Monday, April 23, 2018. Jason's Apartment, Gotham City (JASON TODD)
"Okay, what the fuck?!" Valerie exclaimed.
Valerie's voice seemed deafening in the cavernous silence of his apartment. Jason was struggling to hold in his laughter at her reaction to Bruce. In the next moment, his knees wobbled as he was hit with a wave of fatigue. Even keeping a hold of the lightly-packed duffle bag, was a herculean task. Jason tried to hold his posture, not wanting Bruce to pick up on the fact that he was in anything less than his top fighting condition. The last thing that Jason needed right now was for Bruce to insist on dragging him to the manor. Bruce never misses a fucking thing, he definitely saw that…the only thing that's keeping him from dragging me to the manor is Val, he thought. Valerie squeezed his hand in support.
"Bats, as nice as it is to see that you've broken into my apartment, I'm afraid that we're on our way out." Jason held back from needling him further. He remembered that Phantom was going to be at the warehouse in twenty minutes, and it had already taken them eight to pack a bag.
Valerie didn't know that Batman was (technically) his adoptive father, and the tangled mess of his relationship with the others. Val can't know that Batman is my adoptive dad. Bruce would stalk her forever if he thought that a civilian knew his identity. He thought. Bruce needs to think that she's a clueless civilian that doesn't know about the nightlife.
"Let's go. Batman can look for the Condiment King in my spice cabinet without us being here." Jason started towards the door, still holding onto Valerie's hand.
"Jason, you're coming with me. The Justice League needs to speak to you about last week's…incident." Bruce said in a flat tone, unamused.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't need to talk to the Justice League about being kidnapped for fucks sake." Jason snapped.
Valerie piped up. "Yeah, why would the Justice League need to talk to Jason about this, isn't this the police's job?"
Bruce ignored her. "Jason, you know why we need to speak to you."
Valerie spoke up again, glaring at Batman. "That's nice and all that the Justice League wants to speak to Jason, but we've got plans. They can make an appointment later."
"She's right. I'm not going with you. I've said everything I've needed to the Justice League, so you can get the fuck out of my apartment." Jason said. He shivered as another frisson of pain slid down his spine. Valerie squeezed his hand again, sidling closer to him.
"C'mon, Jay, let's go." Valerie said as she started to usher him towards the door. In a flash, Bruce had lunged forward, his large gloved hand clamping down on Jason's shoulder.
"No, Jason." Jason rolled his shoulder sharply in a fruitless attempt to dislodge him.
"Get off'a me," Jason hissed through gritted teeth. Bruce held on to Jason's shoulder, unyielding.
"Jason." Even through the cowl, Bruce's stare was imploring.
In a flash Valerie whirled around, dropping his hand in the process. Jason couldn't figure out exactly how she pulled it off, but in a flurry of motion, she'd pulled out a taser and pointed it towards Batman. With a whir, the taser discharged, darts striking the chest piece of Batman's armor. Much to Jason's surprise, rather than harmlessly bouncing off of his suit, the darts seemed to transmit a glowing green energy. Batman grunted at the shock. While Valerie's taser didn't appear to be very powerful, it still shocked Bruce into stumbling backwards, releasing Jason as he went. Valerie grabbed his hand again and dragged him through the door, slamming it shut behind them.
The hallway was dark and gloomy, its white walls grimy and spattered with graffiti and dirt, the dingy gray carpet thick with grime. The air was musty and stale, the scent of mold and cigarette ash mixing to create a nauseating miasma of smoke and moisture.
Jason sucked air in through his teeth, clutching Valerie's hand. "Sweetheart, did you just tase the fucking Batman?!"
"Sweetheart, Jason?" Valerie asked, shooting a glare in his direction. Jason rolled his eyes and began to tug her towards the stairwell.
"He's not going to be set back by a taser for long babe, let's go." Jason whispered, carefully closing the door behind them.
"Dodging the question, but okay." Valerie hummed as they jogged down the staircase, steps echoing loudly in the confined space.
