Starling - DarkInuFan - Danny Phantom [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: Rerun Test? Y/N

Chapter Text

“To your left!” He barely dodged the blast before Superman was already on the man who had thrown the grenade, disarming him of the rest of his visible weaponry and dropped him in front of Batman, who was ready with a fistful of zip ties. It wasn’t their usual Justice League level of emergency, but they had been called in to help quell the riots as a favor. Plus, it was slow, so quite a few more heroes had shown up, making quick work of the event.

“Whelp! Come back here so I can turn your pelt into a wall-hanging! You’d look great next to the thylacine!” The unexpected voice from above made Batman look up to see an android with a flaming Mohawk chasing… a child? A young adult at the most.

“You do know how gross that sounds, right?” The teenager(?) quipped back with the same level of spirit one of his Robins usually had in the field. The whine of an energy weapon was all the warning the boy had before he had to dodge a green blast. While the boy dodged easily, he wiped a streak of green (blood?) off the side of his face from a previous wound with the back of his hand absently. “And don’t you have something better to do? I have homework tonight and I still haven’t studied for Lancer’s test first period!”

“You should have already studied then if that was the case!” The android yelled back, aiming his… did he have actual wrist rockets? At the boy. With barely a thought, Batman flung a fistful of his bataranges, hoping to intercept at least one of the rockets. Surprisingly, he missed, the rockets blasting the boy out of the air and driving him into the street, creating a small crater.

“Okay, that’s it! Jazz is gonna kill me if I’m late. Playtime’s over!” The boy pushed himself out of the crater, leaving a streak of blood on the concrete as he rose before pulling out what looked like an old-fashioned white soup thermos. “Bye-bye!”

“Don’t you dare!” Was the last thing the android yelled as a beam of light emitted from the thermos’ open top, pulling the entity inside. Closing the thermos’ lid and clipping it back to his belt, the boy sighed, sinking in the air a few feet before he seemed to just hover in place.

Batman, who thought he knew all of the major players in the vigilante meta scene, wracked his brain to see if white hair, flight and at least a limited amount of durability struck any memories. The closest he could think of would be a Kryptonian, but the boy didn’t have their signature glacier blue eyes. Instead, now that the boy was hovering more or less in place, he could see that they were the same shade of green as his… blood.

“Hey, Kid!” Before he could think any better of it, Batman called out, flagging the boy down. The boy looked around a bit before realizing that He was the one being addressed. Upon realizing who was yelling, a strange mix of excitement and shyness crossed his face. “Who are you?”

“I… Batman…” the boy whispered in awe, subconsciously or not floating closer to the vigilante. “I… My best friend’s a really big fan of yours. Can I… Can I take a picture of you?”

Though his raised eyebrow was hidden by the cowl, the crossed arms and expectant posture got the message across loud and clear. “Who. Are you?” He stated one more time, giving him the same look that he gave his Robins when he caught them doing something they knew they weren’t supposed to.

“Phantom, sir.” The boy realized he was rambling and shrunk into himself. “My, my friends call me Danny Phantom.”

“Phantom, then.” Batman blinked, filing the name and the boy’s physical description away to research more thoroughly back at the cave. “Well, are you going to take a photo?”

Letting out a little squeak of excitement and doing a quick flip, he pulled out a phone that had seen better days and pulled it up to take a picture before thinking better of it. “Sam and Tuck will never believe me… but can I take a selfie with you?”

Batman tilted his head briefly in thought before pulling out a small camera and praying the ploy would work. “Only if I can get a picture of you as well.”

“Oh! Um… sure. I guess that’s only fair, I guess.” Danny blinked in surprise before nodding in agreement. “Sure.” He repeated again to himself, floating within grabbing range. It was his idea in the first place, to take a selfie with The Batman. It was too late to back out now. Armed with his phone, he hovered by Batman’s shoulder and flipped the screen to selfie mode, taking the picture as quickly as he could before flying back out of reach. Checking that the picture was halfway decent, he nodded to himself and put the phone away.

“Your, uh, your turn, I guess. Just give me a moment though. I have to concentrate so your photo doesn’t turn out like sh*t. Most of the time when people take pictures of me, all they get is this glowing blob with creepy glowing green eyes. It's a little too Eldritch, if you know what I mean.” Danny gave a self-deprecating grin before taking a calming breath. Batman hadn’t realized how fuzzy around the edges that the boy was until he wasn’t. Opening his eyes back up, he gave a half grin and turned his palms out in a silent Ta-da. Batman didn’t waste any time, taking the photo before tucking the camera back into his utility belt.

“So, uh, Batman, do you, ah… need me for anything else? Because, I swear to you, I really wasn’t lying. I do have a test I need to study for. And I need to return Skulker back to the Ghost Zone.” Danny hitched a thumb back over his shoulder, pointing vaguely from where he came.

“Isn’t it a little late for studying?” It was normal bat-hours, but if the kid was still in school, he still needed to sleep if he was going to get any rest before the test, since it was his first period. Danny’s grimace proved that he was right. “One last thing.” Batman decided to push his luck, since the boy seemed particularly chatty. If he was a hero, it was a bad thing, but another if he was just an unknown meta. “Where are you from?”

“Oh, uh…” On one hand, Danny had already talked too much. But on the other hand, it was Batman. The man would find out everything he wanted to about him anyway. At least he was a hero and had the morals of one, right?” “A… Amity Park, sir.” Before he could spill any more of his secrets, like his human identity, Danny flew off, And, with a quick course correction by glancing at the stars, started to fly home. He had chased Skulker halfway across the state and he knew Jazz was already home with a bag of Nasty Burgers that had surely gone cold by now. At least cold burgers were better than reanimated hotdogs.

Batman, having watched the boy fly off, took out one of his swab kits and dabbed at the glowing green blood the boy had left behind. It definitely wasn’t a color of blood he’d run across before, but the shade did remind him of something that made him frown instinctually, not even mentioning the flecks of red that looked like normal hemoglobin. Making sure to seal the sample up tightly, he secured it in an empty belt pouch to deal with later. For now, he had to check in with the rest of the team.

“Checking in. Superman?”

“They’ve moved east of your position, though it seems like most of the rioters have calmed down and either been handled or dispersed. Do you need help getting to our position?”

“Negative.” Pulling out his grappling gun, he fired at the nearest tall building. While this city didn’t have quite the architecture as Gotham did, it still had plenty for his hook to dig into.

“Whatcha doing, B?” Dick Grayson, stil in his Nightwing costume, sans his mask, leaned over the chair that Bruce was sitting at in front of the bat computer. On one screen was the beginnings of a profile labeled ‘Danny Phantom’ with a picture that looked more posed than the usual ones. Most profile pictures when they put together these things were either candid or mug shots. This one even had the subject throwing up a peace sign and grinning.

“Unknown meta. Possible young hero.” He summarized succinctly.

“Ah. Thinking of bringing him in. He doesn’t look like your usual M.O.” Dick murmured, reading over the notes that Bruce had written down already.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” Dick smirked, “for one, he has white hair. Not going to make him pull a Jay and dye it, are you?”

Bruce’s retort was cut off by the computer giving off an alert. Clicking on the bubble, test results popped up:

DNA analysis complete. Possible familial match. DNA sample corrupted.

Rerun test? Yes No

“Oh… That’s interesting.” Before Bruce could stop him, Dick clicked on the details of the familial match. “Think he might be another surprise like Dami- huh. That’s not who I expected.” Dick read the possibility match. “You gonna tell him? Or are you going to run the test again.”

“This is the fourth run.”

“Damn.”

The bell over the door chimed, though it was barely heard over the dull roar of the dive bar during happy hour. Jason himself barely paid any attention to it, seemingly entranced by the ice cube swirling in his drink. At least, that was until someone sat down next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he recognized the pencil mustache and distinct scar down one cheek. “What are you doing here, old man?” He didn’t bother looking directly at the man before calling over the barkeep and ordering the same whiskey on the rocks as he had in his hand.

“Can’t an old man see his kid once in a while?” The older man replied with a broad slums accent. “You missed Christmas. Paw nearly threw a fit when you didn’t show and nearly came to get you himself.”

Jason snorted, ducking his head and touching his lips to his glass in a parody of a sip. “Yeah, well, you know I hate Christmas.”

“Try telling Paw that.” They both knew they would never dare. Bruce, taking an actual sip of his whiskey (Jason had ordered the best the dive had available), fortified himself before pulling out a thumb drive. “Got something here for you.” He put it on the bar top between them.

“Yeah?” Jason looked at the thumb drive, but didn’t take it. “What is it?”

“Turns out, being a bastard in this family isn’t a one-time thing.”

Jason tossed his head, seriously contemplating if he could get away with punching Bruce in the face and not getting kicked out of his favorite bar. “Just because you can’t keep it in your pants, Old Man, doesn’t mean you have to get me involved. Who is it this time? Selena? Some other random one night stand where you never even got her name?”

“This one’s not mine. He’s looking to be more your side of the family.” Great, so something that should probably be handled by the JL Dirty-Little-Secrets but Bruce wants to keep it within the ‘family’ for some unknown reason. He wasn’t near the expert on the darker side of sh*t as Bruce thought he was, despite calling himself a zombie more than once.

“No, Listen ta me, son.” Bruce, in his ‘Matches Malone’ guise, turned and put a hand on his shoulder. Jason, in a look that froze most criminals in their tracks, stared at Bruce’s hand touching him. “I’ve done what I could, but what you decide is up to you. I, we, will all support what you decide to do with the information on the drive. You tell me to drop it, I won’t go any further, mark my words. All I want is for you to look that over for me.” Bruce tilted his head toward the drive, finished his whiskey and used the hand on Jason’s shoulder to pull himself upright. With two pats and a squeeze, Bruce left, the door bell chiming behind him.

Pursing his lips, Jason eventually pocketed the drive, just in time for his mark to come in the back door. Time for some stress relief.

He’d nearly forgotten the thumb drive until he was emptying his pockets that night. Along with his keys and some crinkled dollar bills, the small device clattered across the table and laid there innocently, as if it didn’t have the potential to change his world. On one hand, Bruce was the one to hand it over. If it was a case, he would have had Oracle hack into his com line (again) to demand his cooperation (ha!). He did say that who-whatever was on that drive was family. And, unlike Dick… and Bruce, he had long ago made sure his swimmers could never go up stream.

Oh, what the hell. Selena would be proud of him. ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ and all that bullsh*t.

Grabbing the drive, he unburied his laptop and booted it up. It took only seconds, since Tim and Barbara refused to let him keep anything but the latest bat-modified WayneTech model. In the bare minute that it took for the computer to finish loading, Jason had flipped the switch on his electric kettle and had measured out a serving of his favorite tea into the strainer Alfred had given him last Christmas. They all assumed that he drank his coffee black like the replacement did on his insomniac binges, but he had more class than that. Though, He never would say no when one of the family brought him a thermos straight from Alfred for longer nights on patrol. That man knew how to make a good cuppa, whether it was coffee or tea.

Settling in for a good read, Jason finally clicked on the only folder on the drive. Immediately at the top was a photo of a smiling teenager with white hair and green eyes, wearing what looked like a vigilante costume. Next to it was the basic data sheet that Bruce filled out about all the meta that he knew of, though half of the sheet was either blank or only estimates applied. The only definite was that the kid went by ‘Danny Phantom’.

The next file was where things got interesting. A corrupted blood sample analysis had been put through the computers, where, along with a whole host of unknown compounds and chemicals, the DNA pinged several alleles, proving a potential familial match. A familial match to him.

It couldn’t be. No.

But the boy looked to be about the same age as he would have been, after Jason did a quick bit of mental math. But the hair and eyes were all wrong.

Pursing his lips, he continued on to the next sub-folder, titled ‘Amity Park’, where there were several links to the local newspaper and tv reports, as well as, oddly, a copy of the local high school yearbook.

The next file, labeled ‘Danny Fenton’ started off with a facial comparison scan with the black and white school photo, matching 97%. Basic stats filled out on his profile included a more accurate height and weight (thanks to the school nurse and a touch of hacking, though, worryingly, there were no hospital records past the age of 13 ), along with stating that he lived with his Mother, Father and one older sister. That he was adopted in a closed case that had a suspicious amount of missing information from the birth parents, seeing as he was estimated to be around four at the time of adoption.

That… that tracked. Even with the photo now being in black and white, he could see that Danny actually had dark hair as a civilian.

According to the school records, Danny had been in the top tenth percentile, ready to fast-track it to the junior NASA program when his grades and attendance suddenly tanked when he was 14, approximately two years ago and soon after starting high school. His grades had improved, but they were nowhere where they had been previously.

Alongside this page was a timeline of Phantom spottings that lined up with the dip in his academic record near-perfectly.

The last file, and the longest, was about the Fenton family. Drs Fenton and their published articles, labeling themselves ‘ecto-biologists’ and their studies of ghosts. Twenty years of published articles, studying ghosts, only to switch from theoretical to more concrete ‘evidence’ in the same two year period that Phantom had been around.

Jason pursed his lips. If he was reading between the lines here, and, knowing Bruce, he was, The kid needed to be pulled out of whatever situation was going on there.

Somehow making it to the end of the reports, the last one made him stop cold. He had no doubt that Bruce put it last, just to make him read the whole damn file. There, on the cover of Women in Science magazine and framed by two red headed women- mother and daughter, he noted absently. He assumed it was Dr. Madeline and her biological daughter Jasmine- was a boy staring back with the same blue eyes that looked back at him in the mirror every day.

“Tanner.”

Scrolling back to the top, he stared at the picture Bruce had taken only days ago. And now that he’d seen it, he couldn’t not see it. They, while Danny’s was Lazarus Water green, shared the same eye and nose shape, though Danny’s jaw was still rounded with the remnants of baby fat, it looked familiar as well.

Without taking his eyes off the photo, Jason pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering between Bruce and Barbara for a time unknown before he finally hit the latter’s name. Less than two rings later, despite it being -yikes- four-thirty AM, she answered.

“Oracle, I’m going to be out of town for at least the next few days. Tell Bruce not to wait up for me.”

“What-“ He didn’t even let Barbara finish her question before hanging up and stuffing the phone into his pocket. Though thinking twice, he turned it completely off and tossed it onto the couch. He had some packing to do and an early morning start to a long drive. Amity Park wasn’t exactly a trip to Metropolis.

Chapter 2: Hello foot-in-mouth my old friend

Chapter Text

“Danny, that guy’s still staring at us.”

“You mean, he’s been staring at Danny.”

“Yeah, I see him. He has an ectoplasmic signature. Kinda like a halfa… but not.” Both teenagers blinked and tried not to look between the two while Danny hid his blatant staring back behind his straw.

Ecto-what signature? He’d heard the phrase in passing, listening to his reader recite several of the Drs’ Fenton latest research papers on the drive over, but frankly, the corn fields he’d been passing at the time were more interesting. He probably should have paid more attention. And Halfa? That one was completely new to him.

“You gonna do something about it?”

“He hasn’t attacked yet.” Danny pointed out reasonably, frankly more interested in his meal than the stranger staring at him from across the restaurant. Thanks to being the son of ‘those ghost-obsessed weirdos’ (A common phrase he’d heard when asking around when he arrived), he was used to a fair amount of staring, Jason assumed. The public were always waiting for him to spring up and start shouting about ghosts like his parents were prone to do.

“Well, I am.” Standing up, the goth girl beelined straight for him, her arms crossed in a self-confident pose. “Who the f*ck are you?”

“Sam, no!” Danny reacted too late, trying to pull the girl, Sam, away with little luck. “I’m so sorry about this. Sam’s a bit… protective.” Danny turned to Jason with an apologetic look when he couldn’t move the girl without outright picking her up. And with her attitude and what Jason could only guess were steel toed doc martens, that seemed like a bad idea.

“No problem.” Jason waved away the confrontation, very nearly struck dumb seeing Tanner, no, Danny up close.

He had only gotten to town an hour or so ago after a thirteen hour ride on his bike across the country, and was only out to grab a quick burger or three before crashing in his hotel room for a few hours. What he hadn’t expected was that before he could take his first bite, the target of his curiosity, along with two friends, entered and split, two to the tables and the third to order their food, like it was a normal routine. The girl even greeted the cashier like another acquaintance.

There he was, right there, after over a dozen years, whole and healthy. And that’s all he could have asked for. “Are you happy?” Slipped out before he had the conscious thought to stop himself.

“Excuse me, what?” Danny blinked at the question.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as Alfred would say. Jason leaned in, his arms crossed over the table, pushing his wrappers aside. “Are you happy here? In Amity Park?”

“I… guess so? It’s just like any other city around here and the crime rate is nearly nonexistent, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s a pretty normal place, so long as you don’t let yourself get sucked into the whole ghost-thing we have going on here.”

Danny gave Jason a confused look before he finally managed to push Sam away and back to their own table.

That was… n’t ideal. He had completely f*cked it up. And how else should the kid have reacted, staring like a stalker and then asking if he was happy? Now he sounded like a complete creeper.

Sighing, Jason leaned back in his booth and rubbed his face tiredly. There was nothing for it now. He needed food, a good hot shower, and a nap, preferably in that order. Maybe then he could pull that foot out of his mouth and do some proper investigating. It’s like Bruce hadn’t taught him how to be a detective while he was running around in Dick’s hand-me-down scaly-roos.

Absently noting that Danny was at least being fed well here, even if he was a little on the scrawny side, he settled himself to finish his own food and leave. The way that the trio pulled out thick textbooks, he could tell that they were settling in for a study session. It was good to see that he, or at least his friends, were putting effort in to raise his grades.

Later that night, after a well-needed nap, Jason laid awake on the cheap comforter of his motel bed and tossed a folded pocketknife up into the air, just to catch it before it bonked him on the nose (again), contemplating his next move. He couldn’t exactly go in like he originally planned as Jason Todd-Wayne, interested in bringing FentenWorks under the WayneCorp umbrella, without looking like a complete stalker. Then again- he looked over at his Red Hood helmet, sitting on the small side table- he had brought his vigilante costume. From the articles that he read, he would likely be able to get the Drs Fenton to think that Batman Inc. would be interested in some anti-ghost tech.

A flash of light through his curtains drew his attention. Standing up, he peeked out the window and looked up. In the sky flew Phantom, fighting a trio of octopuses… Octopi? Decision made, he didn’t allow himself to overthink it as he tossed on his armor and helmet and quickly made his way to the roof. Time to hopefully make a better first impression.

Getting to see the end of the fight first hand as the octopode -octopus, multiple- were sucked into what indeed looked like a soup thermos, he waved. Curious, Danny floated closer, absently clipping the canister back to his belt. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Jason spoke, instantly grimacing. Hello, foot-in-mouth, his old friend.

“Shouldn’t you be in Gotham?” Phantom quipped back, both a little confused at why a big-time vigilante would be in his tiny barely-qualified-as-a-city haunt, and borderline offended at there being a vigilante in his territory when nothing was going on. Where were they when the entire city disappeared off the face of the planet for three whole days? Or any of the other many, many incidents where a little professional help wouldn’t have gone remiss.

“I’m…” Here to see you? No. I’m looking for my-? No. Hey, you bled around Batman and he’s an invasive dickhe*d. No, definitely not. Still… “Batman sent me.”

“Oh.” Danny blinked, sinking six inches while looking down in confusion. “…why?”

Jason could have easily just told Danny the truth right then and there, exposing both himself, his whole family, and Danny’s civilian identity as well. “He likes to keep tabs on Meta kids that pop up.” There, a nice neutral, but true, statement. “Especially ones that try to be heroes.”

“Hey!” Danny bristled, his hair flowing like a flame for a moment before he calmed down. “There’s no ‘trying’ here. I am a hero. I’ve been doing this for nearly two years now.”

Jason nodded in agreement. The kid had done well, from what he had read in the newspaper articles, for not having any apparent mentor. “Sorry, my bad. You’re right. Still, you’re still a kid though, even if you’ve been doing this for years. Nightwing’s been doing it since he was nine, and he still comes to Batman for a second opinion when he gets in over his head.” Or Tim. Or Barbara. Hood was only good to go to if you needed a mercenary, or an in into Crime Alley.

“What about you? I thought you used to be a Robin too.” Jason froze at that. He hadn’t expected Danny to outright know that piece of trivia. Not many outside of Gotham did. Hell, not many in Gotham remembered that.

As much as he wanted to scoff and tell him that he was independent, that would be counterintuitive. “Yeah. Sometimes. Though most of the time he and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye on certain things.”

Danny, surprisingly, nodded along with a bittersweet look on his face. “Know how that goes. It’s gotten… better. But I do have a mentor, of sorts, if that’s what Batman is worried about.”

That was… good to hear. At least he had someone, even if, judging from Danny’s expression, they weren’t the best mentor. “Partially. He likes to check in, regardless. You can say he has a bit of a problem like that. Taking in all sorts of kids and turning them into vigilantes. Even if he doesn’t exactly turn them into a Robin first.”

“Too late for that. Maybe I would have taken his offer up two years ago. But at this point, I think I have things pretty much figured out.”

“Looks like it.” Jason nodded and Danny must have taken it as the end of the conversation. “Wait!” Jason threw up his hands, like he would actually be able to grab Danny by the ghostly ankle and make him stay. “Listen, I, uh…Look.” Jason grimaced, not liking how the conversation had hit a natural conclusion. “Another thing that Br- Batman ran across researching you. He’s a paranoid asshole. He was thinking of adding some anti-ghost weapons to his arsenal. Any suggestions.”

Danny grimaced, only imagining what ghost tech could do in actually competent hands. Still, it was Batman asking. He generally didn’t go around shooting first and asking questions later. Though, Red Hood, the one standing in front of him and doing the actual asking, had an actual body count. But still, Batman. “Uh… I’m really only familiar with FentonWorks, but my… Drs Fenton have managed to make a few non lethal (to ghosts, most of the time) weapons. I wouldn’t deal with anything DalvCo or the Ghost Investigation Ward related. They’re definitely geared toward the more lethal side of things, for both humans and ghosts.”

“Good to know.” Jason nodded, taking mental note to send those two names back to Tim and Bruce. If they were making lethal weapons, they probably needed to be shut down. “We were already going to go with FentonWorks designs.” Here, he saw an opportunity. “Do you think they would be willing to talk to me about their products?”

“I…” Danny bit his lip and reluctantly nodded. “They’re very… passionate, about ghosts. And… yeah, I don’t think they’d mind setting up a contract with Batman.” Good. This was good. He could see what kind of environment Danny lived in.

“Are… you willing for me to talk to them?” Jason confirmed, not wanting to do anything that would scare Danny off.

“I… yeah. Though,” And here, Danny floated almost uncomfortably close, close enough to feel the chill radiating off of his skin, and hovered a hand over the cheek of his helmet. “I’d be careful if I were you. That corrupted ectoplasm in your system might trigger their anti-ghost defenses.” With that, Danny literally just vanished. The air still felt chilled, but he didn’t know if it was the dropping temperatures from the quickly descending sunlight, or if he could still feel Danny hovering close by.

Still, Corrupted ectoplasm? Did he mean the Lazarus waters?

With Danny gone, Jason didn’t see any point in staying outside, though the chill followed him until he opened his motel door. Taking one last look around, he slipped inside. Maybe he should start in on his reports, detailing his first two encounters with Danny. First with Fenton, then with Phantom.

Absently checking the time, and determining that it wasn’t too late that Bruce would have gone to bed, nor early enough that he was still mid-patrol, Jason took a controlled breath, held it and then slowly released it before hitting ‘call’. Normally he wouldn’t involve Bruce in his cases, but the older man was already involved with the get-go, along with likely a number of the rest of the family as well.

“Report.”

“And hello to you too, Bruce.” Jason sassed back immediately. It sounded like Bruce was probably researching something on the Batcomputer, with the clicking of keys in the background instead of street noise. “Made it to Amity Park in one piece, thank you for asking. I’ve already encountered Danny in both his civilian and meta forms. First at a local fast food restaurant. It looked like he was there for a study session. I… may have given him the impression that I was stalking him, so he has his guard up already against ‘Jason.’ After dark, ‘Hood’ met up with ‘Phantom’ after capturing what looked like… three…” Oh, this sounded so stupid, saying this out loud. “Floating green octopus ghosts.” He was cringing and it was only worse at the complete silence on the other end of the line.

“…You will need to fill out a complete incident report by the time you get back.”

“…I know.” Jason sighed before getting back on track. “I told him that you sent me to check in on him… and that maybe you would be interested in some anti-ghost weaponry and was shopping around. Phantom mentioned both a ‘DalvCo’ and ‘Ghost Investigation Ward’ as two more sources, but likely inferior quality.”

“I’ll make note to research the companies.”

“The thing is, I was planning on saying that Wayne enterprises would be interested in their tech… but with my civilian identity blown, I brought up Batman Inc. instead, so…”

“You want me to make introductions “

“I need you to make introductions, yeah.” Jason agreed reluctantly. Bruce, as much as he hated to admit it, had a way of opening doors that Jason, even as a crime boss, couldn’t.

“…Are you planning on telling him?” A little bit of Bruce slipped in through Batman’s voice.

“…Yeah. I think so. Extend that olive branch, at least. I’ll see how it goes during our next meeting.”

Bruce grunted, fully back into his Batman persona. “I will call tonight to set up the meeting, after we have more information.” The click of being disconnected -and the dial tone alerting briefly after- marked the end of their conversation. Pulling his phone away and glaring it with a moue of distaste, Jason tossed the phone aside. With nothing else to do, he decided to get comfortable and work on his own research. Out of town, he may be, but he still had work to do. Crime bosses (and antiheroes) never slept, after all.

Humming to himself as he typed, he debated whether it was a good thing or if he should just call Bruce back to tell him about the whole ‘corrupted ectoplasm’ comment. He decided to leave it be. A rose by another name, and all that.

Chapter 3: The Result of Bad Handwriting

Chapter Text

“Dann-o! Get the door!” Danny grumbled, but did as asked. His parents had been in a frenzy all afternoon, preparing for an ‘important guest’ that they just kept conveniently forgetting to tell him the name of. He had an idea, but it was too soon. They had put on their best hazmat suits (the ones with the least amount of ectoplasmic staining) and were polishing their most impressive inventions (Read: most lethal weapons) in preparation of showing them off. In the meanwhile, they had set Danny to deep-clean the lab, to a degree that it looked almost brand-new, while Jazz cleaned the ops center. All at the cost of time he should have been spending on his homework.

Just in time, too. He had just gotten out of the shower (how did they manage to congeal ectoplasm and why was it sticky) and had pulled on a NASA tee when the doorbell rang. With hair dripping into the towel around his neck, he went to open the door, just to stop short of the knob. There was that presence again. The same one from the man in the Nasty Burger yesterday… and Red Hood last night. He hadn’t consciously noticed the similarity last night, still mid-patrol and covered by the lingering traces of Vlad’s ectopuses in the air. Having random people with ecto-signatures was just the norm in Amity Park, and he would have guessed the same in Gotham, if what he read from Red Hood’s aura. What other city would be such a likely contender for ‘America's most haunted city’ than Gotham? (Aside from Salem… and New Orleans. Yeah, Gotham and Amity Park were definitely both on America's top ten.)

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Danny opened the door, just to slip outside and close the door behind him. “Who are you really and what are you actually doing here?”

The man, ‘Red Hood’ he could only assume (but Batman was infamous for not letting meta in his city, let alone his team. Having an ectoplasmic signature would count as being a meta in most of the world, wouldn’t it?) stood on the stoop, staring down at Danny for an almost uncomfortable amount of time before he spoke. “Batman called earlier. He sent me to see your parents’ inventions.” ‘Like I asked you about last night’ went unspoken between them.

Before Danny could reply, the door flew open behind him, revealing a mountain of a man with a wide grin that split his face. “Danny! Why don’t you let our guest in? Mr. Hood, I’m so glad to meet you! Come in, come in. Would you like some fudge before we get started? Danny’s such a big fan of yours, he probably wanted to meet you alone before we start blathering on about Ghosts!”

Jack, not letting them speak, herded them into the living room, where Maddie was standing behind a coffee table just filled to the brim of precisely laid our weaponry, including a concerning amount of guns, Jazz standing beside her reluctantly.

“Why, when Mr. Batman called earlier, we jumped for joy. Providing weapons against those nasty spooks is a dream come true! Maybe you could even put in a good word for us with the Justice League, eh?” Jack nudged Red Hood, who visibly had to brace so that he wouldn’t be knocked down by the friendly shove. “Ah, where are my manners?” Jack shuffled around the coffee table and inserted himself between the two women, pulling them both into his sides. While Maddie melted into the embrace, her hand over Jack’s heart, Jazz looked a bit like a rag doll. “I’m Jack Fenton, and this is my lovely wife, Maddie, and our daughter Jazz. You’ve already met Danny.” He gestured to the teen that stood behind his back.

Visibly startling at Danny- he hadn’t heard him move from the door- Red Hood turned so that the whole family was in his field of vision. “We met yesterday, yes.” He eventually spoke, making Danny narrow his eyes.

“Great!” Jack clapped his hands, breaking the tension unknowingly. “Now, how about that fudge?”

“Or maybe something to drink?” Maddie interjected, gesturing to the couch while perching on the arm of a double wide recliner that looked well-loved, with some… what looked like glowing green stains and scorch marks. The couch itself had a cover on it, likely covering the same or similar marks.

“No, thank you.” Red Hood replied, reluctant to sit on the couch, so just stood with his hip just barely resting on the back corner.

“Danny, dear, could you and Jazz grab a glass of water for Mr. Hood and the plate of snacks? It’s getting late, so you can go to bed after, if you’d like.” The sun was barely setting outside, but the two kids took the excuse to leave while they could. A silent conversation in the kitchen as Danny fished out glasses and got his parents’ their preferred drinks as well as the glass of water for Red Hood passed between them. Jazz, while not a halfa, had a limited ability to stay unnoticed because of her liminality, would remain on the stairs to listen in. Danny, in full ghost form, would remain in the room, invisible and nearly undetectable.

Nodding at each other, Jazz entered first with the snacks and set the plate down in an empty-ish corner of the table, handing Jack his soda. “Night, Daddy.” She said with a smile, kissing him on the cheek.

“Night, Jazzerincess! See you in the morning!”

“And if we don’t, the best of luck with your college tour! You’re gonna knock them dead! I’m glad you decided to take that tour this week!” Maddie stood, giving Jazz a hug, bussing her daughter’s hair.

While this was going on, Danny dropped off the other glasses of water before backing off. While their parents were fussing over Jazz, Danny tapped into his invisibility and floated up to the top of the curio cabinet, perching there.

After Jazz left the room, Jack saw Jason looking around. “Ah, Danny likely headed off to bed already. Poor boy, he’s always been a bit shy, ever since we brought him home. It was better for a while, but now he just seems to disappear into thin air sometimes.”

Maddie giggled, nodding her head like Jack had told a joke and nodded along. “You’d think, with how he acts sometimes, that he was one of the ghosts! Now,” She grinned, leaning forward and plucking up the nearest weapon, “Let’s get to business.”

Danny was still definitely in the room. Jason could feel his presence, even if he was currently invisible. And the girl, Jazz, he could feel sitting on the stairs. Her presence was definitely weaker, but the fact that it existed at all startled him.

The best part of wearing the helmet was that it covered any lapses in facial expression he had while the Drs. Fenton went into gory detail on what each one could do to a ghost. He could only imagine what each one would be able to do if they ever caught ‘that pesky spook Phantom’. ‘Molecule by molecule’ had been mentioned at least a handful of times that, if they were talking about humans, the Drs. Fenton would have been tossed into Belle Reve.

He could feel his eyes take on a green cast as the Pit rose, pushing him to punish Tanner’s adoptive parents. He would have to get him out before they did something permanent… more permanent than what their neglect had caused already.

“And this,” Maddie picked up what looked like a clunky PDA with a mini satellite dish attached (He swears he’d seen at least six of this same invention just in his time as Robin. None of them doing anything good). “Is the Fenton Finder. It detects ghosts!”

Powering it on, the device immediately beeped to life. “Ghosts directly in front of you. You have to be a blind moron not to see them.” The female AI said before Maddie sheepishly turned it back off.

“Darn thing’s never worked inside the house. I think it pings off all the ectoplasm we have stored in the fridge. It works much better and we have an improved version installed in the GAV. We’ve managed to track that menace Phantom quite a few times before he’s managed to slip our grasp.” They… genuinely wanted to kill Phantom. There was no way they knew that the ghost that they were set to kill lived under the same roof as they did.

“Speaking of Ectoplasm! Wanna go see the lab? Dann-o just cleaned it earlier today, so you’ll hardly see any ecto-stains on the tables!”

No, he didn’t. He wanted to get Tanner out of here and never come back. And possibly take the older sister with them. “Lead the way.” He said instead, standing up and gesturing for them to do just that. Jack stood and bound toward the door to their basem*nt, holding it open. While Jason was tall at over six feet, he felt tiny standing next to the man who had the mass of Bane gone to seed, but the attitude of a puppy. In contrast, Maddie moved like a trained fighter: she knew how to move her body to the best advantage.

Bracketed on either side and not liking it, he followed them down to the basem*nt, then a sub-basem*nt that was larger than their modest brownstone would imply, likely going under the street outside or at least one neighbor’s house as well. This definitely wasn’t within the city building codes. Then again, the giant metal structure on top of the building, nor the large neon sign, were either.

Looking around, Jason noticed Danny’s presence hovering invisibly by the top corner by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t feel him pass them in the stairwell, so assumed he could drop through the floor intangibly or teleport short distances. Mentally, he updated Bruce’s meta profile on the kid to include invisibility and the aforementioned intangibility and/or teleportation.

He let himself explore the lab while the Drs Fenton explained some of their larger inventions. Including a pair of blast doors that, when Jack pushed a special ‘Fenton bio-lock’ button slid open, revealing…

Revealing a vertical Lazarus Pit. Jack kept talking, but it all sounded like water in his ears as he stared at that swirling green that induced both rage and nightmares in turns. He was brought out of his swirling thoughts by the whoosh of the doors slamming back shut. Shaking his head to clear it, he stared off to the side, only to see a blue man in overalls, gloves and a knit cap do a little celebratory twirl before flying up and through the ceiling.

A moment later, Danny’s presence disappeared as well.

“Now, how about we see the Ops Center? I bet Batman would really get a kick out of that one!” Jack, threw his arm around Red Hood and herded him back up the stairs, oblivious to the fact that he had just released a ghost into the living world through an artificial Lazarus Pit.

As soon as he could pull himself away from the Drs. Fenton, Jason left. He’d seen mad scientist laboratories with a better moral code (and less OSHA violations) belonging to Batman’s rogue gallery, and that was really saying something. And it was Danny that apparently cleaned said lab, not the parents. Hell, Bruce wouldn’t even let any of the Robins near the lab part of the cave until after they passed their high school chemistry classes, and he still cleaned everything up himself- or made whoever used the lab last do it. And there was no way that Danny was using the lab… right? Hell, the Demon Brat still wasn’t allowed by the lab tables!

Not having sensed Danny’s return after chasing after the overall-clad ghost, Jason decided that it was simpler to wait for Danny’s return on a rooftop down the street than to try to chase him down… or wait for him to confront him at the motel.

He was lucky. Only a few minutes later, Danny floated by, determined to get home. His legs were replaced by a wispy nebulous cloud. Was that… normal? Danny didn’t look like he was freaking out about the change, so he assumed that it was. It was obvious that Danny didn’t see him as he breezed right by. At least, that was until Jason’s sharp whistle drew his attention.

Watching Danny look around a moment, he decided to give him a bit of a hand and stepped out of the chimney’s shadow. “Over here, Phantom.”

His eyes widened and he immediately flew closer- faster than Jason expected- and put his finger to his lips. “Ssshhh! Do you want my- them to hear you?”

Jason looked between Phantom, to the eyesore of an OPS center three buildings down, and back. “I think we’re good. Still, can I talk with you?”

Danny narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, floating back a good few feet and well out of easy grabbing range. “…Why? Are you stalking me?”

“…Yeah, kid, I am.” Jason eventually confessed, raising both his hands to show that they’re empty. “But just hear me out, I have a good reason to.”

Danny froze, from his hair to his wispy tail, it was like, just for a moment, he was a complete statue. He took a deep breath- Jason hadn’t noticed until just then, but Danny hadn’t actually breathed once until then- and gave a terse nod. “You’d better explain fast.”

“Okay, yeah, I can do that. But first, can I take off my helmet? You know what I look like, and I know what you look like, so let’s be at least a little comfortable for this, yeah?” At Danny’s hesitant nod, he removed his helmet with a sigh of relief. As useful as it was, he wasn’t fond of breathing filtered air for hours at a time. Swiping a hand through his sweaty hair, he fluffed it a bit so that it could dry some. Then he sat down, leaning against the chimney at his back.

“Okay,” Danny sank down as well, his tail curled up like a snake’s so that he looked like he was perched on top of a meringue. “Talk.”

Jason grimaced at that. Kid sounded like Bruce on a bad day. Or mini Bruce on a good day… so it might just be a teenager thing after all. “So, yeah. Batman sent me after he talked to you during those riots last week.” Danny looked vaguely confused, but waited for Jason to continue, so he did. “And, yeah, he usually investigates unknown meta kids himself, but he got a hit on the blood sample you left behind.”

Danny’s expression turned dark, while his eyes started to shine with Pit Madness. “I didn’t leave him a blood sample.”

“Yeah,” Jason shrugged at the look on his little brother’s face, internally praying that he wouldn’t be attacked, because he had no clue how to actually defend himself from Danny’s abilities without possibly hurting the kid. “But you bled. And like I said before, Batman’s nosy like that.”

“Is he going to sell me out to the GIW?”

“What? No. If anything, he’s gonna start shutting them down. Along with DalvCo and probably your parents as well.” And if Bruce didn’t, well, it had been a while since his last murdering spree. He was about due, according to the rest of the family. He’d been too… PG for their comfort lately.

“Ah.” Danny bit his lip, looking off to the side. “Look, my parents are trying. It’s not like they’re evil or anything, and some of their inventions are useful.”

“Their inventions are about as useful as dynamite. Well-intentioned, but lethal.” Reluctantly, Danny nodded in agreement. He was lucky he healed as quickly as he did. If his parents saw just how damaging their weapons were, it would be bad news for him.

“…Danny.” Jason leaned in, his unmodulated voice lowered and earnest. “Do you feel safe here.”

“…They’re my parents, Red Hood.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded, understanding. “But if you had the chance to leave? No strings attached? To go someplace that you’re guaranteed to be safe.” Danny’s silence was all that he needed to say. Jason nodded in agreement before sitting back up so that he wouldn’t hug the kid. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“I can’t go to some Meta group home. I’m not a meta. Ancients, I’m no longer even technically considered a sentient being anymore. Not since the anti-ecto acts passed.”

Jason inhaled sharply at that before letting out a controlled breath. “We’ll get to that part later. But first, no. We- I, We- weren’t thinking of sending you to a group home. Look… Bruce ran your DNA, what of it he could, because yikes it was corrupted, apparently. He does it as part of his standard testing ever since Da- the Demon Brat showed up and claimed to be his biological son. And it turns out, well, we’re related.” Jason’s voice fizzled out, gesturing between the two of them.

“…Who’s Bruce?” That wasn’t the question that either of them were expecting to come out of Danny’s mouth. Mostly because Danny’s brain had frozen at the thought of being related to The Red Hood of anyone in the world. And that he had actually come himself to see him. Batman, he could handle, hell, probably one of the other Robins, but somehow he was being given a welfare check-in by one of the few heroes in the bigger community that he admired. And he was apparently related to him, on top of everything else.

“f*ck!” Jason slammed his head back into the brick chimney. “He’s… f*ck me. He’s my adopted dad.” He may as well go all-in. He had a feeling that by the end of the conversation, if not the end of the week, Danny would know everything anyway. And then he realized what else he had said that he had actually wanted to ease Danny into. “sh*t. Did you know you’re adopted? With what Dr. Jack said-“

“Yeah… I knew.” It was Danny’s turn to speak quietly. “So, you’re my dad then?”

“What?” Jason squawked, glad he wasn’t drinking any water, or he would have likely inhaled some. “How old do you think I look, Kid?”

Danny shrugged and turned away just enough to hide his little smirk. “I mean, with the-“ He reached up and tugged on his own bangs, right where Jason’s white streak was. When in doubt, deflect. He needed time to think and distracting your opponent was a tried and true method to buy time.

With a wordless yell, Jason lunged, his arms thrown wide in a very projected tackle. Cackling, Danny dodged, turning intangible when Jason actually got close enough to touch him. “Like you’re one to talk, Casper!”

“That is true.” Danny shrugged, gladly leading Jason on a low-speed chase around the roof, just barely staying out of reach. “But at least mine is uniform.” They both knew that if Red Hood really wanted to catch him, he would, even if Danny could easily slip out of his hold.

Eventually, after a few laps, Danny’s thoughts caught up with him and he came to a hover. “If you’re adopted too… did that mean they didn’t want either of us.” It also meant that Red Hood was his brother.

Jason came to a stop too, a little closer than before but still far enough away that Danny would be comfortable, even if he did want to hug his younger brother after a statement like that. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a handful of centering breaths.

“Our bio parents… they were all trash. Willis spent half his time in jail, and Catherine, when she wasn’t high off her ass, was turning tricks to get high. I was fine with it. I was tough. I knew the streets and how to get what I wanted and where to get it from. But then you came along and I just. I didn’t want to see you have to go through the same things I did, so I… gave you my favorite blanket and wrote a letter for your future parents before I left you in one of those baby boxes they have outside the police department and prayed that you’d get a good family. Or at least a better family than the one you left behind.” He whispered the last of it, staring over at the Fenton house.

“…I’m happy with the family I gained. I love my sister.” Danny stated, just as quietly, staring at his home for the past decade.”

“…And your parents?”

“…They were better before my accident.”

Jason nodded, understanding. “The same one that-“

“Yeah. A working portal to the ghost zone is their life’s work. Doesn’t matter that it killed their son in the process of turning it on. But, from what I’ve seen, the accident just sped up the inevitable. Ecto-contamination was bound to give me at least some sort of ghost-powers eventually. Jazz is liminal and, with your contaminated ectoplasm, you are too.”

“…You keep saying ‘contaminated’ ectoplasm. With my-“ Jason pursed his lips. It was always difficult talking about his death. Everything was fuzzy around the edges. Everything except the color green. “When they brought me back to life, they dumped my body in a normal Lazarus pit.”

“…A pit. Of naturally occurring ectoplasm?” Danny thought hard on the few lessons he had gotten on the ghost zone from various ghosts. There were thin spots, natural portals, between dimensions, but a pool of ectoplasm?

And then he remembered. “Oh, ugh! Ew!” He squawked, zipping to the other end of the roof and covered his nose like he could actually smell the contamination. “They dumped your body into a cesspit?”

“They what?” Jason grimaced back, suddenly needing a shower.

“A trash pit, someplace to dump-“

“I know what a cesspit is, Tanner!”

“…Is that.” Danny blinked at the odd flutter in his core at the name. “…was that my name?”

“Yeah. Sorry. But I’ll stick with Danny if you prefer.”

“No, Just I…” Danny flew back in close, hovering at eye level with Jason. “What was my name?”

“Tanner James Todd. You had a hard time with your ‘T’s and ‘D’s, so you would say your name was ‘Tanny Dodd’. I guess somewhere along the line something happened. That, and my handwriting as a kid was atrocious.”

“Tanner.” Danny said to himself, just to feel the little shiver in his core again. “Yeah, that feels… right.”

“Whatever you’re more comfortable with.” Jason reached out cautiously, and Danny- Tanner- actually let him touch him. His shoulder was surprisingly solid, but also cold to the touch, like touching polished stone.

“…You know, I can fix it.” Danny spoke up after a while, biting his lip in thought.

“Hmm?” Jason was just reveling in being able to touch his brother.

“Your ecto-contamination. I mean, I can't get rid of the ectoplasm, because it’s literally part of you now, but I can help you flush out the contaminated parts. Your core might be able to stabilize better afterward.”

Jason was about to reply, but a phone chime sounded between them. Danny pulled his phone out of… somewhere on his pocketless and half-incorporeal form and frowned down at the screen. “Ah. Bed check.” Danny stated sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jazz is wondering what’s taking me so long, since it was just Boxy that escaped this time.”

“Boxy?” Jason half chuckled, a curious note in his voice. It wasn’t any worse than any other rogue name out there.

“The Box Ghost.” Danny shrugged, that same tilted grin on his face that Jason had. “I know you saw him leave too.”

“Ah. Overalls guy.”

“Yep.” Danny nodded before turning away, pensive. “Look, I… Can we talk? More, I mean. Later.”

“Yeah, kid. I’m planning on staying in town for at least a few days. And tomorrow’s Saturday. Just tell me a time and place and I’ll meet you there.”

“Yeah, good, great.” Danny thought for a moment. “Do you mind if I bring my friends and Jazz along?”

“They-“

“Know everything about me. Well, most everything. They know that I’m a Halfa and at least Tuck knows I was adopted. And Jazz is the one that told me about the day they brought me home, so she does too.”

“And your girlfriend, Sam?”

“Sam, yeah. But she’s not my girlfriend.” Jason just raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. “We met later on. And I don’t know if it ever came up. Tuck only knows because he was there the day I started kindergarten after being adopted.”

Humming, Jason nodded in understanding. “Let's just keep things to Jazz for now. Things might come up that we might not want everyone to know. Like my secret identity and everyone else’s aren’t exactly mine to tell.”

“Yeah,” Danny nodded. “I got that. At least Jazz has gotten better at the whole ‘secret identity’ thing since she found out.”

“So where would you like to meet?”

“Hmm…” tilting his head in thought, Danny mentally checked through most of his usual hang-out spots as being too public. “We can meet at the park. I know a spot that’s pretty quiet and the three of us can just pretend it's a picnic. We’ll even bring snacks and a blanket.”

Jason quirked his lips and shook his head in disbelief. “Sounds like a date then.”

“We’ll meet you on the corner of Fourth and Crow around… is 10 too early for you?”

“Nah, that sounds fine. You don’t sleep in much then, do you?”

“Jazz is a morning person.”

“Ah. Know a few of those. Strange people. Yeah, we’ll make a day of it. I have a feeling we’ll need it.”

“…Yeah.” Danny agreed reluctantly. Moving slowly and giving Danny plenty of room to dodge, Jason pushed his luck and gave his younger brother a hug goodbye before sending him off home. He watched as he turned invisible as he got closer to the house and slipped inside. Not two minutes later, a green dome surrounded the whole house, the same shade as he was quickly learning as ‘ectoplasm green’.

Chapter 4: Weapon safety is important

Chapter Text

“You’re here!”

“Don’t sound so surprised, kid.” Jason, after a serious debate and a visit from the Spirit of Batman Past telling him not to do it, decided to meet the Fenton siblings as Jason Todd, not the Red Hood.

After a detour to the town’s seemingly only open coffee shop (cut him some slack, he’d been pulling a Tim and doing his own research for the rest of the night) to grab their local hot caffeinated special (‘Ember to Remember’ It was… blue, but surprisingly good), he made it to the meeting spot with enough time to spend a good few minutes people watching. It turned out that the town’s park was surrounded by the hip-height wrought-iron fencing that was usually found around cemeteries. He had to give it to the ‘most haunted town in America’, they knew how to keep to a theme.

Closing in on each other, Jazz held out the hand that wasn’t holding what looked like a thick wool blanket. “Hello, I’m Danny’s sister, Jazz.”

Smirking, Jason grabbed Jazz’s fingers, turning the back of her hand upward. “Jason.” Bending over, he pulled her hand close enough that she could feel his exhale before straightening back up. “Danny’s brother.”

