Chapter Text
Selina and Jason had finally moved all of their cats and most of their things into Wayne Manor. They were gathering the last of their stuff when there was a knock on the apartment door.
Selina answered the door, but before she could get a word out, the cop who had knocked grabbed Selina and was putting cuffs on her while reading her her rights.
“Selina Kyle, we have a warrant for your arrest. You have the right to remain silent. . .”
As the cop spoke, more cops flooded in and headed for Jason, who at this point had noticed what was happening, so he ran and ran and ran. When he finally couldn’t run anymore, he had managed to outrun the cops (nothing beats a vigilante’s acrobatic skill and stamina) and was deep into Park Row.
As Jason leaned against a brick building and caught his breath, he looked down at himself. He was wearing a new shirt as well as expensive jeans and sneakers. In other words, he was a target. He found a safe place to hide and waited until night. He knew Batman would be looking for him and climbed up on the roof to make it easy for him.
“Jason!” Bruce said when he saw him.
“Batman!” Jason ran over to him and explained everything that happened which led to him running away.
“Why did you run?” Bruce asked.
“When you see cops, you run in the opposite direction, everyone knows that,” Jason replied.
“No, Jason, everyone does not know that. Now, can you come home? I’m not leaving you out on the streets because 1- I care about you, and 2- Selina would slaughter me.”
“What about Mama?”
“I wasn’t able to speak to her yet. She must have been getting processed and wasn’t allowed a call or visitation yet.”
“What do you mean visitation? Use your Batman powers to get her out of jail!”
“It’s not that easy, Jason. I can’t just break her out when they have her in custody. As soon as they set a bail, I’ll have her out in a heartbeat, but I don’t even know what they have her in custody for yet.”
“What if she gets remanded?” Jason asked.
“How do you know-”
“I’m not done talking!” Jason cut him off. “You need to use your pig whispering powers to get them to drop charges and let her out!!”
“The commissioner isn’t just going to let her out because I ask, Jason.”
“Then what good are you?!”
Bruce frowned. “Jason, I love Selina just as much as you do, and the last place I want my wife to be is prison. I’m going to do everything in my power to get her out. I have great lawyers, as soon as I get them on the phone, they’re going to put all their time and power into getting your mom back to us safe and sound. I need you to trust me.”
Jason seemed to think about it, then replied, “not good enough. We need to investigate.”
“Jason-”
“You’re Batman, the detective, I’ll be your Robin!”
From all the things Selina told Bruce about Jason, she made it very clear that Jason was not easily swayed. He was going to do this whether Bruce helped or not. “Fine. We’ll start first thing tomorrow, because today has been an emotional day and we could all use a little time to process before we go looking.”
Jason wanted to argue, but honestly, he was kinda surprised he got Bruce to agree to this much, and Jason could feel the weight of everything that happened to day fall on him now that the adrenaline and fear had left. He was in no shape to be doing anything other than going home and sleeping.
“Okay,” Jason nodded. “Let’s go.”
Jason saw that Cass was waiting for them in the Batcave when they returned.
“Jason! I was worried!”
“I’m okay, Cass,” Jason replied.
“Don’t do that!”
“The cops came after me, I had no choice.”
“You didn’t call!”
“I had a lot on my mind.”
“You both should go upstairs,” Bruce said. “Jason, Alfred has dinner ready for you.”
Jason didn’t realize how hungry he was until Bruce mentioned food and quickly left the cave to eat.
Bruce stayed in the cave and contacted his lawyers immediately to get started on Selina’s case. First things first, try to get her released from jail on bail; he would pay any price. Then, they would get to work on the case.
Bruce was already on that and brought Jason along with him.
“Who turned on the bat-” Commissioner stormed onto the roof, but stopped when he saw who was on the police station roof.
“I did,” Jason, dressed as Robin, hopped off the bat signal.
“Robin thought it would be the best way to get you to come up here,” Bruce said.
“And I was right,” Jason added.
“Wasn’t 2 kids enough, Batman?” Gordon asked. “Alright, I’m here, what do you want?”
“Selina Kyle!” Jason said.
“That case has been solved and Selina has been apprehended,” Gordon said.
“We think there’s been a mistake,” Bruce said, “and we’d like to see the files you have.”
