Chapter 12: Family

"Did you get my email?" Tim asked over the phone.

"Hang on, let me check," Jason said, putting the phone between his shoulder and ear and reaching for his new laptop where it sat on the coffee table. He'd been camping out on the couch that night, waiting for Danny to get home from patrol when Tim had called. He opened his laptop and went to his emails. Sure enough, there was a new one from Tim.

"Yeah, I got it," Jason said as he opened it. A file was attached and he started the download. "What am I looking at?" Jason asked as the file opened.

"It's all the data your helmet got of Harley's first attack on you," Tim explained. "I was able to get the footage of the fight off without your help, but the rest of the data was corrupted. Took me a few days to get anything useful out of it."

"I see," Jason said as his brain worked to unravel the partial data he was seeing. "So we were right about the energy signature," he said.

"Yup," Tim agreed. "It's nearly the same as Phantom's energy beams. Whoever made this weapon knew what Phantom is."

"You think it was these GIW guys?" Jason asked.

"Maybe," Tim said, drawing the word out. "I still haven't been able to hack into their servers though. I should ask Danny if he knows what the heck they're using as a firewall. I'm starting to think it's not ordinary code. I did figure out what might GIW stand for though."

"Oh, yeah?" Jason asked, curious.

"Yeah," Tim confirmed. "According to some online forums, they've been nicknamed, the Guys In White, but it actually stands for Ghost Investigation Ward."

"Well that's cheery," Jason deadpanned. Tim snorted.

"I know. I was also able to find some chatter on the forums about what Danny used to get up to before he was captured by the GIW. All the official information has been destroyed mind you. This is just hearsay. But it sounds like he saved his hometown quite a few times," Tim explained, sounding impressed. Jason sighed.

"I believe you, but Danny doesn't like talking about his past," Jason said sadly. "I want to help him, but he only just told me the scars on his arms aren't self-inflicted."

"Ouch," Tim cringed, understanding what Jason was saying.

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "And his limp is from them. He has nightmares sometimes too," he admitted.

"We all have nightmares Jay," Tim said. "It kinda comes with the job."

"I know, I just wish I could help him more," Jason said, frustrated.

"I'm sure you help a lot," Tim comforted. "Sometimes just having someone nearby is a huge help."

"Yeah. Speaking of, how are you and Steph doing?" Jason changed the subject. Tim snorted.

"She still won't take me back, not that I blame her," Tim muttered.

"At least y'all aren't trying to kill each other though," Jason said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to send you the data," Tim said, ending that line of questioning. Jason let it drop.

"Alright. Thanks," Jason said.

"Anytime," Tim said and hung up. Jason set the phone down and looked closer at the data. He wondered who would have weapons like the one Harley had used. He picked up the new Red Hood helmet he was building from where it sat on the coffee table and slipped it on his head. It booted up instantly and Jason opened a direct com link to Phantom.

"Hey, Phantom," he greeted.

"Hood," Phantom panted, like he was out of breath.

"Is this a bad time?" Jason asked.

"Nope," Phantom panted. "Just running from a pair of hyenas," he explained casually. "Harley has mean pets."

"Ugh, is she still after us?" Jason groaned.

"Yup," Phantom confirmed. Jason heard the telltale sound of a plasma blast and the yelp from what he assumed was a hyena. "One down, one to go," Phantom said. "What's up?"

"It can wait," Jason offered.

"Naw, it's fine," Phantom said.

"Okay," Jason said, drawing out the word. "Do you have any idea where Harley got that energy gun?"

"There's two places," Phantom started before saying, "hang on." Jason heard the sounds of a fight, the hyena snapping and laughing, before yelping and running off. "Okay. They ran off," Phantom explained. "Where was I? Oh right. There's two people I know of who could have made that gun. The GIW is one of them, and the other… Well, I doubt he made it."

"He?" Jason asked.

"It's not important," Phantom brushed it off, but Jason very much wanted to press. "She definitely got it from the GIW."

"That's not good," Jason decided. "They must know where you are if they gave Harley a weapon."

"I've been thinking about that," Phantom admitted. "But I destroyed their facility and I'm sure they thought I died when the building collapsed. They might think there's another ghost, or halfa in Gotham, but I doubt they know it's me," he said, confidently. Jason wasn't so sure.

"Well, just keep your guard up out there," Jason ordered.

"I will," Phantom agreed, and ended the connection. Jason sighed, pulled off his helmet and set the laptop and helmet down. He picked up a book and tried to read, but he didn't absorb any of it. He was too worried about Danny.

