Danny finds out he's a clone of one of the Gotham vigilantes, thanks to a random lore drop from his parents.
Problem is, he doesn't know which one, since his parents didn't remember or make a note of it, and the ectoplasm his DNA was dunked in upon half-dying makes any kind of blood work totally corrupted.
He's managed to narrow it down by excluding whichever vigilantes didn't appear until after his birth (creation? birth), but that still leaves too many to make much difference.
Still, he keeps a closer eye on news about Gotham's vigilantes, he's making comparisons, finding similarities, noting differences, between all of them and himself.
With his template being a vigilante but not knowing which, it's hard to attribute these observations to being a template thing, a vigilante thing, or a Danny thing.
He could spend all day analyzing masked faces for any shred of familiarity, but he's already having an identity crisis, and he has better ways to spend his time and bigger things to worry about. So the clone flavored crisis can sit in the back of his mind and wait its turn.
The 'vigilante' is Penny One. He's a clone of Alfred.
One night, early in his career, Bruce was badly injured and called for Alfred to come collect him. Alfred donned a mask and drove over there, gathering him into the car and heading home.
Unfortunately, he'd been startled while preparing Bruce's after patrol snack, and had cut his hand. In his haste to collect Bruce, he hadn't properly wrapped it.
Shortly after they have left the scene, Jack and Maddie come out of the shadows and collect a couple of blood samples.
They go back to their lab and mess around with it, but the only one to produce a viable clone is the one with Alfred's blood, as Bruce had been exposed to Ivy's spores and so his samples were contaminated.
Most of the batfam don't really know how Alfred looked like when he was younger and as theirs pseudo grandad theirs mental image was always older grandpa Alfred that doesn't age and always was, were and will be the same figure that take care of them and the manor
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Danny led them further into the dark, musty manor, into an area without windows where they had to pull out flashlights and a spell to fight the gloom. Danny reached into the wall and pulled something, thankfully the mechanism was fully manual and the lack of electricity didn't stop the hidden door from creaking slowly open.
Jason put a hand on Danny's shoulder, "We got it from here, go find Kenny or Artemis."
"Yeah⊠okay." Danny quickly turned and left the room.
"I've gone into worse," Roy joked as he led the way down the dark stairs.
Jason put on a face mask, attached a flashlight to his shoulder, and put another in his hand, then took up the rear. The flashlights were pretty redundant with Zatanna using a spell to light the way, but Jason liked the reassurance of having his own light.
The stairs led directly into the lab, and what a mess it was. The dust was just as thick as the rest of the building, making Jason glad for the mask. There was plenty of equipment and tools scattered around on work tables, some having fallen to the floor. Jason could just see a row of tubes further in the room
"Oh its thicker here," Boston commented. "I'd say it's almost as thick here as Nanda Parbat."
"That's saying something," Zatanna commented. "But yes, the air is thrumming with power."
"Guess we'll need to bring Danny down and see of he absorbs it?" Jason asked.
"Oof, not without covering these first," Roy called, pointing to the row of tubes.
Jason walked over to get a closer look and cringed internally. The tubes were full of murky, scummy water and corpses in the middle of decomposing. One tube had a clone leaning against the glass, useless oxygen mask still attached to its face half full of murky water, and skin slowly peeling away around said mask. Black, shaggy hair nearly covered half lowered lids and the milky, unseeing eyes under them.
"Think we can nick some bed sheets to throw over 'em?" Boston asked casually.
"Suppose we could," Jason agreed. Danny would know exactly why they were there, but at least he wouldn't have to see.
"If it helps they're empty, never had a soul." Boston casually gestured at the tubes.
Jason wasn't sure if it did.
Zatanna had wandered further into the lab, heading for the back wall. Jason followed, stopping a bit behind her as she cast spells at the empty doorway that probably used to be Vlad's portal. Zatanna grimaced, "They really somehow managed to punch a hole directly to the deepest parts of the other side of the veil, completely bypassing the areas where the veil brushes with our world."
"Yeah?" Jason wasn't sure what that meant.
"No wonder the beings on the other side were so powerful, it's so far beyond our realm it's basically a higher dimension."
"Like Mr. Mxyzptlk?"
Zatanna's head whipped around to stare at Jason. "What?!"
Jason shrugged, "I never met the guy, I just know he's some 'fourth dimensional imp' that sometimes bugs Supes for shits and giggles." B's reports made for good bedtime reading, they were so boring they always put Jason right to sleep.
Zatanna rubbed at her forehead, "Yes, like him. Please don't go around saying the names of fourth dimensional beings, that's how you get their attention."
