Sorry, I lied about opening with cute bonding, you have a little bit of action before the cute bonding.
Chapter 5 Bonds Grow and Bonds Weaken
Red Hood and Phantom went on their patrol, despite the awkward atmosphere. There wasn't much action for several hours. They stopped a few muggins, and shoed off a group of teen graffiti artists who were about to paint over a shop's windows, but it was slow. Until the crash.
Jason heard the sound of metal smashing and car horns blaring from the rooftops. He turned and saw the disaster on the overpass near the edge of the narrows. Several cars and a huge semi truck hauling a cylindrical container had slammed into each other. The semi had smashed across the median and crashed into traffic on the other side. Cars were rear ending each other in their attempts to stop.
"Hurry!" Phantom yelled and together they dashed across the roofs to the bridge. Before they'd even gotten there, whatever the semi had been hauling, some kind of liquid which had spilled all over the road and cars, ignited. Flames shot up as they landed next to the crash.
"We've got to get the people out!" Jason yelled. He tried to get at the nearest car, but the flames held him back. His helmet would filter out the smoke and fumes, but the heat would still roast him alive.
"Phantom! Use your ice!" Jason turned back to shout at him. Phantom looked open mouthed at the scale of the fire before swallowing hard and nodding. He held out both his hands, and ice shot out from them, smothering much of the fire. Jason didn't wait. He started pulling half conscious and dazed people out of cars, dragging them as far away from the wreck as possible. As he worked, he noticed Phantom wasn't helping him.
"Phantom! Help…" his order died on his tongue when he caught sight of the meta. He was on his hands and knees, neon green ooze spilling from his mouth as he heaved.
"Phantom?!" Jason called. The meta waved him off, so Jason went back to wrenching car doors open and smashing windows to get at the people inside. Most of the fire was gone, smothered in ice, but a few patches still remained, and with so many wrecked cars, Jason wasn't going to risk any flames reaching a cracked gas tank while people were in range. Finally, he heard the sound of sirens, and a fireman pulled the man he was dragging out of his arms. Jason looked around and saw the emergency response teams swarming the area. That was his cue to leave.
He hurried back to where he'd last seen Phantom. He was sitting up, leaning against the barrier on the edge of the bridge, his head tipped back, panting. Jason eyed the strange pool of green the meta had thrown up, and went to his friend. He crouched down next to him and touched his shoulder. Phantom tipped his head down to look at him. Jason wished he could see his eyes to better gauge how he was doing.
"You good?" Jason asked. Phantom hummed.
"Not really," he answered, his voice even more destroyed than normal.
"Come on," Jason said, pulling the meta's arm over his shoulder and hauling him up. He supported the guy's weight as they repelled off the bridge and made for the nearest ally. He didn't want the officials to notice them and start trying to talk, not when Phantom seemed so out of it. He set the meta down and pressed a hand to the guy's forehead. It was cold, way too cold.
"What?" Jason started.
"Mutation," Phantom said, slurring the word.
"What the heck happened back there?" Jason asked.
"Too much," Phantom said. "Pushed myself." He didn't seem to be able to say more, but Jason understood, he'd overextended his powers.
"Alright, come on," Jason said, getting Phantom back on his feet and practically carrying him. He didn't weigh nearly as much as Jason thought he should. "I've got somewhere you can rest." Slowly, as Jason stuck to the shadows so they wouldn't be seen, they made their way to the nearest of his safehouses. It was in the basement of a little used building. Jason awkwardly supported Phantom and unlocked the padlock. He turned on the light and the cramped space was illuminated. A cot sat under a sheet of plastic and a locker stood on the opposite wall. Random cardboard boxes sat around the space to draw suspicion away if anyone were to find the place.
Jason set Phantom down on the cot after he pulled the plastic away. He hadn't been here in a while, except to check the stock and change the rat traps which he was happy to see were still empty.
Phantom leaned heavily back against the wall. Jason opened the locker and pulled out a water bottle which he gave to the meta. Phantom struggled with the cap for a minute before he managed to get it open. Then he downed the contents in several large gulps. Jason gave him another. This one he sipped on slowly.