…

"Jay! Can you get the door!" Danny yelled from the top of the stairs when the doorbell rang. Jason sighed, and hauled himself up with his crutch. He went to the door and awkwardly pulled it open. Valerie stood there, dressed warmly against the new winter chill.

"Oh, hey," she greeted. "Jason right? Danny invited me," she explained.

"Uh," Jason stammered, unprepared.

"Hey Val!" Danny greeted as he came down the stairs.

"Danny!" Val greeted back and Jason stepped away from the door to let her in. "How have you been doing? When you told me your apartment blew up I was so worried!"

Jason glared at Danny behind Val's back, he hadn't told Jason he was going to tell Valerie about that. Danny saw Jason's gaze and blushed.

"I'm fine, Val," Danny said gently. "It was Jason who took the brunt of it." Valerie turned and really looked at Jason this time. She noticed the crutch and the cast, and the faint cuts and bruises still lingering on his face. Jason saw the pity in her eyes and his back stiffened.

"Well, I'm just glad you two are okay," she said, sincerely. "Now show me around! This place is nice!" Danny led her toward the kitchen, talking about how he had helped make the place livable and Jason went back to the living room. He felt a tightening in his chest, and he recognized the emotion as jealousy. He told himself he was being ridiculous. He had nothing to be jealous about. Danny had told him about Valerie and how she'd dumped him before they ever got serious, but that didn't stop the tinny voice in his head.

Jason sat down on the couch and picked up a book. He tried to focus on it, but instead his ears strained as he listened to Danny and Valerie's conversation as they went throughout the house. Valerie was telling him about school, and how she was studying to be a criminal profiler. Eventually, they made their way back to the living room. Danny plopped down next to Jason on the couch, and Valerie took the chair.

"So Jason, what do you do?" she asked him. Caught off guard, Jason set his book down slowly. He didn't have a response to this question, but Danny saved him.

"He's out of work right now," Danny explained. "But normally he drives for Uber."

"Wow, you can actually make decent money that way?" Valerie asked, a suspicious note to her voice.

"Uh, yeah," Jason said, trying to sound convincing. "I know the city really well." At least that bit was true.

"You grew up here?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, I did," Jason said simply, not wanting to elaborate.

"I can't imagine growing up in a city this big," she said, tipping her head back. "It's so busy, and there are so many people. Amity Park is nothing like this place." Jason saw a dark shadow pass over Danny's face, and quickly wracked his brain for a change of topic.

"I heard you tell Danny you're studying criminal psych?" he asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed, with a light in her eyes.

"You know, one of my brothers is a cop in Bludhaven," Jason offered.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, genuinely curious. "That's cool. You'll have to introduce us some day."

"Sure," Jason said, not sure he meant it.

...

Valerie stayed for a few hours after that, mostly talking about school and all the cool places she'd found in Gotham. Jason found himself pulled into the conversation more than he really felt up to. Sure, he could talk about all the cool dive bars and clubs of Gotham for hours, and criminal psychology was interesting, but Jason was tired. His social battery was still recovering from all the time at the manor and with his brothers. He worried he came across as rude. When Valerie finally left, Danny confronted him.

"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked as he rejoined Jason on the couch.

"Nothing's wrong," Jason sighed. Danny narrowed his eyes.

"You've been acting all pissy since Val came over," Danny observed. "Something is wrong."

"I'm just tired," Jason said, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"You've been sitting on the couch all day," Danny said, cocking his head to one side.

"Not physically tired," Jason explained. "I'm mentally tired. I don't have a huge social battery."

"Social battery?" Danny asked, confusion in his voice.

"You're an extrovert aren't you?" Jason asked.

"I guess," Danny shrugged.

"Well I'm not," Jason explained. "I'm an introvert. I need to be alone to recharge my socal batteries. I get tired when I'm around a lot of people for a while, and I need to be alone to recharge. You're an extrovert. You need to be around people to recharge and get tired when you're alone," Jason finished.

"Oh," Danny said. "I guess I should have asked if I could have Valerie over. Sorry," he said, looking like a kicked puppy.

"It's okay," Jason let out a breath, putting his hand on Danny's chin tilting it upwards so that he would look at him. "We never really set any house rules."

"Should we?" Danny asked as he took Jason's hand in his.

"Set house rules?" Jason asked, sitting up straighter and looking at his boyfriend more seriously.

"Yeah. We're living together now. I think it's a good idea," Danny smiled at him. Jason smiled back.

