Jason didn't see Peter at all that night.
He was surprised by this. Despite his warning before he left, Jason had fully resigned himself to having a rogue Spider-Man on his hands. Peter took to shows of authority about as well as any vigilante did (Jason included) … which was to say, not well at all. So Jason settled for a thinly-veiled warning about the anticipated — but as yet unknown — disaster that Halloween would inevitably be, in the hopes that Peter would be a bit more cautious. It might've been a vain hope, but Jason also knew that now Peter had put on the mask, there was little he could do to stop him.
Rather than immediately going on patrol, Jason made the rounds: checking in on his various fronts, and the girls on the streets. There weren't many around. The build up to Halloween meant only the most desperate were willing to work, and Jason wanted to ensure there was no one dumb enough to prey upon that sentiment and do something that would land them with a knife in the dick.
He did keep his eyes out for Peter. About forty minutes after he'd left, he'd had a notification that Peter had exited the apartment (and then the building) — fully dressed. Perhaps he had somesense, not drawing attention to their apartment by making it a place that Spider-Man frequented. But from that point, he disappeared. Jason had a few cameras planted around the building, since it was inherently endangered by his presence (even if he took as many precautions as he could to cut off any associations with Red Hood), but beyond that he was blind unless he got to a computer. Or asked Barbara for help.
He did contemplate doing so. But decided against it in the end, largely because he wasn't interested in explaining that Peter had an alter-ego to match with the rest of them. Too much effort for not enough gain and he had shit to do. Peter might be inexperienced, but Jason got the impression he was capable; despite the growing danger, he didn't think Peter was in danger. Not if he had worked as Spider-Man for four years already and made a name for himself, as he'd claimed.
So Jason kept his eyes peeled, but he didn't go looking for Spider-Man. Perhaps naively, he thought they'd coincidentally stumble across each other, as they had last night.
He thought wrong. Not hide nor hair was seen of Spider-Man as Jason did his rounds. That wasn't to say that Spider-Man wasn't seen. Jason was informed by more than a few concerned girls and gang members that they'd caught sight of someone encroaching on his territory. But the 'someone' was swinging by too fast for any to catch in a picture, and it was too dark to discern more.
"If it weren't for Fran, I'da though they were flying," Chel, one of the girls that worked on Westminster Street told him sardonically. "I gotta get my eyes checked, eh, Red?"
Said eyes were dilated and jittery with the tell-tale signs of substance abuse. Cocaine, probably.
As said: it was the extra desperate ones that stuck to the streets so close to Halloween.
"You should," Jason agreed. "You still going to the Safehouse[1] on Promont?"
"Eh." She shrugged. "When I can."
"Go tonight when you're done," he told her. "They'll set you up with a check-in at the Clinic."
Chel rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure." A beat-up sedan rolled past but pulled off as the driver noticed Jason. Chel scowled. "Off you pop. Yer scarin' off my rides."
Jason shook his head at the bad joke but left her to it.
It wasn't the only conversation he had about someone passing through Park Row, but somehow Jason missed Peter on every occasion…. He wasn't prepared to chalk that up to coincidence or purposeful avoidance just yet. But he did feel oddly annoyed. Hadn't Peter wanted to work with him? Why not seek Jason out now that they'd broken into NRE together?
Whatever. If Peter at least had a brain in that pretty head of his, he'd try not to draw attention to himself with the other Bats and stick to Park Row. Jason was already anticipating Bruce being a pain in the ass over the 'new player' in Gotham, and Batman's reputation as a territorial asshole was bound to have crossed Peter's radar. He seemed pretty knowledgeable of Gotham's nightlife, which in Jason's books, was a point in his favour.
Despite the mild affront, once Jason did his rounds he returned to his den: the one above the abandoned post office across from Ivan Park (although 'park' was something of a misnomer. Ivan Park was little more than a half-block of overgrown grass and concrete, the playground he remembered from his childhood long since stolen for scrap). He intended to go through NRE's ledger of stolen goods.
