#lost boy found

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“Jason is alive, Vlad. Your son is alive.”

“What the fuck?” both Jason and Dick said at the same time. What did the kid mean that Jason was Vlad Masters’ son? Jason’s father was a low-life henchman named Willis Todd. Jason needed to know what was going on, so he tuned back in, feeling numb. In the corner of his eye, Jason saw Dick pacing. Jason ignored his older brother.

“Yeah, Vlad, I’m sure. Wayne said something about him being caught up in a terrorist attack and amnesia?”

Even in his numb state, Jason could tell that Danny didn’t believe the story. Sure, they weren’t telling the public the whole truth, but it was still a good story. They even planted fake evidence for when people started looking.

“He’s not like us.” Huh? What did he mean that Jason wasn’t like them? “He triggered something similar to my ghost sense, but not enough for my icy breath to be triggered. He’s died, though, that much I can confirm.”

Jason felt a chill go down his spine at the kid’s sure tone. He knew Jason had died somehow.

“What does that even mean? How can he be so sure?” Dick asked out loud.

“Shh,” Jason shushed; he wanted to hear more.

“Oh, he’s big, alright,” Danny muttered. Dammit, what was with the non sequitur? Jason wished he could hear what Masters was saying, too.

“What? No! I’m not that stupid.” Danny said.

And right at that moment, Bruce decided to appear. Jason would bet that the controlling ass still had on the earpiece and heard everything Jason did. Hell, he bet his whole family was listening in.

“Jay lad—,”

“Shh, listening.”

Bruce frowned but actually listened to Jason for once and kept his mouth shut.

“What are you going to do, now?”

What indeed? Better yet, what was Jason going to do with this information?

“Wait, Vlad!”

Ugh, Jason hated not knowing what Masters was saying. He didn’t understand what Danny said in his side of the conversation and only got a fraction of the picture. Judging by Dick’s and Bruce’s frown, they didn’t like it either.

Must be a bat thing.

“I’m not saying you don’t deserve to see him! I’m just saying that this situation is delicate. Who knows how he’ll react to a mysterious man claiming to be his father? Especially since you said you suspect Sheila had something to do with his death.”

Jason froze. How—how could this stranger possibly know that Sheila fucking Haywood was the reason for his death? He hadn’t even told his family. They still assumed it was his own reckless fault for getting killed.

Bruce sucked in a deep breath and looked at Jason’s still form. Dick stopped pacing.

“Jason, what—what does he mean?”

Jason ignored his brother. He wasn’t in the mood.

“Exactly. He’s probably already been betrayed by one biological parent. Who’s to say he won’t be wary of a man claiming to be his bio dad? Think this through, Vlad.”

“Jason, did—did something happen with Sheila Haywood? What aren’t you telling us?”

Jason continued ignoring Dick, and the man dropped it at least, for the moment.

Jason felt unnerved by how much this kid knew about him. He didn’t explicitly say Sheila betrayed him, but he knew enough about her to suspect it was a possibility. Someone must have told him about her. That someone could be Vlad Masters, a man who claims to be Jason’s biological father. 

“Jason, we need to talk about this; figure things out,” Bruce muttered while pulling out his phone. He started texting, and Jason could only assume it was Barbara. She could get to the bottom of this.

“No, of course not! I’m saying we need to come up with a plan so he doesn’t freak out. You haven’t met him; he has a bit of a temper.”

Dick, the ass, snorted.

“Understatement,” he mumbled. Jason gave him the bird. The asshole had the audacity to smirk at him before pacing again.

“Okay,” Danny said. What else could he do? “I’ll meet you at the hotel.”

Great, great. This was great. Vlad Masters was coming to Gotham. That meant Jason had the opportunity to confront the man and find out what the fuck was going on. He had so many questions; questions, it seemed, that only Masters could answer.

Jason’s mind was going around in circles, trying to make sense of what he had heard.

 How was Willis not his dad? The man had always been a part of Jason’s life. He remembered seeing his father come in and out of the house with bruises, trying to scrape together enough money for food and rent, trying to make ends meet so his mom, Catherine, could afford her medicine.

Which brought up another question.

How did Jason end up with two people who weren’t even his biological parents? He had a birth certificate, dammit! Yeah, it was old and faded, but it clearly stated that Willis Todd was his father.

But what if he wasn’t? What if Jason’s father were a shady billionaire who seemed to have accumulated his wealth through dubious means? God, what did it mean? Who was Jason Todd?

No, he might not even be Jason Todd. He didn’t know who he was!

Jason didn’t realize he was hyperventilating until a strong hand touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw his father's clear blue eyes—the father he chose. Yeah, he and Bruce have had disagreements—God, have they had many—but at the end of the day, he knew the older man would always be there for him.

“It’s okay, Jay lad, we’ll figure this out, I promise.”

For the first time in a long time, Jason let Bruce’s words comfort him. He fell into his dad’s arms and let the man hug him. Yes, they would figure it out, and if Vlad Masters even thought about making his life difficult, well, they were the Batfamily. Nothing could stop them when they worked together.

They stayed in the hallway for a while, absorbing everything they had just heard. Danny had stopped talking. The only thing they heard was the rustling of fabric and distant traffic sounds. It didn’t seem they would get more information that night.

Still, they were paranoid bastards with a thirst for knowledge, so they kept the earpieces in just in case any new relevant information came up.

“We should head back to the gala,” Dick said, “We’ve been away for too long, and I doubt even Tim can excuse our absence for this much time.”

Jason didn’t want to go back. He was still freaking out. He knew if he went back, he’d have to pretend to put up with the pompous elite of Gotham and smile as they tried to pry into his life. He didn’t know how much control he had after what he had just learned.

“Jay lad, if you don’t want to go back, you don’t have to. I can do damage control.”

Jason frowned. Bruce was giving him an out; he should take it. But, a part of him couldn’t help but wonder if Bruce was doing it because he didn’t trust Jason and his temper or if he was doing it for Jason’s sake.