"You good?" Jason asked.
"I'll be fine," Phantom said. He sounded a little better, but still hoarser than his usual gravel.
"You can stay here till you're feeling up to heading home," Jason said, leaning against the wall opposite the meta. "If you're still feeling weak tomorrow, I want you to take the night off. I can handle things on my own, and I don't need a liability in the field." Phantom nodded.
"Yeah, I'll need a day or two to recover," he admitted begrudgingly. "I've pushed myself before, I know what to expect."
"It's good to know your limits," Jason agreed. He was kind of surprised that Phantom did know his limits. With the lack of information Oracle had managed to find, he was starting to suspect that she'd been wrong and there just wasn't anything to find. That Phantom was just a new meta. But if he knew his powers well enough to know their limits this well, then he'd had them a while and there should be some record. Since there wasn't, someone had clearly hidden it.
"I'm going back out," Jason said. "Call me or Oracle on the coms if you need anything." Phantom nodded and pulled his legs up onto the cot. He was laying himself down as Jason left.
...
"Evening Red Hood," Oracle said in his ear a while later. "Nice job on the wreck."
"Phantom put out the blaze," Jason said, crediting his partner.
"So I heard. How is he? I haven't picked him up on any cameras since the accident." So she'd been watching. Jason should have known. She might not have been monitoring them directly, but if they showed up in her system, she would notice.
"He's okay," Jason said. "He just over extended his powers. He'll be out of the field for a day or two. How many people made it out of the crash?" he asked.
"No deaths have been reported yet," Oracle said. "And everyone is expected to recover fully, though just about all the victims have been hospitalized. How are you doing?" Jason understood the question, she was asking about the argument with Batman at the start of the night. But Jason didn't want to talk about it.
"I'm fine. Didn't sustain any injuries from the fire," Jason said, willfully misunderstanding her.
"That's good. With Phantom down the Narrows will need you," she said, allowing him to avoid her actual question.
"Any luck with that firewall?" he changed the subject.
"Not yet. I'm going to show it to Red Robin soon. Just want to try one more thing," she said.
"Let me know how it goes," he told her.
"I will," she said and ended the call.
…
"What are you doing here?" Jason asked, glaring at Tim who was sitting on his couch typing away on a laptop perched on his knees.
"Came to say hey," Tim said, not looking up. "And to let you know that I'm heading to New York for a bit. I need some time away from B."
"He piss you off too?" Jason asked, dumping his backpack on the floor and going to his fridge. He pulled out two ciders and set them on the counter. Tim got up and sat down on a stool across from him, setting his laptop on the fake marble surface.
"What're those for?" he asked.
"Are you going to be here a while?" Jason asked as he walked to his window.
"Yeah," Tim admitted. "I'm waiting for Conner to come pick me up. What're you doing?" he asked as Jason opened his window and stuck his head out. Danny was just opening his own window.
"Why don't you come inside today," Jason said. "My brother has come to pester me." Danny gave him a curious look and scrambled up the fire escape stairs. As he got closer, Jason noted that he looked a bit sick, his skin was pale and the bags under his eyes more pronounced. Before he let him inside, Jason asked, "You okay? You look sick." He didn't need him anywhere near Tim if he wasn't well. Tim didn't have a spleen, so even a cold could be deadly.
"I'm fine," Danny said. "Just overworked. I'm taking the night off to recover." Jason nodded and held the curtains back for him as he scrambled inside.
"Hey," Tim said, uncertain from his spot at the counter. Danny gave him a small wave.
"Danny, this is my brother Tim. Tim, this is my friend Danny." Jason said dryly as he closed the window and went back to the kitchen. Danny followed him. Jason saw Tim notice Danny's limp, the bags under his eyes, and the scars down his arms, cataloging and storing the information like the Bat had taught them. You never could turn it off. Danny sat down at the counter next to Tim.
"I've heard a bit about you," Danny admitted. "Jason said you're really good with computers."
