Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Miles never expected to come to Gotham. He applied for the Thomas and Martha Wayne scholarship, sure, but only as backup in case Princeton didn't work out.

And Princeton did work out. So did Yale, Harvard and MIT. So why was Miles frowning at the darkness of his Gotham University dorm room instead of literally anywhere else?

He wanted to be at the forefront of scientific discovery relating to multiversal travel. That had been his dream ever since he met the other spider people. But then Spot and the spider society happened, and Gwen and everyone else sat on their hands and let his dad die.

Suddenly, wanting to visit his friends from other universes wasn't all that appealing.

Suddenly all he felt was rage.

A knock at the door startled him out of his staring contest with the wall. He hadn't even unpacked yet, his single suitcase sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Hi," said the guy on the other side of the door, and Miles's eyes roamed over him. "Daniel Nightingale. But you can call me Danny." He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

He had black hair, blue eyes and a silver cartilage piercing. Two suitcases stood beside him.

Miles took his hand and his spider sense tingled. "Miles Morales. You're my roommate right?" He kind of hoped not.

Danng nodded. "Yep. 12A." He showed Miles his phone screen.

Great.

The other teen was quick to unpack, a black bed sheet with silver constellations making its way out first. Miles decided to start unpacking too. It was easier to steal glances at Danny that way instead of laying down in bed and straight-up staring.

It was when Danny pulled out a poster of the solar system he noticed a theme.

"Big space fan, huh?" He asked, spreading plain blue sheets over his bed.

"Oh absolutely," Daniel said, turning a little to show off the NASA logo on the front of his shirt that Miles had somehow missed earlier. "Astronomy called and I answered."

"Yeah, I'll bet."

Superhero life called and he answered. Look where that got him.

"You're a mistake!"

Miles arranged his mini easel and drawing pens on his bedside drawer. He frowned at the drawings he'd packed for long enough that he didn't notice Danny coming closer to him until he whistled.

The urge to break Danny's nose was strong, but Miles' self control was stronger. One did not grow up in a black, Hispanic household without knowing how to keep their self in check.

Danny pointed at the sketches he'd done of Other Miles as the Prowler. "That's the best self portrait I've ever seen in my life."

The protest died on Mile's tongue. It was a self portrait in every sense of the word. "You think so?" He asked instead.

"I know so," Danny insisted. "Can I see more of your stuff?"

Miles wanted to say yes. Desperately. He hadn't properly spoken to someone his age in months now, and it'd be nice to have a friendly relationship with his roommate.

But.

All the drawings were of people he knew. He hadn't been able to get rid of the drawings of Gwen after… after. Even though he really wanted to. And now there were more. Of Pav, of Peni, of Peter and Mayday, of Miguel. And Hobie.

God, Hobie.

His art had taken a dark turn now too, and he didn't want to answer any questions that may come from it.

He wasn't ready.

"Maybe some other time, yeah?" He offered, smile not reaching his eyes.

Danny nodded, and it almost seemed like he understood. "Sure, sure."

Miles wondered what it was about Danny that had kicked up his spider sense earlier, and why it had suddenly gone quiet.

————

There was something a little off here.

A little might have been an understatement.

Or, Miles was going a little crazy. He's smart, okay? He's smart enough to consider the fact that he might just be losing his mind.

Danny's eyes are blue, except when they're green. Miles has woken up from enough nightmares to look over at Danny's side of the room in hopes that he hadn't woken the other guy up, only to find Danny staring back.

"I thought you had blue eyes?" Miles whispered the first time, for no reason except that it was nearly 3am.

If he closed his eyes, he could still see Miguel looming over him, teeth bared and eyes full of hate.

"They're contacts," said Danny. "You okay? I wasn't sure it'd be a good idea to wake you."

Miles squinted. "Why would you wear glowing green contact lenses to sleep?"

He didn't answer the question. Couldn't. Lying felt icky, but telling the truth meant vulnerability he wasn't ready for.

"No, the blue ones are the contacts," Danny clarified.

