"What do you MEAN 'it was kind of an accident'!?"

"I swear I meant to tell you—"

"And you just FORGOT?"

Jazz was seeing red. How could Danny do this to her?

She knew it was a possibility that her brother became King. There were talks about it, debates about claim to the throne after Pariah was defeated, especially when the Ancients came back and made themselves known once more.

Clockwork sat them down and talked about destiny, about the different futures, about Danny's role in the timeline. He was never clear about what he wanted with that speech, but he had been looking at Danny with a certain hunger in his eyes that Jazz never liked.

True, it was better to have an Ancient on their side, and a powerful one like Clockwork; but it didn't mean she liked how he was feeding ideas of grandeur to her little brother.

That Danny went through behind her back hurt. A lot. That he hid it from her, on purpose or not, was disheartening. She didn't want to miss out on Danny's life, and since she came to Gotham she felt like since she was out of sight, she was out of mind to her brother.

"I didn't forget!" Danny was making wide gestures. "I was going to tell you as soon as I—"

"And I had to find out I was a freaking Princess like this?" She was well aware she had a ectogun on her hand, so she disabled it and put it back on her right thigh holster. "This affects me too, you know!"

"I know!"

"Hey guys?"

Both turned to look at Red Hood, who had been quietly watching their fight unravel. He pointed at something behind them.

"Your ghost is about to fly away."

Jazz didn't have time to make a sound or do anything — the green dome Danny had made around the Elvis ghost shattered into million pieces.

"Nice seeing ya!" The ghost called over his shoulder as he made a peace sign and flew as fast as he could as far as he could.

Danny growled, launching himself to the air behind the retreating figure of the ghost, knowing that it was more important to catch Elvis before they lost him again.

Jazz hadn't realized she was breathing heavily until she was left alone with Hood. Gotham was unusually quiet — people were too used to late night crime fighting, and citizens ignored them at best and hid from them at worst.

"So… uh…"

"Why didn't you do anything?"

"What?"

She knew she was too mad to make sense, but they lost Elvis. They had him! And lost him!

"Why didn't you stop him!"

She launched herself at him, fueled by frustration and anger. The logical part of her, the one that understood that it wasn't Hood's fault, was screaming at her that rushing a known ex-crime lord and one of the Bats was a bad idea. But she was angry at her brother, angry at being pushed into an unwanted marriage, pushed into being a princess for a dimension that was hostile to her.

Maybe he understood how she felt, because Red Hood quietly met her strikes and only blocked and redirected them, not really trying to retaliate. He moved with her body so easily she felt like she was dancing with him, spinning to deliver a kick he blocked and moved down to properly catch her hand for the next punch.

Jazz moved faster, her muscles straining with the ectoplasm powering her inhuman speed and stamina. She was tired, she was sore and it's been so long since she had an actual fight she was realizing she missed this. Petty muggers and wannabe gangsters didn't measure up with her, and while she tried to feel content with the normal life she was making for herself in Gotham, she was never going to be really normal.

Princess.

When was the last time she punched someone with all her might?

Hood caught her fist in one of his gloved hands with only a soft grunt to show the effort. She punched him with her other fist, which he caught with his other hand.

Neither moved after that.

Princess of the Infinite Realms.

"Are you done?"

Jazz controlled her breathing, looking at him between the wild locks of hair that escaped her ponytail. He was also slightly out of breath, but more put together than her.

"Actually, I think I am."

He let her go, watching carefully as she straightened her back and combed back her hair, freeing it from the ponytail to let it fall free. She missed her usual teal headband, but she had left it at her apartment.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. You didn't let the ghost free."

"I think you guys did all the work by starting an argument back there."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Smartass."

He hummed, the mechanical distortion of the mask giving it a weird edge.

"What now, Princess?"

Jazz huffed at the name, but she felt spent after burning her anger fighting him.

"Now we wait and see if Danny catches him."

He hummed again, tilting his head as if thinking how to word something. After a few moments, he finally said: "B wanted me to take you back to the Cave."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do I have to?"

Somehow she knew he was smiling under the mask. "Why? Want to run away?"

"And go where? I can't leave this city and also I have a test next week." She shrugged. "Sure why not? Danny can find me when he is back."

She started walking towards where she left the bike parked, not waiting to see if Hood would follow her. His quiet boots quickly fell into step behind her.

"How are you going to get to the Batcave?"

"You are going to take me there."

With a few long strides he was now besides her. "I could just ditch you here."

"Then I won't go to the Cave." She side eyed him, amused with the banter. "Easy."

"Then Batman will kidnap you and drag you there against your will."

