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Two Bats and a Baby

Summary:

“His name is Terry,” Tim read from the note. “His parents can no longer care for him and I fear for his life without them. Keep him safe, Red Hood and Red Robin.”

Jason's breath caught in his throat much as Tim's did at the end of the message. “What the everloving fuck?”

Notes:

This fic has been a long time coming. Back in late 2019, I reached a milestone on Tumblr with 1000 followers and opened a raffle where I would write about a 10k fic for the winner with the prompt of their choice. Well, between life, the universe, and everything, here we are!

Beta read by txbookeater.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

The baby carrier weighed more than she thought it would. Or maybe it felt that way between the combination of thick winter clothes and the fact she was having to create her own path down what she hoped was the sidewalk. All the fresh snow made it difficult to tell and the side roads hadn't been plowed yet.

Still, the street was well-lit, which she found rather amusing considering whose home she was approaching. It was a small glimmer of humor in what had otherwise been the worst two days of her life.

Everything had gone wrong the moment that taxi drove off the Sprang Bridge.

Why? What had happened?

She didn't know; she wasn't high enough up the food chain to be read into that information. But from the look in her supervisor's eyes when he gave the termination order, she had a feeling it wasn't an accident.

Why else would this precious little baby be part of those orders?

It was entirely possible she was reading between the lines, that perhaps termination hadn't meant the little bean was slated to die.

But she knew the reputation of the organization she worked for, had questioned it herself before accepting the job offer. They were ruthless, especially when trying to cover their tracks.

Her grip firmed at the reminder.

This was the right thing to do. For all the mistakes she'd made in her life, she was going to save this one.

A particular brownstone came into view and her footsteps became faster.

Almost there.

He would be safe here. She couldn't think of any other place that would be better.

Quickly, she mounted the front steps and set the carrier down, double checking to make sure the blanket and her note were firmly in place. The morning was bitterly cold, but she knew her presence here was already likely setting off alarms inside, so the baby wouldn't be out here for long.

Tears stung her eyes as she darted back down the steps.

She didn't know what would happen next. By taking the baby—her life's work—she had put herself in grave danger from her employer. She knew that and accepted what could possibly happen next.

But even if she did end up confessing to where she had taken the child, he would still be safe from their hands.

Because the Bats of Gotham never gave up one of their own.

Never.

Chapter 2

Notes:

I just want to point out something here really quick. This story pulls more from comics canon than the actual Batman Beyond cartoon universe. So here, Tim was never Joker Junior.

Chapter Text

Jason slowly roused from slumber, the insistent whine from Spock growing more urgent the longer he took. After six months, you'd think he would learn mornings didn't start with daylight, but the call of his bladder clearly said otherwise. 

"Will you shut him up already?" Tim murmured into the back of his neck. 

"Isn't it your turn?" 

"I was up all night helping Damian. I think that earns me a reprieve." 

Spock rested his head on the edge of the bed and whined louder. 

Opening his eyes, Jason glared. "It snowed last night, mutt. Do you really want to freeze your balls off that badly?" He sure as fuck didn't. 

"He doesn't have any," Tim commented sleepily as he burrowed deeper into the covers, voice growing fainter the further he went. “You're the one who wanted him neutered.”

This was true and also entirely irrelevant at this point in time. With a growl that could match that of the dog, Jason sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, questing for his slippers. Spock danced back, claws clicking on the hardwood floor beyond the rug. 

It was mornings like this that Jason missed Darcy. The old dog had hated mornings as much as they did and much preferred the blanket nest the dog bed inevitably turned into during the winter. Spock would learn eventually. He wasn't even two years old yet, so there was time. 

Jason's knees ached as he stood and reached for his robe. The cold and him didn't get along either anymore. Not that it ever had, but a double knee replacement meant he felt it more keenly these days. At least he was walking without crutches finally, which was saying something. Tim's stepmom Dana made sure of it. 

Physical therapy, his ass. Physical torture was more like it, but it was worth the effort. Whether his ass would ever see the rooftop highway again was another story. To be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to, outside of chasing Tim. The life they led wasn't easy, not by a long shot, and the physical toll was making itself known. 

He wasn't even forty yet. Fuck. 

Spock skittered around his feet as they headed down the stairs, whining louder. 

"Damn mutt," Jason muttered. "Trip me and you're dead meat." 

It was an empty threat, mostly. He was just affectionate as hell and hadn't quite been trained out of his habit to jump all over everyone to shower them with slobber. They'd sent the dog to the manor while he was laid up post-surgery. According to Damian, he hadn't been happy, even with the massive yard to run around in. 

At the foot of the stairs, Jason made for the backdoor to let Spock out. The brownstone he and Tim called home for the last decade boasted a narrow yard and an even smaller deck. His smoker took up most of the space. 

To his surprise, the dog veered to the front door. 

"Oh no you don't. It's too damn early for a walk." And too icy. He was under strict orders from Dana and Tim to exit the house through the garage. No outdoor steps for him yet, not unless Tim was there. 

Spock whined and scratched at the door, looked back at him, then did it again. To Jason's knowledge, he'd never done that before. He repeated the motion a third time and barked. 

Instincts awoke and Jason pressed the bottom step on the staircase twice in quick succession. Kneeling was a bitch and a half, but he needed the gun hidden in the special compartment. Hidey holes like this littered the house. Couldn't be too careful considering their line of work.

The front door itself was reinforced and bulletproof. Frosted glass windows, also bulletproof, framed the door, but even with that knowledge, Jason still cursed himself for leaving his phone upstairs. Quietly, he made his way into the foyer and tapped the security panel mounted on the wall. If there was someone out there, they already knew a dog was present. Spock wasn't exactly the silent type, the big dope. 

No one was outside, at least not within the wide-angled lens of the Oracle-approved security camera. But there was something on the doorstep, a rather large bundle shrouded in what appeared to be a blanket. Toggling the camera, Jason zoomed in for a better look, his gun held firm and ready in his other hand. 

With the blanket concealing whatever the hell it was, his guess was as good as any. On a hunch, he flipped on the audio. 

Spock snuffled at the door again and pawed at it, nails sounding almost like they were being dragged across a chalkboard. 

“Knock it off,” Jason murmured, voice pitched low so as to not carry. 

But the noise from the dog was enough to garner a response from outside. 

Waaaaah!

Staring in disbelief, he slapped the emergency signal to wake Tim's ass up and unbolted the door. 

From beneath the blanket came the sound of a baby's cry. 

Could it be a hoax? Possibly, but Jason didn't dare take that chance, not with the icy cold of the below freezing temperatures outside. February in Gotham sucked.

Spock raced out first, snuffling around the bundle. 

Jason made an absent note of footprints leading up the steps and back down. Heavy tread, perfect for winter. But his attention was fixed on the blanket. With the barrel of his gun, he cautiously flipped it aside. 

Behind him, Tim barreled down the stairs, bo-staff in hand, and came to an abrupt stop as an honest-to-god baby was revealed. 

“What the hell?” he breathed. “Is this a joke?”

Jason carefully lowered himself into a crouch beside the car seat the baby was nestled in. Blankets covered most of the squirming body and he realized the larger blanket had been placed to keep the chill out of the carrier. 

“Definitely not a joke,” he replied, spotting a slip of paper taped to the uppermost blanket. “Here.” He tore it off and handed it to Tim while he focused on the baby. 

Someone had cared for the child, that was plain to see. A pale blue fleece cap rested on his head, giving some notion of gender, assuming people still clung to the traditional blue for boys and pink for girls. As he peeled away a colorful fleece baby blanket, a small foot kicked out, hidden beneath a dinosaur-printed onesie of the same color as the cap. 

“His name is Terry,” Tim read from the note. “His parents can no longer care for him and I fear for his life without them. Keep him safe, Red Hood and Red Robin.” 

Jason's breath caught in his throat much as Tim's did at the end of the message. “What the everloving fuck?” 

 


 

When the emergency signal on his phone woke him, Tim could honestly say finding a baby abandoned on their front doorstep was the last thing he'd expected. To discover that he'd been left there on purpose because whoever did this believed Red Hood and Red Robin were the best caregivers possible? That was utterly laughable. 

Down in the sub-basement their family had dubbed the Red Cave, he stared at the bundle in his arms. 

It was awkward for both of them, he decided. He and kids didn't exactly get along, at least when they were still non-verbal. When they had words, he stood a chance. 

“Where are your parents, Terry?” Tim asked, not expecting an answer. “Who in their right mind believed that Jay and I would make good replacements?” 

The question for the ages, right there. 

Jason would be a good dad, actually. Look at how he took care of him. He'd taken charge as soon as they'd brought the child inside, announcing if they were going to be babysitting for even a short period of time, they needed supplies. Diapers and formula were needed, immediately. 

Tim had protested being left alone with the baby, that they could order what they needed online and have it delivered. But his husband insisted on going to the store himself to look at the products in person, which was very typical of him.

So he and Terry were left to themselves as Jason drove away, still in his pajamas and bathrobe, promising to let the autopilot do most of the work. At least he’d remembered to put his boots on.

Despite all the logic that had been thrown his way, Tim knew leaving him by himself with a baby was a bad idea. 

Terry must have sensed weakness because his little face scrunched up. 

“No, don't cry,” he tried. “Really, it'll be okay. We’ll find out where you belong and then everything will be fine.” 

Clearly, his reassurances meant nothing because the baby started crying, sniffles at first, then louder and louder. 

Crap. 

