Chapter Text
SLAM!
Jason huffed as he felt his body hit the ground with a hard smack that echoed throughout the room.
1…
“Ready for another round?”
He let a laugh escape his lips.
“Already eager to end this one?” He joked as he was panting.
2…
“C’mon Red, tired already?”
“Can’t I just say I like the view?”
3…
“Red, your face is in between my legs right now.”
“Y’know… without context… people might get the… wrong idea.” He let out a cough as the person owning the legs currently wrapped around his neck tightened their hold.
4…5!
“Mommy wins!” Danny called out after counting down.
Jason let out a gasp as Jazz unwrapped her legs from around his neck and stood up.
“You sure you didn’t want to keep on going?” He asked from his spot on the ground, looking up at the red-haired woman who was just smiling down at him.
“You just want to get in between my legs again,” she quipped before turning around and picking up Danny who was giving a cheer for his Mom winning the spar.
Jason just let out a chuckle as he watched Jazz hold her son close. She and him were just sparring in the safe house that was a couple of streets away from their apartment. He had no qualms about showing it to them. Honestly, it gave him peace of mind knowing that they knew they could come over here if they ever needed a place to lie low. He made sure to note to giving her a key to this place before they leave. He also had to make note to furnish the place more. Can’t just have them sleeping on the one couch he always crashed on here.
“Well, you can hold your own in a fight,” Jason commented as he walked over to the bench holding his water bottle.
The three of them were just hanging in the training area. Nothing much to note, it basically looked like a gym with the treadmill, weights, punching bag hanging from the ceiling, and the obligatory mats on the ground for sparring. He looked over to Jazz, she was in athleisure wear. Her tank top let him see the scars that were on her arm and the veins that were glowing slightly green. Knowing what happened, everything made sense on why they both wore long sleeves. Jason took note of Jazz wincing for a second before setting Danny down. Her hand reached to squeeze on her left shoulder.
“Okay?” he asked her. She just shrugged.
“Just one of those things, it’s not bad. Just… feels numb and then a shock of pain. But then again, I always feel pain. The medicine helps, so it’s not bad.” She said as she went over to the bench and fished out her bottle of pain meds out of her bag, popping a pill and drinking it down with some water.
“I mean to ask. Your medication,” Jason pointed to the pill bottle.
“Yes?”
“How… I mean. Yours and Danny’s medicine is special, right?”
“That is correct.”
“So that means someone at either the clinic here or at least someone working at the company is formulating that medicine for you two.”
“That would be true.”
“So… may I know who it is?” he asked as she was taking another sip of water.
“Fruit Loop!” Danny called out as he was currently holding Bearbert up to make it look like the teddy bear was running across the set of dumbbells that were on the rack.
Fruit Loop?
Jason heard that plenty of times from the kid, but he only ever associated with the…
“The vampire?” Jason said, “You have vampire ghosts?”
“Well technically yes, but those ghosts aren’t the ones helping us.” Jazz corrected.
“But they are a vampire.”
“No, but he does look Dracula,” Jazz commented.
“He’s a cheesehead,” Danny muttered.
“Any chance I can get a name for said cheesehead?”
Jazz tossed him her bottle of pain medication. He caught it without pause and looked at the bottle. He looked at her, she raised an eyebrow, he looked back to the bottle.
Okay.
Pain medication.
He turned the bottle.
From the clinic.
The clinic made by Vlad Masters-
He looked at the logo and then back to Jazz and then back to the bottle.
“Him?” he pointed to the bottle
“How else can a person get specially formulated medication for beings who are not completely human without setting off any alarm?” Jazz retorted
“That’s why that man is so adamant about catering to help metas. Your conditions would just go under the radar with all of the specialized care metas need.” Jason could practically shoot himself in the foot for how obvious it was now.
“That’s what we thought too,” Jazz said as she took back the medicine. “We got lucky that a billionaire was willing to help us go into hiding. I can’t imagine being able to do all of this on my own.”
“Knowing you, I’d pretty sure you’d find a way.” He commented.
“I always do,” she let out a sigh before wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel. “Well, Danny and I have somewhere to go. Any chance I could use the shower here?”
“Yeah, out that door, down the hall on the left.” Jason pointed out.
“Thanks,” she said as she grabbed her gym bag and left. Jason directed his attention to Danny who was currently making it look like Bearbert was peeking out the window. He bit down a smile as he saw the kid standing on his tippy toes to peer out the window along with the stuffed animal.
“Hey, big man. You think you can answer some questions for me?”
“Okay!” Danny said as he turned around to look at him.
“Can you tell me more about Vlad Masters?”
“He’s a fruit loop!” Danny said with the utmost confidence.
“I kind of figured,” Jason chuckled as he sat down on the ground so he could be eye level with the kid.
“He was a big meanie before, but he stopped. He’s better now.” Danny said as he took this as a chance to sit on Jason’s lap and cuddled Bearbert to his chest.
“Big meanie? What do you mean?”
“He… he really liked Grandma, and he didn’t like… Dad… and grandpa. He wanted a family… but he didn’t have one.” Danny said while giving a frown as if he was trying to figure out what words to use.
“Did… did he want you and your mom to be part of his family?” Jason frowned as Danny gave a shrug.
“He wanted a son. He was really bad in the beginning, but then the bad doctors took him too. We were able to talk through the walls sometimes… he got better when he got out. He’s helping us now,” Danny started humming to himself. Jason frowned and wrapped his arms around the kid and gave him a tight hug.
Wait…
If Vlad Masters was taken that means…
“Danny, if the bad doctors took Vlad Masters. Why… Why did they take him?”
“He’s like me,” Danny said while wiggling Bearbert’s fuzzy arms and then making the bear wiggle.
“A halfa?” Jason guessed, Danny gave a nod.
