This idea has been swirling around in my head for a while and I finally added the missing piece that encouraged me to write it! Enjoy!

Chapter One: A Ghost in the Narrows

Red Hood leapt from the roof, feeling gravity get a hold of him before his grapple caught and he was yanked out of the dive, swinging smoothly to the next building. It was great to fly. It was great to have control over his territory again, or as much as you can control the dregs of the city. It would never be perfect here, but it was Jason's home, and he'd decided to protect it despite his less than pleasant relationship with Bats. What did Jason care about him? He'd never cared about Jason before.

Jason stopped his momentum on the roof of a bar near where several of the working girls he knew would be this time of night. Sure enough, Honey, Chastity, and Amber were arranged around a light post smoking or playing on their phones. Honey noticed him first.

"Hey Hood! Are you here to scare all the John's away again?" she called up to him. Jason grinned under his helmet. He liked Honey, she was a fighter. All the girls were. Red hood stood from where he was crouched on the roof and called back to her. "Can't I just visit the prettiest girls in all of Gotham?" That got all three girls snickering.

"Come down here and say that to my face," Honey said, her voice silky sweet. Jason grinned again and leapt off the roof, rolling as he hit the road to muffle the impact. He walked over to the warm glow of their street light and Honey grabbed a fistful of his leather jacket and planted a kiss on his helmet. Jason had taken care of an abusive ex for her and she'd been sweet on him ever since. That or she liked how he paid her for information instead of her bed, but you know, semantics.

"So what brings you to our little corner of the Narrows?" Honey asked as she let go of his jacket.

"Just checking in," Jason shrugged. "You might have noticed I was out of town for a few days. Just want to make sure no new villains, super or otherwise, popped up while I was shooting the shit with the bat brats."

"I knew you didn't just come to see me," Honey pouted. Jason was pretty sure she was faking.

"Well, you are the best source of gossip around," Jason tried. She smiled at him.

"Well, I haven't heard about any new super villains or crime lords, have you girls?" Honey turned to Chastity and Amber who had wandered up the street away from Red Hood. They didn't dislike him or anything, but Jason knew he was bad for business.

"Nothing really," Amber said, the brunet barely looked up from her phone.

"I haven't heard anything bad," Chastity started. "But there are those ghost rumors."

"Ghosts?" Jason asked, because while that sounded ridiculous, he knew not to let any rumor go unchecked.

"Oh yeah," Honey said. "It's not really a ghost I don't think. That's just what they're calling him."

"Calling who?" Jason desperately tried to keep the growl out of his voice.

"Now don't go all murdery on me Hood, according to Lilly he's a good guy," Honey said, placing a calming hand on Jason's chest, her honey blond curls shifted and shimmered in the light of the street lamp.

"Okay, fine," Jason conceded. "But what's the story?"

"Well, you should probably ask Lilly, I think she's off tonight, but she said this new guy, one of yours, you know, a vigilante, helped her when a John she'd told no got rough. This new guy beat the crap out of him and then just vanished, like a ghost!" She waved her hands around for emphasis.

"I heard he took down a mugger too," Chastity added, nodding. Her blond hair bouncing with the motion.

"This one John I talked to was saying something about one of his boys blabbering bout a ghost attacking him when he was trying to sell some sugar and melting his supply with a green laser beam," Amber added, finally looking up from her phone.

"A meta?" Jason said, mostly to himself.

"Probably," Honey answered anyway. "But don't you go beating him up now, he's just trying to help," Honey scolded. Jason shook his head.

"Naw, but this is my terf. If you girls see him, let him know I want to talk."

"Hood," Honey warned.

"Just talk," Jason confirmed. "Thanks for the info," Jason said, pressing some money into her hand. She kissed his helmet again and he turned and scrambled up the nearest fire escape.

'So there's a new player in town?' Jason thought to himself. Jason didn't like competition in his territory, and he knew Bats would go crazy if he heard a meta was taking up residence in Gotham. He was going to have to find this punk and convince him Gotham was too much trouble, one way or another.

