It had been about three weeks since Danny had ended up in Gotham, and he was still hiding out in Red Hood’s base. Danny should have left by now. He shouldn’t wake up every day and expect to see the other man, or wonder what food he’ll bring, or wait to see what book he’ll let Danny read to keep him busy. He was surprised that the anti-hero had let him stay this long, and the fact he allowed himself to stay there.
Now that it had been around three weeks, Danny couldn’t really tell time anymore, but he knew that he was overstaying his welcome. Red Hood was a genuinely nice guy, almost too nice sometimes, especially for his reputation as the “big bad crime lord”. Danny snorted at the thought, looking at the pile of books that he had already read, knowing that all of them had to belong to the Hood. Who would have thought that Gotham’s own well known anti-hero was a bookworm? Sometimes he even came off as a nerd, going on rants and debates with Danny about some of the books he seemed particularly passionate about. Danny didn’t really read before Red Hood lended him some books, let alone participate in deep conversations about them, but he had to admit it was nice.
Danny sighed, folding the blanket and laying it on top of the mattress. He shouldn’t be thinking of that right now, he didn’t want to make this harder than it should be. He should have never let himself get attached.
He looked at the notebook that Red had left for him a few days ago after hearing that Danny liked to draw sometimes. Danny only drew a few times in it, mostly little doodles or something to do with the books he read. Now though, he was writing a small note with a page he tore out.
Danny knew it wasn’t really fair. To leave the older male like this after everything he’s done for him without giving anything back. He was just trying to save Red Hood from the extra trouble, from all the baggage that he came with. It was the only thing that he could do to repay him at the moment, making this the easiest option. Maybe one day he’ll come back and properly thank him. He doesn’t know if he’ll even be around to see that day, but he’ll try, even if he can’t promise it.
After trying to clean up the warehouse as best as he could, he gave it a last look around. None of the things in there belonged to him, not even the clothes he had on, so he didn’t have anything to pack up. He had stacked the books up, leaving his farewell note on it, and rolled up the mattress he slept on. His wound was fully healed, not even leaving a scar, almost like nothing ever happened, and he had all of his energy back.
There wasn’t anything keeping him here anymore, no other excuses he could give himself to stay. Not that he should. He’s already been here too long. It was only a matter of time before all of his foolish actions followed him here, and he didn’t want anybody else in the crossfire, especially Red Hood. He didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want it to be true, but he cares about the man and he’s gotten far too close. It was one of the things making it so hard to leave.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the very familiar silent footsteps from the entrance of the warehouse. He was about to leave when he realized that these quiet steps were different from Red Hood’s, the pattern of them were too, and nowadays the man announced that he was there in order to not scare Danny. This wasn’t Red Hood, this was somebody else, and by the sounds of it they were trying to be careful, meaning that they weren't meant to be in here. Danny knew that he wouldn’t be safe here forever, that eventually somebody would find him. It was luck that it happened to be today while he was leaving.
Now on the verge of panicking, Danny went invisible and turned around to the wall, going intangible. He had a quick thought about taking the note in order to leave less of a trace, but went against it as there was plenty of other evidence he was here. He walked through the wall and flailed for a second as he realized he was pretty high up, before centering himself to float, not looking back at the intruder to even risk getting a look. He had to leave, before he was caught. He may be invisible at the moment, but he knows from experience that there were plenty of people with the technology to find him anyway, including an entire government branch.
He quickly changed into his ghost form, using extra focus to keep himself invisible while doing so, and flew off, no longer chained to gravity. It felt weird being in this form again after several weeks of keeping it hidden. Now though, he could feel how restless he’s become from being inside for so long, relishing in the way the moon shone instead of depending on artificial light. Even going through the smog and listening to the constant honking of cars or the distant sounds of gunfire soothed some part of him. It helped distract him from the ache in his core and the longing in his brain, away from the fact that he was leaving another thing he’s grown to again.
He flew, his legs becoming a wispy tail as he picked up speed, wanting to get away from the warehouse as quickly as possible, as if it’d help him forget these feelings.
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Red Robin was closing in on the next warehouse he was going to investigate, but at this point he was starting to think that none of them was going to hold any clues as to what Jason could be up to. He began this search a few days after his talk with Alfred, and he has still yet to not come up with anything more than speculation and observation.