“Nah, it’s my gala. I’ll go. Besides, if I don’t distract myself, I might go crazy with this new info.”

“Whatever you want, Jason, we’ll support.”

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Jason tensed and got into a fighting stance.

Masters and Danny didn’t look too concerned with this new development, which pissed Jason off a little. He was threatening, dammit!

“Now, now, Jason, let’s all calm down and explain what’s going on,” Masters said in a soothing voice.

Jason ignored the man and threw a punch. Jason went through the man, causing him to stumble and fall on his face. Dammit, that was embarrassing. Jason didn’t stew in the embarrassment; he got up into another stance.

“You’re a metahuman,” Jason said with certainty.

“No, we’re dead. It’s a medical condition,” Danny joked.

“What?”

“Daniel, that is not how I wanted him to find out!”

“Why not,” the kid asked in an annoyed tone, “He’s died, too. The least we could do is be honest with him.”

“Someone better start explaining better, or I start swinging.”

Masters seemed to be weighing his options. Danny’s gaze ping ponged between Masters and Jason. Thankfully, both their eyes were back to a regular human’s color. The pit quieted a little at that.

Masters sighed and sat down.

“We know you’ve died. We can feel it. The dead can recognize their own.”

“You’ve both died, too,” Jason said. The clues weren’t hard to put together. Not to mention, somewhere deep in him, the pits stirred at the other two in the room.

Masters nodded.

“I died slowly in a hospital bed. When I came back, I was changed. Half-ghost, half-human. The best of both worlds.”

Jason turned to Danny.

“And you?”

“Oh, me? I died screaming and in agony. It was quick, and it was messy.”

Jason flinched at Danny’s nonchalant way of talking about his own death. Is that how his family felt when Jason joked about his own demise? Maybe he should rethink that.

“So, now what? You think just because you’ve died, I’ll come to you with open arms and we all will sing Kumbaya? I don’t think so. Why are you here? It can’t be a coincidence that you suddenly appear at the gala announcing my return.”

“It was actually,” Masters said, crossing his legs. “I was going to come to try to get close to Bruce Wayne and find out what happened to you. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found out you had come back. Like father, like son, I suppose.”

“I’m not your son.” Jason denied with venom in his voice.

Masters frowned at Jason’s declaration, looking vaguely hurt.

“Yes, well, there are ways to prove that I’m your father. I can call people right now and have results by tomorrow afternoon.”

Jason heard Danny mutter ‘rich people’ and went to lie down on the bed. The kid was way too nonchalant, considering he was in the middle of family drama.

Still, Jason ignored the teenager and turned to Vlad.

“I don’t trust your methods. I have my own. Give me a DNA sample, and I can have it analyzed in a few hours. If what you say is true, I’ll come back and talk with you.”

Danny got up.

“Oh, don’t tell me you also have a secret lab in your basement? All rich people are the same.”

“Daniel!”

“What? I don’t see the point in keeping it from him. I can already tell from the bug that he’s not normal. What kind of person has bugs ready at their disposal? People with secrets.”

Jason kept a blank face and absorbed every little clue Danny was giving him. It seemed Vlad had his own lab in his house. Jason would have to ask Barbara to look at the blueprints for Masters’ mansion.

Jason walked up to Masters, his posture threatening. Even though the man was sitting at a disadvantage, he didn’t flinch or cower from Jason. Was he losing his touch?

“If I find out this is a ploy for something else,” Jason didn’t finish the threat, leaving the words hanging in the air.

Vlad said nothing. His nails turned into claws, and he cut his hand. He took out a handkerchief and dabbed his blood with it.

“Is this enough for you to get your results?” He asked.

Jason said nothing, took out an evidence bag from inside his suit (always be prepared), and put the handkerchief inside it.

“I’ll wait for you here, Jason. I’m glad you’re alive and well.”

Jason said nothing and went out the door.

____

“Jason left the hotel room,” Oracle’s monotone voice sounded through the computer’s speakers.

Bruce kept his eyes on the cameras as his son drove back to the manor. Good, at least he would be under Bruce’s watchful eyes.

Bruce stared at the camera for a second longer before going back to the other screen.

It wasn’t only Vlad Masters’ business dealings that were shady. The way he had been elected mayor was also suspicious.

His opponent had been winning in the polls, but most people, when interviewed, said they wouldn’t vote for Vlad Masters, yet somehow on the day of the election, Vlad had won by a landslide. The numbers just weren’t adding up. The man was shady at best or a criminal at worst. And he was claiming to be Jason’s father.

It wasn’t only Vlad that was shady; the more he looked into Amity Park, the more concerned Bruce became. The town was steeped in rumors of creatures taking over the town weekly. Of the town being teleported to other dimensions and of a teenage hero who stopped the threats.

How had the Justice League never heard of this?

Bruce turned from the computers when he heard a motorcycle pull to a stop. Jason was back.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone? Barbara has been trying to get a hold of you.”

Jason said nothing and threw something at Bruce. It was a blood-soaked handkerchief.

“That’s Masters’ blood.”

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Danny fidgeted as Vlad finished tying the knot of Danny’s tie. He couldn’t believe Vlad was making him put on another monkey suit. How did he even get another one so quickly? Rich people and their hacks. 

“Remind me, why do I have to wear this monkey suit again?”

“First impressions, Daniel. We have to show our best selves. Smile, little badger.”

“Fuck off, Vlad. Besides, they already met me once, and I don’t think it was a good first impression.”

“You only met Jason and Dick Grayson. I say you have a good chance of making a good first impression on the other kids and on Bruce Wayne.”

Danny frowned.

“I doubt they’ll think a monkey suit is going to do all that. I swear, if they’re wearing jeans and t-shirts, I’m going to riot, Vlad. I don’t want to be the only one in this.”

“I’m sure they won’t be. Besides, I’ll be wearing a suit, too.”

Danny scowled.