Tim tried rocking him, at first in his arms, then over his shoulder patting and rubbing Terry’s back like he'd seen other people do with their kids. Maybe he was holding him wrong. Didn’t kids this young have to have their heads supported? Or was that when they were eating? How old was he anyway?

Growing more flustered by the moment, he did the only thing he could think of.

“Andromeda, call Steph,” he ordered the AI he’d spent the better part of ten years developing.

“Calling Doc Brown,” came the computerized voice. The joke behind how Steph was listed in his contacts failed to make him smile.

A few rings later, Steph’s harried visage appeared on the screen. “Tim, do you have any idea what time it is? Unless this is an emergency, I’m working.”

Wordlessly, Tim held up the still crying Terry for her to see. “Help me.”

Steph’s jaw dropped. “What the hell? Is that a baby?”

“No, it’s a really bad joke. Of course it’s a baby. I have no idea what to do to make him shut up.”

“Try holding him properly. Don’t you remember anything from those birthing classes we went to?”

“That was over twenty years ago!”

“Doesn’t mean the basic concept behind how to hold an infant has changed all that much.” Steph’s face grew larger on the monitor as she leaned in on her side to get a better look. “How old is he anyway?”

“Less than six months, or so Jason believes.”

“What?”

Tim was too busy struggling with Terry to think hard about his reply. There was something about placing his arm beneath the baby’s butt to support it and then keeping him upright? “We found Terry on our doorstep about half an hour ago. Someone left him for us to take care of.”

“Who on earth thought that was a good idea?”

“That’s a question I’d very much like to know the answer to.” There, Terry’s head was now snug against his shoulder and Tim placed a gentle hand to the back of his head and the wisps of downy black hair. “Steph, whoever it was, they know who we are.”

“Two idiots masquerading as functional adults?”

He ignored the dig, even if it did have some basis in reality. “Besides that.”

Steph’s blue eyes widened. “Oh. Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right over.”

Tim sighed in utter relief, either at her words or the fact that Terry’s sobs had quieted down to a snuffle and his hearing returned to normal. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Steph replied with a loud snort. “I’m bringing popcorn. There is no way I’m missing this shit show when I can have front row seats for it.”

 


 

Jason had barely pulled into the single car garage when another car parked behind him, blocking the driveway. Before his nerves could do more than scream a warning, a very familiar figure stepped out.

Stephanie.

Thank fuck. He was already on edge from leaving Tim alone with Terry, and from the looks of it, someone had panicked. 

Carefully getting out of the car, he shot Steph a wry grin. “Lemme guess. Tim called you.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yep,” the woman replied, popping the trunk of the car without prompting. “Totally freaking out.”

Jason snickered. “I've only been gone about thirty minutes.” 

“I might have broken a few traffic laws on my way over.” Stephanie tossed the package of diapers over to him and picked up the bags containing wipes, formula, and a couple other things he suspected they'd need for their little guest. 

“If this were happening to Dick or Damian, and they called me, I'd have done the same. And brought popcorn because there’s no way in fucking hell I’d miss this.”

Steph beamed as he hit the switch to close the garage door. “It's in my purse.”

“And this is why you’re my favorite, Blondie.” Jason hobbled over to the steps leading up into the brownstone and took each one slowly, making sure of his balance before attempting the next. Behind him, Steph gave him space while remaining close enough in case he went splat.

“How’s PT?” she asked when he was on the narrow landing, pressing his hand against the palm reader and leaning in for the optic scan. With the house under lockdown, it was time for full on Bat-paranoia. 

“Painful, but good.” Jason unlocked the door with the one-time code that flashed on his phone. Tim was aware of their arrival, otherwise they’d be spinning their heels. “Still not allowed on the front steps. Too much ice.”

“Great time of year to have a knee replacement done.”

“Not like I had much choice.” Especially after the last bullet he’d taken to his knee. The decision was made for him with that one, and after a long consultation with the good doctor following him inside, he’d opted to have both done at once. 

“You could have worn a brace until March.”

“We’re all suckers for punishment in this family, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

They made their way through the kitchen and into the front hall where the door to the basement was located. Jason wasn’t ashamed to admit he needed help with this particular set of stairs and accepted Steph’s arm as they made their way down.

“Didn’t install a lift?”

“I haven’t been down here since before I was shot. Tim’s pretty much taken over.”

“Wonder how big his coffee mug collection has gotten?”

“I’m sure something has grown sentience by now. The dishes he brings up don’t equal what he’s taken down.”

Against the far wall opposite the washer and dryer was the elevator that led down into the Red Cave. Tempting as it was to install it all the way up to the master bedroom, they’d have had to gut too much of the brownstone to make that happen. Some projects weren’t worth the effort. At least Tim knew how to do laundry without supervision.

When the elevator opened, a cacophony of noise struck them like a hammer. A baby crying, Spock barking, all followed closely by a wail from Tim.

“Come on! They’re almost here. Then you can be fed and burped, and changed, and bounced, and whatever else kids your age are supposed to like. Andromeda, how old are kids supposed to be when they start speaking in sentences?”

The AI’s response was lost under Stephanie’s laugh. “Oh my god, you are hopeless.”

“Save me!” Tim rushed forward, Terry held out before him like some kind of sacrificial offering. 

Yep. Hopeless.

 


 

A short time later, Tim was happily ensconced in his lab working on a DNA profile for Terry. This was where he was in his element, not fumbling his way through changing a diaper—of which, the delight Terry took in peeing all over him was not funny—or making a bottle. Both of which he’d been forced to learn under the watchful eyes of Steph and Jason. 

They were totally judging him, he knew it.

But when had he ever needed to know any of this? About the only point in the entire process where he’d been able to redeem himself was when he drew the blood sample from Terry. This he knew, from warming the little foot beforehand, deftly collecting the bright red blood, to bandaging the baby’s heel. Even Steph had been impressed.

At least he didn’t have to feed the baby. No, that was being done by Jason in the command chair, arguably the most comfortable and sturdy—they’d tested it thoroughly —chair in the entire cave. With all the stairs, he had to be hurting, so Tim didn’t begrudge him the seat. Spock was in his usual place beside the chair, hoping for leftovers that clearly weren’t coming. 

“Andromeda, pull up the security feeds from the front door between 0600 and 0800,” Jason was saying. 

Good. As concerning as it was to find themselves with a baby, Tim really wanted to know who had dropped Terry off on their front step.

Curious, he paused in what he was doing to glance over his shoulder at the images that came up on the main monitor. Whoever their unknown visitor was, they’d done a good job at concealing their face. A heavy winter scarf and hat, and a pair of sunglasses obscured any and all clues about their identity.

“Unknown person arrived at 0723,” Andromeda stated. “Bundle containing a smaller lifeform was left behind when the unknown person left at 0724.”

Tim snickered at Terry being called a smaller lifeform , which earned him a dirty look from his husband and his best friend. 

“Expand view to street level,” Jason ordered. “From 0720 to 0730.”

The view shifted to the street camera. 

Steph leaned in, squinting. “Whoever that is, they walked up the street carrying Terry,” she commented. “If they’d driven, we’d have a car and a license plate to work with.”

“Look how they’re using both hands to hold onto the carseat,” Jason added. “It’s got one of those handles that makes it easy to carry, but they’ve got both of their hands wrapped around that. My guess is that this was a woman.”

“And one who isn’t used to lifting heavy loads.” Steph frowned, looking down at the baby dozing in Jason’s arms. “Terry’s a healthy weight, then add in the carrier… Yeah, I think you’re right.”

“Looks like she came in off of Parker,” Tim spoke up, adding his two cents. “Andromeda, shift cameras to Parker Street, same time frame.”

Bat-paranoia dictated that he place cameras at either end of his street for just such an event. In the ten years they’d lived here, it had been a non-issue. Until today.

Steph cursed. “Dammit, she came in on foot there too. Must have parked her car out of the frame, then looped around when she came back.”

A small beep had Tim turning his attention back to his DNA analysis. Extraction complete, he loaded the profile into Andromeda. “Run for a match on the matrilineal and patrilineal lines.”

“Compliance.”

The phrasing still made him want to smile. He was a nerd and proud of it. Given the opportunity, why wouldn’t he want to program catch-phrases from some of his favorite movies into his own AI? The first time Dick had been over and Andromeda said Need more input to him in just the right tone, he’d nearly fallen over from laughing so hard. 

Needless to say, Damian had been clueless, which led to a rather entertaining movie night involving Flight of the Navigator and Short Circuit.

Figuring this would take awhile, Tim turned his attention to the other tests he wanted to run on the blood sample. During her examination of Terry, Steph had mentioned testing to see what antibodies were in his bloodstream, which would give an indication of his vaccination record and help narrow down the age.

To his surprise, after less than a minute, Andromeda announced, “98.3 percent match on the matrilineal genome. Would you like to view the results?”

What the hell? He’d never had a hit come back that fast. 

“On the main screen.”

The results posted over the video analysis Jason and Steph were running on the security cameras.

“Hey!”

“We’ve got a hit.”

Jason huffed a sigh and leaned back in the chair, reading over the information. “Mary Ellen McGinnis. Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Because she died three days ago,” Tim stated, already pulling up the case on his datapad. “Remember the self-driving taxi that drove off the Sprang Bridge the other night? There were two passengers in the car.”

Steph let out a low whistle. “I heard about that from Damian. The GCPD still has no idea if it was a murder-suicide or if the instrumentation on the car fritzed out.”

Skimming the file, he frowned. “There’s no mention that Mary or her husband Warren were survived by any kids.”

Terry let out a whimper and Jason held him close, shushing him in a gentle tone. “That has to be a mistake. Even if Terry was home with a babysitter, there would still be a record of him.”