The night dragged as Red Hood took out yet another punk who thought he could sell drugs to kids. He was just finishing punching the man's lights out when he noticed movement on the roof above him. Jason looked up and caught a flash of white hair before the figure ducked back out of sight. Jason punched the guy he was holding one more time before yanking his grapple out of its holster and firing. The cable rolled back up with a low whine as it pulled him up to the roof. He landed in a crouch and didn't even have to search for the intruder; he was standing in the middle of the roof, waiting.

Jason looked him over with a discerning eye. The guy wasn't huge, a foot or more shorter than Jason himself, and lean, but not scrawny. Jason could see the wiry muscle underneath the black hoodie and jeans the guy was wearing. He was also wearing black steel toed boots and grey knee pads and gloves. His hair was strangely white. Not the white of old age, but glossier and bouncy, almost ethereal. His hood was thrown up. Over his eyes he'd tied a strip of black cloth, like a blind fold, but Jason figured it was thin enough that he could see through it. He bore no weapons that Jason could see, either on his belt or hidden anywhere, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

"So you're this ghost I've heard about?" Jason said, casually pulling a gun from his belt and holding it loosely at his side. It was loaded with rubber bullets, an attempt to not piss off the bats that had so far worked in getting Jason closer to a few of his brothers, mostly Tim and Damien.

"Phantom," the guy corrected. It was impossible to tell his age from his voice because he spoke with a gravel that didn't seem natural, almost like he had a really bad sore throat. Jason took a step closer and caught sight of the scars twisting up his neck. So it could be an old injury that was causing the strain in his voice.

"Phantom?" Jason asked. "How original." The guy, Phantom, shrugged.

"What are you doing in Gotham, Phantom? Don't you know this is Bat territory?"

"The Narrows aren't the Bat's," Phantom countered. He was surprisingly calm, and he either hadn't noticed the gun in Red Hood's hand, or just didn't care. If he thought Jason wouldn't shoot him, he was surprisingly stupid.

"No, the Narrows aren't the Bat's, they're mine. And I assure you, I'm much worse."

"Look, I'm not trying to take over or undermine you," Phantom said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "I just want to help. You know, take out the small fry. I'll leave the big jobs to you." Jason cocked his head at him.

"I don't need help."

"I believe you. But just cause you don't need it doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice right? Less time spent stopping muggings and drug deals, more time to spend taking down the king pins or catching up on sleep, or whatever."

Jason had to admit, the idea was tempting. There were occasions where he needed to spend time on a big case but had to drop everything to go on patrol. Or the times where crime spiked and he had to forgo sleep so he could get everything under control. A little help would be nice. On the other hand, anyone he worked with had the potential to stab him in the back, or figure out who he really was and stab his whole family in the back. It was a serious risk that Jason wasn't sure he was willing to take for the prospect of a little more sleep.

"I don't work with people I don't know," Jason said, mostly to see how the guy would react. Phantom shrugged.

"Then what if I worked for you instead of with you?" he suggested. Now that was a thought, set the partnership up as more of a worker employee situation. Jason could even pay him. He confiscated enough dirty money to handle the expense. If Phantom was his employee, then Jason could tell him exactly what to do and where to go and could more easily cut him off if he got out of hand.

"You'd do what I say and work by my rules?" Jason asked.

"Sure, whatever you want. I just want to help. I live here too ya know?" Jason wasn't sure he believed that, at least, the guy hadn't grown up here. He didn't have the accent. Jason supposed he could have grown up in the city proper and moved to the narrows when he came down on his luck.

"Alright," Jason said. "You can work for me. But if I hear that you've been hurting instead of helping," Jason pointed his gun at Phantom, "I'll put a bullet in your head no questions asked."

Instead of flinching, Phantom grinned and Jason noticed he was missing his right upper canine. Jason rolled his eyes under his hood and holstered his gun. He looked at the display on the inside of his helmet and saw that it was just past 4:00 am, even the worst of the worst would be in bed by now. It was time to call it a night.

