Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise.
The idea for this story was sparked by shauds story Jason in the Ghost Zone.
Jason POV
"Hello? Dude are you okay? Helllloooo" A voice asks tapping my head, waking me up.
I slowly open my eyes, see a pair of unnaturally bright green eyes looking at me. blinking I look around. I'm surrounded by swirling green clouds, floating purple doors and gravity defying islands.
Confused, I think back to my last memory; the Joker with a crowbar then the warehouse exploding and igniting with some green stuff that was being stored there…. It must of it must have blasted me to…... wherever I am.
Wait, why I'm I not hurting all over?
I turn back to the glowing green eyes; it's a young girl, maybe 12 years old with white hair, a weird black and white costume that doesn't cover her stomach and of course she's glowing.
"Were the hell am I?" I ask her.
She sends me a confused look. "You're in the ghost Zone."
"Okay…. And how did I get here? Cause I was in a warehouse in Gotham." I ask her.
"Gotham?" she questions, then her eyes light up with an idea. "The Ghost Zone is a pocket dimension, I don't know of any place on my earth called Gotham. But I've heard theories that the GZ is tied to multiple versions of earth, so you were probably from a different one."
I nod, it's not like I've never come across other earths before…. Wait a time did she say were. "Did you say were?"
She looks at me awkwardly "You don't know?"
I glare "Know what?"
She looks away from me and extends a hand, creating a piece of ice and turns it back to me, showing me my reflection; my black hair has turned white like hers and my Robin uniform has changed colours; all the black parts have turned white, the red now green and the yellow now blood red.
I quickly pull off my domino mask (now reversed colours) revealing now glowing red eyes. "What the hell?"
She drops the ice over the edge of the floating island we're on, and puts a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Hey, hey it's alright… umm what's your name?"
"Robin" I answer, the name no longer feeling right. "What happened to me?" I ask, putting the mask back on.
She smiles sadly "Dani. I'm guessing whatever sent you here was full of ectoplasmic energy and it infected you."
I raise an eyebrow "Infected? You said were in the Ghost Zone, how do you know I'm not a Ghost?"
"Cause 'The Ghost Zone' is just what the humans on my earth call this place. It's more like… a pocket dimension full of energy lifeforms. Some of them are unfortunately really strong psychically, and when some of the crazier humans die, they accidentally pick up their obsessions, personality and memories. They're powers even change to suit the new personality. There are three kinds of lifeforms here Ghost- which is what I just explained. Halfa- a human whose DNA has been altered making them…. And by them, I mean me, half Ghost but with full powers, plus the ability to swap between human and this form. And the Infected- a human who has been exposed to large amounts of ectoplasmic energy, there still human but now require ectoplasmic energy to live, which mean they have to stay in the Zone most of the time. When too much ectoplasm is in their system they look like a Halfa, but if they have to little…. It will kill them, but if they keep their energy right they'll be fine, plus they can look human…. Oh! And they have basic powers." She tells me like she's remembering a lesson.
Basic powers? Basic powers are good.
"Alright. How do I manage my energy levels and get home?" I ask her.
"The energy thing will be a bit tricky, but V-vlad probably experimented with it so, we steal his notes, use it as a starting point. As for getting you home…... I have no idea" she tells me quietly.
I'll have to figure out that one on my own. "Okay, so who's Vlad?"
"Super villain, goes by Plasmius…. Do you have super villains on your earth?"
"Unfortunately," I tell her trying to push evil laughter out of my head. "So how do we get out of here?"
She smiles brightly "We fly! This is gonna be fun I've never taught someone how to fly before."
Fly? Well I guess that makes sense with all the floating doors and islands. "What are the basic powers?"
"Flight, invisibility, Intangibility, super strength, energy shields/blasts and enhanced healing" She answers.
Basic powers sound very good.
Dani spends the next three hours teaching me to use my new powers, before finally leading me to a portal.