"I am, though I have to admit, he hasn't talked about you," Tim said, closing his laptop. Jason wasn't sure if he did it to be polite, or if he was working on something incriminating. Jason handed Danny a cider which he sipped.
"Danny works third shift," Jason explained when Tim gave him a questioning look. It wasn't as much as his brother wanted to know though.
"Are you old enough to drink?" Tim asked.
"My fake ID says I am," Danny said with a smirk. Tim laughed.
"Jason, you know it's illegal to give alcohol to minors," he teased. Jason shrugged.
"He's legal, just not drinking legal," he said casually.
"So how the hell did you two meet?" Tim asked, looking at Danny. "I've never known Jason to be the friend making type." Danny shrugged.
"He helped me break into my apartment when I locked my keys inside," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.
"And I continue to break in because he can't keep track of them," Jason said. He avoided the playful slap Danny aimed at him and sipped on his drink.
"You should just give him a spare key if you keep losing yours," Tim said. Jason inhaled his drink and went into a coughing fit trying to expel the cider from his lungs.
"You good?" Danny asked, lifting himself up on his hands to look over the counter to see Jason bent over. Jason waved him off. Once he'd gotten his coughing under control, he leveled a glare at Tim.
"What?" Tim demanded. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Do you have anything to eat?" Tim asked. Jason groaned.
"Did you come over just to make me feed you? When's your ride getting here?" he asked with a groan.
"Not for an hour or two. Besides, your cooking is amazing," Tim said wistfully.
"It is?" Danny asked, looking at Tim. Tim gaped at him.
"He hasn't cooked for you yet?!" he demanded. "What other reason is there to be friends with Jason besides his cooking?"
"Hey!" Jason said. "Keep talking like that and I won't feed you," he warned with a pointing finger.
"Are you really that good?" Danny asked, turning to him.
"I'm decent," Jason admitted. "But anyone can cook with some practice."
"Not me," Danny said. "I live off pop tarts and instant ramen." Jason stared at him.
"You what?" he demanded. "That's it. I'm making dinner."
"Yes," Tim said softly, pumping his fist. Jason turned a glare on him but started to dig through his fridge.
"What do you want Danny," he asked pointedly ignoring the soft noise of protest from Tim.
"Uh, I don't know. What do you have that you can make?" he asked politely.
"I've got stuff for burgers," Jason said, pulling out some ground beef.
"I haven't had a decent burger in ages," Danny said, getting a far away look in his eyes. It made Jason's heart stutter.
"Burgers it is," he decided, getting to work. While he cooked, Tim and Danny started talking about computers and video games, and other things Jason wasn't really interested in. He interjected a few times, but mostly left them to it, until Tim asked, "Has Bruce contacted you again?"
"You mean since the fight last night? No," he said with a scowl.
"Bruce?" Danny asked.
"Our adoptive dad," Tim explained.
"You had a fight with your dad?" Danny turned to Jason, concerned.
"It's not a big deal," Jason said, without much force. "I was expecting it."
"It still sucks," Danny said.
"Bruce has always been hard on Jason," Tim said.
"Yeah. Cause I came from the gutter," Jason said, slamming their plates down in front of them. "Now change the subject and eat your food." They both quickly did as they were told, not wanting to get Jason any more upset than he already was. Danny's eyes went huge when he took a bite.
"This is amazing!" he exclaimed with his mouth full. Tim took a bite and moaned. Jason thought he should have seasoned the patties more.
"Hey Jason," Tim said. "We need to do another movie night soon. Damian needs a night away from Bruce." Jason hummed.
"You guys have movie nights?" Danny asked, sounding interested.
"Yeah," Tim said. "You are totally invited," he said looking Danny in the eye. Jason thought about complaining that since the movie nights were at his house, he should be the one to decide who was invited. But he saw what the statement was, Tim's approval of Danny and offer to let Jason bring him into what had before been the one thing the three of them got to do together, so he didn't complain. Instead he said."Damian's a little shit, so you don't have to if you don't want to."
"It sounds fun," Danny said.