“O-oh!” Jazz squeaked, not expecting anything more than a simple, but polite, handshake. “It’s nice to meet you. Officially, I mean. Danny told me a little of what happened last night. Should we- should we go? I brought a blanket!”

Danny, getting tired of Jazz’s fumbling, grabbed her elbow and held up a grocery bag. “Hope you don’t mind food from the quick-e-mart. The hotdogs tried to unionize with the fish sticks again.”

“…What…?” Managing to get both his big siblings -and wasn’t that a thought- to start moving, he steered them into the main park and away from the kids’ playground and through some trees.

“Don’t worry about it. At least we solved the problem before the rotisserie chicken got to the steak knives this time.” Both Fenton siblings shuddered in unison.

“…Is that… some sort of code or something? I mean, I would have been down for pizza, you just needed to say so.”

Danny and Jazz exchanged a look before Danny huffed out a reluctant laugh and turned to walk backwards up the trail. “Not really. Most of the time the sentient meat products aren’t much of a problem- Dad even has a deal going on with the hot dogs. Has them trained to be part of the house security and all- but sometimes they start having actual sentience beyond a dog or cat and then we have to re-kill them.”

…The f*ck ? And now he had a good idea of what it was like to be one of the Batclan when he got to talking casually about murder. Was this even real? What was their life? Was he high? Did he get into Roy’s stash again? Mix the oregano with the weed?

“It’s hard to have a meal in peace when the food tries to eat you back.” Yeah, no kidding.

“And this is why I refuse to eat at home.”

Jazz opened her mouth to protest, saying that fast food wasn’t healthy. But she wasn’t any better some days. Ghost Bean Roasters had her preferred breakfast order memorized and practically made by the time she could make it up to the counter. And just last week she had picked up Danny an order of Phancakes with a side of Booberry sauce as a treat for acing his test. “Yeah, but a salad every once in a while wouldn’t kill you either, instead of Nastyburgers five times a week.”

“Jazz, I don’t think it’s the cholesterol that’s going to kill me.” Oh, good, death jokes he could handle. Reanimated meat products, apparently not so much.

Jason nodded along, both amused at the banter and concerned as f*ck over their home life. He was glad he hadn’t taken anything from the snack plate, since it apparently could- and would- bite back. “Yeah, once you die, you stop worrying about the little things like that.”

“Mood.” Danny nodded in agreement, but Jazz froze, staring between the two with dawning horror.

“You… actually died.”

“Yeah.” Jason tilted his head to the side curiously. “I thought you already knew that. Or that Danny told you last night.”

“No!” Jazz shook her head before closing her eyes and took a steadying breath. “No, I mean, I know that you disappeared for a while and then came back later as Red Hood - Danny’s a really big fan of yours, always has been. His favorite’s always been Red Hood-“

“Jazz!”

“So I heard all about the theories of you dying as Robin and then coming back. But they were just that: theories. Speculation from over-imaginative people on the internet.”

“Do you… Remember what happened?”

“Jazz, that’s rude.” Danny’s green eyes blocked her vision as Jason stiffened behind him. “You know it’s taboo to ask how someone died.”

Jazz immediately backed down, curling into herself self-consciously when she saw the green glow take over her brother’s cool blue. “I- I’m sorry, Danny, I let-“

“No, it’s okay.” Jason cut in, forcing his limbs to loosen. “I’m used to people asking by now.”

“Still, it’s rude.”

“Yeah,” Jason grinned, holding up a placating hand, “but can we go back to me being your favorite hero?”

Danny choked, his cheeks taking on a green hue that wasn’t just a reflection from his glowing eyes, especially when they faded back to his original color. “Please, no-“

“Come on, Danny, it’s not like it's a major secret. Even Dad knows about it, it’s that bad.” Jazz placated as they finally reached the meadow at the top of a hill and started to spread out the blanket. “It’s how we finally got him to the local shooting range. I convinced Mom that, if they were going to leave weapons around the house where either of us could pick them up casually, that we should know how to use them safely. Danny cried the first time we went to the range. He said that it was too loud.”

“It still is.” He grumbled, absently rubbing his ear as he used his intangibility to pin the corners of the blanket to the ground so that it wouldn’t fly away.

“So you both know how to shoot?” Jason toed off his boots before sitting on the blanket, looking at the two curiously. Some of Alfred’s etiquette lessons sticking even when he had thrown most of them out the window. No dirty shoes on clean linen being one of them, even if it looked like the Fenton siblings didn’t hold to that particular standard. That, and being shoeless would make him seem like less of a threat.

Jazz looked chagrined when Danny gave her a pointed look. “Technically, yes.”

But Danny’s snort cut her off. “Just don’t ever give her a long-range weapon.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“ How many times did you soup me again?”

“But Danny’s a really good shot. He gets more practice than he likes to admit.” Jazz ignored the question, much to Jason’s alarm.

“Yeah, but I haven’t gone to the range in months. I haven’t had the time.”

“…You’ve been shot.”

“Well, I mean, yeah.” Both blinked at the alarm in Jason’s face. “At least once a week. Most the time it just stings though, unless Mom actually remembers to turn up the dial after I turn them all back down.”

All three just blinked at each other, two like it was normal to get shot by friendly fire every other day, and the third with dawning horror. The Doctors’ Fenton had made it no secret about actively hunting ghosts and testing their weapons on them, with Phantom constantly being their White Whale. But somehow he hadn’t actually connected that any of their weapons had actually landed. Just how many times had Danny been shot, only to transform and pretend that the person kissing him good night hadn’t just tried to permanently end him less than an hour beforehand? That was… that was wrong on so many levels. At least everyone trying to kill him in Gotham were honest about their intentions.

Then again, maybe Bruce could relate, what with his relationship with Selena… and Talia… Harley/Ivy… Diana. Clark . Yeah, no, relationships in the Cape community were complicated, to say the least.

“…Oh! You meant like with actual bullets. No, I don’t- wait, yeah, I think some of the GIW newbies use normal bullets sometimes. Until they learn that ecto-blasters are more effective.” That wasn't better! Getting shot, whether by energy weapons or by bullets still hurt !

Danny, watching how Jason’s face was turning pale and red in turns, decided to change the subject. “So, what’s it like in Gotham.”

“You’re less likely to get killed by friendly fire from your own family, for one!” Jason exclaimed immediately. “Bruce doesn’t even allow guns in the house if it’s not Alfred’s rifle! And even then, it’s triple-locked in a safe in his room.”

“Hell, unless we’re actively taking them on patrol or fixing them, all of our weapons stay locked up. Except for the Demon brat’s swords, but we’re still working on that.” Jason was winding himself up. “We don’t just leave them lying around for anyone to just randomly pick up and just shoot someone with. That’s dangerous.” Okay, yeah, he actually did, but when he got home, he was building at least display cases for them so that they weren’t just laying out on the coffee table next to his ramen bowl.

“Oh, that’s good. Weapon safety is important.” Jazz nodded, as if she didn’t have to check the couch cushions for random blasters and weapons before she sat down at home. “But what about Gotham itself? I was thinking of going to Gotham U. Their Psychology program is one of the best in the country, with almost immediate interning opportunities at Arkham following after. I think it would be fascinating to study some of the most complicated minds in the world.”

“If you tell me you like the Joker, I’m taking Tanner with me and leaving right now.”

Jazz wrinkled her nose with a pessimistic hum. “I don’t think he’s insane, honestly. At least, not to the point of not being in control of his own actions. He knows exactly what he’s doing at all times and it’s just lazy to call him insane. He gets away with far too much, being put in an asylum instead of, say, death row. He doesn’t need help. He needs stopped.”

“Someone like Dr. Harleen Quinzel though, I would love to talk to her. Not to assess her, but just a normal conversation between students of the mind.”

“So, you think she’s crazy though?”

“I mean, maybe a little. But then again, given what she went through, most of her actions were the mark of a survivor trying to appease her captor. A fawn reaction, if you will, as opposed to fight or flight. And with the liberation of her captivity, found that the limitations that most humans put on each other are superficial at least, and harmful at most. But she would need to make sure she keeps herself in check, that she doesn’t fall back into that survivalist mindset to appease those that she’s in a relationship with.

“So, yeah, while Dr. Quinzel may act crazy still, it’s because she refuses to uphold traditional feminist ideals in a male-dominated world.”

“…Yeah, I think I can pull some strings and introduce you two.” Jason said with a small smile.

“Oh! That would be wonderful!”

“I’ll ask the next time the Sirens get together. They usually do brunch at least once a month and Bruce somehow ends up paying every time.”

“How does that end up happening?”

“Eh,” Jason shrugged, “Bruce doesn’t really keep that close of an eye on his cards. As long as they’re not used to buy anything that can be traced back to drugs, weapons or criminal activities, he doesn’t care that much. I think one of the girls stole a card and he just never bothered getting it back, or he just outright gave them their own cards. I know he does that for the rest of the family.”

Danny narrowed his eyes at that. He knew that Bruce Wayne was rich- who didn't know- but he didn’t like thinking about how rich people all tended to throw their money around like it didn’t matter.

“…Danny, what are you thinking about?” Jazz asked, reading Danny’s expression.

“Vlad.” He responded succinctly, like it explained anything.

But to Jazz, who knew Danny’s issues around rich people in general, it did. “Ah. And the Mansons?” Danny grunted in reluctant agreement.

“Danny, your sample size is too small to come to the conclusion that you have. Wealth does not have a direct correlation to moral ineptitude. Bruce Wayne is also well-known as a philanthropist. He has dozens of charities that he donates to on an annual basis.”

“Most of them are in his name. He’s just paying himself to give himself a good public image.”

Jason looked between the two, seeing both of their perspectives. “Yeah, Danny’s right, he really is a bastard.” Danny looked smug for all of the two seconds it took for Jason to continue, “but his charities also do a lot of good work for Gotham and beyond. Most of them are directed towards kids in rough situations, from sponsoring one of the most well-run orphanages in Gotham, to educational and after school programs. Hell, he sends money my way for the soup kitchens and drug programs I run.”

“Wait, but I thought you were a drug lord?” Jazz blinked, bringing up the little factoid that she had found during her research (Danny was obsessed with Red Hood at one point, she wanted to make sure that he was… a good influence. She still wasn’t convinced that he was, some days, attached to the rest of the bat family or not.)

Jason tilted his head side to side while he thought, chewing on a bite of the sandwich he’d unwrapped in the meanwhile. “ Technically I still am. I did it to take down the major drug lords of the city.”

“And you can’t leave a power vacuum unfulfilled. Like with Pariah.”

“Yes, exactly.” Jason pointed. “…Who’s Pariah?”

In response to the question, Danny looked down and muttered a loose excuse on checking to make sure nobody was around before he transformed and flew off.

Jazz watched her brother fly off with a sigh before turning back to Jason. “Pariah Dark, also known as the Mad Tyrant, is, was, the former High King of the Infinite Realms- the Ghost Zone- before Danny defeated him.”

“And thus, the power vacuum.”

“And thus the power vacuum.” Jazz nodded, staring up at where she last saw Danny fly off. “Danny found out from his ghost guardian a few months ago that High Kings are chosen by Right of Conquest.”

“So Danny’s High King now?”

Jazz waved her hand in a so-so gesture. “He’s the Heir Apparent. We’ve argued for Danny to be allowed the rest of his childhood, but he’s expected to take up the crown fully when he becomes an adult. Danny assumes that he’ll be forced on the throne when he turns 18, but I’ve made an argument that it’s once his education is complete. And if goes for a doctorate, he could stretch out his time here until he’s 25 or even 30, depending on what kind of internship or doctorate programs he could get into!”

Jason, his arm propped on his knee, gave Jazz a small smile. What he would give to be able to go back to school legally. School, while he was still alive, was the best part of getting adopted by Brucie. He’d, for those few years, had the best education that money could buy. But going back now, getting his GED and then a college education with his questionable status of being alive would be… difficult.

“… Danny doesn’t want to rule.” Jazz spoke eventually, quiet as the weight of reality pressed on her natural optimism. “He did it to save all of us from the ghost zone. Vlad, he…” Jazz stared at Jason out of the corner of her eye, sizing him up. He’d already exposed his, and thus his whole family’s secret, she could, and should, trust him with theirs. “He’s the first halfa that my parents’ ignorance created- not that they know that. And between his slow half-death from his exposure and his obsession with Mom even after she chose Dad over him, he’s a bit, well,”

“Unhinged.”

Jazz grimaced at the word, but nodded reluctantly. “I was going to say unstable, but yes. We think that his Obsession is either power or control. This one time, he decided to steal Pariah Dark’s Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, both artifacts that grant the wearer power. The problem was, the crown was still on Pariah’s head. And Pariah was locked in the Sarcophagus of Eternal Slumber.”

“I’m guessing the guy wasn’t dead.” He could see where the story was going, having encountered similar tales multiple times before, even when he wasn’t directly involved: Villain gets idea, villain wakes up something that quickly grows out of their control. Hero saves the day.

“Nope. Just forced dormant.”

“Ah.” Jason nodded in understanding. Assassination rule #1: don’t assume that the target is dead. Ever. “And then I’m guessing Vlad opened the sarcophagus.”

“And Pariah promptly beat the sh*t out of Vlad enough that he actually came to my parents to ask for help.”

“…Wait,” Something didn’t compute there. “I thought that they didn’t know that Vlad was a halfa.”

“They don’t.”

“But then why would they help their college friend with a ghost problem. Did he ever explain…”

“No.” Jazz shook her head, embarrassed to be related to her own parents. “Dad… when Vlad says ‘jump’, Dad doesn’t even bother asking how high, just finds the tallest bridge. And sometimes Mom can slow him down enough to shove him into a parachute. So when Vlad came to them, asking for help with a ghost, well…

“They were working on this ecto-exo-suit at the time, and between the three of them, they finished it- mostly- in about a week. The problem is, while it increased your strength a hundred-fold, it also could kill you if you weren’t careful. I think it manipulated ecto-energy into enhancing your nervous system, but you would have to ask Danny about the specifics. He's the expert here when it comes to Ectoplasm. Even more-so than our parents.”

“Things happened and the whole city was thrown into the Ghost Zone. Danny- in the chaos of everyone trying to sacrifice themselves to use the suit against Pariah- stole it. He was the one to use the suit, combined with his already naturally strong powers, and was able to push Pariah back into the Sarcophagus.

“Since the last time it happened, it was the coordination between several ancients, the crown didn’t pass on, but Danny-“

“Defeated him in single combat.” The kid was strong, he was impressed. But he was still a kid, his baby brother. He shouldn’t have to face threats like that alone. Hell, that’s literally what the Justice League was formed for: to stop world-ending disasters by coordinating adult heroes and sending them where they were most useful. That a fourteen-year-old stopped what would easily become the invasion of the dead taking over the living world with a half-built mech suit . Yeah, no, that wouldn’t happen again. Not on his watch. If the League was ignoring this kid, he would make them listen.

“Yes.” Propping herself back on her hands, she stared up at the sky, scanning for when Danny would come back. “…I’m worried about him.”

“Hmm?” Jason hummed, waiting for her to gather his thoughts.

“I’m afraid. That one day, our, my, parents will go too far. Sure, I’m optimistic that they’ll find out about Danny being a half-ghost and still love him all the same. But the reality is, their ghost hunting comes first. It always has, and always will. I’m going to college this fall, and then he’ll be alone with-“ here, her breath stuttered and she wiped at the corner of her eye. “-with what really has become an abusive situation.”

“I can take him with me. I’m sure Bruce can squeeze him in. He already fits the mold pretty well: a black-haired, blue-eyed kid with heroic tendencies.” He laughed at his own statement, though it went a bit dry at the end with a bitter aftertaste.

“…Would you? Actually take him, I mean.”

“Yeah, he’s my baby brother.” Jason looked down, pressing his thumb into the meat of his opposite palm. “I let him go, hoping for a better life. And if I have to take him back for the same reason, I will.”

“Good.” Jasmine held out her hand in his direction. He only gave her a confused look. “Give me your phone.”

“You know,” He smirked, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “usually exchanging numbers includes a bit of flirting first.” He unlocked it and handed it over.

Looking up from where she was typing in not only hers, but several others as well, she smirked. “We’ll see.” Sending herself a text so that she had his number, she pointed out the four new entries: ‘Princess Jazzmine’ ‘Sam Greenthumb’ ‘Pharaoh Tuck’ and ‘Invis-o-Bill’. “He hates that name so much, so don’t ever tell him I told you.” At his raised brow, Jazz just smirked. “I figured it was safer to put in your phone than our real names.”

“Wanna explain the other two then? I’m gonna guess they’re the other two that Danny was hanging out with yesterday.”

“Where one goes, the other two will inevitably follow.” Jazz explained. “Tucker has been Danny’s shadow ever since Kindergarten, and Sam has been with them for nearly as long. They were both there when… when Danny had his accident.”

Jason understood. “At least he had that. We were worried, at least I’m assuming so, that when we were researching Phantom and couldn’t find a mentor, that he was alone.”

“Not if we can ever help it, even if it seems like we can’t do much to help him at times.”

“Hero support. You have no clue how many times each of us would be dead if we didn’t have people to help pick up the pieces. In the beginning it was just Alfred- Bruce’s butler and foster father- but now we also have Oracle and others as well.”

“That’s- That’s good. I don’t want him to be alone. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be good for him, getting away from here.”

“I’m not leaving.” Danny stated firmly, fading back into existence, his hands both perched on his hips. The ghosts here are my responsibility.”

“ Danny ”

“No, Jazz, I’ve told you this before. I can’t leave. This is my haunt. The house is my lair.”

“But you don’t feel safe.”

“That doesn’t matter. As long as the portal is open, I have the responsibility to make sure the ghosts don’t cause havoc on this side and Mom and Dad don’t figure a way to blow up the other side.”

“Why don’t you just… unplug it, then?” Both Fentons promptly gave Jason the same ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’ look that he sometimes got from Tim when he suggested the expedient solution to making something stop.

After several attempts to start explaining why it wouldn’t work, Danny just went in with the same explanation he told himself every day: “Once the portal powered up, it became self-sustaining, feeding on ectoplasm drawn from both the Ghost Zone and the ambient ectoplasm occurring naturally in the air, like one of those perpetual motion machines. Once the initial charge drawn through (me) the power grid happened, the electric cables became redundant. Besides.” Danny shrugged, “the on/off switch is inside the portal. That’s… that’s what I hit when I tripped.”

And half-killed himself. That also explained why he took responsibility for the ghosts coming through. If it was his accident that opened the portal, well, yeah, that would explain some things. Still, if he never saw the portal himself again, he would be glad. While the Pit had been surprisingly quiet around Danny, it had felt eerily similar to the portal. In the way that a mud puddle felt similar to a lake. And like with a mud puddle, he took a long, hot shower when he got back to his hotel room.

“Is it possible to just blow up the portal itself? Damage it so that it would destabilize and collapse in on itself?”

Danny and Jazz shared a look, Jazz biting her lip while Danny answered. “…Maybe? It’s taken some hard blows already though. The blast doors have been blown off a few times already.”

“It would probably involve blowing up the whole house.” Jazz added on, “And with it being in the lab, it would likely take out the neighbor’s house and half of the street as well.”

Ah, so that sub-basem*nt really was undermining part of the surrounding land. “Alright.” Jason nodded. “We’ll just put ‘blowing up the portal’ under ‘maybe’.”

“How about under ‘no’.” Jazz refuted, Danny nodding in agreement.

“…Okay.” Jason leaned forward, both arms propped on his knees now. “We’ll leave that to be for now. But I gotta ask: do you have an exit plan?”

“A what?” Danny asked at the same time that Jazz nodded her head, “kinda.”

Looking between Jason and Jazz, he settled on his sister and repeated: “What?”

“An exit plan. A Doomsday scenario. For when…” Jazz looked down and hugged her knees, looking up at Danny through her lashes. “For when Mom and Dad catch you. Or the GIW.”

“…Oh.”

“…Yeah.”

“What” Danny’s voice cracked, so he lowered it to a whisper. “Was your plan. And do Sam and Tuck know?”

“Yeah, we talked about it.” Jazz was whispering too. “My ideas mostly involved chucking you into the Ghost Zone, distracting Mom and Dad long enough for you to get away, and praying that you’d make it. Sam and Tucker’s… is a lot more involved. Sam’s been saving her allowance and Tucker has a fake ID already set up for you to use. They were thinking of getting you to at least Chicago, then having you run from there.”

“Oh.” He didn’t like either of those plans. But then again, he had no plan on getting caught by his parents, nor the GIW, any time soon.

“I like the Chicago plan. I can always meet with you there and take you the rest of the way to Gotham. Bruce and the others will protect you. And you know I will too.”

“From Ghost Hunters? I don’t think you guys will have the kind of equipment needed to protect me from them.”

“Not yet, but we will. And besides, Gotham’s a spooky place to start off with, they’ll never find you if you blend right in.”

Jazz couldn’t help a snort, “He has you there. As long as you stay in your human form.” She reached over, tugging playfully at the lock that had a tendency to fall over his eyes.

“Oh, ha, ha.”

“Yeah, Bruce has a bit of a problem.” Jason shrugged. “But the manor is huge, Alfred’s cooking has made demigods weep, and I think you’d get along great with Tim. Which reminds me.”

Pulling out his phone, he took a picture of Danny with Jazz in the background. Sending it to the Chaos Birds group chat he kept being pulled into, he only left the picture with the word ‘Confirmed’ before promptly shoving it back into his pocket. He could feel the constant vibrations from the chat blowing up. He’d leave it to Tim to explain.

“…What…?” Danny asked, a confused half-smile tugging on his lips.

“Had to update the family.”

Danny just made a curious noise, hoping to prompt a better explanation than that from his older brother (and, wow, wasn’t that a thought. He now had two older siblings, possibly more.).

“Buncha nosy busybodies, is what’s what. Bruce made an entire profile on you before he decided to tell me that you still existed. And with that much research, at least Tim and/or Barbara got pulled in too. Which probably got Dick interested, since he’s the family gossipmonger. So likely the entire family knows by now. And if they didn’t-“ Jason just shrugged.

“They do now.” Jazz concluded, nodding along.

“…Why?”

“Because.” Jason leaned in close, keeping eye contact, so they could see how both of their eyes would flash green through the icy blue. “You’re my brother. And even if you’re four states away, that doesn’t matter. You’ve got family that’s got your back.”

Absently, Danny rubbed his sternum, where he could feel his core making a small bubbling sensation that it only got around Jazz, Sam and Tucker. “Oh.”

BiggestDick :

OMG XDhe looks just like you!

BiggestDick :

So Cute!

NoSleep :

New case?

NoSleep :

I’m busy, O can you run facial?

SecretKeeper :

On it

BiggestDick :

littlewing y u no tell me u went 2 meet him :c

SecretKeeper :

the redhead in the background is Jasmine Fenton, from Amity Park, Illinois.

BiggestDick :

I wanted 2 go2!

SecretKeeper :

the boy is unknown, possibly Daniel Fenton, younger sibling to Jasmine, but has little to no social media presence.

BiggestDick :

I wanna meet your baby bro!

NutcrackerNinja :

new Baby Brother 😮🤗

ShineBright :

Is Bruce getting a new kid? Why am I always the last one to know?

Waffles💜 :

He’s adorable!

NoSleep :

Wait, what’s going on here? I thought Jason was on a mission?

BiggestDick :

Nope!

Stabbyheir :

Greyson, explain. Father did not approve any additions to the family.

BiggestDick :

Unknown meta in Chicago. B took a blood sample from the scene and ran it.

BiggestDick :

Jason popped up as a potential family match

BiggestDick :

and B did the smart

BiggestDick :

thing for onec amd let J decide what to do wit hit.

SecretKeeper :

Daniel ‘Danny’ Fenton, born Tanner James Todd. Abandoned to the foster system at age 2. Adopted at age 4 by Drs Jack and Madeline Fenton, ecto-biologists. One older sibling: Jasmine Fenton. Biological daughter.

SecretKeeper :

was in top 10% in his class with aspirations to become an astronaut. Something happened when he was 14. His grades dipped and he started going out as the hero ‘Danny Phantom’. Primary objective: fighting for peace between meta human ‘ghosts’ and humans.

NutcrackerNinja :

found baby brother! 🤗

ShineBright :

I’ll take that bet

ShineBright :

and this one comes pre-trained too!

StabbyHeir :

No, thank you. He will stay where he is. And Todd can stay with him.

NO :

Love you too, Demon.

NO :

And here I thought I was the last one to know.

BiggestDick : D: hey, I cn keep sekrets smtimes!

NO :

Spellcheck, Dick. It’s a thing.

BiggestDick :

NO! XP

SecretKeeper :

Boys!

SecretKeeper :

so…?

NO :

Not a great housing situation. Originally parental neglect with Jazz taking over the adult role in the house. The Fentons will attack anything they deem a ‘ghost’ with extreme prejudice, including Phantom. They don’t know about Danny.

Waffles💜 :

But Danny is Phantom?

NO :

I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation. Jazz and his friends have an exit plan in case things ever go south. Especially since Jazz is going to college this fall.

NO :

they don’t know he’s Phantom.

NoSleep :

Want me to tell Alfred?

StabbyHeir :

We’re not taking in any more strays.

NO :

Yeah, that’ll be great, Timber. Hopefully we won’t need it any time soon, but I don’t want to pull a Bruce unprepared.

StabbyHeir :

I said no, Todd.

NO :

Not your decision, Demon.

Waffles💜 :

What, you don’t want to paint the new baby’s nursery?

NO :

…

NO :

Tanner’s two months older. Sorry Demon, you’re still the baby.

ShineBright :

ASDFGHJKL owned!

NutcrackerNinja :

👶👶

Waffles💜 :

Two Babies! XD

Chapter 5: Hello, bed

Chapter Text

“So… How was the trip?” Dick swung around the door frame. He’d barely gotten to his safe house and he was already dealing with home invaders.

“Hello, bed, I missed you.” He stated instead, staring down at his pillow as he tossed his go-bag off to the side. Not even bothering to toe off his biking boots, he fell face-first diagonally across his bed.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Little Wing.” Jason could hear the exaggerated pout behind him as he felt the hand on his calf. Grunting, he didn’t resist as Dick worked the zipper down. It would have been too much effort. And besides, sleeping in boots and part of his costume was uncomfortable. He would know. “At least tell me what the little spook is like?”

“First off, ‘spook’ might as well be a slur.” Jason turned his head just enough to not be muffled by his down comforter.

“Got it. I’ll pass that along. Casper, then? Snowflake? No. Eh, we’ll workshop that later. Any other big ‘no’s we should be aware of?” Moving closer after putting Jason’s boots to the side, he started working off his protective leather jacket.

“Never call him Daniel. It’s Danny. Maybe Tanner. But anyone that calls him Daniel is gonna get throat punched. And if he doesn’t, I will.”

“Got it.” Hanging the jacket on the hanger on the back of his door, Dick debated on leaving Jason in his uniform pants or not. The built-in armor could be uncomfortable at times, but certainly not the worst. “Aside from that, how was the trip.”

Groaning dramatically, Jason finally flipped onto his back so that he could look Dick in the eye. Rubbing his hands over his face, he finally just left them over his eyes to block out the overhead light. “I wanted to call CPS on that house so bad. ”

“That bad, huh?”

“That bad. Jazz is leaving for college in the fall- She’s applying to Gotham U’s psychology program, so I need to set up her scholarship with Timmy- But Danny refuses to leave. It's like trying to pull a Bat out of Gotham.”

“Ah.” Dick nodded in understanding. You could pull a Bat out of Gotham temporarily, but they’ll always come back sooner or later.

“He feels responsible, Dick. For his- no, Drs. Fenton’s- mistakes. Mistakes that literally killed him. Half-killed him.”

“Half-killed.”

“Yeah. Sounds weird. But the kid can change from being a full ghost, to being an advanced human on command. He tells me that the other ghosts call him half-a-ghost. Or Halfa. And there’s at least one other halfa out there named Vlad that seems like one of his rogues.”

“Did you-?”

“Yeah, it’s all already in Bruce’s reports.”

“Ok.” Dick nodded. “Hey, do you wanna eat something before you pass out?”

“I’m good.” Jason flopped his hand vaguely in Dick’s direction before starting to blindly work his belt off.

“Cool. Alfred sent over some premade meals for whenever you’re ready. Night, Little Wing.” And with that, he turned off the light in Jason’s room and closed the door most of the way.

“…Night dickhe*d.” Sighing into the dark, he finally shimmied off his pants and wormed his way under his blankets for the night .

Chapter 6: Pulling a Bruce

Chapter Text

His weekly call was late. Jason stared down at his phone, willing it to start ringing with the name ‘Baby Boo-ther’ on screen. It’d only been an hour or two since their planned calling time. Everything was fine. He was a teenager, he probably got caught up hanging out with his friends. Or one of his rogues picked a bad time to escape.

Still, he texted Jazz to ask if she’d heard anything. Those two, especially after Jazz had started college classes last month, texted seemingly every other day. Or, at least she texted Danny to remind him of the small things, like homework and to eat something green (He wasn’t sure if she meant veggies, or ectoplasm. It could have been both. And wasn’t that a wild day when he saw, on video chat, Danny pluck what he called a Blob Ghost from mid-air and eat it like a mini cupcake.).

When she texted back an hour later to say she hadn’t gotten any response from Danny all week, but sometimes that was normal, he gave up and called the kid.

The call went straight to voicemail.

The pit stirred, unease settling in his gut. Danny always had his phone on him. And the only time he didn’t was when he was in the Infinite Realms. And he usually gave Jason a heads-up if he wasn’t going to be available for their normal call.

Sure, last week’s had been a bit early because he had been going into the Zone, but he was only going to be unavailable for a few hours.

Jason:

when was the last time you two talked?

Princess Jazzmine:

Last Saturday. He texted me that he was going into the zone for a few hours to talk to CW and FB about something.

Jason:

Nothing since?

Princess Jazzmine:

No. I’m going to text Sam and Tuck. They always respond.

Princess Jazzmine:

sh*t

Princess Jazzmine:

They haven’t heard anything all week

Princess Jazzmine:

Sam went over Monday. Mom said Danny had the flu.

Princess Jazzmine :

Danny doesn’t get sick. Not since the accident.

The feeling in his gut increased and he was suited up and on his bike, speeding toward the cave before Jazz finished typing her last text:

Princess Jazzmine:

Something’s wrong.

Princess Jazzmine:

Call Sam.

Barely avoiding launching his bike off the platform when he parked, Jason took the stairs three at a time up to the main Bat-computer.

“Jason- what?”

“Move, Replacement, I need the computer.” Reading the latest text from Jazz, he scrolled down to Sam’s untested entry and hit ‘connect’ and ‘speaker’ at the same time. Putting down the phone while it rang, he pushed aside Tim’s chair (it hadn’t been Bruce’s chair in years, Bruce just borrows it sometimes) with the younger cape still in it and starting to type, diving deep into the files that he’d buried in the main computer months ago.

“Hello, this is Samantha Manson.” A vaguely familiar voice answered tersely.

“Sam, Jazz told me to call you.”

“Oh, thank f*ck. Where are you?”

“Sam, who’s that?” A quieter voice came from Sam’s end, male and at least several feet away from the speaker.

“The Calvary. Red Hood.”

“Not quite the Calvary, but close enough.” Jason smirked, remembering all the things Danny had told him about his friends and the antics they got up to each week.

That smirk quickly fell when he activated the bat-bugs that Danny had planted throughout his house. And from what he was seeing, he was glad that the volume was currently turned off to the live feed. “…sh*t.” Shaking himself out of his horror, he forced himself to focus. Losing time to the pit now wouldn’t help anyone.

“Is that live?” Tim asked, taking over the computer and minimizing all but the screen that showed what was happening. He started to hack the bugs to try to find the location.

“Yeah. That’s their basem*nt.”

“What? Is Danny down there?”

“Yeah. And he’s not alone.” Jason couldn’t stop staring at the screen as both Drs Fenton stood by a table, Danny, as Phantom, strapped down to it. The Drs looked like they were having an enthusiastic conversation, Maddie using a scalpel to point at places on Danny’s bared torso. Places that were bleeding both green and red. He couldn’t tell if it was the screen or his vision that was slowly tinting green.

“Sam, I’m in- Oh Ancients!” The screen flickered as Tucker hacked into the bat-bugs as well.

“Tucker, right?”

“…Yeah?” The voice got closer to Sam’s phone, tinny screams matching the ones on the bat-computer were in the background. The pitch increased as Maddie made a long cut down his sternum. The blood trails indicated that this wasn’t the first cut in that place.

“Danny says you’re a great hacker and you know the Fenton’s systems. I’m not going to be there nearly in time, so you two will need to be the Calvary.” Jason spoke calmly, hoping, praying, that he wasn’t making a mistake in putting his faith in his brother’s partners. “The first thing you need to do is pull out of the cameras. You don’t need the distraction and we already have them pulled up here in the Batcave.

“I- okay, yeah.”

“Have you backtraced him yet?” Jason murmured into Tim’s ear so that the phone wouldn’t pick them up.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Good, just watch for now. Interfere only if you need to.” Tim nodded, another window popping up, showing the screen of what Jason assumed was Tucker’s infamous PDA.

“Okay, in the meanwhile, I need you two to prepare what you need to. You can’t just jump in immediately. As long as he’s alive, we have time to plan, okay?”

He got tentative agreements from both teenagers, which would have to do for now. “So, what were your plans on getting Danny out?”

“…”

The silence on the other end was unnerving while they waited for Sam and/or Tucker to speak up. Amity Park was a 13 hour drive away, far too long for what could be considered a hostage situation. And the bat plane would be too conspicuous, unless…

With a few buttons on his phone and pulling out his ear piece, Jason connected his phone to his com line, opening it to the bat computer as well.

“Do you both have your Fenton Phones with you?” Jason grimaced at the name, but needs must.

“Y-yeah, we do.”

“Good. First rule of being a vigilante: keep your hands free.”

“Got it.” There was some shuffling and Tim watched Tucker do something quick with his PDA, and suddenly both their voices were much clearer.

In the meanwhile, Jason went over to the Bat-plane and started hauling over the fueling hose, giving the plane a pre-flight check while he topped up the tanks.

“Your plan?” He prompted again once he realized that the kids weren’t saying anything.

“I can hack into their security system and shut it down long enough for us to sneak in and grab him.”

“That’s a good start. How are you getting past the Dr’s?”

“I’ve always wanted to make sleeping gas.”

“…Let’s not.” Jason tried to scold through his grin. It was definitely something that Stephanie would say during one of her more manic periods. “Besides, do either of you even have gas masks?”

“And besides,” Tim interjected. “By the time you made a high enough dose to knock out the man, you might have already killed Danny and the woman as well.”

Sam said nothing to that, but did let out a disappointed grunt of frustration.

“Jack’s not really the one that we’re worried about.” Tucker spoke absently, integrating his PDA slowly enough into the Fenton systems that he would have been a ghost in the machine if Tim wasn’t closely following his every move. “Jazz and Danny have never talked about it, but Maddie has some killer moves. She’s been trained to fight at one point.”

Yeah, Jason had already suspected that, seeing how she moved, both on the video currently playing, and when he had the tour of FentonWorks.

“And she’s not afraid to shoot to kill.” Sam stated grimly. “It’s why we’re always making sure that her weapons get turned down every time we find one.

“Yeah, let’s not repeat the Lipstick Laser incident.”

“…The what?” Tim sputtered. Lipstick laser sounded like one of those spy movie gadgets that- why didn’t they have any lipstick lasers?

“Yeah. I can only imagine how much that thing would hurt. I’ve seen it go through the two inch thick plate steel that they use as blast doors in the lab.”

“…Seriously?”

“Tim, you’re drooling.” Jason said absently, pulling out the fuel line from the tank.

“Am not!” The rustle of cloth on check crossed their lines as Tim wiped his mouth. “And how did you know, You’re all the way over there!”

“It's because I know you Tim-ber. That and I can see dissected parts of FentonWorks weapons all over the table in your work area.”

“Can you not say ‘dissected’ right now, man?” Tucker asked weakly.

“Ah, yeah, sorry.” Finishing up his external checks, he swung up into the co*ckpit to check the internal systems. “So, plan.” He prodded once again.

“So, once the systems are down, we sneak down into the basem*nt and grab Danny.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’s going to be walking out of that basem*nt any time soon.”

“Right, yeah, I saw.” Sam spoke through gritted teeth. “That’s why we’re going to Soup him in the meanwhile.”

“You’re going to what?”

“That’s probably for the best.” Jason spoke over Tim’s squawk. “Ghost storage device. I know you’ve watched Ghostbusters. The Fenton version is shaped like a soup thermos.” Tim just made a confused noise, but knew better than to ask details (at this time).

“It’ll keep him in stasis until we can get him patched up.” Tucker added on. “Though I don’t think bringing him to my house this time is a good idea.”

“And my parents will kill me if they find out I brought him to mine.”

“Do you think you can get to Chicago?” Jason asked, finishing his checks that he could do before turning the plane on.

“Why can’t you come to Amity?”

“Too high of a risk. If someone spots a rogue bat-family member in the middle of nowhere, Illinois, they could possibly track-“

“You want to hide him in plain sight.”

“Yeah. And I heard that your original bug-out plan included Chicago already. There’s a lot of ways in and out of that city, so it's a great place to lose a tail. Plus, if you can find your way there, it's about the same time if I fly out there.”

“…Yeah, I can do that. Bubbie bought me a car for my birthday. And she’s always liked Danny more than my parents do.”

“Have I said it lately: your Bubbie’s the best.”

“She was the one that taught me how to fix my clothes and fight The Man.” Sam hummed in agreement. “I think she’d approve of totally kidnapping Danny.”

“Oh, one hundred percent.”

“Speaking of, I’m ready to go when you are.” Tucker pressed a final button and the stylized ‘F’ in the corner of the screen of his PDA changed to the ‘D’ that was the same on Danny’s Phantom suit.

“Mind if I piggyback and download their files?” Tim asked.

“Dude, go right ahead.” The cursor on the Bat-computer wiggled without Tim touching it, “You guys just have to let me see your setup some time. The size of your memory banks alone is amazing. It was at that moment that Tim realized what had taken so long wasn’t that he was hacking into the Fenton systems… but theirs.

“Oracle!” Tim would forever refuse to acknowledge his squeak of terror at that realization.

“I know already Red Robin.” A computerized voice spoke up over the main speakers. “Pharaoh, good to see you again.”

“Oracle!” Tucker chirped. “You ready for the upload?”

“Hit it.” The bat computer spazzed for a moment before a progress bar popped up, files being created and neatly tucked away as they were uploaded.

“Wait, you know each other?”

“Well, yeah, dude. We’ve been talking for a few months now. My computer pinged as soon as you started looking into Danny and I backtraced you back to Gotham. And then Oracle jumped in and started hacking me. And after we started duking it out for a while, we finally got to talking. Turns out we’re both really protective of our chosen families.”

“I’m still impressed that you’re managing to pull all this off with a 20-year-old PDA and programming that the rest of the world hasn’t seen in at least a decade.” With both hackers working together, they tucked the entirety of FentonWorks’ computer system into the bat computer to go over at another time.

“Yeah, well, you work with what you got, and ambient ectoplasm really does a number on tech in the first place.”

“Not to mention Technus.” Sam added on, peeking over Tucker’s shoulder.

“I still can’t believe that Portals ‘95 freezes him up every time.”

“Honestly, Portals ‘95 bricks most tech these days.” Oracle stated, her voice modulator still couldn’t scrub her dry tone.

“And yet, I can still get it to run!”

“…I’m not sure if I’m scared or impressed that you can do that.”

“Thanks!” Tucker chirped, the upload finishing with a flash of green and an old-fashioned black-and-green pop-up window stating ‘Would you like to install anti-Technus firewall? Y/N’

“Uh…”

“Dude, if you don’t want it, that’s cool. I’ve found though, that most hackers don’t know what to do when faced with a firewall that looks like it's from the 90’s.”

“…What?”

“Just click yes, Baby Bird.” Oracle advised, using Dick’s nickname for him. “Sometimes a simple brick wall is more effective of a barrier than a laser grid.”

“If this bricks the Bat-computer, you’re the one that’s going to face Batman’s wrath.” Tim warned as he hit ‘Y’ and let the program install. “ I had nothing to do with this.”

“Right, now that you two have had your techno-geek fun, is it time to go?” Sam spoke up.

“Where are you two, right now?” Jason spoke up, grinning as Tim jumped in his seat as Jason reached over him to pull up the cameras once again.

“Outside FentonWorks. We’re ready to go in when you give the go-ahead.”

Pursing his lips, Jason shook his head. “No, pull back. You’ll go in tonight when they’re asleep. You don’t have the weapons or abilities to force your way in, so you need stealth.” Taking a breath, Jason pulled the family card. “What would Danny say if you got hurt.”

The only response he got to that statement was a sound that only barely qualified as human, and was definitely leaning more towards a snarl. “Go home for a few hours, eat dinner, take a nap. Come up with an excuse why you’re not going to get home until late or not until tomorrow morning, if you’re both coming to Chicago. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Fine.” Sam snarled as her line went dormant.

“Please do.” Came the quieter agreement from Tucker as his side disconnected as well.

“Oracle?”

“Pharaoh still has our line to the security system in FentonWorks open and on standby. He’ll be monitoring the situation from his end remotely as well.”

“Good. That’s good. I need to call Jazz.”

Turning away, Jason went to a corner of the cave where he could still see the screens of the Bat-computer, but he could still pretend to have some privacy in the echoey space. Sitting on the floor, he leaned against the cool stone wall and released a sigh before pulling up her number.

The phone didn’t even finish its first ring before it was picked up. “Danny?”

“No, it’s Jason.” He knew what she was really asking, but wanted to stall. “So… good news is, found out why he wasn’t picking up.”

“…It’s not the flu, is it?”

“…No.” Taking a breath, they both knew what he was going to say next, but neither wanted the words spoken out loud. “They found out.”

“…sh*t.” Jazz exhaled, reluctant acceptance and pain coated her whisper. “Is he-“ she couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Still alive… as alive as usual. We have a visual on him now from the cameras installed in the house.”

“Good. That’s good. Means there’s still a chance.” She didn’t have to ask about the cameras, she was the one to help him convince Danny to install them in the first place before he left back to Gotham.

Jason nodded to himself. “Yeah. We have most of a plan figured out, we’re just waiting on the safest time to get them out. Are your parents more day or night people?”

“They’re not my parents. Not anymore.” Jason nodded in agreement, making a mental note to have Alfred draw up two sets of paperwork, not just the one, after this all went down. “They’re more like ‘work on the project until they collapse or finish it’ people. But I did make them install a timer that shuts down the lab after 18 hours of active time to force them to go to bed. I wanted it to be after six hours or the time that Danny was getting out of school, but, compromise.”

“Got it. And can they override it?” Could Tucker override it to force them out of the lab sooner?

“No, it’s an independent system wired straight to the lights in the lab with a Christmas lights timer.” Jason looked into the middle distance, blinking in disbelief. The lights in the lab… were turned off with a glorified egg timer.

“Well… if it works.” Standing up, Jason went over to the computer and opened a new screen, independent of the live feed, and started scrolling back the time stamp, hour by hour. “Do the kids know about the timer?”

“I’m… not sure. Tucker, probably. Danny was the one to install it, since he could get behind the drywall and wire it directly into the lights of the lab without having to cut a hole in the wall. But we installed it a couple years ago and they’re usually good about not triggering it. At least, when I was there, they were. Now, I’m not so sure.”

“At least we have a time frame we can look into now. That’s something.”

“Yeah. Do you have any other questions or updates for me?”

“No, not right now.”

“Oh. Okay.” Jazz paused. From the silence, Jason could imagine that she was biting her lip in thought. “I’ve got class in the morning. But- But keep me updated, okay?”

“I will.” Jason promised, noting the time stamp when the lights to the lab turned on that morning. “Night, Princess.”

“Night, Knight.”

“Oh, I never thought you’d be sweet on someone there, Jason.” Barbara cooed, her voice modulator turned off since it was only them in the cave.

“Shut up.” Continuing on reversing the time stamps, he wrote down every time the Drs. Fentons left the lab and came back, logging their patterns, until he hit the inciting incident.

The time stamp stated that it was the previous week, about the time that Danny usually called him. But he had called early because his parents were gone for a date night out and he could sneak into the Ghost Zone for a few hours. It turns out, date night ended early. Or at the very least, the Drs Fenton decided to move their date night down to the lab.

The portal swirled and Phantom stepped out, mid-yawn before transforming back to human, still with his eyes closed. Opening his eyes, he saw his adopted parents and, in the moment that their eyes connected, all hell broke loose. Jason switched cameras, to watch the moment that Phantom and Danny being one registered on their faces. He didn’t have to have the sound on to hear the rage in Dr. Madeline Fenton’s face when she screamed ‘what did you do to my boy?!’, or when she grabbed the almost comically large gun off the nearest work table, shooting Danny at near-point blank range and blew a hole the size of his head out of the side of his torso.

Dr. Jack Fenton, almost in an act of kindness in comparison, shot Danny with an electrified net, electrocuting him until he passed out from the pain. Dr. Madeline then directed her husband to pick Danny up and strap him to the table with restraints that glowed ectoplasm-green. While Madeline’s back was turned, Jack stood over the table and stared down at the unconscious boy. Looking over at his wife, he made sure she wasn’t looking when he stabbed Danny with a syringe close to his wound. Petting his hair away from Danny’s face, he dumped the empty needle in the trash and went over to his wife.

Behind them, the gaping wound already started healing closed, saving him from bleeding out from the normally fatal wound.

“That was… something.” Tim finally spoke up, not knowing just how close he was to death, simply by being within Jason’s immediate reach. Instead, Jason just hit fast forward as they watched Danny’s torture in quadruple-time.

One thing that they noticed though, was that while Madeline was ruthless in her ‘experimentation,’ every time that she came close to killing Danny, Jack would distract her with a smile and a kiss, escorting her upstairs, either for a meal or to sleep, but not before sneaking an injection of something into Danny behind her back.

They counted 16 injections. 16 times where Jack had pulled Danny back from the brink of complete death.

17, if they counted the one Jack had just given him when they caught up with the live feed. Jack had both of of his hands on Madeline’s shoulders, his lips pressed to her neck in a nuzzle. They assumed that he said something, since her eyes lit up and she turned to face her husband, dragging him up the stairs with a salacious grin on her face, ignoring that the glove on his arm left a feminine handprint that was more red than green.

“He’s distracting her.”

“Yeah.”

“When do you think he figured it out?”

“I don’t know.”

Pulling back, Jason rubbed a hand down his face. “f*ck. I gotta update the kids.” Feeling disgusting just watching a near-week’s worth of torture, Jason turned toward the stairs. “I’m gonna grab a shower and a coffee. You want one?”

“Six shots. With creamer.”

“So… your usual. Gonna stay up and watch the feed?”

“Gotta update the others when they start coming in.” Jason grimaced, praying that he’d already be in the air by the time Bruce got back from patrol. Frankly, he was surprised that Alfred hadn’t come down already to check on Tim.

Making his way upstairs, he found two go-mugs sitting on the counter, in his and Tim’s Alfred-assigned colors. Taking a sip from his, he found it to be Alfred’s latest chai blend. Setting it down next to Tim’s Caffeine Beast, he made his way up to the family wing, intent on taking a quick shower before calling the kids.

“Ah, young master Jason. Good evening.” Alfred greeted, as if he hadn’t known Jason was there as soon as he came roaring into the cave hours beforehand. In his arms was a set of sheets and towels. “I was just freshening up the guest suite next to yours. What color theme do you think I should use this time around?”

Blinking, caught off guard with the question, ‘When…?’ “Uh… Navy, silver, neon green. Something like that. He likes stars.”

Alfred gave Jason a small smile, bowing shallowly as he passed Jason down the hallway. “Very good, sir. I shall keep that in mind, then.”