“Whatever. Just promise you won’t overshadow the man. It could end badly if you make Jason’s adoptive father sign all rights away to his company.”

“Really, Daniel, I have more self-control than that, and I have my own money now. There, perfect. Ta-da.”

Vlad turned Danny around so he could look at himself in the full-length mirror.

“Ancients, I look like a tool.”

“Nonsense, Daniel. You look very handsome.”

Danny made a gagging noise, “Eww, don’t ever call me handsome again. It sounds weird coming out of your mouth.”

Vlad ignored him and put on his solid-gold cufflinks. It seemed tacky to Danny, but in a rich man’s world, he guessed it was the greatest fashion. 

Danny sighed. He didn’t know how he ended up caught in the middle of Vlad’s family drama, but for the first time, it had nothing to do with him, and he could just enjoy the show. Danny tugged at the tie, loosening the knot a little, and followed after Vlad.

____

Danny glared at Vlad. Vlad ignored him. 

Bruce was wearing a navy-blue linen shirt with black slacks, but the rest of the kids were wearing jeans and expensive polo shirts. Hell, Jason was wearing a pair of ripped and oil-stained jeans and a red t-shirt. All the kids looked Danny up and down. He couldn’t help but blush. Ancients, he was dressed up to the nines while everyone else looked like normal people. 

He was going to kill Vlad. 

The balding butler who had opened the door stood by Mr. Wayne’s side and gave a small bow.

“Mr. Masters, Mr. Daniel, welcome to Wayne Manor. I am the Waynes’ Butler and will be happy to serve you however you need it.”

“It’s Danny,” he said automatically.

“Of course, Mr. Danny. I do apologize. Dinner will be ready in a few. Why don’t you follow me to the drawing room, where I can serve you tea and biscuits while you wait?”

Wayne’s kids all watched, or, in the youngest’s case, glared, at Danny and Vlad. Danny ignored them and looked at the paintings hanging on the walls. He felt judged by the people in the paintings. Great.

Eventually, they made it to a room with big windows and old, but comfortable furniture. Despite its name, there were no drawing materials or paintings. Danny sat on the sofa with Vlad by his side. An Asian teenage girl with short black hair and piercing brown eyes sat directly in front of him. She stared at him as if she was staring deep into his soul. He felt a shiver go up his spine and tried to get out through his breath. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the girl in front of him had also died. 

Actually, either the place was haunted—a very distinct possibility it was—or more than just Jason and the girl in front of him had died before. Now, why would a billionaire’s adopted children be so death-touched?

They sat in awkward silence, staring at each other. Well, Jason was glaring, but close enough. Wayne suddenly cleared his throat. 

“Kids, why don’t you show Danny around while I talk with Mr. Masters?”

Danny’s glare matched Jason’s. Wayne was trying to get rid of them. He looked at Vlad, who was sipping a cup of tea as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He put the tea cup on the saucer and turned to Danny.

“Daniel, go with Mr. Wayne’s children. He and I need to talk.”

Danny looked at Vlad before nodding, tense. He wasn’t looking forward to being stuck with a bunch of kids he didn’t know—well, Dick wasn’t a kid—but he knew that Vlad needed to talk to Wayne. So, he got up and followed the kids. He was tempted to leave behind a clone invisibly, but then discarded the idea. Vlad would have to be on his own for this. 

____

The door closed softly behind Danny. Jason didn’t move from his corner. Bruce turned toward his son. 

“Jason, please, I want to talk with Mr. Masters alone.”

His glare turned downright deadly. Masters didn’t seem affected by it. He sighed. 

“Please, Jay lad.”

“No, this has to do with me, which means I get to listen in on the conversation.”

“Jason—,” 

“Don’t you ‘Jason’ me. I’m a full-ass grown man and deserve to be here.”

“Really, Mr. Wayne. If he wants to stay, let him. As he said, he’s a grown man, unless there are secrets you don’t want him to know.”

Vlad gave a smarmy smirk. Bruce glared at the man. Vlad frowned at Bruce’s glare and stared at Jason’s identical one. Bruce felt like smirking himself, after all, he had shown his children how to glare, and he knew they all copied him in that regard. 

Bruce took a deep breath and turned toward Jason.

“Please, son. I want to talk to Mr. Masters, father to father.”

Jason scowled but left without another word. Masters picked up his tea cup and sipped it calmly. Bruce stayed silent. He knew how to weaponize silence, after all, most people got uncomfortable in it and tended to blab just to fill it. 

The clock ticked. Masters continued with his tea. 

“Really, Mr. Wayne, I’m flattered but I don’t swing that way.”

The smarmy smirk had returned. Bruce said nothing. He had long since become used to sexual innuendos. 

“What do you want with my son?”

A quick frown marred his face before the smarmy expression came back. 

“My son deserves to know his biological father, don’t you think?”

Bruce leaned forward. 

“Mr. Masters, I’ve noticed some discrepancies with how you’ve obtained your wealth. How do I know you did it through legal means? How do I know you’re not using Jason to try to get to my wealth? My son has gone through enough; he doesn’t need a stranger trying to use him.”

For the first time, Vlad Masters looked angry—no, livid.

“How dare you, Mr. Wayne? I have been looking for my son for a long time. Ever since Sheila Haywood took him away from me! I have my own wealth; I don’t need to go after yours!”

“If that’s true, why didn’t you contact me sooner?”

“I found out about Jason after his death. Why should I have contacted you only to be told that he was dead? Though I do regret it now, since he’s back.”

Bruce frowned. 

“Why didn’t you want to contact me? You could’ve gotten pictures, stories, mementos. I can’t think of a reason a father who had been looking for his son wouldn’t show up and demand more.”

Vlad said nothing. He didn’t want to contact Wayne because he didn’t trust the man. There was something predatoryabout Bruce Wayne, and Vlad’s instincts had told him to stay away. It’s one of the reasons he had never gone after Lex Luther. 