The records were written with a casual hand, and deliberately vague. Date, seller (nothing more than initials), number of items, catalogued types under a loose code, and the exchanged price. The log went back three months, with at least two sales a week — sometimes more. Most showed an exchange for money, but things changed in the middle of August. Suddenly the exchange of goods wasn't entirely money. Every couple of weeks, the price was marked by a simple D before the estimated value, and each time, it was to the same seller's initials: LC.
It was no high-level conspiracy.
Conveniently, it looked like the last exchange with LC had been about twelve days ago. Meaning there was likely to be another meeting in the next few days.
He'd stick a camera around the back tonight. Chances were this 'LC' would push forward the exchange in anticipation for the disruption of Halloween.
This was good: it gave Peter something to chew on that didn't involve whichever rogue reared their ugly head, and offered easy justification for keeping him on a low risk stake out at NRE.
Jason called Peter's burner and picked up the coffee he'd made before working on the ledger. The cell almost rang out before it was picked up.
He didn't bother waiting for Peter to say something snarky. "I've been looking through that book. Are you free? I want to go through what I found."
There was a long pause, and Jason took the opportunity to sip at his neglected coffee. Cold. Gross.
He took another sip anyway.
Then a child said quietly, "Hi, who's this?"
Jason promptly choked. "Uh," he said intelligently, once he gathered his wits and his breath back. "Who's this?"
"This is Na—" the child cut off abruptly before restarting. "Actually, I dunno if I should say? Were you trying to call Spider-Man?"
"Is he around?" Jason straightened, suddenly concerned. What could have happened that it was now a child answering his burner? What kind of trouble had Peter gotten himself into already? "Is he okay?"
"Probably?" the child — Jason thought it might be a girl — said. "He gave me his phone."
Are you fucking kidding me.
One day. Peter lasted one day with the burner and he was already handing it out like fucking candy. Jason fervently hoped this wasn't Peter's M.O.; the guy would bankrupt himself by the end of the month. NRE paid Peter well, but not that well.
Jason glanced at the time on the microwave. It was 12:43. "When was this?"
"Mm," the kid hummed. "I dunno. A few hours, maybe?"
A few hours. Plenty of time for Peter to have got himself into trouble without a point of contact.
He couldn't have contacted you anyway. You never gave him your number, he reminded himself. But it felt different knowing Peter was out there without a way for Jason to contact him.
"Why'd he give you his phone?" Jason asked warily. The kid wasn't exactly a wealth of information, but they were more than nothing.
"Oh! I needed to speak with Papi."
Cool. So that was entirely unhelpful. He sighed heavily and scrubbed at his face. As always, the delicate skin along the bridge of his nose was especially irritated by the domino. "Okay. Then, nevermind."
"I can tell him you called? If I see him again?"
"No need," Jason said. Considering I live with the idiot. "Go to bed, kid."
"I was," the child said defensively, like they'd been caught out doing something they shouldn't. Jason grinned despite himself.
"Put the video game away and get some sleep. It's a school night."
"I was reading! It was a good part!"
Peter knew how to pick 'em.
"What book?" Jason asked, unable to help himself. He was suddenly thrown back to being ten years old, hiding under the covers with a flashlight as he consumed anything he could get a hold of from the library. He couldn't remember any of those books, but he could remember the terrified hope that his dad wouldn't wake up and notice his illicit activities.
"Mm. Deltora Quest[2]."
Jason blinked. The name was familiar, but he couldn't recall anything about it. "Which one?" he somehow knew to ask.
"The fourth one," came the kid's smug reply.
"Cool." Jason shook off the nostalgia. Responsible adult. Play the responsible adult. "Y'know, the good part'll still be there when you wake up."
"Sure," said the kid, with all the sincerity of a gossiper promising to keep a secret to themselves.
"Or be too tired for school," Jason huffed, laughing despite himself. "See if I care, kid."
"Sure," the kid said again. "I'm putting my book away riiight now."
"You do that. Great chat, kid."
"Sure," came the sly reply. "Y'know, it's bedtime for grown-ups, too."
He grinned. "It is. And that's exactly what I'll be doing." In about three hours. "Sleep well, kid."
"Bye! Oh! If you see Spider-Man, tell him I said thanks."
"Sure," Jason echoed. "Now go to bed."
He hung up. Though he'd not been able to speak to Peter, he felt a little lighter. Sometimes, Jason thought he forgot who he worked for.
