He was there, he stood right in front of Jason, then darkness encroached on the boys vision, and by the time he blinked it away his mentor was gone. Hands wrapped around him, dragging him across the ruined throne room, bells chimed in his ears and a quick glance at his feet revealed their source. Those stupid bell tipped pixie shoes were back.
There were voices yelling now, as they dragged him onwards. The swirly green of the Ghost Zone was replaced by the dented metal of the speeder. His head was pounding, and trying to open his eyes was like shoving knives into his brain on top of that, but he had to, he had to see what was going on, get to Bruce.
The voices became distinct, Sam yelling about a hospital while frantically trying to wrap up his bleeding… ectoplasming?... leg over the black fabric and for a second all he could think about was how glad he was that black didn't stain as badly as green and he wouldn't have to look at Alfred's disappointed frown when he got back.
"There has to be a way to get this piece of junk moving." Sam said, the sentence coming out just a little too fast.
"Don't listen to her baby, you did great." Tucker was messing with the wires in the console. "All I can do from in here is get the shield working."
Jason tried to get up, forcing his limbs to move how he wanted instead of contracting on their own from the after effects of the energy that had been pumped into his system. His leg kicked out, tripping him up, Sam caught him and eased him into the passenger seat while she rummaged around the forst aid kit for more bandages. "Keep still Red."
"Need to see B." Jason slurred, gripping the armrests he tried to pull himself up again. Everything hurt, but he'd had worse, he'd gotten up and walked with worse, and he had to do it again. It was Tucker who pushed him down this time, Jason tried to glare at the other boy, but the geek just chuckled.
"If you can't get past me, you can't get outside." He went back to tinkering with the console, not sparing another glance at Jason.
Before he could try again, a trail of red energy streaked across the sky. The Dark Knight paused for a second in going after it, fixing whited out eyes on the boy. A shield sprung up around the speeder, effectively trapping Jason inside.
.
.
.
A canister of gas made from ectoranium shaved into microscopic particles was his first course of action, followed by a heavy gauntleted fist to the face that tossed the ghost clear across the room. Batman followed, determined to not drag the fight out for even a second longer than he had to.
The shorter man was pulled up by his cape and Batman's fist crashed into his face three times in quick succession. The force of each blow would have been enough to break his knuckles without the ectoranium gauntlets covering his hands. An explosion of energy erupted from the ghost, loosening Batman's hold on his target and sending his skidding across the rubble strewn floor.
He was on his feet again in time to block a swing from not one, but two glowing fists. He ducked and spun around, his kick knocking one duplicate meters away before he grabbed the others head and bashed it against the armored cowl on his own. The fiery crown on the ghost's head cracked, the flames shrinking while he stumbled back, a cry of rage on his lips.
The ghost sent out a ray of energy, striking Batman's chest with enough force to dent the armor and knock him off his feet.
"Whoever you are, you'll come to deeply regret that." The ghost hovered a foot off the ground, his tensed shoulders and twitching fingers giving away the shock the rest of him was trying to hide. He slpit himself, surrounding the other man with a dozen duplicates. "For the last few seconds of your life." They spoke at once, and energy rays came at Batman from all sides.
"Not again Vlad!" There was a shout and the white haired boy was in front of him, a green shield intercepted the attack, but shattered on impact, launching the boy back.
"Get down!"Gauntleted hands caught the back of the boy's jumpsuit and pulled him close while Batman curled around him, shielding them both with his ectoranium coated cape. The second the barrage stopped, he threw a hand full of batarangs at the ghost. The suit could handle high temperatures, but it wasn't really build for comfort, and Batman clicked in the filtration as soon as the energy let up.
Vlad tried to block with his own cape, but the sharp blades sliced through the fabric, leaving deep gashes on his arms. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart." The ghost moved to attack again, but was intercepted by a girl with a ray gun. She was some distance away, firing at the ghost with a ray gun. It wasn't doing much damage, but she had the man's attention.
"Only one getting torn apart today is you!" She circled him on her hover board.
Electricity crackled at the sharp tips of Batman's fingers.
The boy's green eyes widened and he scrambled back. "Please be on our side." He half whispered.
"Stay out of this." Batman replied, taking advantage of the distraction the girl was providing, he activated his rocket boots, shooting at the ghost like a missile. A second later there was a current strong enough to give Superman pause running though the ghosts body. He screamed and kicked at Batman with enough force to dent the armor and knock the Batman back, but the hero didn't stop. Fists slammed into the ghosts jaw, kicks powerful enough to cave in the chests of normal humans crashed into his torso.
