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Jason knew about soulmates.
Before his mom died she told him stories about them, and how she had wished desperately that she would have a soulmate, but was among the majority of people who didn’t. When she was sure she didn’t have one, she started hoping that he would.
Kids on the street talk about soulmates a lot.
Everyone dreams that their soulmate will be better off than them, that they will be able to help them escape from a life in Crime Alley.
They also talk in whispers about the nightmarish possibility that their soulmate could be even worse off than them.
Stories of people who wake up screaming in pain the moment they feel their soulmate connection are passed around in dark alleys and abandoned buildings on moonless nights.
While it is possible for your soulmate to be anyone, anywhere, it is common for soulmates to be in similar geographical areas and social groups. About 67% of people who have a soulmate went to the same high school as their soulmate. But about 33% of people have a soulmate not from their city, and about 11% have a soulmate not even from their country.
There are mixed feelings on the streets about soulmates.
While some love the magic and fantasy of soulmates and can’t wait to find out if they are among the lucky 46 or so percent who have one, some hope that they don’t.
It isn’t practical. A soulmate is a whole other person to care about, to try to keep fed and safe, a person who shares their pain with you.
Even though you only feel one fourth of the pain your soulmate is in, it is still very much pain. If your soulmate is in a really bad situation, which is very possible in Crime Alley, then you can be in a lot of pain. Not to mention the pain when your soulmate dies. Many people never fully recovered from that.
And opportunistic gangs like to take advantage of those with soulmates. They kidnap one soulmate, and use them to make the other do their bidding. They torture one person and the other feels the pain, but because it is one fourth of the actual pain, it isn’t so debilitating that they can’t do what the gang wants. And many gangs have a reputation for killing when they don’t get what they want.
Jason isn’t sure if he wants a soulmate.
It would be nice to have someone to love him unconditionally, but there are stories of people finding out that their soulmate is not the same social standing as them, and refusing to have anything to do with them as a result. Between that and all the other possibilities for pain, he is leaning towards hoping he doesn’t have one.
When he becomes Robin, he decides he really doesn’t want a soulmate.
He doesn’t want to have to explain the injuries he gets, and he most definitely does not want there to be someone who can be used against him.
Of course Bruce will do everything he can to keep Jay’s soulmate safe, he has contingency plans in case he or Dick gets a soulmate. But not even the best contingency plans can guarantee no harm.
Bruce doesn’t have a soulmate, and neither does Dick, at least not that he knows of. There is still a possibility he might have one younger than him.
Alfred had a soulmate, one he never talks about. Apparently his soulmate died rather brutally a long time ago.
Bruce’s parents, as well as Dick’s parents, had been soulmates, and so the two of them had grown up with stories of how magical soulmates were. Dick really hopes he will get a soulmate one day, and can’t wrap his head around the fact that Jason doesn’t want one.
As his sixteenth birthday nears, Jason can’t help be be a little nervous.
He needn’t have been so nervous, is one of his last thoughts before the warehouse explodes around him, he can’t have a soulmate if he doesn’t reach his sixteenth birthday.
As he wakes up in his grave and digs himself out, soulmates are the furthest thing from his mind. As Talia pushes him into the acidic green pool, and begins to brainwash him, he no longer even has the capability to even think about soulmates.
When a message appears on his arm six months after his 16th birthday, he barely notices, and when Talia welds metal guards onto his arms, he doesn’t consider the implications. Isn’t really capable of that yet.
When he reaches Gotham, his brain is often filled with green, but sometimes he has a little bit of clarity.
During a short episode of clarity, he ponders the metal welded onto his arms. He thinks that it is some kind of armour, but it’s not quite the same as the rest of his armour, and it’s odd he can’t take it off.
It isn’t until he rescues some soulmate hostages being held by a gang with similar guards on their arms that he realizes it is definitely not armour.
He debates for a long time whether he should take them off or not.
He isn’t scared that he might have a soulmate.
He isn’t.
He just thinks the extra protection on his arms is convenient. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, maybe he doesn’t actually have a soulmate and it’s actually is just armour that Talia decided he shouldn’t be able to remove for some reason. That could totally be it, right?
He doesn’t dare dream that there is a person who might care about him, maybe even love him.
And he certainly doesn’t let any thoughts about the pain he is putting his potential soulmate through pass through his mind.
He has better things to do than feel guilty.
Like work on his big plan.
It isn’t curiosity about his soulmate, and what messages said soulmate might be leaving on his arm, that prompts his decision to remove the soul guards. No, of course not, it is a purely tactical decision. His favourite leather jacket will fit better, and be easier to take on and off if his arm are freed of the soul guards.
And if he can now see messages from his soulmate, well that is just what it is, it’s not like Jason will ever respond.
It is strange.