As he skulled the rest of his cold coffee, Jason belatedly realised that in his haste to speak to Peter (and get him out of harm's way), he'd neglected to activate the voice modulator on his cell.
Crap. Maybe it was for the best that it wasn't Peter that answered. It'd be embarrassing as hell to out himself as Red Hood so soon after he'd met Spider-Man.
— + —
CLICK [HERE] FOR TEXT ONLY
— + —
Jason was woken by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. He groaned in despair: there was no need to look at the clock, he could tell from the heaviness in his bones he must've only have had about three hours' sleep.
The ringing carried on without mercy, apathetic to his pains.
Spitefully, he considered ignoring it. Or breaking the phone. But that ringtone only popped up when Babs was calling about something important.
Not emergency level important. But important enough that she'd make his life hell if he let her go unanswered.
He fumbled blindly, still unwilling to open his eyes and admit defeat — Jason knew he wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon — and swiped equally blindly at where he assumed the answer function was. It took a few tries until he finally managed and the bedroom fell blessedly quiet once more.
"Fucking what," he snarled none-too-kindly.
There was an infuriating laugh from the other side. "Good morning to you too, Prince Charming."
"Piss off. The only good morning is one that's over."
"Amen," Barbara said sagely. "How goes domestic bliss?"
"Just swell. At least Pete lets me sleep in."
"It's half-past nine."
"Gesundheit."
"Don't be a baby. You had to get up this time last week, for an outing which I wasn't invited to, I might add."
"Sure," Jason grunted, ignoring her jab. "But I was prepared for it. Just 'cause you're a professional insomniac doesn't mean all of us are."
"Poor Jay," Barbara cooed with empty sympathy. "Up an at 'em. We need to talk."
Okay, so it wasn't something like the world-ending, then. Jason sighed. "Can it wait? Give me another five hours."
"Nope. Your roomie has gone out for the morning with that dog I've still not met — which is a crime by the way—"
"You don't even like dogs."
"That's untrue. I love other people's dogs just fine. Even Bruce has met her! I'm feeling left out."
Jason sighed. He supposed Peter's absence explained the early morning phone call. "Then come for dinner sometime. Now what do you want."
"We're putting a pin in that dinner invite, but in the meantime let me paint you a story, Jason." Babs' light tone instantly put Jason on edge and he forced his eyes open. Sure enough, the digital clock by his bedside declared he'd managed the princely sum of three hours and forty-two minutes' worth of sleep. Fuck's sake. "There I was last night, merrily minding the business of every soul in Gotham, when something strange pops up."
Jason sat up, blankets pooling at his waist. He could see where this was going.
"And then it pops up again and again and again! Zipping from east to west, not fast enough to be a speedster that doesn't know any better, but certainly not slow enough to be a regular human. Concerning, I think. It seems almost like they're casing the joint. In fact, I catch them on camera actually writing in a notebook. They were taking notes, Jason!"
He swallowed, uncharacteristically nervous because yep, he knew exactly where this was going.
Maybe he should've alerted Babs last night after all.
"And then, when I review the footage, I see that this masked maniac seems to be swinging around on a web! How curious! How concerning! Because it looks like we've got ourselves a new meta in the city. One preparing to make a name for themselves and I've no idea if he's meant to be friend or foe or something in between!"
"Babs—"
"Let me finish," she hissed, snakeline through the connection. Jason closed his mouth, but only because he knew exactly what she was about to hold over his head. "See, then I realise there's something about the symbol on their chest. It's a spider, see." Jason winced. "Such a curious choice, don't you think? Vaguely sinister, too. So, I send Cass to investigate—"
Cass? That was… better than Jason could have hoped for, actually. Of course Babs and Cass would put two and two together (for different reasons), but at least they both had some sense of discretion (again, for different reasons).
"— And she comes back to tell me some veeerry interesting things, Jason. The kinds of things I'm sure you can work out for yourself, considering I'm calling you."
"Does Bruce know?"
"You keep this big a secret from me, and that's what you ask me?"
"In all fairness Babs, I only knew the night before last."
The confession only appeared to temporarily pause Barbara's wrath. "I refuse to believe you didn't have suspicions before then!"