"A'ight."
"So, quick question," Roy announced. "Can you just send Danny to whatever's on the other side of this portal that doesn't exist?"
"Theoretically," Zatanna said slowly. "It would take a lot of time, effort, and would drain several mages working together. Danny does have allies there, if we did manage to send him through we could hope he finds his way to them and maybe they can help him. But humans aren't meant to wander that deep, just crossing to the other side of the veil can change us, let alone getting dropped in the deep end the way Danny did when he died. Eventually his human half would fade until he becomes a full ghost."
"Right, so that's not the plan," Jason stated.
"Yeah, no kidding," Roy agreed.
"Does any of this tell us why he's still trapped in Amity Park?"
"That may actually be psychosomatic," Zatanna said before turning her attention back to the portal.
Jason furrowed his brows, "Didn't Danny say ghosts are made of emotions? Wouldn't everything be psychosomatic?"
"Technically yes, which makes finding a solution harder. Perhaps if we moved all the victims to a proper graveyardâŠ"
"Dig up and somehow identify each individual in the mass grave you found," Jason said in a deadpan.
"That would take forever, the DEO is out there right now," Roy whined.
"Well, we can offer and see how that affects him," Zatanna said with a huff.
"How about we start with covering the clone tubes and get Danny down here, see if absorbing his weird death goo radiation improves anything," Jason stated, then turned and headed for the stairs.
It took a bit of hunting, but they eventually found a (very gauche) bedroom with all the bedding still on the bed. They bundled the whole set up and threw the blankets and sheets over the clone tubes. That done, it was time to go find Danny and bring him down to the lab to hopefully get a boost. Zatanna and Boston stayed down in the basement while Jason and Roy wandered off to find their wayward ghostboy. They found Artemis barricading the grand front entrance, she hadn't seen Danny or Kenny since they had arrived.
"⊠hesitant, little ghost will be sickly." Biz's voice carried from around a corner.
"I hope so," Danny said as if he didn't believe it. He perked up when Jason and Roy rounded the corner, smiling up at them from where he and Biz were sitting on the floor across from a barricaded door. "Hi! Kenny and I were just talking, he helped me realize something!" Danny hopped to his feet in excitement, "He reminded me that I had said ghosts need purpose, and I lost mine again. So maybe if I find a new purpose it'll help."
Jason sighed, he was not equipped for what he was about to do. "What's wrong with the whole bridge thing?"
"Well, it's not like there's much bridging I can do when there's no ghosts around."
"Telling people who don't know what's going on about ghosts and how everything works is also being a bridge. You said it yourself, you don't have to be kicking ass to be a bridge."
"I⊠I guess," Danny said uncertainly.
"Listen, kid, you may be ghost but you're also still human, tying your entire identity to one thing, one goal or mission or whatever you want to call it, that's a one way ticket to misery. Either yourself or everyone around you. Get more goals, get a hobby, make friends. Well, once we figure this out and get you out of here, anyway."
Danny's face fell, "I did have all that."
Jason groaned, silently, in his own head. "Yeah, it sucks that was all taken from you." Jason paused, unsure what to say next. He decided a change of subject might be in order, "Zatanna and Boston said the basement is thick with freaky death energy, wanna go down there and see if you can absorb it?"
"Sure, why not?" Danny walked past them, heading towards the secret stairway.
"That went well," Roy said hesitantly.
"Red him did great," Bizarro said before following after Danny.
Danny Fenton sends Superman a fan email in which he asks for advice. In it he says he is also a non-human hero (he is vague because being a ghost is illegal) Danny mentions that he is being raised by humans. His parents don't know about his activities or species and hate his kind.
Danny was mostly looking for advice on how to make people stop being scared of his non-human characteristics. But Clark really sees himself in this teenager's email. He knows he was lucky to get parents who loved him even as an alien, but he also recalls being young and scared that would change.
So they start regularly exchanging emails, and Superman becomes a kind of mentor even if Danny refuses to tell him anything about his identity.
Clark was embarrassed to admit it, but the first thing he did every morning was usually to check the inbox of his official Superman email. He tried not to check it too often, but in the morning, reading those emails reminded him why he did what he did. Why it was so important to keep treating each civilian with such compassion, and not allow himself to become preoccupied with other things while he worked.
There were at least half a dozen emails every morning, more after major events, and he read them all. Occasionally, one stood out.
To Superman,
I wanted to tell you that I really admire you for what you do. I'm fifteen now and you've been a pillar of safety for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine how much dedication it takes day-to-day, especially for as long as you've been a hero. I hear stories all the time about how considerate you are, and how understanding, and how unconditional your compassion is. It's something I try to keep in mind.
