Chapter Text
Jason had finally managed to slip a tracker into the shipment heading up the proverbial ladder to the bigger fish in the smuggling operation. Ten months of this bullshit. Ten months of him letting drugs and weapons and people be trafficked while he became an accessory. Well, he’d been an accessory to the drugs and weapons. He hadn’t seen any of the human trafficking. From their intel, that was a job for only the trusted. He was getting close, though, close to being brought into the fold, close to meeting someone who called the shots.
Ten months he’d been isolated from anyone he trusted. He was going to demand a lot of time away after this. He hadn’t had a moment to just be in nearly a year. There were only brief flashes of time when he was around people he knew would have his back without question. Ten months without his family. All of them, he was missing all of them. Even the ones he pretended to hate. He missed Bruce’s worry and fretting when he’d come by the Cave after days of radio silence. He missed Tim and Damian’s biting snark. He missed…
No. He wasn’t going to dwell on that. He needed to keep a level head. He was monitoring the shipment being loaded onto a cute little speedboat with a busty woman in a skimpy bikini and a sheer wrap waiting on the dock.
He had an intel drop in a couple hours with the frequency of the tracker. He really hoped this led somewhere. Bruce was due back from his off-planet mission with the Justice League heavy hitters in a few days. Hopefully, by then, they’d be preparing to bring down this pipeline.
Then an arrow imbedded itself in one of the crates, one he recognized. This was fucking Gotham. There was no reason Green Arrow should be anywhere near this. Batman had made it clear to the League, no one set foot in Gotham.
He didn’t bother confirming. He ducked like the others and drew a gun. He wasn’t about to let Green fucking Arrow burn ten months of undercover work, not when they were so close to bringing whoever was in charge down. He peaked out and saw him on a rooftop. So, Jason popped out enough to shoot at him, aiming for his leg. As annoyed as he was, he wasn’t about to start offing the Justice League, especially not Oliver Queen, as much as he hated the guy.
The next arrow went wide, and he saw Green Arrow go down. Jason raced toward the alley to one side and disappeared into the shadows. No sooner had he done that, than he looked over his shoulder and saw a green something fly at the others. So, Green Lantern, too. Great.
A screech sounded overhead, but the noise filters in his helmet protected him from the Canary Cry. Great. They were taking out the people who were supposed to lead him to the boss. What the fuck were the League doing in Gotham? Bruce wouldn’t have permitted it, and even if for some reason he had (however impossible that was), he would have warned them off their damn sting operation.
Before he could do anything else, he was sent flying into a wall by a blur. Fucking Flash. As he scrambled to his feet, pain shot through his left shoulder. He looked down and saw the head of a damn arrow sticking out of the front of his shoulder. He saw Flash stop beside him, and he shot the guy in the hip. Allen would heal, but it would hurt like a motherfucker for a bit. Then Jason took off down the alley again. He turned a corner and broke off the back end of the arrow so he could rip it out.
Why hadn’t he brought his emergency beacon? Bruce and Tim are going to lecture him. And Dickwing and the demon spawn will never let him hear the end of it. It wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a relay. How was he supposed to know the Justice League would show up?
Then something green enveloped him, slamming him to the ground and pinning him. He tried to fight it, but then Black Canary appeared with something that looked like a cross between an epipen and a Star Trek hypospray. She forced his head to the side and stabbed it into his neck. Okay, closer to an epipen than a hypospray, since the needle fucking burned going in.
Jason woke to pain. His adrenaline had long since worn off, so all the injuries he sustained were making themselves known. The obvious was the arrow wound in the shoulder, but the ribs on his right side smarted.
His knuckles felt bruised. Something told him he’d still put up a decent fight after he’d blacked out. The Pit rage may have less of a hold on him, but it still came out when he was less coherent, like just before he slipped into complete unconsciousness while his body was still fighting it.
He opened his eyes, since his helmet was still on. They wouldn’t know he was awake, but he could take stock of everything. He was in a cell with a metal shelf for a bed, that he was currently laying on. There were meta-suppression cuffs on his wrists, which wouldn’t really do anything to him. The walls were a sterile white, with painfully bright fluorescent lights. The wall opposite the bed was clear, probably Wayne Tech shatterproof acrylic. There was a door in the middle with a heavy steel frame.
Flash stood in the corridor, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He looked bored. So, eventually, he’d get distracted. Jason only hoped it was before they traded— fuck, Green Lantern arrived to swap.