"I'm not dodging the question, a taser isn't gonna keep him down for long. I don't even know how your taser did anything to him, his suit is supposed to be bulletproof. And he usually doesn't work alone, Robin or one of the other bats could be lurking around here."
After the third flight of stairs, Jason started to feel a slight pain in his side. Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me, I can't even make it down a few flights of stairs in peace? he held onto his arm for the last few steps.
Carefully, Jason slid the exit door open, peeking out into the garage to see if there was anyone in sight. Finding it empty, he started to lead Valerie in the direction of one of his shittiest cars. The sedan was a relic of the nineties, painted an ugly brownish gold, its boxy frame marred with dents and scratches. Two of the hubcaps were missing and half of the bumper was trashed. The nicest thing on the car were the windows, all of which were tinted darker than what could possibly be legal. Calmly, Jason jimmied the driver's side door open, and then unlocked the rest of the doors. Sliding into the seat, he turned back, seeing Valerie standing in front of the car in shock.
"Val, are you okay?" he asked.
"Jason, did you just break into this car?" Valerie's eyes were wide with shock.
Jason burst into laughter at the look on her face. "Val, out of everything that I've done, breaking into a hooptie is what shocks you? Also, this is mine, and you literally just tased Batman five minutes ago."
Valerie rolled her eyes at him, and slid into the passenger seat. She reached over the center console and palmed his forehead with a cool hand. "Are you okay with driving, though? You're still burning up, and you've been having pain come and go for the past few hours."
Jason's face softened. "Yeah, I'll be fine Val, this warehouse is only ten minutes from here…and I can outdrive the Bats, they only have their grappling guns."
Valerie's brows furrowed. "Jason, they don't know that I know about your night job, right? And isn't the Batmobile a real thing?"
He smirked at her. "They don't know about this car, we could be any other couple driving in Gotham tonight. The tint is too dark to see through. Also, you didn't explain how that taser even worked, I know they're gonna be driving themselves crazy over that." Jason started the car and drove them towards the exit.
Valerie blew out some air in frustration. "Jay, it technically wasn't a real taser, I didn't think it would actually work. It's only supposed to work on ghosts or humans who've been around a lot of ectoplasm."
Now that they were out of the garage, Jason hit the gas, speeding off into the dark streets of Crime Alley. "He's been…exposed. I wouldn't've thought that it was enough for ghost weapons to work." Biting his lip, Jason changed the subject. "We might be a little late meeting up with Phantom, Val."
His girlfriend waved her hand in dismissal. "I just texted him that we got held up by Batman, of all people. He said that he understands, and to make it over to the warehouse safe without getting arrested."
"Ha! I think getting arrested would be the least of our problems if the Bat caught us." Jason said. He accelerated, weaving around other cars. A little recklessly, he whipped the car onto a narrow side street, just missing a parked car . The Gotham night was unusually still, the rooftops seemingly devoid of any vigilantes. The quiet residential street seemed to pass by in a blur. Jason made another series of dizzying turns, blowing past a stop sign and cutting off the driver of a Jeep. A chorus of honks was all that was left in their wake.
Gradually, the blocks of dilapidated row houses started to give way to squat, utilitarian warehouses. Most were surrounded by cracked asphalt parking lots and deteriorating chain-link fences. A few street lamps hugged the curb, casting dim yellow light onto the surroundings. Groups of men clustered on the sidewalks, cigarettes lit, faces shadowed by the darkness. There were fewer trees, and the wider streets had Jason gripping the steering wheel more tightly as he began to press gently on the brakes. No one here would bother the Red Hood, but a speeding car was more obvious in this industrial district.
After a few more minutes, Jason turned the car left into a well-hidden alley. The avenue was narrow, the mirrors of the sedan narrowly avoiding the brick wall. The alley was nearly pitch black, the half moon dim in the night sky. Slowly, the sedan crept down the alley, gravel crunching beneath its tires. Halfway down, a nearly imperceptible garage door came into view. Embedded in the brick wall by a foot, the unassuming entrance was thickly coated in dull black paint. In the car, Jason activated a remote. With a few creaks and groans, the garage door began to rise.