It wasn’t until scalding hot water was pouring down in the shower that Jason had realized that he had just… pulled a Bruce, with his little brother nonetheless. And there was no doubt, Danny was going to be his now. There was no way for him to host Danny in his small 1-bedroom apartment, not while he was recovering. Danny, sooner or later, was going to end up at the manor. Hell, Alfred had probably been quietly preparing Danny’s room for months now, ever since he had gone and confirmed that yes, he was family, and he was in a troubling home situation. Both just two more points on the ‘Bruce Adoptee Bingo Card’, on top of Black hair (sometimes), Blue eyes (in the correct light) and a self-sacrificing aptitude. B.I.N.G.O.

Chapter 7: In and out

Chapter Text

Making his way back down to the Cave, Jason dialed Tucker this time. “Update?” The self-professed techno-geek greeted, skipping right over all phone etiquette.

Jason passed over Tim’s Toxic Sludge and stared at the screen, which showed an upstairs hallway with a light on under one of the doors. “How bout you two first.”

“Right! Uh… Well, I told my parents that I’m having a late-night study session over at Sam’s with Danny. Which they know actually means we’re having game night… on a school night. And Sam told her Bubbie the truth, so she’s covering for us. I’ve got both of the go-bags for Danny packed in the car, and gathered up as much ectoplasm as we can get our hands on without going inside. Danny’s hurt, so he’s going to need it to help speed up his healing. I mean, some Ecto-dejecto would be for the best for healing, but we never got around to stealing more after… after the last time Danny needed it.”

“What does Ecto-dejecto look like?” He had a good guess that that’s what Jack had been injecting Danny with, and after Tucker’s quick description confirmed the theory, he moved on. “I think that’s what Jack has been giving Danny every few hours.”

“That’s not good.”

“Sam?”

“How Danny described them was that they’re like adrenaline shots. They’re great for kickstarting the healing process, but nothing replaces purified ectoplasm for any real recovery to happen.”

“And if Danny was already low on energy in the first place…” Tim saw the same thing Jason did, that Danny was tired as he crossed the portal, with slowed reflexes borne of complacency and knowing his environment.

“It’s going to be bad.” Tucker agreed, the clinking of glass was in the background of his line. “I’m going to put the ectoplasm vials on the top of the go-bag. As soon as you get him stable, offer as many as he’s wiling to take. We’ll try to grab more while we’re down in the lab.”

Jason shook his head. “In and out. The longer you’re there, the higher chance you’ll get caught.”

Sam grunted out a reluctant agreement, though she wanted to protest that the three of them have snuck in and around all the levels of FentonWorks for years now without getting caught.

“I’m serious.” Jason growled, like he could read her mind. “In. And out.” And now, he was sounding like Bruce.

“Got it.” Tucker agreed verbally. Though Sam didn’t say anything, he had to trust that Tucker would be able to keep her in check.

“Now, Jack took Madeline upstairs. It looks like their bedroom light is still on, so be on standby. Once it turns off, give it about an hour for Jack and Madeline to fall asleep-“

“Dude, we don’t need to wait that long.” Tucker interrupted. “Mr. Fenton snores loud enough to wake the dead- trust me. We’ll only need to wait like 15 minutes, max, once the light gets turned off.”

Sam’s snickers corroborated that statement, so Jason, reluctantly- let that be noted- let them take the lead in that. Speaking of, the camera in the upper hallway glitched and the low sound of talking came through what they now knew were Tucker’s PDA’s speakers.

“We’re driving over there now.” Sam stated, the jingling of keys and the start of the engine completed her statement.

“Right. Tim, Oracle, you two coordinate things. I’m going to head out.” He turned after making sure that Tucker’s PDA was patched in with the comms and batcomputer and jumped up into the co*ckpit. It’d been a hot minute, but piloting the bat plane was like riding a bike.

“Okay, Sam, right? Remember to park out of sight, but not so far away that you might get caught getting back to the vehicle, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“ Sam.” Tucker’s voice gave a warning.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s like we haven’t been doing sh*t like this for the past two years for Danny already.”

“Still, they have more experience. Maybe we should, I don’t know, at least take their advice?”

“Is Jack asleep yet?” Sam cut off, despite them both still able to hear the low chatter of the Drs Fentons.

“Not yet, no.” Sam parked around the corner to the Fenton’s brownstone and turned off the engine, but didn’t remove her hands from the wheel. “ Sam… ?” Tucker questioned, inviting her to speak after a few minutes of splitting his attention between the screen showing the upstairs hallway and that slit of light under the door, and watching Sam trying to knead the steering wheel like she was attempting to turn it into bread dough.

“ A Week, Tucker. ” She finally exploded. “It took us a week to do anything. And then when we finally get in contact with the one guy that can actually get Danny out of it, he practically just turns around and tells us to do it ourself.”

Looking down, Tucker saw the bat symbol slowly rotating in the corner of his screen, indicating that they were still on active comms with the batcave. “And where would we have hidden him from his parents, Sam?” Tucker spoke quietly. “They would know immediately if he was at my house, and your parents would rather dump him on the street before helping him. And you know Bubbie is one more independent thought away from your parents locking her up in the ‘best retirement home’ they can afford- likely across the country.

“At least this way,” Tucker intentionally didn’t take his eyes away from the screen, afraid to see what expression was crossing Sam’s face as she processed his words. “Danny will finally get the help that he needs. And, hopefully, this way it’ll throw them off long enough so that they won’t find him. You saw the video too, Sam. There’s no way that he could have run away on his own once we got him to Chicago. And it’d be suspicious if one or both of us disappeared as well.”

“I hate when you actually have a thought bounce around your head.”

“Hey, it has to happen sometime.” Tucker grinned, pulling a reluctant one from Sam as well. “Not all of us can be Danny ‘plans on the fly and succeeds’ Phantom.”

At that point, they both heard the thunderous snore nearly rattle the PDA out of Tucker’s hand. “Wait.” He reached out and put a restraining hand on Sam’s wrist, and with the other, put a timer for 15 minutes that they both watched closely.

A short eternity later, a happy jingle left the PDA and the two exited Sam’s car. “Remember,” Tim’s voice came from their Fenton Phones, making both of them jump. “Quick and quiet, in and out, no delays.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Walking around the corner, Sam pulled out her spare key from her keyring and then looked up, frowning at the anti-ghost barrier glowing green. “I’m not risking the thermos getting stuck.”

How fast can you get it down then back up again?”

“About two seconds if I’m hardwired in. Five if I’m doing it remote.” Tucker reminded her.

“Right.” Sam nodded. “And Maddie might see the flash.” She spoke to herself, turning to Tucker. “I’ll pull the car around, drop the shield, then you hop in.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Sam held up the key in question once they crossed the barrier, ineffective beyond a mild buzzing across their skin, waiting for Tucker to disable the internal security systems. With a nod, she unlocked the door and they both slipped inside.

Nothing had changed in the living room since they had been there last, nor for the past decade, so they easily crossed the room with nothing but the ambient glow of the ghost shield through the windows.

Getting to the door to the lab, they made sure the door was shut completely behind them before Sam turned on her phone flashlight. While the stairwell was dark, they had enough light in the lab to clearly see the torture surrounding Danny while he was still strapped to the table.

“Danny!” Sam hissed, carefully dodging half-dried dark and glowing puddles as she carefully made her way to the center of the room.

Danny’s head rolled, facing vaguely their direction, but his eyes were unfocused. “S-s…”

“Yeah, Danny, Sam. Tucker and I are here to get you out.” She tried for a chipper note, smiling to hold back her tears.

“N-n-“ His head lolled the other way in a weak shake of his head.

“You’re gonna be okay.” Tucker handed over his thermos, the cap already removed. She pointed and pushed the button, sucking him up. “I love you.” She told the thermos as she handed it back over to Tucker to cap and secure back in his bag. “…Right.” She looked around, grabbing what looked like a glove with glowing green lines running along the back of the palm and fingers.

“Time to head out, you two.” Oracle reminded, not liking the look on Sam’s face.

“In a minute.” She spoke distractedly. “Tucker-“

“Ectoplasm. On it already.” He was by a cabinet, pulling vial after vial and packing it in his bag, next to Danny’s thermos.

In the meanwhile, Sam had put on the glove and flexed her fingers, humming happily when large claws popped out of the back when she formed a fist. “Don’t mind if I do.” Swinging down, the claws took a good chunk out of the edge of the exam table. “ Very nice.”

“ Sam!” Tim, was it? Hissed in her ear.

“I’ll be quiet.” She assured, looking around at what else she should slice up. The claws didn’t take a great force to use, so it was quiet as she slashed her way through a good portion of the Drs Fenton’s lives work. Including the bio-lock that she knew would open the blast doors over the portal. She knew that wouldn’t stop them for long, but hopefully that would keep the portal closed for at least long enough for Danny to recover. Or even longer if the Drs Fentons decided to rebuild their lab and weapons first.

Coming over to Tucker and the ectoplasm storage cabinet, she looked over how many were left. “You good?”

“Yeah. I grabbed as many as I could.” He showed Sam his bulging bag, the thermos now clipped to his belt and his pockets stuffed with even more vials.

“Good.” With a single slash, she slashed the cabinet, sending the remaining vials flying, glass breaking when it all hit the floor.

“What the f*ck, Sam?!?” Tucker squawked in a low hiss, echoed by Tim over the comms, as he caught the cabinet as it fell, easing it down to the floor, saving it from a crash. “What happened to stealth?!”

“There. Now it looks like some ghost rescued Danny. Hopefully.” She observed her work, spotting one glaring thing left. “But knowing them, that’ll be their first thought anyway. Hey, do you need their desktop in one piece to delete the camera footage?”

“Their security cameras have been malfunctioning as of half an hour ago.” Oracle reported.

“Awesome. Tuck. Any last words before I murder a computer?”

“Don’t do it?” Tucker said with an awkward grin, “Yeah, it’s all good. I uploaded all the files to the bat computer earlier.”

“Cool.” She punched the claws through the old fashioned tube monitor first, then simply sliced the tower to ribbons. “ Now, we can go.”

“Somehow I keep forgetting how violent you can be.” Shooting a sharp grin over her shoulder, they snuck back up the stairs and out the front door. Carefully locking back up, Sam ran for her car while Tucker hid in the shadow next to the brownstone’s front staircase. Within the next 30 seconds, Sam had the car pulled up to the sidewalk and she popped the passenger door open.

Taking a deep breath, Tucker gave Sam a thumbs-up and pushed the button. The barrier faded and he sprinted for the car, diving in as he hit the button again to bring it back up. Sam peeled away as soon as the door shut. She was already two streets away by the time Tucker finally situated himself and secured his seatbelt.

“Right, off to Chicago. We did pack some snacks, right?” Danny was secure in the cup holder between them and the stolen bag of ectoplasm shared the footwell between Tucker’s feet.

Chapter 8: Hurt him, and you’ll be plant food

Chapter Text

“…Did they really…?” Jason’s comms were turned off to the teenagers, talking to the cave privately while he flew. Oracle had already figured out an empty lot where he could safely land the Batplane and that the teens could easily get to. When they got closer to Chicago, she would send the coordinates to Tucker’s PDA.

“I’m surprised that she didn’t pick up that baseball bat in the corner.” Oracle commented, after giving a by-play of what happened in the basem*nt.

“Nah, That's Jazz’s. I heard she has a mean swing with it too. Sam’s usually the one with one of the bazooka-based weapons.”

“…What?”

“Bazooka- based weapons ? As in, more than one?”

“Yep. It’s in my report. Or, if you want some light reading, there’s now their entire computer. ” Seriously, the Fenton’s only escaped the ‘evil/mad scientist’ label by the skin of their teeth. At least, before last week, they did. When they got back and Danny was well on his way to recovery, Jason would take personal delight presenting the Drs. Fenton to the Justice League for judgement, right alongside the so-called anti-ecto acts. It wasn’t often he got to play lawyer.

“Hey, I’m gonna check in on the kids. They’ve been quiet.” Jason warned before he switched lines. “How’re you two holding up?”

“Wishing that someone -Tucker!- would have taken his damn driver’s ed test already.” Sam growled, but otherwise sounded as good as they could, being on the road at one am with school the next day.

“Hey, I’ve been busy!”

“Doing what, flirting with Star again?”

“ No, Sam, I’ve been tutoring Star. There’s a difference.” Sam’s snort of disbelief begged to differ.

“Hey, looks like we’re both about half an hour out. If you need, I’m sure there’s some energy drinks tucked away in storage, if you want.”

“Are they-“

“We’ve got both organic, all-natural and pure chemical varieties. Robin’s a vegan too, and then we have the caffeine-addict’s.”

“Ooh.” He could hear the war in her mind between the morals of an organic energy drink, against the need of high-octane caffeine to get her safely back home before school, with possibly time for a nap between the two.

“I’ll just say both.” Tucker suggested. “I’ll drink the one that you don’t.”

“We can do that.” Jason agreed, checking that he was still on-course. Glancing at the map, both the plane and Tucker’s PDA were pinging going the correct direction.

“…Okay, take the next exit, keep to the left.” Tucker murmured. Jason assumed that Oracle had sent coordinates.

“Got it.”

“Sounds like you’re getting close. See you on the ground.” He flicked off the connection and simply breathed for a moment. The green hadn’t left the corner of his vision, ever since Danny hadn’t picked up the phone only… had it only been about eight hours? It felt like longer. It had been longer for Danny.

Breathe in, Hold.

Meditation as a kid had been a joke. Bruce had tried, but his mind had always been active as a kid. The only time it wasn’t, was when he was reading.

Breathe out as long as possible.

And then he had lost years to whatever afterlife, and then the Pit Madness afterward. Danny had a theory, once he had been able to take a closer look at what flowed through his body, was that it was the impurities that caused the madness. Lazarus Pits were the equivalent of grey water tanks, apparently.

Reach inside, inhale the ‘clean’.

When Danny started talking of techniques to control his Madness, it was his admittance to hating meditation as well that actually convinced him to try it again.

Hold. Exhale the ‘corruption’.

He had said how important it was to visualize what you wanted the ectoplasm to do. And if he learned what it felt like circulating throughout his body, he could learn to control the Madness and even, possibly eventually, access some liminal abilities.

Inhale.

He didn’t want to admit it to anyone, let alone to himself.

Jason opened his eyes, only to focus his hand back to a solid form.

He thought it was all in his mind, part of the Madness, but he’d had ghost powers, ever since he came back. He thought they were something to control, to force down. Instead, Danny had embraced his, using them from little things like floating up to grab something from the top shelf, to fighting his rogues.

Exhale.

Maybe it was time to embrace his more liminal nature.

Ever since Duke, Bruce had been more liberal in his apparent anti-meta stance in Gotham.

But then again, Jason smirked, it was like Danny said: ‘it’s not meta, it’s a medical condition.’

Checking the map one more time, Jason chuckled as he gently lowered the plane down in the abandoned Kmart parking lot. Popping his head out of the co*ckpit, he looked down. Yep, he’d parked within the lines. He may be a crime boss, but he didn’t break parking laws.

Checking where the kids were once more, Jason took the chance of the kids still being a few minutes out to get in a well-deserved stretch. He lapped the plane a few times, absently checking the exterior for the flight back. Not seeing anything obvious, he dug under the passenger seat in back for the snack bag. Bruce had given it an official name at one point, citing emergency rations or something, but it really was just a bag full of energy drinks, Gatorade and various shelf-stable snacks for late night or extended missions. Hunger was no excuse to miss a critical part of the mission.

After rifling through the bag and grabbing a fruit bar for himself, he decided just to let the kids pick the flavors that they wanted.

He climbed back out of the co*ckpit just in time to see the headlights of a car coming down the road. With one hand within easy grabbing range of his gun, he touched his com, turning it on. “Hey, that you two? Can you flash your headlights for me?”

They didn’t respond, but the brights were clicked on for only a second before they pulled up a few spots away. The car was barely stopped before Tucker got out, stars in his eyes as he stared at the batplane. “Sweet ride.”

Sam, definitely more cautious, stepped out of the driver’s seat, holding the infamous thermos in her off hand. Unlike Tucker, she took in Red Hood’s appearance, from his body armor and brown leather jacket, to his helmet-less head, with only his red domino mask to obscure his face.

Taking in that he wasn’t wearing his signature helmet, she soon zeroed in on one very distinct feature: the white lock of hair at the peak of his forehead. “You’re…” She squinted suspiciously, maintaining distance between the two of them by staying on her side of the car. “That stalker that was staring at Danny that one day.”

Jason blinked, caught off guard. “I… Would you believe I was there just for a burger? It’s a long drive from Gotham and I was hungry. It was a coincidence I was there the same time you three came in.

“That and I was planning on introducing myself to Danny after I’d taken a nap. I didn’t mean to stare.”

“…Uh-huh.” It was Jason’s self-conscious half-smile that convinced her that Danny really was related to this Tank of a vigilante all the way from Gotham. With a sigh, she reluctantly moved around the car, opening the back seat and grabbing a large purple duffel. From the front passenger seat, she grabbed a blue backpack.

“Tucker! Get back over here!” She stood up, looking at her wit’s end as she watched one of her best friends circling the plane, his hand just barely not touching the black paint.

“But it’s so beautiful. I bet the specs on this thing are amazing! How fast can she go? Does she have a stealth mode? Can she really,” Tucker would forever deny it, but yeah, he totally squealed. “ Convert to land or sea mode with a push of a button?”

“Yep,” Jason nodded, amused. “That and more.”

“Tucker, it’s not like you haven’t seen the same thing before. The GAV is aquatic and the OPS center can be a blimp or jet. It's not that impressive.”

The what could do what now, and the Ops center could do what? He’d have to put a pin in that until he could ask Danny, or he had time to go through the Fenton’s computers himself. If a pair of scientists could do the same thing that Bruce’s R&D team at WayneTech could barely scrape together with what equated to junkyard scrap, they might be more dangerous than he initially thought.

“Yeah, but this is the Batplane Sam! Like, actually well put-together and maintained heroing equipment. Not something that the Fentons cobbled together out of a microwave and a coat hanger that Danny somehow makes work.”

With a sigh, Sam reluctantly came within Red Hood’s reach. “At least he has a halfway-decent aesthetic.” She admitted, finally looking over the plane herself.

“Here,” She held out the duffel. “This is his go bag. I’m sure you’ll get him anything he actually needs, but it’s at least something familiar. And if I find out something’s missing, I. Will. Know.” She waited until Jason had taken the bag and slung it over his own shoulder before holding out the smaller, but more important backpack. “Ectoplasm. Hopefully that’ll be enough to last him until he’s able to find his own supply.”

He was much more careful with this bag, hearing the clink of glass, as well as feeling the pull from the Pit while only a few flimsy layers of cloth and clothing separated them. “And Danny?” He asked, staring at the thermos that Sam held in a white-knuckled grip.

She looked down at the inconspicuous piece of white and green tech, taking a deep breath before handing it over. “Switch is on the bottom. Just open the lid, point it where you want it to go, and hit the switch to ‘release.’”

“Got it.” Jason reached out, grabbing the thermos, but Sam didn’t let go, forcing him to look at her.

“Listen to me because I’ll only say this once:” Sam hissed, her purple eyes shining like Alexandrite in the dim parking lot lights. “You hurt my best friend, I ever even suspect that you’re not good enough, I will find you and I will turn you into fertilizer.” And he believed her. it wasn’t the first time he’d heard that particular threat, and if something happened, he’d let her.

“Loud and clear.” He nodded and Sam finally, reluctantly, released the clawed grip she had on the thermos and her best friend’s life.

“Hey.” Tucker came over, his hand on Sam’s shoulder and leaned in close. “It’ll be alright. He’ll take care of Danny. He’s Danny’s favorite hero for a reason. And Batman will look after him too. He’ll be safe.”

“Right…Yeah.” Sam agreed reluctantly, leaning into Tucker’s touch, though she would never admit to it. “Right.” She turned around, ready to get back into the car, not wanting to watch Danny as he was taken away from her, from them.

After securing Danny and his luggage, Jason pulled the snack bag out and held it up as a peace offering. “You wanted a snack before you get back on the road?”

“Got any Jerky? Sam didn’t pack any for the trip.”

“You eat that, I’m tying you to the roof. You will not make my brand-new car smell like meat.” She threatened, only mostly-serious.

Humming he dug through the bag, only able to come up with a single sad-looking pepperoni stick. “This is all I can find.” He held out the offering with an apologetic grin. “The Demon Brat’s in charge of the snack bag these days, and he’s vegan.”

“Someone with some sense, then.” Sam looked into the bag herself, fishing out a nut mix packet and some freeze-dried mango slices. She had been too stressed while driving to eat anything. While going through the bag, she also found her favorite flavor of Gamer Sludge Energy, moving aside so that Tucker could take his turn.

Situated with food and drink to get them back home, Jason put away the bag and watched the teens settle in for the second half of a long drive. “Let us know when you get back to Amity Park, okay?”

“You got it!” Tucker waved his infamous PDA out the car door window as he grabbed his belt buckle.

“And you keep us updated about Danny. And I mean anything.” Sam tacked on, her hands braced on her door and the roof of her compact car. She glared until Jason agreed before finally getting in and driving away.

Oracle didn’t say anything, but kept an eye on their car when they pulled over half an hour later for 20 minutes. From the little she spied through the audio of Tucker’s PDA, the night and what had happened to Danny had finally caught up to both of them. But eventually they were able to pull themselves together long enough to get back to Sam’s house.

Watching the teens drive away, Jason looked down at the thermos held in his hand. He couldn’t believe that such a small container held his baby brother. The tool came up frequently when he talked about his hero duties, but he never expected it to look so… ordinary. He hoped, after all that, that the teens hadn’t pulled a fast one on him. Danny trusted them with his life, and now Jason had to trust them with Danny’s life too.

Hopping back into the Batplane, he turned the engines over and secured Danny’s thermos in the only cup holder that the plane had. It seemed… wrong, somehow. He wanted to buckle Danny into the seat, but the harness wouldn’t hold him safe.

Flipping the switch of the main comm line to the cave, Jason spoke as he took off: “Red Hood to Batcave. I have Phantom secured and I’m heading back in. Please prepare triage for our arrival. ETA two hours, fifteen minutes.”

“Understood Red Hood. Keep us apprised of the situation if anything changes.” Bruce’s voice responded, making Jason jump.

“…Understood, Batman. Red Hood out.”

Chapter 9: The Core of it

Chapter Text

Jason would be the first one to admit that his driving when Danny was involved was… not his best. Oh, the flight was fine, barring some turbulence as he crossed the Catskills, but his landing could have used some work. 8/10.

The engines were still winding down, their pitch deepening as the engines cooled, as Jason jumped out, thermos in hand, heading straight toward Alfred, Dr. Leslie and the triage bed. The two were suited up in both scrubs and biohazard gear. It looked like they had done their research of Drs Fenton’s work while he was in the air.

“On the table, Jason.” Dr. Leslie instructed, finishing a final scrub of her gloves in preparation for what she expected to be numerous serious, but neat, wounds to suture.

“Yeah, got it.” He muttered distractedly, popping the lid, careful to point it at the gurney the whole time as he found the switch right where Sam said it would be. In a flash of bright light… nothing happened. Danny’s body wasn’t released. Instead, a pearl rolled out, landing on the plastic covered mattress.

Silence.

He could hear the muffled gasps as all three of them stared at the pearl, then up at Jason when they could literally feel when the Pit Rage started to take control. The air pressure pressed down on them as acrid heat made their skin prickle. Jason inhaled and the two humans stepped back, readying to dodge out of the way as blind rage started to grip him.

With the world awash in toxic green, Jason lunged for the pearl, moving to smash it against the cave wall.

The moment he touched it, he stopped.

He froze, all movement stilling to the point where Alfred even internally questioned himself if his largest grandson was even breathing.

Slowly,

slowly, Jason looked down at the pearl in his hand. As he did so, the heat around him cooled, allowing the other two to eventually move with relief.

Frost covered his fingertips, though they didn’t feel cold. Instead…

Instead the pearl felt like Danny.

Taking a breath, Jason went to put the pearl back down on the gurney, but found he couldn’t. Just like with stopping the Pit Rage in its tracks, the pearl was stopping him from letting go.

“...Master Jason?”

“…I’m… fine, Alfred.” Jason spoke in a daze. “I just… I need to call Jazz.” And he did just that, managing to pull out his phone, unlock it, and call Jazz, all with one hand.

“Jason?” Jazz picked up on the first ring, sounding tired but aware. She hadn’t gone to sleep like she said she was going to.

“I have Danny… I think.” Jason stated, looking down at the white-blue-green pearl he rolled between his fingers, holding it up to the light. “He…”

“Jason, what happened? You think you have him.”

“It feels like him. But it… he looks like a pearl. About the size of a large marble.”

A wet gasp crossed the line. “Oh, Danny.” Jazz took a couple moments to gather her thoughts and Jason let her. “It’s his core. I’ve never seen it, but he told me one time that when ghosts get hurt badly enough, they’ll retreat into their cores until they replenish enough energy to reform their ecto-bodies. But I don’t know much beyond that. I mostly know what M-Maddie and Jack found in their… experiments. Danny knows more about it, and if he doesn’t, he has, well, Frostbite has been something between a mentor and his doctor ever since the time he nearly froze himself solid.”

“We don’t have Danny to ask about it, Jazz.” He reminded her through gritted teeth.

“I know, Jason.” Jazz snapped back, unafraid of the growl in his voice. “Have you called Sam yet? Her and Tucker know everything that Danny does, or near everything. They might have more of an answer than I do.”

“…No, I haven’t.” And hadn’t really intended to. The Pit was still whispering in the back of his head in the same voice that it disparaged Bruce, that the teenagers had betrayed him. That they had sent him with a fake and kept him for themselves.

“Jason.” Jazz spoke calmly, using the voice that she used when she was trying to dispel tense situations. “Call Sam, please. She really cares for Danny. It’s not a trick. She’ll do anything she can to save him. Just like you will.”

“… fine.”

“Thank you, Jason.” Jazz nearly forgot something, pulling her phone away to hang up, before remembering herself. “Do you think I can come over to see him in the morning?”

Looking up at Alfred, he made his decision. “He’s your brother too.”

“…Thank you.” She sighed in relief, hanging up so that he could call Sam .

She had no reason to thank him. She had more of a claim over the kid than he did. Just because he was Danny’s biological brother, didn't mean that he had any right to claim any status between them. He was the last resort, the one to call after all of their other options had been exhausted.

Still, after checking the time, Jason grimaced and called the teen. It was about half an hour after they had finally gotten home, and were likely asleep. “What.” Sam picked up after several rings, sleep heavy in her voice.

“I thought you would like to know that I got Danny to Gotham.” Jason started, only to get a grunt of acknowledgment. “Problem is, when I opened the thermos, the only thing that came out was a rock.”

The silence was pregnant with tension before Sam spoke. “Was it round like a marble? Does it have any cracking on the surface?”

Jason held the pearl up to the light, watching as the green and blue overtook each other on a mostly white background. “Nope, not a chip in sight. Looks like a pearl with green and blue swirls on it.”

“Oh Danny.” Sam breathed, pulling herself together after a moment. “That’s him. That’s Danny. When ghosts are weakened, they lose coherence of their outer forms. We’ve seen it a few times when we… rescued some ghosts from- yeah.” She edited herself. “A lot of them, their cores were damaged and it just became too much for them to recover from. We had some theories that the same thing could possibly happen to Danny-“

“But you didn’t want to test it out.” Jason picked up the train of thought where Sam hesitated.

“…Yeah. He looks whole?”

“As far as I can tell, yeah.” He rolled the pearl- Danny, the pearl was Danny’s core- around his palm, examining it from every angle.

“Good, that’s good. It means that he’ll recover.”

“How long-“

“Could be a few hours, could be… longer. It depends on how badly he was hurt and how much ambient ectoplasm is around that he can absorb. Usually having the ghost in an ectoplasm-rich environment will help speed up recovery, but that’s with a normal ghost, with a full ghost core. Normally, I’d say dump them into the ghost zone and let them recover there, but-“

“We can’t exactly do that, since the closest portal that we know of is where you just kidnapped him from.”

“No. And even if you followed the Fenton’s notes to make a new portal, it would take too long. And there’s no guarantee that it’d work anyway. My suggestion is, to dump his core in one of the vials of ectoplasm and switch it out when he absorbs it all. And then repeat until he reforms.”

Grunting, Jason looked down at Danny’s core. “I’ll see what I can do.” And hung up. He could feel, once he concentrated on the sensation, a tugging at the Pit, connecting him and Danny through a thin thread. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.” He murmured, closing his hand around Danny’s core either way, pushing more of the Pit his direction for him to absorb. “I taste nasty.”

Walking back over to the plane at a more sedate pace than when he left it, he climbed back into the co*ckpit one-handed, carefully pulling the backpack from where he secured it to the seat. Pulling out the first vial he got his hand around, he popped the cork and poured the purified ectoplasm over Danny’s pearl and his palm.

“Master Jason!” Alfred called, aghast.

“It’s fine, Alfred. See?” He held out his hand for Alfred to see, half the ectoplasm already absorbed, most of it into Danny’s pearl, but some into his own skin as well. It felt like seltzer water, bubbly and light, though it looked like it had the consistency of Newtonian slime.

“Stil, I don’t think that’s hygienic.”

“Not for normal humans, no.” He agreed absently, watching as the ectoplasm seemed to evaporate in a matter of minutes.

“Still, it would behoove you to put the remainder of the… ectoplasm into the secure box I have provided, here.” He gestured to the lead lined box sitting on a convenient rolling table next to the landing pad, there were already foam partitions placed inside to protect the fragile glass as they were moved around.

“Got it.” Jason nodded, understanding the mild rebuke for what it was. While he waited for the last bit from the first vial to absorb, he transferred various glass containers of ectoplasm over, from small sample tubes just large enough to be blood collection vials (He was not going to think about it), to large erlenmeyer flasks.

“Well,” Dr. Leslie spoke up, snapping her glove as she peeled it off. “I don’t think I’ll be needed any time soon.” Walking over, she stared at the tiny pearl in Jason’s hand, before looking up and staring him in the face. “Call me when I can be of use. I still have a clinic to run, so I can’t just wait around for my patient to become available to me.”

“Sorry.” Jason mumbled. “Thank you for coming anyway.”

“Anything for Alfred’s boys.” She reminded him, patting Jason on the cheek since she couldn’t reach far enough to ruffle his hair any longer. “You take care of yourself as well, okay? I don’t want to go pulling another bullet out of you any time soon.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jason nodded, pressing his cheek into her palm since he couldn’t exactly hug her at the moment. “We still having lunch?”

“As long as I don’t see you sooner, I was planning on it.”

“Okay.” Jason grinned.

She patted his cheek with a soft smile before turning to leave, allowing Alfred to escort her to the front door.

Unfortunately, that left him alone with Bruce, security footage from the Fentons still pulled up on the batcomputer’s screen. It looked like he had already sent the rest of the kids upstairs for the night as they trickled in, their trackers all indicating ‘home’. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was grateful to Bruce that the others hadn’t witnessed… any of that.

Chapter 10: Interlude

Chapter Text

Squaring his shoulders, Jason stared back at Bruce. He had a right to be there.

“That him?” Bruce tilted his head toward Jason. The revenant’s fingers curled around Danny protectively, his hand dropping to his side as he fought the instinct to hide his hand behind his back like a shameful secret.

“Yeah, Old Man.”

Studying Jason for a long moment, Bruce finally grunted and turned back to the computer. “Make sure you get some sleep. Your old room’s still available to use.”

Grunting back, Jason took the safe box’s handle with one hand while holding Danny’s pearl in the other. It was a tactical retreat. He wasn’t running away from Bruce.

It wasn’t a retreat if he was allowed and expected to be there. Though, he detoured not to his room but the room he felt the most secure in: the library. While he didn’t know how long Danny would be a pearl, Jason would take the time he had waiting to wind down and read one of the books that he’d meant to steal from Bruce’s collection months ago. It wasn’t like the man or any of his siblings would notice its absence, since most of the books he stole had nothing to do with the Family Business. He liked classic books, and made no secret about it.

Some of the books in the Wayne library were at least a century old, sitting forgotten except for the occasional dusting and yearly inventory that Alfred did after the holiday season. This one had a worn cloth cover, showing that it had been well-loved at one point in time, as well as the inscription on the inside of the front cover for ‘My little Snowdrop’ and the date of 1894.

Reaching up, Jason finally snagged the tome, smiling down at the cover, plain with just flaking gold leaf outlining the title: The Works of Chaucer.

“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but you won’t mind if I read aloud, would you?” Jason asked Danny, looking down at the pearl clutched protectively in his hand. “Just freeze my hand if you don’t like it, ok?”

He didn’t get any response, but took no news as good news as he made himself comfortable on the antique couch. The library had always been meant more for impressing and intimidating guests than the comfort of the family. That was what one of the family game rooms were for.

Settling one of the decorative throw pillows behind his head, he cracked the book open carefully, Danny’s pearl delicately balanced on his chest, propped against the book.

As he started reading, Jason reached for the connection between them and kept pushing energy in Danny's direction. He didn’t want to open another of their limited vials of ectoplasm quite yet, both wanting to let the first settle, and that he didn’t know how long they needed to make what Tucker grabbed last.

Without looking directly at Danny, it felt like he had an ice cube balanced on his chest. It wasn’t uncomfortable, per se, but he definitely wasn’t much of a fan of the cold. Too many nights as a kid, he wondered (only somewhat of an exaggeration) if he would wake up to his fingers and toes falling off from the freeze. Some nights, he still buried himself under enough blankets until the only way to tell he was there was from his hair sticking out from the side where his pillow was supposed to be.

Eventually, as the sun rose, his eyes closed, drifting off mid-sentence.

Chapter 11: You can keep a little crazy. As a treat.

Chapter Text

“Ah, you must be Miss Fenton.” Alfred stated in a welcoming tone after opening the front door.

“Oh! Yes. Is Jason in?”

“Indeed he is.” The man answered, a small smile crossing his face. “If you don’t mind me saying, he fell asleep in the library approximately an hour ago, if you don’t mind waiting for him to wake.” Turning aside, he beckoned Jazz inside, closing the door behind her and offering to take her bag and rain coat. While she kept a firm hand on her bag, she gladly handed over the sodden garment. Coming to Gotham, she somehow wasn’t prepared for the perpetual low-hanging smog that seemed to surround the main city, and how it penetrated through all her layers of clothes, no matter how many there were.

“I don’t mind. I don’t think any of us got much sleep last night, to be honest.” Hefting her bag more securely onto her shoulder, she followed Alfred through the manor. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just use the time to study.”

“Ah, yes. The midterms are just around the corner, judging by one of our younger resident’s complaints. I do believe that you are studying at Gotham University-“ he trailed off, allowing Jazz to fill the blanks as she would.

“Psychology. Gotham U has one of the best mental health studies programs in the country, as well as access to one of the last remaining independent criminal asylums on the east coast.”

“Ah. You would do well to be careful at Arkham, Miss Fenton. There have been a few cases over the years of the doctors becoming patients themselves, sadly.”

“I will be.” They stopped at a particular door before Alfred opened it, stepping aside so that Jazz could enter first. “Oh, wow.” Stepping inside, she took in the Wayne’s private library that would put Amity’s public one to shame. The room was large, with built-in shelves on three walls, only interrupted by large picture windows on one side and a large fireplace with a family portrait hung in a place of pride above it. There were several sitting areas, but she was drawn to the one closest to the fireplace.

On the long couch slept Jason, one hand tossed above his head, holding a book by faith alone, while his other hand was cupped over his sternum. From the pale green glow peeking through his fingers, she could tell that he was cradling Danny’s core right next to his own heart.

“Would you like me to get you anything, Miss Fenton? Something to drink while you wait?” Alfred kept his voice low as he bent over slightly, maintaining eye level with Jazz as she set up to study as she waited.

“Something hot would be great. Thank you.”

“Very well.” Alfred turned to leave, but not before taking out a throw from where it was stashed in an ottoman to cover Jason’s sleeping form and liberating the book from his loose grasp, placing it down within easy reach on the coffee table.

Alone, Jazz took the time to observe Jason as he slept. In his face, she could see how Danny would look in the next handful of years. She could only hope that Danny was blessed with the same body type as well. As far as she could tell, Danny hadn’t really grown since his accident. She was worried that his death had stunted his growth and he was stuck at the same height as he was at 14. She would have to ask Jason, in private of course, if he was a late bloomer. She herself had taken after Jack in the height department and was now over 6 foot and just had that much of a difficult time finding cute clothes that actually fit like they should.

True, she was supposed to be in classes that morning, as of about an hour ago, but after last night, there was no way that she would have been able to focus on her teachers. She didn’t think her professors would mind, not after her near-spotless attendance record- rogue attacks not counting, not technically.

Cracking her book open and flipping to the correct page in her journal, she had to chuckle to herself. Danny would flip if she ever told him about the time the Riddler made her late to classes. She hadn’t bothered to tell Jason either, about how she had used her normal-human mace spray and collapsible Fenton anti-creep stick to wail on the Rogue when his goons tried to kidnap her and she missed her bus. After that, she didn’t bother waiting around, having to run a mile to the next bus that would take her into the campus proper. Surprisingly, she was only a half-hour late and the professor barely even noticed her sneaking in.

Getting deep into her studies, she didn’t notice at first when Jason woke up, only to pull herself out of her reading when she felt eyes staring at her- the closest thing that she had developed to a ghost sense. Looking up, she smiled. “Hey, you’re awake.”

“…Didn’t you have class?”

Humming, Jazz tilted her head. “Yes, but I wouldn’t have been able to focus without coming over here first. How are you doing? How are you both doing?” She corrected, staring at the faint green glow under Jason’s hand.

“What do you think?” He asked, sitting up and holding up Danny’s core for her to see.

“Hmm…” She leaned forward, her hands carefully folded away in her lap, feeling the protective air around Jason. “What did Sam say about it?”

“Wait. Dump him in one of the vials of ectoplasm.”

Jazz nodded. “That makes sense. How much have you given him?”

“One vial, so far. I didn’t want to overwhelm him.”

“And you’ve been holding him the entire time too?”

“Yeah.”

Jazz hummed, sitting back and taking a sip of her tea. “And how are you feeling?”

“…Fine?” He brushed off with a raised eyebrow.

“Not drained? Tired? Suspiciously neutral emotional state?” Jason’s silence answered her questions clearly. “Ghosts, when they can’t absorb ectoplasm, can also feed off emotions. The stronger the emotion, the better the meal, so outrageous mood swings tend to attract hungry spirits.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” He rubbed over his own chest, where he imagined his own proto-core (and hadn’t that been a wild conversation) was settled. He debated, and lost, on whether to tell Jazz about his bout of pit rage the previous night. “I got pissed last night and after I touched Danny’s core it just… disappeared. And I haven’t been able to let go of him since.”

Nodding along, she reached down for the box that Alfred told her earlier contained the ectoplasm stolen from her the Drs Fenton’s house. Withdrawing a flask, She opened the top and pulled over the pot of tea sitting casually on the table. She poured a dollop into the pot and swirled it around before topping up her own cup and poured a second, pushing it toward Jason. “Here, drink. You’re probably going through ectoplasm-withdrawal on top of Danny feeding off of you. I’m surprised you even woke up before dinner, honestly. Here, I’ll hold him.”

Staring down at the now faintly glowing tea, he contemplated not drinking it, but the small amount he had absorbed earlier from when he had poured the vial over Danny had awoken a hunger in him he wasn’t consciously aware of until then. Silently, he, very reluctantly, dropped Danny’s core into Jasmine’s waiting palm.

“It’s for your own good. You can complain later when you have a mouth again.” She told the pearl- Danny- in a no-nonsense tone and then…

She promptly dropped him into the flask and put the lid back on. “Bath time.”

Jason gave a full-body jerk, lunging toward the flask to- to do what? Rescue him? Stop him from drowning?

“Drink your tea, Jason. It’ll make you feel better.” Jazz stated in a tone used to being obeyed, sipping her own faintly glowing brew. Looking up at him from under her lashes, he saw her eyes flash a deeper teal as the ectoplasm hit her system.

Opening his mouth, it took a few seconds for his brain-mouth connection to re-form. “You know I am older than you, right?”

“Yeah, but you don’t know how to take care of yourself as a liminal, do you? And if I was starting to get parched from the withdrawal,” She stared down at her tea, swirling it around her cup before finishing it off. “You must have been weak from starvation. I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you feel when you left Amity?”

He didn’t think that she meant his immediate crash when he finally got home, and the almost 14 hours that he slept. He would have probably slept for longer, but Tim had called him. For what, he couldn’t exactly remember. All he remembered was snarling into the phone and dragging his ass out of bed and into his uniform for patrol.

Though, once he finally woke up, “like I could finally think. The pit was quiet and I wasn’t fatigued. Things went back to normal after about a week though.”

Jazz nodded, reaching over and topping Jason’s drink before pouring the dregs into her own cup. “And that was just absorbing the ambient ectoplasm around Amity. If you start consuming some directly, it should help even out your mood swings, and might even help your core to heal and develop the rest of the way.”

Jason hummed, looking over at the flask, blinking in surprise when the contents were much lower than he expected. The flask was over halfway empty and the level was visibly going down as he watched. He’d known, in the back of his mind, that he wasn’t well. The person he was around his family wasn’t the person he wanted to be. He knew, through the haze of the Pit, that Bruce genuinely cared for him. That the verbal daggers that he felt during every interaction were barely even pointed in reality.

“And therapy.” Jason smirked, looking at Jazz out of the corner of his eye.

“And therapy.” Jazz gave him a genuine smile. “It’s not just for crazy people.” She repeated a line that she said nearly every time they spoke.

“I dunno, kinda like being crazy. Gives me an excuse to get away with sh*t.”

Jazz snorted at that. “You can keep a little crazy. As a treat.”

Their laughter was interrupted with a polite knock on the open library door. “A late lunch is ready, if you would,” the pause was brief, barely even noticeable except that Jason knew Alfred. “ All care to join us in the dining room.” He was about to say ‘both’ and something in Jason settled when he didn’t. Even as a pearl, Danny was still a person, even if he currently couldn’t interact with the outside world like he normally could.

“Sure, Alfred.” Jason stood, grabbing Danny’s flask and holding his hand out to help Jazz to stand. “What’s on the menu today?”

“Since it’s cool out, I’ve prepared a squash soup and thick cut buttered toast.” Alfred looked out of the corner of his eye to check on their guest (Though, if his instincts were to be trusted, of which they always were, she wouldn’t be considered a ‘guest’ for much longer. Much like Miss Stephanie or Miss Gordon were not guests as much as extended family). “If that is acceptable for the young miss?”

“That sounds great, thank you!” Jazz smiled enthusiastically. Any meal that she could get that wasn’t fast food, cafeteria food, or glowing green and crawling was fantastic in her books.

Entering the dining room, Jason habitually scoped out the entire room. Bruce, as head of the house, sat at the top of the table, scanning through a tablet. Tim was slumped at his right hand, a large coffee mug clutched close and laptop opened as he tapped away on the keyboard with one hand. The Demon Brat and Duke were at school, as was hopefully Stephanie. He wasn’t expecting Dick or Barbara and by the count of place settings, Cass was out.

Pulling out the chair to Bruce’s left, he gestured for Jazz to sit there. The move got him raised brows from Alfred and Bruce, but he ignored them, sitting in the place Alfred had meant for Jazz, setting Danny’s flask in the center of the table. Their relationship improving still meant sh*t for making him actually sit within striking distance of Bruce. He might give the old man a black eye by accident. Or not accident.

It depended on the day.

Though he felt more himself, thanks to the ectoplasm-laced tea, he wasn’t going to risk his own ire.

He thanked Alfred quietly for his bowl of soup and laughed quietly as Alfred looked Disappointed™ at Bruce and Tim until the technology was put away. Whoever said that Bruce was the head of the house, didn’t know how Alfred ran Wayne Manor. Grabbing a few slices of toast to line the side of his plate, he passed the basket over to Jazz to choose from before placing it back in the middle of the table. The other two could grab their own bread.

“Is Daniel doing better?” Bruce asked neutrally, gaining a flinch from half the table.

“Mr. Wayne?” Jazz spoke up quietly, not wanting to gain the wrath of Batman- even in his human form. “He prefers Danny.”

“Or Tanner.” Jason tacked on.

Jazz nodded in his direction. “One of his… you call them rogues, right? Well, technically is- was?- his godfather, likes to call him Daniel. And even before that, he never liked it.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Bruce nodded, his eyes narrowed at the rest of Jazz’s statement. “Who is his godfather?” Was he someone to keep an eye on if the children considered him a rogue and not a reliable adult.

“Vlad Masters. He, Dad and Mom went to college together. I… Danny would probably be the best to ask what all is going on. I’ll just say that he’s creepy.”

Bruce nodded at that. Vlad Masters had been on his radar for years now. A lab accident 20-something years ago resulted in becoming a recluse for a stretch of time before developing a company and absorbing many others in the process, gaining a net worth of half a billion in a matter of years. There were clear signs of fraudulent acquisitions of these companies, but there had been no previous proof to bring before any courts.

And then a year and a half ago, he took a sudden turn into politics, winning the Mayorship of Amity Park, not only in a landslide, but a write-in one. The problem is, there was still no proof of any manipulation happening. None that could be submitted to American courts.

To put it simply, he was Nouveau Riche of the most suspicious kind.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tim typing into his phone under the table, taking notes or researching Vlad, he wasn’t sure. He just hoped that he put it away before Alfred caught on and confiscated it for the rest of the meal. Alfred had a serious rule, that meals were for family time and once food touched the table, all distractions should be put away, barring emergencies.

Jazz nodded, turning back to her soup. “Thank you.”

“Does Danny have any allergies we should be aware of?” Alfred asked, topping off water glasses.

“No, not that I’m aware of- oh, no. He has one. And probably anyone that has had any contact with ectoplasm might also, to a milder degree. Have you ever heard of Blood Blossoms?”

Bruce tilted his head, thinking through his past botany lessons. “Not… that I can recall.”

Jazz nodded. “They’re supposed to be extinct.”

“Ra’s has a garden full of them.” Tim spoke up, still typing on his phone. “I heard that they were used for some very specific poisons.”

Jason snorted. “It would be specific, if they only affect people dipped in the Pits.”

“The what?” Jason blinked, forgetting for a minute that Jazz wasn’t technically in The Know. Turning to her, he gave the short explanation, watching as her nose wrinkled.

“To each their own, I guess, but if you were dunked in something like that, no wonder your ectoplasm is so infected. Has Danny-“

“Yeah, he’s been helping me learn how to filter it out.”

“Good. And with you two together and with access to fresh, uncontaminated ectoplasm, it should help flush the rest of the toxins from your body.”

“I hope so.” Jason admitted freely, sopping up the rest of his soup with the last piece of his bread and pushed the bowl slightly away, grabbing Danny’s flask in the same motion.

He’d finished the whole flask- which was impressive. Since it was corked, he knew it hadn’t evaporated. Tipping him out into his palm, he almost felt heavier, or at least, more dense than when Jazz dropped him in. And almost more aware than he was previously. Like if he asked simple questions, Danny could possibly respond in a measurable way- like asking a coma patient to squeeze their hand.

“Danny’s doing better.” He spoke, almost to himself, rolling the marble around and watching how the blue and green swirled around the pearlescent white background.

“That’s good.” Jazz stated, poking her brother with a single finger playfully before she finished her own lunch. “He feels stronger as well. He might reform tonight, tomorrow at the latest.”

Jason nodded, seeing Jazz finished, stood up and gave a tight nod toward Bruce, dismissing them both back to the library. “It was good to meet you, Jasmine.” Bruce managed to get out before Jason dragged her completely out of the room.