"Okay," he agreed.

"Okay," Danny confirmed. "Rule number one, no inviting people over without checking with each other first." Jason's smile fell.

"I can't guarantee my brothers won't just show up," he groaned. Danny laughed.

"I think they can be an exception. After all, it's not like you invited them. They just show up when they want," he said with a cheesy smile.

"Fair enough," Jason laughed.

Together, they set ground rules for the house before ordering take out and enjoying the evening together before Danny had to go out on patrol.

…

"Jason!" Danny yelled excitedly from the bedroom. Jason was in the shower.

"What!?" he called back. Danny burst through the bathroom door and Jason stuck his head out. Danny was holding his phone up for him to see.

"Did you know they still made Heelys?!" Danny exclaimed.

"Made what?" Jason blinked.

"Heelys!" Danny shoved his phone further into Jason's face and he looked at it. On the phone was a picture of a pair of shoes with wheels in the heels. "I'd always wanted a pair," Danny explained, pulling his phone away and looking at the screen. "But my parents never got them for me. They make them in adult sizes!"

"You want a pair don't you?" Jason asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Danny said, giving him those puppy dog eyes. Jason sighed, he could never say no to that face.

"Well, buy them then," he said, pulling his head back into the shower and slipping back under the hot spray.

"Awesome!" Danny yelled. "You're the best Jay!" he said as he left the bathroom without closing the door.

Jason sighed at his boyfriends antics, but there was a smile on his face, because no matter what, Danny was always very adorable.

…

"Woah!" Danny exclaimed as he tried to find the balance point on his heels. They were in the bedroom, which wasn't really the best place to test his Heelys out considering it was carpeted.

"Easy," Jason said as Danny pitched forward into him. Jason caught him and hissed in pain.

"Sorry," Danny stepped away from him.

"It's fine," Jason ground out.

"No it's not," Danny argued. "What'd I hit?"

"Just my ribs," Jason said. "I'm fine." Danny chewed on his lip for a minute before standing on his toes and kissing Jason. Jason was caught off guard and didn't react fast enough before Danny pulled away. They hadn't really been intimate since Jason had been hurt, Danny seemed almost scared to touch him. But now, something throbbed inside of Jason as he realized how long it'd been since they'd really kissed, or done anything really.

Jason used his good arm to pull Danny close and pressed their mouths together. Danny opened his mouth and let Jason slip his tongue inside. Jason moaned and pressed their body's closer together.

"Happy to see me huh?" Danny laughed, noticing the hardness between them. Jason growled deep in his throat.

"I'm going to ravage you," he growled, his voice husky.

"Is that so?" Danny laughed. Jason pushed him, and Danny fell onto the bed, still laughing. Jason climbed in after him and used his good arm to prop himself over him. Danny grinned up at him and wrapped his arms around Jason's neck. He pulled them closer, and Jason lost his balance and fell onto Danny's chest. The impact didn't hurt the meta, but Jason groaned in pain.

"Jay?" Danny asked, worry in his voice as Jason rolled off him and onto his back.

"I'm fine," Jason groaned.

"I'm sorry," Danny said.

"Stop apologizing," Jason hissed, sitting up. He scooted himself to the edge of the bed, and sat there, trying to catch his breath. Danny came up beside him and looked sad for a moment, before a smile crept over his face.

...

Go read REDACTED for smut

...

"This is fun," Danny said as he used a shopping cart to balance as he Heelyed around the store. Jason smiled at his antics.

"Now you just need to figure out how to do it without training wheels," he commented.

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute," Danny brushed him off as he kicked off again, rolling another few feet. They'd gone shopping for new clothes, both of their wardrobes had been torched in the explosion, and they'd only had a few outfits for the past week, courtesy of Alfred's emergency supplies.

"What do you think about this shirt?" Jason asked, holding up one with a wonder woman logo on it. Danny rolled over and snorted.

"That'd piss off your dad," he grinned, like the thought pleased him.

"That's the idea," Jason winked at him, and tossed it into the cart.

"You know," Danny started, using the cart to steady himself as he balanced on his wheels again, "I don't think I've ever had this much fun shopping for clothes."

"You're not having fun shopping," Jason corrected. "You're having fun being a total dork."

"But I'm your total dork," Danny grinned at him. Jason smiled and leaned down to kiss him, Danny met him halfway.

"I think I'm ready to try without the shopping cart now," Danny said, attention back on his Heelys and Jason just had to laugh.