“There’s only three people like us. It’s me, Fruit Loop, and-” Danny paused, looking down to his teddy bear.
“Who else?” Jason asked.
“I…I haven’t talked to her for a long time. I don’t know if I should say,” Danny hugged the bear to his chest.
So the person was a female.
“It’s okay, big man. We don’t have to talk about it. How about we talk about school? You having fun?”
“Uh-huh. Katie and I play a lot on the swings. I like going super high! Oscar hogs the swings a lot though, sometimes we have to tell Mrs. Cole. Oh, and Katie says she has a new big brother. She and Kevin are going to meet him later today.”
That Jason did know.
The two brothers were able to come to an agreement that they would have a meeting with Katie to explain the situation. Hopefully, everything would work out, Jason had seen Kevin and Mark talk in passing whenever he was hanging around Jazz at the bookshop. Kevin didn’t look like he held animosity towards Mark, if anything, the teen looked more uncertain of his circumstances than anything.
Jason couldn’t fault Kevin for being conflicted.
Thinking something happened one way only to learn that something entirely different happened.
Could really mess up a person’s worldview.
“Will I get a big brother too?”
What?
“I’m sorry, what?” Jason asked his attention on the little kid who was currently wiggling Bearbert’s arms.
“If Katie can get a big brother, does that mean I’ll be getting a big brother?” Danny asked.
“Um, well a person tends to get an older sibling when the parent brings an older kid into the family. If it’s a kid younger than you, that means you’re the big brother.” Or it’s a whole soap opera situation where it turns out there’s a whole long-lost kid that nobody knew about.
Wait, why does that sound familiar?
“Oh… will I get a little younger sibling then?”
“Uh.”
“I want to be a big brother, I never got to be a big brother,” Danny said, looking up at him.
“Um, well… this sounds like something you should be talking to your mom about.”
“Aunt G.G. told me that if you and Mommy love each other, I can be a big brother.”
What?
Jason looked at the kid who was looking back at him.
Jason say something!
Anything!
“Uh.”
More than that you idiot!
“What do you know about the process of you becoming a big brother?”
Why the hell would you ask a kid that?!
“I know that Mommy has to hold the baby because she got a seed from the Daddy.”
Oh, he actually does know the process.
“She gets the seed when they have sex.”
…
…
Jason looked at Danny, the kid looked back at him. The picture of innocence as if he hadn’t said that sentence he had just spoken.
“Oh,” Jason said.
“Did you not know?” Danny asked.
“Uh.”
“It’s okay, Mr. Jason. Nobody knows everything.” Danny patted Jason’s bicep in an act of comfort.
“Oh.” Wait! Why is he getting comforted by the kid?!
“Who doesn’t know everything?” Jason nearly jumped up at hearing Jazz’s voice, but stayed frozen as he turned around to see a freshly showered Jazz, who was currently drying her damp hair with a towel.
“Mr. Jason doesn’t know that babies come from sex!” And for extra emphasis, Danny was pointing straight at him.
“Really?” Jazz raised an eyebrow.
“No, I do know that!”
“Because I told him!” Danny said.
“No! I mean, I already knew that, I’ve been, I mean. I know it.” Jason said while Jazz was smirking.
“There, there, Pride and Prejudice,” Jazz patted his shoulder.
“There, there.” Danny said, copying his Mom’s movement.
Well, there goes his pride.
“C’mon, Danny and I have to get going. Have an estate sale to get to.” She told him.
“Really? Where?” Jason asked as he stood up, picking up the kid who giggled as he tickled his sides.
“It’s a mansion in Bristol Township. I’m sure you’re familiar with it.”
Was he, that was the area where the Wayne mansion is.
“Yeah, quite familiar with it.”
“Danny and I were just going to take a taxi over there. We’ll only be gone for about a couple of hours.” She explained.
“I can drive you, save you the trouble of getting a taxi.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he had said.
“Really? It’s no trouble?”
“None at all, and besides I have some things I need to pick up from the Wayne Mansion anyway.”
Jazz raised an eyebrow at him.
He wasn’t technically lying. He didn’t really need anything immediately. He did need to do a checkup on his weapons and perhaps snag a box of Bat-O’s from the kitchen cupboard.
“As long as it’s no trouble and you’re completely okay with it,” she responded.
“It’s fine,” he reassured her. She just nodded and turned to Danny who was currently hanging upside down as Jason was holding him.
“You alright there, honey?”
“I’m a bat!” Danny said, he then spoke in a deep gravely voice. “I’m Batman!”
Jazz just laughed while taking the kid off of his arm. She held him on her hip and gave the boy a kiss on his cheek.
“I’m going to get a change of clothes at my place and then we’ll be on our way.” She said, Jason nodded along.
Danny was having so much fun!
Mr. Jason comes over all the time now.
He and Mommy talk a lot, but he also plays with him too!
Mommy even let him transform in front of Mr. Jason to show him some of his powers. He got to show him his ice powers! He tried to make a bag squirrel ice sculpture, but it didn’t look right. Mommy told him it was good for his first attempt and he could try to work on it later. Mr. Jason said he was really happy with it, but Danny didn’t really believe him.
Because when Mr. Jason saw him in his ghost form, Danny could feel that he was sad.
But then Mr. Jason gave him a really big hug after that, so Danny thought everything was okay.
Oh!
Mr. Jason comes by when he’s Mr. Dumpster Man!
But he doesn’t meet them at their dumpster anymore.
He just comes in through their window by the fire escape.
Which isn’t as fun.
It also makes Danny think he should rename Mr. Dumpster Man.
But Mr. Window Man didn’t make him smile as much.
So he’ll have to work on the new name.