“There has been no mistake; all the evidence points to Kyle.”
“You trust me, don’t you, Gordon? Have I steered you wrong in the past? Selina Kyle left crime behind as soon as she took in that kid of hers, Jason, we both know that, and he’s going to be affected by this. I’m just asking to see the files.”
Gordon looked between Jason and Bruce before he sighed and relented, “fine. I’ll let you see the files, but I’m telling you you’re wasting your time.”
He disappeared into the police station, presumably to get the files.
At which point Jason said, “I hate him.”
“Gordon’s a good man. He takes his job very seriously, he’s just incredibly stubborn, just like every other person in my life,” Bruce told Jason.
“He’s a cop,” Jason replied.
“There are good cops.”
“Yeah, for sure, in comic books and movies.”
Gordon was back up quickly, he handed Bruce the file, and Bruce quickly looked through the file before handing it back to Gordon. Jason thought it was pretty cool that Bruce had lenses in his cowl that could record anything he saw, including the files.
“Thank you.”
“That was quick, but I told you, it’s pretty open and shut,” Gordon tucked the files under his arm.
“You know me, Gordon. My only interest is justice,” Bruce replied.
“Wow, you really talk like that, huh?” Jason asked
Bruce ignored that comment from Jason and, in true Batman fashion, disappeared rather than say goodbye.
Cass, in her orphan gear, joined Jason and Bruce when they went to the crime scene. Since the evidence had been gathered and a culprit had been caught (even if she was innocent), the scene had been mostly cleared away. Still, it was possible Bruce could find something the others missed, and this would be a good chance to teach Jason some detective work.
“Orphan, you start looking around for clues. Robin, stick with me. I’m going to teach you how I got the title ‘world’s greatest detective,’” Bruce said.
“The title you gave yourself?” Jason asked.
Bruce didn’t respond to that comment, but Jason could hear Cass stifle a laugh behind them.
“What do you see, Robin?” Bruce asked.
Jason looked at the crime scene: an alleyway. It looked like any average alley in Gotham!
“An alley? Uh, a dumpster, a brick wall. . .”
“Look closer at the walls.”
Jason did so. “The walls are old, so the brick is crumbling.”
“Or maybe the brick is cracked because people were fighting,” Jason followed Bruce closer to the cracked brick. There was still blood long dried in the cracks.
“So, the blood belongs to the victim.”
“Most of the time. In this case, I already know who the victim is, but I’m still going to collect blood samples because the culprit might have left some behind which the police missed.”
“Detective work doesn’t seem so hard.”
“It’s not easy,” Bruce corrected, “but it gets easier the more you investigate, then you know what you’re looking for. If you’re new to this, or even if you’re not, you can miss things. That’s why the GCPD needs help sometimes.”
After Bruce finished at the crime scene, pointing out everything that could be a possible clue to Jason and why it was, it was time to go back to the cave and take a closer look at the files with the new evidence together.
“So, that’s the guy who was killed?” Jason asked.
“Yes. His name was Leo McGovern.”
“I know that name! I told Mama about him, the Candyman.”
“Terrible villain name,” Cass commented.
“That’s just what the kids called him,” Jason told Bruce and Cass what he knew. “He’d find kids that were by themselves and vulnerable, you know, street kids with nowhere to go, and get friendly with them. He’d offer them drugged candy, sometimes good too, but mostly candy, and when they fell asleep, he’d kidnap them.”
“I didn’t know she was investigating this. If she knew who he was, why didn’t she tell me?”
“She probably would have that night if she hadn’t been arrested. She had just told me that morning as we were moving.” Jason crossed his arms, “I’m glad he's dead, but Mama didn’t kill him. When she told me about him, she spoke about him as if he was still alive. So, who framed her?”
“We will have to talk to her tomorrow.”
“That’s it?” Jason asked.
“No, Jason, I’m also going to hack into and check any cameras on the street outside the alley.”
When Bruce didn’t move, Jason asked, “what are you waiting for?”
“You don’t need to go through the camera footage with me. Both of you need to get changed and go to bed.”
Jason wanted to argue, but it was late, and Bruce wasn’t going to let him push it.