…

The rain was absolutely pouring outside, and Jason was starting to wonder where the hell Danny was. It wasn't safe to be out in this weather, not when Phantom had recently decided to start riding a motorcycle into the city. All the criminals would be inside in this weather anyway. Winter was well on it's way and the rain half froze in the streets, creating a dangerous slush.

"That little bastard," Jason growled as he grabbed his helmet off the coffee table, intent on calling Phantom. Just before he put the helmet on he heard the sound of an engine pulling into the garage.

"Thank fuck," Jason muttered, and marched to the entryway. The door to the garage was right next to the front door, and by the time Jason got to it, Danny was standing in the entryway, soaking wet.

"Hi," he grinned and Jason felt the tension and worry leak out of his body.

"Hi yourself," Jason said, when he noticed a bulge under Danny's jacket. "What the?" he asked, and the bulge moved.

"Oh, yeah," Danny said, looking down at his chest. "I found him under a dumpster, I couldn't leave him," he explained as he unzipped his leather riding jacket. He extracted a small, black mass and held it out for Jason to see.

"Isn't he cute?" he asked. Jason looked at the little fuzzy thing and realized it was a puppy! A small, black, pitbull puppy, looking very thin and wet. It blinked at him.

"It's a dog," Jason said flatly, unsure.

"Yep!" Danny said popping the P, enthused. He set the small creature on the floor and continued to strip out of his sodden clothes.

"He was all alone," Danny explained. "I looked for his mom, but I couldn't find her. He was shivering, and I've always wanted a dog." He left his wet clothes by the door, keeping only his boxers on. Jason looked at him, still unsure. He'd never really had the desire to get a pet, and he would have preferred a cat. But as he watched the tiny puppy tottle around the hall, sniffing at his boots, he knew he couldn't kick the pitiful thing out.

"Do we have anything he can eat?" Danny asked, scooping the little guy up.

"I think we have some raw chicken," Jason said.

"Can you cook it?" Danny asked. "I'm pretty sure plain, boiled chicken is okay for dogs. I'm going to go dry us off and put on some clothes." Danny bounded up the stairs, puppy in toe. Jason rolled his eyes and sighed with a little smile on his face. He pulled out his phone to see what else dogs could eat as he headed for the kitchen.

…

"Can I help you?" Jason asked flatly. Standing in his doorway were Dick and Damian, holding several shopping bags.

"Danny sent me photos of your new dog," Damian replied, equally as flat. "I wanted to ensure he was properly cared for."

"I take great care of Danny," Jason said, a shit eating grin stretching across his face. Damian, frowned at him, confused for a second, before he tisked.

"You understood perfectly well what I meant," he said, irritation lacing his words.

"We brought puppy food," Dick said, holding up a large bag of kibble. "Can we see him?" he asked. Jason sighed and held the door open for them. Damian marched inside and his foot clipped Jason's crutch, throwing him off balance.

"Watch it," Jason growled, but Damian ignored him.

"Danny! Get your butt downstairs! And bring Cujo!" Jason yelled up the stairs. He heard a crash and cursing in esperanto, before Danny appeared at the top of the stairs, Cujo in his arms.

"You named him Cujo?" Damian asked, confused.

"Like the Stephen King book?" Dick asked.

"Yeah," Danny said, as he came down the stairs.

"Why?" Damian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Danny said simply. "Do you want to hold him?"

Damian nodded and gently took the puppy, and cradled him in his arms. Jason had never seen the boy look at anything the way he looked at the tiny pitbull. His eyes were full of love and wonder.

"Aww, he's adorable!" Dick cooed as he looked over Damian's shoulder. Cujo sneezed and Jason thought Dick was going to have a heart attack.

"What have you been feeding him?" Damian asked, the question genuine.

"Boiled chicken," Danny answered and Damian nodded.

"That's good," Damian said. "But I brought properly formulated puppy food. You should start feeding him that. And you need to make a vet appointment to get his shots. I can recommend you to the vet where I take Titius," Damian offered.

"That'd be great!" Danny agreed.

"Damian, can I hold him now?" Dick whined. Damian glared at him, but Dick gave him his signature puppy eyes. It didn't hold a candle to Danny's, but Damian relented and handed the puppy to his brother. Dick cradled Cujo for a moment before sitting down cross legged on the floor and playing with the puppy.

"Let me show you what else we got," Damian said, leading Danny over to the pile of bags they'd brought. He pulled out toys, a bed, treats, and a leash and collar. He explained what Danny needed to do to raise a puppy, how to potty train him, and when to feed him.