Before we go through she pauses. "This lends straight into Vlad's lab, I don't know if he's in there or not and there are probably cameras, so we're going to need to be careful."
I nod and we both turn invisible and fly through, the lab is empty. I quickly activate the computer in my glove and hack into the security, deactivating security measures and looping the camera feed, then I move over to the computer and copy all the files, then I have a quick look through what he's doing to confirm he's the bad guy. (Dani may be nice, but I need to be sure) then I put a nasty virus in the system, that will cover my tracks and ruin his research.
"Robin, check this out!" Dani calls from a science station, turning visible.
"What happened to covert?" I ask, walking over to her, turning visible.
She blushes, her cheeks turning… green? "Sorry, I'm very good at it. But check this out! Vlad already made something to keep the ectoplasmic energy levels stable" she tells me, hold up a bottle full of pills.
That is too easy, why would he be making these, he's a Halfa not infected, he doesn't need something to keep his energy levels stable… unless. I access the files I just downloaded the start looking to see if my theory is right.
"Dammit!" I curse.
"What is it?" Dani asks.
"I copied his files, he's planning to build an army of the infected. He's got hundreds of recruits, and he's figured out a way to turn them in mass numbers."
Her eyes go wide. "This is very bad, with an army like that he could take over the world."
"Don't you have superheroes here? We should call the Justice League?" I hate saying I need help, but I'm new to this earth, the local heroes will be a lot more familiar with these ghost problems and how to stop them.
She sends me a confused look "You have a whole League of superheroes on your earth? Here it's just my cousin Phantom, Red Huntress and me. and we don't exactly get along with each other, well more like Val-Red thinks all ghost are evil and tries to kill Da-Phantom on a weekly basis."
"Okay, looks like we need to get out of here, figure out what to do about this."
She nods back and grabs as many bottles as she can fit in her bag (There so many Vlad won't notice some are missing for a while.) Then we sneak out of the house and fly into the city.
"So, what do we do?" Dani asks.
"I'm going to investigate" I tell her "You're going to find your cousin and tell him what's going on."
"Investigate? I'm getting the feeling you've been in the superhero business for a while" she comments.
"Almost three years" I nod "Bats, my mentor taught me all about being a detective and how to investigate. Give me a few days, I'll find out what Vlad is up to."
She takes out one of the pill bottles. "You need to take one every 12 hours."
I put the pills in a compartment in my belt, "Thanks."
I fly away from her and get to work. I start with his company, hacking into it and checking it out. I find a group of scientists on payroll who are working on the project, after 'talking' with a few of them a get a date and location.
I also look into what's available here in the way of body armour. (my suit has turned white and neon green, it looks hideous now and sucks at stealth…. and I'm not really feeling like Robin anymore, I think it's time to move on from boy wonder.) Thankfully I look normal again now that my energy level is steady, but my clothes have been changed permanently.
Even though it was last minute the guy was able to get me some nice grey-black armour, which looked good with my utility belt, (it was yellow before, but is now blood red) I decide on adding guns to my armoury/ holsters to the suit, I've always liked guns but never got a change to use them (it's not like I'm going to go on a killing spree now that I'm using guns, I know how to shoot someone without killing them, plus rubber bullets) and trying to keep with where I'm from I had a blood red bat put on the armour.
Just before I walk out the door I see a red helmet. It makes me think of Red Hood, a thief we believe was the Jokers aliases before he started wearing clown make up. I get the helmet too, it's time something of the Jokers does some good.
On my way to meet a source I see a brown jacket in a window and get it, knowing it's what I need for my new look.
Once I've got the intel I follow the tracker I put on Dani to a weird house with a meatal thing on top. I climb up to one of the upstairs bedrooms and listen at the window.
"-need with an army? He likes to get his powers through manipulation, not brute force" a red head teen tells the others in the room.
"Maybe he's decided to change tactics? It's not like his mind games have been working lately" a teen with glasses and a red beret argues.
