to know you guys at least somewhat. After all, you do team up with Red Hood sometimes for big stuff. I know, I did some research. If I end up helping you guys out, it would be easier if we’re somewhat familiar with each other.”
Nightwing nodded, looking at him. “You’re a smart kid, Spiderman.”
Peter beamed. “Thanks.”
“Any chance you’ll tell me how you got into vigilante work?”
Peter went quiet for a moment, looking down at his burrito. “I got bit by a spider and got powers. What else was I supposed to do other than help people?”
Nightwing nodded. “You and Superman would get along well.”
“I’ve heard of Superman. Isn’t he friends with Batman?”
Nightwing smirked. “That’s one way to put it.” He took a bite of burrito, ignoring the confused look on Peter’s face.
“What about you?” Peter asked. Nightwing looked over, raising an eyebrow “How did you become a vigilante?”
The man sighed, lowering his burrito. “I lost my parents and Batman was the one who took me in.”
“I’m sorry. I know how hard that is.”
He looked over. “You do?” Peter nodded and Nightwing let out a sigh. “Curse of being a vigilante it seems.”
Jason set a bowl down on the coffee table before reaching over and snatching the helmet out of Peter’s hands. The teen looked up at him, trying to grab it back.
“Hey! I was working on that!”
“And you’re done working on it for the night. It’s dinner time. Beef stroganoff, which I know you like. So eat up.”
Peter sighed before leaning forward and picking up the bowl, setting the screwdriver down where it had been. He leaned back, starting to eat as Jason got the next Star Wars movie going. Peter had insisted they watch all of them once he’d learned that Jason had never seen them. There had been a quite the passionate discussion of if they should start with episode 1 (which made the most sense to Jason) or with episode 4 (which Peter said was the correct way to watch them).
In the end, they’d started with episode 4. Tonight, they were starting on the prequels. Jason was quite enjoying them so far. And he could tell Peter absolutely loved them. He kept telling Jason fun facts about the movies and the universe, and sometimes the physics behind things. Jason didn’t mind, he actually liked that Peter was getting so excited about the movie.
By the time the end credits rolled, Peter had eaten three bowls of beef stroganoff.
Jason took a deep breath. “Ok, I think I can see part of why you wanted to start with episode 4.”
“The original trilogy is the best out of all of them, but the prequels are still good. The Obi-Wan backstory you get in the trilogies is great, and Ewan McGregor is so good for the role! Episode 2 we get Hayden Christenssen as an older Anakin. I won’t spoil it.”
Jason chuckled, reaching over and messing up Peter’s hair. “You’ll talk my ear off about it anyway. Go on. It’s not like this movie hasn’t been out for almost my entire life.”
Peter smiled. “Alright. So, Hayden Christenssen-”
“They still talking about Star Wars?” Dick asked, unwrapping another hard candy and popping it in his mouth.
Tim nodded, watching the two talk through his binoculars. “He has a surprisingly good analysis of the characters and movie.”
Dick sighed, flopping onto his back. “So we know he’s a big nerd, but that’s nothing new. At least he’s getting Jaybird into something more modern.” Dick popped his head up, looking over at Tim. “What’s Jay’s expression look like?”
Tim hummed, eyebrows narrowing around the eyepieces. “Happy. Content.”
Dick nodded. He swung his legs up, rolling into a sitting position. “Can I see?” he asked, holding out his hand. The young Robin glanced over at him before handing the binoculars over. Dick took them with a smile and looked through them at his little brother.
Jason was sitting on his couch, an old, ratty thing with a blue throw thrown over the back. The throw was new. He was sitting with one arm draped over the back of the sofa, his body turned halfway towards his roommate as he listened to him talk enthusiastically. Dick watched the teen’s mouth for a moment, reading his lips. It looked like he was talking about clones. Focusing back on Jason, he could easily see that he was relaxed. There was a lack of tension in his face and shoulders that Dick hadn’t seen in a long, long time. And he was smiling. Just slightly but enough to tell that there was one. Dick lowered the binoculars, smiling. He handed them back to Tim.
“Little Wing’s looking better.”
Tim nodded, looking through the binoculars again at the pair. “You think he would be up to meeting with B?”
Dick frowned, thinking about the last time they’d run into each other in the field, how Jason always blew up on B, or on Dick or Tim, about how protective he was over Spider-man. He wanted his little brother back. He wanted to be there for Jason like he hadn’t been when he was younger.
Like he should have been years ago.
“Maybe. But we’ll need to make sure that B is cooperative. If B gets angry, Jay will walk away and it’ll be even harder to get him back.”