“What does it matter, Mr. Wayne? You know I’m his biological father. I want to get to know Jason. Besides, isn’t it up to him if he wants me in his life or not?”

“Mr. Masters, I’ll ask point-blank. Are you a meta? Is that how you acquired your wealth?”

Vlad smirked. 

“Mr. Wayne, I acquired my wealth through pure business skills. I tend to favor hostile takeovers.”

“Funny, I haven’t seen any kind of documentation or loans from banks. You were from a middle-class family, yet somehow, seemingly overnight, you were able to build a multi-billion-dollar company.”

Vlad took a sip of his tea. It was getting cold. 

“I’m just that good, Mr. Wayne.”

“The people who have signed over their companies have claimed they don’t remember doing so.”

“Well, they should go get their head checked, then.”

Bruce stood up, hoping to use his height to cow Vlad. 

“I don’t care how you’ve gained your wealth. All I care about is that you don’t hurt Jason,” and it was true. Bruce Wayne didn’t care about any illegal things Vlad had done. He could continue investigating and, if he found concrete proof, bring the man to justice. Right now, all he wanted was to make sure his child was safe. 

“If you hurt Jason in any way, shape, or form, I’ll make you wish, Masters, that you never had set eyes on my son.”

Masters smirked. 

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The first thing Jason heard was the kid freaking out for some reason. Then Danny, presumably, called someone. The first thing he said confused Jason.

“Jason Todd is alive!”

Now, why would a random kid from the middle of nowhere America care about Jason’s return? Not only that, but he was obviously freaking out about it, too. There was silence for a few seconds, though the kid was breathing so hard it almost sounded like he was hyperventilating. Why was Jason’s return such a big deal to him?

“No! Tuck, leave it alone. As for Sam’s questions, I don’t know! How do you tell a guy that the kid he thought was dead is back from the dead? He’s not going to be normal about this.”

Now, who exactly cared that Jason had died and come back? Was it Vlad Masters? Why did he have such an interest in Jason? Not only that, but it was a big enough interest if they cared that Jason had returned. Jason needed to know. He opened the app on his phone that monitored the manor and looked through different hallways until he found the kid. Danny was a little further down the hallway from where Jason had holed up.

Never mind that the hallway was supposed to be closed to guests. Jason let his anger spill out a little. How dare anyone walk freely through his family’s home? Jason ran down the hall. He heard the kid take a deep breath through the earpiece. He turned the corner, and there was Danny, taking deep breaths. Suddenly, the kid tensed and looked up.

“Kid, what the actual fuck are you talking about?” Jason couldn’t help but ask.

Jason could tell the kid was panicking. There were small voices that Jason couldn’t make out, coming from the phone. Danny was looking around, most likely trying to find a way to leave. Jason stood in front of him, blocking any hopes of escaping.

He crossed his arms and tried to appear larger. It wasn’t hard to do with Jason’s stature, after all, he was a big man and proud of it.

Somehow, the kid didn’t seem cowed by Jason’s size. Though he did look at him with what appeared to be fear, and was that hope? What the actual hell was with this kid? It was creeping Jason out.

“Who are you talking to, and why do you care if I came back from the dead?”

Danny seemed to remember he was talking to someone and hung up the call.

“Uh, would you believe me if I said I’m a big fan of yours?”

Jason scowled.

“Listen, kid, you’re a little too excited about my miraculous return. Why do you care so much?”

“Wait a minute, how’d you know I was talking about you anyway?”

Great question, it’s a good thing Jason had thought about that on his way to Danny.

“I was in the same hallway, kid, and you’re not exactly quiet. I could hear you down the hall.”

Danny squinted at Jason, looking at him suspiciously. Jason didn’t even flinch.

“Speaking of, this is a restricted area.”

“Oh, well, in that case, let me just skedaddle.”

Jason put his arm against the wall to block the kid. Danny scowled, looking angry instead of scared. He went to Jason’s left. Jason followed suit, still blocking Danny.

“Dude, what is your damage?”

“My damage is that there’s a kid—”

“You’re only like four years older than me!”

“—talking about me to some strangers, and I want to know why.”

Silence reigned. Neither of them was backing down, and Jason was on the verge of losing it with a kid.

“What’s up, Little Wing? Who is this?”

Of course, Dick-fucking golden boy-Grayson had to come and mess things up. Jason was pretty sure he had almost broken the kid’s silence. He squinted at the kid. Maybe. 

“Uh, who are you?” Danny asked.

Dick stood beside Jason, showing a unified front, although he was smiling instead of scowling.

“I found this kid wandering the halls,” he said. Jason looked at Dick and did a quick hand signal.

‘He’s acting suspicious,’ he signed. Dick didn’t react but turned toward Danny, his smile grew bigger. His older brother was ever the showman.

“Sorry, kid, but this is a restricted area.”

“Yeah, I gathered as much. I was trying to leave, but he was blocking my way.”

Jason wanted to demand answers from Danny. Why was he so freaked out about Jason’s return? If there was anything that bugged a bat, it was not having all the information they wanted. Jason didn’t say anything but kept staring the kid down; he’d seen hardened criminals crumble under his glares.

Danny didn’t even flinch. What was up with this kid?

Jason felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Well, just make sure you don’t end up in a restricted area again, kid,” Dick said. He pulled Jason, opening a pathway for Danny. The kid looked between the two of them and then ran. Both Jason and Dick waited a few moments.

“What the fuck Dickhead?”

Dick didn’t say anything and took out his phone to send a text, presumably to the family group chat. Jason scowled at his older brother and took out his phone instead to try to find the kid. He turned on his earpiece, too, hoping the bug was still in place.

Danny wasn’t talking, but Jason could hear his rough breathing and the rustling of clothes. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Dick putting on his earpiece.

“Why were you freaking that kid out?”

“He was talking about me to someone.”

“Okay, and? The whole gala is talking about you.”

“No, he wasn’t curious, Dick, he was freaking out.”