"Jay makes the best pizza," Tim said.
"If Jason's cooking, then I am so in," Danny said emphatically. Jason watched as the two stopped talking and inhaled their food. He'd always loved cooking, but it was so much better cooking for other people, to be able to see them enjoy your food. With Phantom helping on patrol, he'd actually had time to cook, but he hadn't had the motivation. He decided that he was going to change his and Danny's fire escape after work chats to him making Danny dinner. He just couldn't resist seeing the guy happy like he was right now.
...
The patrol without Phantom was brutal. It'd been a quiet night yesterday, but today it seemed like the Narrows intended to make up the difference. Only a call from Tim broke up the grind.
"RR, what's up?" Jason asked, using their hero names in case some rando was close enough to hear.
"Hey, Oracle just showed me the fire wall she'd gotten stuck on doing research into Phantom for you," Tim said.
"What do you think?" Jason asked.
"I recognize it actually," Tim admitted, surprising Jason.
"From where?" Any clue Tim could give him would help in the search for Phantom's missing past.
"It looks a lot like this virus that hacked into the Bat computer a few years ago," Tim said. "We caught it pretty fast, and it didn't seem to have gotten anything, not that we could tell anyway."
"Could you tell what it'd been after?" he asked.
"It was in the metahuman files," Tim said.
"That's definitely suspicious. But aren't most of those files copies of ones in easier to hack places?" Jason asked, confused why the person who sent the virus would target the Bat computer and not the FBI, or some other organization with less security than Batman.
"Yeah, they are," Tim confirmed. "And the version of the code that is this firewall is a lot more powerful than the one that hacked into the Bat computer."
"Can you crack it then?" Jason asked.
"Maybe," Tim said, uncertain. "It's smart though. I'm not sure how to come at it."
"You'll figure it out," Jason said, mostly to encourage Tim than himself. While he wasn't half bad at hacking, he could break into the GCPD any day of the week, he wasn't talented like Tim. The kid could hack into just about anything, so to hear he was stumped worried Jason.
"Yeah, I'll get it. Just might take some time," he assured Jason.
"All right then good luck." He said, and with that ended the call.
…
Jason had to get back at it, the brief talk with Tim had taken too much time and he heard shouts a few blocks over. He was run ragged and not fully on guard, so he didn't notice he was being watched at first. He paused on a roof, and looked around. Batman landed in front of him, Robin by his side.
"Where's the meta?" Batman asked.
"His name is Phantom," Jason said tiredly. "And hello to you too asshole."
"Where is he?" Batman repeated. Jason groaned.
"Oh my god. He took the night off," he said, frustrated that Bats wouldn't just leave him alone.
"Why?" Batman demanded.
"Cause he over extended his powers yesterday stopping a fire! Damn." Jason said, clenching his fists at his sides.
"His powers are unstable?" Batman asked.
"Did I fucking say his powers were unstable?" Jason looked at him. "Robin, did I say that?"
"No," Robin said, clearly sick of Batman's shit too. "You said he overextended them, which is something most metas can do." Batman turned a look on Robin and the boy flinched. That only pissed Jason off more.
"What do you want Bats?" he asked, annoyed. "I thought we already had this fight yesterday."
"That meta is dangerous Hood," Batman said, turning back to him. "You can't count on them. They rely too heavily on their abilities. They aren't like us."
"Phantom is a worthy partner for Red Hood," Robin cut in. Jason had to admit, he had guts for interrupting a 'Batman Rant™'. "I tested him myself. While he isn't as strong of a fighter as I am, he isn't completely incompetent," he stated confidently.
"You let him fight Robin!?" Batman demanded, taking a step towards Jason. Jason held his ground, and even took a step forward to get in the Bat's face. He was as tall as him now, and nearly as broad.
"So what if I did?" Jason asked, his voice too quiet.