The boy and armored girl flitted around, providing shielding, and cover fire. He turned to his Robin, told himself it was just a quick to make sure nothing new had crept up, next he knew he was crashing to the ground, a few more dents in his suit and his head ringing.
The ghost held him down, raining down blow after blow on the downed man. Each hit was powerful enough to leave him seeing stars, bouncing his head of the hard ground. One particularly powerful hit cracked one of the lenses covering his eyes. The shield appeared between them again, and again it shattered on impact, but it slowed the punch enough that Batman could flip the ghost underneath him and wrap his hands around his glowing neck.
There wasn't enough charge for another shock, but the time holding his opponent still was enough for him to scan for a potential power source. A beep sounded in his ear just as the ghost bucked, throwing Batman off him and releasing a torrent of energy.
"Punching people in the face isn't the way you make new friends." The boy said, ducking away from the older ghost while still keeping up his barrage.
"My dear boy." Vlad was in front of the teen before he had a chance to react. "You assume I have time for such trivialities."
"Yeah well, they come in handy." The girl crashed into the ghost, crushing her hover-board in the process. She grabbed hold of Vlad's cape to keep from falling, he brutal kick to her face and she lost her grip, falling to the ground with a scream. Before the boy could duck around the man to catch her, he found himself on the receiving end of an energy ray strong enough to burn away the fabric at his chest, leaving an almost perfect circle of singed flesh.
Batman caught both children, paying no mind to the shock on their faces when he set them down.
"You've done your part." He said, positioning himself between them and their attacker. "Get somewhere safe and stay there."
He tossed a single batarang at the ghost. It tapped against the ghost's fiery crown ,one controlled explosion later and already the already fractured accessory fell to the ground in pieces while the loud BANG forced the ghost to cover his ears. Blood red eyes locked onto the remnants of the powerful artifact.
"You!" Vlad screamed. Even though he was prepared for it, the ghost was still able to sweep Batman off the ground, and slam the larger man into the wall. Hands closed around his throat and electricity was shot through Batman's system. His suit redirected most of the current through its circuits, but it could only take so much. The capacitors blew and Batman had to take the full brunt of the electrical attack.
He screamed, not so much because of the pain, as what that pain meant. The ghost was greatly depowered now, but he'd been at full strength when he'd done the same thing to Robin. Batman pulled his fist back and struck the ghost in his throat, then grabbed his arm before he was knocked out of reach.
"You did that to my son!" A sharp, satisfying CRACK later and he had the ghost crying out again. He pulled the ring off the broken finger and tucked it into his utility belt before the ghost was done choking on his own spit.
The armor was useless now, and served no purpose other than to slow him down, so he hit the manual catches, letting the fried metal drop to the ground around him. He flexed his sore muscles, now standing in a batsuit with only slight modifications.
The ghost breathed in quick, deep huffs, a smirk curving it's way onto his mouth when he saw Batman standing in comparatively less threatening attire.
"Your son?" He chuckled, an edge of madness to his voice. "Isn't that priceless, I'll be sure to tell that vulgar brat how you screamed when I'm tearing him apart over your corpse." He struck out with his undamaged hand, Batman caught it easily and used the momentum to deliver a punch of his own strong enough to break the ghost's nose.
"You'll be lucky if you ever move again." Batman growled out. He let his fists fly, beating the man into the ground with the same ferocity normally reserved for the Joker. A man who'd tried to take his boy away deserved no less. It took a few minutes for the ghost to realize how outmatched he was without his power-ups, and predictable he tried to flee.
That wasn't going to happen until he was sure the ghost was paid back every bit of the suffering he'd inflicted on the boy. His grappling hook shot out, wrapping around the ghost's ankles, one sharp tug later and the ghost was back at his feet.
The man cried out, but didn't beg, or plea for him to stop. In anyone else Batman would have respected that, but he could see nothing deserving of that respect in this man. As he pulled the man's limp form off the ground and slammed him into a crumbled wall, his eyes caught the trail of smoke drifting up from the broken ship off to the side. It wasn't the time for this, not when his boy was so close.
"You'll never lay a finger on him again." Batman growled out slamming the man into the wall again, not averting his eyes when another crack against the wall triggered a ring on light around the ghost, and a human man stood in his place. "Or next time, you'll be in traction for a year, do I make myself clear?"
The man coughed weakly, a stream of blood dribbling down his chin. "Crystal."
One last slam for good measure, and he let the man drop to the ground, barely conscious, he bound the man tightly to a broken pillar and left him there. The speeder was in sight, across the ruins of what had recently been a great keep, and Batman wasted no time in making his way towards it.