Tim was already running a search on Terry McGinnis. Footprints, birth records, an announcement on social media. 

But there was nothing.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” He looked back up at the monitor. “Andromeda, keep searching for matrilineal matches.”

“Compliance.”

Steph was scrolling through the autopsy report and shaking her head. “There’s a note here that says Mary appeared to be breastfeeding.”

“The fuck?” Jason turned his attention back on the monitor. “How does a baby just not get entered into the system? I can see that happening twenty years ago, but today? Every birth in a hospital is registered. Social media is rampant. What gives?”

“What gives is that Mary and Warren McGinnis have no social media accounts, at least not ones I can find right off the bat.” A thought occurred to Tim, one that had him scowling. “Unless they were erased.”

Jason scoffed. “That’s just paranoia talkin’.”

“Then why is there no record of Terry’s birth anywhere? Mary and Warren McGinnis aren’t Gotham born, but it looks like Warren was a WayneTech employee…” Tim trailed off as he went down that little rabbit hole. “There. He was on paternity leave from mid-August to the end of September. There’s paperwork needed for that, so let’s see here…” 

He felt slightly guilty about hacking into HR records, but this was his own company, even if his name wasn’t on the letterhead. The day Damian ceded control to him so he could focus on being Batman had been glorious. 

Andromeda spoke up, distracting him. “98.7 percent match on the patrilineal genome. Would you like to view the results?”

Tim shrugged. “Sure, put it on the screen.” 

He wasn’t expecting the face that came up on the monitor. Beside him, Jason gasped and Steph choked.

“What the fuck?”

“Is Andromeda malfunctioning?”

Tim was already pulling up a keyboard. “Andromeda, compare the results again.”

“98.7 percent match on the patrilineal genome.” This time, the AI loaded the DNA analysis for comparison.

Jason let out a low whistle and looked down at the baby sleeping quietly in his arms. “You have got to be kidding.”

Steph stared at the screen, then at Terry and threw up her hands. “That’s it. It’s time for the damned popcorn.”

She stormed off as Tim started his own manual analysis. 

“This can’t be right,” he murmured.

“Maybe there was cross-contamination somewhere?” Jason offered.

“I can’t see how.” Tim stared up at the screen with growing horror. “He hasn’t been down here in over a year. And I get my supplies separate from him.”

No matter how many times he ran the test, even going so far as to swab Terry’s cheek for a fresh sample, the results kept coming up the same.

Bruce Wayne was Terry’s biological father.

Chapter Text

Terry rather quickly reached the point where he’d had enough. When Tim drew close for another sample, his face scrunched up and he bawled so loud Jason was fairly certain he’d be hearing it for the next hour.

“Do you really need to do that again?” he asked, pressing the baby’s face into his shoulder and letting him cry it out. The poor kiddo had been poked and prodded even more by both Blondie and his husband after the AI’s startling revelation.

Tim grimaced, backing off. “It can wait.”

“Good. He’s had enough trauma for the time being.” Jason ran a hand over Terry’s back soothingly. “Let’s get our fucking detective hats on and find some clues the old-fashioned way.”

Steph tossed a piece of popcorn in Tim’s direction, which he deftly caught in his mouth with just a slight lean to the left. “We have an address for the McGinnises. We know Warren was a WayneTech employee. Tim, are you able to access their medical records at all?”

“I can’t even find a personal email account for either of them.” Tim sounded decidedly put out by this. “It’s like someone is going in and erasing everything so that they never existed.”

Jason arched a brow. “Then that means the government or someone equally as shady. What the hell were these guys involved in? Was Warren or Mary a government agent or something?”

“It might explain why they have a son with Bruce’s DNA.” Tim frowned. “But the vetting process to be hired by WayneTech would have revealed those kinds of connections.”

“Unless it’s Mary.” Steph frowned and looked back up at the screen where a picture of the deceased woman stared down at them. “And if that’s the case, then her death could have been a hit.”

“But that doesn’t explain why we have Terry,” Jason cut in. “Unless someone really didn’t want whoever the fuck killed Mary and Warren to get their hands on him.”

“So we’re looking at a third party who went rogue?” Tim asked. “One that knows who we are?”

“Maybe?” Jason shrugged as best he could with a sniffling baby in his arms. “This whole thing is already sounding like a conspiracy theory gone wrong.”

Steph’s gaze landed on Terry. “Well, the DNA doesn’t lie. So unless Bruce has been involved with someone in the last year, then what else do we have?”

Jason shared a level look with Tim, who shook his head. Sometimes, he swore they really had been together too long because mind-reading was a thing that happened often.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Tim was the one to reply. “I see him more often, and if he were, then you know Damian would be complaining about it.”

“There’s also the fact he’s still bitter about his back finally saying fuck you to all the strain he’s put on it over the years,” Jason added. “He’s all but retired from the public view. Maybe a few events a year, and they’re all hosted by the Wayne Foundation.”

“Which we all attend,” Steph finished, blowing a loud breath of air. “His playboy days are over and all of Gotham knows it.”

“Old man shoulda learned to keep it in his pants years ago. Unless he’s been getting his jollies by going to the local sperm bank to jack off in a cup.” Jason snickered, pressing a gentle kiss to Terry’s downy head. The baby had settled somewhat, hiccupping now between tears. “Damian does not need a little brother.”

“None of us need another brother,” Tim stated with a shake of his head. “If anything, I’m surprised we’re not being nagged about grandchildren.”

“With the life you losers lead? Forget it.” Steph hopped down off the console. “So what are we telling Bruce? Anything? Or is there not enough to go on yet?”

Jason shared another look with his husband, who shook his head again.

“Not yet,” Tim replied. “I need to do some hacking, as well as go check out the McGinnis home.”

“You also need to get some sleep,” Jason reminded him. “You were up all night with Damian, remember?”

“Yeah, but we also took that long nap yesterday after dinner.” The glint in Tim’s eye was all Jason needed to remember how cuddle time devolved into sexy time, which turned into nap time.

A great way to spend a snowy evening in his opinion.

“You can take a nap when Terry does,” Steph interjected. “All jokes aside, until you guys figure this out, you’ll be glad for any sleep you can snag.”

Tim opened his mouth to protest, but Jason cut him off. “I can start the medical record research while you go back to bed. You’re not the only one who knows how to hack a network and what I don’t know, Andromeda does.”

This was a side of his rather diverse skill set that didn’t get to come out and play often thanks to his husband’s achievements in this particular arena.

“Are you sure?” Tim checked, concern in his sky-blue eyes. “You can’t exactly run upstairs if you need anything right now.”

“Way to rub it in, asshole.” There was no heat behind his words. “Just grab me a few teabags and some snacks before you crash, and I’ll be good until you get up. You’ll need to let Spock out.”

The dog looked up at the mention of his name and Jason smiled down at him. “Yeah, you’ve been a good boy. Daddy’ll take you outside to pee.”

Steph snickered. “At least that’s one child Tim knows how to take care of.”

“Hey! Just because I never babysat a day in my life—”

“Learning how to change diapers is good for you,” Steph interrupted Tim’s protest. “It’s a skill all real men should know, so don’t let Jason and me down, ex-boyfriend Wonder.”

Tim clearly knew he wasn’t winning this argument, so he wordlessly called Spock to follow him and made for the elevator. “I hate you all.”

“Love you too!”

The good doctor turned her gaze back on Jason. “All jokes aside, are you able to take care of a baby right now?”

It was a serious question that deserved a serious answer. “Not on my own,” he replied. “So if you want to bring his carrier over here, I can get him situated once he passes out. As long as I don’t have to kneel for anything, I’ll be okay.”

Terry’s quiet sniffles were already fading as he slowly fell asleep, his little tummy full from the bottle he’d taken earlier.

“Okay.”

Steph retrieved the carrier from Tim’s lab, where he’d run a full scan on it earlier only to find absolutely nothing out of the ordinary on it, which had perturbed him more than a little. Only Jason’s intervention about how it was the only thing they had to properly secure Terry in kept his husband from ripping it to shreds.

Carefully, she lifted the drowsing baby from Jason’s arms, cooing softly as Terry stirred before settling his head against her breast. “I think it’s time for me to head back to the clinic,” she said. “Don’t you dare keep me out of the loop on this one.”

“And alienate the only person who could possibly babysit for us?” Jason grinned. “Do I look stupid?”

“No, you actually look like a hot dad.” Steph’s grin matched his as she gestured to the pajamas and bathrobe he still wore. “You’ve even got the stubble for it.”

“What can I say? I clean up pretty.”

Bracing both hands against the arms of the chair, Jason pushed himself to his feet. New knees protested the action, not happy about kneeling and all the stairs they’d been subjected to earlier. In this moment, he felt more like eighty than thirty-eight. It amazed him yet again that Alfred was somehow able to do this on his own still every morning and with his original joints.

Steph gave him some space as he tested his balance and took a couple of shaky steps to the console where she’d placed the baby carrier. “Have you ever seen baby pictures of Bruce?” she asked, apropos of nothing as she handed Terry over.

“A couple.” Jason gently placed the sleeping baby in the cushioned confines.

“Is there a resemblance?”

“Look at his eyes.”

Terry helpfully blinked them open, yawned, and then fell back to sleep.

“They’re the same color as Bruce’s.”

Jason nodded. “He’s young enough they could still change some, but…”

“Yeah, but that’s not a blue you see very often.”

Pale blue the color of a hot summer sky, bordering on gray depending on the light. 

Bruce had a unique shade, no doubt about it. 