Tim nodded. “Maybe we get Agent A involved.”
“Hey, that could work. A would love Spider-man.”
“He just called him Peter.”
“Ah! That’s new. Think you can find more about him now?”
Tim lowered the binoculars and looked at Dick with a deadpan expression. Dick doubled over in laughter as Tim turned back to spying on the two.
“No, Nightwing, I can’t find out more about someone from an extremely common first name alone.”
“We know he likes Star Wars,” Dick added helpfully.
Tim let out a long-suffering sigh. He’d perfected that.
“Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?”
Joker escaped.
The Joker always escaped.
Working with Bruce was inevitable, as much as Jason would like him to stay the fuck out of his way so he could end the bastard. He’d left the rubber bullets at home. Joker deserved to be fucking dead.
Jason sat on a roof, looking out over Amusement Mile. Joker had to show up at some point, here or somewhere else. Jason knew Joker loved to parade around Amusement Mile. The ambiance or something was correct. Jason didn’t give a shit. He just wanted to find the fucker so he could end this shit.
Footsteps landed on the roof behind him. Jason reached for his guns as he turned before seeing Peter. He stood up storming over to Peter.
“What the hell are you doing here?” He growled, voice raised.
Peter took a step back, raising his hands. “You weren’t responding to coms. I got worried.”
“Go home,” he growled.
“I can help.”
“I said go the fuck home!” He stopped as he realized he had walked Peter all the way to the edge of the roof.
“Why? Why won’t you let me help?”
“Because it’s too dangerous!”
“Hood, back away from Spider-man.”
Jason spun around, drawing his gun and pointing it at Batman. Peter quickly moved, grabbing the gun and pointing it down at the roof. The kid was superhumanly strong, which was really fucking annoying as he couldn’t raise his fucking gun.
“Stay out of this B.”
Batman looked at him, jaw set in a tense scowl. He opened his mouth to respond when something exploded down at the docks. The three all froze, turning towards it.
Jason looked at Peter. “Go home.”
“But-”
“No! You’re staying out of this!” He glared at Peter before taking off. It didn’t take long to get to his bike and start tearing through the streets of Gotham. He heard his com crackle in his ear.
“Hood. I’ve got you patched in with everyone else,” Oracle’s voice said.
“Make sure Spider-man stays out of this.”
“Hard to do that when you’ve been keeping him locked down and away from us. But I’ll do my best.”
Jason pushed on, arriving at the docks to the burning ruins of a warehouse. He got off his bike, guns drawn as he looked around.
“Come on!” He yelled. “I know you’re there! Show yourself!”
Deranged laughter came from several loudspeakers arranged around the area. Fuck. Bastard was hiding. He probably wasn’t even at the fucking warehouse! Fuck!
“Hello, little birdie. Long time no see.”
“Oracle, can you trace the location of Joker?” Batman demanded.
“Working on it.”
“Joker! Come out and show yourself, coward!” He shot at one of the speakers, watching it explode in a shower of sparks.
“Ooh. Temper temper.”
“Hood, get out of there, now,” Batman growled through the coms.
Jason shot at another speaker, green tinting his vision.
“I’ve got a location. He’s in the Bowery. Sending you the address now. No cameras on the target.”
Jason let out one last parting shot before hurrying for his bike. The Bowery was nearly on the other side of the damn island. And it was way too close to Peter for Jason’s comfort.
“Oracle, where the hell is Spider-man?”
“He’s in Crime Alley, south side.”
Jason smacked the side of his helmet to change frequencies, causing his bike to wobble slightly. “Queens, what the hell are you doing?”
“Uh,” There was the telltale sound of wind on his end of the coms. “Patrolling.”
“I told you to go the fuck home!”
“There was a robbery! And then this lady was getting mugged so I had to help her. And there were these guys in clown masks that I think have bombs of drugs or something-”
Jason’s blood ran cold. “Get out of there!”
“I’m staying back, just tracking them.”
Jason sped faster through the city, hurrying towards Peter. That kid didn’t know what he was getting into. He didn’t know what the Joker was capable of.
And it was Jason’s fault.
Jason could have told him, could have warned him. Given him some fucking explanation as to why Peter needed to stay away from the Joker. But he panicked and told him nothing. And now Peter was heading into what was certainly a trap for Jason and he was going to get hurt or killed.
He heard the crackle of Oracle patching into his headset, joining the conversation. “Update.”
“Oh, hi! You’re a new voice.” Peter sounded excited to about it. Jason ground his teeth in frustration.