Only now did Batman take note of what his son was wearing, a black and white mockery of his robin uniform, twisted into something resembling a joker. He was near the opening of the ship, his red eyes watching fearfully as Batman approached. The other teens, who were standing all around him must have picked up on that fear themselves, because they turned to face him, all four putting themselves between him, and the boy.
The green-eyed boy, stood just a step ahead of the others, looking dead on his feet, still he blocked the way, directing a fierce glare Batman's way. The man stopped a step away, close enough now that he could reach out and touch his Robin if the others weren't in the way. He moved in a little closer, but flinched back when Robin's fists rose just a little, preparing as always for some kind of conflict.
That was unusual, with a pang in his chest, Batman, Bruce realized that it was even expected. What was completely unexpected was the way Jason recoiled after a look at his mentors hurt face. Jason was the one to reach, out, but his wounded leg gave out after only one step and he crumpled to the ground. Bruce reached out to help him, but the green-eyed boy put himself more firmly between them.
"Back off creep, I don't care if you can beat Vlad, you're not getting near my friend." His eyes glowed warningly, and the others stood a little more ready for a battle, two of them pulling Jason to his feet.
"S'okay Danny." Jason said, one lowering his friends fist. "This is…" He looked at Bruce, his face so much more vulnerable that Bruce had seen in years before he turned his eyes to the ground. "He's my… my…"
"I'm his father." Bruce said, and like a cord had been cut, every muscle in Jason's body sagged and he toppled forward.
Bruce caught the boy, wrapping his arms around his son's shuddering body and holding him to his chest as tightly as he could without aggravating his injuries. He cradled the boy, more glad than he'd ever been in his life for the solid weight in his arms, even if it was both lighter and colder the it should have been.
"Hey Boss." Jason said, only a slight crack in his voice marring his usual confidence. "Wanna see a cool trick?" Without waiting for an answer the boy raised one hand, feather-light he brushed his fingers over the arm holding, then with one last, uncertain look, the hand phased right through Bruce's arm.
The man flinched at the unfamiliar, icy sensation then with a sigh, he held his son closer, pressing the boy's face into his chest and running his hand through the boy's snowy hair, knocking off his hat in the process. "You'll give Agent A an aneurism if you think about using that to steal extra cookies." It didn't matter, Jason was still his boy.
Jason chuckled into Bruce's chest, the sound shaking his whole body for just a moment, before he broke into tears, near silent sobs wracking his body. "I'm so sorry." The said between sobs. "I'm so sorry, I didn't listen and, and." Here his cries grew louder and he gripped the bat symbol at Bruce's chest. "Oh, god Bruce I shot Dick. He tried to help me and I shot him!"
"No names in the field." Bruce tucked the boy's head under his chin, hoping his actions would convey what his words wouldn't, he doubted Jason would appreciate being overly coddled in front of his friends. "Let's go and get your brother, Jaylad."
When they left, Bruce stepped over the bell-topped hat on at his feet, and though he'd never realize the significance of it, he'd never see that hat again.
.
.
.
It was really late by the time they got back to the hospital. Red's Dad somehow got into Richard's room with the boy in his arms, and not a single person saw them.
Danny and his friends were in only seconds later, and Richard was already propped up on his pillows, grinning tiredly at his guests. "I had a feeling you'd all be here soon."
"Is your family psychic?"Tucker asked, a little more skittish of the hospital now that things had calmed down.
"Nah, but I've got a feeling yours might be." Richard, pointed at a corner, and Danny nearly phased out of his own skin when he saw who it was.
"Jazz, how, what are you doing here?" Danny asked, half expecting her to be some shape-shifting ghost.
"Later Little Brother." Jazz came up behind him and rested both hands on his shoulders. "Look what you did."
His Dad had set Red on the bed next to Richard, and the boy was curled against the man's side, one of his brother's arms holding him close.
"You're such an idiot." Red drew in a long, shuddering breath. "This is what you get for going easy on me."
Richard chuckled. "I missed you Little Wing." He looked up at their Dad with a goofy grin. "How 'bout a guy big guy?" The man grunted and Richard pouted. "No? A well done then, maybe a little smile, a…"
He was silenced when their Dad's arms wrapped around both brothers, pulling them into a tight embrace. "Good job." He smiled, and the color drained from Richards face. "But maybe don't get shot next time." He rested a hand in each of their heads. "And no more guns."
Next to Danny, Sam whispered a triumphant. "Yes!"
"I don't know B." Richard said, his cheeks now flushed a deep red while his arms tightened around his little brother and his grin returned. "Kids got good horrible aim, clean exit wound and all."
"No." Their Dad, growled, but his lips twitched in what could have been a smile.