It made Jason think about his own eyes and the changes wrought on them by the Lazarus Pit. Blue eyes that now turned green the more impassioned he grew—both good or bad. 

The person he was today still mourned the part of himself that had been destroyed by the Pit. But time had taught him how to tame the rage, as well as come to terms with the choices he’d made during those earlier years. 

Gazing down at the sleeping child, Jason dragged himself out of the past and wondered what the future had in store for Terry.

 


 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay while I’m gone?” Tim felt the need to triple check as he suited up. The Red Robin uniform hadn’t been worn since before Jason’s surgery last month.

The look Jason sent his way was amused, to say the least. “Of the two of us, who do you think is more comfortable around a child? I’ll give you one guess.”

“That's totally fair and more than deserved, but you’re also the one who has two brand new knees and is still using a cane to get around.”

Jason held up the cane warningly. “I dare you to say that within range of this.”

“Why do you think I’m all the way over here?”

From his carrier, Terry cooed and kicked out his feet.

“That reminds me,” Jason said with a glance down to the baby, “if you find any of his clothes, pack a bag. Otherwise, I’m going online later and spending your money.”

“You could just do it now.”

“What’s the point when he already has his own stuff?”

Tim had long since learned not to question Jason’s more frugal habits. Mostly because they stemmed from very valid and logical points, and he always came out looking like an ass when Jason had to explain why. 

“Fine, one baby supply run, coming right up.”

Jason settled back into the computer chair and brought up a map of the neighborhood the McGinnises had lived in. Beside him, Spock kept a wary eye on the carrier. The dog still wasn’t sure what to make of their new addition and it showed.

Slicking his hair back, Tim tugged on the cowl. While he’d been mocked in the past for it, the whole family was using them now thanks to the advances in forensic technology. The last thing any of them needed was their DNA in some government database, just waiting to be used for blackmail. 

Or in his case, Ra’s and his still-creepy plans to use him as the perfect heir. You’d think he would be over that by now.

Suited up, Tim approached the computer console to inspect the map.

“You know…” Jason started leadingly.

“What?”

“We need to find Terry’s next-of-kin. There has to be someone who might want him once we get this mess figured out.”

Tim couldn’t agree more. “You going to get started on that while I’m out?”

“Yeah, I will. I’ll let you know what I find.”

Leaning over, Tim snagged a quick kiss from his husband. “Just be careful while I’m gone. No falling allowed.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get goin’. Try not to take those corners too fast. It’s still icy as fuck out there.”

Spock nudged his big head in for his scritches and Tim obliged. “And miss out on the opportunity to wear a big cast?”

“If you do, I’ll make sure Steph puts you in traction even if you don’t need it.”

“Rude.”

 


 

The address for Mary and Warren McGinnis proved to be a townhouse, nestled in amongst any number of other identical homes. Cookie-cutter designs, or so Tim remembered Alfred calling them once, a long time ago. There was a little yard in the front, still covered in fresh snow, but the front walk had been shoveled recently.

By whom?

Tim stored that question away for later as he lowered his binoculars.

"You going in or putting down roots?" Jason asked over the comm.

"Just getting a lay of the land. Did you see the front sidewalk?" The lenses in the mask were cameras and linked to Andromeda, so his husband could see exactly what he saw, with the added benefit of being able to zoom in on his own.

"I did. Somehow, I doubt it was a neighbor. Be careful."

"Always."

Tim slipped over the front gate and darted up the walk, taking note of the patches of ice in case he had to make a swift exit. There was nothing of particular note by the front door. This was a decent enough neighborhood, but it was still Gotham. No one ever left valuable items outside.

Inspecting the door and running a quick scan, he found it to be free of an alarm system. Again, not especially noteworthy—there were plenty of homes in this city that didn't. But Warren had been a WayneTech employee, so that raised a minor flag as Tim carefully maneuvered the door open.

"Took you long enough," Jason commented.

"I'd like to see you get your butt down here and do it faster."

"Can't, I have my arms full at the moment." A tiny burble that was clearly not made by Jason had Tim smiling.

"You certainly do."

The door opened into a small foyer that petered out into a much larger living room. There was a kitchen at the far end, with a counter acting as a dividing line, and a four-seater dining table tucked into a corner. It was all neat and tidy, with nothing immediately standing out.

Which... Didn't look right.

“Shouldn't there be baby stuff somewhere?” Tim questioned. “A bouncy chair, a play mat, or something?”

"You were online earlier, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was.” He liked to be prepared, thank you very much. “So where is everything?”

“Not a clue,” Jason answered. “Maybe one of them was a massive neat-freak. Check the kitchen. There should be bottles or formula or something in the drying rack or the cabinets.”

Tim did as he was told, but to no avail.

There was nothing. No bottles anywhere. He checked the cabinets, dishwasher, nothing. The drying rack had a few plates and an adult sized cup in it, but nothing for a child.

"Something is really wrong here," Tim murmured.

"Even if Mary was still exclusively breastfeeding, there would be a bottle somewhere ," Jason said. "She'd be pumping, so check the freezer."

"For what?"

"Breast milk, moron. It freezes really well."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I did a ton of babysitting when I was a kid. Warmed up plenty of bottles in my day."

This explained why Jason was so good with the little bottle warmer he'd picked up from the store that morning.

Tim rifled through the freezer. Plenty of frozen bags of vegetables, some bagged meals that were easy to heat up, and a few packages of chicken.

No breast milk.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jason breathed, sounding as confused as Tim felt. "Mary and Warren are supposed to be new parents. This house is looking like it's anything but a home with a newborn."

"I'm heading upstairs," Tim announced, closing the fridge door with quiet disgust.

"Let's see what the Twilight Zone has in store for us next."

Upstairs, there were two small rooms at the front of the house and a master bedroom at the back, divided from each other by a full bathroom on one side and a laundry room opposite of it.

No nursery.

"What the hell?" Tim whispered as he poked around the master bedroom.

"Do do do do, do do do."

"You're not helping."

"Yeah, I am. Snoop through Mary's bras to see if there are any nursing ones."

"I know how to do this."

Jason snickered. "Then why do I think you're blushing?"

Okay, so Tim's ears were a little warm at the thought of looking through a woman's undergarments. It wasn't like he had much experience with them lately. He hadn't had to cross-dress for a case in... Huh. It had been awhile if he couldn't remember right off the top of his head.

"Shut up." Tim pulled open a drawer on the antique dresser. It was a nice piece, clearly an inheritance of some sort as this kind of furniture wasn't seen much these days.

It took a few attempts to find Mary's underwear drawer. What he found had him frowning more.

"Huh," was all he managed as he held up a bra that clearly had one purpose.

"Well, that answers that," Jason said. "Mary was breastfeeding."

"Then where the hell are all of T’s things?" Tim put the bra back and slammed the drawer closed with some frustration. 

Jason was silent for a moment. "There was a guest room at the top of the stairs, right?"

"Yeah."

"Go back there for a second."

Tim did just that, opening the door all the way to step inside.

And promptly sneezed as paint fumes hit him. They were faint, but he was sensitive to fresh paint, even the kind that was supposed to be scentless.

"You okay?" Jason checked.

"This room has been painted recently." Tim sniffed and wrinkled his nose.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. The nose never lies."

"What the fuck is going on here?" Jason repeated as frustration took hold even more.

"Someone doesn't want the world to know that the deceased have a child."

"More like someone doesn't want it known that that child is biologically B's."

Tim groaned silently as a thought occurred to him. "Feel like getting your conspiracy theory hat on?"

"Oh, it's been on since you walked in that door and didn't trip over a pack n' play."

“Who would have a vested interest in making sure T… disappeared?” He avoided saying the other d-word because that baby was very much alive and he would do his damnedest to make sure he stayed that way.

Jason blew out a heavy breath. “I can think of any number of organizations, half of which have lovely government acronyms.”

Closing the door behind him, Tim ghosted across the short hall to the office. “Agreed. I highly doubt that any computer I find here will be untouched.”

“That’s a fool’s bet.” 

There was a computer set up on the sturdy desk, the wood matching that of the dresser in the master bedroom. It was definitely a set of some kind. Who had it belonged to before arriving here? Antiques like these were passed down by family.

“Any luck on tracking down the next-of-kin?”

“Yeah.” There was a shuffling over the comm and another coo from Terry before Jason continued. “Mary has a grandmother who’s still alive. She’s in an elderly care home just outside of Baltimore.”

Tim paused outside the closet door, agape. “That’s it?”

“That’s it. No siblings, no living parents. Just a man and a woman making their way in the world on their own with a mystery baby fathered by B.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds perfectly normal.”

Jason snorted. “No shit.”

Sliding open the closet door, Tim found a wireless printer on a stand, the power cord snaking out to reach the nearest plug. Beside it was a large stack of storage bins. On closer inspection, the middle one appeared to contain file folders.

“I wonder what’s in here?” Tim started on freeing the bin from its confines.

“Who even uses a paper filing system these days?”

“You, if I left you in charge of the bills.”

“We have bills?” There was a mock teasing note in Jason’s voice, which made Tim laugh quietly. 

“Yes, even millionaires have bills.”

“Sucks to be you.”

The bin came free and Tim lowered it to the floor. Opening the lid, he grinned. “Oh, this looks interesting.”

Looked like Mary or Warren had been rather meticulous with their recordkeeping. There were neatly labeled folders for everything from tax returns to manuals for items like the refrigerator and a vacuum cleaner. What had him frowning though was the very obvious folder labeled Medical and the lack of anything inside it.