“Hello, Spider-man. We can do introductions later. Do you have a helmet cam I can patch into?”
“Oracle, you leave him alone,” Jason growled.
“Yeah. How can I help?”
“Maintain visual on the clowns.”
“On it!”
“Queens!” Jason growled. “Do not engage!”
“I’ll be fine. I’m Spider-man.”
Jason weaved between traffic, getting closer to the address Oracle had given him. As he rounded a corner, he got to what had to be the place. It was an apartment building. Jason swore, jumping off his bike.
“It’s an apartment building. I don’t know if there’re people inside.”
“Hood, do not engage until you have backup,” Batman growled.
“Fuck you, I’m pulling the fire alarm.”
“That could make them targets. Stand down.”
Jason growled in frustration. He was still heading in. He got to the front door and kicked it open, making his way in, guns drawn. He started slowly making his way down the hall, listening for anything.
“Where’s the car?”
“Three blocks and closing.”
Joker was likely on the top floor or roof and most likely had hostages. He started making his way upstairs, keeping his eyes and ears out for any sign of trouble. The building was quiet, ominously so.
“There’s some people on the roof,” Peter said.
Jason swore loudly and started thundering out the stairs. “Queens, do not engage! Stay the fuck away! You hear me?”
“Neither of you engage! Wait for backup!” Bruce yelled over the comms.
“I can be backup,” Peter said helpfully, frustrating Jason. His vision went even more green.
“I said fucking no!” He punched open the roof access door. Several people screamed as he stepped out onto the roof.
“Ah, the little birdie has come to play. It was about time.” Joker grinned, holding a gun in one hand and waving it around loosely over a small crowd of mostly women and children. Jason was going to murder the fucking clown.
He raised his gun and pointed it at the Joker’s head. The Joker quickly moved, grabbing a child and pulling him to his feet, positioning him in front of him, the gun to his head. The woman that had to be the boy’s mother started crying loudly, pleading.
“Uh, uh, uh. I wouldn’t do that. Not unless you want little Timmy hear to lose his head.”
The woman wailed. Jason didn’t move, gun still trained at Joker’s head.
“I thought clowns were supposed to be funny.”
Jason hadn’t noticed Peter land on the roof. He’d been too focused on Joker. His grip tightened on the handle of the gun, his trigger finger deadly still. Joker’s grin widened if at all possible. He moved to the side, turning just enough to see Peter.
“Looks like someone left the window open.”
“Didn’t you know that the outside is the natural habitat of a spider? You’re basically in my home right now.”
Dick snorted in Jason’s ear.
Peter took a step and Joker pressed the gun closer to the boy’s head, causing Peter to stop and slowly raise his hands. “That’s a good boy. Where did Batsy find you?”
“He’s not Batman’s,” Jason growled. He realized his mistake instantly as Joker grinned at him.
“Oh-ho! He’s yours then. Isn’t that precious?”
Joker laughed maniacally. The gun moved off of the boy’s head. Peter moved instantly. It was just a movement of his arm, shooting a web out and catching the gun, pulling it. The gun went off as the Joker’s expression hardened. Jason’s gun went off a second later, his bullet sailing through the air and off the building.
Jason rushed forward, pushing the boy towards the hostages, moving between them and the Joker. Peter had pulled the gun out of his hand and it lay webbed to the roof a few feet away. The sound of gunfire came from below them. The other bats had to be dealing with Joker’s men.
Joker chuckled, watching Jason. “What’re you going to do? Shoot me? Kill me?” His grin spread even wider. “Cut that last tie with big daddy Bat?”
“Hood, don’t.”
“Stay out of this Queens. This is between me and Joker.”
“There’re kids, Hood. Don’t make them see this.” The sound of fighting died down and grappling hooks appeared, the other Bats rappelling up onto the roof.
“Robin, get the civilians out of here.”
The Replacement nodded, moving to lead the civilians off the roof to safety. Jason listened as they left, staring Joker down, his gun trained on him. The sound of sirens was approaching quickly from several directions.
“Hood, lover the weapon.”
“Fuck off, B. This isn’t your call.”
Joker laughed, the sound full of pure insanity. The stuff of Jason’s nightmares. “Oh, this is too good!”
Dick stepped in front of Jason, his expression soft under his mask. “Please. You’ve been doing so well. Be a good role model for Spider-man.”
Jason looked at him for a long man. Green pulsed in his vision. He turned his head just slightly to see Peter standing there out of the corner of his eye.
“Don’t let Joker win.”
Jason growled and lowered his gun. “Fine. Just get him the fuck out of my sight.”