"Would you just leave him alone?" a gravelly voice interrupted. Phantom landed on the roof next to them. Jason was both glad and pissed to see him. He didn't look good, his normally tan skin was still pale, and Jason saw him limp slightly as he crossed the roof to them. Jason saw that both Batman and Robin noticed too. In a bold move, Phantom braced one hand on Jason's chest and the other on Batman's and shoved them apart. There wasn't nearly as much force behind the motion as there should be, but Jason took a step back. Batman didn't. He latched his hand around Phantom's wrist, and Jason saw the panic cross the meta's face.
Batman got a green plasma blast straight to the chest that sent him and Phantom stumbling apart.
"Phantom!" Jason called at the same time Robin yelled, "Batman!" Jason rushed to Phantom as he stumbled back and sat down hard, panting heavily.
"You okay?" he asked, gripping the meta's shoulders and looking into his face. He wished once more he could see his friends eyes to better tell how he was doing. Jason didn't have his guard up properly, and thus didn't notice Batman behind him until there was a hand on his shoulder and he was violently yanked away from Phantom.
Jason landed hard on his shoulder and Robin knelt in front of him. The kid was saying something but Jason wasn't listening, green was swirling in his vision now. He got to his feat and heard Batman say, "I recognize you," before he slammed into the man and together they fell off the roof.
It wasn't a tall building, but they scuffled as they fell and Batman got Jason below him so Jason hit the ground first. The world spun as the force of the impact knocked the wind out of him. Batman got off of him and Jason rolled onto his side, desperately trying to force his lungs to remember how to draw in air.
Phantom was trying to get at him, but Batman was blocking his way. Jason tried to say something, anything, but there was no air to say anything with. Robin was at his side, helping him to sit up, and Jason heard the sound of a motorcycle. Nightwing leapt off it and immediately shoved Batman away from Phantom.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Batman?!" he berated. Phantom ran to Jason and knelt down next to him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine," Jason managed, he was starting to breathe normally again, his diaphragm finally getting over it's shock. "Just had the wind knocked out of me," he breathed.
"I tried to stop him," Robin muttered. Nightwing was still several feet away yelling at Batman, but Jason wasn't listening. "It's not your fault Robin."
"Let's get out of here," Phantom said, pulling Jason to his feet.
"Are you okay Red Hood?" Oracle asked in his ear. "Sorry for bringing Nightwing into this, but I saw where Batman was headed and figured there'd be trouble."
"It's alright Oracle," Jason said, as he and Phantom headed away from the scene, slipping into the shadows.
...
Nightwing caught up to them a while later, as they sat recovering on a roof nearly a mile away.
"Are you two okay?" he asked cautiously, not coming to close. Jason and he had never really made up, and Jason hadn't thought there was anything that was going to make him want to. But seeing him stand up to Batman not just for him, but for Phantom who Nightwing didn't know, almost made Jason reconsider.
"Yeah, we're fine," Jason said. He hoped he wasn't lying. He was fine, but Phantom was still weak. He shouldn't be out right now, and definitely shouldn't be using his powers. He wasn't sure why Batman grabbing his wrist had spooked him like that, but in combination with the other freakout's he'd seen the meta have, Jason was sure he'd been seriously abused.
"I'm sorry I butted in," Nightwing said, sitting down several feet away from them. "I know you don't want me here, but I wanted to check on you."
"It's cool," Jason said casually. Phantom didn't say anything. He was leaning against Jason with his head resting on Jason's shoulder. If he hadn't felt the meta twitch when Nightwing had shown up, he would have thought he was asleep. Nightwing tilted his head as he looked at them, and Jason knew what he was thinking.
"Look, thanks for the help and all, but you can go back to Bludhaven now," Jason said bluntly. "We're good."
"Okay," Nightwing said, and Jason wanted to groan at the smile that crossed the man's face. Nightwing stood. "I'm glad you're doing well Hood. I'm sorry about Bats." And with that, he jumped off the roof with an unnecessary flip. Phantom chuckled, so he was watching.
"If you're done using me as a pillow, you should go home," Jason scolded. "What the hell were you doing out anyway?"
"Oracle warned me Batman was headed toward you," Phantom admitted, still leaning on Jason.