Miles supposed it made sense. Blue contacts to cover up eyes that glowed.

"Are you, like, a meta?" He asked, not actually expecting and answer. Nobody just straight up says they have abilities, especially not in Gotham city.

"Nah. It's a medical condition."

A medical condition that made his eyes glow. He stopped himself from asking wether Danny had been experimented on because that would be extremely insensitive if he had.

"...right. Okay." Miles closed his eyes to go back to sleep, but he could have sworn he saw fangs as Danny smiled.

Miguel had fangs—

The next issue was the green tinged ice sculpture he found on his bedside drawer one morning.

"What… is this?" Miles was as close to the thing as he could possibly be without touching it.

"A duck." Danny said slowly. "You couldn't tell?"

Oh, Miles could tell alright. He worked his jaw as he sorted through his thoughts.

"Why is there a duck made of ice on my drawer?" He asked back just as slow.

Danny grinned. "To match mine, of course!"

Sure enough, there was also an ice duck on Danny's drawer. It had a tiny cowboy hat too.

"Did you… is ice part of your medical condition?"

"They never melt," his roommate said, grin widening. Miles was sure he saw the tiny sculptures glow a little.

A non-answer. "...right. That's… interesting."

Somehow, the duck always found its way into his backpack or jacket pocket whenever he left their room. Danny looked incredibly innocent whenever Miles asked about it.

There were other somewhat close calls. Miles' phone seemed to glitch out whenever Danny was near. He was certain he'd seen his roommate walk straight through their bathroom door once too.

The time Miles was absolutely sure something unusual was up, it was almost funny. All classes were cancelled courtesy of a rogue attack and all students were advised to stay indoors.

Miles had zero interest in doing so, and he wanted more than anything to put on his suit for the first time in months.

But Danny was right there. Deceptively calm, with his head pillowed on his arms as he hummed a tune, Miles knew his roommate was awake.

He couldn't go to their shared bathroom and slip out of the window — he had no idea how long it would take to deal with the rogue and if Danny went looking for him, he'd be in danger.

"I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours," said Danny out of the blue.

Miles squinted at him. "What makes you think I have secrets?"

Danny smiled. "Let's call it a hunch."

Unbidden, Miles thought of Ganke. God, he missed his roommate. Even though he was lazy and wore his shoes and played spiderman games which was a little weird. He missed not having to hide.

So he pulled his suit out from under his pillow.

Danny sat up, interest piqued. "You're a vigilante? That's so cool!"

"I prefer the term hero." Miles rolled his eyes.

"No," Danny said with a shake of his head, "You're not sanctioned by the government, are you?"

"Well, no, but—"

Miles bit his tongue before he could say something like, 'but Brooklyn loves me'. While he wasn't actively hiding his past, he was not about to announce it either.

"Hey, don't sweat it." Danny interrupted his train of thought. "I'm one too." And then he stood up, and glowing rings seemed to circle his body. Miles blinked at his roommate, now white haired and green eyed.

"That is such a magical girl transformation!" A startled laugh escaped Miles. "What the hell?"

Danny shrugged. "All I need now is a theme song. You gonna change?"

Miles needed no further prompting.

"There's cameras in the hallways," Miles said when he was ready. "They'll see us leaving our rooms."

Danny blinked, tearing his eyes away from Miles' well-defined body. "Huh? Oh, don't worry about that. My medical condition fucks with cameras and stuff like that. Most tech actually."

"Wait, you're the reason I get almost no signal in our room?" Miles questioned. Not like he really needed it. All he did on his phone was play temple run and read comics.

"My bad," said Danny, entirely unrepentant.

—————

Leaving Amity Park gave Danny a lot of time to get therapy. It's been nearly a year now and he can honestly say he's gotten a lot better, and is in very little danger of becoming Dan.

Tucker thought it was freaky how much he'd changed. You could kick Danny in the crotch and he'd just laugh.

Before slicing off your foot.

Very few things actually bothered him now. He spent his days reading books and charting stars, and beating Tucker's ass on FreeFire. Everything was chill.