"Meet me back here tomorrow at 10:00, and we'll go over the terms of your employment," Jason said.

"Sweet, see you then," Phantom said, turning and jumping off the roof. Curious, and slightly worried since the guy clearly didn't have a grapple on him, Jason ran to the edge of the roof in time to see Phantom floating down to the ground, like he was falling in slow motion. When his feet hit the ground, he looked back up at Jason and saluted before sinking straight through the road. Jason blinked at where he'd disappeared. So that confirmed he was a meta, and explained the reason everyone was calling him a ghost.

"Creepy," Jason muttered to himself as he straightened and turned toward home.

Jason dragged his feet up the stairs to his apartment; the elevator had been broken as long as he'd lived here. He'd changed into civilian clothes at a safe house; he didn't need some thug to see Red Hood climbing into his window and knowing where he lived.

Jason's apartment was on the top floor of a narrow five story building. It was small, with one large room that was the living room, dining room, and kitchen all in one. A door led to the bedroom, and another led to a bathroom. Jason unlocked his door and disengaged his traps before marching in and dumping his backpack with his Red Hood gear on his already cluttered table. He never ate at the thing, instead he cleaned and built weapons and other gadgets there. Currently there was a half built bomb sitting on it, but there was no way it would blow up just cause he dropped a backpack on it, probably.

Jason didn't bother turning on the lights as he stripped off his clothes and walked to the bathroom to shower. The scalding water was heaven on his sore muscles, and he stayed until it ran cold, which wasn't long in this shitty building. Once he was clean and in comfy sweatpants, Jason rummaged through his fridge and found a takeout container of Chinese that was probably still good and threw it in the microwave.

He could cook, and enjoyed it, but with all the shit Red Hood had to deal with, he rarely had the time. But now, Jason thought, if this gig with Phantom works, he might actually have time to cook again.

The microwave beeped and jogged Jason out of his thoughts. He pulled the food out and plopped down on his ratty old couch to watch the morning news, it was almost 6:00. He didn't even make it to his bed before he fell asleep.

Jason woke up to his phone ringing and didn't check the caller ID before he answered with a groggy, "What?"

"Afternoon Jason," Timothy Drake said, sounding like he was on his fifth cup of coffee. "Did I wake you?"

"What time is it?" Jason asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Light was still leaking in from around his black out curtains so it wasn't night yet. He hadn't slept the whole day.

"Almost 3," Tim answered. Jason groaned; that was a lot longer than he'd meant to sleep. He still needed to go shopping before patrol, and he needed to set something up before he met with Phantom again. "Do you have a minute?" Tim asked. Jason grunted and Tim took that as a yes.

"Have you heard rumors about a new player in Gotham?"

"How have you heard about Phantom already?" Jason asked.

"He's got a name?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, I met him last night," Jason said, getting off the couch and setting his kettle on the stove; he needed tea. "You haven't told Bats about him yet have you?" Jason doubted Tim would. He wasn't on the best of terms with Bruce either, which was actually how they'd come to something of an understanding that had slowly grown into an almost friendship since Jason had left the Outlaws and come back to Gotham a year ago.

"No, I haven't told Batman. I only just picked up wind of it last night on patrol. This group of thugs were talking about this vengeful ghost in the Narrows. Said he took down one of their buddies and destroyed some drugs. Sounded like a meta to me."

"Damn I forget how fast shit travels around here," Jason said as he leaned on the counter. "I heard that tale too."

"You said you met him? What's the verdict?" Tim asked. Jason could hear the kid typing on his laptop in the background.

"He's definitely a meta. Watched him pass straight through the ground when he left," Jason glared at his kettle willing it to boil faster.

"Hmm," Tim said, still typing away. "What are you going to do about it? He hasn't left your territory as far as I can tell, so this is your call."

"I'm gonna hire him," Jason said.

"What?!" Tim spluttered. "Since when does the Red Hood work with anyone?"

"Now that's just unfair, I work with you brats," Jason said.