Not necessarily a bad strange, just weird.
His soulmate cares about him.
It shouldn’t really be a surprise, that’s what soulmates are supposed to do, but Jason kinda half expected his soulmate to hate him for all the pain he has and is causing. Instead, every time he gets injured, he gets a message on his arm saying that he hopes he’s ok, and that he heals well and soon. Telling him that if he just asks, just gives a single reply with the needed information, then help will be on the way instantly. His soulmate tells of his job in law enforcement and his many connections, and promised to do anything possible to help.
All he has to do is ask.
Jason is tempted.
He would never admit it, but sometimes, when he is all alone, he brings his finger near his arm, itching to scrawl a reply.
Longing to say something, anything, to his soulmate.
But he doesn’t.
He can’t.
His soulmate is involved in law enforcement, and he is a crime lord. It would be a terrible idea to start replying.
Still, he can’t help but wonder. Can’t resist imagining what would happen if he replied. He doesn’t even have to tell his soulmate anything important like his name or location, he could just talk about that book he just read.
The day of Jason’s big plan arrives.
And things do not go according to plan.
As he lays in a pool of his own blood, blood spilled my the man he once called his father, his thoughts drift, as they often do, towards his soulmate.
Will his soulmate care about this injury? It’s severe enough he very well may die. Will his soulmate be worried? Concerned? Probably, judging by the messages he gets every time he gets injured.
But maybe his soulmate will be relieved if he dies.
Sure, the pain of his death will be bad, but then there will be no more pain, the near constant pain will end.
And it’s not like they even know each other well enough that his death will hurt, thanks to Jason’s decision to not message back, right?
But it’s a little premature to think about that right now, isn’t it?
Despite the large slit in his throat, Jason is still alive.
Jason lifts up his hand from it’s spot against his throat. He watches the blood drip down his hand, across his arm. Watches it obscure the messages he can’t read due to the blurriness of his eyes.
He considers just staying on the ground, in the ever expanding pool of blood, and letting death take him.
He lets his arm drop down, and blood splashes his clothes. Will this be the last thing he sees? An overwhelming amount of his own blood?
It would be easier than to keep fighting. Much easier. He’s tired, tired in a way that sleep can’t fix.
But if there is one thing Jason is, it’s a fighter. He is not going to die at the hand of another, especially not at the hand of this man.
It isn’t easy, far from it, but eventually Jason makes his way to a nearby safe house. He stitches his neck up as best he can, then passes out on his bed.
When he wakes up some time later, sticky with way too much dried blood, and in pain, the first thing he does is look for messages from his soulmate.
His arm has a frantic message asking what happened, if he is alright, and expressing worry.
Jason can’t help the hint of a smile that graces his mouth when he sees it. It feels good, really good, to know that at least one person in this bleak world who cares about him.
He considers messaging back, considers it more seriously than he ever has, but still decides against it. It’s just too dangerous. He can’t drag anyone else into this mess that is his life. Or his afterlife.
As he heals, he gets more messages from his soulmate.
He’s pretty sure he’s gotten messages other than just asking if he was alright after an injury before, but he can’t remember for sure.
But he is pretty certain he’s never had this many messages before. It’s as if his recent near death changes something in their, admittedly rather one sided, relationship.
He, and his soulmate is a he, he says so in one of the notes, writes often, about everyday things. Things so ordinary that the messages make Jason’s heart ache, make him long for a life not his own.
He tells about a prank war between himself and a coworker, of how he feels when his team works a difficult case, and of the elation when they save lives. He tells about the latest episode of his favourite tv show, the books he reads, family dinners at coworkers house and spending time with a friend at a comic con. He tells of his pet fish, and the sights he sees as he travels the country for cases.
Jason’s favourite messages are the ones about books he’s reading or has read. And if he goes out of his way to buy and read as many of those books as he can, well, no one needs to know.
The extra messages both increase the temptation to message back, as well as make his resolve not to message back stronger.
Jason has always known his soulmate is a person, all soulmates are. But reading about how he is having a bad day because the coffee machine broke, or how much he loves spending time with his best friend and his godson makes it real in a way in wasn’t before.
His soulmate is a living, breathing human being.
One with a life, with friends and likes and dislikes.
It makes him long to get to know him better, but it also makes him even more serious about protecting him.
His soulmate’s life may not be perfect, his job is certainly difficult, but all in all it sounds like a good life. Despite the difficulty, his job is obviously rewarding, and he does it with people who cared about him. Who are like a family to him.
If Jason were to start to sending messages back, then one thing would lead to another, they would eventually meet up, and although he would try his best to keep him hidden, it would only take one small slip up for word to get out that The Red Hood has a soulmate.
A vulnerable soulmate.