"Did she now?" Jason asked, he was going to have to have a talk with her.
"You can't see the stars here," Phantom said, looking up towards the sky.
"That's what happens when you live in a city," Jason said simply.
"You could see them a little where I grew up," Phantom said with a wistful note in his voice. "I used to want to be an astronaut," he admitted. Jason hummed. Phantom had never talked about himself before, and Jason didn't want to interrupt him. He didn't know what was happening, with Phantom leaning on him as they looked at the empty sky, but something stirred in his stomach. It was the same feeling he got when he looked at Danny, and suddenly he felt guilty. He still wanted Danny, and now he felt like he was starting to want Phantom too. But he knew, it was unlikely he'd get either. Phantom was only leaning on him because he was still weak, and he was probably talking about the sky to distract Jason from the fight that had just happened. He was just being a good friend. It was unlikely he swung the same way Jason did. And Danny was just a friend too. He was friends with Jason because they both understood what it was like to carry darkness around and have no one else.
But still, Jason let Phantom lean on him and talk about the stars as they both pretended they could see them past the lights of the city.
...
Jason went home early, leaving the other Bats to take care of the city. He was too tired from the busyness of the night and too mentally worn out from the fight with Bats. He needed a smoke and a beer. The moment he was in his apartment, he was texting Danny without hardly thinking.
Jason: Hey, are you home?
Danny: Yeah what up?
Jason: Meet me on the fire escape.
Danny: Sure
Jason washed the dye out of his bangs and threw on a hoodie. Then he grabbed two ciders and his cigarettes and climbed out to find Danny already sitting outside his window on a blanket. He looked wrecked, even more so than he had the night before.
"I thought you took the night off?" Jason asked, settling down on the blanket next to him, thankful for the barrier between his butt and the cold metal.
"I did," Danny said slowly, "but I couldn't sit still, so I went out for a bit. I guess it was a bad idea." He shrugged. Jason handed him a bottle and lit his cigarette, inhaling the smoke with a deep sigh. Danny didn't comment on his smoking, he never had. It was something Jason liked about him.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked, picking up on Jason's tension.
"No," Jason admitted. "I had another run in with Bruce. He showed up at my job to yell at me."
"That sucks," Danny said, tipping his head back to look at the sky.
"Yeah," Jason breathed out smoke. "It was a lot easier when he was out of town." Danny hummed in thought. Jason watched him as his eyes scanned the empty night sky. He was wearing an oversized hoodie against the cold, the stretched out neck showing off a bit of his collar bone. Jason could just see the edge of a thick, gnarly scar before Danny shifted and his clothes covered it again.
"You can't see the stars here," Danny said, breaking the silence. Jason's back stiffened. It was the exact thing Phantom had said a few hours earlier, and he held his breath as Danny continued, "You could see them a little where I grew up." It couldn't be, Jason knew they couldn't be the same person. Danny's hair was black, where Phantom's was white. Phantom had scars on his neck, and he was missing a tooth. Jason knew he could probably cover all that with makeup, but that didn't explain why Danny kept getting locked out of his apartment. Phantom could walk through walls. It could be a coincidence. Talking about missing the stars wasn't so uncommon. The silence had started to stretch; Jason had to say something.
"I've never really lived somewhere you could see the stars," he admitted.
"We should go out to a mountain or something and see them," Danny said, casually, like this wasn't a big deal. Jason's heart stuttered, and his suspicion was momentarily replaced with hope. Hope that maybe Danny did swing his way, that maybe this thing in his chest would get to be expressed one day.
"We could go camping," Jason ventured. He watched as Danny's expression became far away, remembering something.
"Yeah," Danny said, the barest hint of a crack in his voice. "We should."
Jason sat in companionable company with Danny a while longer, but he couldn't escape the lingering idea in the back of his mind that Danny and Phantom might be one in the same.
This chapter gave me a bit of grief, but I think it came out all right in the end. Let me know what you think? Do you think Danny is starting to share Jason's suspicions? Please review! Hearing from you all makes my day.