“You too, Mr. Wayne!” She called around the corner with a wave.

He didn’t think ‘Call me Bruce’ made it all the way to her ears, but he was uncertain. Liminal beings, from his experience, had heightened senses over baseline humans. Nearly all his kids had dealt with having one or more sense betray them at one time or another. Sometimes, the only way to get Damian to sleep through the night was with with some high-grade earplugs. And Duke, when his powers got too much, slept in the absolute darkness of one of the cave’s storage rooms.

Out in the hallway, Jazz squeezed Jason’s hand, showing a surprising grip strength and stopping him in his tracks. “Hmm?”

“Hey.” She squeezed his hand again, now that he was facing her. “Thanks for taking in Danny. I don’t know what we would have done if you weren’t there.” Her eyes watered, but she wouldn’t let herself cry over ‘what ifs’.

“Yeah. No problem.” He dismissed, as if he would have ever even contemplated not taking care of his baby brother. He was taken by surprise, when Jazz full-body checked him into a hug, squeezing him tightly enough that Dick would be jealous.

Pulling back with a self-conscious laugh, she finally wiped the tears from her eyes. “Still. Thanks. I need to get back to campus. I already skipped two of my morning classes, but my afternoon class is a lab and-“

“Those are a bitch and a half to make up. From what I’ve heard.”

“Yeah.” She whispered, nodding. He wasn’t sure if she was aware that she was still clinging on to the hand that wasn’t holding Danny’s core. Using their connected hands, he led her back to the library, helping with what he could to gather up her scattered studying supplies and shoving them into her bag.

“Do you have a ride to get back to campus?”

“I took the bus.”

At that , Jason frowned. Both from personal experience and Duke’s rants, he knew that it took a stupid amount of time to get from the Manor to the college, and that was on top of the long hike to the nearest bust stop. Busses generally didn’t run in this part of Gotham -Bristol- they weren’t needed, so the closest bus stop was about two miles away, if you cut through a few neighbor’s yards.

Staring down at Danny’s core clutched in his hand, he debated the technicalities of giving her a ride. He wouldn’t- no, couldn’t- leave Danny behind at the manor, but… would he mind being shoved into a bag and/or pocket in the meanwhile? There was no way he’d shove him back into that Thermos any time soon again. He didn’t know what kind of effect it really had on ghosts. At least according to Jazz, at least they didn’t have to worry about him reforming his body in the middle of the road, as long as they were quick.

And keeping him held in his hand while he was driving was just, no. It wasn’t safe, for any of them. “I’ll drive you back.” Shouldering her pack, he ignored her sputtering protests as he pulled her along behind him to the garage. Snagging a spare helmet from the rack, she led him over to his civilian bike.

“Oh, no. No way.” Jazz cackled, staring at the sleek rebuilt cruising bike.

“What, you afraid? I’ll drive safe.”

“Oh, no, that’s not it.” She waved his concern away, already zipping her coat up securely and making sure her backpack was settled correctly and the straps tightened. “I’m just glad that Danny isn’t able to see this. He’d never let me live it down.” At Jason’s raised eyebrow and look down at the literally steaming pearl in his hand. From what he could tell, Danny could at least sense something of the outside world. Looking down, she gave the core an indulgent look. “He thinks I have a type. ”

“Oh!” Jason nodded, like he was totally agreeing with the statement, as he swung his leg over his bike and settled in the seat. Tucking Danny’s core into the zipped inner pocket close to his heart, he zipped his coat up. “So do you?” The question was punctuated by the roar of the bike as he kicked it to life.

“…Possibly.” She took the helmet (Steph’s spare) and strapped it on, settling in flush against Jason’s back as he strapped on his own. “One of my ex’s and one of Danny’s frenemies took his bike with him when he died.”

“Huh.” It took a moment, and by then they were already halfway down the driveway. “Does that mean you dated a ghost? Or was this before… Y’know. ” Before the guy croaked it. Kicked the bucket. Drove off into the sunset. Whatever you wanted to call it. Died.

Thankfully, they could hear each other through the helmet’s built-in com units. “After. Well, I didn’t know that at the time. ” She paused, making sure she had a secure hold around Jason’s muscled chest while they waited for the front gate to open. “What was worse was that I was the rebound girl. Johnny and Kitty are always fighting.”

“Oof. I’ve seen how that goes.” He didn’t know what was the worse iron band around his chest: Jazz’s grip, or his empathy about her dating woes.

Delivering Jazz safely to her afternoon lab building, Jason decided to wait around for an hour, picking up a coffee and pastry from the cafe next to the Language Arts building. He didn’t even have to look to know that the message buzzing the phone in his pocket was a request from Alfred. When the time came, Jason walked his bike over to the correct building and waited.

“…The hell?”

“Get on, loser.” Jason replied, shaking Steph’s purple helmet in Duke’s direction.

“No, seriously.” Duke took the helmet, staring at Jason’s chest, right where Danny’s core was resting. “What the hell is clinging to you?”

“How much did you hear about what happened last night?” Jason was polite enough to let Duke settle in the back of the bike and grab on before he pulled a 180 and peeled out, smirking at the teenager’s yelp, cutting off his complaints that ‘the helmet still smelled like Steph’s fruity body spray’.

Chapter 12: a dramatic left turn

Chapter Text

Getting back home, Jason settled back in the library. His book was still there, as well as the blanket folded on the end of the couch, but the ectoplasm-contaminated tea set had been cleaned away some time while he was gone. At least one good thing with the low level radioactive smog that hovered over Gotham in general, is that a little additional radiation from ectoplasm wouldn’t do much to anyone in the family. It wasn’t like they weren’t all affected by the Lazarus Pits in one way or another already. The ectoplasm was actually safer than the Pit waters, all things considered.

Still, he was pretty sure that the tea set was now marked in Alfred’s books for use by liminals only.

…So not for guests of the civilian variety. Like Tim’s current boyfriend.

Pulling Danny’s core out of his pocket, he studied the surface, trying to see any difference compared to earlier. It looked… healthier, he guessed. There seemed to be a layer of frost surrounding it now, making it feel like he was holding an ice cube. And it was… not exactly smoking, but a mist was rolling off it, like from a fog machine. “Hey.” He felt silly talking to the pearl, but knew that this was Danny. Just like talking to a coma patient in the hospital. “You managed to pull yourself together by tonight, and I guarantee that you’ll have the softest f*cking bed you’ve ever slept on ready for you, deal?”

Nothing.

Not like he was expecting anything. Debating on dumping him in another flask of ectoplasm, Jason decided to wait until dinner, so that he could ‘eat’ with the rest of them. But a snack wouldn’t hurt in the meanwhile.

Grabbing his book and opening it, he propped it against his thighs as he balanced Danny’s core on his sternum. Grabbing a vial, he poured the contents over Danny and his own shirt, knowing that it would all be absorbed before a stain, let alone a wet mark, could develop.

Doing it that way, he could absorb some of the ectoplasm as well. He was learning what it felt like to feed that part of himself, which only served to point out just how starved for nutrition he had been.

Absently, he worried that the ectoplasm in the bag wouldn’t last, with how much Danny was taking, even in his core form, but he had to have faith that his little brother knew how to get his hands on more readily. Now, it was just a matter of him recovering enough to be able to help himself.

Settled, he turned back to his book and, after finding his spot again, started to read aloud:

“To you, my purse, and to non other wight compleyne I, for ye be my lady dere! I am so sorry, now that ye be light; for certes, but ye make me hevy chere, me were as leef be leyd up-on my bere; for whiche un-to your mercy thus I crye: Beth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I dye!”

Jason took in the rest of the poem, snorting in mirth. “This sounds like Dick the day after he pays rent. Golden boy he may be, but mindful of his purse, he is not.” Now that he was more awake after his impromptu nap that morning, he did like he usually did with his books, and like some of his siblings did with a bad movie: he commented on it.

With one hand carefully keeping Danny in place on his chest, he let himself get absorbed into the book not actively noticing when Duke came into the library to grab a reference book, stop, and stare at the scene.

Now, Duke had seen some strange sh*t, being taken in under Bruce’s bat-wings, but this was one thing that he wasn’t quite sure how to take. He’d heard, through the grapevine (AKA as the Chaos Birds chat) that Bruce had discovered an unknown meta related to Jason. And it turns out that he had a bio baby bro out there in the wider world and the subject had just… never come up before the entire time that Jason had lived with Bruce… the first time.

And it turned out, after he had gone to bed last night, bio baby bro got himself in some serious hot water with his adopted ‘rents and had to be emergency bailed halfway across the states to Gotham. The details, Jason only said to ‘ask Tim’ or ‘look it up on the computer himself’. Which, rude.

Now, he was staring at Jason (who always had this weird not-quite-human aura around him in the first place), seeing to what his normal sight was showing him to be a small rock or marble, but his other sight was showing as… Well, he didn’t quite know what he was looking at. It was like he was looking at the fog rolling in over the harbor, lit only by moonlight. Like shadows. And space, given a vaguely humanoid form, at least from the belt up. Two slits, or distant stars, in bright, bright green, served as where its eyes should be. Where its hair should be, tucked under Jason’s chin, were wisps of clouds and the Milky Way galaxy, moving to its own current.

He watched as Jason's hand moved absently, almost like he could feel the form settled on his chest, and pet down its back like Damian would one of his pets.

Deciding that a retreat was necessary, Duke grabbed the book that he needed and peaced out. He’d study in his room, thankyouverymuch. “Nope, not f*cking with that.” He’d seen something attached to Jason’s chest on the ride over, but this was the first time he’d seen it clearly.

What he hadn’t noticed, was that Jason’s eyes were glowing the same ectoplasmic green as Danny’s as he watched Duke bolt out the door. “Coward.” He smirked.

After that, aside from Alfred coming in to check with him and pass over a glass of water, the others left him alone until dinner time.

Dinner, in contrast to lunch, was the definition of chaos. The whole family had ‘randomly decided to come visit’ and totally wasn’t to snoop on the latest member of the family.

While Alfred was happy to see more of the family in one place since last Christmas, his lips were drawn in a thin line that was his only indication that he would rather let the boy recover in peace. The family could be… overwhelming, at the best of times, and not exactly conducive for a peaceful healing environment.

When Jason entered the dining room, all heads turned to him, looking for the new kid, but they didn’t see anything. Only Jason holding a rock in one hand, and an erlenmeyer flask of glowing green goo in the other.

Sitting down in the seat furthest away from Bruce, he made a demonstration of setting the flask down at the place setting next to his and dropping the rock inside. They all watched as the rock sat perched on top of the goo for a second, before it slowly sank down to the bottom. A full ten seconds later, they could all hear the ‘tink’ as the rock hit the bottom of the glass.

The ones who hadn’t been there for lunch, or on the comms with the cave last night when Jason came back, stared at the display.

Jason, instead, took his starter from Alfred and dug in, ignoring the curious stares.

“How’s Danny doing? Any changes from last night?” Barbara was the one to break the silence, though she was still one of the ones staring at the flask, watching as the levels inside steadily decreased.

Jason just shrugged. “No real big changes. Though I think he’s starting to ice over things.”

“Wait, you left him alone ? Why are you eating dinner here with us then?” Stephanie pouted, ready to take her plate up to eat with Jason’s mysterious brother. She had a patrol of the sewers riding on that they looked exactly the same. And no, pictures could be manipulated, so the one in the group chat didn’t count. She had to see them side by side.

“Yes, Todd, why did you bring a vial of Lazarus Waters to the table?” Damien asked, curling a lip at the flask.

“This.” Jason tapped the lip of the flask. “Is purified ectoplasm. Lazarus waters are like a sewage pit in comparison. And that,” he tapped the side of the already half-empty container, “is Danny.”

And there the noise levels were back up to what he expected with the whole family together. Everyone was talking over each other, spouting questions and theories that Jason ignored wholesale, focusing on the pork chop with apple reduction that Alfred switched out when he finished his soup.

Looking over, Jason realized that Danny had finished the ectoplasm and was now… rolling around the flask under his own power. Humming to himself in amusem*nt, Jason tipped the flask over, sending Danny rolling across the table. He held a hand at the edge, but Danny came to a wobbly stop before rolling the whole way over. Instead, he made a dramatic left turn and rolled until ‘tink’.

The table silenced once more, watching as the marble hit Cass’s plate, backed up, and hit her plate again, at a different angle. “Hello.” She spoke quietly, holding her finger out and gave the marble the barest nudge. Danny rolled back about an inch, then changed direction and smacked right back into her finger. “Baby Brother” she hummed with a small smile, tapping the marble a few more times before he wobbled off a different direction.

In that way, Danny slowly made his way down the table, hitting nearly every obstacle in his way, pinging off of plates and glasses alike, much to everyone’s amusem*nt. Every once in a while, whoever was closest would give him a nudge until he made his way up to the head of the table, where Bruce was about to take his turn introducing himself.

The marble paused

Bruce reached over to poke him.

Danny rolled backward before he could make contact, dodging all the obstacles on the table at speed and launched himself at Jason, who caught him by pure instinct.

Frowning down at his hand holding Danny’s core, Jason stood up, tossing his napkin down on his plate. “I’m done.” And walked out. Alfred, prepared as always, handed over a small sundae that he had prepared for desert, as well as a small napkin, right when he made it to the door. “Thank’s Alfred.”

He didn’t know why Danny didn’t want Bruce to touch him. He had an idea, but he was more likely to be wrong. He knew that Bruce would never intentionally hurt any of the kids under his roof. Hell, Damian was more likely to hurt him, but he still interacted with the kid as he was making his way down the table.

After taking a detour to the library to grab the box of ectoplasm and his book, he decided it was time to move things upstairs to the bedrooms. Another detour to his own room to grab a pair of sweats and a tank top to sleep in, he finally made his way into Danny’s room, locking the door behind him.

“There, now he can’t come in without you hearing about it first.” He muttered, holding Danny up on his palm. He wasn’t sure how much Danny could see, but he gave him a short tour of the room, pointing out both the en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet that all the rooms on this floor had.

Absently, Jason noted that the duffel bag that Sam had given them last night was sitting on the desk, ready for Danny to do what he would with it. He knew, without looking, that there were already some clothes in the closet, hand-me-down pants and shirts to get him started with his new life, as well as unopened packages of socks and underwear. Alfred was good at guessing sizes, but the first chance he got, Jason knew this from experience, he would take Danny along for a ‘necessities shopping excursion’ as he liked to call it. Honestly, it was a bonding trip to the mall with Bruce’s black credit card. It was one of his favorite bonding experiences with the older man when he first moved in with Bruce.

And if a brand new gaming system was deemed by the kid a ‘necessity’, then they’d get it, as he learned in a fit of testing Alfred’s limits. There had been a caveat, but in the end, he’d gotten the gaming system, plus a handful of games to get him started (Hell, he probably had them around there somewhere if Danny was interested).

It was also a great way to learn about their likes and hobbies. It was the way that they learned that Tim liked old-fashioned film photography when he got the chance to indulge, not just the digital kind. And that Damian liked to paint in his spare time.

It was the way that they got an entire gymnastics set-up in the secondary ballroom.

And an entire niche in the library was remodeled so that Jason could read in peace. True, he had grown out of the space now, unable to fit into the glorified cabinet filled with cushions comfortably, but he’d caught one of the girls or the Demon Brat snuggled inside for a nap more than once. (He never dared to tell anyone it reminded him of his coffin. He wouldn’t take the reading nook away from the kids just because it triggered him on bad days.)

Jason could only imagine what Danny would bring to the manor.

Settling down on the bed, on top of a navy blue comforter with grey sheets and pillow cases, Jason placed Danny’s core down beside him before reaching over for his ice cream.

A small humming caught his attention though. Following the sound, he saw that Danny’s core had rolled close to his hip.

Well, that wasn’t quite right. It was hovering by his hip, the mist that had been pouring from his core all afternoon starting to rise up and congeal.

“Hey,” He grinned at the misty outline of his little brother. “Of course you’d come out for ice cream. If you can solidify enough that I know you won’t drop it, I’ll give it to you.” In the meanwhile, he took the smallest of bites off with the spoon, letting the treat melt on his tongue. It didn’t matter that he knew that he’d give Danny most of it, but Jason didn’t want to pass over Alfred’s homemade French vanilla. He used vanilla beans preserved in sugar, as well as the sugar itself, so it was double the vanilla flavor.

The note of the hum lowered into the barest hint of a growl as a wisp of cloud swiped at, and through, Jason’s hand. “Try again, Casper.” If he concentrated, he could feel the barest hint of resistance at the swipe. Danny was trying, but he wasn’t quite there yet.

Watching as he took another bite, he could see the effort that Danny put in, his features becoming clearer the more he concentrated. The first were his bright, Lazarus green, eyes. Then the black and white started separating from the neutral grey of the mist. “There we go.” Jason encouraged, putting his spoon in his mouth and using his freed hand to cautiously rest his hand on Danny’s hair, glad when he felt resistance. “You scared me for a bit there, Tanner.”

Able to finish pulling himself together, Danny was exhausted, he leaned against Jason and chirped, much like a baby bird, and opened his mouth, his eyes closed and half-asleep. “Yeah, okay, fair. I did say I’d give you the ice cream.” Making sure he scooped a healthy portion of the vanilla ice cream, sauce and toppings onto the spoon, he popped it into Danny’s mouth, just like when he fed him as a toddler. At least now, he didn’t have to scrape half of it off his chin since he’d learned how to close his mouth properly.

Danny hummed in pleasure. Enjoying the cold sweetness of the treat and the fact that he didn’t have to chew anything. He was too tired to chew. Finishing his bite, he opened his mouth again, wondering absently how long Jason would indulge him.

It turns out, the whole dessert.

Putting the glass aside, Jason went to stand, but was stopped by Danny wrapped around his arm and whining. “I’m pulling down the sheets. You’re fine.” But Danny didn’t let go. Instead, he had a clingy ghost attached to his arm as he pulled down the sheets so that he could tuck Danny into bed. At least, as a ghost, he didn’t feel any heavier than he had as just his core.

Now for the hard part.

Having the sheets pulled down, Jason tried to extricate his arm from Danny’s grasp, which went about as well as you’d expect, with a ghost that could control his tangibility at will. So Jason resorted to begging. And when that didn’t work, laid down on the bed. He tried to be subtle, making Danny lay mostly on the mattress, but the ghost insisted on lying right where he had been for the majority of the past day: over Jason’s heart.

With an exasperated sigh, Jason gave up. “Fine. You win. For now.” And put his hand on Danny’s head, fingers digging into his hair. Danny gave a little chirp of satisfaction and Jason replied back the same, his heart giving a little jolt as he did so. He’d heard from Jazz that Danny would make little sounds like that… but he hadn’t realized that they were a Ghost Thing, not just a Danny Quirk.

And Jason had understood Danny perfectly fine, despite not saying a single word since he had re-formed. Working on instinct alone, Jason gave a little trill that he knew meant to rest.

In response, Danny gave a little growl and bit his collarbone. “Ow, f*ck!” Jason jackknifed, instantly trying to pull Danny away, but stopped when he felt tiny fangs dig in deeper. “What the hell, Tanner?” Looking down, he didn’t see any blood and, when Danny finally let go, no puncture wounds. There wasn’t a single mark on his skin. No bruising. Not even any indents to prove he’d been bitten.

But what he did feel, was a sudden wave of exhaustion. Danny gave that little trill that meant ‘sleep’ and put his mouth gently back over where he had bitten. “Fine.” Jason eventually growled, “You win this time, you little vampire. Now go to sleep.”

Later, when Danny was more awake and they could have a more civil conversation, he gave a blushing explanation that he had bit him by instinct, drawing some of the poisoned ectoplasm out of his system, since he had some fresh, untainted starting to circulate. It was like a last bite of dessert before going to sleep. It wouldn’t be the last time Jason would become a chew toy.

He didn’t mean to, but Jason fell asleep shortly after, only waking up a few hours’ later to a bright flash of light and a sudden weight sliding off his chest to land next to him on the mattress.

“Wha?” It took his brain a few moments to recalibrate, but when he did, he realized what must have happened. In the dim light coming through the window, he saw a black-haired teenager, snoring away beside him, dead (heh) to the world.

Instinctually, Jason took stock of Danny’s (lack of) wounds in the half light. Dried blood and faintly glowing ectoplasm smeared across otherwise flawless skin. He had to resist turning on the lights to inspect Danny’s skin closer, but he remembered how quickly Danny healed while he was being… experimented on. Now, it was more important for the kid to rest. The mystery of healing completely could come later.

Taking his chance, he managed to worm his way out from under the dead tired teen, tucking him securely under the blankets, before taking his book and ice cream flute and retreating.

First thing first, he was going to take another shower, this time to warm up. Danny, with his ice core, ran cooler than Jason would prefer to be. Ever since his death, he didn’t like to be cold if he could ever help it. Hence the jacket, even over his insulated vigilante uniform.

Second, he made his way down to the cave, dropping off his ice cream flute in the kitchen as he passed.

“Staying in tonight, Old Man?” Jason asked, seeing who it was sitting in Tim’s chair.

“You’re awake.” Bruce turned, not bothering to hide that the surveillance bug in the Fenton’s lab was still up and running in the top corner, even as Bruce bounced between more local cases and reading through the Fenton’s unpublished works.

“Anything interesting happen?” Jason asked instead, pointing his chin at the footage, his arms crossed defensively… and partially because it seemed colder than usual in the cave.

“They, or rather Jack Fenton, discovered Danny missing at 6:42 this morning. At 7:45, over an hour later, Madeline Fenton came down to the lab alone. To salvage what weaponry she could, it seems. Jack has not been back down to the lab since.”

“And the rest of the house? The OPS center?”

“Jack has spent the majority of the day with what looks like scrapbooks at the kitchen table. Madeline has spent time on the phone, leaving the house for several hours before returning and yelling at Jack. It seems like there is tension between them.”

Jason nodded. “Reminds me, I need to update Sam.”

Bruce raised his eyebrow. “Danny’s friend who helped rescue him last night. Promised that I’d keep her updated.”

Bruce nodded with a grunt, turning back to his own research. Quickly checking the time, he decided that it wasn’t too late to call a teenager used to late nights and pressed call. “Danny?” The girl answered, anxiety in her voice.

“It’s Jason.” He felt at least a hint of remorse as he could hear her heart drop into her toes. “Did anything happen over there today? We’ve kept the bug up in the lab, but that hasn’t really told us anything except that they discovered Danny missing early this morning.” He wouldn't tell her about the other bugs around the house still being active as well.

“Not really.” Sam denied immediately, but thought better of it. “Maddie came over at one point to talk to my parents. I think she was asking if they’d seen him. But my parents banned Danny from the house years ago- not that it ever stopped us.” Sam snorted and there were the sounds of a video game playing in the background. “I didn’t hear Jack though, so that was strange. They’re almost always together.”

“You think the Fenton’s will do anything, now that Danny’s gone?”

Sam snorted. “Not likely. Not unless they get a lead that proves that Danny’s still on earth.”

Jason hummed, concerned at that. He would think, that they would at least put out a missing child’s report, even if it was to keep up appearances. “Thanks for the info. Now, you wanted updates on Danny?”

The silence from the paused game as Sam turned her full attention to the phone: “How is he?”

“Good news is, he’s reformed.” He waited as the sigh of breath rattled the phone’s speakers. “It took a couple beakers and a fistful of vials, but he’s back to human form. He’s asleep though, but he did wake up long enough to have some ice cream before falling back to sleep.”

Sam gave a low, wet chuckle. “Yeah, that sounds about right. And his injuries? He looked pretty bad when-“ She couldn’t finish her sentence, but he understood anyway.

“All of his physical injuries are healed, as far as I can tell. He’s just exhausted.”

“And he’ll be starving when he wakes up. The last time he got injured, I ended up buying him six Nasty Burgers and a literal bucket of fries. And last time… wasn’t near as bad as this.”

“Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll let Agent A know to prepare a Speedster Dinner for when Danny wakes up.”

“A what?”

“Lets just say that Danny won’t be the first person with a very high metabolism that Agent A’s cooked for. Basically, he knows how to squeeze a lot of calories into a meal when he needs to, without making a lot of bulk and still tasting edible.”

Sam made an impressed noise. “That’ll be good. Danny struggles sometimes, especially since he doesn’t like eating at home and fast food can get expensive for him.”

“Is he picky?”

“Not… he likes to say that he isn’t, and when he gets hungry enough, he really will eat anything, but he likes having choices when he can.”

“I’ll pass that along. Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah. I- we- care about him.” Sam stuttered, correcting herself mid-sentence. “We- We’ll put something together for you and send it your way in the next couple of days. Especially since you’re asking, and I -we- know that Danny won’t mention any of this himself.”

“Hey, you do what you need to, ok?”

“Yeah. We will.”

“Now, I need to call Tucker to update him as well.”

“No, I’ll do it. I need to talk to him anyway.” Sam interrupted, the sound of the video game starting up again. “Thanks for telling me about Danny.”

“No problem.” Jason went to hang up, but thought better of it. “Hey, when he’s feeling up to it, I’ll have him call you, okay?”

“Yeah, that’ll be great.” He could feel the grin in her voice as she hung up, going back to whatever game she had been playing previously.

And, indeed, two days later a new file popped up on the Batcomputer, labeled ‘urgent’ with Danny’s symbol as the icon. Opening it was a document labeled ‘the care and feeding of a Halfa (Mostly Danny, because he’s a twig)’ While it had the air of a serious document, there were definitely two separate ‘voices’ in the paper, giving advice, sometimes contradictory, on Danny’s likes and dislikes. They made sure that Alfred got his own copy before tucking it down into the files labeled ‘Phantom’.

While he had his phone pulled out, Jason checked his messages on his ‘professional’ number. With a frown, he looked up at the ceiling of the cave, staring in the vague direction that Danny slept in.

“sh*t. I have to take care of some business that can’t wait.” Jason spoke into the void before turning toward Bruce. “You’ll tell me if he wakes up, old man?”

Bruce just turned around and raised his eyebrow, silently demanding him to elaborate. “You know I can’t, Old Man. ‘Plausible deniability’ and all that sh*t.”

“Don’t make me have to arrest you.”

“Nah, blowing up the docks isn’t penciled in for a few weeks yet. I’ll be good until then! Just some stupid petty sh*t that hopefully won’t take more than a few hours.”

Turning back to the computer, Bruce clicked on the next article. “Text Alfred if you can’t make it to breakfast.”

“Got it.” Detouring over to the locker room, Jason quickly got dressed, donning his infamous helm, and rode out on his modified street racer.

Chapter 13: Too Fine Foley, who dis?

Chapter Text

Danny didn’t know what it was that woke him up, but it likely had something to do with the sunlight coming through the window.

…Wait.

Sunlight?

Throwing off the covers and stumbling out of bed with enough grace to make a blind elephant jealous, he looked around, expecting to see the lab. Absently, he transformed, wanting to be ready to flee, to escape, at a moment’s notice. Instead, he found himself in a room, mostly empty except for the necessities. A hotel room?

There, on the table, was Sam’s duffel.

Sam.

Closing his eyes, he remembered…

He remembered her being there. Did she rescue him? Did they make it to Chicago?

Cautiously, he opened the bag, seeing vials of ectoplasm and ecto-dejecto laying on top. Good, he had some emergency rations. Though he frowned at the dejecto. He knew it was useful… but for now, he didn’t even want to look at the stuff.

Methodically, he went through the rest of his bag, seeing the hoodie that he’d packed in the bag at Tucker’s place, and the jeans he’d packed in Sam’s. Sometime between him being kidnapped tortured by his own parents, and his apparent rescue, they had combined his go-bags. Hopefully because it would make it easier to transport, and not that one of their houses had been compromised as well.

Making sure he had everything within reach, in case he had to run, he took inventory. Clothes, a new tube of toothpaste and an unopened toothbrush. Travel-sized shampoo and conditioner. Military MRE kits that Tucker had Sam pay for, alongside a box of protein-rich granola bars and a sleeve of cookies. All high-calorie dense foods to keep his energy up on the run.

Phasing his hand into the false pocket Sam had sewn in one end, he bypassed the fake ID and the stack of $100 bills that had been partially Sam’s weekly allowance, and part gift from Bubbie for the Tucker-approved burner phone.

Staring down at the phone, he debated on whether he should call Tucker, or wait for Sam to come back to the hotel room. Not seeing any clocks, he decided it was better to get as up to date as he could before making his next move.

Turning on the pre-programmed phone, he saw four numbers, none of which were labeled. Clicking on the one that he had memorized just after his own parents the Fenton’s cell phones in first grade, he put the phone up to his ear, listening to it ring.

“Tucker Foley, what’s up?”

“… Tucker…” Danny breathed, hearing his best friend’s voice, he didn’t know what came over him. He could feel tears drip down his chin, but he didn’t stop them. He never thought he’d hear his voice again.

“ Danny!” Tucker squeaked back. “Oh man, oh Ancients, you’re awake!”

“Y-yeah, I am.” Absently, needing something to do with himself aside from pacing the room, he repacked the duffel, leaving out his toiletries and a change of clothes- he felt gross. “Do you know where I am? Where’s Sam?”

“Oh, oh man. Are you alone?”

“…Yeah, I mean. I didn’t expect you or Sam to hover over me while I was asleep or anything. That’d be just creepy.”

In response, Tucker’s sigh rattled the speaker. “Dude. You’re in Gotham.”

“…What?”

“Yeah. After we got you out- Sam was totally badass, by the way. She completely wrecked the lab after we souped you- Red Hood met us in Chicago and he took you… well, I’m assuming he took you to Gotham. The point is, you’re out of Amity and safe. Well, safe-r than you were here.”

“…Yeah.” He rubbed his sternum. It explained the hollow ache in his core. Not only was he ripped out of his haunt, but he was torn away from his purpose: To protect Amity Park and the Ghosts within. That and… and his parents their betrayal. They’d prepared for this, but he never thought, he hoped to believe, that they would accept him for who he was.

After silence on both of their ends, Tucker finally spoke again. “It was bad, man. From what Red Hood told us, you faded into your core. Sam told me that he called her last night when you re-formed and woke up for a bit.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be awake for at least another day.”

Danny hummed. It made sense. While he was sore, he wasn’t in pain (which he was unspeakably glad of). Looking at his hand, he was surprised to see the little scars that used to cross his hand from lab accidents and his parents the anti-ghost weapons were gone. Though, his Death Mark was still there, glowing faintly green in his ghost form, and he knew they were white scars on his human skin. The Lichtenberg scars from his accident were always a permanent reminder of the biggest change in his (after)life.

“I’m still a bit tired. But no worse than usual.” He finally admitted, making it over to the window and looking out. Acres of lawn, dotted with topiaries and beds of flowers sprawled before him, surrounded by a tall brick wall with an intricate wrought iron front gate sporting a giant stylized ‘W’ in the center. In the distance, what he could assume was Gotham Harbor blended into the grey of the smog that clung to the inner city. He could tell already that he wouldn’t see his stars again any time soon.

“Good. That’s good. Hey. I’m gonna let you get back to bed. Or not. We’ll talk tonight, yeah?”

Danny could hear a bell ring in the background and nodded. “Yeah. Tonight. You’ll be at Sam’s?”

“Of course.” It wasn’t their original plan, but it would make it easier for the three of them to talk. Tucker hung up on him. He could only assume that he managed to catch Tucker while he wasn’t supervised that closely, either at lunch or between classes. He didn’t have the mental energy to calculate the time difference to figure it out. And if that was the bell, Sam wouldn’t answer. She made it a habit to have her phone turned off during school hours, tired of getting texts from Pamela nearly on the hour, reminding her to ‘behave’.

Finally turning from the window, Danny looked around the room. He really did feel gross, tacky from dried ectoplasm and blood in his human form, even though he was in his ghost form and couldn’t actually see the mess. And he really didn’t want to try to find a bathroom, wherever Jason had left him.

Thankfully, two of the three doors in the room were open. The first was a closet that he swore was half the size of his old bedroom, a handful of clothes hanging on the back wall, as well as unopened packages of underwear and socks in neutral colors.

The second, Danny was never happier to see: an en-suite bathroom. It was relatively small, but had the essentials: bath/shower combo, toilet and a sink with plenty of counter space and storage underneath. There were fluffy navy blue and grey towels on a towel warmer and unopened toiletries lined up on the countertop, including full-sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in what he could only assume were expensive brands.

The promise of a shower temped him to lower his guard finally. Dumping his chosen clothes on the counter, he turned away from the mirror and stripped… well, he couldn’t even reasonably call them rags any longer. His favorite shirt had a hole the size of a bowling ball in one side, and the rest of it was cut to ribbons by-

He closed his eyes, quickly stripping the rest of his clothes and tossing the lot toward where he remembered the trash can was. He didn’t even want to think of it. The only reason he even opened his eyes again, was to step into the shower and figure out how the controls worked, then they were closed once again.

Tepid water streamed over him, loosening the grime from his body and sloughing it all down the drain. Maybe he should be more careful about potentially toxic substances —like his blood- making their way through the sewer systems, but he found that he just didn’t care.

He didn’t know how long he stood under the stream- oh, he would learn just how wonderful these showers were, when he wasn’t still shell-shocked from his captivity- but it was long enough that his fingertips wrinkled. Deeming it long enough (it was Sam’s voice in the back of his head, bitching about wasting water), Danny quickly scrubbed down, washing his hair several times, until he finally felt clean-er. He wouln’t feel clean for a long time, but this was a good start.

Warm towels were another blessing in disguise. He didn’t think he would ever be satisfied with a cold towel again. They felt like they were fresh from the dryer (even smelled like dryer sheets), but he knew with how long he’d been awake, even if they were straight from the dryer, they would have cooled by now. But they were deliciously warm, escpcially after the shower that he didn’t dare turn up to anything near a scalding temperature. With how fragile his core felt, he didn’t think he could take any major form of heat. But warm towels were good.

Thinking ahead, he tossed his hoodie on the warmer as well, letting it heat a bit as he brushed his teeth and went through the rest of his ablutions. By the time he was done, putting on his galaxy-themed hoodie felt like wrapping himself up in a comfy blanket.

Letting his transformation wash back over him, he made sure that his ‘human’ clothes remained, hiding the hazmat suit he died in underneath. With the hood pulled up to hide his starlight-bright hair, he left the bathroom and dared to open the door of the bedroom.

It was Cass’s turn to watch after their new little brother. She didn’t need to invade his privacy, not after Jason locked the door after he had left last night. It was enough for her to watch the door. Besides, she had finally heard noise coming from the other side, starting with a concerning thump- Heavy, cloth covered. He fell out of the bed- followed by various noises as he moved around the room- The zip from the duffle bag. The clink of glass vials and more fabric rustling.- then a phone call- Happy, positive. A friend or companion- followed by taking a shower.

She had expected him to remain in the room until Jason returned. Or until she alerted Alfred that he was awake.

Instead, she was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door. She could tell the moment he spotted her- surprise, wariness, shy, in pain, fatigue. Cautious, strong, light on his feet- likely using a flight ability, not training- a flight risk- and did what she could to dispel the situation: she gave a small wave and a large grin.

Chapter 14: Hospitali-tea

Chapter Text

Opening the door, he didn’t expect to see someone right outside, perched on a side table that otherwise only held a decorative pot with a single yellow orchid- new beginnings, if he remembers what Sam said correctly. The woman was swinging her legs absently, both her hands planted at her sides to keep her upright.

She looked like she had Asian heritage, with black hair cut to chin length. She was thin, but well-developed muscles showed under the tee shirt and jogging pants she wore.

They stared at each other for a moment before she broke the stalemate by giving a small but honest smile and waving. “Hello.”

“Uh… Hi?” Danny tucked both his hands into his hoodie pocket after closing the door behind him.

Hopping off the table, she walked up to Danny and… poked his nose. “Boop!” Turning, she walked down the hall before turning back to him when she didn’t hear him follow. “Food?”

Before he could respond, his stomach replied for him, making him blush green. “…Yes, please.”

The girl grinned, holding out her hand. Danny blinked, unsure if he should take it. So far, she hadn’t given him any reason to distrust her. Beside, he could always turn intangible and flee. He hadn’t seen any anti-ecto shields shining outside- the green glow would have been obvious, even against the gloom of Gotham’s smog- So he could flee whenever he wanted to. He had to trust that wherever Jason left him, it was safe.

Pulling his hand out of his hoodie hesitantly, it wasn’t even fully extended before she grabbed it with a grin. “Cassie. Come.”

“Oh, okay.” Danny was startled by the strength as she started pulling him down the hallway. He was tempted to just float and let her pull him along like a balloon, but he was at least attempting some semblance of humanity. “Danny.”

She just hummed and nodded, like she knew his name already, but didn’t drop her smile. “Come. Food.”

“…Okay.” She led him down the hall, across another, until she came to a staircase. Then down that and into a grand hall, where the main staircase was a centerpiece, and toward the back. Without bothering to knock, she opened a closed door, letting go of Danny’s hand and crossed what looked like a comfortable kitchen with a breakfast nook off to one side.

In front of the stove top was an older man in slacks and a white button-down shirt, his sleeves rolled up. Without hesitation, Cassie wrapped her arms around the man, tucking herself under one of his arms. “Ah. And hello to you too, miss Cassandra. Did you sleep well?”

Cassie hummed, nodding into the older man’s side before turning and pointing at Danny.

It was only years of dealing with various Bats and Birds that prevented Alfred from starting when he saw that their newest family was up and about. “Ah, Master Daniel” the smallest twitch at the name made him reconsider his usual nomenclature. “Master Danny, if you would prefer. Or Tanner? Would you like something to eat?”

“Yes, please.” The boy’s answer was polite, deferential. Not what he had come to expect from any of his boys. “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” The older man smiled, giving a little bow. “Now, are you hungry for anything specific, or would something left from breakfast to tide you over until lunch? While Breakfast is usually a casual affair, I do highly recommend meals together with the rest of the family in residence.

“Oh. I can wait until lunch then.”

“Nonsense. I will not suffer a starving child under this roof. Now, if you are interested. I made a raspberry coffee cake this morning. Or I could interest you in some eggs, sausage and toast?”

“No toast. Please.” Danny tacked on, cringing away the thought of toast. The man just nodded, making mental note to skip toast for Master Daniel’s meals.

“Alright.” Moving toward the coffee cake on the glass stand, he removed the lid, slicing a piece for Cassandra. “We also have cereal, for when Master Richard is in residence.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Alfred watched Daniel’s reactions, watching as he stared at the plate he placed in front of Cassandra. Silently, he sliced a larger piece and sat it next to the girl where she sat at the table.

“Miss Cassandra enjoys hers with a glass of chai. Would you like one as well?”

Hesitantly, Daniel sat down next to Cassandra, who handed him a fork from the center basket. “I’ve never had chai.”

“Ah. Would you like to try a sip before you commit to a full glass then?” He pulled out his spice mix and heated enough coconut milk to make two servings. “I make mine with coconut milk, black tea, ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, long peppercorns and fennel.”

“That sounds…” complicated. “Interesting.”

“I do admit, it is a bit of an acquired taste, but the children were interested in it. I prefer my tea un-spiced and English myself.”

Danny, who usually limited his drinks to whatever instant coffee was in the house, and occasionally a package of two-part cocoa and marshmallow mix, when he wanted something warm to drink, nodded in agreement, watching what he could of the man’s movements.

At least, he did until he was gently poked by the tines of a fork, silently reminding him to eat. Breaking off the smallest piece he could while still being polite, he popped it into his mouth. Eyes widening, Danny took another piece, this time of a more reasonable size, and practically inhaled it. Where he had expected a dry cake or slice of bread, he was surprised by how flavorful and moist the cake was, with just the right amount of sweetness, thanks to the thin lace of frosting decorating the top. Raspberry pieces dotted the inside, turning the majority of it pink.

“If you’re wondering, the secret is that the raspberries are freeze-dried to concentrate the flavor.” The man- Was this the Alfred Jason told him about?- chuckled, leaning between the two to set up a tea kettle and to hand each a small cup. He poured Cassie’s first, only half way, then Danny’s slightly less.

Looking down at his cup, the drink was surprisingly milky, reminding him of one of the fancier coffee drinks that Sam enjoyed. And the spices hit him, not nearly as powerful as he was expecting. If Alfred(?) hadn’t told him there was black pepper in it, he would have never known.

“Now, if either of you wish for something else, just ask.” The man reminded the two before going back to the meal prep that he was working on previously. On his way back around the table, he patted Cassie on the head, making her beam at the touch.

“Good?” She asked, turning back to Danny and pointed at the half-demolished cake.

Danny, his mouth full, just hummed. Cassie grinned and swiped at his cheek, catching a few stray crumbs. Then tapped on his cup with her finger, lifting her own. “Try. Trust.”

His hum took on a more skeptical tone, but he did take a sip, swishing it around his mouth as he tasted the different spices and how they played together. By the time he opened his eyes again, Cassie was holding up the pot. “More?” She asked with a knowing grin. Putting down his cup, he nodded the go-ahead. He reserved his judgment from more than a single sip’s worth. She poured him a half-cup like the man had hers. Putting down the pot, she placed the handle in his direction. “Pour for me?”

Blinking, not sure what was going on, he did so, stopping when she held up her hand at the half-cup level. “Good.” She praised when he put the pot back down, then she explained, seeing the confusion in his posture. “It’s polite.” She gestured between the two cups. “Half means ‘stay, take more’. Full cup means ‘finish, go away’”

“Oh.” Danny blinked, looking at the cups himself. “Huh. And pouring for each other?”

“Polite.” Cassie shrugged, “Humbling. Helping each other.”

“That’s nice.” His core hummed. This virtual stranger, proving, in her own way, that she could be trusted. He hadn’t felt a single negative emotion from her the entire time, nor from the man in the kitchen, except for the small spike of haste when he checked on one of the pans on the stovetop. It helped that he remembered the name ‘Alfred’ coming up at one point while Jason talked about his past. He was Bruce’s butler/foster father, and thus the family patriarch, though everyone outside the family assumed it was Bruce.

It also meant that the house- Wayne Manor, apparently- was Alfred’s haunt. And without Jason there to vouch for him, he wasn’t sure just where his place was and what expectations Alfred had of him to allow him to remain unharmed.

Was he a visitor? Where was Jason? What did they want him to do? Did Jason leave him here? Was Jason forced out? Why didn’t he take him when he left?

A poke to his nose pulled him out of his thoughts, startling a chirp out of him. Cassie hummed playfully and, just as he was turning his head toward her again, she poked him again. “Thinking too hard.” He crossed his eyes, staring at the finger that remained hovering an inch from his nose. “Stop. Calm.”

With a confused and defensive hum, the next time that Cassie went to poke his nose, he lunged, opening his mouth to give her a nip. She pulled away with a laugh, unscathed. “Good! Keep fighting. Finish.” She said, tapping his plate and then topping up his cup. “I’ll give you a tour.”

“Miss Cassandra.” Alfred called over, not needing to raise his voice in the otherwise quiet kitchen. “Don’t push Master Danny too hard, though his physical injuries may have healed, he is still recovering.”

Cassie nodded in agreement, beaming when Danny remembered and topped her empty cup with the remainder of the chai in the pot.

Once the two younger left the kitchen, Alfred pulled out his phone, first to call Master Jason, then Master Bruce, to tell them that their newest resident was awake and moving around relatively well, if not cautiously. Also, that he was in his ‘ghost’ form, though he had tried to hide his otherworldly appearance in an oversized hooded sweater.

The picture on the boy’s profile did nothing to capture his luminous green eyes and starlit-hair. His eyes reminded him of Jason’s during the depths of his Pit rage, but brighter and restrained behind a layer of ice. Not to mention his skin held the slightest blue-green hue to it, making it seem unnaturally pale.

There were differences from his picture as well: small fangs and his hands darkened at the tips, also tapering into small black claws. Though, he was gloved in his picture, so it was possible that the boy was aware of his less than human features and strived to minimize their appearance in public. He hadn’t seen his ears, but he would almost put money down that they weren’t human-rounded either.

Bruce, for his response, thanked Alfred for the heads-up and hung up. He was up in the office, working on his portion of paperwork involved in running Wayne Industries. If he wished to, he would track down Cassie and Danny during his tour.

Jason, on the other hand, owed another ten dollars to the swear jar and yelled that he was on his way before hanging up. Whatever urgent business that had drawn him away last night was apparently not so urgent that he would put it ahead of his brother. That was good to know. He would be home in time for lunch too, wonderful.

Concluding their tour of the suspiciously empty Wayne manor at the top of the grand staircase, the two spotted a familiar leather-clad shape at the bottom. “Jason!” Forgoing his thin veneer of normalcy, Danny literally flew down the staircase to wrap himself around his older brother.

“Hey, Danny, how’r-f*ck that hurts!” Jason growled deep in his chest, but didn’t move to remove the pest that had dove fangs-first into his arms. Danny, in response, just gave a warbled hum and flexed his jaw slightly, which in turn pulled a strangled squeak from the back of Jason’s throat. “Seriously, if you have to go all vampire on me, at least be polite enough to not tear whole-ass chunks out of me!” He wrapped his arms around Danny, but not to pry him away, as Bruce and Cassie fully expected him to when his eyes flashed green, but to support his slight weight.

Throughout his snarling and barking, Jason hadn’t made one aggressive move toward Danny, even after being attacked. “Jaylad?” Bruce’s questioning tone was more of a demand. And at his voice, Danny not only detached, but he phased through Jason on his quest to hide behind his older brother.

Sighing, Jason turned around, pulling Danny back into his arms. He knew he had multiple things to answer, but the most important thing was to check in with Danny. “Ignore Bruce. He won’t do anything to you. When did you wake up?”

“Couple hours ago.” Danny answered, firmly staying in Jason’s arms and hidden behind his bulk from Bruce’s prying eyes. “I was alone.”

“Yeah, sorry about that Starling, I had some idiots to beat up. You know how that goes.”

Danny snorted, nodding. Jason hadn’t bothered keeping his nightly activities a secret, especially since he’d known from the beginning who he was. “Why didn’t you take me?”

“Cause I promised you a soft bed.” Jason answered simply. “Which… you don’t remember anything from yesterday, do you?” Danny froze, wracking his brain, before he gave a full-body twitch, shaking his head.

“I remember… I remember Sam…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Sam and Tucker rescued you and I met up with them in Chicago. We were prepared to sew you back up when I got you back to the bat-cave, but…”

“I was in my core.” Deep horror colored his voice as one hand curled over his heart protectively. Releasing a shaky sob, Danny nodded. “I… It was close. I didn’t know I could actually retreat into my core. And if that had happened while my parents were there…” Jason, though he was already holding Danny’s slight weight, shifted his arms so one was where his thighs would be if he wasn’t in his ‘tail’, his other hand between Danny’s shoulder blades, pressing him firmly into his chest in a tight hold.

“That didn’t happen. You held on until we could get you out. You did good. You were strong.” He spoke the words that he wished Bruce could have- would have- said after, after the Joker happened.

Walking over to the stairs, he nodded at Cassie as she moved out of the way, he sat down, Danny cradled in his lap, tail wrapped around his waist. He would worry about Danny choosing to be in his ghost form later. For now, he had a traumatized teenager to comfort.

“It’s okay now. You’re not alone. You’re safe. Nothing can happen to you in this manor. You’re alive… well, alive-adjacent.”

That got a snort out of the kid. Good, so he wasn’t completely sucked into his own memories. “Alive ad- Jay- cent.” Blanking, Jason had to fight the sudden and strong urge to strangle the kid.

“That’s it!” Jason growled, pressing Danny’s head down until it hit his knees in an enviable example of physics squish. “f*ck I don’t want to be there when you meet dickhe*d.” Danny just cackled, proving that he could still breathe enough to talk, even with his lungs (and spine) folded virtually in half. After a minute and some concerned looks from Bruce, Jason finally let the twerp go.