There is enough information interspersed amongst the messages for Jason to figure out his soulmate’s identity.
After all, not many law enforcement groups travel the country to hunt down serial killers.
Dr. Spencer Reid has an impressive mind, just a few years older than him, but clearly a genius. So impressive of a genius that the FBI waved the physical requirements normally needed to join them.
Jason finds a few news articles with pictures and short videos of Spencer in them. The kid looks like a stiff breeze will blow him over.
Despite the fact that he is a few years older, he looks so young. So innocent.
There is no way Jason can involve him in this life of blood and violence.
And if Jason goes out of his way to not get injured after seeing a message that Spencer had a bad case, well no one needs to know.
He is going to do everything in his power to not get Spencer involved in his life, but that doesn’t mean he can’t keep an eye on him.
It isn’t very difficult, bat training taught him much.
Jason totally doesn’t spend massive chunks of his time spying on Spencer and looking at his cases. Why would he do such a thing?
And if he decides to use his extensive computer knowledge to set alarms to go off on his phone if Spencer is in danger, well, no one needs to know but him.
His phone alarm blares during a meeting with his criminal underlinings, and Jason is thankful his men are much to scared of him to even consider asking what the alarms are for.
Jason quickly makes his way to a his nearest safe house, and as he pulls up the all the information he can, his blood runs cold.
Spencer has been kidnapped by his team’s current unsub.
A man named Tobias Hankle, a man who has killed a considerable amount of people.
His team is doing everything they can to find him, but it is not enough.
It is difficult to feel the phantom soulmate pain, Jason’s frequent and severe injuries tend to drowned it out, but when he concentrates, he can feel it.
Spencer is being hurt.
Jason first instinct is to rush over there and search every inch of land until his soulmate is found, but he quickly throws out that plan. No doubt Spencer’s team is searching as best they can, and if a strange, dangerous looking man tries to barge in, he will not be welcome.
After pacing around his safe house for a few minutes, another idea hits him.
Magic.
True magicians are rare, and often not interested in making themselves known, so most people don’t know about them, and as such do not even consider using them.
But Jason isn’t most people.
Magic users are slightly more common in Gotham, and Jason happens to know one who can do soulmate related magic.
For a price of course, but Jason is more than willing to pay to get his soulmate safe.
Jason rushes out to the shop of his friend Apollo May Angelo.
Moments after he leaves the unsub starts streaming a video stream of Spencer to his team.
Apollo May Angelo, better known as Ama, uses some ofJason’s blood, and a few other ingredients, to magically follow his soulmate bond to the exactly location of his soulmate.
Ama then writes down the location, and Jason leaves with that precious information, minus a not inconsiderable amount of cash and blood.
Apparently the blood of someone who has died and returned to life is very valuable to magicians and has many uses.
Uses Jason decidedly does not think about.
He then sends an anonymous tip to Spencer’s team, saying he had seen suspicious activity at the location Ama told.
He desperately wants to go there himself and make sure the bastard who hurt his soulmate will never be able hurt anyone else ever again. He knows it will take precious hours to arrive, hours in which Spencer’s team will hopefully rescue him, but he can’t stop himself from going.
On his way there he finds out that the unsub was killed during the rescue.
Hearing that, he knows there is nothing more he can do, so he begrudgingly returns home and focuses an unhealthy amount on his growing criminal empire in order to distract himself from any feelings that Spencer being in trouble brought up.
It doesn’t work very well considering he begins to kept an even closer eye on Spencer, but no one needs to know about that.
Spencer is a smart guy.
Jason knows that, knows that his mind for solving cases and mysteries is like none other. So he really shouldn’t have been surprised when Spencer leaves a message asking if he was the one who sent in the anonymous tip that lead to his rescue.
Jason still doesn’t answer, but that doesn’t stop Spencer from starting to give more details about himself in his messages.
Before he would only hint at where he was going for a case, and if he ever wrote an exact location, it was only after he had left said location.
Now he wrote to Jason where he was going as soon as he knew.
Which honestly that seems like a pretty bad idea. Shouldn’t a federal agent know better about giving information like that to someone you know nothing about? Sure, Spencer probably figured out that Jason knows his name and can find him if needed, but still. Maybe he’s hoping that it will encourage Jason to come find him so they can meet?
Whatever the reason, this increase of information has lead to Jason’s current problem.
His soulmate is going to be in Gotham.
Gotham city, the home of the dark and insane.
A place which Jason had previously thought was out of the fed’s jurisdiction, like way out, completely off limits, seeing as the city is often treated as if it’s a different country or another planet.
But no, Commissioner Gordon had apparently decided to start a relationship with the feds, and had invited them in for a case as a sign of good will or something.
Just his luck.
Why are the bats not taking over this case?
It isn’t Jason’s fault.
