Insignificantly evil (DP and Batman crossover)

Wounds can heal

When Jason got the call from his father, he wasn't very pleased. Bruce has been trying to take his son's mind off of his brother's disappearance for eight years now, but nothing seemed to work. Not even this attempt. The vigilante reached the interrogation room at the same time as his father was leaving. They exchanged a look and Jason immediately knew that the person behind the door wasn't very cooperative. At least not in the way the Bat would like him or her to be.

Jason slowly opened the door to the sealed room, expecting an insane or tough character. Those two types of people were the only ones that had the ability to resist Batman's fierce interrogation techniques. The man's jaw nearly fell off when his gaze landed on their prisoner. A little boy, his head barely above the table was sitting there, looking scared to his death.

"Danny?" Jason asked in disbelief. The striking similarities between this child and Phantom made him hope. The boy lifted his head and looked up at the newcomer. A wave of emotions passed through him, none of them his. There was sadness, hope, happiness and recognition.

"Jason?" He asked back, the name simply popped up in his mind just like before with Bruce and Clark. Zephyr watched the man in front of him carefully, looking for a reaction. He got one, but he didn't expect it to be so strong. The vigilante tore off his domino mask and tears were already running down his cheeks like waterfalls. He lunged at him and embraced the boy in the strongest hug that he has ever received.

"I missed you Danny. Where have you been this whole time, I was so worried." Jason sobbed with his head buried in the boy's small chest.

"I keep hearing that name Danny, who is he?" Zephyr asked confused, pushing the emotional vigilante slightly off of him.

"He was my brother. Eight years ago, he disappeared. What's your name then?" Jason asked and wiped his tears away quickly. His expression darkened, but he didn't put his mask back on.

"Zephyr." The mentioned boy replied and sadness crept into his eyes. He felt a deep connection rebuilding with this man, but he had no idea where it came from.

"How do you know my name." Jason asked with a scowl and he moved further away to hide his tear stained face in the shadows.

"Like I have already told Bruce, I just know, I don't know how."

"What is your connection with Phantom?"

"Is Phantom the man who fought Clack in my village?"

"Yes, does the name mean something to you?" Jason pressed. He saw the connection, but who wouldn't. There had to be a reason for all of this, he just needed some time to figure it out.

"No." Zephyr replied sadly. After he saw Jason's breakdown, he wanted to help him even though he knew nearly nothing about him.

"Does the name Dan mean something to you then?" He asked after a long silence.

"Grandpa told me something about him. He said that he escaped his imprisonment eight years ago and that he..." The little ghost paused, trying to figure out what his grandpa told him about Dan.

"That he..." Jason asked expectantly. This was his opportunity to find out what happened to his brother and his evil future self.

"He said that I should never go down the same road as him. He said not to betray your family, ever."

"Did he say which family?" The vigilante asked to sort out his facts. He didn't think that Danny betrayed them in any way.

"He said that you should never betray a person that gives you shelter, food and training." Zephyr replied automatically. With the constant repetition from his grandpa, there was no way he would forget something so important.

"Is your grandpa Ra's al Ghul?" Jason asked hopefully. It wasn't like the man was a winning lottery ticket to grow up with, but he was getting closer to the disappearance of his brother more than he did in eight years.

"Who is that man?" The ghost asked confused. Jason knew that he was close to something so he didn't give up.

"He's a little shorter than me, has short black hair and a goatee. He's a great fighter and likes the color green."

"Yes, that is grandpa." Zephyr smiled sweetly, but his face dropped when he realized he wasn't going back to him anytime soon. Jason walked closer to the boy and knelt in front of him. He put his hand on the boy's little shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Now that you know your grandpa's name, you can't tell anyone, pretend like you never heard it. Secondly, you can't stay here. He'll come for you and we don't want that. Tonight, I'll break you out of the prison and take you somewhere safe." The little ghost didn't look very convinced. Why should he run away from his grandpa? He was the good guy, right?

"I don't know you, why should I trust you." Zephyr asked defensively and went to cross his arms, but he was stopped by the chains. With a pout, he let his hands fall back to his lap.

"You are right, you don't know me." Jason smiled slightly and then he continued. "But don't you think that you knew us sometime ago? When you know my name and Bruce's name." It was hard for Zephyr's young mind to process this information.

"There has to be some connection between you and Danny." Jason thought out loud. "Let's try something, I'll tell you a story and you just have to think about it. Okay?" The boy nodded slowly and watched the man in front of him pace slowly.

"It was a long time ago. I just came home from my duty when I realized someone was in my room. When I entered, a wounded person was lying on my bed, really badly hurt. He was a stranger so I confronted him, but he turned out to be a young boy." Zephyr listened interestedly to the story. He was so deep in thoughts that pieces of images flickered in front of his eyes. "I was no monster so I helped him. Later, when he was feeling better, we got to know each other better. He didn't have home so I offered him to stay with me. He said..."

"He said 'Thank you, thank you Jason.'" The mentioned man stood there in shock, new tears forming in his eyes.

"How do you know?" Jason asked, piercing the boy with his crystal blue eyes.

"I saw it happen, the boy was speaking to you. You were friends." Zephyr stated, but he still looked puzzled.

"We were not friends, we were brothers." Jason smiled through his tears and opened his arms to hug the boy. Since his hands were still tied up, Zephyr leaned against the vigilante and closed his eyes. The warm feeling was familiar, but at the same time not. They stayed like that for a while before Jason broken it off and stood up.

"I have to take you to your cell now, but I'll break you out soon."

"Okay, I'll wait." The little ghost replied innocently.