“Any sign of him waking up?” Lantern asked.
“Nothing. We sure he’s a meta?” Flash gave Jason a concerned look. “I’d burn through that sedative by now.”
“You have a faster metabolism.”
It took a while until Flash was alone again, and then got distracted. When he did, Jason quickly hacked the door lock and slipped out. Flash dove at him, and Jason used his momentum to flip him into the cell and lock it again. He’d almost made it to the zeta tubes, when they lost power.
Fuck. He’d hoped he’d have a bit more time before they discovered he’d escaped. Hawkman crashed to the floor between him and the zetas, his morningstar in hand. Jason ducked as he swung, rolling under him. With escape problematic, he’d have to send a distress call. If he could get to the monitor room, he could contact Batman and their away team. If he could get to the servers, he could send a message to the Cave.
As he rounded a corner, a fist drove into his injured shoulder, sending him to one knee as the pain forced the air from his lungs. Green Arrow stood there, a dagger in each hand.
Jason wanted to hurt him, but knew he shouldn’t cause any more damage. Queen would have no such hesitation. Jason punched him in his bullet wound and raced away as he crumpled.
Then Flash showed up again, and pain shot through his neck. Another damn sedative.
Jason shot upright, tugging at restraints. He found himself in an interrogation room, cuffed to a metal chair that was bolted to the floor. Fuck.
Green Lantern sat down across from him, with Green Arrow and Black Canary flanking him, Flash by the door. He suspected everyone else in the Watchtower were in the monitor room watching from a distance in case he tried anything funny.
“Red Hood,” Lantern said.
“Wow, you know my name,” Jason ground out. “Gold star for you.”
“You are on the Justice League most wanted list.”
Jason raised a brow, not that they could see it beneath his helmet. “Could have sworn I was removed from that.”
“Your pet hackers may have made changes to our database, but we’re tracked them back to Gotham. You’re still wanted, even if the official paperwork says otherwise.”
If they were digging into who had pulled his data from the Watchtower mainframe, they might track it back to Tim’s Nest. He wasn’t about to risk that happening, as unlikely as it was the Justice League could track the tech-nerd of the family.
“Where’s your pet Bat?” Jason layered on the cynicism. “Hasn’t he called dibs on all Gotham baddies?”
“You weren’t operating in Gotham,” Green Arrow snarled.
“You picked me up on the Gotham docks.”
“You’ve been seen in Star City, my jurisdiction.”
“Sure, I visit Star. Is getting tacos in another city a crime?”
“Northern California is a little far from Gotham for tacos.”
“Enough,” Black Canary said. “Who do you work for?”
“I don’t like taking orders. I’m more a free agent.”
“You were at the docks, supervising the movement of illicit substances.”
“Back to the Gotham docks. You know, the Bat doesn’t like when outsiders poach on his turf. If he’s not here…” He turned his head so they knew he was looking them all over. “You came to Gotham without permission. Which means, without a warrant. Now, Bats can get away with that in Gotham, but outsiders…” He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “You’re lucky Gotham didn’t chew you up and spit you out. But maybe she just knew the Bat would do that for her when he found out.”
“She?” Flash asked.
“Gotham.”
“Because it’s something to be owned?” Canary asked. “Like a ship or a car.”
“Because she is power,” Jason said. “Ships were called ‘she’ because of the figurehead to honor the mother goddesses. Ships are powerful. Gotham is protective of her citizens, and those who protect them.”
“That doesn’t include you,” Green Arrow snapped.
“You don’t know me, and you don’t know Gotham.”
“We have your rap sheet. We know what you’ve done. When we’re done, you’ll be behind bars.”
“On what charges? Everything you think you have is in Gotham. I’ll go to trial in Gotham. You’ve got nothing.”
“Give us information and maybe we’ll put in a good word for you,” Green Lantern said.
Jason scoffed and leaned back in the chair as far as his restrains would allow for movement. “I don’t need anything from you.”
“Who’s drugs were you moving?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Green Arrow crossed his arms. “Just send him to fucking Arkham.”
It felt like he’d been dunked in ice water. The Joker was in Arkham. There wasn’t a damn thing he wouldn’t do to stay as far from Arkham.
