Notes: There was a bit of a delay with this chapter. Mostly because I've been too busy reading fanfiction to write fanfiction. Have a rest chapter before pieces of plot start coming back as we move into the Wayne Invitation Arc, as I call it in my head. I'm not too happy with what's going on in the last section but Steph and Cass just but their way in there and well, what's the point of this crossover if I can't have moments like that?
Long Day
Neal stumbled into the apartment. Jason was sitting at the table, eating a pizza. It was a show of how ridiculous and tiring his day had been that the only thing he thought to question was where Jason had gotten the pizza. It smelled good.
"You can't have my pizza," Jason said as Neal reached for a slice. To his despair, Jason shifted the box out of reach.
"I'm hungry," Neal whined, reaching for the out-of-reach box.
Jason had a good look at his brother and pulled out one piece. "Just one piece," he insisted as he handed it to Neal.
Neal grinned and started eating. It was a bit of a chore to finish even one piece as, hungry though he was, he was exhausted. All he wanted was to flop down onto the bed and sleep.
Prison really messed with his sleep cycle. He wasn't able to keep all Bat hours, all the time.
"What happened?" Jason asked with a sigh. He could see his brother's fatigue.
"Batman," Neal responded, the pizza muffling his speech.
"Batman?" Jason questioned in surprise. "And here I thought he had decided to take some kind of holiday or something while here."
"Apparently not," Neal sighed. "He's been talking to Peter. Helped us collar Vincent Adler and recover stolen Nazi treasure."
Jason stared. And stared. "Vincent Adler… the Ponzi guy?" Neal nodded. "What treasure?"
Neal made a sad noise at the very thought of the treasure which had slipped through his fingers. "Masterpieces, Jason! Lost works by the greats and a whole bunch of jewels and things. Mozzie could buy me an island with just a tiny amount of it. Or one painting."
Jason was a little surprised that Dick spoke about painting like that. "They're just pictures."
Neal glared at him. "They're not 'just' pictures. They're works of art. A capture of a person, a time, a place. The emotion of the subject and artist, expressed through the artist's skill. They're stories, histories, ancestors and promises to future descendants."
Jason held up his hands, hoping to stop the rant there. "Okay, I get it," he said. Anything to make him stop talking. It was sappy emotional stuff which didn't have a place in their lives. "I can't believe you used to steal those 'promises to future descendants' though," he commented.
"Oh, that's all about the skill and challenge. Although, I don't mind promising the painting a nice future. I do take care of the things I steal," Neal mused.
Jason gave him a scolding look. It looked a little like the one Bruce gave him when he learnt Neal had been arrested. "You've got to be kidding. You sound like Selina, except without the cat fetish. If you start calling your stolen loot 'darlings' or 'babies', I'm gone."
Neal filed that information away for later. Anything he could use to chase Jason away without having to physically remove him was vital information.
He loved his brothers, really. But, sometimes, they were just a little too much.
"I'm going to bed. You're free to stay and… eat pizza," Neal said to his brother before heading over to the bed.
Visitors
Dick woke to the sizzling sound of pancakes being cooked. A sweet batter smell wafted over to him.
"Those do look good," Alfred admitted with a touch of reluctance in his voice. Anyone who knew him would know that reluctance came from not being the one at the stove.
"Thanks, Alfred," Jason rumbled in response. Dick could hear the embarrassment in his voice.
He floated in a half-asleep, comfortable state for a few moments. Jason and Alfred wouldn't let anything happen to him.
Then the events of the previous day came back and shattered the comfortable state Neal had been in. He shot up and out of bed.
Jason and Alfred were standing in the kitchenette. Jason by the stove and Alfred making toast at the bench while glancing back at what Jason was doing. Bruce was sitting at the table with a paper in his hands and a coffee on the table in front of him.
"What the-?" Neal questioned at the sight.
"Good morning, Dick," Bruce said.
"Mornin' Dickie," Jason almost sung, throwing a wide grin at Neal over his shoulder before turning back to the stove.
"Good morning, Master Dick," Alfred greeted him.
"…mornin', Alfred," Neal muttered in response because Alfred always deserved at least a response. The other two though… "How are you two sharing a room right now?"
Bruce cocked an eyebrow in inquiry while Jason grunted a, "huh?"
"Nevermind," Neal sighed. He hadn't seen Bruce and Jason this relaxed around each other in years. "What did I miss?" he muttered to himself.
An uncomfortable feeling poked at his heart and swirled in his gut. He wondered whether it was his 'disappearance' which caused Jason to come back into the fold.
Had he been the reason Jason didn't come back to the family? Sure, he had Jason had their fights and they both had almost killed each other but still, he thought they had been growing closer before he left.
Jason's pancakes were delicious. He even shared some with Peter when the agent turned up at the door to take Neal to work.
Work
It was the day after Adler's arrest and there was an almost relaxed air to the FBI. Yes, there was paperwork to complete and evidence to compile but the hard part was over. Adler would be in a cell until his trial, when he would probably be stuck there.