Not his roommate, though.

Miles was withdrawn and quiet in a way that said he'd lost people before and didn't want to do it again, but also brimming with self loathing. He practically radiated frustration and anger at every point in time, his entire person saying, 'Just give me a reason to break your face.'

Huh. Maybe he had been reading Jazz's books a little too much.

He was really pretty though. Danny couldn't take his eyes off the other teen as he they walked quietly to the source of the commotion.

Seemed like Killer Croc was on the loose. Danny wondered who or what set him off this time. Based on his research, this particular rogue didn't usual run wild without prompting.

"Really? Magical girl transformation, ice powers and you can fly?" Miles whispered, frowning as Danny hovered.

Danny bumped his shoulder against Miles, cooing. "Don't be sad, I'm sure you have cool abilities too."

He heard more than he saw Miles grit his teeth. Oh yeah, he wasn't really big on contact. Oops.

The spider vigilante didn't say another word until they reached the school parking lot, just as Killer Croc threw a car at Red Robin.

"Oh, by the way," Danny said, waiting until Miles looked at him to continue. "You know Batman hates metas in Gotham, right?"

Miles rolled his eyes and disappeared.

No, Danny could still hear his heartbeat, heading into the fray.

"Rude!" He huffed. "And two can play at that game." The halfa turned invisible as well.

"Not a game," Miles hissed. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" Danny blinked. "Oh, I've never worked with someone else before, what do you think we should do?"

He heard Miles grind his teeth together. "Knock the Croc unconscious without being seen."

"Who's to say red Robin won't try to attack us?"

Miles scoffed. "He can fucking try."

Danny chose not to point out that hurting Robin would paint a target on both their backs and wasn't the best way to debut as vigilantes.

"Fair point. Let's go on three?"

The silence told him Miles had already gone ahead. He noticed another car had bit thrown but was caught in mid air and dropped on the ground.

"What the fuck…?" Red Robin whispered. It was a sentiment Danny wholeheartedly agreed with.

The halfa flew right through Killer Croc, causing him to seize up at the sudden cold. He swung at an enemy he couldn't see, but Danny floated just out of reach every time.

He had just moved aside for Robin to strike when the smell of ozone hit and Killer Croc fell forward, unconscious.

Lightning.

Miles had lightning powers.

Danny's scars itched.

—————

"So," Danny said.

Miles shook his iced coffee. "So."

"Lightning powers, huh?"

"Raise your voice a little, I don't think the people on Mars heard you," Miles hissed, eyes narrowed.

Danny had been the one to suggest coming out to eat after the fight. He was calling it a celebratory meal.

"I just want to get to know my roommate better over some food. Is that so awful of me?" He'd asked, dramatically putting a hand over his heart.

Miles was nonplussed. "Sounds like a date. I'm in it for the food. But if you touch me, I will break you."

That… was not at all what Danny had in mind. And he should really get his mind out of the gutter right now—

"I'm just curious. You seem to be following a spider theme, and I don't know of any that control lightning." He wouldn't let his discomfort show. He would not.

"Medical condition." Miles took a sip.

"Sure," Danny nodded. "And I'm straight."

Miles eyed him. "You're not? Could've fooled me."

That little shit-

Chapter Text

Jason was not having a great time, for various reasons. One of them is the fact that his favourite tamale stand closed down. Hernandez decided Gotham was not a place he wanted to raise his future children and hightailed out of town without so much as a warning.

He moved to Metropolis. Who does that? Did he not hear about how Superman picks up people's cars to throw them at villains?

Could Jason make his own tamales? Of course. But comfort food isn't very comforting if you have to go through the trouble of making it yourself.

Reason number two was the pit. Because of course it was. One did not die and come back to life without experiencing debilitating rage every once in a while. It's why he stays away from the family - not his family, not for a while now.

He can't stand the pitying glances and half baked attempts at conversation.

The pit calmed suddenly about two weeks ago. It felt like a wet blanket had been unceremoniously dumped over it, meaning that Jason still felt the rage, but it was almost as if he was looking through plexiglass. And he should be happy about it, but it was uncomfortable, similar to an itch you just couldn't scratch.