The goth shakes her head "I hate to say this, but I agree with Jazz, Vlad wouldn't make a army for himself, something else is going on."
"Right you are" I agree, jumping in the window, taking off my new helmet and activating a bug jammer.
"Robin" Dani smiles seeing my face (domino mask still in place.), she looks human now, black hair blue eyes. "Your back! What's with the new look? Cause you look like a mercenary."
I shrug "Wasn't feeling like Robin anymore, with everything I think I've out grown boy wonder."
"Boy Wonder?" she smirks.
I glare "Anyway I had a talk with some of Vlad's men, he's selling these people to whoever can afford them, he'll make a fuck tonne money and connections with a lot of powerful people. They're turn the first hundred tomorrow."
"We have to stop him" A teen who looks creepily like Dani declares.
"Even if we do Vlad can just make more soldiers" the guy with glasses tells us.
"Tucker right" Jazz nods "We need to find a way to put a stop to is whole operation."
"We expose him" I tell the room, "I got enough from his lab to put him in jail for hundred years."
They all shake they're heads at the same time. "Won't work" the teen who looks like Dani tells me, "Vlad and I have an… agreement. He knows my identity and I know his, if I do anything to expose him he leeks my identity."
"Then I'll handle this" I decide "No one knows me on this earth, and like Dani said I look like a mercenary. I'll make him think the competition hired me to ruin him."
"Vlad knows us" The goth tells me, "He'll be expecting us to try something."
I shrug "So fake a plan, my tech picked up eight listening devices in this room. I've jammed them, but when I leave I'll turn them back on and you guys work on a plan for him to focus on."
"So, where the decoys" Guy with glasses asks raising an eyebrow.
"It's not like we have a choice" Jazz tells him "Vlad will be expecting us to try something, Dani, are you sure we can trust this guy?"
Dani nods "I trust him."
Why would she trust me? we haven't known get another a for a week yet, she doesn't even know my real name, but she trusts me, why?
"Then we trust him" the teen who looks like Dani nods.
"I should go" I tell them "I've got planning to do." With that I jump out the window.
I go back to the abandoned apartment complex I've been staying in and start planning. I go over the building plans, information on scientists involved, the buyer, the test subjects, Vlad. I check out his company some more, find out their protocols on backing up data, then plan on how to destroy all the backups. Then I hack the FBI to see if they're looking into Vlad, they are but when I check the agent in charge of the investigation, Eric Coleman (53 year old white guy, who's going bald) I find that he's definitely in Vlad's pocket, but I find that one of the agents under Coleman, Alison Temple (a 28 year old woman of Native American descent) has been suspicious of Coleman for months and trying to find evidence on him. So, I pay her a visit.
"Hello Agent Temple" I tell her, sitting in her living room when she comes home.
She immediately pulls her gun and aims at my head (not that it would do anything against my helmet.) "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my apartment?"
"I'm nobody" I shrug, "I've got some intel for you" I slide a hard drive over to her.
She picks it up cautiously, not taking her eyes off me. "What's on this?"
"Enough to put Vlad Masters and his associates, including Agent Coleman away for a long time."
Her eyes go wide. "What's your interest in this?"
"Nothing, just doing a job" I lie convincingly.
"What you're some kind of mercenary?"
"Got a problem with mercenary's?" I walk over to her. "Look, I'm just doing a job. Investigate Masters, bring him down, he's got a deal going down tomorrow, one that my employer doesn't want to happen, and I doubt the FBI would want to happen either."
"What kind of deal?" she asks, finally lowering her gun.
"He's making a new kind of super soldier, the first group tomorrow. These people can fly, walk through walls, turn invisible, have super strength, create energy shields or blasts, heal from almost anything. They all volunteered, and all are ruthless killing machines. You don't want these people out there."
"My god. And I thought ghost were as weird as it was going to get" she rubs her forehead, I take the moment to disappear out the window, she knows what she need to now.