Bruce had evidently already handcuffed the Joker as he led him, still cackling, off the roof. Jason released some tension in his shoulders as the two of them left. Dick smiled slightly.
“I’m proud of you, Little Wing.”
Jason opened his mouth to say some snarky comment when something fell to the ground near them. He turned quickly to see Peter lying on the ground. Blood was smeared on the roof next to him. His heart seemed to freeze.
“Peter!”
Peter’s eyes slowly blinked open. It was dark. The ceiling above him appeared to be white. Hu, when did that happen? He slowly sat up. His stomach hurt. Looking down and lifting the t-shirt he could see bandages wrapped around his midsection. He wasn’t in his suit anymore. And it appeared that he was just in the domino mask and not the helmet.
Voices echoed in from outside the room Peter was in. He leaned forward, focusing on them.
“I promise, I’m not going to try and steal him. But let me help, Jay.”
“He’s not getting pulled into your shit, B.”
“We just want to help, Little Wing. We work better together. We’ve got each other’s backs.”
“Oh, like you all had my backs when I fucking died?”
There was a tense silence, both in and out of the room. Jason died? Was that what his fights with Batman were about? Was that why he wanted Peter to stay away from them? Because, somehow, Jason had died?
“I should have been there for you, Little Wing, and I wasn’t. I want to fix that. Please, give me the chance.” There was a pause. “I just want my little brother back.”
“Jay, lad, I know I wasn’t there for you before. I should have been. Let me be there for you now.”
Peter pushed himself up off the bed carefully and made his way to the door. He opened it and looked out. The room beyond was a large cave, which explained the echo. In the middle stood Jason, in street clothes, along with another man in a blue hoodie. Batman sat hunched over with his cowl off, elbows on his knees, in front of a bank of computer monitors. A teen in a red hoodie with the collar of a button-up shirt peeking out sat awkwardly off to the side. They all looked over as Peter walked out.
“Uh… hey.” He waved awkwardly.
“Peter.” Jason’s voice flooded with relief. “What are you doing up? You should be resting.” He hurried up the stairs to reach Peter.
“I’m ok, really. It barely hurts.”
“The medications Alfred gave you should be helping with the pain,” Batman said, standing up. He did not walk forward. The other two did. The older man smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants.
“Hi, Peter. You sure you’re feeling alright? You took a pretty good shot back there.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I heal quick.”
“Alfried will be happy to hear that.” The man smiled, holding out a hand. “Dick Grayson.”
Peter took it, shaking his hand. “Peter Parker. Who are you exactly? Is this the Batcave?” He was guessing based on this being a cave and Batman being in it.
“I’m Nightwing. Tim here is Robin. And Bruce over there is Batman. And you already know Jason.”
Peter nodded and looked at Jason. “Why-?”
“Because you were fucking shot in the stomach! I told you to stay back.”
“He had a gun to the kid’s head.”
“I had it handled.”
“There is a high chance that the boy may have been injured when we arrived if not for Peter’s intervention.” Bruce, Batman, said.
Dick sighed. “Look, we can argue this all day. But Peter’s still recovering, so maybe wait until he’s feeling better to get in a fight with him. Besides, I think dinner’s almost ready. I’m sure Alfred would be happy to see Peter’s doing better.”
Dick looked cautiously hopeful. Jason frowned, his muscles tensing.
“I’d like to meet him.” Peter offered. His stomach growled loudly in agreement.
“Alfred would love to see you.”
Jason sighed in defeat. “Fine.”
Dick broke out into a huge grin. “You’re going to make Alfie’s night. Oh, Peter, no masks upstairs.”
Peter glanced at Jason, who nodded, before pealing his mask off. He followed the trio as they headed towards what looked like an elevator. He paused, feeling a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Bruce looking at him.
“Thank you. For taking care of Jason.”
Peter smiled. “He’s a good guy. He just needs people to be there for him.”
Bruce nodded. “Like you.”
“Like you. You’re his dad, right?”
Bruce paused, glancing over at where Jason was wrestling with Dick, who was trying to mess with his hair. “I don’t know if he wants me back as his father.”
“I think he just doesn’t know he still needs you.”
Bruce looked down at Peter, a softness in his eyes. “You sound a lot like Alfred.”
“Peter! Come on! B, you need to get out of your suit still.”
“Coming!” He looked at Bruce and smiled. “See you at dinner.”
Bruce removed his hand from Peter’s shoulder, nodding before turning and heading off. Peter watched him go before walking over to the others. He piled into the elevator, standing next to Jason.
“So, who exactly is Alfred?”