You haven't saved me. Not personally, I mean, and that's not why I decided to email you. I actually wanted to ask you for some advice, if that's okay.
See, I'm not human. I'm not going to tell you what I am, but it's really obvious whenever I'm using my abilities, although I can hide it the rest of the time. (My parents are human and even they don't know. They don't like my kind.) I started doing hero work about... eight months ago now. But the people in my city are scared of me, because of what I am. And I wondered if you had any advice about that. Everyone knows what you are, and how powerful you are, but no one is afraid of you. Well... no one reasonable is afraid of you.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have for me, but either way, thank you for everything that you do.
From Danny
Clark set his chin on his hands and considered the email for a while. It wasn't unheard of for young heroes to email him for advice - all of the Justice League founders got them sometimes except, amusingly, Batman, the only one with significant experience teaching new heroes. But it was rarer for those heroes to identify themselves as nonhuman.
His parents must have found him and taken him in without knowing what he was. For those same folks to be anti-alien... Clark's heart ached for the young hero, growing up without the kind of support Clark had gotten. It was admirable of him to stick to it despite an apparently chilly reception.
He set his hands on the keyboard and started to reply.
---
Danny was shocked to receive an actual reply from Superman just the morning after he sent his email. He hadn't expected a reply at all, really - surely Superman had better things to do than read emails from random civilians? But he'd been awake long past his bedtime, kept up by the aching burn on his back from Valerie, and sent it in a fit of self-pity.
And Superman had replied.
To Danny,
The more time passes, the more often I hear from kids and even young adults that I've been making them feel safe for as long as they've been alive. That is worth more to me than you could imagine, and it makes every day of hard work worthwhile. Given what you've told me already, I think you're doing an excellent job of keeping those values in mind.
Believe it or not, my reception was rather lukewarm at first as well, for much the same reason. Batman and my media contact, Lois Lane, helped me straighten the issue out over the first few years. (Yes, I'm sorry to say, it may take years for you to be fully accepted.)
Here are some suggestions:
Try to stick around for at least a little while after each incident you help with. Let people talk to you. Let them see you outside of fights or feats of strength. You are not a combat machine.
Don't be too secretive about yourself. You implied that you have a secret identity, but there are still things generic enough for you to share without giving yourself away. Work with those.
Don't hide what you are, and don't lie about the traits that you have from it. I know it might seem like a simple short-term solution, but it won't help you in the long run. It will just make people suspicious.
Let people know at least part of your motive for helping people. My planet was destroyed, and I want to protect this one. The same goes for Martian Manhunter. Starfire fled her planet and has found this one to be much kinder. Be as open as you can.
Keep yourself safe. Don't be open about your weaknesses, no matter what people say to you. Don't linger too long around people who openly hate you. Don't allow yourself to be a target for hatred.
I hope you find these ideas helpful. And feel free to contact me for further advice anytime you want. I check my email every morning and I'm always happy to help a budding hero.
From Superman
Danny muffled a delighted squeal into his arm. Sam and Tucker weren't going to believe this!
---
It soon became apparent that Danny was either mostly or completely without an adult support system, because he quickly took to emailing Clark every day, usually in the early evening or late at night. Clark continued to read them in the morning and reply to them as thoughtfully as he could, and Danny soon grew to be a constant presence in his inbox. Which also meant...
"You're worrying about Danny again," Lois pointed out over breakfast.
"I wouldn't worry about Danny if he didn't say such worrying things," Clark muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.
Because over the last year, that trend had quickly become apparent. Whatever Danny was, their reception was more hostile than any other Clark had encountered on Earth, matching more to some of the blood feuds he'd heard of on other planets. Every few emails, he slipped in the most concerning little nuggets, seemingly without noticing.
One day my parents are going to invent a shield that actually locks me out of the house and I'll really be in trouble.
I keep trying to do what you said and stick around to talk, but it never lasts for long before the hunters show up and start shooting at me, which makes things kind of awkward.
I don't know what I would have done if defeating that tyrant guy hadn't brought my city back to Earth.
I wish there was some way I could convince the hunters that I'm just trying to help.
And now, most recently:
It's illegal to be what I am now. I'm getting kind of scared.
"I think I'm going to call out of work today," Clark said at last, still staring down at his computer. "I need to do some research."
What was Danny that he had apparently just been declared illegal?