It was infuriating to say the least, an insult to his skills. He had asked Barbara to try and keep a close tab on him while he was Red Hood, because as much as Tim would have liked to himself, he wasn’t nearly as tech savvy as Oracle. The woman agreed, somewhat, saying that she already was keeping close eyes on him as she could. Tim knew that she already had a lot on her plate to keep track of and work on, but he hoped that she understood how serious this situation could be.
History often does repeat itself, but Tim didn’t want it to this time, and he was going to make sure it didn’t. Red Hood being gone may get rid of Tim’s “replacement” title, but that didn’t mean he wanted the man dead.
Tim sighed internally, now right next to the warehouse. This was the sixth one he’s been to in the last two days, and he’s been trying to see if any of Red Hood’s bases would have any kind of clue as to what has been going on. He’s been trying extra careful to not get caught this time, resorting to the process of elimination instead of following Red Hood, going so far as to avoid wherever the man was while searching.
Cracking open a small vent, Tim hurriedly wiggled himself inside, picking himself up from the ground and glancing around. Unlike many of the other warehouses, this one had the lights on, meaning that somebody had to be in here. He stood there, listening for any signs of life, when he heard a small rustling sound deeper into the building on the right side.
Tim had a feeling it wasn’t Red Hood, or any of his people, as there would be a lot more commotion if it was, not this unnerving quietness and chill that lingered for too long. He began to slowly creep forward, walking on practically silent feet, dodging the light by rushing in between shadows. As he continued to get closer to the part he heard the noise, the hair on the back of his neck rose, and he had to suppress a shiver. It may have been abnormally cool, but it wasn’t that cold, so what could be making him feel this way? It wasn’t fear, as his heart rate hadn’t increased. It was odd, and it made him even more curious, almost morbidly so.
Then, when he finally peaked around a corner, the feeling was gone, and nobody was there. He was confused and disappointed, as he swore he heard something. Then he walked more into it, looking around with furrowed eyebrows. There was a rolled up mattress and a blanket on the floor, which wasn’t usual for any of Red Hood’s places, as he didn’t tend to stay in them. He made his way over to them, inspecting them, noticing how there wasn’t a hint of dust on it, looking like it was just folded. A sign that somebody was just here.
Where were they now? They couldn’t have left through where Tim came in from or the entrance, as he would have seen them pass by. There were no windows or vents in this area, and although there might be one somewhere else in the building, the person couldn’t have had enough time to get to them before Tim made his way here. It made no sense and he hated it. How did this person straight up disappear?
Unless they were a meta.
He shook his head, realizing that a meta being in Gotham was a low chance outside from the main rogues and Duke. A lot of them didn’t come to the city, even with the protection laws, due to Batman immediately investigating them. It wasn’t that the man hated metas, even though Tim knew he had a somewhat dislike of them, but they always seemed to cause trouble. Either by becoming the next big villain or getting targeted themselves, it caused quite a mess for Bruce to deal with.
Though, it may explain why Red Hood was being so secretive and cautious, knowing that keeping a meta hidden would get him in trouble. Tim shoved that theory in his brain, keeping it for him to ponder about later, when he had more evidence to back it up.
Still wondering how a person managed to escape without him noticing, Tim backed away from the mattress and began to search the rest of the room. There wasn’t much in there that was noteworthy, the crates holding Red Hood’s normal supply and everything else seemingly normal. Then his eyes caught onto the stack of books in the corner, with what appeared to be a piece of paper on top. He started walking over to it, before he heard the large metal door at the entrance open up.
Sparing another quick glance at the paper, only able to read the first sentence, something about being thankful and sorry that they was leaving, making Tim even more confused, he quickly made his way to hide behind some crates. He waited tensely as Red Hood crossed the floors of his warehouse, coming towards the place Tim was at.
“Hey brat, I’m back! I brought some food I think you might like!” He shouted, shaking a package of oreos, surprising Tim. The man was in fact keeping somebody here, and it seemed like it was a kid from the name he called them. This was the reason Jason has been more busy lately, disappearing more often and for longer lengths of time. He was taking care of somebody. It all made sense to Tim now, the pieces clicking together in his brain that were already starting to form.
As the man got closer, Tim began to sneak away, heading for the entrance, luckily not getting caught as he passed the other. He was at the vent he came in through, already bending down to fight his way back through it.
“Kid?..” Tim was halfway through when he heard the confused question of the man quietly echo through the building, already knowing that he had found out the person was gone. Tim made a quick mental note that the person was indeed a child, which he didn’t know how to feel about, as Red Hood didn’t seem like the type of person to take care of a kid.
