Insignificantly evil (DP and Batman crossover)

Promise to uphold

What have we done to deserve corona?
I was supposed to be singing along to a Broadway musical in fricking NYC, but what am I doing instead? Lying in bed, typing this up! Why are we suffering!!!

•••••••

"Where the hell did he go!?" Roy stood with his bow ready in the middle of the room, a puzzled look on his face. The confusion though soon turned into recognition. That was the exact same power Phantom used to toy with them. The green void that allowed him to travel anywhere he wanted... But this only proved the rumors that were going around. Phantom has a child.

A smug look decorated Jason's face. The fact that Zephyr escaped from here made his day. But what if he landed somewhere worse? What if something bad was going to happen to him? Was league's holding cell really that bad after all? The smile soon vanished, leaving an empty feeling. Jason holstered his gun and turned around to interact with the console again. He was going to find the boy again, whatever it takes.

"I'm sorry Jason, but you're not leaving." Roy pulled the vigilante back, quickly handcuffing one of his hands. It wouldn't really do much, considering the fact Jason was an expert on getting out of those, but those few seconds would be enough. Jay reached out to grab his friend's wrist, to try and maneuver out of his grasp, but damn, he played right into his hands. With his other wrist in range, Roy quickly snapped on the other haft of the handcuffs, closing it tight.

To be sure, he pulled off Jason's gloves. With the bats, a person could never be sure what they hid in them. To make sure he wouldn't escape by dislocating his thumb, the archer tightened the cuffs to their maximum.

"If you want to prevent me from escaping, you'll have strip me down." Jason chuckled, earning a rough shove towards the interrogation room.

•••••••

Jason greeted his interrogator with a scowl. This was a waste of everyone's time. It was clear as day that Batman didn't want to be here and Jason had better things to do; like finding the small ghost and helping him.

"The only question I have is why? Why did you let the prisoner out?" Bruce asked while staring Jason down through his cowl.

"It was the right thing to do." The younger vigilante replied disinterestedly. It would have been better if he was there to watch after the boy, but good nonetheless.

"You realize you let out a murderer, one with great powers. At his young age, he could be easily manipulated by anyone to do their bidding..." Batman paused there, letting this fact sink in.

"I could have prevented that if Roy hadn't stopped me. I could have taught him our ways, or your ways if that makes you feel better." Jason sank in his chair, letting guilt flow freely through him. It was exactly what he deserved after letting Zephyr into the messed up world.

"What holds you to the ghost?" The bat asked sincerely, now filling the role of a father. He saw the look on Jason's face, it reflected the same expression he wore when the boys came into his life. The look of adoration and pride. "You look at him like you used to look at Danny." He added after a short pause.

This statement caught the man off guard. Of course he looked at Zephyr that way. He was Danny, or at least a part of him. But he accepted the boy for what he was. He was his brother, no matter what. Unfortunately this was a thing only he saw in the boy. Everyone else saw him only for the monster he took after.

"I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Jason replied vaguely.

"But why do you look at him that way." Bruce pressed, finding this a great opportunity to learn something new about the small ghost. He wasn't able to find anything on him and one of his sons suddenly appeared with a visible connection to his suspect.

"Because..." Jason didn't know how to tell his father about Danny and his ghost half. It was his secret and it seemed it got lost with him as well. Though both Tim and Jason knew, they agreed not to tell.

But now?

No.

With Zephyr's sudden appearance, there was a chance they could get a part of Danny back. So again, it wasn't their secret to tell.

"Was there a reason I looked at Danny that way?"

"Yes."

"Then you have the answer." Bruce knew this conversation was over, it got too personal.

"Jason," The vigilante took a deep breath. "We both know I can't let you go, you're an accomplice to the Phantom case."

"How dare you lock me up here like a criminal Bruce. I have to get out there and find Zephyr, before someone else gets to him." Jason was desperate to get out, but he also saw Bruce's point.

"I will personally make sure to take care of the boy." Batman was back, replacing the protective father. It was a signal this conversation was over.

"Could I use my comm one last time? I want to give my cases to Tim." Jason requested, getting a nod as a response. Batman handed him back his comm and he immediately contacted his younger brother.

"Hey Tim, I'll be out for a while and I need you to take over my cases."

"What's the problem Jay?" Tim asked confused, because this wasn't Jason-like behavior.

"I'm being locked up." The simple answer cleared things up for the vigilante. Tim knew instantly that Batman was in Jason's earshot, because he would never talk so discreetly. This was an interesting situation, something definitely worth of checking out.

"I'll take over, you just get out." Tim chuckled and hung up. Jason handed back the comm and allowed the bat to lead him into the prison compartment. 'I won't be here long' he thought as he watched Batman walk away. With the notes he left for Tim in his apartment, his brother would soon bust him out. There was just no other option.