Clark was ready for one of the more off-putting alien species. He was ready for something he'd never heard of before. He thought even some sort of time-traveling incident that resulted in more Martians would have been less surprising than this.
He'd combed through new federal legislation from the past two months. Danny had mentioned the ban as though it had just happened, but Clark would look back further if he needed to. He had no idea what he'd do if it was a state law; he knew Danny was in the Central Time Zone and almost certainly in the US, but he couldn't pinpoint it more clearly than that.
So yes, he'd prepared himself for some sort of Eldritch horror folded into human skin or violent race that was famed for massacres that Danny himself wasn't carrying out.
Clark had not prepared himself for ghosts.
"'-extra-dimentional ectoplasmic entities, self-identified as ghosts, hereafter refered to as ectoentities, are defined as any being with a physical makeup that includes 9% or more ectoplasm; or which needs ectoplasm to continue its existence. They have been deemed non-sapient and non-sentient threats to public and personal safety. As such, ectoentities are banned from all public and personal property. Knowingly harboring or aiding an ectoentity-' I mean, this is complete bullshit!" Lois hissed, cutting herself off and smacking the printout Clark had handed her. "You talk to Danny every other day; he's obviously sapient. And they folded it into a bunch of stuff about infrastructure, clearly hoping no one was going to read it. Clark, this says 'all necessary force authorized.'"
"I know," Clark responded, feeling sick. "They have a task force, apparently. One that can apparently harm these ghosts. They're clearly trying to prevent public panic by keeping this quiet, but if you searched the right things, I bet a Ghost Investigation Ward squad would show up anyway. There's a clause in there about the Patriot Act; it's on the third page."
Lois hissed like an angry cat, flipping the pages until she found the highlighted section. "You need to be careful what you email Danny. This is broad-spectrum permission to interfere when they even suspect someone's talking about an ectoentity."
"I need to find Danny," Clark replied. "His parents will almost certainly be on the side of this new law. If they find out what he is..." Some of Clark's worst nightmares come from the time he had just begun to understand how he was different from his peers and what that meant. Government experimentation was a recurring theme until well into his 20s. "I need to evacuate him."
"And that means you need to find him." Lois' eyes lit up with the challenge. "He's been cagey, right?"
"Yep," Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've tried to get more information out of him, to set him up with a mentor, but he clams up every time. Once, he stopped sending emails for a week. I don't think I could take the worry if I didn't hear from him after this."
"So we find him," Lois told him fiercely. "Are you an investigative journalist, or not? A young hero as divisive as this, no way he didn't make the news. What have you got so far?"
~*~
Three and a half weeks later, Lois slammed a newspaper page on the kitchen table, eyes lit up with the manic glow that she got when she was hot on the trail of a new story. "Amity Park, Illinois doesn't exist."
Clark paused, spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. "...okay?" he said uncertainly, lowering it.
"It used to exist, but they tried to erase it. But they couldn't erase everything." She jabbed a finger at an article in the paper impatiently.
Clark bent over it. A quick glance at the top told him that it was a copy of the Elmerton Enquirer from November of thirteen years ago. "'Elmerton Central Rams Face Casper High Ravens in Final Game of Season'?" he read. "What is this-?"
"In the article, it says the Casper High Ravens are the team from a city called Amity Park. A city I can't find a mention of anywhere else."
Clark finally started to catch on. "Is this about Danny?" They'd hit a brick wall on their search for the young hero almost instantly. There were no reports of unknown young heroes anywhere east of the Rockies.
They'd started smaller, of course. Clark had tentatively identified Danny as probably being in the Midwestern part of the Central Time Zone rather than Southern, based on his speech patterns and some of the things he'd said about the world around him. When that didn't turn up anything about any controversial heroes, they'd expanded it to all hero news in general, then to crimes getting stopped without anyone knowing how. They'd expanded the area they were looking at three separate times. Nothing they couldn't explain turned up. Clark was growing increasingly frantic, breathing a sigh of relief every time Danny sent another email. But he also knew that there was no guarantee the boy would keep being safe.
"Yes, it's about Danny!" Lois brought Clark back to the conversation at hand. "This is the only mention of Amity Park I've been able to find, and I had to have it mailed to me by a college friend in Chicago with an ex-boyfriend whose stepson has a best friend that moved to Elmerton to live with his grandmother who obsessively collects old papers that mention the charity she volunteered for. Do you know how hard it is to maintain that chain of communication without incurring the wrath of the Patriot Act?"
"Super hard," Clark guessed, mind already spiralling with the implications. "I'm assuming there's nothing online about Amity Park."