“Hey,” Jason spoke lowly, almost whispering, after they both settled back down. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Danny snorted, refusing to look up from studying his own tail. “It was stupid. I thought Mom and Dad were going to be out for the rest of the night for a date night, so I wasn’t careful when I came back from the ghost zone. I-“ He looked around, seeing Bruce obviously listening in and ducked his head back down. “Wanted to ask Frostbite some questions about what we talked about.”

“Did you get your answers at least?” Now wasn’t the time to repeat Bruce’s ‘constant vigilance’ speech… especially in front of the man himself.

“Yeah!” Danny lit up, literally, his eyes glowing with passion and even his skin glowed a bit brighter. “Frostbite thinks, from what I was able to tell him without being able to run any tests that if you replace the corrupted ectoplasm with some purified ectoplasm and flush your systems with it, it should- should….” Danny, in his excitement, noticed Bruce listening in and just… shut down.

Following his line of sight, Jason saw Bruce still standing there, not even bothering to hide that he was listening in. Sighing, Jason just patted Danny’s head. “Bruce doesn’t know a lot of the details, but he knows enough of what you’re talking about.”

…And that was the wrong thing to say, as Danny started fading from sight, though he could still feel his slight weight in his lap. “Hey, no, none of that.” Jason jostled Danny, looking down at his translucent form. “Bruce is fighting against the anti-ecto acts. There’s no way in hell he’d give you over to the Ward, let alone your parents. You’re safe here. I’m safe here.” Still, Danny stayed translucent, just nodding along. He was sure that as soon as they were alone, or at least without Bruce (and possibly Alfred, depending on how far his anti-adult sentiments went), Danny would give him the rest of the details from his trip to the Far Frozen and his doctor/mentor there.

Still, Danny had said enough, already able to feel the difference with the little ectoplasm that he’d absorbed while feeding Danny, and Danny’s bitey habit drawing out pieces of the corrupted ectoplasm every time he did so. He was able to focus better and the mere sight of Bruce didn’t lead him directly into wanting to punch something- mainly Bruce’s smug face.

A quiet cough drew everyone’s attention. Alfred stood by the dining room’s doors. “If the masters and miss would like, lunch is served.” He stood still, watching as Cassie, then Bruce, then Jason, still carrying Danny, filed into the room.

“Now, I do have a question for the young master.” Alfred spoke, looking directly at Danny with a kind but professional air. “Is it just toast you wish to avoid, or all bread products?”

Danny grimaced, letting himself become visible as Jason made him sit in his own seat, furthest away from Bruce. “Bread is fine. It’s just after seeing a weapon made for ghost hunting able to make toast in ten seconds flat, and also becoming toast yourself, you tend to emphasize with it a little too closely.” Danny nodded to himself, not seeing or acknowledging the grimacing around the table as he spoke of his own death so casually. “But I do still like bread.”

Alfred nodded. “Good to know.” Turning to the rest, he started putting out plates, including a basket of fresh rolls in the middle of the table. “Today I made pot pies from the leftover roast chicken.”

Chapter 15: 21 grams

Chapter Text

“So, if Frostbite guesses right, if you regularly ingest at least a vial of ectoplasm weekly, possibly daily, it should safely flush the Lazarus waters out of your system. And, depending on how your proto-core develops, you could either go down to a few drops every once in a while to curb any… urges. Or, you could need more than that to support any growing powers you eventually get.”

“How much do you usually need?” Jason asked, fiddling with the vial that Danny had handed over, with the intention that Jason should drink it. They were in one of the more private sitting rooms, sitting across from each other with a small coffee table spread with printed articles spread across the surface.

“It depends, really.” Danny shuffled through the paperwork, until he came by an article with Jazz’s name on it. “I’ve never really been out of Amity long enough to have to find out. Usually, I’m able to just draw the ambient ectoplasm from the air.”

Handing over the paper he found, he pointed to Jazz’s name. “And while Gotham has its own ectoplasm, it’s…”

“Corrupted. Cursed, dirty. Unwell.” Jason could go on. He’d heard it all about his city, but it was his city.

Danny nodded. “Junk food.” He finally settled with. “It’s there, but it’s not healthy to absorb. When Jazz moved here, she noticed that she started to crave clean ectoplasm. So I sent her a couple of vials to tide her over until she could visit for Christmas break. She hadn’t noticed, becoming a liminal in Amity Park, that she had been absorbing the ambient ectoplasm from the air, not just because our… her parents are sh*t at decontamination and it’s literally in the food.”

“Is that why you keep biting me? You’ve got perfectly clean ectoplasm right there.” Jason pointed to the flask sitting on the coffee table where Jason had meant for Danny to take it.

Danny, in response, pouted. “Yeah… but like I said, junk food. The tainted ectoplasm in your system may not be good for me, but it still tastes like you under all the gunk.”

Jason smirked, “I don’t know if that’s sweet, or really creepy.” He said gently, making his tone intentionally light. He didn’t want Danny to shut down.

“It’s… Well, you needed the junk to be pulled out of your body. I’m just helping it along!” He spoke defensively, crossing his arms to protect himself. “It’s just… it’s a ghost family thing to do too, feeding off each other. Exchanging emotions to check in on one another. And usually…” Danny didn’t want to say it, admitting he was younger than he had to act most days. “Its a way for younger ghosts to make sure they get the right things to grow up properly.”

“Ah, jeez.” Jason sighed, making his way around the table to scoop up Danny, setting him in his lap. “Like I would have ever told you ‘no’. Just, do you have to bite so goddamn hard? I feel like Titus’ nylabone.”

“…Titus?”

“Damien’s dog. Didn’t Cass give you a tour?”

“Just inside the main section of the manor.”

“Ah.” Jason nodded. “When Damien gets home, ask him to give you the animal tour. We’ve got a few floating around here. He totally inherited Bruce’s adoption problem.”

Danny hummed, leaning into Jason’s chest and closing his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he was still tired. And hungry for ectoplasm. The best thing for him, would have been to go to the ghost zone, but with how weak he felt, there was no way that he could open a tear between realms. It was difficult enough on a good day. It just wasn’t within his natural power set, like it was with Cujo and Wulf. Speaking of, if Damien liked animals, maybe he should introduce the two. Cujo could always do with someone else to play fetch with.

Jason’s heartbeat was soothing, though it was slower than the average human’s. It wasn’t as slow as his, but then again, his didn’t even beat in his ghost form, so that didn’t really matter in the end. Resisting the urge to sink his fangs into Jason’s soul again, Danny just pulled the ambient ectoplasm that Jason was exuding into him.

He would need to teach Jason how to shield himself…

The next time Jason looked down, he saw Danny slumped bonelessly in the crook of his arm while he read the paper that Jazz had put together about liminals and ectoplasm dependence. Even without breathing or a heartbeat, it was easy to tell that Danny had fallen back asleep. His emotions, which had been tense and fatigued ever since Jason had come back, had smoothed out. It was something that he didn’t really advertise, but he had always had a degree of empathy, able to read other’s surface emotions without much effort. It had only increased, when the Pit wasn’t muddling what he was reading, when he was revived. Sometimes, it was easier to pretend that he couldn’t feel everyone around him.

Speaking of, Jason raised his head, turning to look over at the door the best he could while jostling Danny as little as possible. “Old Man.” He nodded.

Bruce, taking the acknowledgement as an invitation to come inside, he sat down on Danny’s seat. “How is he doing?” He asked with genuine interest, nodding in Danny’s direction.”

“Exhausted. It takes a lot of energy to pull back from the edge.”

Bruce hummed in agreement, sitting back and getting comfortable. “What are you planning now?”

“I…” Jason looked down at Danny’s head. “Don’t really know. I never really thought this would happen. I mean, he’s been at it for two years already. You’d think he would have been caught before now. I thought maybe, if he wanted to, offering to house him if he wanted to come study at Gotham U, get to know him again. But then I would have been able to prepare.”

“You don’t have any room for him.” It was a statement of fact, not an opinion. Between being one of Gotham’s biggest crime bosses and cleaning up the dirtiest parts of the city, both in and out of the Hood, he didn’t have the time that he would have loved to give to Danny. That, and he currently lived in a one bedroom apartment.

Bruce, on the other hand, had the room and the means. As much as it rubbed him the wrong way, he was the better choice. “No.” He sighed, full of regret and pain at what he had to do. At least here, he would be one of the flock. He’d never be alone, so long as he wanted company. “Could you…”

Bruce wouldn’t make his son, his little soldier, beg. “Of course. He’s family. Alfred started putting together a room for him almost as soon as he heard.” Good old Alfred. What would they do without him? “But you need to decide what to do from here. Technically, you just kidnapped him.”

Jason grimaced, feeling the Pit stir. “I know you f*cking watched those cameras, Bruce.”

Bruce nodded. “I did, but the public doesn’t know that. The Fentons have passed every one of their CPS inspections, despite being called several times in the span of taking him in, with a drastic increase after… ‘the incident’. Mostly by one Mr. Mike Lancer, his English and social studies teacher.”

“If you bring this to court, there is the possibility that you could reveal Danny’s secrets to the world.”

“I know.” Jason looked away. He was between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to protect Danny, but in the process, he might just hurt him even more. “What do you suggest?”

“That you talk to my lawyers, and Danny, before you make any permanent actions. Decide through which avenues you want to go through. Going through the courts will be a long and messy process, but in the end, the most secure. There is also the possibility to create a false history and identification, but that would be very fragile and could be broken easily if they are determined enough.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded, understanding what Bruce was talking about. What made things even more difficult, was that he, Jason, still was technically and legally dead, and had been since he was fifteen. While Jason Peters was a major crime boss and family friend to the Waynes, he didn’t have the same political clout as he did as Jason Todd-Wayne. He had no familial or legal connection to the child once known as Tanner Todd. But then again, Tanner Todd hadn’t existed since he was two either. Danny Fenton had not existed before he was adopted at approximately age four by the Fentons.

Watching his son sink into his own thoughts, Bruce gave his knee a squeeze and left. It was Jason’s choice, what he wanted to do with Danny’s situation. Either way, he would support their decision, whatever it may be. And he had just given him a lot to think about.

But that was something to worry about tomorrow. Right now, Jason was just glad to see that Danny was on the upswing on recovering. Still, he was concerned that he was holding onto his ghost form. He knew, from talking with him and Jazz, that it was harder to hold this form when he was exhausted, which he definitely was. While, for the most part, he was acting like he was human, his white hair and green eyes proved differently.

Even while asleep, he was holding onto his form now, spending what little precious reserves he had to maintain his disguise. But, at least he knew that Danny had enough control now to actually make the decision, consciously or not, to hold his form.

Or, he was too stressed to let himself remain human. The Fentons did capture him in his human form and, as much as he loved his brothers (don’t ever tell them that, it would ruin his reputation), they could sometimes be an intimidating lot to be around. So, yeah, in a way he could understand being ready to flee at a moment’s notice. He was like that himself when the Pit had more influence over his mind.

Classes must have gotten out for the day, since, some time later, the natural noise of the manor increased.

“Ah, there you are!” Jazz, a voice that wasn’t as familiar with, but was quickly getting there, called out from the doorway as she invited herself inside. “I hope you don’t mind, but Alfred picked me up when he came to get Mr. Thomas from classes. Apparently we’re in the same literature class.”

“Yeah?” He… sad to admit, didn’t actually know what Duke’s major was. “ Mr. Thomas?” He asked, watching as Jazz absently started sorting through the piles of printed out articles noticing some of her own notations. These were her ‘ghosts and liminals 101’ papers she had given Jason when she moved to Gotham.

Jazz scrunched her nose up. “I don’t know his given name. I didn’t really pay attention to him before today, beyond learning what the teacher calls him.

“Yeah, but Mr. Thomas. Makes the kid sound high class or something. His name’s Duke.”

Jazz blinked at that. ‘And that’s less pretentious how?”

“I guess not,” Jason just shrugged, “Princess Jasmine.” Which reminded him that Danny was still curled in his arms. Looking down, he made a snap decision. “Hey, wanna hold him while I use the can?”

Blinking, Jazz gave a short bark of laughter, holding out her own arms. “Sure. He’s a bit clingy when he doesn’t feel well. Go ahead and do what you need to. I can watch him for a bit.”

Nodding, he stood up and dumped Danny into her waiting arms, not even concerned if she could take the weight or not. Danny was light, and not just because of his human body weight. As a ghost, when he even decided to lean his minimal weight on someone, it was no more than the weight he had as a marble.

He’d heard somewhere, he couldn’t remember, that a soul weighed 21 grams. And that when a person died, they became that much lighter. Sure, most modern science had disproved the theory, but it had to have come from somewhere. Ectoplasm was another substance that was much lighter than it looked like it should be. It was like holding a beaker with a few grams of dry ice. He would put money down if Danny weighed any more than that as a ghost.

No, the thing was, Danny was also lanky. It was his size, not his weight, that made him unwieldy to carry at times. But Jazz was tall, she took after Dr. Jack Fenton’s height. And he knew that she would take any opportunity to be closer to little brother. Hell, he’d seen a lot of the same thing when it came to Dick concerning… any one of their younger siblings. More than once, he’d seen Dick just… carry off Tim or Damian. He tried to do that with Jason only once post-Lazarus bath. And had to be bedridden for two days after for throwing out his back.

He hadn’t been lying when he said that he needed to use the bathroom. But since Jazz suggested it, he decided to scout out ahead of time just who had decided to come to dinner. If it was everyone again, or if Danny was able to have a more gradual introduction to the utter chaos that was the Wayne clan.

Seeing as it was, well, nearly everyone, Jason seriously considered begging off since Danny was currently sleeping.

“Hey, Jason!”

sh*t.

“Where’s Danny?” Stephanie wasn’t so much talking to Jason, but looking around him to see if he was hiding Danny behind his shoulders. “I heard he was out of his pokeball!”

Jason just gave her a dry look, crossing his arms. “He’s asleep. And you’ll get f*cking shot if you wake him up.” He called as she slipped past him, likely fully intent to be the first one to see him.

Steph just waved her arm dismissively. He didn’t know if she had heard him or not. And it wasn’t his fault if Danny was the one who shot her for waking him up. He did warn her.

Looking around the gaming room, he saw Dick pouting that Stephanie had managed to sneak out first. Tim was on the phone, finishing up a call, his laptop propped up in front of him. Duke and Damien were missing, but they were both likely changing into more casual wear to relax before getting ready for evening patrols. Or to work on homework, since Duke usually did his patrols during the day time.

“How is he, really?”

“Nervous around Bruce. Still recovering from nearly dying permanently. Apparently Cass gave him a small house tour earlier, so that probably wiped what little energy he had.”

Dick frowned at that. Usually Bruce was good about first impressions with kids (It was after living with him for a while that issues started to arise). “You told him one too many stories about Bruce already?”

“More like he doesn’t trust adults. The words ‘competent’ and ‘adult’ don’t belong in the same sentence in his world, let alone ‘trustworthy’. So don’t take it hard.”

“But. Everyone loves me.”

Jason didn’t bother responding to that, just snorting and turning back away. “I’m going to go rescue Jazz from Steph.”

“Can I come?” Jason didn’t even bother to answer, just about-faced and walked back out, hearing not one, but both brothers follow him. Apparently Tim had finished his business call.

Making it back to the sitting room they’d claimed earlier, he was met with the sight of Damien staring down Jazz, the look on his face clearly spelling out that he was debating greeting his newest housemate with a sharp weapon.

He had to give it to Jazz though, she didn’t even blink, taking in Damien’s dangerous aura with the ease of someone who saw more frightening things on a daily basis.

“…Your insecurities are unfounded, though I do understand where you’re coming from. We are an unknown that you’ve likely been taught to fear, and it is human nature to wish to attack what intimidates them.” Jazz absently petted Danny’s head, where it was lying in her lap. “Now, what is it that disturbs you in this situation the most? The unknown of another member joining your family, or not knowing how to handle someone in your safe space with an unknown power set?”

Damien bristled, his crossed arms almost hiding as his hand clawed into his forearm at the question. Jazz hummed, nodding to herself. “If it's the latter, I will gladly provide you with unbiased reading materials and Danny will likely be glad to share his own experiences. And if it's the former, I can say for certainty that your position as your father’s youngest son is in no way being infringed on.”

“How do you know about that!” Damien snarled in reaction, whirling on Jason as he came around the door. “What did you say? What did you tell these interlopers?”

Jason just blinked, sidestepping the flying punch that Damien aimed at him. “What the hell are you talking about, Demon spawn?” He just continued to dodge, in a show of clear-headedness that he wouldn’t have had even a few months ago, only countering by redirecting Damien’s attacks so that they passed by harmlessly.

“I am not scared of that, of that Pit Demon and its thrall! ” He flung his arm back gesturing to the two on the couch.

Jason’s snarl and retaliation was cut off by Jazz’s laughter. “That’s a new one! I’ll have to tell Danny that he’s obviously been controlling me this entire time. So I’ll bow to his every whim since he was learning how to read!”

The green receding from the corners of his vision, he put down his raised fist. “The only demon here is you, brat.”

“Okay!” Dick clapped his hands together with a strained smile. “Now that that’s settled, Hi, I’m Richard Greyson, the oldest of this unruly lot. I go by Dick.”

“Oh. Nightwing. Nice to meet you.” Jazz spoke nonchalantly, like she hadn’t just set off a silent bomb. “Jasmine F-,” She cut herself off, not exactly wanting to associate herself with her progenitors currently, “You can call me Jazz. Danny’s older sister.”

Now it was Dick’s turn to give Jason a look. “Nope, don’t look at me. She’s pulled a Tim a few times already, apparently. Including on Danny. I haven’t told her anything aside from introducing myself and you know how I try not to associate with you Bats.”

“And yet, you still wear Bruce's bat.” Jason just shrugged.

Tim, seeing his opening, slid into the room and sat in the chair across from the couch. “I’m Tim Drake-Wayne.” He stared down at Danny, “I’m glad that Danny’s looking better.”

Jazz hummed, her fingers playing with Danny’s wispy hair. “I am too. Thank you for helping rescue him.”

Tim was already shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “No, that was mostly Sam, Tucker and Jason. I just happened to be at the computer when he came in. Any of us would have helped.”

“Still, you did something that I couldn’t. I’m not able to do near as much for Danny as I want to, especially these past few months where he was alone to deal with our- my… all the people hunting him in Amity Park.”

“You’re here now, both of you, and we’re going to do whatever we can to support you both whatever you decide to do from here out.”

“Thanks.” Jazz gave Tim a watery smile. “I really needed to hear that.” Jazz started when she felt a heavy hand fall on her head, relaxing when it started scratching at her scalp in a familiar way. Looking up, she saw Jason, so let him continue as he would .

“Hey, you’re family, for better or worse.” Jason spoke. “If Bruce never gives up on me, after all the sh*t I’ve pulled-“

“And still do!”

“Nothing either of you can do will make him give up on you.” Jason ignored the little sh*t that interrupted him. Knowing what time it was, or what time it nearly was, Jason came around the couch and knelt by Danny and started tapping him on the cheek. “Hey,” He spoke lowly when he saw a crack of green in Danny’s eyes. “You wanna sleep, or come have dinner with the rest of us?”

“Mmm…” he watched as Danny’s processors came back on, one by one. “…Food?”

Nodding, Jason grabbed Danny’s arm, levering him up to a sitting position gently. “Yeah, food. And you can meet the rest of the family.”

They could tell the moment when Danny realized it was more than just him and Jason in the room, because he just… disappeared with a little squeak. While the others panicked, immediately looking around the room to see where he’d gone, Jason stayed right where he was, eyes staying right where he had seen Danny last. His hand had never left Danny’s arm, so he knew that the kid hadn’t moved an inch.

“Hey, it’s okay. Nobody here will hurt you. This is Tim, Dick, and the one sulking in the corner is Damien. I’ve told you about them.” He gave the arm a little squeeze, reinforcing his statement.

The only response was a small inquisitive chirp, which Jason copied without hesitation.

“What the f*ck was that?” Tim piped up immediately, staring at Jason like he was seeing a ghost, which, well…

“Ghost speak.” Jason snarled, his shoulders raising up around his ears and his cheeks tinting pink. “What’s it to you?”

Tim raised his hands, ready to deflect a hit. “Nothing! It’s just-“

“Cute.” Dick grinned, hands on his hips and fully prepared for the consequences. He was also, much to Jason’s consternation, just out of immediate lunging range. Especially since he wasn’t inclined to let go of Danny’s hand until he was visible once more.

Jazz made a little noise in the back of her throat, giving the same ‘older sibling sh*t eating’ grin that Dick had when he looked over at her. “It really is.”

All Jason did at that was puff up, not willing to tackle Jazz like any one of his other siblings. He didn’t know what she could take yet. But with the willingness to poke the bear that she just showed, he had no doubt that she’d fit right in. “You’re both sh*ts.” Was what he settled with, out of other options.

Both siblings on the couch gave an amused hum at that, Jazz’s arm wrapping around Danny’s shoulders as he faded back into view. Danny gave an intentional low purr, grinning when Jason just rolled his eyes and gave a warbling chirp. “And you’re no better.” Standing up, Jason took Danny with him, tossing the ghost over his shoulder as he went.

“What? What’d he say?” Tim, the eternally curious asked, standing up to follow Jason and Danny out the door.

“Food.” Was all Jason said, marching his way down the hall.

“So…” Dick grinned, turning from watching them go, down to Jazz and held out his hand to help her up. “Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of you around here, huh?”

She took his hand, letting him pull her up, and up, until she was standing a good half-foot taller than him in her reasonable flats. “And I’m way too young for you.” She grinned back, giving his hand a little squeeze before she breezed out the door.

“…Damn.” Dick watched her go, absently flexing his now definitely bruised hand.

Chapter 16: When the Void looks back and says ‘hi’

Chapter Text

Dinner, needless to say, was a chaotic mess.

So, normal.

The batboys all shuffled in at about the same time, some taking their usual place, while others tried to get as close to the newcomers as possible, which unintentionally became a great divide between Bruce, at the head of the table, with Damien on his left, and Jason at the foot, initially.

Then Jason did some seat shuffling, where Danny was on the far end, blocked from Bruce’s view with Jason's bulk, and Jasmine sitting across from her brother. Dick had initially gone to sit next to Jazz, but Jason stared him down until he moved one over, allowing Tim to take Dick’s intended seat.

When Duke came in, he took one look at Danny, paled, and decided to sit himself at Bruce’s right (Dick’s usual seat when visiting) “Nope, ain’t nobody got time to f*ck around with that. Nuh-uh.” He muttered to himself, intentionally keeping his eyes anywhere but the far end of the table.

Bruce just raised his eyebrow in curiosity when he heard Duke muttering. He had no clue what had Duke so spooked, aside from Danny being in his Phantom form. The boy hadn’t given any indication of being anything other than a teen recovering from injury, even going so far as to act like he was in his mortal form and not using any of his powers outright.

“Duke?” He finally just prompted when the boy continued to mutter to himself.

Head snapping up, he looked between Bruce and flicking his eyes over to the other end of the table. “Look, you, uh…” Duke kept his voice barely above a whisper. “You ever wonder what the boogeyman crossed with a black hole ever looked like. With a side of extra crispy body?”

Bruce just blinked, staring at his newest charge(s?), and hummed. “Yeah, it’s really bordering into Uncanny Valley territory. And I thought staring at Jason sometimes was bad.” Duke muttered.

“Death marks.” Cass spoke softly from next to him.

Duke screamed, nearly teleporting out of his seat and to the relative safety of behind Bruce. “Where the f*ck’d you come from?!”

“Bathroom.” Cass answered simply, grabbing a roll from the center basket.

Duke’s scream, unfortunately, also had the disadvantage of pulling attention toward him from the rest of the table.

“Duke, you okay there, man?” Dick asked, looking at him with concern.

“He can see me.” Came the quiet response from an unexpected direction. When attention was turned back to him, Danny turned translucent for a moment before his form solidified.

“ Danny.” Jazz reached across the table and gave her brother’s hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to say anything if you’re not comfortable doing so.”

Danny shook his head, taking a steadying breath that his lungs didn’t need. “Ghosts… to a certain degree, can choose what they present themselves as.” He gestured toward his hair and human-toned skin. “But they have a base form, a ‘true’ form, that reflects who they are, what makes them who they are. Their core, given shape.” As he spoke, Danny’s skin darkened and the hoodie he was wearing disappeared. He sat there, shirtless, his skin the color of the void, green lightning tracing up his left arm, up to his heart and bloomed across his chest. He looked like someone had replaced his body with a picture of the most beautiful slice of nighttime sky. His freckles lit up like stars, forming constellations across his body. His white hair turned into a nebulous cloud, wisping around his head. His eyes were twin luminous green moons, obscuring the majority of his features except for a Cheshire grin full of sharp teeth. Then he shifted minutely and the night sky skin changed texture, becoming blackened and charred with glowing green ectoplasm seeping between the cracks like blood.

This all took a breath of time before he was back to normal, a short enough time that his form could be passed off as a mass hallucination.

“Oh.” Dick breathed, cutting a glance over to Jason before giving his full attention back to Danny. He wondered, if, under the mortal skin he wore, Jason was the same.

“Yeah.” Danny looked down, squeezing back the hand that Jazz never let go of.

Jason, the end of Danny’s ghostly tail wrapped around his wrist, gave the kid’s shoulder a squeeze in solidarity.

The dining room door slamming open startled everyone out of their reverie, even Bruce, though he would never admit to jumping.

“ There you are!” Stephanie exclaimed, dancing around to see who she assumed was Danny and stuck out her hand. “Hi! I’m Stephanie Brown. You can call me Steph. She/They.”

“Uh. Danny. Or-“ He cut his eyes over to Jason briefly, “Tanner. I’m not quite sure yet.” He shook her hand briefly, not sure what to make of the blonde. “Uh… he/him.”

“Cool, cool.” Steph nodded, glaring until Tim gave up his chair reluctantly. “And you’re not Babs.”

Jazz blinked, caught off guard as well. “…No… I’m Jazz.”

“Oh, okay.” Steph nodded, taking a bite off Tim’s plate. “Who?”

That drew an incredulous laugh from the girl as she gently drew her hand back from Danny’s. “Danny’s older adopted sister.”

“Oh!” Stephanie drew out, letting the entire world see the contents of her mouth -she would get along great with Elle, both Jazz and Danny thought silently- before swallowing. “Didn’t know he had any sisters.”

“That’s because your attention span is sh*t.” Tim muttered from Jason’s other side, nodding at Alfred in thanks when he gave Tim a new plate. They all knew that it was worthless to try to take the plate in front of Steph away from her. She was insufferable like that.

Stephanie just stuck her tongue out in response, and Tim replied in kind.

Bruce just mentally asked anyone out there to give him strength to deal with children as he gestured for Duke to sit down and take a sip of water. The only meta on his team could be a bit high-strung and twitchy at times, and apparently Danny was one of those triggers.

Still, Danny’s unveiled form (which Bruce mentally dubbed his ‘full ghost’ form in contrast to the more humanoid one he currently sported) had caught them all off guard. Thankfully, his kids were either too jaded or unbothered that the reveal at the dinner table didn’t affect most of them - Duke notwithstanding. Something in the back of his head told him that he should be worried that literally staring death in the face didn’t scare any of them.

As dinner wound down, Bruce made what the others would deem a major decision, though he could call it ‘giving into an inevitability’. He started talking about everyday batclan plans for the night at the table, like he would as if he didn’t have any guests at the table.

“Damien, you’re with me tonight. Jason?”

“I’m staying in, B.” Jason just tilted his head in Danny’s direction. That was all the explanation needed. “Wingman’s got it covered and he’ll call me if anything needs my… personal attention.”

Bruce just nodded. “Tim, you take the north end. Dick-“

“I’ve got work in the morning. Unless you really need me, I’m going to head back across the bridge to Blüdhaven.” Bruce just grunted and gave his eldest a nod. He wasn’t expecting him to stay for the night, but he had to try.

“Cassandra, follow up at the docks. Stephanie-“

“West end, yep!” Not like they hadn’t had mostly the same assignments for the past week.

“Duke? What kind of homework do you have tonight?” He finally turned to his ‘dayshifter’ kid.

Duke grimaced around his dessert fork, pulling it out of his mouth. “Professor Brom gave us an essay on everyday horrors and how they can be translated into relatable literature.”

Bruce just nodded. While the modern literature professor had passed his inspection and background check, he leaned toward darker subject materials, including Poe, Stein and a few more of the classical horror authors.

Reluctantly, Duke turned his grimace toward Jason. “Help?”

“Are you calling me an everyday horror?” Jason asked with a straight face, but an amused uptick to his voice.

“No, that’s Danny.” Jazz interjected (“Hey! It’s true, but ow!”). “But if you’re helping, I wouldn’t mind you looking over my essay as well. To make sure that it’s Gotham-appropriate level of ‘everyday horrors’ and not Amity Park’s.”

“Yeah, I can take a look.” Jason agreed easily, patting a pouting Danny’s head absently in consolation.

Finally turning toward his latest (or very soon to be latest), “Danny?” Bruce spoke up, watching as the boy visibly shut down and put on a polite, if frosty, mask. “Do you have any plans for tonight.”

“No, sir.” He replied, not expanding on his thoughts, but still looking as if he would reluctantly change his plans to appease Bruce if he demanded it.

Holding back a sigh, Bruce just gave him a nod. “If you need anything from me, anything at all, just have one of the others hail me on coms.”

“Yes, sir.” Knowing that he would get no further than that, he brushed his way down the table on his way out and down to the cave, giving each of his kids that he passed a squeeze or pat on the shoulder. At the end of the table, with Danny watching warily, like a puppy debating on whether to bite, he gave the boy the lightest of touches before he was out the door.

This one would take some work, but that wasn’t any different than each one of his kids. Each one had their own unique set of growing pains for when they came to live under his roof. He would just need patience and to find out what made the kid tick. At least he was on friendly terms with the other kids, so that was one particular hurdle that they wouldn’t have to jump. He would have to pull aside Jason, or more likely Jasmine, to ask what he could do to help.

Finishing up, half the kids headed downstairs to get suited up, while the other half headed toward one of the more casual parlors where Duke liked to settle in a beanbag to study. It just happened to be the parlor that they tended to congregate as a group, one or more of them pulling out game controllers so that they could have impromptu tournaments when they all happened to be without any major cases at the same time.

Jazz settled at the coffee table, using the couch as a backrest as she spread out her notes. Danny, with nowhere really else to go and not wanting to be alone, slumped behind Jazz, tying tiny braids into her hair to stave off another nap. He knew resting was a good thing, but his nerves buzzed just under his skin, demanding that he should stay alert, and preferably move around. He was just too used to always being on alert, especially since the one time he wasn’t… well, he wouldn’t let down his guard around adults again.

He was just glad that they never got around to selling him to the GIW, the Ghost Investigation Ward, or Guys in White. Maddie had wanted to do at least a dozen more experiments. And Jack…

He didn’t know what to think of Jack. He was fascinated with the experiments that Maddie was doing, but he always pumped him full of ecto-dejecto every time Maddie’s back was turned and he felt himself start to slip into a more Final Death.

Blinking back out of his memories, Danny looked down at the fistful of Jazz’s hair, prying his fingers open and letting the strands slip through them. Maybe it was a bad idea to play with her hair right then. He would likely pull and then she would be mad at him.

Jason, sitting in a recliner, watched Danny from over his book. He had definitely had a flashback, with how he froze, hands tight on Jazz’s hair. And she could tell as well, with how she went still, leaning back so that her hair had a bit of slack, just in case he pulled in the midst of his waking nightmare. But she didn’t do anything to try to pull him out of it. Reluctantly, Jason deferred to Jazz’s judgement. She had known Danny longer, unfortunately.

When Danny’s grip unlocked, she leaned the rest of the way back, almost putting her head in Danny’s lap. “You’re in Gotham, at Wayne manor, with Me, Jason and Duke in the room with you.”

Reluctantly, Danny gave a stuttering hum of acknowledgement, petting Jazz’s head in a silent apology. “H-hey, I said I’d call S-sam.”

“Do what you need to, little brother. I’m sure that she’d love to hear your voice. Tucker too.”

This time, Danny’s hum was steadier, almost bordering on more of a purr. “Yeah.”

Standing up, he hesitated at the door, staring at it. “Need me to help you?” Jason volunteered easily, already standing and putting his book down. “Hell, I can’t tell you just how many times I got lost my first month here. I think I found myself in the wine cellar once and Alfie had to come rescue me. Still don’t know how I managed to do that, since the door is locked, and Alfred keeps the key on his body at all times.

“But if you want a real story, mention the word ‘chandelier’ in the presence of both Dick and Alfred. You’ll see some real fireworks then.”

Danny just raised his eyebrow and gave a curious chirp, following Jason up a few flights of stairs and down a vaguely familiar-looking hallway.

“You know, most people run away to the circus. Dick was literally born on a trapeze. His parents were aerialists until they were killed. And he was being trained to continue the family business. Dick still can’t keep his ass still for more than about five minutes at a time.”

“A circus came to Amity once.” Danny started quietly, his face neutral.

“Yeah? What was your favorite part?”

“The ringmaster had this gem, and he used it to control ghosts, making them perform in his show, then rob local stores afterward.” Jason’s face fell, he had a bad feeling about it. He had a feeling that he would be doing some research on the Batcomputer after Danny had fallen asleep. “I don’t remember much, but I think I remember being on the tightrope across the way from Sam.”

Finally turning, he looked up at Jason. “I don’t remember much, but I do remember smashing Freakshow's gem, freeing us.”

“Good.” Jason gave his brother a hug, burying his nose into Danny’s hair for a moment, smelling the distinct tang of ectoplasm. Pulling back, Jason gestured to a door. “I thought you’d like to go back to your room?”

“Yeah, my phone’s still there.”

“I figured.” He watched Danny open his door. “Hey, you’re welcome to go anywhere you want in the manor and on the grounds, just respect closed doors, and all that sh*t. And if you get lost, just scream. Or text one of us, and we’ll come get you.

Danny just nodded, closing the door quietly behind him. Knowing that he wouldn’t leave the room for quite a while, if not for the rest of the night, Jason went back down to supervise Jazz and Duke’s homework.

Turning to his room, he caught the tail end of his phone’s quiet buzzing. Grimacing, he realized that he’d just missed a call from either Sam or Tucker. Picking it up, he realized that he hadn’t just missed one, but a call from either one of them every ten minutes for the past hour, along with at least twenty texts in the group chat.

Peeved, knowing that Jazz was on the chat and could have told him at any time that they were trying to get ahold of him, Danny picked up the phone and simply hit ‘redial’. The phone didn’t even finish ringing once before Sam picked it up. “It’s about time!” Sam’s voice went tinny halfway through her exclamation, showing that one of them had put her on speaker.

“I know, I’m sorry. I was eating dinner with… Hell, I don’t remember any of their names. Jason has a lot of siblings.

“It’s weird, huh?” Tucker asked, proving that he was there as well.

“It’s so… its like eating in the cafeteria, just with much better food- don’t tell the Lunch Lady.”

Tucker laughed. “No promises, man.”

“Traitor.” Danny said with a smirk, collapsing onto his bed. He noticed, absently, that it had been made while he was downstairs. But Alfred was in the kitchen the whole time? Or so he thought.

The three talked about everything and nothing, like the past week hadn’t happened, and that’s just what Danny needed from his other two-thirds. They would talk about it, but only after they each had time to process what happened.

For Danny, that included being thrust into a whole new reality for the second third fourth? time. It would take time to adjust. And hopefully he would have more time, unlike when he first became a halfa.

Danny’s input with the conversation slowly dwindled, until all they could hear from his end were soft snores. Sam and Tucker just gave each other soft smiles, continuing to talk with each other late into the night, keeping Danny’s sleeping ear company. It was just like one of their normal study nights, with Danny finally able to rest, protected by the two who he could trust with his half-life.

At one point, Tucker simply pointed out that he was glad that he hacked Danny’s plan to give him unlimited minutes, cause he didn’t doubt that they were going to be put to the test in the upcoming months.

Chapter 17: Moon’s Haunted

Chapter Text

In the morning, Danny found himself being roused gently by a tapping on his shoulder. Pulling the blanket up over his head only ceased the incessant touch by enough time to settle back down, then it started up once more, steady, even and impossible to ignore.

Eventually, Danny gave up and threw off the blanket, glaring up at whoever was waking him. “Good morning, your Highness.”

An older gentleman with slicked back hair long enough to be pulled into a small tail and a clean-shaven face stood over him, head tilted deferentially. “I trust you slept well?”

“…Who?” This wasn’t the butler that he met yesterday. This one felt more… distant. Professional. Like the butler his family (the Fentons) had for the week they were rich. And Jason never mentioned anyone other than Alfred.

“Ah, my apologies.” The man tilted his head in a shallow bow. “My name is Jeeves Pennyworth. I believe you met my grandson yesterday. I apologize in advance if he is not to your liking. He is young and has taken liberties with his primary charges.”

“Your…” Alfred? Danny wouldn’t necessarily call him young.

“Alfred, yes.” It was then, blinking through the haze of a still-waking mind, that Danny noticed the ghostly aura around Jeeves. That. That explained things. Including his suit, which looked like something he would see in one of those historical dramas. He thought it was called a tail coat.

Grunting, Danny moved to put his feet on the ground, intending on standing up. Instead he hunched over, scrubbing his face with his hands, willing himself to wake up further.

“If you wish, I took the liberty of preparing you a morning drink, and put out a set of clothes for the day.” The ghost butler gestured toward his side table, where a delicate cup was steaming, glowing an ectoplasmic green. Besides which, his phone laid, turned off and set down precisely equidistant from the front and side edges of the table.

He then gestured toward the table where Sam’s duffel had rested yesterday (He’d really meant to unpack that…). Instead it was missing, with a simple pile of clothes and a fluffy towel replacing it. “If you don’t mind, I took the liberty of unpacking your luggage, with the hope that you intend to stay for at least a short while.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. I don’t mind.” Smelling the ectoplasm in the cup, Danny’s mouth watered. He could tell that it was mostly the purified stuff that was in the vials, but there was something added that made it smell delectable. In the next blink, the small cup was empty and he had to resist licking out the last drops- he could hear Jazz in his head, chastising him that he wasn’t a dog.

Jeeves took the cup delicately, stepping back enough that Danny wouldn’t feel crowded when he stood up. “If your highness would like a shower, afterwards I can give you introductions to the less visible residents of the manor, including the former Master Wayne, if you would be so inclined. We should be finished in time to attend breakfast with the more mortal residents.

“Okay, yeah, that sounds good. Thank you.” Danny didn’t quite know what was happening, but he would gladly take the excuse of a shower to both think about what Jeeves had just revealed, and to wake up more.

Because sure, yeah, ghosts in Gotham. That totally made sense that Wayne Manor was haunted. Where were they yesterday when he woke up? He hadn’t sensed a single one during the entire tour, let alone his ghost sense going off at all.

Maybe he was broken? Danny thought absently, daring to turn the water temperature slightly higher today, since his core felt less fragile.

No, he decided, he wasn’t broken. Its just that the whole manor had the same low level of ectoplasm, disguising the resident ghosts from his senses. Still, his instincts told him that it was Alfred’s lair that he was residing in, not Bruce’s nor Jeeves, or any of the other ghosts. It was odd, seeing ghosts willingly deferring ownership of the lair to one of the living.

Stepping out, he noticed that Jeeves had moved his towel onto the warmer, turning it on, along with setting out his toothbrush and toothpaste, with a brand-new high quality comb placed in a place of pride next to it, silently highly suggesting that Danny should use it.

Not wanting to get into an argument with a (his?) ghostly butler first thing in the morning, he did so. The pile of clothes, Danny had a feeling if it was in his closet, Jeeves would have at least dressed him in a button-down shirt. As it was, he had pulled out one of the fresh boxers, dark trouser socks, his least worn down pair of jeans and plainest tee shirt. His red converse were lined up to put on, but he could feel Jeeves’ disapproval at the footwear.

As soon as Danny finished slipping on his shoes and shoved his phone into his pocket (He learned that mistake after yesterday), Jeeves became visible once more. “If it pleases you, your highness, please follow me.” He gestured toward the door, but then promptly floated through the wall two feet to the left.

Glad that he was used to ghosts and their propensity toward ignoring mortal doorways (and hallways. Mortal buildings in general), Danny phased through the wall right behind him. They walked hallways that were ever so slightly different than what the current manor boasted, taking corners through rooms and ascending or descending staircases that likely hadn’t seen mortal foot for decades.

Eventually, they ended up in the far wing of the manor, one that Cass had mostly glossed over in her tour. The rooms were smaller, less decorated and simpler on the whole.

Entering a small sitting room, Jeeves gestured to a well-loved chair. “If your highness would wait here?”

“Danny.” He finally blurted. “Or Phantom. I don’t really like titles.”

“Very well,” Jeeves nodded, and Danny let out a relieved breath. “Lord Phantom.” Too soon.

Well, it was better than ‘Your Highness’ he was already sick of the title. On his worst days, he wished that he had just let Pariah win.

While he waited, Danny looked around. The sitting room looked well-loved, with a pair of chairs in front of a small fireplace. On one side was a bookshelf filled with a whole range of books, from fantasy, to cookbooks, some with spines more broken with use than others. On a side table was a multimedia player designed to look like an old fashioned phonograph. But it had a digital display and slots where it could also play cassettes and CDs, as well as a plugin for a digital player. On the shelves under the machine was an extensive music collection.

On the walls, Danny couldn’t help but to smile. Framed photos took up nearly all the available space, including a few framed drawings that looked like they were done by children. Looking closer, Danny recognized several faces as those that had been with dinner last night.

On the mantle, a series of more formal pictures sat, either school photos or some other formal occasion. Bruce’s sat at one end, going down the line was what Danny assumed was each of Bruce’s kids. And there, at the end, was Danny’s last school photo, grainy, like it had been taken from his yearbook, but still just as lovingly framed as the others. It hadn’t been there long though, since the frame hadn’t had a single fleck of dust on it. The others, though they looked polished often, still showed signs of age.

A polite knock on the door drew Danny’s attention away from the pictures. “Lord Phantom, may I introduce Master Thomas Wayne?”

“Oh.” Danny turned around, startled, “Uh? Hello… nice house you have here?”

“Oh, He’s adorable.” A female voice came from behind Mr. Wayne, brushing him out of the doorway. “Move, you pill.” She grumbled good-naturedly.

Kneeling in front of him, who he could assume was Mrs. Wayne gave him a gentle smile. “Oh, he does remind me of Jason when he was younger. An obvious family resemblance.” She cupped his cheeks, turning his head side to side. “You were right, Jeeves, he’ll fit right in.”

“Um… thank you?” He wasn’t sure how to take her. He just wasn’t used to perfect strangers laving positive attention onto him.

“Martha, dear, I think you’re scaring him.” Mr. Wayne finally spoke, his hands on her shoulders, but his voice was full of amusem*nt.

“Oh!” Pulling her hands back like they were burnt, she glowed in embarrassment. “I am so sorry. And I haven’t even bothered to introduce myself, how rude.” Crossing her hands delicately in her lap, she leaned forward slightly with a wide grin. “I’m Martha Wayne née Kane, Bruce’s mother. But you can call me Nan if you wish to. Or Grandmother, if you’re more formally inclined.”

“Nan?”

“Oh, yes! Ever since Bruce brought home his little Dickie-bird, I’ve been thinking what I would like to be called. Unfortunately, you’re the first that hasn’t ignored me as a hallucination since I was alive. It’s so hard to pass on messages when nobody can see you.”

“Dear…”

“Yes, yes, I know. Alfie is a dear, but he can only do so much.”

“I know.” Leaning down, Mr. Wayne bussed his wife’s cheek. “But how about you let the poor boy breathe and let the others introduce themselves?”

Martha turned just enough to shoot her husband a dramatic pout before sighing and standing up with Mr. Wayne’s help. Bending down, Mr. Wayne grinned and whispered in Danny’s ear: “You can call me Paps.” Both Waynes then stepped back into a corner and gave Jeeves a nod.

Opening the door, he introduced the next guest: “Alan Wayne. Gotham’s Architect.” The one who came in next was small and thin, hunched over with age and permanent dark stains under his eyes. A small owl pin on his lapel. He looked the boy king up and down, unimpressed. “A bit scruffy. Like Bruce’s other orphans.” Turning to Mr. Wayne, he gave the younger ghost an indecipherable look. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Before turning back around and vanishing out the door.

With the door opened still, a handful of servants marched in, lining up before either giving a respectful bow or curtsy. They had clothing from all ages of Gotham, from a girl in a floor-length black dress with a white apron and bonnet, to a man in overalls and a tee shirt.

“Eliza, sir.” The girl in the black dress dipped another curtsy. “I mostly help with the washing.” She started at one end of the line, with the others introducing themselves and their primary jobs, ending with the man in the overalls.

“Jake. Landscaping.” He finished his statement by tapping out a cigarette and popping it into his mouth. Before he could reach for his lighter though, Jeeves snagged it and poofed it back into ectoplasm.

“Not. In. The. House.” Jeeves spoke, obviously at the end of his rope.

“Yeah, yeah. No making the fleshies sus, I get it.” In an aside, he rolled his eyes. “Catch a curtain on fire once. Hell , I never wanted to do gardening for the rest of eternity, but in Gotham, sh*t like this happens.”

Danny shrugged, silently agreeing, but he wouldn’t dare say so out loud and earn Jeeves ire.

At that moment, Alfred walked by, still buttoning his shirtsleeves. A double take later, he entered the room. “Master Danny!” Collecting himself, he mentally stepped back into his butler’s role. “May I ask why you are up so early?”

Blinking, Danny looked around. Jeeves, the Waynes and the other servants had all gone transparent. “I… couldn’t sleep.”

Humming, Alfred nodded his head. “Understandable. Now, would you like for me to leave you be, or would you like to keep me company in the kitchen? I’m afraid breakfast isn’t quite ready yet, seeing as most of the other residents won’t be up for at least another hour hence.”

He had a strong feeling that it would be for the best to join Alfred in the kitchen. It also had the best chance of making Jeeves back off for the moment. “I’ll follow you.”

Alfred just nodded, waiting until Danny left the room before he looked around, staring hard at a particular spot where Danny last remembered Jeeves standing before closing the door to his private lounge. “Very good, sir. This way.” He could have sworn that he’d closed that door last night. Then again, the servants quarters went mostly unused most of the year, and thus were lower on the maintenance list. The catch must not have taken as well as it should have.

At least, that’s what he told himself. He knew that he wasn’t the only servant in Wayne manor on a daily basis, just the only consistent living one. And it was always up to the servants to take care of their own quarters.

He had a feeling, with a ‘half ghost’ in residence, many of his suspicions would be confirmed or debunked sooner than later.

Quickly making his way to the kitchen, he pulled out ingredients for his own breakfast. A nice omelet sounded like it would hit the spot just right. “Would you care for anything in particular this morning, Master Danny? I would dare to say that we have the makings for just about any breakfast you could think of. We even have a box of sugary cereal for when Master Dick spends the night.” Alfred’s tone when speaking of the cereal was fond exasperation. He would prefer his eldest grandson to eat at least a little healthier, when given the choice, but unhealthy food was better than no food, that was for sure.

“Um… I’ll have whatever you’re having.” Danny finally decided, creeping closer from the door slowly, eventually pulling out one of the bar stools next to the kitchen island to watch.

“Very well, sir.” Alfred nodded, watching the boy out of the corner of his eye while he chopped some extra bell pepper. Handing out a slice for Danny to take by habit. He was pleasantly surprised when the boy took the small offering. “Now, do you take mushrooms?”

By the boy’s wrinkled nose, he most definitely did not. “They’re ok.”