“Crap.” Jason picked up on the lack too. “Now what?”

“We pray that something got misfiled.” Tim rifled through the folders on either side. He’d almost given up hope when he spotted a paper that had nothing to do home maintenance and everything to do with a particular medical procedure.

Jason sucked in a breath as he saw it too. “IVF. Well that could explain a few things.”

Tim withdrew the paper, skimming over it. It was a receipt for Mary McGinnis dated about fifteen months ago from the New Hope Fertility and Obstetrics Clinic. 

If they were right, Terry was about six months old. Assuming he was carried full term, it might have been this particular visit that resulted in Mary’s pregnancy. 

“So, do we want to go out on a limb here and start actually thinking about conspiracy theories?” Jason asked. “Why would some supposedly random woman give birth to B’s second son?”

“I don’t know,” Tim answered with a grimace. “But at least now we know where to go next."

 


 

Next was the operative word. While Tim drove to the clinic, Jason took it upon himself to track down more information on it. What he found had him curling an even more protective arm around the sleeping baby all snuggled up against his chest.

“You won’t believe what I just found.”

“What?” Tim answered. The sound of the wind blew over the comm and Jason wished briefly that he was out there on the streets instead of here. Staying cooped up was never his style.

“Can we say shell corporations? The company that owns New Hope turned out to be a shell company, which in turn is owned by another one, and so on. I’ve found five so far.”

Tim let out a low whistle. “Damn. That conspiracy theory is sounding more and more real.”

“Isn’t it though? But I just can’t shake the feeling that the McGinnises were unwitting pawns in all this.”

“Like they were chosen specifically to have Batman’s baby based on some yet-to-be-determined criteria at the clinic?”

“You said it, I didn’t.”

“Keep digging then. If you get stuck, just let me know and I’ll pick it up when I get home.”

It was a nice offer, but Jason was determined to pull his own weight here. There wasn’t much else he could do at the moment, besides take care of Terry. He knew he was getting off easy at the moment, that the baby must have been used to being handled by others. But sooner or later, he’d want his mama and that… That just wasn’t on the table. 

It did lead him to wonder who might have been a babysitter the night the McGinnises died. Someone had taken care of Terry, someone Mary and Warren trusted. Who was it? A neighbor? A friend? 

“Almost there.” Tim’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “I’m circling the block.”

“Okay,” Jason answered absently, attention back on the screen as Andromeda pulled up yet another shell company. Frowning, he altered the search parameters again and sent the AI back off in search of the next parent organization. The further up the ladder he went, the harder it had become to track down the next rung.

“Looks like a pretty standard medical building,” came Tim’s observations. “New Hope takes up the ground floor according to the directory. There’s an ENT and audiologist on the second floor, along with some holistic health specialist. Third floor has a dentist and family medical care practice.”

“I wonder if T was eventually supposed to go there?” Jason offered to show he was paying attention.

“Who knows? I’m going in through the roof. There’s too many cameras down here.”

“That’s odd.”

“There’s a lot of expensive lab equipment in there. I’d actually be more concerned if there weren’t any.”

Jason shrugged, eyes still on the monitor as he idly drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.

A rush of wind over the comm told him that Tim was grappling to the rooftop, likely via one of the less-monitored buildings beside the clinic. Jason closed his eyes, remembering the freedom such a simple line had provided. The rooftop highway of Gotham was his playground no more—even if he did return, it wouldn’t be the same.

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“I’ve counted four cameras up here already. This place is really paranoid about thieves.”

“Or nosy Bats.” Yawning, Jason opened his eyes and blinked. Then blinked again as he read the most recent name Andromeda had come back with. “Red, get the fuck outta there. Now .”

To his credit, his husband didn’t question the order until the wind was once again in Jason’s ear. “What did you find?”

“Cadmus. The New Hope Fertility and Obstetrics Clinic is owned by Cadmus.”

Chapter Text

Jason watched through the lens camera as buildings and streets vanished under Tim’s feet, the wind in the comm giving some indication of the speed at which his husband was running. He ached to be out there with him, to have his back, but no. Here he was stuck in an office chair unable to do anything besides monitor comms and cameras. 

As soon as Tim stopped, a slew of curses spewed from his mouth, making Jason laugh, strained though it was.

“You sound like me.”

Tim dropped another f-bomb, then said, “I learned from the best.”

“So you did.” He waited, knowing that Tim was processing and analyzing everything. It was amazing how one simple word opened up so many avenues while at the same time bringing with it so much dread.

“I need to get in there,” Tim finally said. 

“You do. But you’re not going in alone,” Jason responded, having made his own decision in the meantime. 

“As much as I wish you could, you’re not ready for fieldwork and we can’t leave T alone.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Jason glanced down at the baby sleeping on his chest. Terry rose and fell with each inhalation, his little fingers clutching the front of the thick sweater he wore. “Who’re you gonna call? I can’t see Kon going into a Cadmus facility.”

“He’d actually be a good option.” There was a musing tone to Tim’s voice as he typed away on his wrist computer. “This building is new enough that sneaking in a twenty-story sub-level laboratory would have caught the attention of Oracle or Batman. So whatever is going on here, it’s all above ground. Or mostly since there is a regular basement for all the electrical and plumbing.”

“I honestly don’t care who goes with you, just that someone does.” The statement came out a bit harder than he intended, his frustration coming through loud and clear to the one who knew him best.

“I know, Hood,” came Tim’s response. “Cadmus is bigger than I’m prepared to deal with alone. Even if you were 100%, I would hesitate about going in there without enough preparation.”

“Why do I sense a but?”

“Because I need to—and the sooner the better. An organization like Cadmus can wipe Mary’s medical records, and therefore T’s, without a second thought. In fact, I’m sure they have already.”

“Digital ones, at least.” Jason could see where this was going. “But if this place is one that still has paper copies…”

“Exactly.” Tim sighed and the view changed as he looked up and out over the snowy rooftops. “I’m calling Kon.”

Terry wriggled and Jason ran a soothing hand down his back, pressing a kiss to his downy head. The fact that Cadmus was somehow involved explained a lot, but there were still so many unanswered questions. Questions they desperately needed answers to and fast. “Do what you gotta. I’ll be here.”

“I know.”

 


 

Kon landed on the rooftop barely an hour later, dressed down in jeans and a black t-shirt emblazoned with the crest of the House of El. It had been years since he’d shed the mantle of Superboy, so this throwback was enough to make Tim grin.

“Feeling nostalgic?”

“You know it. It’s not everyday I get to play in Gotham with Red Robin. World’s Finest 2.0 and all that.” Kon returned the grin with a hearty one of his own. “Though it would be more fun to call us that if you were Batman.”

“I’ve got a million and one reasons why that’s a bad idea, Superman ,” Tim teased his best friend. “Besides, Kara is so much better at demon-wrangling than you are.”

“Ugh, tell me about it.” Kon rolled his eyes. “I still think he has a crush on her.”

“I think it’s a prerequisite for Bats and Supers.” Tim certainly did, back in the day before he and Jason resolved their differences. 

“I dare you to tell Old Man Bats that to his face.”

“I’ll tell him you called him old.”

“And this is why I never come to Gotham.” 

Over the comm, Jason snickered and Kon perked up. “Heya, Hood! How’re the knees?”

“Still attached.” 

Tim didn’t bother relaying—what was the point when his friend had super-hearing?

“That’s always helpful,” Kon replied. “So, care to tell me why you summoned me here in the middle of the night?”

“We’re breaking into a Cadmus-owned fertility clinic,” Tim answered.

Kon blinked. “You’re kidding. Why?”

There were so many ways to answer that, but before he could, Terry sneezed, the noise loud and clear over the comm. He then let out a little cry while Jason soothed him. The timing couldn’t be more perfect if Tim had planned it. 

His friend’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed to form words. “Please tell me Hood didn’t have something else done while he was having his knees replaced.”

That was the last thing Tim expected Kon to say and Jason’s guffaws over the comm were just as loud as his. 

“Nope, the Little Hood is just fine and dandy,” Jason finally managed. “We’re trying to figure out why someone thinks we’d be great parents to a six-month old baby who looks like he should be enrolled in the Future Robin Training Program.”

This time, it was Kon who choked on a laugh. “You two? Parents? Boy, does someone have their wires crossed. I don’t think Rob here even knows how to hold a baby.”

“Hey!” Tim interjected even as his husband laughed some more.

“You should have seen him this morning. Pretty sure we have it recorded.”

“You’re a Bat, of course you do. I want a copy.” Kon gave Tim a meaningful look. “So I take it this is the reason we’re practicing your favorite pastime in a Cadmus lab?”

Tim frowned. “Breaking and entering is not my favorite pastime. It’s like, number three on the list.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

 


 

Breaking into the building was so much easier with a Super at his side. Tim couldn’t be more pleased as Andromeda made quick work of the security system. Kon had used his TTK to open an access panel at the main entrance to plug her in.

“Just like old times,” his friend murmured and held up a fist, which Tim promptly bumped.

“Makes me wish I still wore green.”

“You’ll always be the Boy Wonder who introduced tights to the world, Rob.”

“Hey, I rocked those shorty-shorts,” Jason interjected. “Still do for that matter.”

Kon groaned. “TMI, dude.”

“It’s the thighs,” Tim added as he entered a series of commands to have Andromeda scan the network for any secondary traps that might trip them up. The last thing he needed was for an army of Cadmus security guards to rain down on them.

“Enjoy what’s left of your sex lives,” Kon said bluntly. “With a kid around, it’ll be a lot harder to sneak in the time for a quickie.”