Neal found the air interesting. It seemed like everyone wanted to calm down after the previous day's excitement.
There was a meeting first up with Hughes congratulating them on their work. Then the meeting moved into reviewing other open cases. Hughes finished by debriefing the room on what would happen with the Alder case now that they had him in custody.
After the meeting was paperwork.
Peter muttered and grumbled to himself as he worked.
"Should I go?" Neal questioned for the third time that morning. Peter had cleared off some of his desk and told Neal that they would work together because he didn't want Neal to make any mistakes. It was a good cover while they tried to work out their story.
Neal was surprised at how good Peter was at peppering little white lies through their files to hide the fact that Batman had been there.
"No," Peter responded. He huffed and muttered something else about how 'Bruce Wayne' owed him one.
"Can we do something else for a while?" Neal asked. "Some legwork for another case, maybe?"
"There's mortgage fraud," Peter informed him.
"No."
"Identity theft?"
"Maybe. What else?"
"We're not doing the Wayne forgeries today, Neal."
"What, why?"
"Still no leads and it'll be there tomorrow. Let's just work on keeping Adler locked away."
Neal was seeing letters and numbers whenever he closed his eyes.
Surprise
Some of the agents looked up as a perky blond woman and her a short-haired friend walked out. They held a tray of coffees each and the blond was grinning like a used car salesman.
"Greetings hardworking agents of the FBI!" the blond greeted said. "My name is Stephanie Brown and this is my friend, Cassandra!"
Cass bobbed her head in greeting, expression not changing from mild interest.
"We come bearing coffee and self-promotion!"
"Self-promotion?" Blake questioned in confusion.
Steph grinned at him and walked over to place a coffee from her tray into his hand. "We run a coffee shop together. Our main focus is on serving those who serve the community; namely officers and agents of the law such as yourselves."
"We are open during the graveyard shift," Cass recited.
Neal came dashing out of Peter's office.
"What the-?" he questioned.
"You know them?" Peter asked, having followed Neal out.
"Yeah," he stated. "The way you'd understand it is that Cass is Bruce Wayne's daughter and Stephanie used to date Tim."
Peter squinted at Cass. Neal wondered if it was random chance or if Peter suspected something. "And we haven't met them at any other time?"
Neal swallowed. "Define 'met'."
"Are we allowed to admire their business strategy?" Diana asked, walking up the stairs with two coffees in hand. One for her and one for Peter.
Neal waved to Cass, who gave a small wave back.
Steph looked up and winked at him. She brought him a coffee a few moments later.
It was nice.
"Done," Steph said with a hardworking sigh. She was still grinning. "Alright, Cass, it's over."
Cass smiled at that. Neal raised a curious eyebrow. It was more than enough for Cass to interpret his unspoken question.
"We visited other floors and police stations."
"That's right!" Steph said, giving Neal a playful punch in the arm. Thankfully not the arm that was holding the coffee. "We had Tim select a number of strategic places for us to visit which allow for the greatest spread of news about our shop."
"And the FBI White Collar division happened to be on that list?" Neal questioned quietly.
"Actually, yes," Steph whispered back. "We also visited Organised Crime and sent complimentary coffees to the tech guys here. Can't remember what they're called."
"What are you talking about?" Peter asked in a pleasant manner. However, he clamped a hand tightly onto Neal's shoulder, indicating that he didn't appreciate the whispering.
"Who's better, Batman or Superman?" Steph said instantly. "Neal says Superman."
"He can fly!" Neal pointed out instinctively. "And bullets don't hurt him."
Peter gave him a surprised look. "I would have thought you'd say Batman."
Neal frowned at him. "What possible reason would I have to go with Batman?"
"He's cool?" Jones supplied. Everyone stared at him in disbelief for that one. He shrugged. "Batman's got the dark, not quite on the side of the law feel. You have to admit, Neal, he suits you."
"The question isn't 'which one suits me'. It's 'Batman or Superman'."
"No conditions," Steph added with an agreeing nod.
"Superman comes first to mind because he's cool," Neal said, mainly to Jones. "Leaps tall buildings in a single bound, laser eyes-"
"I'm sure you'd love laser eyes," Peter commented. "What safe could stand up to you then?"
"What safe can stand up to me now?" Neal responded with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He was one of the best and he knew it.
"I'd say Batman," Diana said. "Can't not pick the one human guy in a team of superpowered people."
"That is a good point," Steph mused. "And I'm from Gotham so hometown pride says Batman."
"Three for Batman, Neal for Superman. I think Batman wins," Peter announced. "Now, Agents; and Neal, back to work! Stephanie Brown and Cassandra, thank you for coming and I hope we see you again."
"I hope so too, Agent Burke," Steph said with a grin and a theatrical bow. "Remember us during those long stakeout nights."
"Remember us," Cass echoed with a small smile before following Steph out of the office.