He only put a handful of sliced mushrooms in his own pile of filling. “Young sir, I will only say this once. Do not force yourself to eat things that you cannot tolerate, not in this house, unless you have a good reason to force yourself. I do prefer all my charges eat healthy, yes, but I would rather them eat than turn away a meal. Goodness knows most of them do it anyway. Distractible, the lot of them.” Alfred huffed, pulling a small smile from the boy.

Alfred silently cooked for the next few minutes, glad that one of the stovetops was on the island so that he could face the boy. “…When Jason first came to us, he would like to sit right where you are and watch me cook. Eventually, when he showed a genuine interest in learning, he started helping me around the kitchen. Your brother is one of the few that is allowed to touch the oven unsupervised.” He tacked on with a little chuckle, sautéing the vegetables in two separate pans. “Which goes to say, most of the others are a complete disaster when not reigned in properly.

It took a minute, but Alfred’s patience was eventually rewarded: “Jazz and I usually ate out when we could. All our kitchen appliances had a tendency of bringing our food back to life.” Sticking out his thumb, he pointed at the side of it. “I guess its not there any longer, but I had a scar from when I was six from when one of the hotdogs bit me.”

Alfred blinked. “Oh, dear.”

Danny gave a wry grin. “Yeah.”

“ Well, I can guarantee that everything that I serve you, will be properly inanimate.” There really wasn’t much else to say about that . “ Though, given your druthers, what types of home cooked meals do you prefer?”

“…I…” Danny opened his mouth, closed it, then promptly shrugged. “I like eating out at Nastyburger.” It wasn’t exactly a home cooked meal, but it was something safe that he knew wouldn’t come back to haunt him later on. While the ectoplasm was actually good for him, and the small screams as he ate anything his par- the Fentons made helped desensitize him to the first time he was hungry enough to eat a blob ghost like a marshmallow.

“Though there was this one thing that Tucker’s mom made once… In-something. It's like this fermented pancake that they used to pick up other pieces of food from the plate. She said that it was from her birthplace.”

“I do believe you’re referring to injera. Not something that I’ve had personally before, but I have no doubt one of the boys have tried it at least once in their travels.”

“Yeah, injera sounds right. And we had all these little little dishes of food that we shared. It was really good. I think they were celebrating a holiday or Mrs Foley’s birthday or something. They invited both Sam and I to eat dinner with them.” Not to mention, for a while, Danny had dinner over at Tucker’s at least a few times a week, with Jazz busy with after school programs to bulk out her college resume, and the Fentons busy with… everything. Normally it was Mr. Foley that cooked, and the man had a love affair with his barbecue that he passed along to Tucker.

Thinking back on it, Danny had to give a little chuckle. “I don’t think Tucker realized that most of the little dishes didn’t actually have any meat in them.” Speaking of, Alfred finished up Danny’s omelet and slid the plate in front of him, handing over a fork as well. Nodding his thanks, he cut a piece of the veggie-and-herb-flecked egg and popped it into his mouth. “Tucker likes to call himself an obligate carnivore. And Sam’s an Ultra-Recyclo-vegetarian.

“…that’s not basil?” Danny poked his egg. It wasn’t bad, just different. It was a light, almost minty flavor.

“No, it’s not, Master Danny. It’s an herb that’s fallen out of favor in the past decades called Terragon.” Picking up a leaf left on the cutting board from his harvest of the window herb garden, he handed it over for Danny to inspect.

“Huh.” He sniffed the leaf, crushing it between his fingers to release its oils before popping it into his mouth. Indeed, it was the same flavor note that was in his omlette. “I don’t know why it did.”

“Neither do I, personally.” Alfred smirked. “Master Bruce hates the stuff though, so I don’t use it near as much as I would like.”

“His loss, then.” Danny shrugged, quickly finishing off his omelet before hopping off his stool and taking his plate over to the sink.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, if you don’t wish to.” Alfred watched the boy over his shoulder as he plated up his own omelet.

“You cooked. Let me help you clean up. Please.” Both flattered and concerned at Danny’s insistence, he decided to supervise as he made them both a pot of breakfast tea to share. Taking Danny’s abandoned stool, he quickly ate his own food, allowing the boy to take his plate when he finished.

Instead, he sat and warmed his palms with his mug, a lemon slice and a sugar cube his doctoring of choice. An empty mug sat downturned on its saucer, waiting for Danny to finish tucking the plates away on the drainage board. He gestured for Danny to join him, pouring the boy a cup and offered him doctoring supplies for his tea.

“It sounds like it would take quite a bit of effort to mediate between two such extreme dietary requirements.”

Danny just snorted in exasperation, putting a frankly alarming amount of sugar and cream in his tea. “Their arguments are legendary. Sam once….” Danny pulled himself out of his memory, debating on whether he should tell the tale… or, really, how much he should tell the older man who had been nothing but kind to him, a soothing presence that he hadn’t expected.

Then again, he most likely knew at least something about it already. Jason had told him about the docket that Bruce and supposedly Tim had put together, highlighting all his misadventures as Phantom, as according to the local newspapers and blogs. Which weren’t flattering, to say the least.

“It was about a month after my… accident.” He didn’t have to say, he could tell from the look of grief on the older man’s face. “Sam had campaigned to change the lunch menu, and had somehow gotten a vegan-only menu for the students. And it was bad. Like grass on crackers type bad.”

“I dare say, there is more to veganism than grass and crackers!”

“ Right?” Danny loved Sam, he really did, but she had a habit of taking things to the extreme. “So, naturally, Tucker revolted. By the end of the day, there were two protests outside the front of the school: Tucker’s carnivores, and Sam’s hippies. And then the Lunch Lady happened.”

Alfred raised his eyebrow. He could hear the capital letters in the name. Though, unfortunately, he had also heard worse rogue names, attached peripherally to the hero community as he was.

Sighing, Danny downed half his tea in one go, grimacing as his lack of control frosted over his cup. “Turns out, while we were having surf-n-turf-minus-the-surf, emphasis on the turf, the teachers were all having a barbecue in the teacher’s lounge from all the money they were saving on the student lunches.” Alfred didn’t think it was a conscious movement, but Danny was slowly scraping the frost clinging to the outside of his cup with his thumb nail.

“Oh, my, that’s not good.” Alfred poured Danny more tea as he gathered his thoughts, melting the remaining frost with the residual heat. He made a mental note to used the tempered glassware with Danny. The quick fluctuations in temperature would easily shatter a more fragile piece. Nobody would ever say that he wasn’t a rapt audience in the meanwhile.

“Nope. So, the actual lunch lady at our school was a ghost the entire time, and she was the one who set the menu, back when she was alive. And the changes that were made… well, she wasn’t happy.”

“I don’t see how she would be. I assume that she worked hard to make balanced meals for the students.”

Danny just shrugged, not voicing his opinion on the old lunch menu. It was… dated. “So sh- things happened,” Danny quickly edited himself, much to Alfred’s amusem*nt. While he preferred his boys not to curse, he would only chastise them if they cursed in polite company. “And the next thing we know, She’d taken all the teacher’s meat products stored in the basem*nt and made this… giant meat monster. Fighting it, and her, was my first time fighting another ghost.” And there was no way in hell he’d tell anyone who wasn’t there just how badly it went.

Alfred just gave a sympathetic smile. He’d seen enough of the aftermath of various vigilantes ‘first night out’ that he had a good idea of what Danny wasn’t saying. “Let’s just say, Tucker had the time of his life pigging out on all the meat products that otherwise would have expired, and I joined Sam on the vegan side of things for the next month. I still can’t look at a t-bone steak the same.”

“And I don’t blame you.”

They both turned their heads as they heard running steps come closer. “Alfred!” Jason skidded around the corner, wide-eyed and out of breath. “I can’t find… Danny!” Still in panic mode, Jason crossed the room, enveloping Danny in a bear hug, making the teen squeak in surprise. “Where were you? You weren’t in your room!”

“…Wayne Manor’s haunted.” Danny eventually replied, like he was talking about the weather.

Jason snorted. “Well, yeah, now it is.”

Snaking an arm free, he thunked what he could on Jason’s body until he let go. “Not me, you asshole.”

Jason blinked. “Oh?” Out of the corner of his eye, Alfred didn’t look surprised. “I mean, I’m not surprised. Wayne Manor’s old. And I’ve heard that Gotham’s cursed.”

“Really? Huh. That might explain some things.”

“Yep.” Jason nodded reluctantly. “Now, what do you mean the house’s haunted? Anyone we need to be concerned about?”

“Not really. Jeeves seems to have all the ghosts pretty much in hand, but I don’t think Alan Wayne’s too impressed with me. Martha likes me though. Said we should all call her Nan or Grandmother.”

Alfred looked overwhelmed at the news. “Is there… anyone else?” He asked faintly.

“Um… Mr. Wayne wants to be called Paps. And then there’s about a half dozen people that have worked around the house while they were alive. Like a gardener that told me he accidentally set the curtains on fire once.”

“That was a ghost!” Jason exclaimed. “I got so much sh*t for that! I told Bruce that it wasn’t me!” He stomped around in a circle, throwing his hands out dramatically.

“I’m assuming,” Alfred, on the other hand, was quiet with shock. “That ‘Mr. Wayne’ was Thomas.”

Danny just shrugged. “I guess so? I never got his first name, but he looked close to Martha.” He thought a moment. “No, well, I guess Jeeves did introduce him by his full name.”

“And I’m assuming ‘Jeeves’ as in my grandfather.”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. He apologized that you were ‘taking liberties with your charges’.”

“Ah.” Alfred turned away with a small frown, twin spots of color appearing high on his cheeks. “I see. And would I be correct to assume that he is why you were up and about so early?”

Danny’s groan was answer enough.

“I apologize back for my grandfather then.” Alfred pushed the mug of lukewarm tea slightly closer. “He would never approve, I believe, of this family’s insistence of late-night activities. He was a staunch believer that if you weren’t up to greet the sunrise, fully prepared for the day, that it was a waste of good daylight hours and you must therefore be ill laying in ‘so late’. This blend has caffeine. Don’t tell Master Tim.”

“Thank you.” Danny spoke into the countertop, his forehead cradled in the crook of his arm. His free hand snaked out, pulling the tepid mug closer.

“ You’re most welcome, Master Danny.” Alfred said with a small smirk. It would definitely be ‘taking liberties’ if he were to pat the boy’s snowy hair, ruffling it back into its normal birdnest.

“But then shouldn't he be letting you sleep in still? Since you’re still recovering?” Jason commented, leaning against the island and looking down at Danny in clear concern.

Danny, in response, tilted his head back and fourth in thought, humming absently. “I mean, this is the most rest I’ve had in years. Going on 48 hours and not a single attack! This is a vacation!”

The matching frown on both Jason and Alfred showed their displeasure at the statement, and Danny didn’t see the looks they shot each other. “Hell, I don’t remember the last time I had a full night’s sleep, between worrying about the house attacking me, and ghosts at all hours of the day.

“Well, does Jeeves count? He woke me up this morning, after all.”

“I wouldn’t count that as an attack, young sir, just an annoyance.”

Danny hummed, nodding his head. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“No, that was totally an attack.” Jason shook his head with a small grin. “He’s helping keep you on your toes. Can’t go lazy now, can we?”

“Says the boy that would sleep in until three in the afternoon if given half a chance.” Alfred stated drily, finally standing and walking around the island to prepare Jason’s breakfast, as well as handing over a clean mug for the tea in the pot.

Jason didn’t deny the accusation, just shrugging before doctoring his cup with a dollop of honey, stirring it in slowly. “Look, sometimes the best way to see the sunrise is by staying up all night.”

Alfred just snorted, shaking his head fondly. “Night owls, the lot of you.”

“We prefer ‘bats’, Alfie, you know this.”

“Oh,” Danny perked up, remembering something. “Alex- Adam-

“Alan, sir?”

“Yeah, Alan Wayne. He had this little owl pin on his coat. It looked kinda like an Athenian owl. Really cool.”

Alfred stiffened. “Oh. That really is fascinating.” While the butler gave his younger charge a smile, he shared looks with the elder boy. If they were both on the same page, It could be another clue to one of the cold cases that was the Wayne family. “The Wayne family has a history of interesting people. One of us could help you research more into Alan Wayne if you would be interested. He was the founder of Wayne enterprises, just to let you know.”

Danny nodded, interest lighting his eyes. “Jeeves called him ‘Gotham’s archetect’.”

“And he would be right. Old Wayne tower was his crowning jewel. It has thirteen gargoyles as part of the design, one to look over each way to get into and out of Gotham.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Are they gargoyles or grotesques though?” Danny surprised them both, knowing the difference between the two enough to ask to specify.

“They’re mostly grotesques, but Gotham has plenty of both.” Jason answered, since it seemed like Alfred didn’t quite know the answer. “The Gate Guardians were modeled after some of the more famous grotesques on the Notre Dame cathedral. And quite a few of the buildings from around the turn of the century or before use the stone gutter systems, but they’ve been mostly blocked off when more modern rain spout systems were installed sometime in the 50’s.”

Danny nodded along, listening raptly. “That’s a lot of what Sam said as well. We were actually planning on visiting Gotham to see the sights next summer as part of a road trip. It was either that or Gothaplaooza again so she could actually enjoy the festival this time. And Tucker agreed to come along, as long as we saw the new Wayne building as well. He told me he wanted to sneak in and see all the newest tech up close.” Danny waved off their mildly alarmed and concerned looks. “Not like I’d let him actually do it. But it would be cool to watch him try.”

“Uh, little too late for that, Starling. Your little hacker friend broke into the cave while we were sitting right there, with two of the best hackers in the family watching him. Tim didn’t even realize what happened until he was already in. And I think he’s still rattled because of it.”

“Oh. Huh.” Danny blinked. He knew Tucker was good, just not that he was that good. “Guess I probably shouldn’t tell you about the time he hacked a government satellite while I was fighting Technus. Okay, technically, it was Vlad’s satellite, so I don’t feel too bad that we had to blow it up.”

Jason’s face just ran through the seven stages of grief before pointing praying hands in Danny’s general direction. “That was a federal crime and this doesn’t leave the room, but I am so proud of you. Don’t ever do that again.” Baby bro and Co. don’t deserve jail time for federal crimes. That way led to Waller. And Jason could only imagine what she would do with someone with ghost powers and one of the up-and-coming best hackers in the world.

God, he hoped that Oracle was already talking to that boy and teaching him where to draw the line. Just because you could , doesn’t mean that you should. And if not, he made a mental note to ask her to look in on him.

Speaking of little hackers, Danny’s phone chirped, drawing everyone’s attention down to the device. Pulling out the ancient-looking flip phone, Danny’s eyes lit up when he read the screen. “Huh, haven’t seen one of those in a while. I didn’t think anyplace even made flip phones anymore.”

GothRoseChaos: Morning, sleepyhead

SpaceGhostCadet : Hey.

GothRoseChaos : what the hell are you doing up?

SpaceGhostCadet : MoonsHauntedmeme.png

SpaceGhostCadet : Gotham’s got ghosts. There’s about a dozen in the manor, and one of them is a butler that believes that I should be up to greet the sunrise each morning.

GothRoseChaos : Good Morning, Starshine, the sun says AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

Danny just shrugged, typing back. “Amity is, on average, about 20 years behind the tech curve, thanks to the ambient ectoplasm usually crashing newer software within a few months of being brought in. It’s why Tucker still has a PDA, though he would probably kill for even a basic tablet.”

PharohTuck : Same. Go back to bed then, dude. I know I want to.

“You know, if you ask Timmers… Hell, he probably has one set up for you already, come to think of it. You wanna make Tucker jealous? Tell him you’re getting your hands on the latest WayneTech phone.”

“The one that’s not supposed to come out until Christmas?” Danny asked drily. “No thanks. I’ll probably brick it in a week from the ecto-contamination.”

Jason just shrugged and pulled out his. “Eh, he needs more field testers anyway. And if you brick it, we’ll know what to work on for next time.” He showed Danny his own phone, with a crack already splitting one corner. “So far, it’s survived me, so I’m not too worried about what you’ll do to it.”

Humming, Danny took the offered phone, inspecting it from multiple angles with a small thoughtful frown. Handing it back, he shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll have to see if it can take the modifications i’ll need to make.”

“Like what?” Jason’s brows furrowed as he put his phone back into his pocket.

“Like if I can install the ecto-scrambler chip so that I can still use it like this and not just as a human. I’ve literally blown up a phone, trying to make a normal call as a ghost. The audio just doesn’t translate to digital well. And it wasn’t my phone that blew up.”

“What happened?”

“Let’s just say that I’ll never be on Mr. and Mrs. Manson’s good side. Ever. And that just made it worse.” And then Danny gave a wry smile. “And Tucker didn’t talk to me for a week, after calling me a tech murderer.”

Jason snorted at that. “That’s not too bad of a thing to be called.”

“The way he acted, I think he would have been less offended if I would have killed a baby. Then again, he has actually called his PDA his baby. Multiple times. So, I guess, in his eyes, I did kill a baby.”

“Ha!” Jason slapped Danny on the back. “Welcome to the family, then, where we all take turns killing phones to the point where we have a stack of extras in each safe house.”

Alfred nodded along, smiling ruefully. “It’s true. I know that Master Bruce has managed to… ‘murder’ quite a few phones in remarkably interesting ways. Including at least one being launched into a dying star, if stories are to be believed, during one of his more far-flung Justice League missions.” He passed over a fresh omelet to Jason, along with a small maple-leaf shaped bottle.

Danny stared at the bottle in confusion and Jason just growled, pouring it over his eggs. “Hey, don’t knock it.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Danny just raised his hands, deciding that it wasn’t his place to question others’ habits. But then exactly what Alfred had said caught up to him: “Mr. Wayne has been to space?”

Alfred nodded, washing the dishes he just used, preparing for the next child who would come in for breakfast. It was about time that Damien and Duke woke up to get ready for school, if Damien wasn’t already up to take care of his animals. “Quite often, considering that he works closely with the Justice League and even takes monitor duty at least once a month.”

“So that means…” Danny’s freckles started to glow like stars, “That the Watchtower is real .” He spoke with a hushed reverence, like he was speaking about a god.

“Certainly. Technically, it was built originally as a WayneTech research station, which was then ‘bought’ by the League to use.”

“Have you…”

“Goodness, no.” Alfred chuckled. “But most of the family has, for one reason or another, at one point. You can even ask Jason about it. He once had to spend the majority of a month up there, as part of a deal with Bruce while he was off-world.”

Danny turned to Jason, eager to ask so many questions, but paused, seeing the sour look he was shooting Alfred. “I f*cked up on a job. That’s all there is to it.”

“…Oh.” Turning back to his tea, Danny finished it and slid off his stool. “I’m going to go walk around. Thank you for breakfast, Alfred.”

“You’re most certainly welcome, Master Danny.” Alfred took the mug from Danny and rinsed it off in the sink, setting it aside to dry.

Heaving a sigh, Jason closed his eyes. “Wait.” Finishing off his omelet, Jason stood up and pushed his plate in Alfred’s direction with a thankful nod. “Look, you know Bruce and I don’t get along that great.” Stuffing his hands into his pockets to hide the fist they made, he followed Danny out the door.

Chapter 18: Bat-Minivan

Chapter Text

“ Come on, this way.”

“What?” Danny looked over, just in time to see Jason pocketing his phone. They had just been wandering the halls of the manor. Or, more accurately, Danny had been wandering, while Jason followed sedately behind, giving little anecdotes when the mood struck.

“You need sh*t, and the little Demon and the Glowstick need rides to school.” Jason then cut a look sideways at Danny, “Unless you want a Bruce Special and just order a whole bunch of sh*t that catches your eye.”

“Uh… Yeah, sure.” Danny watched as Jason about-faced, heading back down the way they had just come before following. “You mean like going to W-mart or something instead?”

“Sure” Jason shrugged. “We can go there if you want. I was thinking more like the mall in the Diamond District or something. Anywhere that sounds interesting. It’s your stuff.”

“I-“ Danny cringed. “I don’t really have any money.” He did, but it was Sam’s. He should keep it tucked away for…. well, if this didn’t work out and he had to go on the run.

Jason just snorted at that, reaching a pegboard with at least a dozen sets of keys. He snagged a set with a red and black mini soccer ball on the fob before he kept walking. “Best part of living here? Everything is on Bruce’s dime. Means don’t even bother looking at the tags and just get what you want.”

Coming around the corner, they spotted Duke and Damien waiting by a door, both with backpacks, though Damien was wearing what looked like a school uniform.

“Todd.” Damien saw them both and gave a nod.

“Shotgun!” Duke shouted, raising his hand with a grin, seeing Danny following Jason.

“Nope.” Jason popped his ‘p’, opening the door and leading the way inside. “Danny gets front. You two lazy asses get to fight over the back seat. I’m doing this favor for Alfie, so it’s my rules or walking.”

“Tt.” Damien scoffed, giving Danny a look that he didn’t even want to interpret before brushing past him, making Danny the last to enter.

‘Garage’ wasn’t the right word to describe the room. Maybe more along the lines of ‘showroom’ or ‘museum’ was more accurate. At least a dozen cars were in the well-lit space, as well as just as many, if not more, other types of vehicles, such as a collection of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles… as well as a random golf cart tucked into a corner. Danny didn’t know much about cars, but even he knew what a Rolls Royce looked like, as well as a limo. Most of the cars were built to impress, and he definitely was.

Instead of heading to any one of the shiny expensive cars, Jason walked straight towards… a minivan. It was still black like most of the other cars, and absolutely spotless, but impressive, it was not.

Jason must have read something on his face, because he laughed, slapping the hood of the van as he walked around to the driver’s door. “What? Thought we’d go do chores in the Lincoln? We need the trunk space. And we don’t need any punks trying to trash one of the more expensive cars. Alfred would have my head if that happened.”

“Tt, the Lincoln has adequate trunk space, Todd. It’s your driving that’s questionable.” Damien derided, slipping into the back seat with a wholly unimpressed air. Duke seemed much more comfortable, stretching out in the middle row, tossing his bag in the seat next to him.

“Hey! I haven’t crashed anything in two months! And even then, the last time wasn’t even my fault!”

“I think you’re a fantastic driver.” Danny commented, climbing into the front passenger seat and immediately buckled his steatbelt, even before he finished settling into the seat.

“ Thank you.” Jason said sincerely before he paused, turning fully to give Danny a narrow-eyed look. “Wait…”

Danny just shrugged, giving him a wide grin. “Nothing’s on fire and there’s no car-shaped holes in the wall. You’re already doing better than Da- Jack.”

“From what I’ve heard, that man’s license to drive should have been revoked years ago.”

“Oh, it was. But do you know any cops that would dare to even attempt to pull over a tank thinly disguised as an RV, with at least a dozen guns on full view at all times?”

“…One. Maybe two, if he knows the driver…” Not knowing what he could say beyond that, Jason just started the engine and pulled out of the van’s dedicated spot delicately, hyper aware and praying that he would never be compared to Dr. Fenton’s driving. Ever.

“Come to think of it, I think that was the first time that Tucker hacked the government. He was the one who revoked Jack’s license in the first place.

Choking on his own spit, Jason reminded himself to talk to Babs about the hacker. The kid was unsuspectingly dangerous. “it’s always the quiet ones.”

“Wait.” Duke leaned up between the two front seats to see Danny clearer. “You seriously hacked the DMV, to pull your adopted dad’s license?”

To hide the small flinch from hearing ‘your dad’, Danny just shrugged. “Amity’s weather report includes ghost and GAV sightings, it was that bad. I don’t even think they ever actually talked about the weather during the segment, come to think of it, unless it was dramatically changed by a ghost.”

“Wait, Ghosts can affect the weather?”

“I mean, yeah? There’s this one named Vortex…” Danny then proceeded to tell them about the highlights of his fight with the weather manipulator, and how he had briefly controlled the weather himself, forcing one of the biggest pains in his ass to kiss it to make sure he didn’t accidentally destroy the whole town. He missed that he couldn’t manipulate Vlad like that any longer. They had too much blackmail on each other for that.

The end of the story, however, was cut off by a sudden and full-bodied sneeze. “What…” Danny sneezed a half dozen more times, setting his brain rattling with a groan. Outside, the car just drove over the Bristol Bridge and into the Gotham islands proper.

“You okay there?” Jason asked, concern thinly veiled by humor.

“No…” Danny groaned nasally, looking confused before giving a great sniffle.

“Damn, man, that’s disgusting.” Duke piped up, concern laced in his voice as well. “Whatever you got, I don’t want it.”

“It’s not-“ another soul-shaking sneeze. “I’m not sick.” He spoke in the most unconvincing tone ever. “It’s just…” Danny’s brows furrowed and the others braced for another round of sneezing. “The air here is corrupted.” His ghost sense rose as they got closer to Gotham proper, settling in the back of his throat, tickling it uncomfortably and making him choke back a cough.

“Yeah, the smog’s pretty bad, but you’ll get used to it.”

“No,” another round of sneezes, these managing to be less earth-shaking, “It’s not that. I think it’s the ambient ectoplasm. It’s getting worse the closer to town we get.”

“Ah.” Looking out the window, they were still in the rich part of Gotham, only a short drive to Gotham Private Academy. If it was getting this bad now, how would it be in places like the Narrows? They needed to cross town to get to Gotham U to drop Duke off.

“Tell me if it gets to the point where you can’t handle it anymore.” Jason spoke seriously, staring at Danny out of the corner of his eye while he hunched over the wheel. He was already mentally plotting a course that would skirt the center of town, where the concentration of Gotham’s soul was the densest. Sure, it would take them 20 minutes out of the way, but he didn’t want Danny to get any sicker.

“I’ll be fine.” Danny tried to convince the others, his eyes squeezed shut like a migraine was blooming, his head rattling against the side window. “I just need to get used to it.”

Yeah, no, that wasn’t happening. After getting Duke to classes, they were going straight home. If Danny could barely stand the drive across town, he wouldn’t have any fun shopping.

He could only imagine how bad it would have been, had he brought Danny along to the scuffle he had broken up the other night. It was just a small territory dispute between two of his lieutenants, but it could have easily spilled out to harm innocents if he hadn’t gotten there in time. Sure, he was now down a lieutenant, but Jason had been keeping an ever-increasing eye on the guy already. It was better to nip troublemakers in the bud, before they tried to branch out and become Gotham’s newest Big Bad. He had evidence of some minor child trafficking, which went directly against one of his major rules: Don’t Involve Kids.

“Still. If you need to bail, tell me immediately. We’ll kick Duke out so he can make his way to class and turn back around.”

“Yeah. We don’t need you getting sick.” Duke added on as Jason pulled into the drop off lane of the Academy, waiting for his turn. “You’re still recovering, man.”

“I’ll be fine.” Danny’s eyes were closed, his head bowed against the light, but he tried to give Duke a reassuring smile.

“If you say so.” He didn’t seem reassured in the least, but let it drop, sitting back so that he wouldn’t get whacked with Damien’s backpack when he crawled up to get out.

Jason wasn’t even fully stopped when the back door was wrenched open. “Dami!” A chipper voice greeted.

“Jon.” Damien greeted back with a formal nod, ignoring the hand that the other boy held out to help Damien to exit.

“Who’s that?” They all heard, even through Damien slamming the minivan door closed behind him.

“Todd, Jr.”

“Oh? I didn’t know Jason had any kids, besides Liam, but she’s…” Jason pulled away and Danny couldn’t hear any more of the conversation. Able to pry his eyes open long enough to look at the other speaker through the side mirror, he saw a boy with black, curly hair, glasses and an athletic build. Danny would put down money that he played a sport of some kind. Probably football. He had the shoulders for it.

“?” Danny gave a questioning noise in the back of his throat.

“Jon Kent. Demon’s bestie.” Jason explained, looking both ways before moving back into traffic. “His whole family is friends with the Wayne’s and part of the Community. The only reason you haven’t met them yet is because Alfred probably locked down the house to non-family members until you’re ready for visitors.”

“Oh.” Danny spoke weakly, his eyes falling closed again. “I didn’t want to disturb anyone’s routine.”

“Eh, it’s fine. Dami’ll probably just end up staying over at the Kents this weekend instead of Jon crashing at ours.

Hearing Damien’s heartbeat coming closer, Jon Kent narrowed in on the minivan sitting among the more luxurious vehicles in the drop off lane. It looked more like something his mom would drive than Alfred. Bouncing closer, Jon went for the front door, since Dami usually preferred the shotgun seat, before he noticed a head of white hair pressed against the window. Instead, he peered through the dark tinted back windows, spotting Damien’s familiar scowling mein.

Opening the back door instead, he held out his hand to help Dami down with a smirk. “Dami!”

“Jon.” Oh, that wasn’t good. Damien was scowling worse than usual. Probably had something to do with the kid in the front seat. He had noticed two things about him: that he looked about their age, maybe a smidge older, and that he didn’t look too good. And his heartbeat sounded weird. Too slow to be a normal human.

Giving Duke and Jason a wave, he closed the door, maybe a bit harder than he should have, wincing when it closed with a ‘bang’. He would have to go through another round of delicacy training soon, since his strength took another spike.

“Who’s that?” Sometimes, it was easier just to match Dami’s bluntness. While most would only see Damien glaring at the van pulling away, Jon could see a glimmer of worry in his eyes.

“Todd, Jr.” Turning away, he led them both up the stairs into the main campus.

“Oh?” He didn’t get that good of a look, but he could see at least some resemblance between the two, aside from the arrhythmia that seemed to plague them both. “I didn’t know Jason had any kids, besides Liam, but she’s technically Roy’s kid.” Even though the whole community of second-generation heros knew that Jason was her favorite ‘Dad’.

Damien shook his head. “Biological brothers. Todd Jr was raised by adopted parents until… recently.”

Jon just nodded. He knew that Dami wouldn’t talk about it any more in public. Maybe he could get the whole story later. That would explain why Mom told Jon that he couldn’t go over to the manor this week. It was similar when Duke joined the family, he wasn’t allowed to go over then either, not until Duke was more comfortable with the family. “Hey, wanna come over to my house for dinner and homework instead?”

Damien just nodded. “I’ll Inform Pennyworth before we leave.”

“Cool! Cool. I’ll text Mom now!” He did as he said, typing as delicately on his phone as he could, sending off the text. “So, did you get number eight for Calc?”

“Tt. I’ll take a look at your work over lunch.” Damien rolled his eyes, like he wasn’t going to proofread all of Jon’s homework anyway, like he did every day.

“Thanks! You’re the best!”

Chapter 19: Lights on, no one’s home

Chapter Text

Jason managed to drop off Duke in record time. While Danny hadn’t gotten any worse, he hadn’t gotten any better, either.

“Turn left here.”

“What? Danny, we’re nearly home.” Jason glanced over, only to take a double take.

“Turn left. Here.” Danny was sitting stock straight up, eyes facing forward with his face oddly slack. His eyes, though, were glowing more than usual, the green taking up his whole sclera instead of just his iris. And his voice had taken on an odd duality, a more feminine tone layered on top of his normal tenor.

“Okay, okay. Got it.” He didn’t know what was happening, but until he did, he was following the directions of whatever had hijacked Danny’s body.

“Right. Two blocks. Another right. Park here.” He recognized the street. All the Bats did. And not just because this was on the edge of Red Hood’s territory. This was where Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered.

‘Danny’ moved to get out, but Jason shot his hand out and grabbed his shoulder, pinning him to the car seat. “Okay, spill. What the hell are we doing here?” This was no longer Jason, Danny’s Big Brother, but The Red Hood, and this was His Territory.

‘Danny’ just stared up at him, then the offending hand, before simply phasing through it, and the door. “Oh, no you don’t!” Checking that he had spare gun clips (and a peel-n-stick domino mask) in his pocket. Glad that he had his shoulder holster on, he quickly followed, slamming the door behind him, just barely remembering to hit ‘lock’ on the digital fob. “God f*ckin’ damn you brat-“ he descended into angry muttering, praying that he wouldn’t need to call in backup. He’d never hear the end of it.

Thankfully, ‘Danny’ wasn’t going faster than a casual stroll, almost as if he was waiting for Jason. When he caught up, ‘Danny’ was staring down at a manhole cover that was nothing like the others throughout the city. This one doubled as a memorial plaque reading ‘Light gone too soon, leaving only shadows’ instead of the usual ‘Gotham City Sewer Systems’.

Then ‘Danny’ just… sunk down through the road, right next to the manhole. “f*ck!” Jason roared, mostly to himself, finally slapping on his spare mask. All he had on him were his guns, his spare knives and his Kevlar-reinforced leather jacket. If he ran into someone like, he didn’t know, Killer Croc, he was royally screwed. A second death. Game over permanently. No respawn this time.

Making sure the tracker on his mask was turned on, he scrabbled for the hidden latch on the manhole cover and jumped down, wiling to take the risk.

Instead of the splash of fetid water he expected, he hit dry and very, very solid stone. “…ow.” He muttered, rolling the sting out of his ankle. He was glad that his body was sturdy. He kept his guns raised as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, the only light coming from the manhole cover directly above him.

While he didn’t expect anyone to be right there , he was still somehow surprised at the area around him being completely barren. “What the…” looking around, he wasn’t in the sewer tunnels. It looked like… he took one step and the automated lights came on, blinding him temporarily… Ah, yes. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he looked around and saw one of Bruce’s typical bolt-hole setups, though this one looked like nobody had been in for quite a while, judging by the pile of dust on, frankly, everything.

Looking around, he eventually spotted ‘Danny’ standing- no- hovering by the only door in the room. “Come.” The dual voice was leaning more towards feminine now as he phased through that door as well.

Heaving a sigh and not happy with this low-speed chase, Jason followed, leaving footprints in the otherwise undisturbed dust. It had definitely been a while since this particular bolt hole was maintained, since Jason had to put some serious oomph into slamming the door open… Once he remembered to unlock the damn thing in the first place.

Ah. And there was that lovely sewer smell that he had come to know and expect. Closing the door behind him, he was unsurprised that the door was covered with stones so that it would blend in with Old Gotham’s stone tunnels. If he didn’t know where it was, he would never find it again. Yeah, he was definitely gonna use this for himself if Bruce wasn’t going to. It was in a good location. Taking a stub of basic white chalk out of his cargo pocket, he slashed it at eye level. An easy enough mark to ignore unless you were looking for it.

“Come.” The voice rang through the tunnels, beckoning him to follow.

“I’m coming. Mind telling me where though?”

Silence.

At least Danny’s natural glow gave the tunnels plenty of light- eerie as it was, bathing everything in Lazarus green- as well as the occasional light from a storm drain or manhole. Otherwise, the walk could have been considered peaceful. After a while, mostly using the Old Gotham Tunnels with only the occasional sewer, they were miles away from where they started, staring up at a wall that must have been 20 feet tall, featuring a giant mural of an Athenian owl.

Finally, Jason caught up to him, putting his hand on Danny’s shoulder while ‘he’ looked up at the mural. “Hey, what are we doing here?”

Jason hadn’t realized that ‘Danny’ hadn’t blinked the whole time, until he did. Doing so, his face became more animated, blinking away the excessive green in his eyes as he looked around in confusion. “Jason? What are we doing here?”

Jason just opened his mouth, preparing to give a smart remark before he thought better and closed it with a snap. “Morning, sleepyhead.” He said instead, patting the shoulder that he was previously gripping tightly, with the futile hope that he could hold the ghost back.

“…What?”

“Do you… what’s the last thing you remember?” He paused halfway though his question, deciding to go a different route instead of asking outright what the f*ck had happened back there.

“Uh… we just dropped Duke off and we were heading back to the manor.”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. And then you went all glowy-eyed (more than normal) and started acting like you were possessed or something.”

Danny’s eyes widened and he zoomed into Jason’s space, forcing the elder to take a step back in alarm. “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

“Nah, you’re good. Though you did scare me for a bit there when you led me on this wild goose chase for the past-“ He checked his phone, the screen lighting up his mask-clad face. “-two and a half hours.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah, you wanna talk about it?” Opening his bat-tracking app, he put a pin on their current location and saved the path they took to get there. He had a fairly good memory for directions, but he’d never seen this wall before and didn’t want to risk it. According to the map, they were currently under the edge of the Diamond District, which made sense, if this was involved in with what he thought it was.

Not wanting to pop out of a manhole in the middle of the Rich District during the brightest part of the day, and also needing to get back to the car, Jason used the grip he had on Danny’s shoulder to steer them back the direction that they came from. It would be a hike, true, but he silently promised them both some junk food after this little (mis)adventure in the sewers. Danny was silent as he let Jason tow him along like a human-shaped helium balloon, long enough that Jason was startled when he finally did speak up. “It was Lady Gotham.”

“…What?” Jason turned enough so that he could read Danny’s face as he walked.

“The spirit of the city. She’s… territorial. And I understand that. I’m grumpy when other ghosts enter my haunt without being invited in too. Or at least, I was…” Danny rubbed the center of his chest, where Jason now knew intimately where Danny’s core sat. “I’m a bit of a rogue ghost now, since I’m without haunt, lair and a purpose. At least I still have my obsession. Ha.” The little chuckle he gave would have still been more painful than another kick to the balls.

“It wasn’t safe for you to stay in your haunt.”

“I know.” Danny whispered, “But it still hurts.”

“…Yeah.” It wasn’t the same, what had happened to him, but he still understood the need to have a lair and a haunt to feel safe. That’s why he had claimed Crime Alley as his and got grumpy when one of the others invaded during patrol. As for his lair, he bounced between several scattered around, depending on his needs. “But you’ll find a new purpose and place. It’ll get better eventually.” He remembered the pain when he first returned, realizing instinctively that the manor and the cave were no longer the same welcoming place that it was before he died. But Crime Alley was always there, from the time he was born, to the time he was re-born. At one time the manor was his lair, but not any longer. Things were getting better, but it still itched under his skin the longer he stayed.

“…So… Lady Gotham?” Jason prompted when Danny wasn’t talking.

“She… intense. Which-“ Danny waved his hand, indicating the whole of Gotham, “-makes sense. But good news is, she’s letting me stay.”

“Good. That would have been awkward then.” If, from what Danny had explained about ghosts, and what his own instincts were telling him, she had tried to kick Danny out, he would have been forced to abandon his own territory to follow his brother to keep him safe.

“…Yeah… since I’m technically more powerful than her. But in the way that a bullet is technically more powerful than a brick wall.

“So that migraine was… her brick walling you?” Jason tried to understand.

Danny just wavered his hand. “Kinda. It was from her trying to get into my head to read my intentions. She’s not… a very delicate touch.” Looking closer, Jason could still see the lingering tightness around Danny’s eyes from the lingering headache.

“And do you know why she led us on that merry chase across half the city?” Jason asked, the sarcasm flavoring his question heavily.

“Not a clue.” Danny spoke honestly. “But I think that owl was the same one on Adam-“

“Alan”

“-Wayne’s coat. But his was a pin about yay tall.” Danny pinched his fingers until they were about a centimeter apart. Jason just hummed in interest, pulling out his phone and added a note to his pinned location, sending a message to Oracle with the coordinates with the note ‘CoO mural? OG Sewers.’ Attached. She would look into it when she had the time, adding it to the file if it was a new clue. In the meanwhile, she’d likely send one of the others to verify ‘his’ discovery.

Without a possessed Danny bobbing about like a drunk balloon, it was much quicker to make the hike back to the car. Thankfully, they didn’t run into any of the usual sewer residents either way. When they got to the stretch of wall that had the hidden door to his newest hideaway, they ran into a slight problem: He had no clue how to get back in. Usually there was a hidden latch or button, but it was just that: hidden. And probably rusted over, from how hard it was to push open the door the first time around.

Now, normally, depending on his mood, he would spend the next however long puzzling out how to open the damn door, or just find another exit. But with Danny here, he had a third option. “Little help here?” He tossed his head toward the hidden door, his hands on his hips.

“Uh…”

“Right, you were unconscious.” Jason muttered to himself. “Our exit’s on the other side of the door. You phased through it the first time, I bet you can pull us both through the second time.”

“Um.” Sticking his head through the wall to make sure, Danny pulled back and then nodded his head. He didn’t have enough energy to extend his powers to a second body for long, but it was just a single wall into the dust-covered room, albeit a thick one. “Okay. Hold on.”

Jason just squeezed Danny’s shoulder again, while Danny grabbed Jason’s elbow in response and closed his eyes in concentration. Jason knew when it was working when his feet left the ground and a cool sensation crawled up his arm and across his whole body. Absently, he already knew this feeling, despite never having been turned intangible before in this way.

It was probably the same feeling he had felt the first few months after his dip in the Lazarus pits, when he was still learning how to control (Read: shut down) his newfound powers.

Between one breath and the next, Danny had them both through the wall, though it wiped whatever spare energy he had, forcing him to land and transform back to his human form. “Hey.” Jason caught him when he started to list to the side. “Good job. Do you have enough energy to climb a ladder or at least hold on to my back? Cause otherwise we’re stuck down here until you are.”

“Yeah, I-I’m good.” Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stand straight. “Ju-just give me a few minutes.” And he collapsed onto his ass, like his strings were cut.

“Yeah, take your time, Starling. You did good.” Bending over, Jason ruffled Danny’s hair. He decided, instead of hovering while waiting for Danny to recover, that he would explore. Dust sheets covered most everything, excluding a small kitchenette. The cabinets, he wasn’t surprised to find, held emergency rations that looked like they had expired at least five years ago. Turning on the tap though, he was pleasantly surprised that the water was still running. Though, judging by the color, not immediately consumable. He’d have to pick up a water test next time he intended to come back. In the meanwhile, He flipped dust sheets, seeing if he could snag any old bat tech.

“…Why are you calling me that?”

“…what? Starling?”

“Yeah.” Danny had at least made it to a wall, leaning against it heavily.

Jason just shrugged. It wasn’t a conscious thing. “Cause you’re still my little star-child. And Starling just happens to be a bird. It seemed appropriate at the time.”

“Oh.” Danny looked down, hiding the small self-conscious grin and blush with the shadows. “Okay.”

“Yeah, cause there’s no way in any living hell you’re ever going to be a Robin. Not as long as I’m alive. And you know I’ll come back and haunt Bruce’s ass if he even tries. Just ask the Replacement.”

“Why?” Danny gave a small frown. “I didn’t think you were that territorial over a name.”

“It’s not the name.” Jason came over and sat cross legged in front of Danny. “It’s what the name represents: it's Bruce’s little child soldier. Dickie was nine. I was thirteen. Timbit was twelve. Demonling was ten. And I don’t know how old Steph was when she did her stint.”

“I was fourteen.”

“Yeah.” Jason narrowed his eyes, not seeing anything physically there, but something only in his mind. “But you didn’t have a choice. Bruce made a choice with every one of us, to train us, to stick us in front of homicidal maniacs in brightly colored costumes, and then wonders when we get killed.” Jason spat. He knew, consciously, that it wasn’t Bruce’s fault for his murder at The Joker’s hands, but emotionally it was easier to shift the blame. No, what he still didn’t understand, was that Bruce refused to avenge him. “So, yeah. No Robin for you, but you’re still part of the family.”

“No Robin.” Danny agreed, if only to make that small bit of weight lift off of Jason’s shoulders. He hadn’t even thought of it before, so it wasn’t hard to promise.

“Good.” Jason gave a definitive nod. “Ready to head back up into the sunlight? I think we both deserve burgers after this fiasco… are you good to head into Gotham proper now?”

Danny’s nose wrinkled, but he nodded. “Everything here still stinks, but I think I’m good now.”

“Yeah… I think at least part of that’s the sewer that we’ve been crawling through for the past four hours.” Grunting, Danny let Jason haul him to his feet and had him go up the ladder first, just in case he had to catch a falling teenager.

Making an executive decision, Jason took them through the drive through, remembering to rip off his mask at the last minute, and ordered two deluxe bat burgers, two large Jokerized (He mostly managed to conceal a shudder at that) fries and, at Danny's insistence, two Mr. Freezes. And a Robin meal. At Danny’s look, Jason just shrugged, barely managing to hold in his grin. “It’s tradition.”

On the way back, Danny literally inhaled his burger and fries. With one look at the kid, Jason sacrificed his own fries to the black hole disguised as a teenager as well, but drew the line at his own burger. “Kid, you have a kid’s meal as well, eat that and leave my own damn burger alone!”

Danny did so eagerly, but only after giving his brother an offended look. And this time, he was able to slow down enough to actually taste what he was eating. It was no Nastyburger, but it was surprisingly good. That just left the toy in the bottom of the bat-eared box.

“So… who’d you get?” Unwrapping the toy, Danny held up a t-posing batgirl with blonde hair. “Ah, Steph. That’s an old one though. In the new run, they have her in their Spoiler costume with the removable hood.”

“…Who?”

Jason blinked. Right, Danny was still a little out of it last night. “The… perky blonde last night that came in late.”

“Oh!” Danny blinked down at the toy (It really was very, very cheaply made), “She’s spoiler?”

“Yep.” Jason nodded, “and she’ll ‘Spoiler’ every movie too, if you’re not careful.

Jason could hear the silent ‘WTF’ in the air, but Danny never actually aired the exclamation. That was fine, Jason smirked, let him find out on his own. He wanted to see what happened when Danny found out that Steph had already gone out to see Pet Crematorium, a movie that Danny had been looking forward to seeing with his friends for months now. And it had only been out for just over a week.

Pulling into the garage, Jason parked in the van’s dedicated spot, giving instructions for Danny to take a shower while he ate his burger and took his own, so that they could finally go out and do some shopping.

Getting out, he stopped short noticing an older man in an outfit Alfred normally wore on more formal occasions: “You’re not Alfred.”

“Indeed not, Master Todd, Lord Phantom, refreshments?”

“Thanks, Jeeves.” Danny took hold of both delicate glowing green teacups, passing one over to Jason.

“You’re welcome, Lord Phantom. And be assured, if you leave your dirty clothes in the hamper, they will be returned to you cleaned by the time you come to bed tonight.”

“You don’t have to…”

“Trust me, sir, when I say that it is for the best that the stench is dealt with as soon as possible.” Turning toward Jason, Jeeves stared until he drank what he suspected was ectoplasm-laced tea. “And you will find, sir, that your spare jacket is already in your room, stocked and ready to go if you would leave your old one to be cleaned.”

“Uh… thanks.” He handed over cup, watching Danny down his tea in one go before running to get his shower. Before his eyes, Jeeves took both cups, balancing them on his platter before bowing and fading from view.

Huh. Wayne Manor was haunted.

Chapter 20: Tiny spoons

Chapter Text

Shopping with Danny was… interesting. Their first stop was, indeed, W-mart, if only because it eased Danny into the idea of doing a massive shopping trip. They started at one end and just… meandered up and down the aisles, stopping whenever something caught Danny’s eye. Most of the time, though, it was so that they could both mock whatever the item was. Though, he did find this cheesy moon shaped lantern. Danny went to put it back on the shelf, but Jason simply grabbed it from his hands and dumped it into the basket.

The same thing happened when they were passing through the toy section. Danny spotted a package of cheap plastic glow-in-the-dark stars, telling Jason that his bedroom used to have the constellations mapped out in the sticker version of the stars, but they had eventually lost their glow. Jason grabbed all of the packages on the peg without a word, ignoring Danny’s protests as he walked away. In the crafting section, he grabbed one of every color of glow in the dark paint, only muttering something about being able to do whatever he wanted to his room.

Likewise, Danny cackled when he found some early Halloween decorations, including a (child) life-sized plastic glowing skeleton, and simply dumped it in the cart. “It’s going in the closet.” Danny didn’t need to say anything further.

“But don’t you need more than one?” Jason asked when he found a mini-articulated skeleton sitting on the shelf.

Danny tilted his head back and forth, pretending to debate the merit of multiple skeletons in his closet, before that too ended up in the basket. “That’s still not enough, but it's good enough for now.”