Green Arrow smirked. “Finally a real answer. You’re afraid of Arkham.” He pressed his hands to the table, leaning closer to Jason. “Tell us who you work for, or it’s off to Arkham.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
Green Lantern stood. “We’ll give you a bit of time to consider your position.” And the League walked out.
How was Jason going to get out of this? He’d missed a drop, so the others would know something was up. But his tracker wouldn’t flag in the Watchtower. Roy would be furious. A bit at him, but mostly at whatever was keeping him from a checkin. He was meant to pass off info to Steph that night, last night? He didn’t know how long he’d been out. He didn’t even know how long he’d been in League custody. He just needed to buy time until Bruce got back with Clark and Diana.
And stay out of Arkham.
The League returned after a while, asking the same questions as before and more regarding the drug ring he’d been trying to infiltrate.
“This is a waste of time,” Green Arrow muttered. “We’ll get everything ready to send him to Arkham”
Bruce was going to kill him for this. “I wouldn’t do that, Queen.”
All four froze.
“What did you just say?” Black Canary hissed.
“And you’re Queen’s consort,” Jason sneered. “Or, no, you two got divorced, so… an ex. Must be awkward working together.” He slouched back, trying to look cocky. “You put me in Arkham, I’ll talk. Just not the way you want me to. I’ve got all sorts of names. Bart and Wally and Howard and Jane and Lian and Connor and Lois and Jon and Martha and Daniel and…”
A needle dug into his neck again, before Jason even realized Flash had moved.
When he woke again, he was in a cell, but not the cell on the Watchtower. Dinah Lance stood outside the cell door, watching him through the slot. The walls were concrete and stained with… he wasn’t going to consider that.
“Welcome to Arkham, Hood. This is your last chance to talk.”
Jason was trying to hold it together. There was no way they would actually gamble and call his bluff. No way. Then he heard it, and cackle that still haunted his nightmares. The Joker’s shouts that echoed through the cell block.
“You’ll be in solitary for a week. We’ll see how talkative you’ll be after that.”
The slot slid closed. And he was alone in the cell, with only the Joker’s voice along with other shouts to keep him company.
Bruce stepped out of the ship into the hanger of the Watchtower. Dick was waiting among the other League members for them to return.
“Nightwing,” he growled.
“B.” Dick looked him over, checking for injuries. He was a little banged up, but nothing he couldn’t handle. Something was up, though.
Bruce slipped into the language they’d created for only the family to use. “Report?”
“Jay’s overdue.”
“How long?”
“Four days. He was going to tag a shipment and pass on the code to Steph. He never showed.”
Bruce nodded. “We’ll find him.”
Dick nodded, but didn’t look convinced. Tim and Barbara would have been turning the world over already. Maybe it was time to bring the League into their operation.
“Reports.”
“We had a bit of a complication that took us into Gotham,” Hal said.
Dick tensed. So this was news to him.
“You didn’t run it by me, first?” Bruce snapped.
“You were busy.”
“Nightwing, were you informed?” Because there were standing orders that if Batman was indisposed or unreachable, Nightwing should be consulted, since he was in Blüdhaven and familiar with Gotham and her intricacies.
“I was not, B.”
“Explain.” Bruce didn’t want blather.
“One of Gotham’s rogues was spotted operating in our cities,” Oliver said. “We followed him and arrested him in Gotham. We brought him here, and during interrogation, he revealed he knew civilians connected to some of us. He reacted negatively to the idea of going to Arkham, so we set up one of the cells in the detention level to look like Arkham.”
“Who?” Dick snarled.
“Red Hood.”
Bruce moved at the same time as Dick, toward the detention level. When the elevator door opened, they were met with the Joker’s screaming. Dick snarled and whipped out one of his escrima sticks. He stabbed it into the speaker, killing the noise.
When Bruce opened the only locked door, he felt sick. Jason was curled into a defensive ball in the far corner of the cell, with the mattresses from the bunks pulled around him.
The rest of the League stepped out of the other elevator and into the detention block.
“How long?” Bruce snarled, rounding on them, as Dick stepped into the cell.
“What?” Barry asked.
“How long has he been in this cell?”
“Three days.”
“You have been psychologically torturing someone who was removed from the League’s most wanted list for three day.”
“Someone hacked in to do that,” Oliver snapped. “We’re looking into it.”
Bruce crossed his arms. “I changed it. Not only did you disregard that but you ignored the notation to speak to me before doing anything concerning Red Hood.”