Besides, he was the son of a detective. He was naturally suspicious of everything. What could have caused it? And why? He hadn't heard of any new rogues that could do anything about the pits. The one who broke out on that day was Harley, and this was not her area.

He was still half-stressing about this on patrol when Red Robin swung by. Literally.

Jason turned to look at him so fast, he heard a crack in his neck.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Because there was a rule. It was not unspoken because Jason found himself constantly having to remind the family - leave Crime Alley to Red Hood.

"I need your help," Replacement hurried to say.

Jason blinked. He was standing on the ledge of a building that housed a brothel. It had the best view in the area, so naturally it was his favourite.

"Why my help?" Jason questioned, his eyes narrowed behind his helmet. Tim had access to anything he could need in the bat cave, plus everyone on the family's little team.

Unless Replacement wanted to do something illegal. Which he found extremely offensive. Just because he murdered other murderers occasionally didn't mean he'd help Tim get his first whiff of coke.

"Because it's about metas, and nobody really knows how to keep things from B, and once B hears…" Tim trailed off.

Jason got the message. He was the only one who didn't speak to B and wouldn't give anything up. He knew a few metas around Gotham that the family didn't know about — somehow, they seemed to love the Alley, quite a few of them living in this very building — and it was going to stay that way.

"Where? What do you know?"

Tim straightened. "Earlier today, Gotham university. I was fighting Killer Croc, and he threw a car at me. The car stopped mid air and was gently dropped in the ground. Then, Croc got electrocuted and passed out."

Jason's brows furrowed. "So, invisibility and probably telekinesis. Maybe they control lightening, or they used a taser."

"I thought about a taser too, but you'd need a lot of power to knock the Croc out." Tim was pacing. "And the way the car was caught… I'm thinking more super strength than telekinesis. And the feeds from the fight are spotty from the moment the car stops."

"That's a concerning set of powers," Jason mused. "B would hate that. What's your plan?"

"We go there tomorrow and snoop around. I don't know how to narrow the search down but we might find something."

Jason chose not to point out how half baked the plan was. Walking around a university with several thousand students and hoping to bump into a meta-human? Jokes.

But he was sure Tim already knew that. And the uncertainty must be bugging him too.

"You probably don't have a lot of time too," Jason mused.

"Huh? Why?"

"If anyone else saw the fight, and they probably did, they'd have noticed the same things you did - but, they would speculate that Red Robin has powers now," he pointed out.

Tim seemed to experience a full body flinch. "Fuck."

"Yep." He noticed Tim was beginning to pace even faster. "I'll meet you at Gotham U's parking lot at 9. Try not to be late."

"You're really helping?" The replacement almost sounded dubious. "Aw, you do care-"

"I'm bored," Jason cut in. "Now scram, Replacement."

That did it. Time closed off immediately, and didn't say anything else until he left.

Good. He couldn't afford to get close to anyone. Not again.

------------------

Naturally, Jason got there by 8:40. He parked his motorcycle beside the bike rack, matching the curious stares with a glare of his own.

Ugh, he hated being around universities. It stirred up a part of him that he'd rather not think too much about. The part that couldn't finish high school. The part that wanted to study English literature in college. The part that wanted to write his very own book.

That part of Jason didn't die in the explosion. But he kind of wishes it did.

He strolled around the premises, knowing how out of place he must look and not having a single fuck to give. What was the plan here actually? Ask students if they'd noticed anything weird recently?

“This sucks,” he sighed, settling down under a tree in one of the gardens.

“Absolutely,” someone responded. Jason didn't twitch, but it was a near thing. “I can't find a good tamale spot anywhere. Where's the representation? The diversity?”

The person speaking was tall and dark skinned. He was hanging upside down from the tree branches like some sort of monkey.

“Not a single one on campus?” Jason asked.

“I mean, there is one,” said the other guy. “but he's some white dude who probably watched a few YouTube tutorials and decided to try his luck. It tastes like sadness and pain.”