Pulling forward, the pair were greeted with near-total darkness, the open floor of the warehouse only illuminated by the headlights and the smallest streams of moonlight. Once they were clear of the door, it started to descend again, shutting with a quiet thud. Parking the car, the duo got out, with Jason turning on a flashlight. The air was stale, dust motes swirling about. Valerie had opened up the backseat to grab their duffel bag.
"I thought that your friend was already here Val," Jason said.
"I am here." a deep voice sounded to Jason's right, spurring him to draw his gun in an instant.
"What the actual fuck?!" Jason exclaimed, shoulders tense. There was now a man floating in the air, glowing a bright green that cast an eerie light on the whole area. He was well built, clad in a close-fitting black and silver hazmat suit. His silvery white hair seemed to float in a nonexistent wind, his skin a light brown with a greenish-tint.
"I'm Danny, didn't Val tell you that I'm a ghost?"
At this point, Valerie walked up to them, duffel in hand. Scowling, Jason lowered the gun. With one hand, he plucked the duffel from Valerie.
Valerie rolled her eyes. "I did mention that, but Jay isn't from Amity, he's not used to people appearing out of thin air. Anyway, Jason, this is Danny Phantom, Danny, this is Jason."
With a cheeky grin, Danny floated within reaching distance, holding out his hand for Jason to shake. He shook it reluctantly, shivering at the ice cold that seemed to radiate from his gloved hand. "Sorry for pulling a gun on you man, I thought that we were alone in here." Jason grumbled.
Danny waved his arm affably. "It's okay, I startled you. I was only invisible to make sure that no one outside would see glowing green shit through a window," he paused as if he were taking a breath. "Valerie was right to call me, I can sense your ecto, and you're not in good shape dude."
Jason squinted suspiciously. "What do you mean you can sense my ecto?"
"Yeah, sorry dude. Uh, most ghosts can sense other ghosts…or halfas. I don't know how you're still standing, I could feel you guys coming from a block away with the amount of ecto you're giving off–it doesn't feel right." Danny said sympathetically.
Jason winced. "It doesn't feel right?"
"So, there's your ectoplasmic signature and your core. Your signature is only helpful if I've met you before, then I'd know it's you. Cores only really stand out if there's an intense feeling or emotion, or something going on with your ecto, which is how I could tell that you were coming closer. I'm like you, you know, I came back. I have a friend in the zone…Frostbite, who knows a lot about ghosts' health, he can help you."
Jason froze, unsettled about how easily a stranger could read him. He turned to Val, and he didn't know what he must have looked like at that moment, but she placed a calming arm on his shoulder.
"Jay, Frostbite's a good guy, he helped keep Danny from turning into a popsicle back in the day," she said comfortingly.
Jason exhaled sharply through his nose. "Okay…there's so many questions I have about that. Frostbite is his name, really? Is he a doctor?"
Danny snorted from where he was now floating upside down. "Among many things, yes," Danny flew in a loop, righting himself again. "But we should get going now, you did say that Batman tried to stop you, right? I can't imagine that he's a big fan of letting people get away."
Jason snorted. "You have no idea man. And Valerie tased him too, which he did deserve, but we're gonna have him and his flock looking for us. How are we gonna get to the Ghost Zone anyway?"
Danny's head whipped around to look at Valerie, who was holding her head behind Jason.
"Danny, can you please open the portal? We can discuss me tasing Batman later, when we're in the Zone." Valerie muttered into her palm.
Danny laughed, before slashing his right arm through the air. To Jason, it looked as if the ghost was poorly imitating a tiger, clawing his glove hands through the air like that. But in a split second, a jagged slash in reality began to form in the air in front of Danny, revealing an otherworldly toxic green sky marked with lightly colored swirls. The portal made him uneasy, turning his stomach. The Pit was screaming at him to get away. Valerie took his hand and ushered him towards the portal. Jason's feet were firmly planted on the floor as he stood there, frozen.