Anyway, when Mr. Dumpster Man comes by, sometimes Mommy has to patch him up. Good thing is that Mr. Dumpster Man’s injuries aren’t that serious. So Mommy will let him put bandaids on Mr. Dumpster Man if he needs it. Danny made sure to give Mr. Dumpster an the Wonder Woman bandaids, he knew she was his favorite superhero.
And sometimes Jason would ask him questions too.
Most of them were about ghosts. Specifically the ghosts Danny told him about.
Like his Aunty Doras, or Wulf, or Walker, or Box Ghost.
He talked about Cujo for a little bit.
That made him happy and sad.
He wanted to play with his favorite ghost dog, but it wouldn’t be safe for Cujo to live with them. Even if Aunt G.G. was looking after him, Cujo always loved going wherever he wanted. Danny didn’t want to have to keep him inside all the time.
Like… a prisoner.
He didn’t like that.
“Danny, are you okay?”
Danny looked up to see Mommy sitting next to him and Mr. Dumpster Man was driving the car. They were going to an estate sale! It’s like a garage sale, but fancier. Mommy had to sit in the back with him since Mr. Jason’s car didn’t have a booster seat. So now they were on their way to the estate sale.
Apparently, it was in the place where all the very rich people live around here.
He hoped he didn’t run into any fruit loops that had a secret basement filled with creepy stuff. He would not like to see a Gotham version of Vlad.
“Danny? Everything okay?” Mommy spoke.
Danny snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to his mom.
Oh yeah, he never responded.
“I’m okay, Mommy,” he replied. He made the show of swinging their joined hands back and forth. He wasn’t bored, he was just thinking a lot.
“Well don’t worry, you two, I’d say we’ll be there in about five minutes. I’ll drop you two off and meet back up with you both when I’m done with my errand.” Mr. Jason said from the driver’s seat.
“Okay,” Danny said, “I can wait. We’re on a mission,” Danny smiled as he looked at Mommy. She smiled back.
They were on a mission, something that was related to ghosts.
“Any chance you can fill in the guy who doesn’t know about your special mission?” Mr. Jason asked.
“We just need to get an item there. It’s very special.”
“Ghost special?” he asked.
“Something like that,” Mommy said.
It was a request from the spirits on the council.
So they had to go and get the item before anybody could get it.
Well…
They just asked Mommy, but she brought him along, so it was both of them.
“Well, we can talk about it later. Because we’re here.” Mr. Jason said as they pulled up in the driveway of a really big house. Mansions, that’s what they’re called.
“Thanks, Red.” Jazz said as she unbuckled Danny’s seatbelt.
“I’ll come back here when I’m done with my stuff.”
“No problem, we’ll see you later.” Mommy said as they got out of the car.
“Bye-Bye!” Danny waved as Mr. Jason gave him a smile before driving off.
“Ready for our little mission, honey?” Mommy said as she held his hand.
Danny gave a nod as he looked around as they walked onto the property and the tables that had items on them.
Mommy said the woman who used to live there passed away. She was an… arch…ae…olo…gist. Archaeologist.
That means she studied old stuff.
Now her family was having an estate sale to get rid of her things.
She had a lot of stuff.
Danny smiled as he picked up an old telescope, the ones that pirates would use, and looked through it.
A lot of cool stuff.
He wondered if Youngblood had one like this.
“Is it fun?” Mommy asked, making Danny turn around and look at his mom through the telescope. He could see Mommy’s necklace up close, really shiny.
“Uh-huh. Mommy, why does she have so much of this? I thought they put all of this stuff in museums.” Danny put the telescope back down on the table.
“Usually they do, but it looks like she catered to private collectors. She must have kept some of the stock for herself. Probably would explain how she’s able to afford a house here.” Mom muttered to herself.
“Oh, but shouldn’t all of this stuff go to the museum, then?” He asked as he looked at a small painted sculpture that looked like a cat.
“It probably should since a lot of the items appear to be damaged, but some of these things could be reproductions. Or at least they say they are. Looks like the family thinks they can make some more money off of this. They’re probably going to try to auction off the more valuable ones,” Mom explained.
“Can I go look at the other tables, please,” Danny asked.
“Okay, but stay close to the tables. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Okay Mommy, I’m going to go look for our important thing,” Danny said making Mommy smile. He began going to the other tables and looking at the stuff.
There was a vase and some bowls. Those were boring so he went to the tables that had the cooler stuff on them.
One table had blocks that had stuff written on them, he couldn’t read it so he went to the next table.
One table had a bunch of old books and another had a bunch of small statues. Ooh, one looked like a kitty and a doggy. Danny walked over to that table and stood on his tippy toes to see them. There were a bunch of tiny animal statues. There was one that looked like a bird and another that looked like a piggy.
Meow.
Oooh, they can talk!
Meow.
Wait a minute.
Danny looked down at his feet to see that there was a cat currently rubbing their head against his leg.
Fluffy kitty!
Danny smiled as the cat gave a meow before darting underneath the table.
Wait kitty!
Wait for him!
Danny wanted to pet him!
Danny ducked underneath the tables, they were all covered in table cloth so he couldn’t see where the kitty was. Danny began crawling from underneath each table to table to try to find the kitty. He almost gave up but stopped as he saw a certain fluffy tail peeking out from beneath a tablecloth. The tail swishing back and forth under the table right across from him.
There’s the kitty!
Danny smiled as he went around the table and peeked under the tablecloth.
The cat looked at him.
Danny looked back.
The cat blinked.
Danny blinked.
The cat gave a meow before walking over and sniffing his face.
“Hi,” Danny greeted the cat.
The cat gave a meow before settling themselves down on the ground.
Danny just smiled as he crawled under the table. He wanted to pet the kitty!
He sat down a little bit away from the kitty. The cat was still staring at him.
Danny knew that he had to be gentle with animals.
He used to play all the time with the ghost animals. The ghost cats were fun to pet, the ghost whales were fun to watch, and Cujo was the best! The ghost dog tried to play fetch with an axe that belonged to the lumberjack ghost.