Jason chuckled despite himself. “I used to know a guy who made fire tamales, but he moved to Metropolis recently. Been bummed out about it all week.”

“Seriously?” The guy groaned. “I knew I should have let my mom teach me when I had the chance.”

He wondered if that meant his mother was late. Or they just weren't on talking terms. Jason squashed the urge to ask - delving into other people's trauma was Tim's specialty, not his.

“I know how- wait, no.” Jason stopped himself too late.

“You were about to say you know how to make them, weren't you?” The guy prodded. “Please. I'll… I'll do your homework for a week? Wait, what's your major?”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. To lie or not to lie, that was the question.

“I'm actually not a student here? My brother is. I've been thinking about college recently and he thought I should take a look around. He's supposed to show me around too, but he's late for some reason.”

There. A good enough lie. Even if said brother wasn't a student either.

“Oh,” said the other guy. There were some noises and Jason watched as he climbed down from the tree. He seemed unsteady as he did, like he wasn't used to climbing trees. But if that were the case, why would he be in one?

“Hey,” he stuck out a hand. “I'm Miles Morales, and I'll be your tour guide for the day.”

Jason fought the smirk climbing his face. “Jason Todd.” He shook the extended hand. “All that for a tamales recipe?”

“Please,” said Miles. “I would offer up my first born child in a heartbeat.”

“Damn.” Jason got off the bench and made a show of dusting his behind. “I wonder what you'd do for arepas, tortillas or…”

“Oh my god,” Miles groaned, falling into step with him. “What do you need? A personal assistant? A boy toy?”

Jason nearly tripped. “Just a guide, for now.” He cleared his throat. “So, why were you in a tree?”

Miles suddenly looked over his left shoulder, backpack slung over the right one. He put his hand in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a… duck?

“My roommate and I are playing hide and seek,” he said in an almost conspirational tone. “Well, I'm hiding from talking about my emotions and traumas and stuff, and he's seeking because he's one of those healthy, well adjusted people.”

There was an immediate nod of understanding from Jason. “I know the type.” He immediately thought of Dick and his overbearing kindness.

“I knew you secretly liked me. Look at you, already talking about me to your new friend,” a new voice said.

Jason twitched violently and turned around. Miles just sighed.

“Don't sneak up on people like that, it's rude,” Miles scolded. He turned to Jason and said, “I'm sorry, I'm still trying to socialize him.”

The man barely heard him, staring into deep blue eyes that belonged to the roommate. Every alarm bell in his head was ringing, and the pit had gone completely silent. Almost like it was shrinking in fear from this skinny twink in a NASA hoodie.

“Danny Nightingale,” the other male said, seeming equally entranced. “You're- I'm- How are you?”

Miles blinked between the two of them. “Did I just accidentally orchestrate a meet-cute? Is that what this is?”

Jason's mouth felt dry. “How are you doing that?”

Danny cocked his head to the side slightly. “Doing what?” His brows furrowed and the pit seemed to lurch. Jason gritted his teeth. Then it was quiet again. “Oh. That's… not good.” He looked over at Miles. “Were you guys doing anything serious? We kinda need to-”

Jason's comms crackled to life with his second in command's voice. “Hood, the goons at the docks are moving now. Stupid of them to move in broad daylight but-”

“I have to go,” Jason said, even though he really, really didn't want to. “I'll-”

“I'll find you?” Danny offered.

How? They hadn't touched, so it couldn't be a tracking device. Could he just… find the pit? That could prove to be a very bad idea, Danny and possibly Miles walking into a Red Hood fight.

“No. I'll come back, tomorrow. Same time, probably.” He looked at Miles. “Same tree.”

“You hid in a tree?” Danny chortled. “You little spider monkey-”

“We'll see you,” Miles nodded, pretending not to hear his roommate.

Jason fought the urge to look behind him as he left. He knew they were both watching him go with curiousity.

“He rides a motorcycle, oh my god,” he heard Danny say. “I want to ride him.”

Miles sighed deeply. “I did not need that information.”