I jump on the motorbike I 'acquired' and start riding back to base. Halfway there I spot Dani sitting on top of a skyscraper. I pull over and climb up to see her. "Hey" I say sitting next to her, taking off my helmet.
She looks at me "What are you doing up here?"
"What are you doing up here?" I shoot back.
She looks out at the city "Thinking."
I stay quiet for a few minutes then speak. "So, who were those people from early?"
"My cousin Danny, his sister Jazz, the goth Sam the girl Danny is in love with and Danny's best friend Tucker- the guy with the glasses."
"Why do you not refer to Jazz as your cousin too?" I ask.
"I'm-I'm Danny's not my cousin, I'm is clone. Vlad made me for one of his crazy plans" she admits looking away. "We say we're cousin cause it's easier to explain our relationship that way, not that we tell many people."
"What about his parents?" I ask putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way.
She leans into the touch. "They don't know I exist, they're mad scientists obsessed with ghosts. If they find out what Danny is they will kill him, having me around would only put both of us in danger, so most of the time I travel and run from whoever Vlad sends after me. this is only the third time I've actually seen Danny. The first I was working for Vlad, the second Vlad melted me into a puddle. God it hurt! But Danny and Val-Red saved my life" at this point she's crying.
I wrap my arms around her in a hug. "I was a street kid" I tell her quietly, "I don't know what it's like for you, but I do get that part. My Mom- step mother died of a overdose, my Dad disappeared working for a villain, then I tried to steal the tires off the Batmobile" I laugh at the memory "Batman took me in after that. He tried to keep me out of the business for a while, just tried being a father for me, but I wore him down and he let me take on the mantle of Robin. His other son had moved on from it, became Nightwing. Being Robin was one of the best things that happened to me, then I did the stupidest thing I could've, I found out about my birthmother a tracked her down. She handed me over to the Joker, one of the most insane villains in my world. He beat me for days before he finally set the warehouse to explode then instead of being dead I was in the GZ."
I'm not sure why I'm telling her this, but it feels right. They say sometimes you meet someone and you just know, since I met Dani I've felt like I'm a big brother, that I have to take care of her.
She hugs me back and we just sit there, hugging each other.
"We'll get you home" Dani says after a good ten minutes. "Danny's already reached out to some friends, nothing yet not even the dam infinity map can go between dimensions, but we will find a way to get you back to your family."
"Come with me" I asks turning to look at her "It doesn't sound like you have much keeping you here, you'll be a whole universe away from Vlad and I would be there for you."
She hugs be again "I'd love to go with you…" she stops realising she doesn't know my name.
"Jason" I tell her "Jason Todd-Wayne."
She smiles "I'd love to go with you Jason."
I take her back to my save house and give her the bed while I sleep on the couch.
The next morning, she makes us breakfast and sits down next to me. "So why the motorbike and climbing? You can fly."
"I like being a hero without powers, I'll use them if I need to. But it nice to think that what I do I can do because I worked hard and earned it" I tell her.
She smiles "Can you teach me how to fight? I kinda like the idea of not being having to depend on my powers."
I nod "Sure, we can get you a new suit too if you want," I can see it now, Dani is tired of constantly being compare to Danny, she needs her own identity.
Her smile gets brighter "I'd love that."
We spend the day going over some basic fighting techniques. Then in the afternoon I put my suit on and go to work.
It's a easy enough job, I've it a hundred times. Get into the building knock out the guards, place a virus in the system to wipe the files, find the backups do the same, release sleeping gas into the main lab, tie everyone up, (Vlad is there so I have to suck him into a thermos,) destroy the device, call Agent Temple for clean-up. I'm at the safe house within an hour.
The next day I take Dani to get her own suit. She gets a black body suit with neon green trimming, domino mask and a neon green utility belt, then at my suggestion she gets a neon green bat on the chest.