Dick’s eyes sharpened. He had a calculating expression as he listened to what Jason said to him.

Jason opened the app on his phone and looked through different cameras until he found the kid. He was outside, waiting for his ride.

“He’s leaving,” Jason muttered.

“Hmm, maybe he’s just embarrassed for being caught in an area he wasn’t supposed to be in,” Dick mused.

Jason gave Dick an incredulous expression, “Seriously?”

“What? It could happen.”

Danny got in a black car that promptly drove away. Well, there went Jason’s eyes on the kids unless he wanted to hack the traffic cameras. From the earpiece, all Jason could hear was the car’s engine and Danny’s breathing.

Dick stood by Jason, also listening.

“Okay, okay,” Danny started muttering. “I can do this. I can do this.”

Dick and Jason looked at each other.

“It’s just the Fruit Loop, what’s the worst that can happen?” The kid was obviously freaking out.

“Okay, this is weird,” Dick said.

“Shh,” Jason shushed. He didn’t want to miss whatever the kid was muttering.

“Hey, Vlad,” Danny said in a shrilly voice. Both brothers straightened. He had called Vlad Masters.

Silence.

“I left early because something came up. Have you seen the news?”

More silence.

“No, I didn’t set anything on fire!”

Ugh. Jason wished he could hear what Vlad was saying. Why would he think Danny had set something on fire? Did the kid have a history of arson or something? Dick was typing something else on his phone. Jason ignored him.

“Jason Todd is alive. Sorry, didn’t know how else to break it to you.”

Dick perked up slightly at the mention of Jason’s name. Then confusion flickered in his eyes. Yeah, Jason would like to know why he was so important to Danny and Masters.

His blood ran cold at Danny’s next words.

“Jason is alive, Vlad. Your son is alive.”

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Jason hated galas, but here he was, the center of one of them.

He didn’t know why he had agreed to be publicly revived as Jason Todd-Wayne. As an anti-hero, a former crime lord, his greatest asset was his death. After all, no one would be looking for a dead man.

He hugged Bruce as his adopted father called him on stage. The camera lights were blinding him.

It’s just that he was tired of being dead. He wanted his name back, dammit, and maybe he could even go back to school to get that English degree he always dreamed of. Also, deep down, where no one else would see, Jason longed to be part of the family again. He was tired of being alone—of always being on the edge of family events. So here he was, at a gala to bring Jason back to life. 

A sudden movement caught his and Bruce’s attention.

They watched as Danny Fenton, heir to Vlad Master’s fortune, hurriedly left the crowd. Both Bruce and Jason released their hold and exchanged glances. Jason nodded in acknowledgment, which the crowd took as a father-son gesture as they cheered and clapped. 

There had been a reason they had invited Danny Fenton and Vlad Master to the gala—they had found out the man had accumulated his wealth suspiciously, and they wanted to investigate.

Unfortunately, the man hadn’t come, but he had sent his godson.

Jason had bugged the boy earlier when he had patted his shoulder. He doubted Danny Fenton had noticed yet, if ever would. Jason turned his head a little so Bruce could see the earpiece he had in his ear. Bruce gave a slight nod and turned back to the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here while I reunite with my son. Please, if you have any questions, I ask you to bring them to me at the press conference I’ve scheduled for tomorrow. For now, enjoy yourselves and mingle. Thank you!”

Bruce waved into the crowd, giving a blinding smile, and walked off the stage. He put a hand on Jason’s shoulder and took his son with him. Even a blind man could see how happy Bruce Wayne was.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it, Little Wing?”

Jason glared at his older brother in lieu of giving him the bird.

“It was worse. I can’t believe I had to hug Bruce in public.”

“It was your idea to be revived,” Tim said, unsympathetically.

“Fuck off, Replacement.”

Tim had the audacity to smile sweetly. Prick.

“Tt, who cares? Were you able to do your job and bug the boy?”

“That boy is older than you by two years, Damian.”

“Irrelevant. Did you or did you not do it?”

“I did it.”

“Good, at least you managed to do that,” the brat said while putting on an earpiece. Bruce was about to do the same when Mrs. Scarlet ambushed him. Jason didn’t wait; he merged into the crowd. He remembered Mrs. Scarlet. She was snooty and looked down on just about everyone, especially Jason Todd, the street rat. He smirked at Bruce’s subtle distress. He also couldn’t stand the old bird. Sucked to suck, but he should’ve been faster and paying more attention.

Jason walked with a purpose; he knew that if he slowed down, he, too, would be ambushed by curious socialites. As a matter of fact, there were a few following him, calling out to him. Jason ignored them. He didn’t care if it seemed rude—most of these people thought he was beneath them. They just wanted the juicy gossip about Bruce Wayne’s revived son. 

Jason reached an empty hallway closed off to the public. He didn’t care where his brothers had gone; he would willingly sacrifice them if it meant avoiding the haute society of Gotham. He smiled as he saw he was alone and turned on the earpiece.

Time to find out more about Master and his dealings.

____

To say Danny was freaking out would be an understatement.

“What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”

How was he going to break this to the Fruit Loop? There was no way Vlad—obsessive, stubborn, unyielding, Vlad—was going to let his son go now. He would do anything to get him back, even resorting to morally gray, or outright evil, plans. 

“Okay, think Fenton, think!”

In his endless teenage wisdom, Danny came up with an idea. One he should have thought of from the start. He pulled out his phone and called the only people who could help him: his friends.

He called both Tucker and Sam at the same time, hoping they would answer. He could really use the advice.

“Jason Todd is alive!” Danny yelled out, not letting his friends even greet him. There was a stunned silence for a few seconds before the bombardment came.

“What do you mean he’s alive?”

“Dude, you went to Gotham to network and found a whole ass dead kid?”

“What are you going to do? How are you going to tell Vlad? When are you going to tell Vlad?”

“I’m going to try to hack accounts to see if I can find out more.”