Valerie turned to him, a questioning look on her face. "Jason, are you alright?"
"The Pit. It's making me wanna stay away from that thing." he gritted out. Danny was still hovering by the portal, a look of concern on his face.
"Jay, maybe it's your ecto that's reacting badly to it, you aren't in the best shape right now…I've gone in the Zone a lot without any issue, it'll be okay." Valerie assured. Jason squeezed her hand slightly and cleared his throat.
"Yeah you're right…it's just, I haven't been around anything like that in a long time. But let's go, I don't know if that portal will stay open for long." Jason and Valerie started to head over to the portal. Danny slipped in first. Jason and Valerie were about to walk in behind him when a sound like an explosion came from above. Shards of glass from the skylights rained down, forced in by Batman and Robin's dramatic entrance through the roof.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut and pulled Valerie close in an attempt to shield her from the glass. They were out of time. White noise flooded his ears like a roar. Opening his eyes once more, the last thing he saw as he pulled his girlfriend with him through the portal was Batman running towards them, and Robin drawing his katanas.
As soon as Jason disappeared through the portal, it closed as though it had never existed. Bruce came to an abrupt stop a mere five feet away from where the portal was, choking back a shout. Glass crunched underneath his boots, and the warehouse was almost instantly shrouded in darkness again. An eerie silence seemed to echo in the absence of the portal. Damian walked up behind him, katanas sheathed, snapping an emergency light stick as he approached, illuminating the area with a cool blue light. Shards of glass glinted in the light as Bruce inspected the area where the two had disappeared. Nothing remarkable.
Tim and Stephanie arrived, confused at the darkness.
"Where's Jason?" Tim asked.
Bruce tensed. "There was a portal…of some sort…that looked similar to a Lazarus Pit. Jason and his companion disappeared into it, and it closed as soon as they went through."
"Even though its color looked similar to the Lazarus Pits, I believe that it is something entirely unrelated. Grandfather would have used something like this." Damian said.
Bruce grunted in assent, and started walking towards the gold sedan they'd seen Jason leave in. "Red Robin, Spoiler, I need you and Oracle find everything you can about Jason's companion. She had strange weapons, and she is likely the key to finding out what that portal was, and figuring out how to get Jason back." Bruce demanded.
"Are you sure that she forced Jason to go? If he went into a floating Lazarus Pit willingly, maybe he'll come back on his own." Stephanie piped up.
Damian sneered, face twisting despite the domino. "Spoiler, were you dropped on your head as a child? He is clearly still unwell from the incident."
Stephanie flipped him off. "Jason trusted her enough to have her in his actual apartment! None of us knew where he was staying before tonight."
Tim cleared his throat, swiping through files on his gauntlet. "Spoiler's not entirely off base. Jason's probably been seeing her for at least five months now, I saw them at his apartment in November."
Stephanie squawked. "Red Robin, you knew that Jason's been seeing a girl since November and you didn't say anything?! And you knew where his apartment was?!"
Behind them, Damian tsked. "I always knew you were an imbecile, Red Robin, you should have mentioned that at least 30 minutes ago."
From where he was inspecting the car, Bruce spoke. "Red Robin, do you know who that woman is?"
"Fuck off, Robin. Oracle only just sent me the footage a minute ago, so I didn't actually see her until now. I didn't say anything in November because I didn't know that it would be important, and I haven't seen Jason since. I only briefly ran into them at his apartment, and have any of you known Jason to have a girlfriend for more than five minutes? Anyway, I've figured out who she is." Tim snapped.
"And?" Stephanie interrupted.
"Her name's Valerie Gray. She's a student at Gotham U, and she's from this middle of nowhere city in Illinois called Amity Park," Tim finished, exasperated.
End Note: Just a quick heads up, there's a big skip back to Val and Danny's Casper High days for the next few chapters. However, Jason and the Bats will show up again soon.