"Why the bat?" she asks nervously, "I thought the bat was a thing for your family."
"You are my family" I reply honestly.
She smiles brighter than the sun.
I keep training her and looking for a way home, within two months we agree to start traveling, going to places we might find something to go between dimensions. Along the way we start taking down criminal organisations and super villains. And Dani and I both pick names; Shadow and Red Hood, we also continue to let people think we're mercenaries who were hired by a do-gooder to help. We see a lot more of Agent Temple and work with her on a few cases, during which she always tries to find out who we are and who hired us, but never succeeds.
It's until I've been on this earth for almost two years when Danny calls with good news.
Dani and I are talking with Temple after we have shut down a school that is training child soldiers when he calls.
"It's all on the file, you should have more than enough to get the principal life" I tell Temple as I pull out my phone, "Hood" I answer.
"I found it!" Danny says on the other end.
"What your brain? Dam you've been looking for that your whole live, well done" I reply immediately.
Dani laughs and Temple snorts.
"Not Funny!" Danny says on the other end. "Look, I was talking to Frostbite he found another piece of the map, this one will let you go back to your own universe."
Now he has my full attention "Frostbite found a way to send me home?"
A portal opens in front of me and Phantom flies out, closing his phone. "Yep, just hold the map."
"This is great!" Dani smiles at me. "I'll go get our stuff" she disappears for a moment at superspeed then reappears with two duffel bags.
"What's going on?" Temple asks, looking between the three of us.
She deserves the truth "None of this gets back to your superiors."
She nods immediately, it wouldn't the first time she lied to them for us.
"I'm from another version of earth, I've been stuck here for the last two years. Now I'm going home and Shadow's coming with me" I summarise.
She smiles "You're not a mercenary, are you?"
"It's easier for people to think of us as mercenary's, that way when we go people won't miss us. They're think we stopped being paid and moved on, not that their superhero disappeared and wonder what happen to us" Dani tells her.
She smiles "Good luck, I wish you both the best." She hugs Dani who happily hugs back, then she hugs me which I put up with.
Dani and I hold the map with Danny and the three of a disappear and reappear in the dark city of Gotham.
"Man, this place is creepy" Danny comments before giving Dani a hug "You sure I can't talk you out of this?"
Dani smiles. "I'm sure, back there I will always be your clone, I need a place where I can be me."
Danny nods before turning to me "Goodbye you paranoid bastard, I still don't know your name and I probably never will, but I do trust you and that you'll be good to my little cousin."
I smirk under my hood. "You know I will always take care of my little sister."
Danny nods then holds up the map and disappears.
Once he's gone we find a place where we won't be seen and go online to catch up. when I see it, I'm pissed "He replaced me!"
Dani turns to me "What?"
"There's a new Robin! He's been with Batman for over a year. That son of a bitch replaced me!" I yell angrily. "And Jokers still alive! After what he did to me I though B would have killed him. I was his son, or I thought I was. I bet if Joker had killed Dick Bruce would have killed him!"
Dani grabs my shoulder and looks me in the eye (well hood, plus she has to flood a few feet in the air to do so.) "Jay you need to calm down, before you do something you'll regret. You started with news from now, I started looking at just after your 'death' Batman was devastated, from what I found Superman had to stop him from killing the Joker, and he got rougher on the streets, he was putting pickpockets in body casts. This new Robin forced his way in because he knows Batman needs a Robin. Your Dad didn't replace you and I'm sure he will love to see you."
I let out a breath. Dani's right, I need to calm down and talk with B. (she always been great at calming me down when I let my temper get the best of me, she's stopped me from crossing the line more than once.)
"Alright good, now you go to the cave. I'm going to look for a safe house" She tells me before taking our bags, knowing I need to do this part alone.
I get to the cave quick and watch for a moment, it just Bruce and J'onn in the cave, talking about a new monitored duty schedule. God, I didn't realise just how much I missed…. my Dad.