Mommy had to explain to him that living animals always needed to be handled gently. Some might not be friendly or are just shy. He had to be sure to give them space first. If they want they’ll come to him.
So that’s what Danny was doing, he was waiting patiently for the kitty to come to him.
…
…
…
Well, one little scratch behind the ears wouldn’t hurt, could it?
Danny slowly reached his hand toward the cat only for the kitty to hiss. He pulled his hand back quickly while letting out a chirp of apology.
That made the cat stop hissing and then they gave a meow.
Danny let out a chirp for please.
Cat gave another meow.
Danny frowned.
Now if only he spoke cat.
Danny let out a chirp for hug.
The cat just gave another meow before walking over to him. Danny sat very still as the cat sniffed him for a moment before taking a seat on his lap.
Danny smiled as he slowly started petting the cat. He liked this cat, it had blue eyes, just like him. The cat gave a meow before settling into a purr. Danny let out a laugh as he continued petting the kitty.
This was nice.
Danny began purring along with the kitty.
“Well, well, look at what the kitty found.”
Danny paused and turned to the voice to see a lady kneeling next to the table while lifting up the tablecloth.
“Hi.” Danny did a little wave with the kitty’s paw.
“Hello,” the lady smiled.
“Is this your kitty?” he asked as the cat gave a meow and then hopped out of his lap to rub their head against the lady’s leg.
“Not exactly, she and I just know each other.” The lady said as she petted the cat who purred at the woman’s touch.
“She’s a really pretty kitty,” Danny said as he crawled out from underneath the table.
“Well aren’t you a smart boy,” She said standing up, holding the cat in her arms. Danny smiled as the kitty’s tail swayed back and forth. She had a really fluffy tail.
“What’s her name?” Danny asked, his eyes still focused on the tail swinging back and forth.
“Clio,” the woman responded.
“Hi, Clio,” Danny waved, the cat just batted at his hand with her paw. Danny put his hand down.
“She’s a playful little girl. Don’t worry, she’s not trying to hurt you.” The woman said, “You’ll know when she’s trying.”
“Oh, okay.” So the kitty played just like some of the animal ghosts. They liked hitting things with their paws too. Except when they hit things it usually gets sliced into bits.
“Now may I ask why you are here little boy? Besides keeping Clio company, of course.”
“I’m here with my mommy,” Danny replied.
“Danny, there you are,” Mommy’s voice came from behind him.
“Hi, Mommy!” Danny said hugging his mom.
“Oh, pardon me, I didn’t notice you were there,” the woman with the cat said.
“It’s alright, my son wasn’t bothering you, was he?”
“No, he’s been quite the gentleman,” the woman with the cat said. Danny smiled at the praise.
“That’s good, are you here for the auction? Ms. ?” Mommy was looking at the woman.
“Kyle. You can call me Ms. Kyle. I’m not here for the auction, just to pick up Clio. Her… previous owner was someone I did business with. She wanted me to take care of Clio if anything happened. Her… family wasn’t interested,” The woman said while the cat gave a meow.
“She’s a really pretty kitty and fluffy,” Danny said earning a meow from the cat. Ooh! The kitty has a sparkly collar. Lots of diamonds on it.
“She is spirited. While it was nice to meet you, I do have to get going.” Ms. Kyle spoke up.
“Oh, bye-bye,” Danny waved to Ms. Kyle and Clio as she turned to leave.
She seemed nice.
“Well honey, did you find what we were looking for?” Mommy knelt so she was close to him.
Oh.
“No, I found a kitty instead,” Danny responded. He forgot about their important item.
“It’s okay. Being distracted can happen to anyone, let’s just try our best to stay focused.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
“Ha! I knew that bitch took my mahjong set!”
Danny knew that voice.
“Mrs. Chen?” Mom said as they looked up to see Mrs. Chen by the table that had the small blocks.
Danny liked Mrs. Chen. She’d babysit him sometimes, she’d tell him all about the people who used to live there. She never got angry and she’d always give him food whenever he was hungry. Sometimes it was the spicy food that made his tongue hurt, but then she’d give him ice cream after to make him feel better. She was different than everybody else.
“Well if it isn’t young Jazz, and the future astronaut in the making,” Mrs. Chen greeted them as they walked over.
“What are you doing here?” Mommy asked as Mrs. Chen was picking up the small blocks and putting them in the case next to them.
“Taking back my mahjong set. Went missing over a decade ago when I went to one of Carol's events. She said I was crazy! I knew it was her! Who gets the last laugh now, Carol!” Mrs. Chen laughed as she put the tiles away.
“Didn’t know you knew… her,” Mommy said.
“When you live as long as me, you know everyone,” Mrs. Chen said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t come alone. I dragged Samson along with me.”
She gestured to Mr. Samson who was looking at the tables that were closer to the garden.
“Carol might have been a thief, but she did appreciate the fine arts. Figured there’d be some art supplies he would be interested in,” Mrs. Chen turned to look at them. “I don’t suppose I can know what you two are doing here?”
“Just looking for one thing,” Mommy said.
“Quite a special thing it must be,” Mrs. Chen said as she snapped the case with the tiles shut.
“Uh-huh, it’s super special,” Danny nodded.
“Is it an item up for auction?” Mrs. Chen asked.
“No, it’s something a bit more… obscure,” Mommy said while looking around.
“Interesting,” Mrs. Chen said before smiling, “it seems your boyfriend is here.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Mommy said.
“Right, and I’m in the prime of my life. I’ll talk to you two later. I gotta go see if Carol stole anything else from me,” Mrs. Chen said before walking off, cane in one hand and the case in the other.
“Bye-bye,” Danny waved. Man, he was saying that a lot today.