“Nightwing! Don’t!” Dinah cried.
Bruce turned to see Dick kneeling in front of Jason, fingers moving over his helmet.
“There are explosives!”
But Dick knew what he was doing. Jason’s helmet opened and Dick slipped it off. Bruce felt his blood run cold. Jason’s eyes were vacant beneath his domino mask. He didn’t react to Dick touching his shoulder and his jaw.
Bruce pursed his lips and gave the whistle they used to demand a sound off. Dick responded on instinct with his. Jason blinked in quick succession, coming out of his dissociative state. So, Bruce whistled again. This time, Jason managed a soft whistle in return. Bruce swept toward his sons, gaining Jason’s wide eyes lifting to him.
“They came to Gotham. I didn’t… I…They left me here. With him.”
Bruce crouched and pressed a hand to Jason’s jaw. “You’re not in Arkham, Jay. You’re still in the Watchtower cell block.”
“What?”
“You’re still far from the Joker. He’s not here. You’re safe.”
“I am?”
“Let me show you?” Bruce stood and extended his hand.
Jason took his offered hand, letting Bruce pull him up. His legs were shaky under him, probably from not moving from his spot in the corner for three days. His leg gave out, and he slumped into Bruce’s chest, fingers digging into his armor to keep himself up. Dick grabbed his shoulder to steady him, and Jason cried out and collapsed, unconscious.
Dick tugged Jason’s shirt aside, revealing a seeping wound that looked infected. Bruce glared at the League watching from the doorway, seeing three bowls of slop by the door. So, they hadn’t provided medical attention, they’d psychologically tortured him, and he hadn’t eaten in days.
“Nightwing, get him something to eat. I’m taking him to medical.”
Dick left first. Oliver grabbed his arm to stop him, but Dick spun and punched him in the face. Bruce swept Jason into his arms, walking out of the cell.
When he stepped out of the elevator, onto the medical level, Diana and Clark were there. When they saw Jason in his arms, Clark moved forward and took him.
“What can we do?” Diana asked as they walked into a private room without cameras.
Bruce pulled off his cowl, scrubbing at his face. “I need a full report. I need you to audit their methods and see what protocols were broken. And I need you both to give them whatever disciplinary actions you believe are warranted. Because I won’t be able to be objective when my son is the victim of their mishandling.”
Diana nodded. “When we leave, we’ll activate the security protocol on the room, so only those with your code will be allowed access.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Set your mantle aside, my friend. Be a father.” She stepped closer, and he allowed her comforting embrace.
Dick walked in with an arm full of food. Most looked to be pilfered from Oliver, Hal, and Barry’s stash of snacks. Clark and Diana left, and Bruce and Dick undressed Jason so they could see the extent of his wounds. He had a number of fractures that were already healing well enough. The only worrying injury was the wound in his shoulder.
Bruce hooked Jason up to an IV drip and settled next to the bed. He needed to distract himself, because he really wanted to demand answers from the League, but he needed to let Clark and Diana handle it. Diana told him to shed the mantle, so Bruce shed his armor, sitting in a chair beside Jason’s bed. He pulled out his tablet and reviewed the various reports as they came in. There was a knock at door, before it opened. J’onn walked in with Clark.
“How is he?” Clark asked.
“Still out, but I expect that for a while,” Bruce said, casting his eyes over Jason. “I believe his broken bones are healing well enough, but he has an infected wound in his shoulder. We’ve given him antibiotics.”
Clark stepped closer, looking Jason over. “All breaks are healing well. No internal bleeding.” He turned back to Bruce. “Shoulder wound was from an arrow. Overall, in the apprehension, they didn’t use undue force for someone they suspected to be a meta. Once he was in custody… well, you are aware of the ill-advised choice they made.”
“I don’t understand,” Dick said. “He hasn’t been in Star or Central in over a year. There’s no way they tracked him from there this week. He’s been in Gotham and Blüdhaven and occasionally New York.”
J’onn crossed his arms. “Yes. They used historical movement through their cities to justify bringing him in. Green Arrow was in New York for business and chose to check in on his son. He saw Red Hood… demanding sexual acts in exchange for drugs.”
Bruce winced, while Dick hissed, “Fuck.”
“He enlisted the others to watch him until they had evidence he was more than a dealer.”
“In Gotham?” Bruce asked.
“Yes. They seemed to think you would appreciate their initiative.”