It really isn’t his fault if his little crime empire is taking up so much of the bats time and energy that they can’t take care of a simple serial killer. If anything it is their fault for not being able to take down little old Red Hood.
Jason stares at his arm, reading a message that he had been too busy to read earlier.
If he had read it earlier, he could have done something.
He might have even considered breaking his no replying rule, it would be worth it to keep his soulmate safe. But he was too busy teaching a lesson to a guy who tried to sell drugs to kids, and now his soulmate is on a plane, headed for this place. One of, if not the single most dangerous place on earth.
Jason sighs.
Of course his soulmate likes to run headfirst into danger. He already knew this thanks to his career choice, but he had no idea it was this bad. He probably should have known though.
He clears his schedule for the next few days, then goes out to stalk, sorry babysit, errr, protect his soulmate.
He starts by staking out the airport, waiting for the BAU’s plane to land. Once it does, he uses skills learned on the streets and as a vigilante to bump into a few members of the team and drop some bugs on their pockets.
He doesn’t need to bug the police station, he already did so a long time ago.
The first few hours are boring, but nothing a guy used to long stakeouts can’t handle. They talk about the case, and Jason looks at his own copy of the case file as he listens in.
He makes some notes of possible leads to investigate himself, if he gets a chance to do so without leaving his soulmate in danger. Maybe he could ask someone else to look into the leads for him? It wouldn’t be out of character for The Red Hood to investigate, the victims are working girls and everyone know they are under his protection. The problem is that most of the victims didn’t live or die in his territory. Maybe he can spin it as a preventative measure? Get the unsub behind bars or in the ground before he starts targeting his girls.
Or he can just investigate without an explanation. He’s The Red Hood, he can do whatever he wants!
As he considers anonymously sending his leads to the BAU team, he hears Spencer say something about getting coffee. Not unusual, but what he says next makes Jason swear like a sailor.
The coffee machine is broken, and Spencer is going to go out to get coffee.
By himself.
Sure the nearest coffee shop is only a couple blocks away, but this is Gotham.
It would be alright for a native, but Spencer is painfully obviously not from around here. The way he dresses and walks, he might as well be wearing a sign that says ‘Mug Me!’. And not to mention the way he carries his gun. He’s just asking for someone to steal it.
Jason sighs, and Hood follows Spencer, keeping to the rooftops and shadows.
Spencer has no idea he is being followed, Jason considers sending him a message to work on his paying better attention to his surroundings.
And in a incredibly unsurprising turn of events, Spencer is not even out of sight of the police station before he is shoved into an alley and told to hand over his valuables under threat of bodily harm.
Hood drops in between the would-be muggers and Spencer, and says in his mechanically altered voice. “Scram.”
That one word, plus his reputation, is more than enough for the criminals to turn tail and run.
Hood turns around, and for the first time is face to face with his soulmate. Or mask to face. First time they breathed the same air. Oh wait, the helmet has air filters. Ummm, the first time they are standing in the same space.
Spencer looks like he also wants to run away, but Hood is standing between him and the exit of alley.
It’s really not surprising how obviously afraid of Hood Spencer is, but it still hurts in a way he didn’t except.
Spencer tries valiantly to hide his fear, but Hood is an expert in body language.
Spencer pulls out his badge, and puts his hand on his gun, but doesn’t pull it out as he glances at the multitude of weapons attached to Hood’s body.
“Federal agent, you are under arrest!” Spencer does a good job of keeping his voice from not shaking.
“Right. And I’m the Queen of England.” Hood drawls emotionlessly.
“Put your hands in the air and turn around!” Spencer is starting to have trouble keeping the shaking out of his voice.
Hood sighs. He doesn’t like seeing his soulmate looking so vulnerable.
Then Jason is hit with an idea.
In hindsight, kidnapping his soulmate might not be among Jason’s better ideas.
Although, is it really kidnapping? It’s more like a protective arrest, right?
Spencer is sitting on the beat up old couch in his safe house, with his ankle handcuffed to the couch leg. He’s got duck tape over his mouth, his hands handcuffed to his belt, and is obviously looking for a way to escape.
He won’t find one.
Hood put the duck tape on his mouth because he got tired of hearing him quoting things from the FBI’s handbook section of what to say to your kidnapper.
Seriously, Jason looked it up, the kid was directly quoting some parts word for word.
Can he call him a kid when he’s actually a few older? Jason glanced at Spencer who was looking at the two sets of handcuffs as if they were a math or physics problem to be solved.
Yep, he can certainly be called kid.
Jason would really like to share a few choice words with the person who thought it was a good idea for such a young person to work such a terrible and dangerous job.
But that can be done later. For now, he has to figure what to do with his soulmate who is chained to his couch and looking at him with badly hidden fear.