“Found you guys,” Mr. Jason said as he walked up to them. He was wearing sunglasses and one of those masks that people wear to cover their mouth when they’re sick. He looked funny.
“Hello there not at all suspicious looking man,” Mommy greeted him.
“I know it looks weird, but trust me, this is better than rich snobs gossiping about Bruce Wayne’s kid hanging around the place.” Mr. Jason said.
“You sure you don’t want to wear a hoodie to cover your fancy hair.” Mommy said.
“What kind of gentleman would I be to rob you of the chance to see the hair that you so admire?” Jason said. Mommy was smiling while reaching up to tug on the white lock of hair that was sticking up from Mr. Jason’s head.
“You’re lucky you have such an admirable asset,” Mommy said before turning around, holding out her hand for Danny to take.
Danny reached out to his Mom’s outstretched hand as she walked around. He looked behind to see Mr. Jason following them. They kept on looking around the tables for a little while before mom stopped.
“It’s not out here,” Mommy spoke.
“It’s not here?” Mr. Jason asked, Mommy just raised her hand against Mr. Jason’s chest.
“Sorry, I just need a minute,” Mommy knelt so she was eye level with him. “Can you feel it, honey? Can you tell where it is?”
Danny closed his eyes. He could focus better when his eyes were closed. He took a deep breath.
He let his core do the work.
Let it sense his surroundings.
His core… and… theirs.
Ba-Bump!
There!
It wasn’t outside.
“In there,” Danny pointed towards the large mansion. It was in there.
“Oh ancients, it better not be up for auction,” Mommy sighed as she stood up.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to provide me with context?” Mr. Jason asked.
“I’ll tell you when we find it, it’ll be easier to show you.” Mommy said as they walked towards the mansion
Jason frowned as he walked around the mansion, specifically the area where they’re holding the auction for the more notable things in the previous owner’s collection. He remembered when he was younger he’d used to go with Bruce to attend some of the auctions for charity. Wasn’t much different from the one he was looking at, the charity ones were usually more gaudy, trying to get the richest population to feel comfortable to open their pocketbooks more. This auction was a bit more casual, more along the lines of. They don’t care how much it goes for, just get it sold kind of auction.
He looked over at Jazz who was scanning her eyes over the items that were going to be up for bidding. Some ornate furniture, some jewelry sets, and some small paintings. Looking around the size of the mansion. The larger paintings have probably already been sold off or at least already have a planned destination in mind.
“Not here, either.” Jazz muttered, Danny shook his head to confirm his mother’s statement.
“What are you looking for?” He leaned over and whispered into Jazz’s ear.
“A mask, of some sorts,” Jazz said under her breath.
“It’s that way.” Danny pointed down the hall that was roped off.
“Oh… great.” Jazz muttered to herself as she tried to figure out what to do.
“Need a distraction?” He asked.
“No, I don’t want anything to bring attention to us,” Jazz took a deep breath before kneeling down to Danny. “You know what to do?”
“Uh-huh!” Danny nodded while smiling.
“I’ll be sitting in the back here, so if you need me, just call out.”
“Okay,” Danny said before running off towards the hall and into the roped-off area.
“Are you making your son steal for you?” Jason whispered to her.
“It’s not stealing, if it was stolen to begin with. I’m just putting it back where it belongs for a moment and it’ll be given over to the proper authorities when I’m done.” Jazz explained.
“You are treading on a very thin line.” He whispered against her ear.
“Are you telling me that you abide by the rules?” She smirked and used a finger to pull down his mask. “Well, aren’t you a good boy?”
God, this woman.
Jason pulled back, making sure to fix the mask on his face.
“You do know you don’t really need that to stay hidden right?”
What?
Jason raised an eyebrow.
“You noticed how Danny and I always found a way to sneak up on you. Even though you’re so well trained to not be taken by surprise,” Jazz asked.
“Yeah, actually.”
“Well, that’s because ghosts run on a different wavelength than humans. You know how spirits aren’t usually able to be seen by normal humans unless very specified circumstances, special technology, or if the human is a magic user?”
“Yeah.” He remembered hearing about Bruce discussing the supernatural with Jason Blood one time. The average ghosts tend to never show up to the average human. A very powerful ghost on the other hand can make themselves be visible to any human. Although, he also knows that there are special locations that make the average human be able to see ghosts. Bruce was trying to see if he would be able to find a way to replicate the same conditions the special locations do just in case they’d ever have to fight or at least communicate with a ghost.
“Danny and I are… the same, in a sense. Danny is half ghost, his presence becomes… hard to sense until he brings attention to himself. The same applies for me even if I’m liminal. The ectoplasm… it just, I don’t really understand the exact science. It just…it just makes it harder for people to notice us at first glance.”
“Which makes it great for you two to stay hidden.” She gave a nod at his statement. “How does this apply to me?”
“Because you’re like me.” Jazz answered.
“Exactly like you?”
“Not exactly, I have a theory that you’re a revenant.”
“Revenant?” Jason repeated.
“I have a whole set of books that can give you a more detailed explanation, but if I were to sum it up to a few words. I would say that… you wanted revenge. Revenge for something or on someone.”
“I see.”
“I hope I’m not being too invasive.”
“No, it’s just… it was a while ago and I… I still have to go through some things.” Yeah, the things being the entire batfamily. He sounds like a broken record every time he thinks of that.
“Sore subject?”
“Let’s just say, I still need time to study it. I would be very interested in those books that can explain more about ghosts to me, though. It’d save me the trouble of having to ask you questions 24/7,” he jested.
Wait a second.
“So you think that I’m… liminal like you. That means I really don’t show up on people’s general radar. How come I haven’t noticed it before?” Jason would like to believe that he’d notice if somehow regular people didn’t recognize seeing a six foot tall man hovering behind them. Criminals don’t count, he always made sure to never be noticed by them until it was too late… for them.