Tim blinked and looked up from his wrist monitor. “What makes you think we’re keeping the baby?”

The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind that Terry might become a permanent fixture in his life—in their lives because Jason was very much part of his. The thought was...daunting. And absolutely terrifying. 

Jason was suspiciously silent in his ear.

Kon gave Tim a look that clearly said he was being an idiot. “Dude. I know you’re not telling me all the details of why we’re here for a reason, but come on. Someone drops a baby on your doorstep, knows who you both are, and said baby has all the prerequisite physical traits to be Robin. You’re totally keeping him.”

Tim bit his lip. “We haven’t talked about it,” he said quietly. “He hasn’t even been with us for twenty-four hours yet.”

His best friend sobered. “Sorry, guys. Looks like I’m still the best at open mouth, insert foot .”

There was a long pause before Jason spoke up. “Red, tell him.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant. 

Tim rocked back on his heels and glanced over to Kon. “The baby is a DNA match for Batman.”

Kon’s jaw just about hit the ground. “Whoa, whoa, wait just a sec… Are we talkin’ Old Man Bats or Baby Bats?”

“Old Man.”

Kon slapped his hands over his mouth to stop the laughter, but even then, his eyes still crinkled in mirth. “How?”

“If we knew that, we wouldn’t be breaking into a fertility clinic right now.” A notice flashed across the monitor, alerting Tim that Andromeda had completed the scan and they were in the clear. “Of which, we’re finally in.” He made quick work of the lock and held open the door. “After you.”

“Seriously, you Bats.” Kon shook his head as he walked into the lobby. He then paused and looked back over his shoulder. “You’re not gonna let me tell Cassie about any of this, are you?”

“Not yet.”

“Just for that, I’m bringing Elle for a play-date when all the dust settles.”

Tim gaped. “She’s two. ” He loved his god-daughter, he really did. But she was the most powerful toddler in existence. Even her parents didn’t know what she was capable of yet. There was no way he was letting her play with Terry. 

“And she loves babies. It’s apparently a thing with toddlers? That’s what Aunt Martha said.”

Through the comm, Jason started laughing. “You two are a fucking riot. Now get movin’. The clock is ticking.”

“You know, I just realized something,” Kon mused as Tim double-checked the directory, then made his way across the lobby to the main door of the clinic.

“What?” Tim dared to ask as he plugged Andromeda into the next security panel. One for the building, then one for the clinic suite. No doubt there would be another on the door to any records room they find.

“Elle is totally gonna learn all the bad words from her Uncle Hood.”

“You’re just now figuring this out?”

 


 

In the back of the clinic, Tim breathed a sigh of relief as the door he unlocked—okay, the door he picked the lock to—revealed rows upon rows of filing cabinets. There wasn’t a security panel to be seen.

“Jackpot,” Kon murmured. “You think what you’re looking for is in here?”

“I sure hope so,” Tim answered, already ghosting in on silent feet and shining a thin penlight to get an idea for the alphabetization. The As were in front, so he made his way further back. “We weren’t supposed to get this far in the first place, so hopefully, the file hasn’t been destroyed yet.”

“Need help?”

“No, this won’t take long. Just keep an eye and ear out for company.” He’d already found L, so he was almost there…

Last names starting with M were apparently common, especially Mc, so Tim was on his second drawer when Kon hissed a warning.

“Dude, we might have incoming. I can hear something… strange.”

“What kind of strange?” He flipped through the folders faster, scanning the names. Whoever was in charge of this was meticulous, he’d grant them that. Each one was in perfect order. 

“Like a shushing sound. It’s weird.”

“You sure it’s not from one of the machines here?”

“Positive.”

Crap.

Tim crowed silently as he finally found the right file. Mary Ellen McGinnis. Her folder was nice and thick, just like all the other ones he’d skimmed past. 

“Yeah, we definitely have incoming,” Kon announced. “They’re still outside though. Whatcha got on your end, Hood?”

“Jack shit is what I got, so whoever it is, they’re not on the cams. Might be a meta.”

“Dammit.” Tim didn’t have time to scan the documents as he would have liked, so he quickly dug two thick rubber bands out of a pouch. Slipping them around the folder to keep everything in place, he silently cursed himself for not having a travel bag on hand. 

His boots would have to do. One was quickly unzipped and the file bent this way and that as he crammed it against his calf. 

“I can see them now,” Kon said, his gaze distant as he stared through the walls. “And it’s definitely a meta. They’re hopping between shadows.”

“That makes a noise?” Tim yanked on the zipper and it refused to budge. Not having any time to spare, he snagged a couple of zip-ties out and wrapped them around his leg. It would have to do.

“Yeah, though I don’t think anyone other than a Kryptonian can hear it. You done?”

Tim double checked his boot and darted out of the room, locking the door again behind him. “I am now.”

“Fire exit is to your right,” Jason said. “I’ve turned off the alarm. Get outta there.”

Kon’s TTK bubble wrapped around Tim as he hopped on his friend’s back. Enclosed as they were, things like sound barriers breaking didn’t have to be worried about. 

And then they were gone.

 


 

Jason let out a slow breath as the view from the cowl-camera lurched when Kon put on the speed to exit the clinic. Having a Super around did come in handy at times, no matter what Bruce said.

A movement on one of the other cameras had him shifting his attention. A quick zoom and… “What the fuck is that?”

“What’s what?” Tim asked.

“Just caught a glimpse of our intruder. They look like a big blob of ink.”

“Yeah, that’s what I saw too,” Kon added. 

“Dammit,” Tim cursed quietly. “I want to see.”

“No, you need to get out of there,” Jason said. “Last thing we need is them spotting you and following you back here.”

He could already see the grimace on Tim’s face. “This can’t be a coincidence, them being here tonight.”

“Probably not,” Jason agreed. “There must have been surveillance at the McGinesses’.”

Tim cursed again, this time more vehemently. “I didn’t see anything.”

“No one’s perfect, Rob,” Kon chimed in. “But if you two could shut up a second, I can fly and listen to what the ink blob is saying at the same time.”

Jason bit back his response to that, as did Tim if the hitched breath was any indication. Any intel on what Cadmus was thinking at this point would be a blessing. He hated walking into any situation blind, but this time, the stakes were higher than ever before. 

Against his chest, Terry slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of what was going on around him. 

He pressed another kiss to the soft black hair and waited, eyes on the security cameras he was still linked into. The inky blob was barely visible in the shadow just outside the interior door to the clinic. It swayed back and forth slightly, almost like it was waiting for something.

Or talking to some unseen person like Kon said.

Speaking of which, the Super started talking. “The ink person isn’t happy about playing retriever. Said it’s beneath her skillset and that she should have been called in if someone needed to be killed. She also has an accent—French? I think she sounds French.”

An assassin who could dissolve into a blob of ink and move between shadows? Fuck, that didn’t sound good.

“Anything else?” Tim prodded. The slight shift in his tone indicated he hadn’t missed that part either.

“The person she’s talking to said they created her, so she’ll do as she’s told. Ouch.”

Jason winced. That was a feeling he knew well. Once Tim helped him get over the Pit-rage, it was pretty obvious how he’d been dancing to Talia’s tune. Never again.

“Nothing has been said about you, Rob,” Kon continued. 

“Yet,” Tim muttered. 

There was more movement on the monitor. “She’s going in,” Jason announced. 

“She’s stopped talking,” Kon said. “But I’m still listening, just in case.”

“Any clue who’s on the other side of her comm?”

“No, but it’s another woman.”

That had Jason frowning even more. While there were plenty of women involved in shady government programs like Cadmus, only one name came to mind for bossing around some unknown meta. 

“She’s just gone in the file room,” he said. “No cameras in there, so it’s your show now, Kon.”

“Got it. Just gonna relay it as I hear it if she says anything.”

The silence seemed to drag and Jason thought his heart would beat right out of his chest before Kon spoke again. 

“It’s not here.”

“What?”

“I repeat, the file isn’t here. Mary Ellen McGinnis. Unless you got the name wrong?”

“Don’t get sassy with me, young lady. Check the rest of the drawer. Maybe it was misfiled.”

“I did. It’s not here.”

“Dammit.”

“Why is this particular file so important?”

“That is not something you need to know. You’re done for the night.”

“I’m still being paid for this, right?”

“Yes, now go.”

There was a long pause before Kon said anything else. “Looks like the comm has been switched off. The ink lady dropped the c-bomb and hasn’t said anything since.”

Jason watched as an inky shadow appeared back in the hallway and vanished out the same fire exit his husband and Kon made their escape through minutes before. “Yeah, she’s left the building,” he confirmed.

“It doesn’t sound like they’re on to us at all,” Tim said. 

“Nope, and I don’t plan for them to be.” Jason punched in a command on the computer. “Andromeda is on her way out.”

The last thing they need is for Cadmus to spot the AI lurking in their network—assuming they’re monitoring it in the first place, which was a pretty damned safe assumption if you asked him. 

“Good.” There was a long pause before Tim spoke again. “Hood, who’s the current head of Cadmus?”

“You already know the answer to that, Red.”

“Yeah, but for once, I’d really like to be wrong.”

Jason stared at the file he’d already brought up. The dour face staring back from her photo was just as he remembered. “Amanda Waller.”

Chapter 5

Notes:

I truly didn't mean for a year to pass between updates.

Chapter Text

A couple hours later, the mood was still somber. Tim had returned and taken up residence in front of the main computer, his only concession to being home consisting of removing his cowled cape and utility belt. He’d barely said a word the entire time.