J'onn turns to me, probably sensing my emotions.
I lower my mental shields so that he can see that I'm me.
He smiles slightly and turns back to Bruce. "We can continue this another time, I believe you have a more important matter to deal with."
I take off my hood and step out of the shadows where Bruce can see me.
His eyes go wide, and he steps forward, J'onn smiles at him and says, "It is him Bruce." Before leaving the cave.
I walk up to him slowly, as soon as I'm close enough he hugs me in a rare show of emotion. "Jason, I'm sorry."
I shake head as we end the hug "It wasn't your fault, I missed you" I reply.
"Where were you?" he asks quietly.
"Another earth" I tell him "The warehouse was full of radioactive shit it threw me off this earth. Took a while to get back."
For a moment he looks like he's trying to say something but is not sure how.
"If your gonna tell me you got a new Robin I already know, checked the news when I got back." I tell him with smirk.
"Jason I'm sorry, I hope you don't think I was trying to replace you, I could never replace you." He tells me, looking like he expects me to start yelling.
"I did think that, had a bit of a tantrum but Dani calmed me down. I get it you need a Robin" I nod.
"Who's Dani?" He asks, with a raised eyebrow.
I smile "My protégé/ little sister, I meet her when I woke up the first time over there. She doesn't really have anyone and I sorta took her in, brought her back to this earth with me."
Bruce nods. "She is welcome here, I can have Alfred prepare the room next to yours."
"My rooms still the same?" I raise an eyebrow.
He looks away "I couldn't change it."
I smile and tap my com "Shadow don't bother looking for a safe house, Bruce has invited both of us to stay."
"Understood Hood, on my way to the cave."
I turn back to Bruce "Where Alfie and Dickwing? I should tell them I'm alive."
He turns to the computer "I'll send a message to Dick, Alfred is upstairs with Tim….. your younger brother, I'll go tell them." He goes upstairs and comes back a few minutes later with Alfred and a dark-haired teen about two years younger than me.
Alfred walks up to me looking like he's struggling to keep his professional mask on, I make it harder by hugging him. "It's good to see you Alfie."
He hugs back "You too Master Jason."
Then as soon as Alfred lets go Dick runs through the Zeta and wraps me in a hug. "Your alive! Oh my god Jay I thought you were dead!"
"I'm okay Dickwing" I smile, when the hug is over I look at Tim who's standing there awkwardly, then I noticed Dani out of the corner of my eye. "You look a little left out Tim, Dani!"
Dani immediately runs up to him and wraps him in a hug "Nice to meet you!"
"What the hell?" Tim asks looking confused and trying to escape the hug.
"This is Dani/ Shadow, my protégé as you can see she's a hugger" I smirk.
She ends the hug with a smile and walks over to me. "Jay did you take you pill?"
"Crap, knew I was forgetting something" I curse taking one out of my belt and swallowing it, I'm only 40 minutes late taking it, so it's not too big a deal.
"What is this pill for?" Bruce asks, concern almost visible on his face.
"Um, the shit that blasted me off this earth was made of the same stuff as this pocket dimension the GZ. Unfortunately, when I human gets exposed to that shit it becomes part of them. I have to keep my levels of it at a certain level or it kills me, on the bright side it gave me super powers" I explain quickly.
They all look worried "It really no big deal, I only need one every 12 hours and Dani always reminds me, I'm fine."
Dani hands a bottle of the pills over to Alfred, knowing from what I've told her that Alfred will want to be the one to bug me about them.
"Thank you, Mistress Danielle," Alfred nods.
Dani then hands a USB to Bruce. "Jay said you insist on mission reports, these are all of mine and Jay's from the last two years."
Bruce nods "Thank you Dani." Knowing Bruce, he's probably going to stay up all night studying all of them.
By the next day Bruce has made a background for Dani and filed adoption papers and a month later we make a cover story and fake my resurrection. I'm home.
ONE-SHOT