This made her stop and turn to look at him. "You sound like you speak from experience."

It was difficult to know with the mask in the way, but she felt his eyes run over her face, considering. He was acting weird, she noticed — or at least it felt it since she didn't know him that much.

Without answering, he grabbed her gently by the arm and pulled her towards a dark alley. Amused, Jazz didn't put up a fight just to see where this was going.

"Okay," he started once they were very clearly out of sight of the main road and not in the line of vision of any of the nearby windows, "I assume I can trust you."

After basically revealing all her secrets to him and finding out in front of him that she was now the freaking Princess of the Underworld, Jazz considered she deserved some trust. Also Danny cured his corrupted ectoplasm poisoning, so he owed that to them. But she wasn't going to pull up all the receipts or start an argument with the man she was married to against both of their wills.

"Yeah?" She chose to say as he reached for something behind his head.

"The others will probably try to kill me for this but I don't give a shit. You are in this now, whether we want it or not."

There was a soft hissing sound and the mouthpiece detached from his face. He removed it with one hand as the other unstuck the domino mask from his eyes, revealing his bare face.

Jazz didn't gasp, but it was a close thing. She didn't expect to find such clear blue eyes in the face of the ruthless vigilante, or the deep scar that ran from his lip and upwards into his hair, across his cheek.

Now that she could see his eyes, and from this close, she could easily detect the liminality in him. How the green was so close to the surface, how he was clearly not that human anymore. She could also see his emotions written all over the nuances in the blue.

He smiled. Hood had dimples. Who would have thought?

"Name's Jason," he said as he extended a hand. He also had a nice voice, now that he didn't have the modulator. Deep and masculine. Jazz blinked and shook his hand a bit late. "Jason Todd. Nice to properly meet you."

"Likewise." She said absentmindedly. "Not that I'm complaining but isn't it a bit… important? The whole secret identity thing."

He shrugged. "I never cared that much about it. And as I said, until we figure this out, we are stuck together. And it isn't like you won't know my name from the marriage papers."

True. It felt like a smart idea to be honest at this point.

"Okay." She nodded. "We are still going to the Cave, right?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately."

They were interrupted by his comms device coming to life with passion. Jazz could hear a lot of voices trying to speak at the same time over each other, and going by the pained faces Jason was doing, they were loud even for him.

"Calm down, everybody." Jason was trying to make it stop without success.

More voices for a moment, until someone spoke and they all stopped at once. It was deep and monotone, and it was Batman's.

Now that it was quiet, Jazz could hear his words clearly.

"Report to the Cave immediately. Both of you."

Did he know she could hear him?

In any case, Jason rolled his eyes and put the mask back on. "En route." He tapped his ear and grumbled. "I already said we'll go. Stupid Bruce."

Bruce…

Why was the name familiar? Bruce… Bruce something. He was on the TV? No, it was something else. Not an actor, she would probably remember. Maybe something else?

It wasn't until they walked back to the main road that she saw it — the tallest and biggest building in the city, the one she had joked when she moved in that was overcompensating for something.

The Wayne Enterprises building.

Bruce Wayne.

Jason Todd.

Jazz blinked, remembering reading something about Wayne's dead son being declared alive not that long ago. That it was all a misunderstanding. That he had lost his memories and wandered alone for some years, but he was better now. That his death had been greatly exaggerated.

Knowing what she knew now, she would bet that there were no exaggerations whatsoever. That they managed to convince everyone that he wasn't actually dead was commendable.

"Want me to grapple us back to your bike?"

"Huh?"

Even with the mask and face cover, she knew he was smiling at her. "Me. Grapple. Swing us to your bike."

She looked around and came to the same conclusion: walking would take too long. Jazz shrugged and walked closer to him, already looping her arms around him as he readied the grapple gun.

Back at the fight she had been too focused on defeating Elvis; but now in the quiet night, with just the two of them, she could stop and take note of the feeling of flying with the vigilante. It was different from flying with Danny — gravity was not ignored, for starters. But she liked it.

Jazz never felt comfortable being this close to people that weren't her family. She was a hugger and she enjoyed cuddling with her inner circle; but having a stranger in her personal bubble was always a big no-no.

Jason felt different, and she didn't know how much of it was the spell and how much was coming from herself. This is why she hated soul magic — you could very easily lose yourself in the paranoia and double thinking every emotion. She was resistant to that magic, sure, but she wasn't immune.

She genuinely liked Jason and she would be very pissed off if all of it was because of magic.

They soon arrived at her abandoned motorbike, which was exactly where she left it. Such a feat in Gotham. In any case, she knew that in the event that her bike was stolen, it wouldn't work if you weren't at least somewhat liminal. Danny made it like that for her.