"We~ell…"
"You knew he was a meta! Part spider, Jason! You are fucking insufferable! Jason Peter Todd, I'll be making the most of that dinner invite to throttle you! Right in front of your spidery fake-boyfriend!"
"Kinky."
Barbara let out an inarticulate growl of rage. Jason probably shouldn't be grinning, but hey, he was safe from her view in his bedroom. "You promised me he wouldn't be a threat!"
"And he isn't. You've met him, Babs. Look at the guy and tell me you think he's villain material."
"That's beside the point!"
"And you already knew he was a meta. I told you about the spider thing as a professional courtesy. So I didn't tell you I had suspicions he might've been involved in the masked work—"
"So you admit it!"
"Sure." He shrugged, unseen. "He thinks like a cape. Got all the usual, self-sacrificing, noble-minded bullshit. But he'd clearly been through the wringer. I wasn't going to bring him into the fold until he was ready. Never, if that's what was needed."
"And I suppose you think last night's the proof he's ready," Babs scoffed.
I don't know about that, Jason thought darkly but kept to himself. "Better he eases himself into things."
"You should have said something!"
"Look, Babs," Jason sighed. He scrubbed his face tiredly. "I know Pete the best. Bringing him in too early wouldn't end well. For reasons even I don't know, he's a lone wolf. Self-inflicted, I'm pretty sure. He might be living with me, but that guy keeps shit to himself. A few weeks with a housemate weren't gonna change that."
"Gee, that sounds familiar."
"Yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy, thank-you," he grumped. "I'm just saying, I didn't think it was in anyone's best interests to say anything. And don't tell me you lot could have watched him from afar: Peter's clocked on immediately to being followed. Every time. What do you think a rootless guy's gonna do if he thinks there's too many eyes on them?"
"They'd run." A sigh gusted over the phone. "Fine! I understand, but I maintain the right to be pissed. I ran that bloodwork for you, Jay! Where is he even from? I've gone looking for anyone with a similar rap sheet, but I'm drawing blanks."
Jason kept his mouth shut. Most of Barbara's frustration, he knew, stemmed from the fact that she was a control freak who liked to know everything… a running theme through the Bats. But Peter's status as a trans-universal traveller felt like something he wanted to keep to himself… and the message bank of John Constantine.
Babs did not take his silence well. "You can't tell me you don't have any suspicions! Someone like Peter doesn't just pop up out of nowhere, Jason!"
"There's a first time for everything."
Barbara's inarticulate growl through the phone had him grinning. "You are such an ass!"
"I do have a great ass, thank-you."
The inarticulate growl turned into gagging.
Jason sobered. "Does Bruce know?" he asked again.
Babs sighed. "That this new guy on the streets is Peter? Not yet." Both knew it wouldn't be long. Jason hoped to extend that time as long as possible. "Had you bothered speaking to Bruce when he asked, you'd know he'd noticed something on the streets Thursday night, but there was nothing clear. Not like last night. The cat's out of the bag now he's decided to show his face — or his mask, I guess — out in public."
It was very much out of the bag. Jason was both concerned about Peter's decision, and pleased he was the first to come across Peter as Spider-Man (which had to prove that Peter knew the source of his powers. No way that name was a coincidence. But whether Peter's flippant line about a brush with a radioactive spider was true was another thing entirely… although it might explain the mild radioactivity Duke had assured Jason wasn't about to give anyone around Peter super cancer or something equally horrific).
He'd already begun tossing up whether to reveal his hand to Peter…
After all: it was easy enough to hide a vigilante identity when there was only one person in the game; a hell of a lot harder to manage when you both were going out at night. It was only a matter of time before Peter used his considerable intellect and put two and two together…
… If he hadn't already…
But things would get a hell of a lot worse if the Bats knew the identity of Spider-Man. There'd be no keeping them away in that case. And that wasn't even considering what Bruce might do…
"Are you intending to say anything?"
"About Spider-Man's identity? For now, no. Nor does Cass. She said he was going to make a difference." Jason sagged with relief. That was high praise from the stoic Cass. "But he got a runaway back to her family last night and shit like that doesn't go unnoticed by Gotham."