"Some sort of agent pair converged on the east branch public library 7 minutes and 36 seconds after I searched the town name," Lois told him, mouth tight. "I'm guessing that's our Ghost Investigation Ward. They wore all-white uniforms, so they should be pretty easy to spot."
"As long as they're in uniform," Clark replied grimly.
"As long as they're in uniform," Lois agreed. "I was able to find out that Amity Park isn't on any of the map softwares I could access. There was no mention on social media. No local paper online. I couldn't even find a parent portal for the high school."
"The agents didn't see you, did they?" Clark asked, suddenly straightening. "If we need to take an unplanned vacation to the farm-"
Lois waved him away. "I gave myself five minutes. And wore a wig. I still look terrible blonde."
"You look good in whatever you wear," Clark replied absentmindedly, scanning the article. There wasn't much information in it that helped them. "This says Elmerton and Amity Park are rivals. That means they're probably nearby each other, right?"
"I have the sudden urge to visit my old college friend," Lois said with a sharp smile. "Wanna come? We can leave Jon with Ma and Pa, maybe see what else Illinois has to offer?"
Clark was already reaching for his phone to call into work. "I think a bit of travel would be excellent for us."
It wasn't the first time Lois and Clark had done undercover work. Lois in particular was a widely-known reporter of corporate crimes and human rights violations, so the people who indulged in those sorts of activities often knew her name. Clark wasn't as well-known, but he wasn't unrecognizable either. They went to Elmerton as Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and headed for Amity Park as Lucy and Clark Taylor.
Their rented vehicle was stopped not far past the billboard that read 'Amity Park: A Nice Place To Live!'
"Names," barked the agent, a brown-haired man with sunglasses that hid many of his defining features.
These types didn't like people who knew their rights. It wouldn't be impossible to get into Amity Park without using a road, but the agents inside might keep records of who had been let in. "Clark and Lucy Taylor, sir. Have we done something wrong?"
"Not yet," the agent said darkly. He repeated their names over his comm unit, and waited for the voice on the other end to give him a tinny 'they're clean' before addressing them again. "Professions?"
"Between jobs right now," Clark said with a bashful smile. "A friend of mine told me that the high school here was looking for teachers? I teach social studies. I just wanted to have a look." It was a guess. A town blocked off by the government probably had trouble finding teachers.
The agent grumbled something indistinct. "And your wife?"
Clark smiled guilelessly. "She's my wife. What do you mean?" He could practically hear Lois rolling her eyes, but the agent bought it.
"Head on through," he grunted, waving them on. "You might change your mind about living here once you've seen it."
"Oh, it can't be that bad!" Clark chuckled, and raised the window to pull away before the agent could reply.
"Soft lockdown," Lois interpreted, frowning at the road. "They'll probably have us sign an NDA on the way out."
Clark nodded. Less red tape on the way in, less suspicion from casual visitors, less eyes on them. "Not if we don't leave that way." They wouldn't be able to take Danny out through the checkpoints anyway. It'd be best to fly out.
Once they were in, it was almost insultingly easy, considering all the trouble it had taken to get this far. He focused his hearing on Amity Park, but there didn't seem to be any fighting at the moment, so he and Lois headed to a diner for lunch and, more importantly, to chat with the waiter.
"You're from out of town, aren't you?" the waiter checked, catching both of them by surprise. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged at them. "I don't recognize you, and Amity Park is a pretty small town. What brings you here?"
"Well..." Clark dragged it out, scratching his neck in embarrassment. The kid caught on quickly and laughed out loud.
"You're here about the ghosts, aren't you?" Completely unconcerned, matter-of-fact. He hadn't been told to keep it a secret, Clark realized, which meant that the GIW probably didn't want the residents to realize how tightly locked down they were.
"Yes, we are," Lois confirmed, leaning over to catch the kid's eye. "What's your name? So I can write it down."
The kid lit up, which wasn't unusual. People loved to be in the paper. "Kwan Choi!" he chirped. "Are you a reporter?"
Still no concern. The GIW had never intended outside reporters to ever get this far, probably. People at nearby tables were starting to turn around, interested in the proceedings but not stepping forward yet.
"That's right," Lois confirmed, flipping her notebook open. "May I record this conversation?"
"Sure!"
Lois set her phone to record. "So, Mr. Choi, what can you tell me about the ghosts here?"
"They're pretty much everywhere!" Kwan told her, with obvious delight that became disconcerting as he went on. "There's attacks every day, you'll probably at least hear one if you're staying for a couple of days. Ghosts are pretty powerful too, so it's not like you'll miss it. Just follow the sound of smashing concrete. And yelling."