Jason once again proved what he was when the engine roared to life for him without issue.

"Nice ride." He commented.

"Thank you! My brother modified this one just for me."

He hummed, quickly noticing the extra dials, the extra buttons, and the little ghost sticker. "How fast can it go?"

If he planned on having a conversation about the specs and the mechanical stuff with her, he was in for disappointment. Jazz only knew enough to take care of her vehicle and whatever Danny info dumped her.

"As fast as I need. With the right juice."

Another perk of Danny's modifications: she could enhance performance by sharing a bit of her power. It put a strain on the engine, so it was not something she did every day.

Jason looked very interested. Jazz made a mental note to tell Danny.

The ride to the Batcave was quiet and comfortable, again that weird calm settling in her chest just by being close to Jason. If she were alone she knew she would be out of her mind with worry, and very angry at the situation. Right then, she only found inner peace as they swerved through Gotham's streets at night. She could even admit to herself that it was a pretty city — but again maybe the trick was to see it at night and not during a smoggy day.

"Here we are." Jason screamed over his shoulder as they ascended a hill, her bike prepared to go through all terrains making the trip just fine.

There was a beep and loud whirring, and the distant waterfall parted to reveal the entrance of the Cave. Huh. Classy.

Jason maneuvered the bike towards what looked like the central area of the whole thing, past the other vehicles and a giant dinosaur. Was that a giant penny as well?

He also helped her dismount the bike. Huh. Chivalry was not dead, after all.

Maybe it was just forcibly brought back to life.

She snorted, shaking her head when he glanced at her, asking what was so funny.

The Batcave was impressive… for a rich white man's secret basement, that is. It showed that he had been doing this for decades, with many additions and upgrades; and right in the center there it was, the Batcomputer.

Tucker had talked about it the moment she told them she was moving to Gotham, confessing he had been entertaining the thought of hacking it, but he didn't want to look for trouble if it would trace back to her.

"Took you long enough, Todd."

"Hit some traffic."

Jazz giggled at the blatant lie, and at the way the kid that was glaring at them narrowed his eyes. Such an expression on a young face was hilarious.

"Hood, report."

Of course.

Batman waited for them at the Batcomputer, carefully logging everything she had told them about the incident. She caught comments conjecturing about what was unsaid in their conversation, and questions he would ask someone called "Constantine" about the Infinite Realms. Sure. She didn't judge him for wanting a second opinion, but if what he really wanted was up to date information he needed her and her brother. During Pariah Dark's reign, the Realms had shut down any and all communication with the living world and who knows what someone unrelated to the newest changes in management would know about the topic.

Jazz quietly followed Jason as he gave a quick rundown of the fight and his observations about the ghost — "Really, Elvis?" "Yeah, Dickhead, the one and only." — and observed their reactions to the madness that was her life. When he got to the last part, where the ghost escaped because of Danny and her arguing, her face got hot with embarrassment.

"In my defense, he should have told me before the fight. About the whole 'King' business." She crossed her arms, trying to hold on to the last of her dignity. What a rookie mistake, letting your target go because of infighting.

Batman was probably thinking something along those lines, because he patted her on the shoulder. "You did good."

She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was being condescending; but by the way that Jason and the one he called 'Dickhead' looked at each other in surprise, it was genuine.

"So now we wait?"

She nodded at the other man. Jason's brother? She tried to remember Bruce Wayne's assortment of orphans and match his face with one of them. And remember the name.

"Danny will call me if he has news. He better do, anyway." Because if he doesn't there is a world of pain ahead of him, but she left that part unsaid.

Batman found it funny. "Rest for now. I think Alfred made cookies."

He turned back towards the computer without making further comment, considering the conversation done. Jazz thought it was a bit rude, but bit her tongue. There was no point in starting a fight and she was tired and hungry.

"C'mon." Jason took her hand to guide her towards the elevator, the other young man and the kid hot on their heels.

"You need to change, Todd. It doesn't count if you only take off the mask." The kid said. Jazz watched him and his eternal frown and finally could put a name to the face. Damian Wayne, the youngest.

"I will do it once she has some food."

"I can give her the tour, Jay." The one she was sure was an older brother said, smiling in her direction. "Unless you guys want alone time?"

Jazz cringed at the comment and the implication of the man's raised eyebrows and smirk. Now she remembered who this guy was — Dick Grayson, Bruce's first kid.

Huh, the name was fitting.

"Cut it out, Dickward." Jason slapped his brother's shoulder. "Not everyone is down to fuck anything that breathes, like you do."