"He saved a kid?" Jason asked, laughing in disbelief. Well, that explained how the kid got Peter's phone. Dumbass. "Fuck, and here you are actin' like he's the next big rogue? Are you serious?"
"Sometimes the Bat-classic paranoia comes in handy!"
"Sure, sure." He collapsed back onto his bed. Maybe if he wrapped this conversation up soon, he could get a few more hours of sleep? Then he could deal with the Peter Parker Problem… "Are we done here?"
"No."
Jason groaned.
"Besides ripping you a new one about Peter, I wanted to know if you'd heard of any disappearances in Park Row the past few weeks."
"… Pyg?"
"It is his M.O."
"None more than the usual," Jason admitted. "I've had people on the lookout, but I've not been back long enough to rebuild an extensive informant network. The eyes I've got are firmly planted on the Alley. Any news on those missing seals?"
"No," Babs sighed. "Nothing. God, I hate Pyg!"
"Preaching to the choir, sister."
"Ugh, you're so annoying."
Jason grinned.
"Bats wants a meeting tonight. He'll be expecting you there."
"We'll see," Jason said, fully intending to blow him off.
As though sensing his decision, Barbara sighed again. "You're going to be hunting for our new spider, aren't you."
"Sure am. Fill me in on what's discussed?"
"So annoying," she repeated. Jason chuckled. "Though I guess it's not the worst thing. Cass mentioned that he seemed a bit green. Could use some training."
"Ah yes, and I of course am the perfect candidate for that."
"Didn't you play nanny-slash-teacher for those kids of Luthor's?"
Jason winced. Guess the news had spread around. "If you recall, I palmed 'em off to Ma Gunn[4] as soon as I was able."
"Hmm," Babs hummed, unconvinced. "Well, he needs someone to bring him up to Gotham's speed and keep B off his back. And since you're not attending the meeting…"
"Fuck you," Jason groaned, as if he hadn't already intended on doing exactly what Babs was insinuating. He just didn't want her to think it was her idea. He was petty like that. Always had been. It was probablythe street rat in him… Probably. "I'm going back to sleep."
"Good luck with that," she chuckled, then hung up without so much as a 'see ya'. Damn Bats.
Jason dropped his phone beside him and closed his eyes, determined to go back to sleep. But Oracle lived up to her name and sleep proved itself to be impossible.
This was all Peter's fault.
[1] Jason is referring to a supervised injection site and I've 100% ripped the 'safehouse' name from the real nonprofit that operates in Philadelphia under the same name (safehousephilly.org/). There is a good amount of evidence to suggest SIS's reduce harm for users, and drug-related crimes in the surrounding areas (American Family Physician Foundation). As his own mother died of an overdose, I 100% believe this is something Jason would have had set up in hotspots throughout Park Row (as its 2016 and SIS's were only ruled legal in 2019, I don't think the Martha Foundation or WI would have been able to legally fund such establishments).
[2] IDK if Emily Rodda's 'Deltora Quest' saw any child outside of Australia (apparently an anime was made of it though?), but they were an iconic book of my childhood and the perfect book for a child Naomi's age. I couldn't resist.
[CLICK TO RETURN]
Batfam Young Adult Edition, Time reads 2:06AM
2:02AM I'll Spoil YOU: (image of Spider-Man swinging between highrise buildings)
2:03AM I'll Spoil YOU: babe when you said new spider discovered I thought u ment literally.
2:04AM I'll Spoil YOU: This is why ur the worst robin
2:06AM Orphan Annie: :(
[4] Faye 'Ma' Gunn used to run a boarding school that turned out to be a front and taught its students how to be criminals… Canonically this is where Batman sent Jason before he was adopted by Bruce Wayne, who only did so after Jason exposed Ma's activities to Batman. She reappeared as a recurring character in RHATO (Rebirth) as a maternal figure to Jason (she had reformed herself once she was released from prison), and for a time the Outlaws actually lived with her in the former school. There are some half-finished/developed story threads in this run, including the implication that she is actually Jason's paternal grandmother. After Jason finished 'teaching' the child villains that Lex Luthor was training for some reason ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) , he left them with Ma for further rehabilitation / education.