“No! Tuck, leave it alone. As for Sam’s questions, I don’t know! How do you tell a guy that the kid he thought was dead is back from the dead? He’s not going to be normal about this.”

“I don’t know, Danny, but if you don’t tell him, he will find out soon,” Sam said. “After all, Wayne is a prominent figure, this news is going to be everywhere soon, and if he doesn’t hear it from you, he might lose it.”

Danny took a deep, calming breath, wishing (in his mind, he knew better than to say the ‘w’ word out loud) that he could get either drunk or high before having such a painful conversation with Vlad.

“Fuck, you’re right. Okay, I can do this, I can do this.”

Suddenly, a weird tingle went down Danny’s spine. He looked up, and Jason Todd-Wayne was looking right at him.

“Kid, what the actual fuck are you talking about?”

Prev | Next

Dick and his two youngest brothers walked down into the Batcave. Bruce was by the computer, waiting for the analysis report to result. On the other tabs, Dick could see articles opened about Vlad Masters.

Dick stood behind Bruce. Tim and Damian went to the gym, but he knew his brothers were listening in.

“The gala went fine. We told a story about you and Jason wanting to spend some time away from everyone's eyes. They seemed to have bought it.”

“Hn.”

“I read Barbara’s report. So, it’s possible?”

“We won’t know for sure until we get the results.”

Tim and Damian started sparring. Dick could tell they weren’t really into it.

“Where’s Jason?”

“He went upstairs. He’s in the library,” Bruce said while pulling up the security footage of the library. Jason was seated in his favorite chair. A book was opened on his lap, but it was obvious he wasn’t reading it.

“I don’t like the picture of Masters that’s being painted. He’s smarmy at best and a criminal at worst.”

Dick read the articles and the report Bruce had already typed up on the man. It didn’t look good.

“Have you talked to Jason about this?”

“No, he went straight upstairs.”

“And you couldn’t have followed him, why, exactly?”

“I needed to do more research.”

Both Damian and Tim snorted behind them.

“You’re avoiding him,” Dick depanned.

“No. I have to make sure he’s safe from Masters.”

“Well, I can keep doing research. Go talk to him, Bruce.”

Bruce opened the tab analyzing Masters’ DNA alongside Jason’s. It was three-quarters of the way done.

“Seriously, Bruce, go. I can hold down the fort.”

It seemed like Bruce was going to ignore him, but then, against all miracles, he got up.

“Tell me as soon as the test results.”

Dick nodded and sat down. He was going to find out who Vlad Masters was and what he wanted. He refused to let an unknown destroy his family.

____

Bruce sat across from Jason. He had no idea where to start.

Jason’s relationship was one of the more complicated ones in the family. They had hurt him just as much as Jason had hurt them. Bruce really had to fight to look past the killings, and Bruce recognized that Jason had to fight against his morals in not killing every criminal or villain that he deemed unworthy of life.

Now, Vlad Masters had appeared, claiming a blood relation to Jason.

Again, Bruce wouldn’t mind if it weren’t for the fact that Vlad Masters was suspicious. What if he tempted Jason back toward the darkness? What if he lost his son? No, he refused.

“Sheila sold me out to the Joker,” Jason said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Bruce stiffened. What?

“Jay lad?”

“She told me that Joker was going after her and had things against her. Like an idiot, I told her I was Robin and could help her. She decided to use the information to lure me, under false pretenses, toward Joker. She wanted Joker to stop blackmailing her in exchange for me. Heh, fat good it did. He still betrayed and killed her.”

“Jason, why didn’t you tell me?”

Jason shook his head, unsure how to answer.

“It didn’t matter when I came back.”

“It mattered to me. For the longest time I had…”

“You had what? Made a narrative of the reckless Robin? Don’t stray too far lest you end up like Jason.” He said bitterly.

“Jason.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What matters is finding out what Masters wants. I’ve already been betrayed and hurt by too many parents. I don’t need any more of it.”

Bruce had to suppress his flinch, knowing damned well he was included in that list.

“Jason. I’m sorry.”

Jason shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, old man. What’s past is past. What are we going to do about Masters? Have you found out anything?”

“Just what we already knew. Although I did find some strange occurrences in his town. It’s full of rumors of ghosts and other creatures attacking.”

“And you think it’s true?”

“I need more evidence, but it seems to be pointing toward that direction.”

They sat in silence. The warm fire lit their faces, the shadows making it hard to read Jason’s expression, but not impossible. Behind the anger, Bruce saw fear. After finding out what happened with Sheila, he couldn’t blame his boy.

“If he ends up being my dad, and it turns out he got his wealth illegally, are you still going to put him in jail?”

“Hmm, let’s see what we find first before thinking about hypotheticals.”

Bruce’s phone killed the silence that followed.

“Talk.”

Jason snorted at Bruce’s curt request.

“Results are back. I think you and Jason should come back to the cave.”

Bruce got up and signaled Jason to follow.

“What do the results say?”

Dick sighed.

“They show that Vlad Masters is, indeed, Jason’s biological father.”

Bruce stopped so suddenly that Jason ran into him.

“What the hell, Bruce?” Jason exclaimed while rubbing his nose.

“The results are back.”

Jason froze before asking, “And?”

“He’s your father.”

____

Jason hit the punching bag with a little too much force. He wanted to take out his pent-up emotions in a healthy way. Sue him.

Jason had no idea what to do with this new information. Willis Todd wasn’t his father. It was some rich weirdo who may or may not have gotten rich through illicit means. Jason wasn’t looking forward to seeing another parent behind bars, but what could he do? Besides, the man had broken the law. Maybe. But the evidence was pointing toward yes. Jason hadn’t told Bruce yet about Masters’ powers and the fact that Masters, too, had died.

Jason stilled. Bad idea, the momentum of the punching had it swinging back toward him and getting its revenge by knocking Jason down on his ass. He could feel eyes on him, but he ignored them.

He had a parent who had died. He had a parent who knew what it was like to come back wrong.

What had he called himself? A halfa? Jason would have to research that.