"That's different, we know each other. But this is a new player. You can't trust him."

"I have no intention of trusting him. And I'm not working with him, he is going to work for me."

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course there's a difference," Jason said, his kettle finally whistling. He happily poured the steaming water into a mug with a tea bag and waited while it seeped. "Working with me implies trust, working for me implies doing what I tell you or I'll shoot your fucking brains out." Tim hummed again.

"So you're going to give him a shot?" Tim said after a moment of silence.

"Something like that," Jason said. "I'll just have him take care of the small fry so I can focus on the big fish."

"Well be careful. Meta's are dangerous till you know their weakness."

"Thank you Bruce, I do know what I'm doing." Tim huffed at him. Jason blew on his tea and took a sip.

"I know you do, just, keep your coms open, at least to me. And call for backup if you need it. I'm not ready to trust him yet."

"Now you really sound like Bruce," Jason said, but not unkindly. "I'll be careful. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got shit to do. And don't tell the old man about this. I don't need him snooping into Phantom till I've had a chance to figure him out."

"I'll keep him in the dark as long as I can, but you know how he is, world's greatest detective and all. You'll have a week at least. Bruce is out of town on Wayne Enterprises business, but there's no telling how fast he'll pick up the rumors once he comes back."

"Thanks Tim, I'll see you later."

"We still on for movie night Friday?" Tim asked, voice changing from business to playful.

"I'll make pizza," Jason agreed and hung up the phone. He was glad Tim reminded him about their little play date, otherwise he would have forgotten. Somehow, Jason had gotten close to Tim when he came back to Gotham. He would've thought the kid would hate him, seeing as how Jason almost killed him, but Tim had seen that the Jason who left Gotham and the one who came back were not the same person. The Lazarus rage had worn itself out, mostly, and now Jason just felt bad for trying to kill the replacement. The anger had been his own, but without the Lazarus rage, and Taila's influence, he never would have taken it that far. And once Tim spilled the beans about the Lazarus pit to Damian, the little demon had come over to his side pretty fast. Now the three of them regularly hung out in their free time and would team up in their hero lives. Jason still wasn't ready to forgive Dick or Bruce, but he had two real brothers now, and that was enough.

Once Jason had finished his tea and downed a few granola bars, he grabbed the keys to his car, a bike was hard to transport groceries with, and headed out. He needed to get stuff for pizza and various other normal people supplies. He was almost out of shampoo, and he was pretty sure he needed to replace his toothbrush. He also needed to set up a burner phone, he was going to need a way to contact Phantom and vice versa.

That night, Phantom was on the roof when Jason got there at ten. He looked just as he had yesterday, but he was bouncing on the balls of his feet with pent up energy.

"Here," Jason said, tossing him a flip phone and a charger. Phantom caught it easily.

"A phone?" Phantom asked, examining it.

"Yeah," Jason said. "In case we need to contact each other. If you're going to be working for me, I want to be able to find you." Phantom flipped the phone open and started pressing buttons. The matching one in Jason's pocket started to ring. Jason raised an eyebrow but Phantom wouldn't be able to see it under the helmet.

"Really?" Jason asked.

"Just wanted to make sure it works," Phantom explained, hanging up and shoving it into his pocket.

"Well it works. Just keep it charged. I'm serious about wanting to be able to contact you. If something comes up and I need your help, I have to be able to talk to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Phantom said like a petulant teenager. Jason wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Anyway, I want you to keep an eye on the main streets tonight. I've got something near the docks I want to check out. Just take care of muggings and robberies. Leave drug deals alone unless they're selling to kids. Then show no mercy. And keep an eye out for the working girls. I'll let them know that you're working for me now and they'll spread the word around. They're the best source of news and secrets in this city, so be nice to them, ya hear."

"Sure," Phantom said, that casual air never leaving him.

"Alright, off with you," Jason said. "Call me if anything major comes up. I'd hate to find you got yourself killed on the first night."

"On it. This isn't my first rodeo," Phantom said, and jumped to the roof across the street, a jump that not even Batman would have been able to make.