“Well, it’s probably a more recent development for you. I did inject ectoplasm into you.”
“What? When?”
“When you were bleeding out on my couch.”
“… which time?”
“The bullet removal and that time with Candace when you blacked out.”
Huh… that does explain… a lot actually.
“This is just a lot to deal with,” Jason sighed as he took off the face mask, he kept the sunglasses on for the sake of his own comfort.
“It sure is. How about we talk about something else,” Jazz offered.
“You sure Danny doesn’t need any help?”
“He’ll be fine, you’ve seen him transform. If he needs to, he can just turn invisible and fly away with everybody none the wiser.” She told him.
“Yes, but also he can’t hold that form longer than a couple of minutes, and that’s when he’s not under any duress,” Jason whispered.
“Well, have some faith in him. He’s stronger than you think,” Jazz said, clasping her hands together.
“I know,” Jason said as they stood there in silence for a moment.
He felt a wave of anxiety rush at him. He looked over at Jazz, she was just fiddling with her fingers and looking at the people that were bidding on the items for auction.
“He’s going to be okay, Jazz.” Jason whispered against her ear.
“I know.” Jazz said before taking a deep breath.
“Is that Samson?” Jason asked as he spotted a suited man standing by the series of paintings that were on display.
“Yeah, he’s here with Mrs. Chen,” Jazz said. “Apparently, the previous owner stole one of her things.”
“Fascinating,” Jason muttered. Apparently, Samson could clean himself up very well. The man had his hair in a low ponytail and was wearing a well-tailored suit. If anything he looked like a well-to-do businessman. He blended right into the high society types. You’d never think the man’s arms were covered in tattoos.
“Carlson!” An elderly woman greeted Samson as if he were an old friend.
“Oh, Margarette, look at you, growing younger every time I see you,” Samson greeted while taking her hand to kiss.
“Oh, what a gentleman!” the woman gushed as Samson gave her a nod.
“Carlson?” Jason whispered to Jazz.
“You’re going to have to ask him that. I got no clue,” Jazz answered.
Jason recognized that woman, she was one of the benefactors of the Gotham Art Museum. She had quite a collection of artwork from very esteemed artists from Gotham and around the world. He still remembered when she pinched his cheeks when he was young and living with Bruce. That was not something he wanted to relive anytime soon.
“Looks like he’s quite familiar on how to… converse with… a certain demographic.” Jazz said as others were flocking around Samson in delight.
Yes… the demographic with… deep, deep pockets judging by their clothing and jewelry.
Samson blended right in.
“I got it!”
Jason held back from jumping to look down to see Danny holding up an item wrapped in cloth.
“Thank you, honey.” Jazz said as she took the wrapped item and placed it in her handbag.
It was small but not tiny, it looked like Jazz could hold it more than comfortably in both hands.
“You will be putting it back when you’re done,” Jason stated.
“Don’t worry, I will be putting it back in the proper place when I’m done with it. I promise,” Jazz patted the side of his face.
“Are we going now, Mommy?” Danny asked.
“Yes, um, actually wait a second. Mrs. Chen said she needed to speak to me about something. Let me just check if it’s important,” Jazz said.
“No need to bother yourself to search for me dearies. I’m right here.” Jason held back a shout from hearing the unexpected voice from behind him.
And low and behold. There she was. Mrs. Chen, cane and all. The only other thing she had in her possession was a small case. Jesus, it’s like the times Alfred was able to sneak up on him.
“Boo,” Mrs. Chen said with a smile.
“Boo!” Danny exclaimed back making the elderly woman chuckle.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what you need to talk to me about, are you?” Jazz asked.
“Not here, too many people. And you’re a bit busy, aren’t you?” The elderly woman said.
“Is it urgent?” Jazz asked.
“Not for me, but… it’s not too much different from what you’re doing now. I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow morning, there’s someone I want you to talk to. You can bring him if you want to.” Mrs. Chen gestured to him.
Jason watched as Jazz froze for a split second before giving a nervous laugh.
“Is it a person dealing with an estate sale?” Jazz asked.
“Something along the lines of a family antique,” Mrs. Chen said, Jazz gave out another laugh.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Chen. But my profession deals with books, not antiques,” Jazz explained.
“I know, I’m talking about your other title, child.” Mrs. Chen said.
“I’m sor-”
“Sweetie, I’m old, not senile….yet,” Mrs. Chen said, “I have someone who needs some help. Could you hear her out?”
“I… I can’t promise anything,” The redhead replied.
“I know. We’ll meet at your bookshop tomorrow at noon.” Mrs. Chen said and turned to leave before pausing.
“By the way, instead of going through the window in the dead of night. You do know you could just ask Mr. Adams for a key?”
Jason went still as Mrs. Chen stared at him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course not, man I cannot see and hear. I’m just an old lady spewing nonsense. I’ll see you tomorrow Jazz.” Mrs. Chen bid them goodbye before walking over to Samson who was able to get away from the small crowd of people that had surrounded him before.
Once she was away, Jason looked at Jazz and she looked back at him.
“Are we bad at keeping secrets?” She whispered to him.
“If we are, I shouldn’t be working in my profession then,” Jason retorted making Jazz smirk. Their conversation was then interrupted by a loud yawn originating from the youngest among them.
“I’m sleepy,” Danny managed to say as he grabbed onto Jason’s hand.
“You should be having your nap by now. I’m sorry, honey. I guess I lost track of time.” Jazz said checking the time on her phone.
“It’s okay,” Danny said and then raised his hands towards Jason. “Up, please.”
“C’mon, let’s get going,” Jason said as he picked up Danny into his arms. The kid was making himself comfortable by laying his head against Jason’s shoulder and letting out a purr.
Yup, that was a sound that made Jason smile.