"You don't seem very worried," Lois pointed out mildly, exchanging a look with Clark. Danny had never really indicated how powerful he was, and had avoided mentioning most of his powers. If his rogues gallery was regularly breaking buildings...
"Of course not!" Kwan exclaimed, laughing at the thought. "Trust me, we don't have anything to worry about as long as Phantom's around." He almost vibrated with excitement, obviously waiting for them to take the bait.
Clark was happy to. This was what they'd come here for, after all. "Phantom? Is he a hero?"
"He's the best!" Kwan beamed. "He's a ghost too and he's super powerful! Don't listen to what any of the ghost hunters tell you. Phantom's casualty record is literally perfect and Dash says even Superman can't say that! Course, Amity Park is a lot smaller than Metropolis..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Lois and Clark exchanged a look. "Phantom beats up all the ghosts, even the ones the ghost hunters can't touch, and he doesn't cause as much collateral as the Fentons say he does! They just blame him for all the damage from all the ghosts and that's bullshit."
"So he's controversial?" Clark prodded carefully. He was startled when Kwan actually scowled at him, dropping his bouncy demeanor for a moment.
"You can't do one of those scaremongering articles on him, okay?" the kid argued, looking defensive. "None of that 'he's a scary ghost' or 'is Phantom secretly behind all the ghost attacks' horseshit. He's a hero. We'd be completely screwed without him."
"We won't do that," Lois promised Kwan, earning a beam in return. "Is Phantom the only hero in Amity Park?"
Kwan actually looked thoughtful, and he wriggled his hand. "Depends on who you ask. The Red Huntress is pretty cool too, when she's by herself, but she attacks Phantom a lot, so a lot of people don't really like her. The Fentons and the GIW are both almost as dangerous as the ghosts though, and they're not nearly as good at fighting them."
"The GIW?" Clark asked, just to see how he reacted. He wasn't entirely surprised when Kwan flinched, glancing nervously at the door.
Kwan lowered his voice. "You should probably avoid those guys, all the government people in white suits. They're, uh, pretty liberal with those guns." His nervous expression said it all. Clark's hatred for the GIW grew.
"We'll be careful," Lois assured him. "What about the Fentons?"
Kwan made a face, but he did straighten up, his shoulders relaxing. "If you're reporting on the ghost attacks, you probably want to talk to the Fentons." Another grimace. "Well, want may not be the right word. They know a lot, but they're also wrong about a lot, and they're really anti-ghost. Maybe you can talk to their son Danny instead. Rumor has it that he's where Phantom gets all his Fenton tech."
Bingo. Clark wasn't expecting Danny to fall right into their laps, but this fit perfectly: the son of two ghost hunters, already suspected of having ties to the town's hero. "And where can we find Danny?"
"He lives with his parents," Kwan shrugged. "It's hard to find him anywhere else, unless you want to catch him at school or something." Of course; if there were multiple attacks a day, he probably poured a lot of time into his vigilantism. "I don't know their exact address, but you don't really need to. They have a giant UFO on top of their house, you can't miss it."
"They have a what?"
----
They did have a UFO on top of their house.
"Well," Lois said resignedly. "I think we found it." 'Fentonworks' blinked on the sign, pointing to the door. "Now let's find your adoptee."
"Who do you think I am, Bruce?" Clark asked indignantly.
Lois didn't dignify that with a response, instead making her way toward the door and pressing the doorbell. It rang, and almost immediately, there was a crash, a clatter, and a blast on the other side of the door. Someone yelped. Clark tensed, but a moment later, the door swung open, and a red-haired woman smiled at them, unaffected by the commotion.
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked, perfectly cheerful.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look, and then Lois focused on the woman. "Hello. My name is Lucy Taylor, call me Luce, and my husband Clark. Mrs. Fenton, right? I was told you were the people to talk to about ghosts." It was always best to get both perspectives of a story; even with something as one-sided as this, you had to understand what everyone was thinking.
It was also the easiest way to get in the door.
"Dr. Fenton, actually!" the woman said, with a smile that showed she wasn't offended. "Both me and my husband. Come in!"
She spun on her heel and went inside, and Lois and Clark followed. The commotion had evidently been someone dropping a large energy gun, which had then gone off and hit the ceiling; the scorch mark was still smoldering. The gun was on the floor. Clark glanced at it, and Maddie chuckled, picked it up, and put it on the table.
"Don't worry, it doesn't harm humans," she reassured them both, unconcerned. "I know it can seem a little extreme if you've never met a real ghost, but I assure you, those ectoplasmic abominations deserve no mercy."