“Yep. You can never have enough skeletons.” Jason nodded along as they moved on. The poster bin, was, sadly, devoid of anything to do with his likes. The closest was a design that had a sun and moon, but it also had a planchette with badly designed runes. Badly drawn and mass-produced or not, Danny wasn’t going to take that risk. He didn’t need to invite any more chaos into his life than occurred naturally by just being himself.

The galaxy-themed sheet set was a no-brainer. The only hesitation was just to make sure that he grabbed the correct size for his bed. And Jason was the one who found the throw blankets with stars on them. “One for your room, another for wherever you end up napping most often.”

Danny didn’t think it was really necessary, since he could only see himself sleeping in his room, but he didn’t argue about having two blankets. Still, seeing his confusion, Jason shrugged. “Mine’s in the library, in the storage ottoman. Dick’s… was in Bruce’s study, but now I’m not quite sure. Duke’s is in the movie room with Steph’s and Barb’s. Tim’s is in his office and Damien’s…” Here, Jason gave a little chuckle. “He says he doesn’t have one, but his is in the barn.”

“And… Cass’?” He thinks that was the quiet girl’s name.

Jason nodded his head, so he got her name correct. “Sometimes in with Steph’s in the movie room, but most of the time it's wherever she had her little nest tucked away.” Strolling down the aisle, Jason debated on what he could say. “When Bruce first adopted her, Cass had never learned how to speak, but she knows how to read others’ body language. Most of the time, she’s more comfortable watching others where they can’t find her.”

Danny nodded with a little hum. He understood wanting to be invisible. There were times where he went through his entire patrol, invisible to everyone’s naked eye. It never stopped the ecto-trackers though.

For the most part, except for a handful of articles, Jason warned that they would do most of his wardrobe shopping at higher-end stores further in-town. Mostly so that they could support the local businesses and not just the mega-box store they started with. Still, Danny snagged a tee shirt that looked like the NASA logo, but had a UFO superimposed on it. And another that simply said ‘Earl Grey, Hot’ and refused to explain why he was grinning at it.

Checking out was its own adventure. Jason had to bodyblock Danny several times when he managed to catch a glimpse at the price tag as it soared higher, stopping the kid from removing things from the conveyor belt.

Going to the mall with a steadily more reluctant teenager should be considered its own form of torture.

While it was easy to get Danny into places like the Tool Store (Jason made a note to help Alfred find a space in the manor where Danny could tinker), and Craft Zone, making him go into the clothing stores made him balk. (“You need a coat!” “No.” “Just pick one already!” “I don’t get cold!” “ Humor Me!”) Let alone getting him to pick out a basic suit and dress shirts until they could get him in with Bruce’s tailor. (Don’t make me strangle you with this tape measure, Tanner! You’re getting dress shirts.)

At least, he managed to get Danny to buy a handful of jeans and themed tee shirts. Enough to get him through at least a little while until he could get the emotional strength- or backup- to try again. Maybe he could entice Jazz into getting a new wardrobe also? He still thought that he would have to force Danny to go through a Bruce Shopping Special either way.

Reluctantly, Jason called it quits when Danny pretty much stopped interacting with him, realizing that he had pushed the younger just a bit out of his comfort zone too soon. Tucking the bags into the trunk, he found Danny already in the front seat and buckled in.

“Hey, you like ice cream?” Jason asked, hopping in and buckling up himself. Danny didn’t say anything, but he looked at Jason out of the corner of his eye. Well, that wasn’t a no. “Dick told me of this rooftop cafe that he likes to go to that apparently has the ‘best ice cream in Gotham’, you in?” Danny just shrugged, staring out the window. “…okay.” Dropping the van into gear, Jason pulled out of the underground garage, intent on something sweet.

“…Can we just get some at the store?” Danny eventually asked, looking down at his phone. If he had to guess, Jason would say that he was talking with his other 2/3rds. “Sam wants a movie night.”

“Yeah, we can do that. Do you want to use the big screen in the game room, or just the tv in your room?”

While Danny looked interested in the big TV, he eventually shook his head. “My room.”

“Okay.” Jason nodded. He knew when enough was enough. When your extrovert spoons were used up, they were used up and nothing but being in your happy space would fix that. And his was obviously his friends.

Finding a small store that had a halfway decent ice cream selection, Jason pulled into the parking lot. “Wanna come in, or just tell me what flavor you like?”

“I’m coming in.” Jason nodded, holding open the store’s door so that Danny had to duck under his arm. They headed straight for the ice cream selection. While he was a simple man and just grabbed strawberry (he knew Alfred had all the good toppers), Danny picked up one of the fancier brands with the funny flavor names.

“What the hell kind of flavor is ‘Kitchen Sink’?” Jason muttered, looking over Danny’s shoulder.

“A good one.” He said with a defiant grin, heading toward the cashier, only taking a detour to grab a box of… tiny plastic spoons. The kind that was used for samples. Jason wanted to ask, and opened his mouth to do so, but thought better of it. He wanted to encourage Danny to get things, and that meant not making him feel uncomfortable for grabbing something that he wanted.

Even if it was something silly like tiny plastic spoons.

Back in the van, Danny used his ice powers to keep the ice cream from melting. Definitely a useful power to have, especially since they happened to hit rush hour traffic on their way out of Gotham proper and into the more rural areas.

“So… what movie are you planning on watching?” Jason attempted to start a conversation, the traffic crawling along.

Danny just shrugged, texting before putting his phone down and looking out the window. “It’s Tucker’s turn this time. He got the higher score on the last test we… had.” The test that Danny wasn’t able to take, strapped to the table and dissected like a lab frog.

“….Apparently Lancer asked Sam if she’d drop off my missed work, since I was still ‘out with the flu’.”

“What did she say?”

“…That she’d do what she could, but the Fentons weren’t letting her in to…” see him.

Jason nodded in understanding. He wondered how long the Fentons could get away with saying that the child that they had killed was only sick. How long until someone reported him missing and they would hopefully come under scrutiny. He couldn’t call in the missing child report. He was someone what supposedly had nothing to do with the situation, and it would be even more suspicious if they found Danny under his care when he was the one who called in the report in the first place.

But…

Teachers were mandatory reporters. If he played it right, he could have this Lancer, who seemed like a teacher that genuinely cared for the kids under his wing, call for a wellness check. And he’d gone through plenty of those when Bruce first adopted him. An upstanding philanthropist and apple of the Gotham Elite’s eye, he was still a confirmed bachelor with a supposed revolving door of women in his bed. And Jason wasn’t that good at hiding his bruises from being Robin in those first days.

And when the Fentons couldn’t produce Danny, flu or not, questions would be raised.

“They’re going to get their due. And you’re safe here. I’ll f*cking shoot them myself if they show up here.”

“…Thanks.”

Chapter 21: Assigned colors

Chapter Text

When they got back to the manor, Jason directed Danny to putting the ice cream in the freezer, then to come back and help him haul bags, since it was all his sh*t in the first place. The clothes would go to the laundry room so that they could all get tagged and washed. The rest would all go in his room for the night, then they could work on organizing everything the next day.

“Tagged? Like putting my name in sharpie on the tag like in kindergarten?”

Jason tilted his head with a small grin. “Yeah and no. Alfie’s usually pretty good at figuring out what belongs to whom, but sometimes there’s overlap. And there have been… incidents.” While close, Jason was a little too broad to comfortably wear Bruce’s white dress shirts. And they hadn't even bothered to remember checking the tags before he popped the seams on the back of his sleeves from the strain. And that wasn’t the only time. He was glad he was known for his leather Jackets. And Bruce’s suit jacket covered his shirt not quite fitting as neatly as usual.

Taking the corner of his shirt, he showed the half dozen whip stitches in burgundy in the side seam right above the bottom hem. “See. Nobody knows unless they know what they’re looking for.

The Wayne family had assigned colors. It made total sense, what with how much laundry Alfred and the servant ghosts had to keep track of, but it was still hilarious. “…So, who’s what?”

“Currently?” Jason had to think for a moment. “Bruce has always been black, sometimes with yellow. Dickie used to be red and green, but now he’s light blue or blue/black. And then I was red/green, but now I’m this. Uh… Timber used to be Yellow, but that’s Duke's now. Steph’s purple- sorry, eggplant - and probably always will, but half the time she’ll just steal Timmy’s clothes anyway. And Cass’ is grey. Barb I think is…purple and yellow? I think. Demon’s is dark green.”

“You said Tim’s was yellow, but what is it now then?” Danny was barely holding on to the information, setting his bags down in an out of the way corner.

“R…ed? And yellow?” Jason hazarded a guess. “Hell, if it looks like I can’t even get my hand or foot all the way in it, I know it’s not mine. Kid’s f*ckin’ tiny. Like you.”

Jason smirked, watching Danny puff up dramatically, letting go of gravity so that he could huff in Jason’s face instead of at his sternum. After an impressive amount of sputtering, he finally bit out a ‘shut up!’ And floated down the hall ahead. Jason couldn’t help it, he laughed, trailing along behind Danny, only course correcting him once on the way back down to the garage.

When they got back to the van, Jason had to stare in confusion. He could swear, there were at least a dozen more bags left to grab. And they were all gone. And then he remembered. Ghosts. “…Right. Guess we’re done then.” He muttered, mostly to himself, and slammed the back door shut. “Time for ice cream.”

“Cool.” Danny said, turning around and walking back out.

It took a moment, staring into the middle distance, for Jason to register just which level of pun Danny was going for. ‘Cool’ ice cream, ‘Cool’ ice powers, just ‘cool’ in general excitement. Or was it something else.

That also gave Danny enough time to grab his own pint- the outside frosted with his own unmelting ice and the box of tiny spoons, one already stuck inside the opened container.

Leaving his own pint in the fridge (risking it being raided since he didn't put his name on it- Stephanie.), he followed behind Danny to make sure that he knew how to set up the TV for NetPix or whatever other service he needed for movie night.

“Nah, I’m good.” He waved Jason off, already halfway through hacking the TV to give Tucker free reign, if the phone on speaker on the table was any indication.

“So, decided your movie?” Jason asked the hacker, leaning against the doorframe to watch Danny work.

“Yeah, I was thinking ‘Smart House’!” Tucker’s tinny voice rang out.

“…What?”

“Hey,” Danny looked over with a smirk. “I said we were watching a movie, not that it would be a good movie.”

“Hey!”

“Tuck, we all know your taste in entertainment is sh*t. Get over it already.”

“And just who was it again that picked 1922 Nosferatu? At least mine’s in color, dude.”

“Sam. Sam did.”

“Yes I did!” Sam spoke up, proving she was on the line as well.

“ I” Danny pointed at himself, though nobody but Jason could see him. “Picked 1935 Bride of Frankenstein, thank you very much.”

Steph should never find out about this, they’d never hear the end of it. “So what’s with the spoons?” Jason finally asked, surprised when all three teens burst out laughing.

“You bought tiny spoons?” Sam almost cooed.

“Well, yeah. Can’t have Tiny Spoon Movie Time without them.”

“True that!” They heard a clink of what Jason assumed were two metal spoons smacking against each other.

“Someone gonna fill me in, or do I have to guess?”

There was silence for a few moments, in which the opening credits proclaiming ‘Smart House’ started to roll.

“Okay…” Tucker finally spoke up, either happy that he’d started the movie, or agreeing to answer the question. “Have you ever thrown popcorn at the screen during a bad scene before?”

He hadn’t, but he knew plenty of people (Steph. Duke. Dick.) who did. “Maybe.”

“And you know how much of a pain in the ass it is to get popcorn out of carpeting?” Unfortunately, yes. It was Dick’s go-to treat when he was feeling nostalgic and at least half always ended up ground into whatever piece of furniture that had the bad luck of being in his presence at the time. “Well, Sam has a home movie theater- like pro-grade screen measured in feet, not inches and multiple rows of recliners- viewing room.”

“That’s right next to the personal bowling alley.” Danny added.

“Yeah.” Tucker agreed. “So, really fancy.”

“And really hard to clean. The maids only come through once a week.” Sam added on.

“Tragedy.” What kind of fantasyland nouveau riche was the Manson Mansion anyway?

Then again, Bruce had a literal Batcave, filled with millions of dollars of tech, including a supercomputer whose screen(s) could be described in the same way. Had they played movies and video games on said screen? Yes, but don’t tell Bruce.

Did they alsohave a theater room? Yes, but the rows of viewing seats had long ago been replaced with one of those giant couch-bed-raised cushion things. (Nest. It was a freaking nest for cuddles.)

“So, we started throwing these mini spoons they had lying around instead.” Danny picked up the explanation. “I think that they were originally for caviar, but they’re really fun to eat ice cream with too.”

Okay, no, that was actually a really good idea.

“And not only are they easier to pick up, but they’re eco-friendly, since we’re able to reuse them.”

“Sorry, Sam, I could only find the plastic ones this time.” And Jason guessed that it just hadn’t crossed his mind to ask Alfred, or he didn’t want to ask anything of the older man.

“I guess I can forgive you.” Sam sighed dramatically, “this time.”

“Your grace is all I strive for, my Queen.” Danny purred, simply picking up the recliner tucked in the corner of his room like it was a folding chair and moved it a comfortable distance from the screen. Along with the table so that the ice cream and box of spoons was within easy reaching distance.

Somehow, it hadn’t occurred to Jason that Danny had super-strength, but it made sense. They really needed to have that conversation soon to fill out the rest of Phantom’s profile. These little surprises weren’t good for Bruce’s (nor any of the rest of the bat-clan’s) mental health. His paranoia and chronic need to know everything had rubbed off on the rest of them. And Danny was one big mystery.

Watching Danny perk up from just being around his friends, Jason decided to back out of the room, giving the trio the space that Danny clearly needed after such a long day. “Hey, do you want me to come get you when dinner’s ready?”

Danny’s immediate response was a grimace, but he quickly hid it behind a nonchalant wave. “Yeah, sure. If you want to.”

“Nah, I get it.” Jason saw right through his mask. “They’re… a lot. Especially when you’re not used to them. I knew it took me a while to get used to them after I came back. When I left, it was just me, Alf, Bruce, Dick and Babs. And even then, a lot of the time it was just Alf and I.

“How ‘bout this: when dinner rolls ‘round, I’ll tell you who all’s there, and then you can decide if you want to join them. No pressure. That sound good?”

There was only the sound of the movie playing for a few moments before, reluctantly, Danny nodded. “And I can eat up here if I don’t?”

“Yeah, Boo. Alf’ll understand. We all have introvert nights. And what Alfie says, goes. I’d at least try though, ok? Be a part of the family.” And didn’t Jason know how ironic that was to say. “Instead of some wandering soul haunting the place. That’s Cass’ job… and the rest of the ghosts here too, I guess.”

“I’ll… think about it.”

“Cool.” Jason nodded and backed out the door the rest of the way, closing the door as he went.

“It sounds like Red Hood’s really trying for you, huh?” Jason could hear Sam’s muffled voice through the door.

“His name’s Jason.” Danny replied, just as hushed. “And yeah, he really is.”

Turning away, he walked off to go find something to do to take his mind off the whole Danny situation. Maybe he could head to the kitchen and help Alfie with whatever he was making for dinner. It had been a while since the last time he’d helped cook for the family. Then again, it’d been a while since the manor had been this full either.

Dick had already gone back to Bludhaven last night, And Tim usually stayed in his apartment closer to Wayne Tower these days. Cass just happened to be between trips and Steph… he never knew when or where she’d pop up. The only ones that stayed in the manor on a semi-regular basis these days were Duke and Damien, and even then, Duke had an apartment closer to campus and half the time Damien or Jon were switching out whose room they slept in.

Slipping into the kitchen, Jason was quickly delegated to veggie prep duties, peeling and dicing potatoes and what other things needed a bit of knife work.

And then there was him, floating from one bolthole to the next. Hell, he didn’t think he’d gone to his actual apartment in about a month, aside from watering his plants and checking his mail… and doing laundry. He definitely knew there wasn’t any fresh food in the fridge, that’s for sure.

“Master Jason, what has you all up in a tizzy this time?” Alfred’s gentle voice asked, his hand covering Jason’s over the knife so that he wouldn't startle.

“I want to move back in.” Where had that come from?

“…Pardon?”

“I…” He hadn’t realized it until then, but it was the best move. For Danny’s sake. Yeah. “I want to move back in. At least for a little while. At least until Danny’s more comfortable. I don’t want to just leave him here with a bunch of strangers. Especially since he’s still recovering and having the only people that he trusts to have his back still back in Amity Park.”

“Oh, my boy. ” Alfred grinned, pulling Jason’s head down to his level so that they could press cheeks. “You don’t have to explain yourself. You’ve always been welcome to come back home. And we’ll be glad to have you.”

“Right, Yeah.” Jason nodded. He wasn’t crying. It was the damn onion he was cutting (he’d been done with the onion ten minutes ago). “Yeah, great. Thank you.”

“There’s no thanks to be had, Jason. This is your home. Just as it's Richard’s or Tim’s or Damien’s.” Alfred stated, like it was an indisputable fact. “Now, go check on the curry.”

“Now, I heard earlier from a little bird or two, that our latest wasn’t feeling well this morning on the drive into town. I was expecting the two of you back hours ago.”

“Yeah, it was… weird.” Jason paid more attention to the sauce he was stirring than it warranted, hoping to avoid Alfred’s potent stare. “At first we thought that it was an allergy migraine- you know how outsiders do their first time in Gotham- but then on our way back he just… blanked out. I think he was possessed - sorry, Overshadowed- by who he said was the Spirit of Gotham- Lady Gotham- testing him to see what his intentions were here.

“I think…” At this, Jason furrowed his brows. He was never directly involved, but certain details about the case had been shared among the family, especially when Bruce had disappeared (again). “She wants Danny to do something about the Court of Owls. It was twice in one day that he’s been shown the same symbol that belongs to them. It can’t be a coincidence.

“She brought us- well, Danny, and I followed- down into the old brickwork sewers, where there was this giant mural of their owl.”

Alfred hummed, poking at the roast that the meat-eaters in the family would be enjoying alongside their curry, taking the internal temperature before sliding it back into the oven. “I do believe, that Danny has his first case as a member of the Family, wouldn’t you say so?”

Alfred’s tone was light, but he and Jason both shared tight-lipped looks. It was one thing to choose the lifestyle, and a whole other to be forced into it. Danny, from what Jason had shared, had never chosen this path. And with starting a new life in Gotham, it was supposed to be a way to give him the choice that was initially taken away from him.

But then again, Danny was their King-to-be. The savior of the infinite realms… and all who belonged within… including Lady Gotham, who apparently had demands for her King.

“I’ll follow Danny wherever he needs me to go.”

“Good.” Alfred patted Jason on the shoulder. “As well the rest of the family. I have the feeling that he’ll need all the support he can get in the times ahead.”

An hour and a half later, Jason knocked lightly on Danny’s door, intending to tell the younger that dinner was served. Greeted with silence, he poked his head inside, to see Danny asleep in his chair.

Humming, amused, Jason walked in, noting that while the tv was turned off, there was still a conversation going on between the two on the other end of the phone line. Casual, light topics as it sounded like they were doing their homework together.

Crossing the room as quietly as he could, he dug through the bags to pull out one of the star blankets with a triumphant smirk. And Danny thought that they’d never be used! Tucking him in, Jason carefully grabbed the phone and took it with him, closing the door most of the way behind him.

“Hey, guys, he’s asleep.” Jason turned off speaker and spoke in a low tone.

The surprised silence only stretched for a handful of seconds. “Oh, we already figured that.” Sam replied nonchalantly.

“Yeah. He fell asleep about fifteen minutes in and before we got to the good part.” Tucker added in. “But we kinda expected that. Most of the time he falls asleep during movies anyway, so we just let it play through.”

“That and he was awake stupid early for him this morning. Like, he was probably awake before I was, and I like to greet the sunrise with a jog before I meet up with the boys.”

“Ah, you’re one of those chronic morning people he warned me about.”

“Yes I am!” Jason just grunted at that. Of course she was.

“So… can you tell me more about this tiny spoon thing? I think it sounds like something that we could introduce to the rest of the family. Like, which spoons do you usually use? The gold ones or the mother of pearl?”

Sam just laughed, from one rich kid to another, he could hear her evil grin. “The gold ones, of course. The mother of pearl ones break if you chuck them too hard. But now we use wood, because Pamela kept complaining that we were putting dings in her wall and marks on the screen.”

“Ah, yes, can’t mark up those pristine walls. What would the masses say to anything that was less than perfect.” The sarcasm was strong with this one.

“Exactly. What a shame, having to rip up those perfectly good walls for the fifth time because of a little divot.”

…He had a feeling the ‘little divot’ wasn’t caused by a spoon. More like a size eight steel-toed boot.

…or a bowling ball, apparently.

“Hmm, yes. A shame. Truly.” Jason hummed in agreement. “Ah, yes, before I give you back over to listening to sleeping beauty snore.” He got a pair of snorts at that. “I tried to take Danny shopping today-“

“Oh ancients!”

“Oh, no!” Sam cackled. “How bad was it?”

“On one end, we got plenty of decorations to make his room feel more homey and less like a hotel room-“

“But getting him to pick any clothes was like herding a very stubborn cat into taking a bath.” Sam finished for him, citing her own experiences taking Danny (and Dani) to the mall. “Don’t worry, I got it.” The glee in her voice should have worried him more than it did. “I’ve always wanted to dress Danny. He had his chance . I’ll talk to Jazz and get her opinion too, then send something your way for him.”

No, now he actually was worried. He’d intended to ask for advice on making it an easier time on them both, not-

Well, too late for that now.

Danny was apparently getting a Bruce Special, whether he wanted one or not. At least (He hoped) with his friends and sister doing the shopping for him, he’d at least wear some of it. Or pick his own clothes to wear.

Coming back downstairs, all Jason did was shake his head before sitting down to his own meal.

Bruce raised his eyebrow, but before he could ask, Jason spoke up “Getting woken up at the ass-crack of dawn caught up with him. Didn’t even make it all the way though the opening credits before he crashed.”

“Speaking of young Master Danny,” Alfred spoke up, passing over Jason’s plate of rice so that he could serve himself what he wanted of the veggie curry and beef. Standing back up, Alfred tweaked his ear as a silent reminder to mind his language. “Mr. Dent’s secretary called back. He’ll be open to looking over the paperwork at eight.”

“AM or PM?” Bruce asked, setting his reminder on his WayneTech bracelet. Alfred just raised his eyebrow and gave him a pointed look. “…Right.” And promptly set a second alarm.

“Wait a minute, ‘Mr. Dent’ as in Harvey Dent ? Two-Face? You still have him on retainer?”

Bruce just tilted his head. “We’ve come to an agreement, and he’s still one of the best lawyers in Gotham.”

“But he’s-“

“Very fast and efficient when it comes to borderline legal paperwork… half the time. How else do you think I’ve been able to help most of your younger siblings? As well as your and Dick’s situations growing up. He’s one of the few in Gotham that can help with our… unique situations.”

“Well, yeah, I knew that already. But you’re all ‘Justice’ and ‘uphold the laws’ and ‘Jason, don’t kill crime lords’. I would have thought Two-Face would be against your morals, old man.”

“He’s also practically family.” Bruce laced his fingers together in an effort to keep calm. “And legal work, albeit borderline, helps with his rehabilitation.”

“Is he still even a lawyer?”

“Gotham’s standards are surprisingly lax once you pass the Bar.” Tim finally spoke up. “Sure, most, if not all of our lawyers are corrupt because of it. but otherwise nobody would be crazy enough to work in Gotham’s public sector. Same with most of our psychologists.”

Jason winced. “Jazz is studying Psychology.”

Tim just nodded. “I looked into her public records. We’re already developing a contingency plan in the instance that she pulls a Harley.”

Jason just shook his head. “I wouldn’t be worried about a Harley, but if she snaps, maybe more of a Strange. Or a Crane. She’s seen some sh*t already.” Shaking his head to get rid of the mental images of things that Jazz had told him about in the past, Jason refocused the conversation. “But seriously, why are you talking to Harvey?”

Bruce’s entangled fingers raised to cover his mouth. “We need to set legal protections in place for Danny, or should I say Tanner? So that he can be a legal citizen of Gotham and continue his schooling. Also, I think it’s about time that we legally resurrect you, to establish a familial connection as a reason why I’ve apparently taken in another child or two that I’ve had no previous traceable interaction with. Especially since Daniel Fenton is from the Midwest, and Tanner Todd vanished from public record when he was two.”

“Right.” Bruce had a point and it still ruffled his feathers every time it happened. “Do you need us there?”

“Preferably.” Bruce nodded. “At least Danny during the morning meeting so that he can state his preferences sooner rather than later. But I can go alone if that is what you prefer.”

Looking away, Jason chewed over his thoughts and Bruce knew that he’d won when he nodded reluctantly. “So, is this a breakfast meeting?”

Brucie just shrugged. “It’s a tossup. I’ll buy doughnuts for after, either way.”

…Jason sometimes forgot that Robins originally learned to quip at Brucie Wayne’s heels. Especially since the younger kids all thought it was Dick’s actual personality.

Jason just sighed and closed his eyes, going back to his meal. It was going to be a long day, starting with having to deal with Brucie schmoozing with Harvey as they badly flirted with each other over adoption papers.

Chapter 22: Interlude: the Kent’s

Chapter Text

“Damien.” Lois greeted with a friendly smile, opening the front door. “You know you don’t have to knock, but thank you for coming in the front door either way. How is your family doing? I heard that you’re getting a new brother.” Innocent question or not, Lois Lane-Kent was still a reporter at heart.

Damien, in response, just barely held back a sour face as he ducked inside, taking his shoes off at the door and put them in his designated shoe cubby hole. “Todd’s biological younger brother. There was a disagreement with his adopted parents. They are no longer in the immediate picture.”

“I see.” Ah, so family drama was involved. “Is he okay?”

“He will make a full recovery in time.” So the kid was injured. Likely badly, since they had to do an emergency extraction.

“That’s good. In the meanwhile, you know that you’re welcome to stay as long as you want, as long as Alfred and your father let you. We’ll be having stir fry tonight, is that okay with you?”

“That will be fine, thank you.” Damien knew that the Kents knew to make a portion of the meal without meat, and depending on who was cooking, a protein replacement instead. Their first tries were… attempts, but they had vastly improved as Damien spent more and more time in Jon’s presence.

“Good, dinner will be in half an hour. Clark’s the one cooking this time.” So, yes, a protein substitute would be used and, if luck was on their side, one of Ma Kent’s infamous pies as well.

“Okay, thanks mom!” Jon nodded after removing his own shoes and grabbing Damien’s bag, leading the other up to their room. “So…” the door was barely shut before Jon was shucking his school uniform, peering at Damien(‘s abs) in expectation. “Spill.”

‘Reluctantly’ taking one of Jon’s well-loved tees and his own spare pants tucked into the bottom drawer, Damien took his time (only partially to show off to the other) before answering.

“It’s a pit demon making like it’s a human, badly. Its eyes glow with Lazarus madness constantly. Todd has been enspelled by whatever sorcery it’s cast on him, making him treat the beast like an equal. It’s disgusting and I would have dispatched it easily, except that Richard would likely disapprove of my actions.”

Jon nodded along, sitting on his bed as Damien paced out his frustrations. “And your dad?”

“It must have ensorcelled him as well! The demon supposedly invaded one of the Justice League’s battles over the summer. It spelled father, forcing its way into our family through him.”

Jon hummed. “That’s really impressive. Doesn’t your dad also have one of the strongest minds in the League? Last I heard, Martian Manhunter has troubles with getting into Bruce’s mind, and he’s one of the best Readers on the planet.”

“Magic.” Damien spat. “It’s child’s play for a demon to use mind controlling spells.”

Jon hummed, nodding along as Damien ranted, carefully holding his peace. It wasn’t his place to judge others before he met them, but Damien seemed a little more incensed than usual about the new addition.

“…And its thrall , accusing me of being insecure of my place in the family. I am the Blood Son. The Heir of the Bat!”

“Yeah, I’m gonna stop you right there.” Jon held up his hand, ignoring the glare Damien sent his way. “This ‘thrall’ or whatever. Well… isn’t wrong. Nowhearmeout!” Jon rushed, holding up a finger and leaning back slightly at Damien’s glare.

“I mean, it’s no secret that you tried to kill Tim when you first moved in with your dad, and if that doesn’t scream insecure of your position in the family, I don’t know what does. Now, has this guy actually done anything to threaten you? Because if he has, You know I’m behind you, 100 percent.”

Pursing his lips, Damien looked away, totally not pouting. “He required vials of Lazarus water to resurrect himself.”

“Mm-Kay?” Jon prompted when Damien didn’t continue. “Not like that’s a first in your family. Didn’t your dad use Lazarus water to bring you back at one point too? Not to mention Jason… And your Dad. Cassandra? I can go on. Does that mean that using Lazarus water makes you evil?”

Damien just stared.

Jon winced. “Okay, yeah, that was a stupid question. Your psycho grandpa and mom aside, did a dunk in the Lazarus waters make you evil? I’d ask if they made you insane, but that’s kinda a moot point. Anyone who lives in Gotham willingly’s gotta be at least a little bit touched in the head.” Jon grinned.

“Shut up.” Damien smacked an immobile Jon, the smallest grins cracking his serious mein.

“No, but have you even talked to the guy yet? I don’t know about you, but I was taught not to take preconceived notions and prejudices into a new experience. Who knows? You might actually like the guy.”

“Tt. I doubt it.”

“Wanna take that bet?”

“…” Damien gave Jon a judging side eye. “You’ve been hanging around Kon-El too long. You’re starting to sound like Drake.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Jon grinned before grabbing Damien’s hand. Come on, Dad says dinner’s ready. “Also, you didn’t say no!”

Chapter 23: Dichotomy

Chapter Text

“Morning Starshine!” Jason called out, ripping open Danny’s curtains. From the bed came a feral hiss as the lump under the blankets moved, ostensibly to burrow further down into the darkness. “Come on, up you get.” He reached over and slapped a high lump in the blanket, hitting Danny’s ass (he hoped).

Danny jackknifed up, growling, only to be cut off by a shirt smacking him in the face. Absently he noticed it was one of the dress shirts Jason made him get yesterday. “You’ve got 30 minutes to get ready. We’re going to go see one of Bruce’s college buddies to get your paperwork sorted out.”

Danny just blinked and stared at the shirt in his lap blankly, tired enough that his blinking wasn’t even completely in sync. “…What?”

“Harv is Bruce’s lawyer and we found out last night that the only time he could get us in so soon is before his office opens.” It actually opened at ten, but Harvey was both an ass and knew that the family preferred late-nights, so he’d have the advantage of a sleep-deprived Brucie to deal with.

“Which you’d have known if you would have had dinner with us last night, but you needed sleep more. Now hurry up and shower so we can go.”

Danny let Jason pull him out of bed and to the bathroom, following him in to put the rest of his clothes onto the counter. Hopefully he’d be able to actually wake up on the drive over. It was too early for this sh*t.

Staying close to the bathroom door to make sure that Danny was actually getting ready and not falling asleep on the tiled floors (Tim had done that more than once. He claimed the cooler tiles helped his tension headaches), he was greeted with the various bangs and groans of Danny pulling a frankly impressive zombie impersonation.

But the kid actually did it. 20 minutes later, hair still dripping into the towel flung around his shoulders, Danny emerged as ready for the day as alive he was going to get. “M-Kay, let’s go. Bruce is already down by the car.” Jason steered Danny by the arm downstairs and into a (for Bruce) understated black sedan.

“Oh, goody, a classy kidnapper van.” Danny muttered under his breath, apparently not quietly enough, since Jason laughed, forcing Danny to scoot over so that Jason could join him in the back. Bruce and Jason made eye contact in the rear view mirror as Bruce pulled out.

“Heard from Jazz that you’ve had a few experiences with ‘classy kidnapper vans’.”

Danny just snorted, working on towel drying his hair- his black hair- as they drove down the drive and toward Gotham. “‘If I had a nickel for being kidnapped by eccentric billionaires with questionable second jobs, I’d have two nickels, but it’s weird it’s happened twice.’” Which… didn’t answer anything. “-Vlad.” But that did. “Seriously, where are we going?”

“To meet a lawyer that I trust.” Bruce explained, watching Danny through the mirror as he navigated early-morning traffic. “You don’t have to make any decisions right away, but he’ll at least help you understand what those decisions are in the first place.”

“What kind of decisions?” Danny wracked his brain, not coming up with a single clue about what Bruce was talking about.

“Your legal status.” Jason just explained succinctly, his arms folded behind his head as he stretched out as much as he could in the back seat, getting comfortable for the ride. “Cause as-is, I don’t got much of a leg to stand on, you being here. I technically kidnapped you. And I don’t legally exist.”

Danny snorted darkly. “Yeah, well, I don’t either. I’ve got less rights than a rock.”

“We’re already working on that.” Bruce said, his knuckles white around the steering wheel. Danny couldn’t see, but Jason knew how to look for the tension in Bruce’s posture. “But part of your decision is if and what to change your name to, and who you want on paperwork as your guardian.”

“…Oh.” There was a small flash of light under the towel before Danny pulled it away, revealing white hair. “Tucker already set me up with an emergency identity, paper trail and all.”

“I’m sure-“

“Keep that safe.” Jason cut off Bruce’s placating (patronizing) tone, “Just in case sh*t hits the fan. I’m assuming it’s with your go-bag? You may want to keep that closer on hand, at least until things settle down.” He, along with most of the rest of the batclan, had at least half a dozen emergency identities to use at any given time. And it’d saved his own life more than once.

“Tucker’s good.” Jason defended Danny’s friend. Bruce hadn’t been there when he’d hacked the bat-computer… and he wasn’t sure if anyone had told the Old Man yet. At the very least, he hadn’t seen the explosion from Bruce finding out he’d been hacked by a high schooler on a PDA.

The last kid that managed that had been Timmers.

“This is more than a false ID.” Bruce kept watching the boy in the back seat. “This will be legal paperwork that will need to pass more through rigorous inspections than the corner store cashier or a bouncer, and information that you should be willing to live by for the rest of your life. Including your future education.”

They both noticed Danny tensing at the mention of school, but forced himself into a more relaxed posture before quipping. “I guess Danny Fenton won’t work any longer, huh.”

“Danny Fenton died in his parents basem*nt.” Jason stated, watching closely as Danny stiffened, then gave a small nod. Jason’s hand came out from behind his head and slowly, slowly, crossed Danny's shoulders in a loose embrace, ready at any time to pull away at the first sign of discomfort.

“…Yeah. He did.” Danny looked down at his lap, letting Jason’s arm stay where it laid. The real question was: Did Danny Fenton die last week, or when he was fourteen? Either way, it was in that damn basem*nt.

The rest of the ride was in silence, only broken when Bruce parked, turning off the car and turning to look at Danny directly. “These decisions are ultimately all up to you. But… I will warn you, Harvey can be a bit… much the first time you meet him. He has some scarring. I just want you to be prepared.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah, just some acid burns. Melted off half his face in the process. And half his brain.”

“ Jason.”

“ What ? It’s true. He literally spends half the time in Arkham. He’s certifiably crazy.”

“Ah. So… Average Joe Gothamite.”

“Ha!” Jason barked, drawing Bruce’s ire as he slapped Danny on the back. “Pretty much. Let’s go, I’m starving.” Jason escaped Bruce’s latest version of his ‘sensitivity’ speech by exiting the car, stage right.

“Ah, and he also has this thing with coin flips and the number two.” Jason mentioned absently before he opened the double doors to the office for Danny, letting go before Bruce could slip through, forcing the man to catch the door for himself.

It was the little moments of rudeness that brought him life.

Inside, the office was split in half with a black and white theme.

On the left, white tiles, a cream colored leather couch, and lilies in a blue-on-white vase on the pinewood side-table, created a very clean look. At the far side of the room there was a platinum blonde secretary in a light colored pantsuit working behind a pinewood desk, guarding a white-painted door.

The other side was as dark as the left was light. It was black tiled, with dark wooden paneling on the bottom half of the wall. Sturdy walnut and black leather chairs sat clustered around a coffee table with a spray of magazines across the top in a variety of topics. A brunette secretary with a leather collar and bustier worked behind an equally sturdy walnut desk perched in front of the black-painted door.

“Mr. Wayne-“ the blonde cooed when they entered.

“Dent’s waitin’ for ya.” The brunette concluded with a bubblegum snap.

“Ladies!” Brucie Wayne gave his Publicity smile, coming forward to buss the blonde’s knuckles and pet the brunette’s cheek, cleanly dodging the playful nip to his fingers. “It's been a while. Harvey been treating you right?”

“You know he has.” It was the brunette’s turn to purr, fluttering her eyelashes in Brucie’s direction. “And you know you have an… open invitation to join us.”

“Any time.” Blonde agreed with her darker counterpoint.

“I remember.” Brucie gave a chuckle, leaning back casually and stuffing his hands into his pockets before seeming to remember that he wasn’t alone. “Ah! You remember Jason, my second boy? We’re here to sort out some paperwork for his younger brother. Fostering issues, you know how that can be.”

“You’re an angel, Brucie.” Blonde stood up, opening the door behind her and stuck her head through. “Mr. Dent. Mr. Wayne’s here.” A moment later, she walked in the rest of the way, holding the door open for the trio. “Don’t worry, honey. Brucie is one of the good fosters. He’ll treat you right.” She whispered, leaning down slightly as Danny passed, giving him a sweet smile.

“Uh… thanks.” Taking one last look around the waiting room, Danny had to admit, this lawyer friend really had a thing for dichotomy. At least both sides looked like they were in good taste for the theme they kept. He could only imagine what Jazz would say about it.

Turning back into the office, the dichotomy blended a bit better, with checkerboard tile carpeting and a couch and chairs contrasting the seating in the waiting room, with cream leather chairs and the walnut and black couch around the coffee table. The wooden paneling split the walls in half, with a black border and clean white paint on the top half.

The only thing that looked like it was split intentionally was Harvey’s large desk. The right side was the same dark walnut, while the left was pale pine. Harvey himself wore a pinstriped suit, the left either black or navy blue in the half-light, and the right white. With the way he was bent over the paperwork he was going over, Danny didn’t immediately see the scarring, but he did see the split between well-coiffed black and scraggly white hair.

After a moment of making them wait, Harvey looked up and smiled with the more mobile side of his face. “Brucie!”

Jason’s hand hovered behind Danny’s shoulder blades, ready to catch the boy when he startled. It was always a surprise, the first time one of the Batclan met Dent. “…Huh.” Aside from a small tilting of his head, Danny didn’t respond, which startled Jason more with his non-reaction.

“Harvey!” Brucie held out his arms as Harvey came around his desk and they gave each other a manly hug, complete with backslaps. “Thanks for meeting us so soon!”

“Not a problem, my friend. Anything for your family! Speaking of,” He took a barely imperceptible moment to gird himself against the look that Bruce’s latest ward would grace him with, tugging his suit jacket back into place. “You must be Jason’s younger sibling. I’ve heard there’s quite a few decisions in your near future to make.” He held his hand out in a way that he could easily abort if the child gave him a look of disgust.

“Danny. He/they.” Danny took Harvey’s hand and gave it a firm shake, surprising the lawyer with staring him steadily in the eyes, without bouncing between his unmarred and scarred sides. Danny took a clue from both how Harvey was carefully using neutral language and how Stephanie had introduced herself the other day. “I haven’t decided what my legal name should be yet.”

“And that’s what we’re here to help you decide.” Pulling back, he pulled his coin, flipping it between his fingers. He wasn’t sure how to take a child that looked at him without wariness.

Flipping his coin, Harvey looked down at it briefly. “Would you like something to drink?” Another flip and he flashed a brief frown “Something to tide us over until we’re done and-“ A third flip “We can go out and celebrate over breakfast.”

“Coffee would be great.” Danny smiled, watching as the coin was flipped, helping Harvey make decisions on the fly. It hadn’t been the strangest coping device he’d seen, especially after he started making regular visits to the Realms.

Nodding his head, Harvey flipped his coin twice before responding. “Angela can go to the corner cafe for us to pick up something.” Poking his head out the office door (Looking at the wall, Danny realized that the second black-painted door was redundant, since it led to the same office as the white one) Harvey summoned the girl in the pantsuit to listen to their drink orders, writing it on a small notebook with a pale pink pom pom pen. Jason was quick to order a ‘Gotham Smog’ and a cookie, while Bruce ordered a plain black coffee. Harvey just went with ‘his usual’ after another coin flip, and then it was Danny’s turn.

“Uh…” He had no clue what they even had. “Whatever sweet seasonal drink they have… with a- two shots of espresso.”

“Do you want it hot or cold, honey?”

“Um…” Danny gave Harvey a look, mimicking flipping a coin.

“Hot, Angela.” Harvey took his clue from the boy and flipped his coin.

“Yes, sir.” She didn’t even blink, taking instructions smoothly from her boss, used to his indecisiveness. “Would you like anything else?”

“Get yourself and Demona a little treat for coming in early too.”

Nodding with a small smile, Angela bobbed her head and ducked out to carry out her chore.

While they waited, Danny looked around while Bruce and Harvey made small talk while Harvey pulled out various forms for them to peruse, ready to be filled out at any time.

Bruce also pulled out a folder from the small attaché case he’d brought in without Danny noticing as they all settled around the coffee table.

Aside from the usual filing cabinets and various office appliances was a small kitchenette, consisting of a microwave, an absolutely tiny sink, only just big enough to rinse a single cup at a time, mini fridge and a high-end coffee machine in a place of pride. On the counter was a selection of teas and single-serving coffee pods. As well as what Danny assumed was an unopened box of pastries with a fancy label. Their breakfast, if the coin would have willed it.

“Danny.” Bruce rumbled, drawing his attention away from an interesting piece of art on the wall with the signature of DWaG in one corner. Turning around, he realized that the others had already sat down: Harvey and Bruce in the overstuffed chairs, leaving him to sit next to Jason on the black leather and walnut couch.

Perched on his lap Harvey held a clipboard holding a legal pad, ready to take notes. “Now, Brucie told me a little the other day.” Harvey watched Danny sit, as he himself was perched so that his scarring was facing away from everyone else, a hard-earned habit after all this time of uncomfortable stares. “The official story, so to say, but I want to hear it from you.

Danny just shrugged, looking out the window, to find that it was frosted and wire-reinforced glass. “My… The Fen…” Danny shook his head, not knowing what the official story was, so he didn’t know what he could tell this ‘family friend’. “I was adopted when I was four. My adopted parents are neglectful at best, abusive to the point of threatening my life multiple times a week at worst. Jason offered to help when he found me a couple of months ago when it got to the point where I couldn’t deal with it any longer.” He shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “Last week they crossed that line.”

Harvey just nodded along, his lips pursed as he fought not to react. Even painted in the broadest strokes, it sounded bad. In a move that only served to unnerve his clients these days, even when he meant to offer sympathy, Harvey leaned forward, making sure to catch Danny’s eyes. “And you’ll never see them again, if I have anything to do with it. What we’re here for today, is to put up the barriers that will stop them from ever hurting you again. Now, that’s what the public will hear. What really happened?”

“He’s part of the nightlife and this is Gotham. There isn’t much you can tell him that’ll phase him. Plus with client confidentiality, he won’t be able to tell anyone what happens in this room without your permission.”

“Okay, right. Yeah.” Danny nodded nervously, wiping his palms on his pants. “Mr. Dent, do you believe in ghosts?”

Harvey blinked, sitting back in his seat, taking in the open but wary expression on the boy’s face. “Well, normally I would say no-“

He was saved from immediately answering by the door opening, revealing Angela with two drink caddies and a small plastic baggie of treats.

Saved by the bell, so to speak.

Carefully, she put the drink caddies on the table before distributing cups. Bruce and Jason were each given a large steaming cup and Bruce immediately went over to the kitchenette to doctor his black coffee up the way he liked it. In front of Harvey, she placed two cups: one cold and white and the other hot.

In front of Danny, she placed a cup piled high with whipped cream and sugar crystals. Next to his cup, she placed a cookie-covered brownie with a wink. “Sugar always helps me with stressful situations.”

“Uh… Thank you.” He murmured, taking a nibble of the overly sweet concoction. It wasn’t a fudge brownie, thankfully. Taking a sip of his drink, he was glad to taste the bitterness of espresso under the sugary concoction.

Danny watched Angela’s retreat, opening his mouth as soon as the door shut. “Because I didn’t, not until I was fourteen.” It took a moment, but Harvey caught on to what Danny was talking about. “My…” Danny hesitated before deciding to just steamroll on. “ Adopted parents are ecto-biologists. Mad scientist ghost hunters. Its partially because of their unfounded and biased ‘research’ that the Anti-Ecto Acts and the Ghost Investigation Ward were put into place.” He paused long enough for Harvey to write down the names. “Da- Jack Fenton is from a family of supernatural hunters tracing back to at least the 15th century and an engineer. He’s the one that invents all the anti ghost weapons. Mo- Maddie is the biologist. She’s the one that figured out how to distill ectoplasm from dying and recently dead biological matter and how to use it as an energy source.

This matters because, when I was fourteen, I died.” It was subconscious, but Harvey’s eyes flicked over to Jason. So he knew.

Shrugging, Danny fiddled with his straw. “I likely would have died from toxic ectoplasm exposure by the time I was 25 either way. They didn’t exactly believe in OSHA safety standards beyond wearing biohazard suits as everyday wear. They used to keep ectoplasm samples in the kitchen fridge, until the turkey came back to life one year and got its wings on the carving knife. Jazz put her foot down about keeping biological samples in the regular house instead of the lab, not that they ever kept to that rule. She still has the scar. I was five, Jazz was seven.”

“What their ultimate goal was, ever since they and one of their friends met in college, was to punch a hole through the veil. To make a portal to the other side. When I was fourteen, they managed to complete it. But it didn’t work. And like a stupid kid, I told my friends. We went down to take a look before my- the Fentons tore it down.

The button was on the inside.

I tripped

The portal opened.”

Chapter 24: Tanner ‘Dangermagnet’ Todd

Chapter Text

Danny’s hands were shaking. He put down his drink before he spilled it, holding his hands together to try to stop them.

“Do you need a break?” Harvey’s voice came from right beside him. When did he move?

Danny immediately shook his head. Paused. Then nodded reluctantly. “Please.” He croaked.

“You remember where the bathroom is?”

Danny was about to shake his head, but Jason cut him off. “Yeah. Come on Moonbeam, let’s go take a walk.” They both spoke low to him. like he was some kind of, some kind of victim in all of this. Jason’s hand hovered over his shoulder blade, just barely touching as he steered him out of the office and down the hall.

“Y’know, Bruce, you always bring me the most difficult cases.” Harvey slumped back in his seat, his legs kicked out as he contemplated his double-headed coin. “And sometimes I hate that you’re our f*cking moral compass, the three of us. Can’t even f*cking kill ‘em for this.”

Bruce hummed, breaking the seal on the pastry box, selecting a butter croissant and put it on a napkin, handing it over to Harvey to nibble on. “And, from what I know, this isn’t even the worst part.”

“Two counts of chronic Criminal Negligence not enough for you, Bruce?”

“There’s the abuse and torture as well.”

“Oh, goodie.” Harvey growled, ignoring the crumbs getting all over his suit as he tore off a piece of pastry and popped it into his mouth. “Ain’t he a bit old to be a Robin? Though, it's about time for your youngest to start moving on to spread his wings.”

“ Harvey.” Bruce growled a warning.

Harvey threw up his hands defensively. “Just making conversation.”

“Though… I take it Hood’s gonna be busy with his own baby bird for the next while, huh.” Batman’s warning growl coming out of Bruce’s throat was enough of a warning to shut down that line of questioning.

“In my professional opinion… I would suggest finding the kid a therapist. ‘Cause if this goes to court, the judge is going to mandate one.”

“I know.” The judge always did, for every one of his kids. “I’m already shopping around, but he had an… incident with a school therapist that’s wanted for leading kids to suicidal idealization in three states.”