“He’s happy,” Jazz whispered, running her fingers through Danny’s hair.
“I can tell,” Jason commented and glanced at her. “That’s because of the whole core thing, right?”
She gave a nod.
Jason was still wrapping his mind around the ghost core concept and all that. He knew that it explained the little chirping and the purring he heard from Danny. Not to mention that time when he purred on that night on the rooftop with Jazz.
He glanced over at Jazz as they were leaving the mansion. The people still focusing their attention on the auction as well as the other items for sale.
Why was it that he could ask her dozens of questions and get answers; yet he still feels as lost as ever?
Once they were back in the car and on their way back to the bookshop. Jason spoke up.
“I want to see what you’re going to do with that thing you got from the mansion.” He looked at Jazz through the rearview mirror.
“It’s nothing dangerous,” Jazz said.
“I know, if it was, you wouldn’t risk having Danny near any of it,” he responded.
“It deals with ghosts.”
“I could have guessed,” he fired back.
“It…It has to deal with a kid…. A child ghost.” Jazz spoke.
A moment of silence passed in the car, only the heated air blowing out of the fans were what could be heard.
“Then… let’s help the kid,” Jason spoke.
“You’ll just be observing, again, it’s nothing dangerous. It’s something I have to do,” Jazz said.
“Okay,” Jason said as they pulled up to the bookshop. Jazz grabbing Danny and carrying the little guy in her arms. Danny was trying his best to keep his eyes open, but Jason could see how the child was just on the cusp of sleep. They wouldn’t have to wait long for the kid to be in dreamland.
“There we go,” Jazz said as she placed Danny down in his sleeping corner and pulling a blanket around the kid. The little boy gave another yawn before snuggling into the pillow and holding onto the blanket.
“Who’s going to be looking after him?” Jason asked as they walked down the stairs. Jazz said that she let Kevin have the day off so that he, Katie, and Mark could have time to get to know each other. And he doubted that Jazz was going to keep Danny inside a locked building all alone. Not that, that would keep the kid contained. He knew she’d never do that to the little guy.
“Don’t worry, G.G’s going to look after him.” Jazz said as she grabbed a small bag from behind the counter and headed out the door.
“Does G.G know that?” Jason asked as he followed after her as she locked the door.
“Don’t worry, G.G. always knows. She loves Danny, that’s why he calls her Aunt G.G.” Jazz answered.
“So she’s not related to you two,” Jason said as they got back in the car, this time Jazz was sitting in the passenger seat next to him.
“She’s part of the reason why we chose to stay in Gotham,” Jazz answered showing him a piece of paper with something scribbled on it. “Could you go to this address?”
Jason frowned at seeing the address, that’s right by the Gotham River, just where the Vincefinkel bridge was.
“Sure, I’ll get us there in about half an hour.” He said as he started the car and began driving. Jason glanced over at Jazz who was taking the item from the estate sale out of her bag.
“What exactly is that thing?” He asked as he kept his eyes on the road.
“It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
“Then simplify it for me.”
“…”
“Jazz,” Jason stopped the car at the red light and turned to look at her. She was looking at the wrapped item. Her hand on top of it to try to keep it secure.
“A… A,” Jazz stuttered for a moment.
HONK!
“Light’s green asshole!” a driver from behind him yelled.
“I can see jackass!” Jason shouted out the window before driving forward.
“Sorry,” Jazz said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I guess I get a bit lost, when it comes to child spirits,” Jazz said. “It just makes me sad.”
“I can understand that,” Jason replied. Honestly any case that deals with a kid always comes out depressing.
“It’s… Honestly, I’m not trying to withhold the explanation. It’s just… it would be easier to just show you when I’m…when you see it in action.”
“Okay. You sure it’s nothing dangerous?”
“It’s not, I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jason said as they drove the rest of the way in silence.
Once they were at the address, it wasn’t much to talk about, it was a store that was right on the corner where Chinatown and the Vincefinkel Bridge met.
“What exactly do you need at this store?” Jason asked as they got out and he locked the car. The store was closed, and by the looks of it, hadn’t been open for a while.
“It’s not the store, I just needed an address to figure out which direction I needed to go. Here! This way.” Jazz started heading towards Gotham River.
“Wait!” Jason called out as he followed after her. She did a quick jump over the railing and headed towards the riverbank.
“Come on, I can feel her getting restless!” Jazz called as she headed further down.
“Who?!” Jason called out as he ran towards her. She had finally stopped and pulled out the wrapped item out of her bag again.
“There we go,” Jazz said as she knelt and placed the wrapped item on the ground. Jason just watched as she started to unwrap the item revealing a small mask. Not like the traditional masks that covered your face for masquerades. This mask was an impression of a person’s face. A small face.
“It’s called a death mask,” Jazz explained. “People would make these to help preserve a loved ones image after they died. A lot of cultures believed that the mask helped their loved ones spirit move on or protect from malevolent ones.”
“And this one?” Jason asked.
“The purpose was not insidious. Just the wrong materials were used. Ended up binding the spirit to the mask. Little guy’s been stuck in here for a long time.” Jazz said as she took some items out of her bag. It was coming from the small bag that Jazz had taken from the bookshop. It was just a couple of small vials filled with some powders and liquids. Jazz gingerly sprinkled the powders and then placed a couple of drops of the various liquids on the mask before it the object started to glow.
And move.
Specifically, the closed eyes of the death mask snapped open, with the eyes glowing bright.
Not creepy at all.
Jason stood still as Jazz started reciting some words that he couldn’t understand, the wind picked up for a split second before Jazz slapped her hands together and then everything stopped.
She let out a breath before smiling.
“It’s done. He’s free now.” Jazz said as she stood up.
“What-” Jazz raised her hand to make him stop.
“Not talking to you.” Jazz nodded her head towards the river.