The sudden vitriol was disconcerting with her cheerful, upbeat tone.
"Really?" Clark asked, unable to help himself. "From what I've heard so far, they sound pretty complex." Along with Kwan, who was happy to talk as long as his manager would let him, they'd heard stories from all the people at the tables around them. It wasn't just Danny; plenty of the ghosts had shown obvious signs of sapience, from dating problems to earnest chats about new music to a child ghost playing carefully with other kids, supervised by Phantom.
"Oh, this talk again," Maddie sighed, and sat down with a reassuring smile. To show she wasn't offended. She gestured for them to sit down. "Not at all. It's all in the science of it. Ghosts are very good at appearing complex; it's necessary for their manipulations. But all of the emotion and personality that they display is faked. It's an echo of who they were when they were alive. What's really happening is a mindless feeding instinct, since ghosts need human emotion to sustain themselves. The more emotion they can evoke, the more they can feed." Maddie smiled and shrugged, like 'it can't be helped.' "That's why the best thing to do is to put them out of everyone's misery. Someday, I hope, there won't be any ghosts to haunt us."
Clark couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this sick and angry. Maybe when Kon had explained exactly what had happened while he was still at CADMUS. He closed his hands gently, careful not to clench them, so as to not tip Maddie off too much.
Lois set a hand on his arm, understanding. "You want to wipe them out?"
Maddie blinked at them guilelessly. "Well, yes, of course. They're very dangerous, as anyone in this town knows. And as I explained, they're not sentient at all, so there's really no reason not to. It's like putting down rabid animals, really - after all, by rights, they should already be dead."
Clark wondered how often Danny heard his mother call him a rabid animal.
Lois squeezed his arm. "What do your children think of this?"
Maddie's smile thinned, showing that she was losing her patience. "Oh, they're quite pro-ghost, I'm afraid. Most of the children are. I try not to hold it against them; they're very vulnerable to the manipulations of Phantom in particular. It was clever of it to both take the form of an adolescent and wear something resembling a superhero costume. It even formed an emblem after a while."
"How can he be clever if he's not even sentient, ma'am?" Clark asked, quiet and even. Maddie's smile disappeared altogether.
"I see you formed an opinion before talking to an expert," she observed coolly. "One of the children, I'm guessing?"
Before the situation could escalate, the front door opened, and another energy beam fired. Clark shot to his feet, but was too late to react, caught in his secret identity; the beam hit, and the person at the door yelped in pain and reeled back.
"Mom!" they yelled after a moment, more frustrated than hurt. "You're supposed to tell me when you turn on the security system!"
With a sinking feeling, Clark guessed that that was Danny. He glanced up at the ceiling above the door. A smoking gun was pointed at the door.
"I'm sorry, dear!" Immediately forgetting them, Maddie bustled to her feet and across the room, opening a panel in the wall to input a code. The gun withdrew into the ceiling. "I really thought I got it this time, I don't understand why this keeps happening."
"Mom." Danny appeared in the doorway, giving the ceiling a wary glance before continuing inside. He hadn't noticed them yet, focused on his mother as he pleaded with her. "I'm not even asking you to stop testing it, just tell me when you turn it on, please?"
That was a pretty big concession, considering that Clark suspected it was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, and shooting a ghost that tried to come inside. Into his house, where he lived, with his parents that were supposed to be protecting him. Clark clenched and unclenched his fists, not sitting down yet.
Maddie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Every time I think I've figured out why our trackers lock onto you..." She trailed off with a shake of her head, and gestured for Danny to come closer. "Here, let me fix that up for you. And be polite, we have guests."
Despite her willingness to program the house to shoot him, apparently at random, Danny approached his mom without hesitation and held up his burnt arm for her inspection. A large pink splotch was on his forearm, where he must have blocked the beam, maybe protecting his head or chest. Most tellingly of all, his heart beat slowly, at half the rate Clark was used to hearing.
Maddie winced. "Oh, that's going to blister," she murmured.
"Mom!" Danny whined, glancing down. "Did you turn up the power too? Seriously?"
"I really thought I had it this time," Maddie repeated, contrition tightening her voice. It meant nothing, Clark thought darkly. She grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink and spread burn cream over the injury, then started to wrap it up. To Lois and Clark, she added, "I'm sorry you had to see this. If you could keep it private, I would... appreciate it. I'd rather it not get around exactly how ectocontaminated Danny is."
A hint of apprehension crept into her voice. It was telling. Even the Fentons feared the Ghost Investigation Ward.