“Jason, do you want to talk?”

Dick came up and reached out his hand to help Jason up. He took it.

“No. Uh, no, I just want this day to be finished.”

Dick frowned, “It’s okay to be upset, Jason.”

“I’m not upset!”

Dick’s eyebrow rose up.

“I’m not. I’m surprised, pissed, irritated,” he sighed, “skeptical.”

Dick said nothing, letting Jason continue.

“What if he hurts me?” He whispered.

“Then we’ll be here to beat him up if he does. You’re not alone in this, little wing.”

“He’s right,” Bruce said from the computer. He was analyzing Masters’ blood. “I, we, won’t let anyone hurt you. Never again.”

Bruce turned, frowning.

“That being said, there’s something strange about Vlad Masters’ blood.”

Both Dick and Jason walked up and read it.

“Lazarus water?” Dick asked.

Bruce shook his head.

“No, similar, but a purer, more concentrated form.”

Jason frowned. Vlad said he had died slowly and painfully, but neither he nor Danny had told him how they had come back. He doubted those two had access to Lazarus Water, considering how zealously Ra’s guarded the damned things.

Prev | Next

Jason showed up a few minutes after the others had left Vlad and Bruce alone. He couldn’t help but glare. Danny looked up at him and smirked at Jason’s expression. Great, the kid still wasn’t scared of him. Although, if the kid really had died as he claimed, it would make sense he wasn’t scared of much, let alone Jason’s glare. 

Still, Jason made the effort to smooth his face out. After all, he wanted to find out more about Vlad, and the kid was a perfect place to start. 

“So, how do you know Vlad Masters?” Dick asked. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who wanted answers. 

Danny was staring at a painting, shuddered, and turned to Dick. 

“My parents went to university with him. They studied the same thing, Ectobiology.”

“What’s Ectobiology? Sounds weird.” Steph said.

Tim elbowed her. She glared at him while rubbing her arm. 

“What, it’s a legit question.”

Danny laughed, good-naturedly, “No, it is weird. It’s the study of ecto entities and ectoplasm.”

“What in the hell is an ecto entity?” Steph asked while poking Tim.

“Ha ha, it’s just a fancy way to say ghosts,” Danny said while rubbing the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. 

“Your parents study ghosts? Are they ghost hunters?”

Danny didn’t look uncomfortable, but Jason could tell he didn’t want to answer Steph. Interesting. He looked comfortable enough telling Jason things before. 

“So, you’re all Mr. Wayne’s children?”

“Not me,” Steph answered. “I’m a family friend. Duke here is a foster son,” Duke waved. “The rest of them are adopted, except for the brat there.”

“Tt.”

“Huh,” Danny hummed. 

“So, your parents knew Mr. Masters before he became a billionaire?” Dick went back to interrogating Danny.

“Hmm, I guess? I only knew him after, though. We went to a school reunion, and they reconnected.”

“He must be a suave businessman to become so rich from basically nothing.”

“I suppose. I don’t know much about his businesses. I know he makes weapons for ghost hunters, but that’s about it.”

“There are weapons for ghosts?”

“Sure. Look it up. Who’s that?” Danny asked, suddenly pointing at a painting of Thomas Wayne.

Dick looked at Jason, and Jason nodded. 

“That’s, uh, Bruce’s dad, Thomas Wayne.”

Danny stared at the painting. His eyes darted to the left of him, where there was no one, then back to the painting. Jason couldn’t help but stare at the empty space Danny had looked at. Was it just his imagination, or was the air shimmering? Jason looked back at the painting of what was technically his grandfather. Danny had died; Jason knew he had powers. Seeing the dead couldn’t be one of them…could it? Was Thomas Wayne…? 

“So, what do you guys do for fun around here? My friend has a basement with a bowling alley and video games. What do you guys have in your basement?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Dick shifted subtly, uncomfortable with the question.

“We have a gaming room, if that’s what you’re asking,” Tim answered. 

“Cool! What games do you have?”

Tim and Danny walked away from the group. The others stared at each other before following the two. Dick and Jason were the only ones who stayed behind. 

“He knows we’re trying to get answers out of him. He keeps deflecting and giving non-answers to the questions.” Dick whispered. 

“He’s a smart kid.”

“There’s no way he doesn’t know what’s going on. He’s Masters’ heir.”

“Yeah,” Jason said. He stared at Danny’s back. The kid’s posture was relaxed. He laughed at something Tim said, then said something that made Tim smile. The two seemed to be hitting it off; Jason knew Tim was trying to get Danny’s guard down so he could subtly ask questions. Jason didn’t know why, but he thought it wouldn’t work. 

____

The Joker laughed as his cell door opened. One of the guards was dead while the other one let him out. 

So, Jason had decided to come back from the dead. Well, mommy was disappointed he wasn’t consulted about it. After all, he had made the Red Hood, Jason Todd, what he was. It was time to remind the boy who he was and where he came from.

“C’mon, let’s go have fun.”

____

Danny paused suddenly as they entered the gaming room. His eyes grew huge, and he looked to his left. 

A lot of people didn’t know, but ghosts loved to gossip. Thomas Wayne had not shut his mouth since he figured out Danny could see him. Now, he was ranting and raving about how the Clown was back out, and he was a danger to his grandchildren. He was begging Danny to stop the Clown before he got to his son and grandbabies again. 

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.

Danny looked up at the man.

“Please,” Thomas begged, “He already killed Jason once. My son can’t kill him, can’t stop him the way he should be stopped. Please, stop him before he hurts them again.”

“Nothing,” Danny said. “I suddenly remembered something I had to tell Vlad. Can you show me the way back?”

Danny couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but he was positive ‘the Clown’ was the infamous Joker. If he was the reason for Jason’s death, well, Vlad would be interested to know. 

“Sure, kid, I can show you the way. You guys stay here; we’ll be right back.”