Chapter Text

So he overslept. It wasn't that big a deal. Alfred needed to stop giving him those smug looks, Tim got the message; the next time he went up to seventy two hours without sleep, he would be drugged.

“You couldn't have done it any other day, Alfie?” He asked, lacing up his shoes. “I'm supposed to meet a friend who's always super early to everything at 9 o'clock, and it's 10:30 right now. It's a wonder he's not blowing up my phone.”

Jason blowing up his phone would imply that he actually gave a fuck, and that didn't fit his style. Who knows? Maybe he hadn't even bothered showing up at all.

Maybe he just didn't want to deal with the replacement.

“Perhaps master Timothy should consider his future engagements before running himself into the ground, hm?” Alfred said, taking a sip of tea from his favourite mug. It was last year's Christmas gift from Dick, “World's best grandpa” scrawled on it in red paint.

“It- this is important, okay?”

Alfred leveled him with an unimpressed stare. “So are you, master Timothy. Try not to make me remind you again anytime soon.” Then he left the room.

Tim didn't have a response to give. His stared at the spot Alfred had been, unblinking, before shaking his head.

A new meta in Gotham was more important.

By the time he'd rolled up to Gotham University, it was noon. Jason was nowhere to be found - he'd asked around, it was hard to miss the guy in his civilian form - and he wasn't about to risk calling or going to the alley. He'd been late, full stop. If he hadn't been running himself ragged trying to scrub through all the surveillance footage from his fight with croc before it all became a static-filled mess, he wouldn't have been so behind on his sleep schedule that Alfred had to dose him.

His feet found their way to the spot where he'd fought Croc. Nobody really gave him a second glance; young adult brooding was college typical behavior. Everything was as it had been. The destroyed car was gone, and Tim had to reluctantly agree that the meta stepping in definitely cut down on the property damage.

Now, if only he could find them.

Tired, he sat down on a nearby bench with a sigh. “Maybe if I'd been anything better than a dumb replacement, I wouldn't even need help.”

“If I had a nickel for everytime I saw a weird guy brooding under a tree today, I'd have two nickels.” Tim was alert immediately and had to stop himself from getting into attack mode. He tipped his head back to look up at the tree where the voice was coming from. “Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice,” the guy just chilling in a tree finished.

Dark skin, curly hair, a black T shirt and cargo pants. Red Jordans with the laces untied. He looked very comfortable. Tim hadn't even seen or sensed him at all.

“Today?” Tim parroted. “Maybe you caught my brother then-”

“Tall, buff green eyes, black hair with a white patch?” The guy rattled off.

Tim's eyes widened slightly. So he had come. He suddenly felt guilty.

“Yeah, that's my uh… brother. I was supposed to meet him here but I kinda overslept and his phone's off.” He said. Had this guy only seen Jason, or had they conversed? He didn't know if there was any cover story in place.

Then again, Jason wasn't stupid. He'd know better than to spin a story that's too hard to follow.

“Oh yeah, he said that,” Tree Guy hummed. “You're supposed to give him a tour of the campus or something. He had to rush off, but he said he'd be back tomorrow.”

Tim's brows rose. “Tomorrow? Why?” There was no possible reason why, unless-

“Oh he met my roommate,” Tree Guy said, like that was supposed to mean something. “And I think they wanna bang or something, I dunno.”

He blinked in disbelief. No way Jason wanted to bang some random… guy? It had to be a guy, right? Gotham U didn't do the co-ed roommate thing.

Huh.

He never would've guessed Jason liked guys. Or anybody at all, really.

“Is that so?” Tim says thoughtfully. “Sorry, I've been extremely rude. I'm Timothy Drake-Wayne, and you are?”

Tree Guy opens his mouth and pauses. Blinks. “You're… a Wayne.”

Ah, fuck. He forgot about that little detail sometimes. He's lucky nobody paid his melancholic self any mind earlier.

“Yes…? And you are?” Tim tries to stay polite.