Jason recognized the signs. Stress was a bitch at the best of times, but now that they were going toe-to-toe against a piece of work like Amanda Waller, it was amplified. The best thing he could do was leave his husband be for now.

But that didn’t mean he’d be leaving him alone. 

Clearing his throat, Jason made sure he had at least part of Tim’s attention before he spoke. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh?”

“You’ve got the DNA and Cadmus angle to work on. That leaves me to track down the person who dropped off Terry.”

Tim turned from the monitor to give him a level look. “How do you propose to do that?”

Jason shrugged. “Find the babysitter.”

“I don’t follow.”

“The McGinnises didn’t have Terry with them the other night, so they had to have left him with someone or even had them come over. It could have been a friend, one of Warren’s colleagues, maybe even a neighbor. I want to try and get some sleep, then hit the pavement in the morning.”

Tim frowned. “You’re not going out.”

“Excuse you?” Jason turned on the glare. “Just because I’m not as good of a detective as you are, it doesn’t mean I’m complete shit at it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You sure as hell implied it.”

“Jay…” Tim sighed and blew his bangs out of his eyes. Even after all their years together, he never got them trimmed as often as he should. “I was thinking about your knees. You’re doing great with PT, but one wrong step in this weather and…”

“I’m not gonna break.” 

“Do you want to risk Terry like that?”

A light suddenly clicked and Jason narrowed his eyes. That smooth little shit. No way was he getting out of babysitting this time. “Terry will be fine since he’ll be right here with you.”

It was almost comical how quickly Tim’s neutral expression fell into panic. “You can’t leave me alone with him!”

“I can and I will.”

“But he’s a baby!”

“No shit? I hadn’t noticed.”

 


 

Jason was evil. Pure and utter evil. 

Tim stared down at the still-sleeping Terry. The peace and quiet wouldn’t last long, not once the boy realized the one adult who knew what the hell they were doing was gone. It was like a sixth sense—the ability to sense weakness and exploit it mercilessly. 

He tried to keep his breathing steady, his heartbeat level. Jason had said Terry seemed to sleep better when being held, which was a bunch of crap as far as Tim was concerned. This was just a way to force him to hold the baby while trying to get his work done.

It was like Jason was trying to get him to bond with Terry.

That thought stopped Tim in his tracks. 

Was that what Jason was doing? Logically, it made sense. This baby was a genetic child of Bruce—of Batman. If that information got out, he’d be nothing more than a tool to hurt Bruce, even if Bruce had no idea Terry even existed. It was possible they could conceal Terry’s identity completely by placing him with an adoptive family. Heck, the idea even had precedence since that was exactly what Bruce had done with Selina’s daughter Helena. 

But the daughter of Catwoman hadn’t been genetically engineered for some unknown purpose by Cadmus. Therefore, it was in their best interests to keep Terry safe and raise him within the family, if only to keep him out of the clutches of people like Amanda Waller. 

The problem now became who would raise Terry. 

Again, the only way Tim could think about any of this rationally was to look at it with cold hard logic.

Bruce was… Well, he was Bruce. If Tim hadn’t seen it for himself, he’d easily believe his adopted father didn’t have the first clue how to even hold a baby. But holding a baby was a far cry from caring for one and, while there was no doubt he’d try his hardest, the mission would always get in the way. 

Alfred was simply far too old. At this point in his life, he more than deserved the right to be the doting grandfather/great-grandfather who occasionally had to change a diaper.

An argument could be made that Damian had never changed a diaper in his life, let alone even held a child as young as Terry. 

The thought had Tim stopping in his tracks. “Oh my god, you’re Damian’s brother, ” he gaped in abject horror. 

Crap, did that mean Terry would end up on Ra’s’s radar too? He was Bruce’s biological son, so…

Tim’s hold on the baby tightened infinitesimally. “Over my dead body,” he murmured into Terry’s soft hair.

His own reaction here didn’t go unmarked and Tim sighed. There really wasn’t a choice in the matter, was there? No one else had quite as stable a home-life as he and Jason did. Tim had lost count of the number of times they’d been told how domestic they were and while that rankled, it was annoyingly true.

He even ate three meals a day, thanks to his husband. Of course, it was debatable as to when those meals occurred, but he was still getting fed. And sleep! Holy crap, had the quality of his sleep improved once Jason started sleeping beside him regularly. While he still pulled the occasional all-nighter, they didn’t happen two or three times a week since he got married.

So while a case could be made that Tim was now a mostly functional adult, did that mean he was ready to be a dad too?

He stared blankly at the sleeping baby. “What do you think, kiddo?” he murmured. “Do you want Jason and me to be your parents now?”

Of course, this was when Terry decided to wake up. 

Tim tensed as sleepy blue eyes blinked open and a little mouth yawned wide enough to reveal a hint of white along the gumline. 

Oh no. White meant Terry was teething and Tim was pretty sure Jason hadn’t gotten anything to help with that yet.

Terry stared solemnly up at Tim with a frown that was eerily like Damian’s. And then he started to wail.

 


 

As much as Jason hated to admit it, even to himself, Tim had been right. The weather was not his friend today, despite the efforts he’d made to protect against it.

A cold wind blew down the street the McGinnises had lived on, cutting in such a way that he might as well not have had any clothes on at all. Even Spock, all bundled up in his sweater and clipped into his walking harness, was giving him the stink-eye. 

“We won’t be out here for long, bud,” Jason murmured, breath warm against his scarf. 

Already his gaze was tracking up and down the street, casting about for the most obvious clue there was when fresh snow had fallen.

Signs of children playing in it. 

The McGinnises might not have been the most gregarious of people, but they’d lived in their little townhouse for nearly five years. They had to have at least met their neighbors. Hell, even he and Tim, with all the secrets they had to hide, knew theirs. Jason had even made a massive bowl of his famous potato salad for the neighborhood block party each Fourth of July for each year they’d lived in their brownstone.

Last July, Mary McGinnis would have been nearing the end of her pregnancy. 

Jason hadn’t had the chance to read through Mary’s file yet to see if it noted when Terry’s birthday was. He’d opted for sleep so he could loiter outside an empty house like a creeper. He should really take a look at that when he got home—assuming his home was still standing after leaving his husband alone with the baby. 

He snickered as thoughts of what extremes Tim would take with a crying baby came to mind. Oh well, it was good for him. Character building and all that crap.

What was not good was him standing out here for too long. His knees were already protesting the cold and the only way to combat that was to start walking.

Spock whined in protest, casting a longing glance back at the car.

“You’ll be fine, bud. You don’t have nuts that are about to freeze off.”

Jason wasn’t stupid enough to park directly in front of the McGinnises home, but he did want to get a look at it for himself and paused when he and Spock came up on it. When had Cadmus stripped it bare of any indication a baby lived there? And more importantly, why? 

Was it the possibility of Terry growing up in the foster system? Was it the chance of a random DNA test with one of those genetic ancestry websites? It wasn’t like Bruce’s DNA was archived in this sort of program—Babs made sure of that. 

Hadn’t she?

There wasn’t a doubt in Jason’s mind that Bruce’s DNA had been obtained through some nefarious means. Bruce wasn’t the type to go jerk off in a cup.

He must have been standing there for too long because a voice spoke up from behind him. “They’re dead, you know.”

Jason startled and looked over his shoulder. An old woman stood on the sidewalk behind him, bundled up against the cold and carrying what appeared to be her mail. “Uh, yeah,” he agreed. “I heard about it at work.”

The lie fell easily from his lips. If asked, his cover story was that he knew Warren through WE, that they were colleagues and worked on the same technology team. More importantly, the story allowed for the fact he knew Warren McGinnis was a new father.

“You worked with Warren?” the woman asked, breath fogging in the frigid air. 

Jason nodded and carefully turned on the slick sidewalk, Spock shifting along with him. For once, he wasn’t growling in warning about a stranger who was too close. “I do. I mean, I did,” he said, somewhat sheepishly. “I’ve been on medical leave, so I haven’t seen him recently. The accident was on the news though, so I offered to come by and see if anyone was here who knew about funeral arrangements.” 

He pointedly frowned at the dark house. “But it doesn’t look like anyone’s been here at all.”

“There’s no family,” the woman offered, casting a sad look at the former McGinnis home. “As far as I know, there’s no one to take care of things.”

Jason shook his head, not having any problem with emoting sadness he genuinely felt. He’d been that kid once, after Catherine—who was his mom in all but blood as far as he was concerned—died and Willis fucked off to God knew where to leave him to his fate. He had no one until he jacked the tires off the wrong car.

He refused to allow Terry to grow up that way. “What about Terry?” he asked, sensing now was the time to put out the question he really wanted the answer to. This woman might be a Gothamite through and through, but even the most hardened of criminals would give some pause about the welfare of a newborn—the ones who weren’t psychotic, that was. Jason would eat his scarf if this lady fell into that category. “The news didn’t say anything about him.”

The woman’s dark brown eyes crinkled as she blinked away tears.

Jackpot.

“We were watching him that night,” she managed before she just fell apart and sobbed.

Jason’s heart broke. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

She waved him off and took a few deep breaths to collect herself enough to continue with her story. “I live next door with my daughter and my grandkids. Mary and my daughter are—were—great friends. They were even both pregnant at the same time, so it was only natural we had Terry the night of the accident. Mary was so excited to be going out—it was the first time she and Warren had had an evening to themselves since Terry was born. Of course, there were some tears when she left him with us—that first time being apart is always hard on a first time mom.”