Jason sighs again, and takes his hood off. The action startles Spencer, so he makes sure to keep his movements slow and obvious as he sets the hood down on a nearby table.
He waves awkwardly at his soulmate. “Hi, I’m…”
He pauses. Should he tell his soulmate his name?
The obvious answer would be yes, but said soulmate has no idea that they are soulmates, something Jason hasn’t yet decided if he’ll reveal, and he is a federal agent.
Spencer sits there quietly, obviously terrified that if he does anything to upset Hood, he’ll end up his head in a duffel bag.
Jason drags a chair in front of the couch, the legs making an irritating noice as they scraping against the ground.
He sit down heavily, and looks at Spencer through the lenses of his domino mask.
Spencer bravely looks back.
“So…” He runs his hand through his hair. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Spencer looks sceptical.
“Alright, that‘s fair. You’re a smart guy huh? You’ve got two BAs and three PhDs, right?”
At that, Jason can see the fear in Spencer’s eyes increasing, and it takes Jason a moment to realize why.
He opens his mouth, and then closes it. It’s not like he can admit to keeping tabs on him and practically stalking him without freaking him out even more.
“Ok, how about we start over? I’ve made a mess of things, huh?” Jason laughs awkwardly. His soulmate is going to think he’s crazy, isn’t he.
Spencer nods hesitantly, still obviously afraid, but hiding it again.
Jason claps his hands together, and immediately regrets it when the sound makes Spencer jump.
“I’m not gonna hurt you. I really won’t. You are here for your own protection.” Jason sighs. “You can’t just walk around Gotham, it isn’t safe.”
Spencer continues to silent stare at him, and Jason decides he’s tired of having a one sided conversation. He removes the tape from Spencer’s mouth, making sure to let him know what he was doing as he approaches him, and then decides to be a good host and get him some water, in a plastic cup of course.
When Spencer makes no move to drink it, Jason takes a swig to show it isn’t poisoned or drugged. Not that that really proves anything considering that stuff doesn’t really effect Jason anymore, but Spencer doesn’t know that, so he drinks some water.
“Don’t waste your energy screaming, this place is soundproof.” Jason says. It’s a really terrible conversation starter, but sue him, he hasn’t had a decent conversation in quite some time.
“Why am I here?” Reid asks seriously.
Jason scratches his head. “You want the truth?”
“I would appreciate it.” He moves his foot a bit, testing the strength of the handcuffs.
Jason shrugs. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. It was something of an impulse decision. I saw those guys trying to mug you, and decided to bring you somewhere safe.”
“I’m a federal agent. I can take care of myself. And my team can take care of me as well. They are going to find me sooner than later, and it would be in your best interests to let me go before they get here.” Spencer says with an edge of anger in his voice.
At that Jason starts laughing. “Look, Spencer. You are lucky you aren’t dead, muggers in Gotham are a whole different breed than you are used too. And if your team could keep you safe, you wouldn’t have gone for coffee alone, and you wouldn’t be here.”
He almost adds in that he wouldn’t have be kidnapped a while back either, but does not as he really shouldn’t know that.
Spencer narrows his eyes at Jason. “How did you know I was on my way to get coffee?”
Jason’s heart skips a beat, that was a rookie mistake, Batman would be furious. “Uhh, I guessed?”
“What do you want with me?”
“I just want to keep you safe. Honest. As soon as your team has solved this case, I’ll send you back them, I promise.”
“They could solve this case faster if I was there to help. Now they will spend more of their time searching for me than working the case.”
Jason sighs. “I didn’t consider that.”
“It’s in your best interests to let me go. I can assure you that my team will keep me safe.” Spencer tries to convince him.
“Not as safe as I could keep you.” Jason retorts.
Spencer opens his mouth to say something then thinks better of it and closes it. He’s probably afraid that what he wants to say will offend him.
“You hungry? I’m hungry. I’m gonna make pancakes, want some?” Jason doesn’t give Spencer a chance to answer as he heads to the kitchen. Food is always a good option when you haven’t a clue what else to do.
As he makes the pancakes, he keeps an eye on Spencer using a well placed metal bowl. He’s fiddling with the handcuffs, trying to get them lose, but he can’t. Jason made sure he didn’t have anything on him that could be used to pick the lock.
When he returns with two plates of pancakes, he pretends not to notice Spencer quickly let go of the cuffs and sit up.
They eat in awkward silence for a bit, Spencer pushing around his food more than eating it, even after Jason takes a few bites off of his plate.
The silence is broken by Jason’s phone. He looks at it, and swears. Blaring across the screen is a notification that Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid has been kidnapped.
Now Jason knows that he is good at kidnaping and that he didn’t leave a trail.