Jason’s eyes went to the water… specifically, the woman who was floating just above the rushing river. She wore clothes that were worn and tattered, and not of this century. He remembered seeing the woman’s outfit in the history books. Usually worn by washerwoman who did the laundry. She was even wearing a headscarf to keep her hair back. He blinked as he realized that her skin was the color of ice blue.
“M̸a̵m̴a̷!̵”
Jason whipped his head towards the little figure that was running towards the water. A tiny little boy running into the water. Jazz placed a hand on his arm making him stay. The floating woman gave a shout of joy before meeting the tiny boy where the river met land. She picked him up in her arms and the boy nestled his face into the crook of her neck.
“M̷o̸m̴m̶y̵'̷s̸ ̴h̵e̷r̴e̶.̸E̵v̶e̸r̸y̶t̴h̵i̵n̷g̸'̶s̶ ̴o̶k̴a̸y̶ ̴n̵o̶w̴” the woman said while Jason picked up some chirps coming from both the woman and the child.
It felt… happy. So, so happy.
He took in the child.
The little boy’s curly hair and wearing clothes neat and clean. Even if they were simple, pants and a shirt with worn shoes, many parts were mended with patches of different cloth. The child was clearly loved and taken care of with the utmost care.
“T̷h̷a̵n̷k̴ ̷y̶o̴u̶,̷ ̴m̸y̷ ̸q̶u̸e̵e̶n̷” the woman said as she rested her son on her hip and gave a small bow.
“It is my duty,” Jazz responded.
“T̷h̷a̵n̷k̴ ̷y̶o̴u̶,” the woman repeated again as her son let out a chirp.
“You two should go now, it’s not safe for you two to be out in the open for long,” Jazz spoke.
“Y̸e̸s̶,̸ ̸m̸y̴ ̸q̶u̸e̵e̵n̵,” the ghost woman turned to her child. “C̷o̶m̷e̴ ̶n̷o̵w̶,̸ ̶d̵a̴r̶l̴i̵n̶g̸.̸ ̵L̷e̵t̷'̵s̸ ̶g̴o̷ ̸h̸o̸m̵e̵.̵”
The ghost woman gave another bow to Jazz before turning around and disappeared.
The two of them stood there in silence for a moment before Jazz went and picked up the death mask from the ground. Making sure to wrap it back up in the cloth and placing it back in her bag.
“I can feel you being curious. You can ask questions, Red,” she said as she collected the other items.
“Let me just start with saying what I saw and you can correct me if I’m wrong.”
“Okay,” Jazz turned her full attention to him.
“What I’m getting is, you got that item because there was apparently a… spirit bound to that mask. You brought it here because his mother was here. You needed to essentially free the spirit and have the child go back to his mother. Is that correct?”
“Yes, basically,” Jazz said.
“So now I’m wondering why? Why and How?” Jazz raised an eyebrow at the question, “How did you find out that there was a soul stuck in a mask that was in a mansion that wasn’t put into the estate sale? You said it was your duty. So is that why it had to be you to help that kid’s soul to be free?
“Jason, I have a responsibility.”
“Because you’re the queen?” He interjected, making her freeze. “If I may ask, the queen of what? The dead? Ghosts? I don’t mean to be pushy Jazz, especially since I invited myself along. And I keep telling you I can wait for answers, but I… I would just really like an answer to this.”
“Queen Regent,” Jazz said
“What?”
“I am the Queen Regent of the Infinite Realms. The ruler of ghosts, the dead, the neverborn. Queen of the Ghost Zone. The…one who rules the dimension that connects to all dimensions.”
….
Oh.
“How?” was all Jason could say as Jazz was taking a deep breath.
“It’s….complicated,” Jazz said.
“And I’m guessing a long story?” She gave a nod.
Jason took a deep breath.
Okay, Jason, you’re good at processing information.
Jazz is the current ruler of another dimension.
Her son has been tortured by a US government secret organization.
That alone is enough to declare outright war on humanity.
But Jazz isn’t doing any of that.
She’s just trying to lay low in the most crime-ridden city and taking care of her kid.
There was clearly more he needed to know about.
“Well, I do like a good story,” Jason said, “are you willing to share?”
“… what I can explain,” Jazz offered.
“I’m happy with that,” he held out his hand to her but was met with a tight hug from the redhead.
“Thank you, Jason,” she said against his ear.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered against her ear as he felt her tighten her hug.
He heard a chirp come from her mouth.
It felt…
Grateful.
Meanwhile, in a location millions of miles away from Gotham. Specifically, hovering above Earth, in a location called the Watchtower. Martian Manhunter was making haste towards two individuals who he had wished to converse with before they departed back to Earth.
“Superman, Batman,” J’onn J’onzz called out to the two superheroes who were just about to leave.
“Is something wrong J’onn?” Superman asked, the fellow alien who was always eager to help.
“There is no emergency, I merely wished to seek your guidance on how to respond to some questions,” the martian spoke.
“The media giving you a hard time?” Batman inquired.
“Not this time,” J’onn responded and then took out the folded pieces of paper he had on his person.
“You are aware that I am rather straightforward when answering questions, and how that tends to upset some people.”
“That was just you being honest,” Superman said, trying to comfort the fellow alien.
“I am aware, and I do not wish to cause any more distress. I was hoping you two could help me answer this letter I received. It says that they live in Gotham.”
“Oh! Is this from the set of fan letters that I handed to you before we had our mission?” Superman asked as J’onn presented the papers to them.
“Yes, I know we are no strangers to receiving mail from admirers, but this appears to be from a young child and he is asking me questions I want to answer properly. Since both of you have children, I thought that the two of you would be the best equipped to help me word my answer properly so that there is no distress for the child.”
Batman looked at the top of the first page.
Written in marker were the words:
Dear Mr. Martian Manhunter, My name is Danny