"Show off," Jason muttered before heading out on his own patrol. His first stop was to Honey and the others. Honey greeted him with her usual kiss.

"What's up Hoodie, two meetings in a row is unusual."

"I found your ghost," Jason said casually.

"Oh did you, are the rumors true?" She asked, sidling up to him.

"Which ones?" Jason asked, genuinely curious what else might be circulating about Phantom.

"That he's cute," Honey said, in all seriousness. It made Jason pause. He hadn't actually thought about it, and it was hard to tell with the blindfold. But Jason would say that he was actually cute, probably even Jason's type.

"Yeah, he's cute," Jason decided and Honey squealed.

"So I take it you didn't kill him?" she asked.

"Naw, I hired him. I want you to do me a favor."

"Anything for you dear."

"I want you to spread the word that Phantom is working for the Red Hood."

"Phantom huh? That's a nice name," Honey said, looking a little lost in thought.

"I guess," Jason said. "Also, keep an ear out for me. I don't fully trust him yet. If you hear about him doing anything I wouldn't do, would you let me know?"

"You want me to play babysitter?" she pouted.

"I'll pay you," he offered.

"Deal," Honey said, sticking her hand out, palm up. Jason sighed and slapped a stack of bills into it. She shoved them into her boot and kissed him again. "Thanks Hood, now run along before you scare off all my customers for another night."

Jason did as he was told and left. The night went smoothly. Jason was able to get some more recon done on the arms trade that was going through the docks, and when he came back to the narrows to snoop on Phantom, he found the guy in the middle of a brawl with three thugs in an alley. Jason watched in interest from his rooftop perch as Phantom dodged around the fists and blasted the brutes with beams of green energy that seemed to smoke and burn on their skin and clothes. He could throw a mean punch too. Jason saw teeth fly as Phantom's fist connected. At one point, one of the thugs that Phantom had burned got back up and wrapped his arms around Phantom, pinning his arms to his side. Rather than kicking his attacker in the nuts, or slamming the back of his head into his nose like Jason would have, Phantom turned translucent and just walked through the guys arms. The man was so stunned, he didn't even try to block the boot to his face.

In just a few moments, all three guys were turning tail and running. Phantom wiped the blood off his knuckles and looked up.

"You enjoying the show?" Phantom called up.

"Very," Jason responded. Phantom grinned and jumped half way up the wall, where he kicked off again and launched himself onto Jason's roof. It wasn't something a human could pull off easily.

"How'd the docks go?" Phantom asked.

"Good," Jason said, still impressed with Phantom's jump. "So what all can you do?" he asked. Phantom grinned again, and Jason spotted the missing tooth again. It made him look adorable when he grinned, but Jason figured it'd look scary if he bared his teeth at anyone.

"I've got a few tricks," Phantom conceded. "Intangibility, enhanced jumping, my plasma blasts," he counted off on his fingers. His voice still sounded rough, and Jason figured that was just how he sounded. "On good days I can make ice," he added.

"Ice?" Jason asked. "That's not very ghostly."

"Sure it is. Ghost's make rooms cold right?"

"I don't think that counts as ice," Jason argued.

"Whatever man, it's still cool." Phantom pouted. Jason stifled a laugh at the unintentional pun.

"It's getting late," Jason changed the subject. "Before I forget, here." Jason tossed him a wad of cash that Phantom easily caught.

"What's this for?" he asked, turning it over in his gloved hands.

"Your pay for the week," Jason said, already turning away and heading for home.

"You're paying me?" Phantom asked, confusion in his voice. Jason turned back.

"Yeah. It's drug money, and weapon money. Basically shit I got from criminals I beat up. It's a lot easier to live this life if you don't have to have a day job. Even vigilantes gotta eat."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks!" Phantom grinned at him again and shoved the money into this pocket.

"I'll see ya tomorrow," Jason said, turning away again and waving behind him.

"See ya!"

Next time, pizza party! Reviews fuel me!