He wiped the camera footage of the alleyway he took Spencer from, left his phone in the alleyway, and kept out of sight of the cameras on the way to the safe house. And if Spencer somehow found a way to communicate with his team or escape, he would have no idea where he is thanks to the knock out spray Jason had used while kidnapping him.
But while Jason has taken every precaution, Spencer’s team is the best of the best.
And they won’t stop at anything to get their brother back.
Jason is used to dealing with criminals who no one will miss, he’s never taken someone who warrants the use of extensive government resources to facilitate his safe return before.
The BAU team will probably start by investigating the possibility that their unsub may have taken Spencer, but when they inevitably realize that their unsub is not the kidnapper, chances are they’ll push that investigation to the side in order to focus more on the kidnapping, and that could mess up his plan to just give Spencer back at the end of the investigation.
And chances are, the BAU team won’t rest until they get Spencer’s kidnapper behind bars.
Not that they will actually be able to accomplish that, but they will certainly try, and that would cause them to stay in dangerous Gotham for a longer than they should.
Maybe Jason can drive Spencer to Quantico, leave him somewhere there, and when the rest of his team finds out he is there, they will follow, like how herd animals will follow a calf?
Jason groans.
This is such a mess.
Curse his impulsivity.
Although his main concern still is keeping Spencer safe, he is now also concerned about Spencer’s team. It would hurt Spencer if they got hurt, and now, thanks to his great idea, they will likely not hesitate to put themselves in danger if they believe, even for a moment, that doing so will help them find their teammate.
Sighing, he gets up and walks out of hearing range of his guest.
He calls his most trustworthy goons, and orders them to protect the FBI visitors, while not letting said visitors know of their existence. They are a little confused, understandably so, but they trust and/or fear their boss enough to obey his strange orders without question. It probably helps that they aren’t the strangest orders he’s given. The day he ordered them to throw tomatoes and glitter at Bruce Wayne was a lot a fun.
That settled, Jason connects his comm to the bugs he put on the agents and in the police station, and puts it in his ear.
He hears the agents worriedly throwing around theories about the kidnapping, but they aren’t anywhere near the truth, so he relaxes a little and heads back to his soulmate.
He pretends again to not see him stop fiddling with the cuffs the moment he is in sight, but makes a mental note to check on it sometime. It isn’t too urgent however, even if Spencer manages to get out of the cuffs, he won’t be able to get through the locks on the doors and windows.
He gathers up the dishes, which gives him a moment to think in the kitchen.
Another idea hits him. Hopefully this one will have better results than the last.
He gathers up all the information on the case and puts it on the coffee table between himself and Spencer.
If the FBI can’t use their best agent to work the case, then he can use him.
Jason removes the cuffs around Spencer’s wrists, and he looks through the files. “How did you get these?”
“Don’t worry about that. You came here to work this case, yeah?”
Spencer hesitantly nods.
“Well then let’s work the case!”
“This is an FBI case. You are a civilian.”
Jason snorts. “I’m not a civilian, haven’t been in a long time.”
“Why don’t you let the FBI and police do their job?”
“They’re too slow.” Jason rubs the back of his neck. “And now that you are here, they will be distracted from the case as they search for you.”
“You could just let me go. My team works best when we are all together, we’ll solve the case quicker together.”
“Not gonna happen buddy. You are staying here.”
Spencer thinks for a moment. “You said earlier that you’ll send me back once my team has solved the case. Do you still plan on letting me go if we solve the case?”
Jason hesitates, and Spencer stiffens. “I promised I’ll let you go, and I’ll keep that promise.”
“Alright.” Spencer obviously doesn’t believe him, but pretends he does.
“What do you plan to do if we find out who the unsub is?” Spencer asks as casually as he can.
“I’m not gonna kill if that’s what you are asking.”
Spencer takes a breath as if to speak, but then stays silent.
“You know I’ve killed before, don’t you?” Jason asks curiously.
“Yeah.” Spencer watches Jason’s reaction closely to see if he should continue, and Jason gestures encouragingly.
“I did a little bit of reading about Gotham before we arrived, and the duffel bag of heads in the middle of the police station was pretty big news.”
Despite having known that there would be a significant chance of Spencer saying something about that incident at some point, Jason can’t help the wince. He hides it well, but ever observant Spencer definitely notices.
“I don’t do that anymore.” Jason says.
“You don’t kill anymore?” Spencer asks to clarify.
“I still kill, but not as much. Only when absolutely necessary, and only if the the killer is directly affecting my territory.”
“Your territory?”
“How much do you know about Gotham?”
“I know that Gotham has one of the highest crime rates in the world, and that when vigilantes decided to start patrolling the streets, the police didn’t arrest them, instead started working with them, the only instance I have ever heard of that happening. And the crime rate hasn’t gone down, in fact it often seems to rise when a new vigilante appears. I can’t be sure exactly how many there are, I believe someone is censoring a significant portion of information about the Gotham vigilantes, and everyone I’ve tried to speak to about this so far has kept their mouths shut.”