“Please tell me you’re tracking her down.”

Bruce gave him a look . “Last known location of her and her companion was his hometown. This was two years ago.”

“Ah.” He finished off the croissant, just in time too, as Jason led a red-eyed and moist-faced Danny back into the room.

They were quiet as Jason led Danny into a well-appointed washroom done in red and golds. “Hey.” He used the hand on Danny’s shoulder to spin the kid around so that he could duck down and look Danny in the face. “You okay? You didn’t need to tell Harvey how you died.”

“Yes, I did. Otherwise nothing else makes sense.” Jason just sighed, drawing him into a hug slowly enough that Danny could easily pull away if he wanted to. After nearly a minute of not moving, Danny’s shoulders started to shake and Jason just drew him in closer. At least with it being so early, privacy was pretty much guaranteed.

“Okay. Just breathe. We’re going at your pace. You’re calling all the shots here. Harvey’s just here to make sure what you want to happen, does.”

Danny just nodded, staying buried in Jason's arms until he was ready to talk again.

Soon, Danny pulled away with a firm nod, whether to himself or Jason, it didn’t matter. “Okay. Let’s get rid of some of that swelling first.” Jason steered him over to the sink and wet a paper towel in cold water, soaking it until it wasn’t scratchy before laying it over Danny’s eyes and wiped away the remnants of tears. Then it was back to the office.

When they got back and Danny sat down, he took up his drink to keep himself centered, absently wishing that he would have gotten it iced. The cold would have served as a better focus.

“With the portal opened, it became a permanent rip in the veil, letting ghosts pass through freely. At first I was protecting the humans from the ghosts, but then my- the Fentons, and then the GIW, started hunting down the ghosts with the intent to study, dissect and destroy them.

I was one of those ghosts that they hunted.

Their ‘white whale’.” Danny snorted derisively.

“And then last week- Ancients, maybe only like two weeks ago?” Danny stood and started pacing around the room, either not noticing or not caring that he was a good two inches off of the floor. Though Harvey and the bats certainly did notice. Bruce shot Harvey a look, warning him to keep his mouth shut -forever- about Danny’s powers.

“I got lazy. Complacent. They- they were supposed to be out. Date night, you know. And I went through the portal without a spotter because I didn’t think that I would be gone long enough for them to notice.

They were in the lab when I came back through.” Danny’s hand went to cover the hole in his side that no longer existed.

“They strapped me down to the table and cut me open. I don’t know how I’m still alive… ish.” Coming back around, he practically collapsed onto the couch. The spring in the center must have been going, because he found himself tilting into Jason's embrace as he grabbed the brownie and fiddled with it, eventually taking a small bite. It was cloyingly sweet and tasted like ashes and ectoplasm-tainted. Any other time, he probably would have enjoyed the treat.

“And I’m going to stop you right there.” Harvey, the man who had seen the worst of Gotham’s underbelly and defended them, held up his hand. “Bruce already gave me all of the relevant information for what happened during your… abduction. Now, the question is, what do you want now?”

“I…” Danny looked away, wrapping his arms around his stomach protectively. “Don’t know. I guess I don’t want to be hunted down like an animal any longer, that would be nice. Make it so that my people won’t be slaughtered just for going about with their afterlives. I mean, sure, there’s a few obnoxious ones that cause a lot of property damage and break mortal laws, but that’s only a portion of the whole. And obliterating them isn’t the answer either.”

“What do you do with the ghosts that are terrorizing humans?” Bruce, no, Batman, asked, seeing the opportunity.

“I soup them, usually.” Ah, so that wasn’t a typo in Jason’s report. “And, depending on how annoying they were, or the next time I could sneak down to the portal, I released them into the realms again. They’re just following their obsessions. And sometimes they just need a little reminder that humans are fragile and get scared when things happen that aren’t under their control.”

“Obsessions?”

Danny frowned. Something in his core told him that it was a very private subject, but he was also asking in a very innocent way. He wasn’t asking out of malice… at least, not immediately. He was an adult, set in his ways, and could just be filing the information away for later.

“What makes a ghost, or partial ghost, or liminal, do what they do. It can be anything. As concrete as cardboard boxes, to something as vague as dreams.”

“And yours?”

“Private.” Danny looked away and Jason gave Bruce a warning look. He knew all of this already from the reports he’d written, both from talking with Danny, and the papers that Jazz had given him to read.

“Bruce. Don’t.”

Bruce just nodded. “I just want to make sure you are safe.”

“To be around?” Danny snorted. “If you want to kill me, I’d go with FentonWorks weapons. Those are the most effective overall and the GIW’s preferred brand when they can afford to choose between the two. Then you might have a chance to hurt me.”

That’s not… “Thank you for letting me know. But if you don’t fulfill your own obsession, will it hurt you?”

Danny just shrugged. “It’ll take a while. I’m half human. One side supports the other.”

“That’s not…” He wanted to know what he could do to help Danny thrive, not just survive, under his roof. Bruce’s hands shook as he gripped them together so that he didn’t make a fist. Any sort of aggressive movement wouldn’t help his line of questioning, even if the anger was toward the adults that failed the child sitting in front of him, fully prepared to detail exactly how to kill him, should Bruce ever have the urge to do so.

“I think that’s a conversation you can have on your own dime, Brucie.” Harvey cut in, having gone over to his desk and started shuffling through the paperwork once again, looking for some specific forms. “How about we get started on making you boys legal in the City of Gotham first, sound good?”

“Ha!” Danny gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t know how ‘legal’ I can be, but sure.” Just looking at the brief synopsis of the Anti-Ecto acts, Harvey had a lot of work to do, even before he passed it up the line to Batman, and ultimately the Justice league, but in the meanwhile.

“Okay, what name do you want to go by?”

Danny looked over at Jason briefly before answering. “Tanner, legally, but I’m used to everyone calling me Danny.”

“Mm-Kay.” Harvey filled in the first blank of what looked like a birth certificate. “And last name? Do you want to skip straight to ‘Wayne’, or do you want to hyphenate it? Or you can pick something random, it’s up to you.”

“Todd. Just Todd.” Danny managed to ignore Jason’s sharp inhale, save for a quick glance to the side. “At least, for now.”

“Understandable. Most of your siblings still go by their birth names, even after they’ve taken or hyphenated Wayne. Jason’s is technically Todd-Wayne.” Harvey filled out the next blank line. “…And do you have a middle?”

“Danger.” Danny replied immediately with a sharp grin.

“ Tanner!” Jason barked.

“ Please be serious here.” Bruce requested with a tired sigh.

“I am.” Danny was still grinning. “Just ask Jazz. My name was Danny Dangermagnet Fenton. I think they were being funny, and I actually kinda like it.”

Giving Danny a look of wanting to call out his bullsh*t, Jason did just that:

Jason: “Dangermagnet”?

Not a minute later, Jazz replied:

Princess Jazzmine: What did Danny do this time?

“….Huh.”

Jason: Nothing yet. We were just discussing names.

Princess Jazzmine: Ah. Never ask a 6 year old what to name their new little brother. He looked like a Dangermagnet from the first day Mom brought him home, with those bruises.

Jason: we’ll talk about bruises later.

Jason: And its not like a 9 year old can do much better. I named him Tanner because of my favorite book.

“It’s legit.”

“Can we please choose a different name.” Bruce asked.

“You can always change your name,” Harvey looked between Tired Dad Bruce, and his latest charge. “Any time until I file the paperwork. Might I suggest thinking over it for a few days.”

“You can always go with ‘James’, since that was your original middle name.”

Danny pouted for a bit, but eventually reluctantly nodded. “Tanner James Danger Todd.”

Seeing the compromise as it was, Harvey simply nodded. “We can work with that. Parent’s names?”

With that, Danny looked over at Jason. “Catherine and Willis Todd, both deceased.” He spoke in a monotone, just stating facts.

Harvey gave Jason that look. “ And, for the record only, how?”

“Overdose, at home, in her bed. Willis was uninvestigated, presumed dead while in jail.”

“…Oh.” Danny murmured, not knowing anything about his, their , birth parents- beyond Jason not wanting to talk about them. And while part of him wanted to ask, to find out every nugget he could about Catherine and Willis, he was reluctant to ask. He knew who he was, and where he came from ultimately didn’t matter. Except, in this case, it did.

“Hey.” Jason nudged Danny with his elbow. “You can ask, okay. They’re your parents too and you deserve to know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Looking down, he watched the blood drain from his knuckles as he squeezed his fist, then watched as the blood rushed back as he released tension. “Just…. later.”

“Yeah, later. Maybe with some ice cream and some of Alfred’s cookies. The story’s a bit… rough.” And possibly a beer or two on his part, as well as access to the kitchen afterwards.

“…Kay.” Danny nodded before looking up at Harvey.

Taking his cue from the boys, he looked down at his form and read off the next line: “Birthday?”

“August 13th”

“September 30th”

Danny and Jason answered at the same time. Looking at each other, Danny broke the stalemate first. “Huh. They weren’t too far off then. That was the day that the paperwork was filed for my adoption.”

“Though…” doing some quick mental math and touching his fingertips absently ”… That means I was still 13 when I died. Huh.” While Danny shrugged it off like a minor trivia fact, both Bruce and Jason looked gutted. “Barely, but still. I should probably tell Sam and Tuck that I’m still the Baby.” He said with a chuckle.

Using his training for listening to victims' testimonies, Harvey kept his face straight. “What date do you want to use as your birthday?’

“Hmm… Danny tilted his head, thinking over his options. He could easily just throw out a random date, but then again… “August 20th. The first day of the rest of my life. Appropriate, I think.”

Bruce gave a punched-out wheeze, realizing exactly what that date must have really meant to the boy. But then again, Bruce had also seen Jason visit his own grave the date that he dug himself out. The first day of the rest of their lives indeed.

Jason just closed his eyes and nodded, his arm curled around Danny’s thin shoulders. “ Mood right there.”

Danny nodded in agreement. “Kinda sucks though. I had to miss the first week of high school that year because of it, since I was in the hospital. They had to treat me for electrical burns.” Turning out his left palm, Harvey was able to clearly see the Lichtenberg figures that crossed it in a starburst pattern. “They told me I was lucky that it hadn’t killed me.” The self-depreciating giggle that escaped Danny’s lips made all three adults shift uncomfortably.

After that uncomfortable revelation, they continued to fill out paperwork, and enough forms to make Danny’s head spin. Including beginning on the pile of paperwork that would bring Jason Peter Todd back from the grave, legally. Jason Peters had lived for years in various ways down in Crime Alley, but didn’t have the best reputation, nor any legal reason to become Danny’s guardian. They decided, collectively, that while Bruce would be Danny’s guardian on paper, he would still be Jason’s responsibility, until his paperwork went through and he could take charge of his long lost little brother.

So nothing much changed on that front.

Several thick folders’ worth of paperwork later, Harvey clapped his hands. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like an early brunch. Brucie, you paying?”

“You know me so well.” Bruce chuckled, shaking Harvey’s hand when the attorney held it out. “But sorry, not this time, old friend. I’m afraid that we both have quite a bit of work to do, am I right? Sunlight’s burning.”

“Isn’t that the truth.” Both standing, Harvey looked down at the paperwork scattered over the table and fingered his coin, debating on whether he should just flip the coin to burn it all in the fire, screw Bruce’s problems. But no, the kid genuinely needed help. “Going to visit Harley?”

“Not yet, no. We have a lunch date with Leslie, first.”

“Ah.” Harvey flicked his eyes in Danny’s direction. “Give her my best. She truly is an angel. And if she sees anything that can help…”

“I’ll make sure to send it your way.”

“Good. Any evidence we can include will help them get indicted faster.”

“And the faster, the better. At the very least, we can serve a restraining order in the meanwhile.”

“I don’t know why you won’t just let me shoot them. Then all our problems will be solved.”

“Jason-“

“Wait, are you talking about my parent- the Fentons?”

“Yeah, kid, we are.” Jason was unashamed to admit.

“Bu-But you can’t. They’re my- they’re… you can’t kill them!” Danny sputtered, waving his arm around like it would help gather the words leaking from his mouth and make them make sense .

“Look, Danny, I know that they took care of you, but they also nearly killed you all the way .” Jason’s eyes flashed green like they hadn’t in months, even though he somehow managed a calm voice. “And I can’t risk that, risk you, like that again. Tell you what,” Jason studied Danny’s face closely. “If you can tell me one genuinely good reason not to murder them in their bed, I’ll stop fantasizing about it.”

“I…” looking down, he distantly watched himself crumple the empty coffee cup that he had been holding. Closing his eyes, he looked down and just sighed.

“Yeah.” Jason gathered him up in his arms and held Danny close, tucking his pale head under his chin.

Chapter 25: No. Doctors.

Chapter Text

Danny, despite it not even being noon yet, and technically needing less sleep than a regular human, wanted a nap. After finishing filing the paperwork that they could with Mr. Dent, they climbed into the car, Jason once again joining him in the back. The drive was peaceful, smoother than he was expecting, what with growing up riding in the back of the GAV, and Danny quickly found himself hovering in that grey zone between sleep and the waking world.

“Hey.” Jason nudged Danny. “We’re here.”

“We’re where?” He muttered, blearily cracking open an eye and looking outside. Instead of the sprawling lawn of the Manor, or the garage outside his window, sat a squat building that, despite some obvious signs of abuse and wear, stood sturdy.

“Leslie’s. Come on, she’s waiting inside for us.”

“…Who?” Despite his tired wariness, he followed Jason outside the car.

“Ah. Right.” Jason muttered to himself, making sure Danny followed. “You were unconscious the last time she was over.” Unconscious, as in, he was still in his core. Grabbing the door after Bruce went in first, he held it open for Danny.

The sharp smell of antiseptic hit his nose first, barely disguising the scent of blood underneath. “She’s a doctor. And-

Danny didn’t hear any more after that, the doctor’s coat caught his eye. The white coat. “NO!” Danny quickly backpedaled, not even noticing that he had phased through the closing glass door in his bid to escape. “No Doctors!” Was what Jason read from his pale lips as Danny turned translucent and flew off.

“Tanner!” Running back outside, Danny was long gone. “ f*ck!”

“Jason?” Bruce, hearing Jason’s yell, followed his son back outside.

“ Damnit, Old Man!” Jason turned and snarled, green eyed, at Bruce. “He’s f*cking terrified of Doctors. For good reason.” Jason was more angry with himself, seeing his god-grandmother first, and the family doctor second. Still, Bruce was an easy target for his anger.

Bruce only barely dodged the sucker punch Jason aimed his way, rolling with it instead of letting his cheekbone absorb the full blow. Still, un-armored and with Jason’s enhanced strength, the graze spun him around and dumped him onto the dirty sidewalk. By the time he shook it off and looked back up, Jason was looking up in the sky in the direction that Danny had flown off in, his phone already touching his ear.

“Come on, Pick up.” He muttered into the phone.

“…Bruce?” An older female voice drew Bruce’s attention back to the door. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine.” Was Bruce’s automatic rejoiner.

“I see that.” She deadpanned, staring at Bruce, sitting sprawled on the sidewalk, unimpressed. “What happened?”

“Danny’s f*cking terrified of Doc’s apparently, Doc.” Jason pulled the phone away from his face, frowning at the device when whoever was supposed to be on the other side didn’t pick up.

“Ah.” Leslie nodded. “I see. And you… what. Decided to spring going to a doctor’s clinic on him by… not telling him where you’re going? Am I getting warm?”

“…Toasty.” Both boys looked away, differing degrees of shame and embarrassment on their faces.

Humming, unimpressed, she just stared at the two. “Well, sitting on your asses isn’t going to find him.” She clapped her hands, startling them both. “Hop to it, then. And when you find him, maybe include him in your plans next time, yes? Now, I am going to call Alfred and inform him that I will be attending lunch at the manor tomorrow, since you two are currently now too busy to take me to brunch today. Understand?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Bruce and Jason echoed, thoroughly chastised as they watched the clinic door slam in their faces.

While Jason stared off in the direction that he could just barely feel Danny’s core fading off to, Bruce already had his finger to the side of his face, activating the sub-dermal com that lived next his ear. “Oracle.” Batman’s growl came from Bruce’s throat, despite it being the middle of the day.

Jason finally looked over, waiting for Barbara to respond to her summons. He couldn’t hear her clearly from where he stood, but after a few long seconds, she finally responded to Batman’s call.

“…I’m at Leslie’s clinic. Da…” Bruce’s ‘no real names on com’ rule butted heads with his ‘be concise’ one. “Hood’s Starling has fled, going north by north-east. I need you to track him.”

“He’s invisible, but you should be able to track him by camera malfunctions.” Jason added, knowing that the mic would easily pick up his voice. “Standard technology shorts when in his radius.”

Putting his mind into mission mode, instead of panicking over Danny being alone in Gotham, vaguely noted the direction that he took would cross through Gotham University campus and, eventually, back to the manor- as the Super flies. He hoped that that would be where Danny was attempting to go, and just not flying off in a blind panic. Hedging his bets, he texted Jasmine:

Jason : So…

Jason : I think we f*cked up.

Jason : What’re Danny’s thoughts on doctors?

Not a few seconds later, his phone started ringing. “ What did you two idiots do that needed to involve a doctor of all people? How bad is Danny hurt?” Jazz hissed, her voice low but urgent.

“Danny’s fine-”

“Fine.” She stated, her tone flat.

“-We just thought we’d catch two birds with one stone and get Danny’s checkup dealt with, as well as his baseline established before taking Leslie out to brunch with us.”

“No. Doctors.” Jazz stated, just as flat as before. “You can’t trust them to do what’s right and they don’t know how to…” She must be in a public space, since she cut herself off before she was able to voice any specifics.

“You can trust this one. She’s the only one we trust in Gotham, and Leslie’s been taping up Bruce’s scraped knees since he was born. She’s part of the family.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce hold out his hand for the phone. He handed it over, but not before giving Bruce a warning look. “Leslie has already been briefed on your brother’s unique situation and was there when Jason brought him in. We only want to establish that he is healing well from his incident.”

“…No bloodwork, nothing sent out for testing, no digital files .”

“Any bloodwork done will not leave our sight, with the samples immediately incinerated after testing as standard practice.”

“It’ll ruin your machines.”

“I’m aware.” Between after Jason coming back from the dead, then testing various leaguers’ samples, and most lately running Danny’s through the analyzer, he had rebuilt and modified the machine multiple times to the point where he almost expected to fix it at least once a month.

Jason just snickered, fondly recalling many times he’d witnessed ‘Bruce vs. the Mass Spectrometer’ and learning many interesting new curses in the process.

“Danny calls the shots. He tells you to stop, you stop. Immediately.”

“Understood.”

“…Then fine. Just don’t spring things like this on him. He has a very high fight/flight reflex that overrides a lot of his logical thinking processes.”

“Thank you.” For your permission. Bruce’s com chirped in his ear, so he handed the phone back over. “Report.”

“A series of minor blackouts are circling the Gotham U campus. I’m assuming that’s our little bird and I’m assuming that’s where he’s going to land, at least for a little while.” Barbara spoke.

“Understood. Keep an eye out and tell us if he heads back home.”

“Got it, B. Oracle out.”

Raising the phone back up to his ear, Jason took his turn to speak. “So… funny story that.”

“He ran, didn’t he?”

“…What makes you say that?” He couldn’t quite keep the sheepish tone out of his voice.

“Oh, maybe because there’s suddenly a cold spot on my back and there’s no A/C in this building .” Jazz drawled, raising her free hand and patting the invisible arms that encircled her shoulders in an ice-cold ring.

“…Yeah. That might do it.”

“Look, I-“ A pair of students turned the corner and started walking her direction down the hallway, looking at her out of the corner of their eyes for taking a phone call in the corridor, but otherwise ignored her. “-I’ll send you my address and I’ll send him back your way if I see him.”

“Yeah, okay. Take your time. We didn’t really have any other plans for today that can’t be easily done later. But if you do see him, please warn him that Leslie is coming to lunch tomorrow instead, but everything beyond that is all up to him.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass along the message.” She knew that Danny heard loud and clear, thanks to the long squeeze of his arms.

“And tell him we’re sorry for springing… everything this morning on him so suddenly. We’re not… used to actually-“

“No, yeah, it’s fine. Impulse plans and all.” Jazz scoffed. “We’re used to them. Doesn’t mean they’re fun to deal with without warning ahead of time.”

“Yeah. Still.”

“Yeah.”

“…Make sure Danny’s-“

“I’ll talk to him. I need to get back to class.”

“…Right.”

Hanging up on what was turning into an awkward conversation, especially with a nonverbal and invisible Danny hanging off her shoulders like Superman’s cape, she opened her messenger to Danny’s and started typing:

Genius: 225 building F, left bunk.

Genius: I really do have class in 5 minutes Danny. I’ll be done by 2. I have granola bars and Flash-aide in the kitchenette.

She held up the phone, looking like she was checking for spelling errors, before she hit send. She held it up for a few more seconds, until she felt Danny give a squeeze, before pocketing her phone and started walking to class. She felt Danny’s cold spot follow her to the classroom door before he disappeared. Hopefully to her dorm room.

Ugh, she thought as she sat down and set up for her class, she would need to start looking into getting an apartment and a job, since there was no way she could live in a dorm year-round. And there was no reason to go back to Amity Park for breaks now. She couldn’t expect her dorm mate to be thrilled if Danny decided to crash more than once, especially since it wasn’t a co-ed floor.

Chapter 26: When life give you lemons, spy on your sister’s roommate!

Chapter Text

Reluctantly letting go so that Jazz could focus on her class, Danny circled the campus a few times, spying in on the various classrooms before eventually making his way to the dorms and up to Jazz’s room. He had realized, half way to the campus, following Jazz’s aura by instinct alone, that he may have overreacted to being taken to the doctor’s office.

But still, he was twitchy after the rude awakening that morning, and then having to bare his (metaphorical) soul to a stranger. Sure, it was for his benefit, but it was a stressful situation. And afterwards, all that they had said, was that they were going to visit someone named Leslie afterward. Not that Leslie was a doctor of all things. And after the accident with the portal, he had learned to be leery with anyone even vaguely associated with the government. Especially after the GIW was established, with their white… everything. He probably would have been fine with meeting this ‘Leslie’ if she hadn’t been wearing a lab coat. Or, he assumed, it was Leslie that was in the lab coat and scrubs, standing by the front desk.

Spotting Jazz’s bed, he looked around for Bearbert before remembering that she had left her favorite stuffie at the house, deeming it too childish to take with her to college… but really she had left the stuffie in Danny’s care to ease his inevitable separation anxiety in the weeks after she left for school.

Sighing, he sat on her bed, pulling her pillow over his lap and hugged that instead.

Looking around, Danny spotted little things that Jazz had brought with her from home, and the few new trinkets she had acquired in the few months that she’d been in Gotham. Her desk was nearly spotless, with her class books lined up on the shelf above her head in order of classes she was taking. On the wall in between was a single framed photo- cropped so that most of Jack and Maddie’s bodies were cut out of the family portrait. It was the last camping trip that they’d had at Lake Eerie. He’d fallen out of the boat after catching a fish- the fish had won their game of tug-o-war. It was, dare he way, almost fun. The Fentons had only mentioned their anti-ghost rhetoric a dozen times over the weekend.

Looking over at the other side of the dorm, he could immediately tell two things: the other girl was messy, and that she liked the color purple. Which was only fair, because Jazz had taken her pink frilled bed skirt and somehow made it work with the cheap bed frame, along with the wall behind her bed being draped in pink gauze and backlit with icicle fairy lights.

She did have one poster though. It was the one of Albert Einstein, standing in front of a blackboard with writing on it and sticking out his tongue. He remembered having Sam help him buy it for her for her 16th birthday. That was in the height of learning how to control his powers, so he didn’t trust himself around computers for short of an emergency.

Feeling absolutely stupid and childish, Danny looked down and sighed. He was still invisible. He was safe. He’d just… panicked earlier, that’s all. It wasn’t childish. it was a perfectly normal -sane- response to trauma and already feeling unsettled in this new environment... Jazz had been trying to convince him that he had PTSD for a while now… And he was… starting to finally open up to that possibility. His reaction… wasn’t normal. Nor was it a sane one. Would he have done the same thing in Amity? No. But then again, in Amity, there had been multiple ways to track him down and hunt him down if he didn’t confront his attackers to distract them so that he could actually get away.

Jazz had talked to him about it before, about the “four F’s of stress reactions” Fight, flight, fawn and- he choked even thinking about it- f*ck. While he usually fought, either having no choice or driven by ghost instinct, in this case, he’d flown away. He couldn’t ever imagine having done that with an enemy before being tied down by his parents. And Fawning/f*cking… well, he hoped that he’d never have to see those as viable options. Though, he’d seen plenty of times where Sam and Jazz had been left with nothing but to fawn their way out of a situation. Ironically, mostly involving the adults in their lives. Sam with her mother, and Jazz with their parents and the GIW a time or two.

“f*ck…” muttering to himself, Danny fell sideways onto the bed, pulling his knees up to his chest. He wasn’t tired, physically, but he was done for the day, emotionally. And he’d forgotten his phone at the manor. Again. And he didn’t have Jazz’s laptop to hack so that he could play Doom for a few hours while he waited. She usually took it to class so that she could take notes and work on her homework.

That left him with his thoughts and, Ugh, whatever books Jazz had that weren’t related to her studies.

Or he could snoop. It was a little brother’s prerogative, after all. That, and he was now literally living with a family of detectives. When in Rome and all that. Grinning, Danny stuck his hand under the mattress, immediately feeling the edge of Jazz’s diary, hidden in the same spot it always was. Moving his hand to get a better grip, his fingers were immediately shocked by the familiar feel of a miniaturized Specter Deflector. Pouting, he withdrew his hand. It wasn’t like there would be anything interesting and new in the diary anyway. Most of the time she used it as more of a work journal for classes. Especially after that one time that Jazz had nearly spilled the Secret to Mom Maddie by writing about Phantom. They had both known from a young age that Maddie felt no qualms looking through their things on a semi-regular basis.

It had been one of his parents Jack and Maddies’ biggest arguments, outside of Santa Claus. Jack believed in open communication, that they could come to him for any of their concerns and would listen (as long as he wasn’t distracted by Science!™). Maddie would rather find out for herself than to be told anything.

And with that kind of influence in his life, Danny slunk over to Ms. Mystery Purple’s desk and started to carefully shuffle around the paperwork, looking for names and tidbits of information, careful to put the papers back nearly exactly how he found them, just in case the mystery girl actually had some sort of system going on. So far, he could tell that she was studying some sort of applied medical field, with the copy of Grey’s Anatomy that currently had more sticky notes sticking out of it in all sorts of rainbow colors than his own astronomy notes. An official looking letter was addressed to a ‘Ms. S. Brown’, but was unopened.

Moving over to the bed, he nearly tripped over a pair of purple basketball shorts (Damn, this girl liked Purple almost as much as Sam loved Black.), which told him she was either very athletic, or really into athleisure wear. A poster for a band named Black Canary was over her bed, along with a cork board that held a few small trinkets, including a pair of tickets to a ballet dated in a month’s time. There were also a few pictures, one including a tough looking girl with her hair dyed blue grinning and holding up a sparking taser. And another of a boy-

Wait a minute-

Was that Tim?

And that was Cass, sitting next to a familiar blonde and leaning in, giving the camera a wide grin.

S. Brown

The blonde was Stephanie

Stephanie Brown

The girl that looked Jazz dead in the face and asked who she was. Had been roommates with Jazz for nearly two months.

Danny could feel a headache blooming, and this time it wasn’t because of his low ectoplasm levels.

Well.

Time to make some lemonade.

And, unlike Jazz, he knew that Stephanie didn’t have any of her things ghost-proofed. Letting out a low chuckle of glee, Danny redoubled his efforts. Somewhere along the line, Jason had mentioned that blackmail was a valuable currency among the family, especially the younger members- though Alfred wasn’t above the occasional bribe as well.

He started by casually running his phased hand through her mattress, feeling for things that didn’t belong. Quickly, he found her cache of weapons, but not her suit. For that, he found it in the false bottom of her wardrobe. Her boots, without pairing them with her costume, looked like normal fashion boots that anyone would come to expect in a purple-themed girl’s closet. Though they were heavier than expected, with the reinforced toe box and sole.

As much as he was enjoying spying around, he knew to keep in mind not to disturb things too much. Not because he didn’t want her to know that he was there or not, but he expected that heroes that had to speed-change into their costumes had them laid out in the way that would make it the fastest to slip into, in case of an emergency.

During his distraction, Danny lost track of time, until he heard keys jingle against the doorknob, alerting him that his time was up. Not wanting to be caught in the tellingly compromised position of literally being halfway under Stephanie’s bed, Danny simply turned invisible as he phased out from under the bed, dusting himself off.

By the time the door opened, Danny was standing by Jazz’s desk casually, still invisible. “Danny?” Jazz squinted into her dark-ish dorm room, seeing nothing initially, before turning to close her door and lock it. “I know you’re here.”

“Hey, Jazz.” Danny spoke quietly with a small, subdued waved.

By the time she turned back around, Danny was visible again. Immediately she took in his small posture and narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been reading my diary again, haven’t you?”

“Nope!” Danny chirped brightly, before settling back to his subdued but subtly excited mood. “It zapped me first. But I think I know something about your roommate that you don’t~”

“ Danny , you know that’s rude.”

Danny hummed and nodded in agreement before turning back to Stephanie’s cork board. “I’m guessing that you’ve never actually talked to your roommate before, have you?” He asked with that familiar little brother sh*t-eating grin. “Because I know you’re not that great of an actress. ‘Oh no~ it’s a ghost~!’” Danny imitated one of Jazz’s -admittedly- horrible distractions from when she had first started trying to ‘help’ Danny as Phantom.

He cackled at the spot-on impersonation, only stopping when Jazz punched his arm. “Not… really, no.” Jazz looked around, a pensive look on her face as she tried to remember if she ever actually even introduced herself. “We run very different schedules and she comes in very late, if she even spends the night in the dorm in the first place. And I have early classes, so I’m usually in bed early.”

Danny hummed, nodding. “And you like to study in the library, so you usually don’t stay in for long after class.”

“Yeah.” Jazz was embarrassed to admit, but she hadn’t even had the time to even leave her roommate a note, introducing herself.

They were both facing the cork board at this point, so he just reached out and pointed at the blonde in a good portion of the photos. “I bet you the next time dealing with Boxie that that’s your roommate.”

Giving Danny a hard look, she turned to look at the photos that she hadn’t actually looked too closely at. Everyone looked suspiciously familiar, especially the blonde.

“Oh.” She said in a small voice. That was indeed her roommate. And Jason’s sister-not-sister Stephanie. Stephanie Brown, apparently. Either it was a small world, or not a coincidence at all. She would have to ask Jason about it later, and if this was a breach of her privacy or not.

Danny just cackled, tossing himself back onto Jazz’s bed, content to just let himself be for just a few hours with someone who actually knew him, before going back home to the manor.

Chapter 27: The Bat-Blackmail Line

Chapter Text

“Shi-it.” Danny groaned, looking down at the piece of paper in his hand, then back up at the street sign labeled ‘Park Row’. Could he just fly home? Yes, but where was the fun in that? He needed to learn more about the city somehow. When it had gotten closer to sunset, Jazz insisted that Danny should head back, since she had to get ready for bed and she didn’t want to risk Danny getting caught by her roommate, whether it was Stephanie or not. She could have actually been a family friend instead and since Jazz wasn’t completely sure, she didn’t want to risk the dorm matron’s wrath.

But it wasn’t like Jazz had just just kicked Danny out. She had offered to call Jason to come pick him up, or to at least give him bus fare to get back to the manor, but Danny had turned down both. This was the first chance he had to actually explore the city unsupervised. Jason was great and all, but he would never replace Sam or Tucker in their everyday antics.

Hell, he should have at least taken the bus money. That way he wouldn’t have to walk across town like an oblivious tourist. Which… wasn’t far off the mark.

“Hey!” A low, rough and attempting to be menacing voice hissed. “Hey, I’m talkin’ to you. Whatcha got there?”

Blinking, Danny looked around, spotting the man who hissed at him easily. Looking around, he was the only person the man could be talking to. “Me?” He asked, wide eyed and pointing to himself. “A Smoo-“

He didn’t get to finish his meme response, as stars exploded behind his head and the universe turned black.

It was the migraine and the taste of stale dairy in his mouth that woke him up. “Aww, my smoothie.” It hadn’t been the best, coming from the campus cafeteria, but it had been far from the worst he’d ever had (The worst had to be the first time Jazz had attempted to ‘cook’ something ‘healthy’ for both of them. Not only was that smoothie a suspicious shade of grey-green, but he distinctly remembered it screaming over the sound of the blender). And he could pretty much guarantee that by now, it was melted all over wherever they dragged him from. He could feel how his cheek was scraped raw against the rough concrete he was lying on, along with the itchiness of his accelerated healing.

“Oh, look who’s awake: our dinner ticket!”

“Uh… hi?” Danny squinted one eye open, staring in the general direction that he heard the voice coming from. The light stabbed his eyeball, causing him to hiss in discomfort, which made him attempt to pull his hand up to block the light.

It was then that he realized that he was trussed up like a holiday bird ready for the oven. Danny must have been out for a while, because instead of just tying his wrists together like any normal kidnapper on tv, they had tied his wrists to the opposite elbow in a way that he couldn’t twist his way out or reach the knots. And it was a good thing he was flexible, because his arms were tied behind his back. And it was starting to burn.

That, and with the little wiggle he managed to have, felt the tie between his ankles and his arms. He was freaking hog-tied. “Mind letting me go? I think my big brother will start looking for me soon.”

“Oh, we were planning on that, Little Wayne.” One of the kidnappers crouched over his head, shadowing his face. The effect was lost on Danny, since he could only see the man’s dirt (ancients, let it be dirt) covered brown boots.

Instead of shaking in terror or pleading for his life, like the kidnappers expected, Danny scoffed. “Yeah, no, wrong guy. I know Mr. Wayne has a ‘type’, but you can’t just kidnap any rando black-haired blue-eyed kid and call him ‘Wayne’. It doesn’t work that way.” Well, yeah, it apparently did… but they didn’t know that.

“I wouldn't be so sure of that.” A second, smoother, voice spoke from the other side of the room.

“Boss, got ‘em on the line.”

“Thank you.” The smooth voice cleared his throat before changing his tone to something with a bit of growl and a dash of unhinged. “Bruce Wayne, I have your son…”

Harvey Dent was nothing if not a punctual man, of that, his two sides agreed on. At twenty minutes ‘til, he rode the elevator up to the roof of the Marshall building, the one that has held his office since he passed his bar exam, and waited for Batman to arrive. It had been a long day and, after losing the coin toss, he had opted to skip his afternoon siesta and go to bed at a normal human time, so he was more than ready to call it a night after passing on the information he had gathered. Not like he would be getting much sleep though. What he had read through would keep anyone awake that was even tangentially connected to the meta human rights acts, since this was a back door to getting all their hard work repealed. Ectoplasm was such an unknown substance, that anyone previously labeled ‘meta’ could be given the new label and, under the new laws, experimented on and killed in the name of science. And in some cases, not even just meta, but anyone that had a brush with death could be culled for the cause. It was a fast track and a slippery slope to not only cut off Gotham from the rest of the United States once more, but to just outright drop a bomb on the city and kill them all like the blight they were.

At eight on the dot, Bruce Batman swung down from a neighboring building and alighted on the roof with only the barest crunch of roof gravel. His youngest in his gray-and-red Robin costume landed soundlessly on the roof access behind him. “Dent.”

“Batman.” Harvey nodded back, extending out a thumb drive. “All the relevant information on the ‘Anti-ecto Acts’ and-“

Batman held up a hand, cutting off Harvey as he turned away slightly. “Oracle? Go ahead.” Bruce’s lips thinned as his voice smoothed out of its growl. “Wayne here.”

Harvey raised his unburned eyebrow in surprise, turning to share a look with Robin, only to see the boy slightly turned away as well, apparently listening in on his own com piece.

Barbara, just settling in by her computer for a night coordinating the vigilantes and connected associates of Gotham, took a bite of her pizza, typing in her login code with her off-hand. Immediately, the unique chirp assigned to the Bat-Blackmail Line- as they had jokingly named it and it had stuck- started going off, startling her into choking on a piece of pepperoni. Immediately, she checked. All of her bats and birds were logged in to their coms and trackers, so who…? She sighed, hopefully it wasn’t a random civilian. While the Goons had gotten better at identifying Waynes over the years, they still sometimes screwed the pooch, and she had a feeling that this was one of them.

Reaching over, she hit the button that would both connect the call to a pre-recorded message, and start tracking the phone signal back to its origin. “Thank you for calling the Wayne Family Kidnapping Hotline. If you would like to report a kidnapping, please press one. If you are demanding a ransom, please press two. If you- Thank you for selecting ‘ransom’. If you are ransoming Bruce Wayne, please press one…”

Suppressing a giggle, she remembered the conversation that had spawned the idea of the kidnapping phone tree after a particularly brutal rash of kidnappings when Bruce started going ‘off brand’ with his adoptees. No longer was it just black-haired blue-eyed boys, but just kids in general. Less than a week and a few sleepless nights later, Tim had gifted her the most lawfully evil thing to date: the phone tree with automatic backtracking. By the time the kidnapper actually got to a human to make their demand, the trace was usually three-quarters of the way to narrowing down their location to within a block or two.

“Batman.”

“Oracle.”

“We got a kidnapper here. Demanding a ransom for two million for Damien. Everyone is online and on coms. Trackers so far are narrowing down to the warehouse district.”

“It’s always the warehouse district.” They could all hear Spoiler’s rolling eyes.

Ignoring the aside, Oracle continued. “Ready to do your part?”

“Go ahead.” They all heard the click as ‘Brucie’ ‘picked up the phone’ “Wayne here.”

“Bruce Wayne.” They all recognized the voice and stiffened as they did so, leather gloves squeaking from more than one of them. “I have your son, Damien. He has your eyes. But then again, don’t they all?” Scarecrow chuckled.

Bruce couldn’t help it, he looked up at Robin, at Damien, to make sure he was still crouched on the stairwell roof.

“I’m heading toward the warehouse district now.” Red Robin spoke up, knowing that everyone but the caller could hear him.

“Prove it.” Bruce kept an exaggerated calm voice, slipping a little warble to sell it. “Let me talk to him.”

“Of course.” Scarecrow’s voice echoed on the second word, indicating that he had switched to speaker. “Say ‘hello’ to your father, Little Wayne.”

“Tt.” The tongue click was spot-on, but while the accent was Damien’s, the voice belonged to a different boy. “My apologies, Father, but no need to come pick me up. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“I’m never too busy for you.” Bruce’s voice was uncomfortably sincere. “Are you ok?”

“They made me spill my coffee all over my brand-new white shirt. I fear Jarvis will never get the stain out.”

“I do not sound like that.” Robin hissed, launching himself off one roof and onto the next.

“Yeah, you kinda do.” They could hear Nightwing’s grin. “I’m impressed.”

“sh*t, they got Danny.” Red Hood hissed, cutting off Nightwing. Oracle tracked his dot across the map, already moving straight toward the warehouse district. By now, the call had narrowed down to the cluster between J-12 and K-16. She sent the coordinates to Red Hood’s Head’s Up display.

“Yes, yes, what a shame. A little dirt stain. What such a Rich fear to have, like he doesn’t have a dozen just like it at his disposal. I wonder if he has any more interesting ones in that empty little head of his.” The echo of being on speakerphone ceased. “Now, you have until midnight to wire a paltry two million to my offshore account. And you won’t do anything stupid like contacting Batman, now, would you? If I see even a glimpse of fur or feather, well, we’ll see how much your youngest can complain without a head, yeah? And in the meanwhile, I have a few new strains of toxin to beta test before releasing them into the masses. Every hour, I’ll give him a new strain until you pay up. So, for his sake, I would transfer that money sooner than later. Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Wayne.”

The call disconnected and Batman looked up just in time to see Harvey opening the door to the roof access. “Just go, Bats. You’ve got more important things to do now, yeah?” He looked over his shoulder, flashing his scarred side and shifted into his own growl. “Just tell me if I need to go shoot someone up. Or sue them. Pleasant hunting!” He gave a dangerous grin before handing the thumb drive up to Robin, Harvey headed back down, ready to go home and turn on his semi-legal police radio. He had a feeling that the idiot who made ‘Brucie Wayne’ put on his serious face while Batman was going to feel the wrath of the Bats of Hell.

Ok, so Danny didn’t know what ‘toxin’ this guy was talking about, and he doubted it would have a normal reaction in his system, but he really didn’t want to find out. It would be the sh*tty ending of a really sh*tty overall day.

Plus his arms were getting sore. Not to mention that whatever detrus that was scattered on the cement floor was cutting into his skin, making his cheek sting. It felt more like broken glass than metal shavings. He would know, he’d landed in both before.

Looking around as well as he could, he noticed that nobody was actually paying attention to him, all watching the man with a burlap sack over his head, who was fiddling with something that sounded like glass on a folding table.

Seeing the chance for what it was, Danny turned intangible…

Chapter 28: Ghosts eat fear for breakfast

Chapter Text

Red Robin and Red Hood crashed through two separate skylights, bo staff and guns at the ready to rescue their newest family member, rebreather and air circulators secured, only to stop short. Goons were scattered about, dropped with only a negligible amount of blood splatter or visible injuries, just unconscious and looking like they wouldn't wake any time soon. The only signs of life was their subconscious twitching from nightmares, induced by the low-lying toxic fumes.

The oddest sight, though, was Danny, white shirt rumpled but with black hair, casually twirling the Scarecrow’s scythe like it was a Color Guard flag. He was in complete control of the weapon as he stood, lecturing the Scarecrow, of all things.

Turning, he gave the vigilantes a dangerous green-eyed grin that rang alarm bells in Tim’s hindbrain, the like that usually only Damien incurred. “…Hey guys. You didn’t have to come get- don’t even think about it .” He snarled. The scythe rotated, the tip stopping just shy of the Scarecrow’s throat, making the man back up until his hips hit the folding table, nearly tipping the flimsy thing over. His hand scrabbled for the last unbroken beaker, throwing it and its contents at Danny’s feet. The glass shattered, throwing up Fear Toxin’s signature plume of gas. Danny just laughed (A shiver went up their spines at the sound). “What makes you think that’ll do anything when the last three didn’t?” Manipulating the scythe blade like he was born with it in his hand, he delicately tore Sarecrow’s burlap sack off his head, as well as the rebreather that was hidden underneath. “Don’t you know?” Danny started to float and unnaturally cool air spread out from his body. The Reds could only imagine what Scarecrow saw as Danny’s hair slowly turned white. “ Ghosts eat Fear for breakfast.” His voice warped and he slowly turned invisible, laughing as Scarecrow screamed, a victim of his own gas.

When Danny didn’t reappear, they made sure that the goons were alive, pulled from the spreading fear gas and given a general antitoxin, and secured for police pickup. Scarecrow, they carefully surrounded, corralling him away from his own toxic fumes. All they could really do for the man is to give him his own dose of antitoxin and secure him in a way that he wouldn’t be able to hurt himself or others until the toxin wore off, likely by the time he was dumped back in Arkham.

Less than fifteen minutes later, they met up with Batman and Robin on the adjoining roof to wait for the police. “Report.”

“No major injuries, Batman.” Red Robin started off with the most relevant information. “Da- T- Ph-?“ He gestured helplessly vaguely in Red Hood’s direction “Mini-Hood?”

A quiet laugh announced Danny’s presence as he floated above and behind Hood, his legs replaced by his wispy tail and in his full-ghost form. The scythe he stole appropriated from Scarecrow was held casually, the handle pinned to the small of his back with his elbows. “Danny Phantom. I don’t think we’ve met, officially, like this. Though I might be changing my name soon. Depending on how things go.” He shrugged, letting go with one arm, making the blade swing casually. After a few twirls, he planted it, blade first, in the middle of the circle of bat-vigilantes. “Are Larry, Mo, and Curly ok? I think I probably knocked them around a bit harder than I should have. I’m not exactly used to fighting… normal… humans.”

“Yeah, they’re good.” Hood snorted. “I’m assuming you’re good too?”

“More embarrassed than anything.” Danny scratched at a scab on his cheek that wasn’t there that morning. “Got jumped walking around town.”

“Eh,” Hood shrugged. “Happens to the best of us.” Hood carefully didn’t side eye Red Robin (for too long). “But you should be careful, you scream ‘outsider’.”

“Tt.” Damien scoffed. “Are you sure this idiot was a hero? How are we to trust him if he can’t even walk down the street without being attacked?”

“ Robin.” Batman warned, cutting off the fight before it even started. “Now is not the time to bring up grievances.”

Robin just sneered. “This is a waste of time. Father, I’m returning to patrol.” Batman just watched his youngest leave. While he preferred for Robin to stay at his side, he trusted the boy to throttle his intent down to appropriate levels of violence by now.

Turning back to Danny, he dug into one of his pouches. “Come here.” He held up his hand, summoning Danny to float closer. “I want to see your cheek and any other injuries you may have gained.”

“…I’m fine.” Danny just floated higher, out of Batman’s reach.

“…Please.” That sounded as painful to say as it was to hear. He held up a small spray bottle. “At least let me give you some antiseptic. I’m assuming your cheek was from the warehouse floor. You don’t want to get an infection.”

“Just humor him, Star Child.” Hood stood with his arms crossed, tilted his helmet in Batman’s direction. “If he doesn’t do it now, He’ll just bring the bottle to breakfast. I know I’ve told you that literally everything in Gotham is infected with its own special brand of nasty. And then you’ll have to deal with Agent A fussing over you too.” Danny flinched at the mention of Alfred, curiously. They hadn’t thought that he would have brought up the old man’s wrath so soon. (What they didn’t know was that it had nothing to do with Alfred- Danny had no clue it was an affectionate field name for the man. Instead, a faceless man in a white suit flashed behind his eyes, a nightmare amalgamation of Agents O and K, with elements from other, shorter-surviving, GIW agents.)

He dithered for a few moments, but eventually gave into the request. It wasn’t like he could get an infection like this, but from the stories that Jason had told him, he didn’t want to subject himself to bringing up Bruce’s ire this early in his stay. “…Fine.”

Lowering himself, his legs formed at the last moment to let Danny stand. Bruce’s touch was surprisingly gentle as he gripped Danny’s chin and turned his head so that he could see the spot of road rash clearly. He used his thumb to wipe away the last of the debris that was clinging to his skin before gently covering Danny’s eyes. “This will sting.” Even with the warning, Danny flinched as he was hit in the face with the cold spray. “There we go.”

Knowing that he was likely hit in the head, Bruce ran his fingers through Danny’s hair gently, checking for an injury site. The boy winced slightly when he brushed the back of his skull. A quick check of his glove proved that he wasn’t bleeding at least. Though he would keep an eye on Danny for a concussion over the next few days. At least his pupils were equally dilated.

Now, normally he would send his boys back home after getting a hit like that, but he was still in the stage of treating Danny more like a feral stray cat. He couldn’t make the boy do anything, but he could still suggest it. “Do you want a ride back home?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Translation: not with you.

Batman just nodded. “Then stick with one of the others. I don’t want you patrolling alone until you have your own gear and know the streets better. Don’t do anything that can get you in over your head.”

“Got it.” Danny gave Batman a lazy salute, floating up to hover about Hood’s shoulders. “I’ll be as quiet as a ghost.”

The snort that came out of Jason turned into a harsh burst of static through his voice modulator. “We both know that’s a lie. But if you’re following me, you follow my rules, got it?”

“You’re the boss, Boss!” It was Jason’s turn to receive the sloppy salute.

“Stay safe.” Batman put his hands on both Todd’s heads and turned to leave, Red Robin following behind.