Invisible (Jason Todd; Titans)

two

Ambrose was perked up that next day for her shift. Her grin was wide and her pace was swift and happy. She was practically skipping over the floors. That's usually how her days started after a successful patrol as she tended to sleep better after the high of the adrenaline calmed down.

Margo looked annoyed by her chipper attitude, continuously sassing Ambrose and making snide comments to try and calm her down, but it didn't work. The vigilante girl had seen the news of those men being caught by police and the bag of weapons left behind, but the one thing they never reported on was the note left behind. They hadn't reported it over the radio either. Which meant it hadn't been there for them to find. Someone else had been there and taken it. With her luck, it went to its intended target. Batman or his little protege.

If there was anything Ambrose loved, it was a good chase. A game of cat and mouse. It wasn't as if Batman was going to turn her in anyways. It would be stupid of him, and highly hypocritical seeing as she was just doing the same thing he was. She supposed it probably annoyed him that he didn't know her identity, or at least she hoped it did. The thought of annoying him and being on his radar made her amused.

"Not him again," Charlie grumbled, glaring at the boy that had just come through the door.

Ambrose looked up, her grin widening as she saw Jason walking up to the counter, "Morning, Tina."

Jason rolled his eyes, but he didn't look angry in the slightest, "Yeah, that's me. Amy, right?"

Ambrose snorted, "Yep. That's my name, sweetheart. What are you wanting today?"

"Coffee. Black."

Ambrose typed the order into the system, "Ah, good old straight black coffee. You know, I don't get it. Do people actually like black coffee, or is it just to seem all...rough and badass? Like, 'look at me. I can handle bitter drinks. Like a man.' Or whatever. Personally, I like my coffee spiced. Little bit of cinnamon, little nutmeg, allspice, ginger. All that good stuff."

"You must really like hearing yourself talk," Jason said, leaning forward to hand her some cash.

"You know, I really do. My voice is nice. Like an angel," she sassed, "I'll call your name when it's finished. Make sure you listen this time."

"Thanks. And, uh, just between you and me, I drink black coffee to impress beautiful ladies like you," Jason sent a wink her way before he made his way to the plush couch by the back window.

Margo bumped her shoulder with Ambrose's lightly, pretending to grab for something as she whispered, "He's cute, and he's staring so he probably wants to take you out on a date."

Charlie also pretended to grab something, "Absolutely not. He's trouble. Look at him. Trust me, don't get yourself wrapped up in that mess. Next thing you know, you're gonna be hooked on drugs and selling your body on the street corner."

Margo shoved him away, "Go back to making that shit you call coffee, old man. Amber, you should put your number on his cup. I've done it plenty of times. Always works."

Ambrose shook her head in amusement, pouring the dark brew into the cup, "You're both ridiculous. Tina! Oh, shit, sorry. Black coffee for Jason!"

Jason couldn't even pretend to be annoyed, "You aren't letting that go, are you?"

"Depends, are you gonna keep coming back here?"

"Maybe."

"Oh...then no. Tina is never going away," she handed him his drink.

Jason made a show of taking a long sip of the coffee.

Ambrose fanned herself jokingly, "Oh, wow. I'm so impressed. Take me home."

"Another time," he smirked before walking out the door.

"That's some thick tension right there," Margo commented.

Ambrose shrugged, "We're just having fun, Mar. Not a big deal."

It was nice sometimes to have someone see her. Ambrose adored her solitude, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy the moments when she wasn't. It wasn't as if she expected him to stick around for long anyway. No one ever did.

~

If there was one thing Ambrose loved more than the smell of coffee, it was the smell of books. There was something so soothing about the feeling of flipping the pages and immersing yourself in the words. It was just another way for Ambrose to disappear.

She found her safe space between the pages of the fantastical books she read in the isolation of her bedroom. She would hole up on the nook by her window, soft wind breezing through her hair as she read. Soft piano music would play through the speaker on her desk. When she wasn't at work, or sleeping, or out at night playing her little vigilante role, she was doing this. What she wouldn't give sometimes to remain here forever. To get away from life.

Soft creaking wheels stopped in her doorway and a knock brought her attention to her father, Seth Carpenter. He was aged, but still managed to look youthful in the way his eyes shined with avid curiosity and a hunger for adventure. He was the only family she had left, but she never wanted for more.

"What time are you going out tonight?" Seth asked.

Ambrose bookmarked her page and set the book down on her desk, "I'm not sure. Probably when I hear something good on the radio."

"Dinner then?"

"Yeah," Ambrose stood up and followed her father out into the kitchen of their apartment.

Seth was the only one who knew who she was. He was the one that created her, after all. He had put her through training with a close friend of his, being unable to teach her himself as he was chairbound. Seth Carpenter made Ghost, and Ambrose would never forget that.

"Be careful not to get caught by those other ones tonight. I know you're interested in seeing what they'll do, but I don't want you to get locked up, Amber," Seth warned.

"I know, I know. I'll show some restraint. I'm gonna make you proud."

"You make me proud every day just by being alive. Don't you forget that, ok? Your mother would be proud too."

Irene Carpenter had always been a sore subject for them. Ambrose didn't remember her mother, but Seth filled the void with stories and photos.

Irene and Seth had been working on the Phantom Project just before Ambrose was born. They were trying to create successful mutagens for the military to turn them invisible. They had started experimenting on animal subjects, but none of them proved successful. They figured they needed a human subject, but their employers weren't willing to give that to them.

Irene began experimenting on herself, not knowing she was pregnant with Ambrose. She thought the experiments weren't working, but when she gave birth, Ambrose showed extraordinary abilities. Neither Irene nor Seth could stand to give up their beautiful child, not even for their life's work. So they kept her a secret. That didn't work for long.

Their employer's discovered Ambrose and her abilities and were furious that Irene and Seth would keep it a secret. They wanted Ambrose all to themselves. In the end, Irene was killed, and Seth was permanently disabled. Seth and Ambrose only lived because of Batman. After reports of gunfire, he got there in time to save them. He had known nothing of Seth or Ambrose's true origins, and that saved Seth from imprisonment. Experimenting on humans wasn't exactly legal business.

But Ambrose cared for none of that. No matter what, she knew that her father loved her. He cared more than anyone in the world. He was the only one that truly saw her. He was the only one that Ambrose wanted to see her.

Ambrose Carpenter would remain visible as long as Seth Carpenter was alive to see her.