She was grateful that the attention of the conversation was moved towards the brothers' bickering — Dick defending himself, Damian demanding that the topic be immediately dropped and Jason poking his older brother about previous relationships. Jazz looked at her new husband's face as he deflected comments about his apparent "non-existent" love life, shrugging and scoffing that he didn't see the point anyway.

Could it be?

It had been a long while since Jazz found a name to what she felt regarding relationships, romantic or sexual. She always thought she would eventually bloom and fall in love, or maybe set aside her ambitions once she found someone worth it, or maybe she only needed to be patient and that the right person would come and sweep her off her feet.

She loved romance novels, and loved reading about her favorite characters falling in love and all that stuff — but she never "bloomed" so to speak. She remembered being sixteen and being on that date with Johnny and him going to kiss her and not feeling anything like it was in her books.

Now, as an adult, she was past losing sleep over that fact. She was not interested, and that was it. She loved, and a lot, and she loved unconditionally, but not like people described romantic love to be.

Jason's shoulders were slightly tense even if he joked that he was too busy with his "redemption arc" to look for love, and everyone laughed — but she knew. She understood the feeling.

Somehow she was not that mad at the whole arranged marriage thing now. From all the idiots she could be tied to, this one was at least somewhere in the aroace spectrum, and could understand her.

Once on the surface properly, Jazz quickly followed the brothers as they walked further into a house — a mansion? Everything was too big and too fancy to be a simple house — taking note of the route in case she needed to map out the place. It was instinct at this point, finding exit points and escaping routes, just in case. Sometimes she wished that it wasn't.

She was guided to a living room where some people were already sitting on a sofa and enjoying cookies placed on the coffee table. It was another of the Wayne kids — Timothy? She wasn't sure — sitting with a blonde boy and a black haired boy wearing a leather jacket with the Superman's symbol in the back.

"Oh, hi." The blond one said with a gentle smile.

Timothy froze with a cookie halfway into his mouth, blue eyes fixed on the still joined hands. He then looked up at Jazz, and she held his gaze, arching an eyebrow.

"What's up?" The guy with the punk attire vaguely waved a hand, also noticing the hands, but choosing to smile at it and not make a comment.

Jason sat down, waiting for Jazz to sit beside him. Dick sat on a loveseat, enjoying watching the show that was about to begin.

"Um…" Timothy chewed his cookie and gulped, eyes going down Jazz's body. She looked down too, remembering that she still had her weapons on her. "Who's this?"

An older man wearing a tux walked in holding a silver tray with a teapot and empty cups. His face was completely blank, the only tell of his thought being the slightly arched eyebrow.

"I remember that we agreed on no suits in the Manor, Master Jason." He gently chastised, placing the tray on the table to unload everything he was carrying. "Also, no weapons."

Took a moment to realize he was talking to her. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Sorry."

"You didn't know, dear." He said. "I'm Alfred. Alfred Pennyworth."

"Nice to meet you, Alfred."

He nodded at her with a small smile. "Likewise, Miss Fenton."

His eyes flashed towards her hand still in Jason's, and this time she quickly let go. She didn't know who this man was, but it didn't take much to understand he was no mere butler.

No need to be told twice, she got into the task of unbuckling and unfastening everything she had on her person. First, she looped the strap of Moral Support over her head and placed the compacted rifle on the table, a good distance away from the tea and pastries. Then, she took off the jacket, revealing the leather vest and everything she had in it.

She vaguely heard the punk boy whistle in appreciation.

"Who is this?" Timothy asked. Rude. She was standing right there!

Jason chuckled, taking her jacket from her and gingerly placing it on the armrest of the sofa.

"This is Jasmine Fenton." He said.

Jazz placed the ecto guns next to Moral Support and her hands quickly went back to unzip and unfasten the vest from her. She could take out the blades later, once she was back home.

She made a move to sit down, but was stopped by Alfred clearing his throat. Did she miss anything?

Oh right.

She leaned down and took the hidden dagger in her boot, showing it to the butler, who nodded, smiled and walked out of the room.

Finally, Jazz sat down next to Jason. She crossed her arms, watching the trio watch her, ignoring Dick's delighted face as he stuffed his face with cookies.

"And?" Timothy asked to elaborate. Blondie was watching the pile of weapons with wide eyes. Punk boy was biting his lip, enjoying the show.

Jason lifted one arm and let it rest on Jazz's shoulders. By the way Timothy's face soured at the gesture, she understood this was a bit and played along just to see what would happen. She leaned onto Jason a little, uncrossing her arms to put one hand on his chest, eyes fixed on the other guy's.

"She's my wife, of course."