Jason hardly slept that night. All he could think about was the fact that his mama was in a prison cell all alone when she should be in their new home, sleeping next to the man she was gonna marry, and that now there was a possibility that was never going to happen. If the police were so convinced his mama was guilty, they’d do anything to put her away. She wouldn’t be the only innocent person to go to jail for something they didn’t do. If that happened and he ever came face to face with Gordon again. . .
There was a knock on Jason’s bedroom door.
The morning had arrived, and Jason hadn’t slept at all, not that he felt tired, too anxious. He walked over and opened the door.
“Jason, you’re awake. Will you be ready to go soon?” Bruce asked.
“What? Yeah. Yeah, I just have to brush my teeth and get dressed. You promise I’ll get to see my mama?”
“She was remanded, but I called and made sure we were on the visitors list and that she had visitation today.”
“Okay, then let me get ready. I’ll meet you at the front door in like 10 minutes.”
On the way, Jason asked if the security camera held any evidence of Selina’s innocence. Bruce revealed his search was fruitless. It was a rainy night, so umbrellas and hoods covered the faces of most people walking up and down the street. Selina could have been any of them. Even if Jason could alibi her, they needed more than her son.
In Blackgate, Selina held the phone to her ear on one side of a glass window while Bruce and Jason sat on the other the phone between them so they could both try and hear what Selina was saying. She didn’t seem too worried about being arrested and having to go to trial. Of course, every other time she was arrested, she had actually committed the crime. She was mostly annoyed that she was remanded because it took her away from her family and made wedding planning difficult.
“Mama, I’m really happy to see you,” Jason said as soon as they got the phone off the hook.
“Happy to see you too, Kitten. I know you might be a little worried, but make sure you take care of yourself and the cats. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Of course I’m worried about you! You’re in jail for something you didn’t do, and I miss you!”
“I miss you too, but these people couldn’t put me in jail for crimes I actually (allegedly) committed, they won’t be able to put me away for one I didn’t do. Besides, a little birdy told me a sexy bat is on my case, so I’ll be outta here in no time.”
Jason stuck his tongue out in disgust at the “sexy bat” comment
Bruce, on the other hand, smiled at Selina. “Everything that can be done right now is getting done for you, my love. I’m sure Batman is going to get you out of here and down the aisle.”
“Maybe after I get out, I’ll just marry Batman instead.”
Bruce chuckled. “He would be the luckiest man in the entire world if you said yes to him.”
Jason rolled his eyes before focusing back up in the case. “Mama, do you know who might want to frame you?”
“Oh, I’m sure there’s a million rogues out there that hate me for stealing what they wanted to steal or switching sides,” Selina said with a wave of her hand. Then she focused her attention on Jason, “listen, Jay, I need you to do something super important for me, okay?”
“Of course, anything you need,” Jason nodded.
“I need you to call up the florist and talk to her about how much is left on the bill for the flowers. She’s not taking my calls, and I want to add a few more things to the order.”
“What?” Jason asked, confused.
“Do you need me to write it down for you? Did I talk too fast? I’m sorry, I have a million things running through my head and no way to get any of them done.”
“No. Florist, got it. I was just expecting you to say something about the case.”
“Oh! No. I don’t have anything that can help with that, but I am just keeping an ear out for anyone who might spill some information they shouldn’t.”
“Okay. I’ll help you with the florist.”
“Thank you so much, Kitten. This is why you’re my favorite guy.”
They stayed talking with Selina for a little longer. Telling them what they knew about the case, without spilling too many details that Bruce shouldn’t know. They also got information from her about things she wanted done on the outside or anything they could try and get to her from out there.
It put Jason at ease to see how calm Selina was despite being in jail. He could always sense when she was hiding something, but she was just annoyed that she was in there rather than scared she wouldn’t get out. If she was that confident, he could be confident.
Jason spent his days going to Blackgate as often as he could and relaying messages to and from the wedding venue, the florist, the caterer, and anyone else Selina was having difficulty contacting. Jason wanted to talk more about the case than the wedding, but it made Selina happier to talk about the wedding, so that’s what they did.
It was dark one day when Jason was leaving Blackgate. Bruce hadn’t gone with him that time. Bruce would have liked to visit Selina as much as Jason was, but he was putting all his effort into the case.