“Huh. What about the Rogues?”
“Rogues?”
“The crazy villains who fight the bats.”
“This isn’t a comic book.” Spencer is looking at him as if he’s not sure he should say he is crazy, or play along with his delusions.
Jason laughs. “You’re right. This place is even crazier than a comic book.”
He leans forward, the black glass of his domino mask looking right into Spencer’s eyes.
Spencer leans as far back into the couch as he can, trying to put as much distance between himself and his crazy kidnapper as he can. “Tell me,” Jason says, a dangerous edge to his voice. “what happened the last time the FBI sent agents to this lovely city?”
Spencer swallows. “They never came back.”
“And how about the time before that?”
“They also didn’t return.”
“Have you ever heard of anyone else visiting this place and actually returning?”
Spencer takes a moment to think, and shakes his head.
“This place is crazy, kid. It’s dangerous, even more dangerous than the statistics I’m sure you read can tell you. People just don’t visit here and return in one piece. Not unless they know what they are doing, or are on the good side of someone powerful. Frankly I’ve got no idea why Gordon thought it would be a good idea to invite you feds here.”
They sit in silence for a moment, Spencer with a thoughtful look on his face. “You mentioned being on the good side of someone powerful. Do you consider yourself powerful?”
“Yep. I can get you out of here. You and your team, assuming they don’t do anything extra stupid.”
Spencer carefully considers everything Jason has said and done so far. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Why are you so interested in me and my team?”
Jason leans back in his chair. “That’s for me to know, and you to wonder about.”
They sit in silence for a few minutes, then Reid asks to use the washroom. As the room has no windows, he lets him use it without direct supervision.
Jason is surprised when a message appears on his arm moments after the bathroom door closes.
A message asking him for help.
It mentions how Spencer is sure that he is the one who assisted in his rescue from Tobias Hankle, and asks if there is any chance he can help again, or even just send a message to his team that he is being held by The Red Hood.
What kind of person kidnaps his soulmate, and then gets a message from said soulmate asking for help? This guy, that’s who. What a mess.
When Spencer finishes in the bathroom, Jason cuffs his ankle back to the couch leg, and they sit in awkward silence. As they riffle through the case file, not a sound can be heard other than the sound of papers rubbing against each other.
Spencer keeps glancing at Jason, when he thinks he won’t notice, studying him more intently than the case, and Jason pretends to be oblivious to it.
A few hours pass, and Jason decides to cook dinner. He makes a stir fry, and he can’t tell if Spencer actually likes it, or just compliments it in an attempt to get on his good side.
Some time after that, Spencer starts yawning. He tries to hide it, but when Jason looks at him, it’s obvious he’s exhausted.
Jason sighs, and unlocks the handcuffs.
He offers Spencer the bathroom again, then cuffs his wrists to the headboard of his bed.
He leaves the bedroom door open, and thanks to a well placed mirror, he can see into the room from his position on the couch. He watches Spencer test the cuffs, and try to find something to pick the lock with, or some other way to get free. He doesn’t make any progress, and eventually gives up. He fights sleep for a bit, but eventually succumbs to it, the exhaustion and the stress of being kidnapped overcoming the fear of falling asleep in the bedroom of his kidnapper.
Jason doesn’t sleep. Between the extra stamina courtesy of his time in the lime green bathtub, and years of pulling all-nighters thanks to his vigilante work, it’s not difficult to stay awake.
He lets Spencer sleep until he wakes up on his own, and then after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, they end up yet again in awkward silence.
Jason is pretty sure Spencer has some ideas about the case they are still idly flipping through, but he doesn’t share anything. Likely still concerned about what Jason will do to the unsub. Looks like it is up to Jason to solve the case all by himself.
Not long later, Jason gets a lead. It’s a good lead, and he would have been out the door in a flash to investigate further any other day, but today he has a guest cuffed to his couch.
The single handcuff is fine when Jason is also in the apartment, but he doesn’t want to take any chances while he is out. If Spencer somehow manages to get free, and also leave the apartment, it would not be good. This particular safe house is in a bad part of town. Spencer wouldn’t survive a minute out there alone.
Jason cuffs Spencer to the bed again, this time adding an extra pair of cuffs meant for people he suspects are capable of lock picking, and he ties his ankles to the baseboard with some rope. He also puts duck tape on his mouth again.
He then calls one of his most trusted henchmen, orders him to guard the safe house, and under no circumstances enter the bedroom.
It is a tad more difficult to follow up on his lead than it would be on a normal day, the city is swarming with police and feds, which make everyone nervous, but it is nothing he can’t handle.