Jason took Danny’s arm and pulled him away from his siblings. The rest of them stared as they left. Danny didn’t say anything and tried to keep up with Jason. He ran into the man when he stopped abruptly. 

“What’s going on?” Jason asked. 

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Jason looked at Danny, scowling. 

“You’ve been acting weird. More so than usual. Tell me what’s going on, or I’ll bring Bruce and everyone else into this.”

“You can’t.” Thomas whispered, “He’ll go after the Clown himself and get hurt.”

“Can’t. It’s between Vlad and me.”

“Well, I’m his son; I think I deserve to know what Daddy Dearest does, don’t you?”

Danny stuck out his chin, defiant.

“No, actually, you don’t.”

“Yesterday, you were okay with spilling secrets. Today, you’re being squirrely. Tell me what’s going on, now!”

“No.”

“Okay, you can find Vlad yourself.”

Prev | Next

Danny took off the monkey suit he was wearing and put on something more comfortable. He threw the suit on the floor and left it there, not caring whether it was expensive. Suits were so oppressive. He dropped himself on the bed, starfish style, and groaned.

He could not believe that had happened. How had he come to a gala just to run into the supposedly dead Jason-freaking-Todd Wayne? How was he going to explain any of this to the man? After all, Danny couldn’t count on Vlad being normal about it. He’d lost his son, and now he was suddenly back. Not that Danny didn’t think the man didn’t have the right to act weird about it, but still, someone had to be the normal one around here.

Danny must’ve dozed off because he felt his ghost sense go off, and he opened his eyes.

“Really, Daniel, now isn’t the time to sleep.”

“On the contrary, it’s the perfect time to rest,” Danny answered in a snarky voice. Just because he felt bad for the Fruit Loop, it didn’t mean he couldn’t sass the man.

“How was the flight? How long has it been?”

“It’s a little past 10 o’clock. It only took me fifty-seven minutes to get here.”

“Huh,” was Danny’s brilliant response.

“How is he? Is he happy? How tall is he? Did he look hurt in any way? I see scars on his face. Do you think Wayne takes good care of him?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I only met him for a few minutes; I don’t have the answer to all those questions, Vlad.”

Vlad deflated a little.

“I’m sorry, little badger, I’m curious and want to know more about my son.”

Danny sighed. He could understand that.

“He’s tall. Not as tall as my dad, but tall. He’s got some serious muscles, which in no way could’ve been inherited from you, btw. He has a temper, which probably was inherited from you,” Danny joked. “He looked happy on stage, hugging Bruce Wayne.”

Vlad gave a bittersweet smile.

“I can’t wait to meet him.”

“Yeah, about that, how do you plan to introduce yourself? You can’t go up to him and say, ‘Hey, I’m your dad.’ I don’t see that going well.”

Vlad turned his back on Danny.

“I don’t know.”

Silence reigned for a while. It was broken by Vlad with a sigh.

“Really, Daniel, I spent a lot of money on this suit. Could you treat it a little better?”

Vlad picked it up, examining it for any specks of dirt it might have picked up on the floor. He plucked at the specks absentmindedly, lost in thought.

Vlad tensed suddenly, causing Danny to do the same. He picked something from the collar of his shirt and showed Danny a small bug with a mini red light flashing on and off. Vlad crushed the bug between his fingers and looked at Danny.

“How the hell did that get there?” Danny asked, bewildered. “I haven’t been around anyone except…” Danny’s eyes grew bigger in realization. “…Except Jason.”

Vlad’s sinister smile made Danny shiver. It was a smile he knew all too well from their past.

“It seems, little badger, that we won’t need to figure out a way to meet with him. He’ll probably come to us.”

____

Barbara Gordon, aka Oracle, was sifting through birth certificates in Wisconsin. She was starting in any hospital in a twenty-mile radius from where Vlad Masters was going to school at that time.

So far, she hadn’t had any hits.

Barbara wondered if she would even find anything.

She looked at Jason’s birth certificate uploaded to the Batcomputer. It was old and tattered with faded lettering. Unfortunately, Crime Alley still hadn’t created a digital record at the time of Jason’s birth. Hell, even now, it was rare for them to upload birth certificates to Gotham’s database, despite Wayne Enterprises’ efforts to promote modern technology. 

Still, what hadn’t faded clearly stated that Willis Todd was Jason’s father. It even bore the man’s signature.

Barbara was lost in thought when a ping sounded. She looked up, surprised. That was quicker than she had expected.

She took a deep breath. Here was the proof they wanted.

Vlad Masters had taken a DNA test with a newborn baby on Jason’s birthday. The mother: Sheila Haywood.

She dug deeper, needing to find out more. She wouldn’t be a bat if she didn’t have an insatiable hunger to figure out a mystery. It didn’t help that it was for someone close to her.

No birth certificate had been issued for the newborn. At least, not in Wisconsin. It’s like both mother and baby had disappeared from the face of the Earth one week later. There were discharge papers, but that’s where the trail ended. She looked at the faded date on Jason’s birth certificate. Well, it ended, then picked up again in Park Row, Gotham, NJ.

The birth certificate was issued eight days after Sheila disappeared from Wisconsin.

She sent the information to the Batcomputer. She had done her job; now she had to wait to see what Jason wanted to do.

____

At exactly 10:08 pm, the bug planted on one Daniel Fenton went silent. Jason looked at the crowd with unseeing eyes. He didn’t even flinch when the static hit his eardrum, too numb to feel anything.

The bug may have been destroyed, but not before Jason and his family had heard Danny talking to someone who shouldn’t have gotten to Gotham so quickly.

Jason caught Bruce’s eye and nodded.

Jason didn’t know how Vlad had made it to Gotham so quickly, but that question was all the way at the bottom of his list. He had other, more important things to ask the man. Jason turned his back on the gala and left. He went straight to the garage to pick up the spare motorcycle he kept at Wayne Manor and took off.

It hadn’t been hard to find out which hotel Danny Fenton had been staying at, so that’s where Jason was going to go.