Jason took out his phone to see he had gotten a text from Bruce asking him to call a taxi since he couldn’t be picked up. Jason shoved his phone in his pocket and walked to the bus stop instead. He had gotten into a fight with Bruce earlier that day. It was a stupid argument; they were both frustrated with the lack of progress they were making in Selina’s case, but Jason was taking it out on Bruce. Regardless, he was in no rush to see Bruce again, so public transportation it was.
Bruce and Cass were sitting on the couch playing cards. When Cass was bored, she could talk him into anything (when she talked.)
Alfred walked into the room with three cups of tea, looking a little concerned. “Master Bruce, has Master Jason not gotten home yet?”
Bruce checked his phone; Jason hadn’t replied to his text.
“No, he hasn’t.”
Bruce decided to call Jason.
“He should have been home half an hour ago. I’m a bit worried,” Alfred said, putting the tea down on the coffee table.
The call went to voicemail.
“Cass, stay here and tell me when Jason gets back. I’m going to go out and look for him,” Bruce said.
“Okay,” Cass said.
Bruce should have known that was too easy.
Once Bruce left the manor and Alfred went back to the kitchen, Cass went down to the cave and suited up to look for Jason herself.
Cass knew the first place Bruce would look would be the original scene of the crime, and then from there to Blackgate, hoping to meet Jason on the way.
Cass instead decided to start at Blackgate and retrace his steps in a different direction to cover more ground.
Once at Blackgate, it was clear to Cass that Jason didn’t get a taxi, but he would still need a way to get home, so she walked to the nearest bus stop.
There she saw some scuff marks on the ground. She went in the direction they were leading and decided to question some people around the area who could have seen something.
The people were willing to talk to Orphan because she was looking for a kid and wasn’t trying to intimidate anyone (like Batman would just by showing up). She got a few people to get her a description of a van that most had never seen before, which was in the area at the same time that Jason was. Now, she just had to check street cameras.
Cass went into the local bodega, bought a can of cat food, and asked the owner if she could look at the security camera footage.
He looked like he was about to say no, so Cass quickly added that she was investigating a kidnapping that she believed happened right outside. The owner was hesitant before he let her view the footage. One of the cameras caught the kidnapping, it was quick and easy to miss if you weren’t staring at the monitor. Cass got the make and model of the van as well as the license plate number. She contacted Barbara and asked if she could use traffic cams to find the last known location of the van. After she did, Cass thanked her and hung up before Barbara could ask what was up.
The industrial part of town. This was the last known location of the van, so Cass, upon arriving, started to quickly investigate.
There wasn’t much in this part of town, least of all people; she was on her own. Fortunately, around the back of one of the warehouses, she found the van. She grappled up and peered through one of the high windows, and what she saw made her immediately press the emergency beacon on her belt.
Inside the warehouse was the Joker, a sick smile on his twisted face, talking nonstop (though Cass couldn’t hear what he was saying from her distance) and beating Jason with what looked to be a crowbar.
She had no idea how fast Bruce would arrive, but she didn’t want to wait. The door was, of course, locked, and the windows didn’t open. She could blow open the door, but Jason looked to be close to it, and she didn’t want to hurt him further. Not to mention, if she made her presence known before she could get the upper hand on the Joker, he might just shoot Jason. He was too unpredictable for her not to be very careful.
She didn’t have to think very long about what she could do while waiting for Bruce because the warehouse door creaked open. Cass quickly hid as the Joker walked out. She didn’t have to worry about taking him down right now; he was always easy to find; her priority had to be Jason. When the Joker was clear, Cass ran for the door and threw it open; this time it wasn’t locked. Cass heard the ticking sound before she saw the bomb, she just grabbed Jason and ran. The explosion that followed knocked Cass over, but, thanks to the material of her suit, she was left relatively unharmed.
Cass surveyed Jason. He was badly hurt and needed to go to a hospital. She used what she had on her to bind any big wounds while continuously making sure he was still breathing and had a pulse until Bruce got there.
“Hospital! Hospital! Hospital!” Cass shouted over and over.
Bruce picked Jason up, laid him in the back of the Batmobile, and Cass got in the back with Jason as Bruce drove at a breakneck pace to the nearest hospital. Jason was in his civilian clothes, and Batman taking a victim who needed a doctor as soon as possible to the hospital wasn’t unheard of, so neither Cass nor Bruce was worried about that, just about Jason getting help immediately.