A couple hours later, the bruised and bloody unsub is tied up and deposited, along with enough evidence, right into laps of the police. Well, right into the back of a police car while the officers were distracted, but same thing.
When he gets back to his safe house, he dismisses his goon, and checks on Spencer.
As he opens the door, and Spencer catches sight of him, his eyes widened and he tries to scramble backwards, but is stopped by the restraints.
Jason raised his hands in the universal sign of meaning no harm, and sees that his hands are covered in blood.
Oops.
He didn’t kill the unsub, just gave him a good beating, but there is enough blood on him that a federal agent who’s job revolves around catching killers, and who is under the stress of being kidnapped, can easily come to the conclusion that he has actually killed someone. Especially considering said agent knows that said kidnapper has killed before.
Jason closes the bedroom door, then takes a shower.
When he reappears in the bedroom door again, it isn’t the blood that makes Spencer give him a double take, that has all been washed off.
Jason has just a towel around his waist. All his clothes are in the bedroom closet, and so on his way to get his clothes, his autopsy scar, as well as his numerous other scars are on full display.
He grabs some clothes, and turns to glance at Spencer, who is having a hard time stopping himself from staring at the large Y shaped scar on his chest.
“What?” Jason asks a little irritatedly. “You never seen scars before?”
Spencer doesn’t answer, and Jason sees the duck tape still covering his mouth.
He ducks back into the bathroom to get dressed, then takes the duck tape off of Spencer’s mouth.
“So…” Jason stands awkwardly. “The unsub has been taken care of.”
At Spencer’s slight flinch, Jason backs up and opens his mouth again. “He’s not dead! Don’t worry, I gave him to the police, still breathing.”
Spencer looks sceptical, but doesn’t say anything more about it. Instead he asks, “You said you’d let me go when the unsub is caught. Is that still your plan?”
“Ummm, yeah.” Jason scratches the back of his neck. “Just not sure how to go about it without getting myself arrested.”
He starts removing the rope and handcuffs from Spencer. “How do you feel about a road trip?”
“A road trip?”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna leave you anywhere in this city, it’s much to dangerous. Quantico is only four hours away, the least I could do to make up for kidnapping you is to take you home.”
“I’m not going to tell you my home address.”
Jason opens his mouth, and then closes it when he realizes it would be creepy to say he already knows his home address. “I’ll drop you somewhere you are alright with, a public place, maybe even the FBI building.”
“Any chance you can just drop me off at the police station here?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t have a choice about this, do I?”
Jason winces slightly. “I guess not. I don’t suppose it would make you feel any better if I promise I’m not going to hurt you, that I’ll drive straight to Quantico, and not to some forest to hide your body, would it?”
Before Spencer can reply, Jason whips out a can of knock out spray, and mists his face.
Some time later, Spencer wakes up in the back of a van, handcuffed to the side, and with duck tape over his mouth. It sounds like they are on a highway. Jason looks back at him. “Hey, sorry about that. I couldn’t let you memorize the directions to my safe house.”
They drive in silence for a bit, until Jason turns on the radio.
Eventually Spencer can hear the sounds outside change to the sounds of a city rather than a highway. Jason pulls into an alleyway, and then crawls into the back of the van.
“We are a couple blocks away from your workplace. I’m going to give you the key to the handcuffs, and then by time you get out of this vehicle, I’ll be gone. You can get to the FBI building safely, right?”
Spencer nods.
“I really am sorry about kidnapping you. You probably won’t believe me, but I just want you safe. Please tell your team to get out of Gotham as soon as possible, and never come back.”
Jason gives Spencer the key, and true to his word, he is out of sight when he exits the van.
He follows Spencer to the FBI building, and then disappears.
The BAU are pleasantly surprised, and confused when Garcia tells them that Reid is safe and sound with her.
They want to stay in Gotham to investigate this Red Hood character who kidnapped their teammate, but Commissioner Gordon makes it clear that they are no longer welcome seeing as the case he invited them in for is solved, and after a few frightening encounters with suspicious characters, they are happy to return to Quantico and reunite with Reid.
Following this incident, the FBI makes a new policy stating that no federal agents are ever to be sent to Gotham.
Jason gets back into his normal crime lord routine.
He tells some people that he never kidnapped a federal agent, that he was framed, and he tells some other people that he definitely kidnapped him, and if he can take down a federal agent and scare a whole team of agents out of Gotham, than they definitely should be scared of him. As a result, no one knows which story is true, and it doesn’t take long for people to forget all about it.
Jason thinks often about Spencer, and continues to keep an eye on him.
He enjoys receiving messages from him, and if he occasionally replies, leaving out any details that can possibly identify him, well, no one needs to know.