Jason nodded along. He had an inkling of what that felt like, though he was fairly sure his apprehension was more about leaving a baby with his walking disaster of a husband and the fact they were dealing with Cadmus. “I have a toddler at home,” he lied through his teeth. “I get it.”

The woman smiled sadly. “They were supposed to pick up Terry around ten. When it got to be eleven and Mary or Warren hadn’t called, we knew something had to have happened. My daughter was scrolling through the news headlines and had just found the one about the accident when someone knocked on our door.”

“What?” Jason asked, cocking his head slightly. This woman was a font of information, but he had to tread carefully. One wrong word and her lips would seal tight as a clam. 

“It was the strangest thing,” she said, shaking her head with a gusty sigh. “This woman knew all about Mary and Warren, and told us about the accident. She said she was with the city and here to pick up Terry to take him to Social Services.”

The next “What?” out of Jason’s mouth was the most incredulous one yet. “That doesn’t make sense. How would Social Services even know where he was?”

Tears started falling again from the wrinkled corners of the woman’s eyes. “I know. I know that now. But we weren’t thinking straight because she said Mary and Warren were dead.” Her voice wobbled. “So we got him bundled up. He was wearing his little fleece dinosaur onesie and a cap, but we made sure he had blankets and his pacifier because it was cold that night—it was the night of the big ice storm and we didn’t want him to get cold, wherever he was going. Then we handed him and his little bag over, and away she went.”

The woman started sobbing again and Jason dared to reach out and give her a one-armed hug. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.”

“We’re such idiots,” she cried into his shoulder. “It wasn’t until my son-in-law got home from work—he works late—and we told him what happened that we realized what we’d done.”

“Did you call the police?”

She nodded. “We did. Gave them all the information we had and showed them the video from the doorbell. We even had pictures of Terry because we’d been sending them to Mary. And we haven’t heard anything since.”

Jason suppressed the strong urge to punch something and instead hugged the woman even harder. As much as he wanted to tell her that Terry was okay, that he was safe… He couldn’t. He couldn’t say a word because that would open up an even bigger can of worms than what he and Tim were dealing with now. Somehow, he’d make sure this family who’d known the McGinnises so well would find out—soon—that Terry was in good hands.

 


 

Tim threw up his hands and wailed. “What do you want from me?” he asked of the still-crying baby. “I fed you, I burped you, I changed your diaper. Aren’t you still in the eat, sleep, poop stage?”

Terry just screamed harder, loud and piercing that drilled right into Tim’s skull.

That was it. He wasn’t cut out to be a parent. There was one thing that Tim Drake—Red Robin—couldn’t do and that was to calm a screaming child. 

But he also wasn’t a complete dick so after finding his earplugs, he came back to the makeshift changing table Jason had put together and picked up Terry. Holding the baby against his chest, he just stood there and took it as tiny fists pummeled him and little legs kicked out in agitation. 

Terry was bound to scream himself out sooner or later. 

“I’m sorry, kiddo,” Tim soothed as best he could given his frazzled nerves. “I’m not your mom and I’m not your dad. I am a complete stranger who is doing the best he can. Maybe one day, you can cut me some slack, okay?”

He noticed the wetness on the hand cradled under Terry’s bottom at the same time a rank foulness hit his nose. 

Oh no. No. No, no, no, no, no.

Tim closed his eyes and counted to ten, then reopened them, readjusting Terry slightly to catch a glimpse of his hand. 

Yeah, that was what he thought it was. 

Using that same dirty hand, he pressed against the diaper. He was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to squish like that.

Distantly, he remembered Jason mentioning that the changeover to formula from breastmilk was probably going to result in some gross bowel movements. 

“Oh, this is gonna be disgusting,” Tim muttered as he made his way back to the changing table. “Where’s my hazmat suit?”

Seriously, the stuff oozing out of the diaper and down his arm should be ranked right up there with nuclear waste. 

Laying Terry down, Tim took a moment to wipe down his arm with one of the baby wipes, then snapped on a pair of nitrile gloves. There was absolutely no way he was touching this diaper without at least some form of protection. 

“I don’t have a spleen, for god’s sake,” he told Terry, who didn’t appear very impressed by the statement. The baby was still crying, although the wails were now interspersed with hiccups. “Do you know what a spleen is? No? Well, have I got a story for you then.”

Keeping up a stream of idle chatter, Tim armed himself with more baby wipes and then made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

He unfastened the diaper. 

“OH MY GOD!”

 


 

Jason sat in the driver’s seat of his car, seat warmers and heater running on full blast as he tried to defrost from his little adventure outside. Beside him, Spock was basking in the heated passenger seat. He was allowed up front for now before moving to the backseat and his car-harness once the car got going.

Knees and everything else aching, Jason rolled up his sleeve to reveal the wrist computer Tim had insisted he take with. He’d never been much of a fan, preferring to leave that sort of thing to his husband, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Andromeda, locate the internet connection for…” he rattled off the address for the McGinnises’ neighbors, “and patch me in privately.”

“Compliance,” the AI replied.

In a matter of moments, Jason was pulling up the video from a few nights ago. By some miracle, it was still there. 

“Thank god,” he muttered. With the way their luck had been going with this mystery, it wouldn’t have surprised him at all if Cadmus had beat him and Tim to it. 

For good measure, he downloaded a copy of the video before watching it. 

The person at the door was heavily bundled against the stormy night. Snow swirled around in the background, illuminated by the porch light. Jason remembered it hadn’t gotten really bad until late, so it would have been safe for the window of time the McGinnises were out. 

When the door opened, the person lowered their lined hood and scarf, revealing their face. It was a woman with darker hair and dark eyes. There was no audio, but Jason was a pro at reading lips. The conversation went almost exactly as it had been described to him and in less than five minutes, Terry was out the door and vanishing into the night. There wasn’t a vehicle within range of the camera, but within a minute or so, red taillights darted across the screen, there and gone in an instant. 

Given the distance from the door and the storm, Jason knew there’d be no chance of capturing a license plate. Tim might have some luck—he was good at this sort of thing. 

What he could do, however, was rewind the video and get a few screenshots of the woman’s face. “Andromeda, run a facial recognition search,” he ordered. “Emphasis on Gotham residents and a fifty kilometer radius around the city.”

“Compliance.”

While the AI did its job, Jason went back to the original video and deleted it from the local network. He hated to do it, but if he didn’t, then Cadmus would find it eventually and follow the same trail he was on. The more roadblocks he could throw at them, the better. As it was, he had a feeling time was of the essence. If the person on the screen was the same one who dropped Terry off with them, then it was likely Cadmus was after them too.

He had to find her first.

The old saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend drifted through his mind as he double checked the sent emails from that night. There was one with a video file sent to the detective who’d come out to discuss Terry’s disappearance. Great, looked like he needed to get into the GCPD’s network to track that one down. 

Before Jason could get started, Andromeda flashed across the screen with three pictures that were clearly driver’s license photos. “I have three possibilities ranging from a 93% match to a 67% match.” 

He honed in on the highest probability and frowned at the now-clear face. “Where have I seen her before?” he muttered. 

Cassidy Li. The name wasn’t familiar but the face was. He had to have been recently since he hadn’t been out in weeks. But where?

As Jason pondered, he pulled up the most recent address and cross-referenced to see if an employer was listed on the lease agreement for the apartment that came up. 

New Hope Fertility and Obstetrics Clinic.

“Motherfucker.” It came back to him in a flash. On the wall in the waiting room at the fertility clinic Tim had raided last night had been pictures of the various doctors working there. Jason hadn’t looked too closely at the time, but he had a knack for faces and thanks to years of Bat-training and paranoia, his recall was excellent when given the right prodding. Tim had been facing the wall on his way through the waiting area. The pictures even had little placards with the doctors’ names and specialities. 

In a flash, he was pulling up the video Andromeda had captured last night. Fast-forwarding to when Tim and Kon passed through the waiting room, he slowed it down and then paused it entirely when Dr. Li’s portrait came into the frame. There was a little placard underneath with some lettering on it, so he zoomed in, then brought it into focus. 

Cassidy Li, Ph.D.
Genetics

Holy shit.

Pieces falling into place, Jason plugged Dr. Li’s address into the GPS and sped away.

 


 

The apartment building he drove past a short time later was in the Upper East Side just a few short blocks from the brownstone he shared with Tim. It boggled the mind, but the probability Dr. Li had walked to their home just skyrocketed. 

Luck was with him as he found a parking spot not too far from the front entrance. For a moment, Jason debated about bringing Spock with him. But a dog his size would stand out in a building like this, which typically had size rules if they allowed dogs at all. The last thing he needed was to stand out.

With his cane and stiff gait, he did already. 

Gaining access to the building via the private entrance was child’s play for someone like Jason. A nice smooth elevator had him up on the 15th floor in no time and it was the work of a moment to figure out which direction to go. 

It was only when Jason stood in front of apartment 1511 that he realized one rather important fact. 

He hadn’t called Tim to tell him where he was or the lead he was following up on. Crap. He knew he’d forgotten something. Welp, that’s what tracking devices were for—that and Tim would be able to trace his steps through Andromeda if the shit hit the fan. All he could hope for now was that his luck would continue to hold. At best, he could break in and see what he could find. Worst case, he’d walk in to find Cadmus agents had already ransacked the place.

Actually, the worst case was meeting that inky meta from last night. The only thing that might save his ass were some of the freeze pellets he’d tucked into his pockets before he’d left home earlier. 

Just in case, Jason palmed one of the pellets and planted his feet firmly, then raised a gloved hand to knock on the door.

It opened before he had the chance.