Jason sat on the floor with Dick and Cujo. Dick had grabbed a rope toy from a bag and was waggling it at the pup. Cujo enthusiastically leaped on it, taking in his mouth and shaking it as viciously as he could.

"He's a feisty little one," Dick commented.

"Yeah, he's warmed up fast," Jason agreed. He was glad the puppy hadn't lost his spirit being born on the streets and separated from his mother and siblings. He'd slept between Jason and Danny last night. Jason had barely gotten any sleep, afraid he would roll over and crush the poor thing in the night. He couldn't wait till Cujo was bigger and that wouldn't be a worry.

"I'm surprised you let Danny keep him," Dick said, voice low so as not to be overheard.

"I couldn't say no to him," Jason admitted, scratching Cujo's rump. "They came in soaking wet and both turned those puppy eyes on me."

"Tim said you were weak to Danny's puppy eyes," Dick laughed.

"He did?" Jason asked. "That bastard," he muttered. Dick laughed louder and Danny and Damian looked over.

"What do you find amusing?" Damian asked.

"Nothing Dami," Dick said, waving him off. Damian rolled his eyes and went back to talking with Danny. Jason watched the two of them talk and realized they were getting along well, bonding over their shared love of dogs. He looked back at Dick, playing with the puppy on the floor, and realized he hadn't snapped at Dick in months. Somehow, without really realizing it, Danny had brought them all together. He'd somehow managed to help Jason get closer with his brothers. He had a family again, and it felt good.

...

Jason was getting worried. Danny hadn't come home yet, and he wasn't responding to his coms. He'd been fine a few hours ago, Jason had talked to him! He'd been dealing with a convenience store robbery and was fine. He'd gone silent shortly after that and Jason was worried. So he gave up waiting and called Oracle.

"Oracle, do you have Phantom's location?" he asked before the woman had a chance to say anything.

"Uh, let me look," Oracle said, catching the urgency in Jason's tone. "Hmm, I'm not seeing him on any of my cameras. Does he have a tracker on him?"

"He's supposed to, but the damn thing stopped working," Jason explained, his tone getting frantic. Cujo, who had been sleeping on his lap, woke up and whined.

"Calm down, Hood," Oracle ordered. "When was the last time you heard from him?"

"About four hours ago," Jason said, trying to take deep breaths. "He'd just stopped a robbery on Fifth."

"Okay. Let me go back and see where he went after," Oracle said. Jason could hear her typing on her computer. He set Cujo on the floor and started to pace the living room, unable to sit still anymore. The pup followed him around, whining.

"Okay, I have it," Oracle said, and Jason stopped pacing. Cujo scratched at his legs, wanting to be picked up, but Jason ignored him. "He stopped the robbery and then went back on patrol. I'll follow the camera trail and see where he went." Jason heard more typing, before everything suddenly went silent.

"Oh shit," Oracle whispered.

"What?!" Jason demanded.

"Uhh," Oracle said.

"What happened?!" Jason yelled, getting scared.

"I'm sending it to you," Oracle said numbly.

"What is it?!" Jason demanded, even as he threw his laptop open and pulled up his emails.

"You have to look at it," Oracle explained, her voice flat. Jason clicked on the link and pulled up a video feed, probably a clone of the feed coming from Oracle's computer. On it was a video with a timestamp from nearly four hours ago. It showed Batman fighting Phantom, and Batman was winning.

Jason saw green as the lazarus rage welled up in his body, and he let it in. In the video, Batman shot Danny with a green energy blast, and the already weak meta dropped. Phantom lay on the ground, unconscious. Batman picked him up, and slung him over his shoulder.

"What did he do to him?" Jason asked, his voice cold and low.

"It looks like he handed him over to some men in a white van," Oracle whispered.

"Show me," Jason demanded, his voice still dangerous. The image on his laptop changed, and Jason watched in horror as Batman handed the unconscious, and now bound, meta over to several men in white suits. They nodded to the Bat and loaded Phantom into a white van with the letters GIW painted on it in huge black print.

Jason's blood boiled, and he bolted for the door, grabbing his keys on the way. He slammed the garage door, and Cujo barked at it, unhappy at being left in the house alone. Jason didn't have time to worry about the dog, his rage was an inferno. He was going to murder the Bat, and no one was going to be able to stop him.

The next chapter is the one I started writing this fanfic to write, so I hope y'all are hyped!

Oh, and the Heely thing is totally something I just experienced.

"You know," he said slowly. "Maybe I can ravage you."