"I don't wanna know how they can joke about getting shot." Danny said, shooting his sister an amused look.
"I'm so proud of you Danny." Jazz hugged him.
"I just got my head bashed into a wall." Danny meant it as a joke, but without all of the adrenaline he was starting to feel that wall again.
"You didn't give up on your friend." She gently ruffled his hair. "And you reunited him with his family." She waved a hand at the trio. "That wouldn't have happened without you."
"Aw, so you're the big hero now, huh?" Sam asked starring Danny down with her hands on her hips.
"Yeah man, we charged in to save the day too." Tucker crossed his arms.
Danny sighed at his friends before looking up at the family huddled together at the bed. "Yeah, were all heroes this time." And Danny had never felt more like a hero than he did right then, even if it was mixed with the sudden awkwardness of being so close to an emotional reunion. "I think we should give them some privacy."
"Why? Not like Red can complain in his sleep." Sam jerked a thumb at where Red was now sleeping soundly next to his brother. "Anyone got a camera?"
"Always." Tucker fished around his pocket for his PDA.
Danny didn't get the chance to tell them off. One second, he was looking at his friends, and the next there was a shadow cutting into his vision. Soulless white eyes were staring him down, pinning him in place and very nearly stopping his heart.
A short cry escaped the hero's mouth and before he could stop himself, he was babbling. "Hey there Mister Red's Dad Sir, can I call you Sir? Anyway, we were just kidding around, we wouldn't…"
He wasn't sure what he wouldn't do, because the man held out a hand, cutting off Danny's train of thought. The hand hung there for a minute before a nudge from Jazz prompted the halfa to accept it. A smile wormed it's way onto his face, while he shook the man's hand as firmly as he could, the feeling that he's really accomplished something filling his chest.
The man shook the hands of Sam, Tucker, Valery and Jazz too, but his eyes were on Danny when he spoke. "You found my son and took care of him when I couldn't. Thank you."
"How do you know it was me?" Danny asked.
"He's Batman." Richard chirped, snuggling deeper into his pillows.
Batman? He shot a sharp glare at his son and turned back to Danny. "You should all get some rest, I expect a full tomorrow morning."
"B." Dick groaned, and Danny would have sworn Red huffed if he wasn't so sure the boy was sleeping.
"Yes Sir." Danny's smile morphed into a full on grin as he left the hospital. At least there was someone with a weirder family than he had, and that weird family was together now, that lost ghost kid wasn't alone anymore. They were all… two blocks from the hospital and Danny stumbled.
His hand drifted to the clotting blood at the side of his head. That had hurt, it had hurt a lot, and it hit him for the first time since they'd broken Freakshow's hold on his friend that he himself had almost died. He'd almost died and he'd been ready for it, without ever saying goodbye to his family, or telling them anything. They would have never known what happened to him.
"What is it, are you okay Danny?" Jazz asked, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
He pulled her into a hug, squeezing as tightly as his tired arms could manage. "I love you, Jazz." He said, and pulled away before going ghost. "I have to see Mom and Dad!" He knew his friends were okay, and they knew he was okay, but right then, he just really wanted to see his folks.
He went intangible and made a straight line, right for home. The ghost shield was thankfully down, and he flew right into his sleeping folks' room, dropping onto their bed in human form.
"Ghost!" His Dad shot up first and found with the full weight of his teenage son crashing into his midsection. "Danno, what's going on?
"Danny, Baby what's wrong?" His mother asked when his only response was to burst into tears.
He was mortified, he hadn't done something, like this since he was a little kid, but his Mom's arms joined his Dad's wrapped around his shoulders and he couldn't bring himself to pull away.
"Nothing's wrong." He sniffed, worming his way between them and basking in the feeling of warmth and safety that came with being close to them. "I just really missed you."
His parents exchanged a worried look over his head.
"You know you can tell us anything Sweety?" His Mom ran a hand through his hair, her fingers catching on the dried blood, it was dark, and he told himself the wound would be healed by morning.
"I know." He sniffed loudly. And he did know, they were his family, and they would accept him just as easily as Red's family accepted his powers and ghostly body. One day soon he'd tell them, when he was ready to deal with all the worrying and coddling that would come with it. Until then, he'd was just happy to be squeezed between them safe at home where he could almost believe the past few days had been just another nightmare that they could protect him from.
Jazz got home later that night just as the sun was rising, and walked in on the sight of her little brother snoozing soundly between their parents like Dad didn't snore loud enough to bring down the house and Mom didn't hug like an octopus in her sleep.
Elsewhere, Jason found himself with a similar problem, and he slept just as soundly.