“Miles Morales,” Tree Guy says, and something about how his eyes are sharper now sets Tim on edge. “Didn't think I'd ever actually meet one of you guys, is all. Wait- does that mean Jason is-?”

Tim tries not to panic. Jason Todd is dead. A Google search will show that one of the Wayne children mysteriously passed years ago.

“He's a Drake,” he quickly lies. “My brother from my actual parents, not Bruce Wayne.”

Jason would probably throttle him for the lie, but it wouldn't be the first time.

Miles nods like that makes perfect sense. “Your neck should be hurting by now. I'll come down from the tree so we can talk like normal people I guess.”

Now that he mentioned it… Tim sat the correct way, rubbing his neck. Miles made his way down from the tree like he'd been climbing since he was in the womb, and plopped onto the bench beside him.

“Why were you in a tree anyway?”

“I like to be high up,” Miles says with a shrug. “I guess I like tall buildings more, but it's hard to explain you aren't trying to jump off the edge.”

Tim could understand that. Then, a lightbulb went off in his head. “So, this roommate of yours that my brother supposedly wants to…”

“Rail. Or get railed by, I don't know. Appearances can be deceiving.” Miles seemed to take great pleasure in Tim's distressed expression. He did not want to think about whether Jason was the top or bottom, ever.

“He's in class right now. Super nerdy science guy, that one,” Miles finished.

“And why aren't you in class?”

Miles side eyed him. “Pot, kettle? Unless you don't actually go here.”

What exactly had Jason said? Ugh. “I uh, do? I mean, I did. I'm just… done.”

Miles’ brows raised. “You're like what, 17? Guess you're a super nerd like Danny too.”

Tim sputtered indignantly. “I'm 19 years old!”

The other boy eyed him up and down, and Tim suddenly felt self conscious. “My bad then. You have bags under your eyes and probably don't get enough sleep, so you look younger than you are.”

“And what're you, a nurse or something?” Tim grumbled.

Miles chuckled. “Nah, but my mom was… is. She is.” Tim tactfully doesn't point out the slip. “I'm just a little old engineering major.”

“What, really? So am I. What engineering?” Tim leaned in slightly. He was starting to relax a bit. When was the last time he spoke to someone around his age that wasn't one of his siblings?

Too damn long.

“Mechanical. I like to build stuff. Danny does too, but he's more of a space nerd so he's in Astronomy.” Miles' tone seemed almost fond.

“What kinda stuff do you like to build?” Tim prodded.

“A portal to another dimension would be nice,” Miles said, and his little smile went from wistful to sad. “Not a serious thought or anything. It'd just be cool if it was possible, I guess.”

Tim wanted to say that was extremely possible and being a vigilante made it pretty hard not to come across a portal or two. But uh, not the place or time. “You're so right, can you imagine going to another dimension? Meeting another version of yourself?”

Miles' face did a funny thing, and his tone was flat when he said, “I can imagine alright.”

There was something there, but it didn't make any sense at all. Tim tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. “So, I'm guessing you're not from around here.”

A side eye was tossed his way. “Why? Cause I don't sound like a second rate cartoon villain everytime I speak?”

Tim snorted a laugh. “I can tell you right now that every Gothamite probably just sneezed.”

“They should. Dumbest accent I've ever heard.”

Tim almost said Miles' accent was just as bad, but he could see that going very, very wrong. Instead, he asked, “So, what brings you to Not-Kansas, Dorothy?”

“Education?”

“You could've gone anywhere in the world and you chose the crime capital of the world? You literally could've gone next door to Metropolis. Even Bludhaven.” Although Bludhaven was pretty fucking boring if Tim was being honest. He'd spent two weekends with Dick and nearly withered away.

Miles shrugged. “How do you figure that? For all you know, I'm probably so dumb, Gotham U was the only school that would take me.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

“Aw, you think so highly of me,” Miles teased. “Let's just say I like to love life on the edge.”

“Right, and I'm-”

Tim's comm beeped in his ear.

“Report.” Batman's gruff voice made him sit up straighter. “When were you going to tell me about your newfound abilities?”

Shit.