Rolling out from the warehouse, he started to hurriedly depart from the building, the new information he had circling in his brain with a thousand more questions.
He felt like this just got a lot more complicated, and that whoever this “kid” was, was at least somewhat important to Jason. Who and what they are was the biggest question. Though now Tim had to wonder where they were as well. If only he had enough time to read the note, maybe he would have more information to figure this all out.
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As soon as Jason walked into the warehouse he had been allowing Danny to stay in, he knew something was off. It didn’t feel right, and it was too quiet. Still, he brushed it off and continued to walk to where Danny usually stayed, hoping that he was there reading the newest book he brought in or something.
“Hey brat, I’m back! I brought some food I think you might like!” He yelled into the building, the words echoing around the room as he shook the package of oreos he had in his hand. He knew that it wasn’t an actual meal, but he had to make things work as he sort of rushed over here when he realized that he hadn’t given the kid any food since way earlier that day. He was trying his best to take care of the teen while also keeping him hidden. Afterall, he still didn’t know what to do with him despite the fact of him being a meta or some other species.
He hasn't got around to asking the other either, as he felt like it was never the right time to ask something so personal. The boy was already skittish enough as it was, he didn’t want to make him more uncomfortable with intrusive questions. He was also widely considered to be part of Batman’s brood as well, even though he would never count himself as a bat, and a crime lord of sorts. That’s not the most welcoming image to have when it comes to talking about very sensitive topics.
He noticed how he didn’t get a response, such as “whatever old man” or “whatcha got?” that he usually got. There wasn’t even a sound, and it made Red Hood feel weird, an uncomfortable pit sinking in his stomach. Turning the corner, he was hoping to see Danny on the mattress asleep or for him to pop up and scare him, but there was nobody, and what he did see made the pit worse.
The mattress was rolled up and the blanket was folded on top of it. The stack of books was neatly tucked into the corner, a piece of paper lying on top with the notebook beside the books.
“Kid?..” He called, glancing around, already having a feeling what was on the note. He sighed, dropping the cookies on a nearby crate and walked over to the stack of books. He bent down and picked up the paper, reading it.
I’d like to say thank you for everything, and sorry for leaving so suddenly. I just needed to go before something I didn’t like happened. You’re a pretty cool guy, and definitely my favorite anti-hero or vigilante in Gotham now. I can’t exactly repay you right now, but one day I’ll try to, so don’t die before then. Okay?
See ya later,
Danny
Jason cursed, his hand tightening around the small note, crumbling a bit. He knew he should’ve done something, spoke to Danny sooner, anything! Danny couldn’t be alone in this city. Not without knowing how to properly survive or at least a good way to leave it. He wasn’t from here and was now smack in the middle of Crime Alley. It would be dangerous, especially with him not caring to hide he wasn’t a normal human. Who knows what can happen to him? Who would hurt him if they caught him?
Feeling the usual rise of anger in him, he punched the wall, not wanting it to consume him. He really needed to get his anger issues under control, as they always seemed to bother him at the worst times, including when he was worried.
Wait, worried? Yeah, Jason has been caring for Danny and trying to keep him away from trouble, but being worried meant he got attached to the boy. He cursed again, unlatching his helmet and tossing it to the ground, tangling his fingers in his hair as he tried to get himself to think while calming his nerves.
He needed to find Danny and make sure he didn’t get harmed in this city with a bunch of wackos in it. He wouldn’t keep him in the warehouse this time, as he would figure out another place for him to stay. Maybe with him? Sure, his apartment in Crime Alley may not be the safest place to live, but it would be a lot better than this building. This time he’d actually get some answers from Danny without causing him to run off, and explain to him that Gotham wasn’t a safe place for him. He might even have to find him another place to go to, because he surely wasn’t as hell going to tell Bruce that there was potentially a new meta or alien or whatever the fuck Danny was in the city, only for him to get suspicious and overreact.
Stuffing the note in his pocket, he slipped his helmet back on and steadied his feet. He’ll have to find Danny before any of the other bats do, as he knows how well that’ll go, and before the other could get too far away. There was also the chance of some other dangerous person finding him, such as a rogue or a creep. If any of them hurt Danny, he’d probably kill them, it’s not like he really cared about the Bat’s rules.
Marching out of the warehouse and hopping onto his bike, he revved it up once before speeding off, determined to find the boy before anything happened. He felt responsible for him now, and he wasn’t about to let something happen to the brat. Not when he could stop it. -Not when he cared.-