"We understand," Lois said smoothly, pointedly not promising to keep it quiet.
For the first time, Danny glanced over at them, and confusion entered his eyes. Then they widened slightly. If anyone was going to see through Clark's thin disguise in less than a second, it would be another vigilante.
Clark wasn't surprised that Danny's only response was to tense nervously and look away again, shoulders rising. He'd gone to lengths to hide his identity and location from Superman, after all.
"Who are they?" Danny asked his mother.
"They're journalists!" Maddie said, bright and cheerful again. She finished wrapping Danny's injury, that she gave him, and took his shoulder to steer him toward the living room. "Luce and Clark. They're doing a story about Amity Park, so we're talking about ghosts."
"Great." Danny looked unenthusiastic. "Can I go upstairs, to do my homework, and like, not be here for this conversation?"
Maddie paused, studying him for a moment, and then tugged him gently toward the living room. (Truly gentle - Clark had seen people yank others and disguise it as a gentle motion before, and this wasn't that.) "No, I think you could benefit from this conversation too."
"Great." Danny looked defeated, and didn't protest further as he was pushed onto the other couch. He glanced at the gun on the table. "That's a new one. What does it do?"
Maddie beamed. Clark hated everything about this.
"It's the Fenton Ecto-Incinerator! It should cause any ghost's ectoplasm to react violently with itself and boil them from the inside out!"
The look of defeat magnified into a recognizable 'I wish I had never been born' expression, with dull, lifeless eyes and slumped shoulders. Maddie didn't seem to notice. "Fantastic." He scuffed his shoes on the floor and stared at his knees. Clark tried to figure out if there was a diplomatic way to ask 'have you noticed that your son obviously needs serious mental health treatment or are you ignoring it on purpose?'
It occurred to Clark that if Danny was a ghost, and his parents didn't know, that implied that he'd died and they hadn't noticed.
Lois, as always, rallied first. "Is that an... efficient way to get rid of a ghost?"
Danny sighed softly. With a wince, Clark realized that he'd missed the part of the conversation that indicated they were against this.
Maddie sighed too, but for a different reason, and she gave them a rueful smile. "No, not particularly. We're still trying to figure out how exactly to destroy ghosts permanently. We'd need to experiment with an intact specimen to manage it, but they keep... escaping." She glanced at Danny, indicating she had a suspicion as to how, but he didn't seem to notice. "Until then, we're trying to use pain as a deterrent."
"I thought they weren't sentient," Clark said, meeting Maddie's eyes. She pressed her lips together before responding.
"Everything dislikes pain, Mr. Taylor."
Clark had to work to retain his patience. "Do you know the difference between sentience and sapience, ma'am?"
Maddie's brow furrowed. "I... didn't believe there was one?"
"Sentient beings are capable of sensing and reacting to stimuli," Clark told her, because everyone needed to understand this, even - perhaps especially - the most horrible of people. "Sapient beings possess human intelligence."
Maddie looked thoughtful. "Hm... perhaps we should amend some of our professional work. That's quite a mistake." She shrugged it off. "But the principle remains the same. They can't stay here, and the pain is a deterrent."
Danny didn't look comforted by the concession. It was possible he wasn't even listening, and Clark couldn't blame him.
"Dr. Fenton, do you realize that that mistake enabled the government to give ghosts fewer rights than are given to lab rats?" Lois asked, barely maintaining a veneer of politeness.
Maddie's voice chilled again. "Ghosts don't need rights, Mrs. Taylor. As I explained, they are evil, selfish creatures, manipulating humans and feeding on the resulting emotion. I assure you, I've read the entirety of the Anti-Ecto Act, and I have no problem with any of it."
Danny stared at his knees and picked absently at a hole in his jeans.
"There's a reason that animal cruelty is illegal, Dr. Fenton. No feeling creature deserves that, whether you believe in their sapience or not."
"Rabid animals are put down as a matter of course. Why should ghosts be any different? Of the two, ghosts are far more dangerous."
Danny poked his finger into the hole.
"They're not sick, they're not dying. Rabid animals are put out of their misery. What is the point of torturing a ghost?"
"By all rights, they should already be dead. It's frankly an abomination that they didn't stay that way. Whatever measure is required to make that happen, I will do it myself - for the safety of our town and my children."
Actually, Clark was starting to get... extremely concerned about Danny's lack of responsiveness.
"Danny," he said, interrupting the intensifying argument. "Can you hear me?"
"What?" Maddie asked, baffled. Lois, however, caught on quickly, her back straightening with alarm. She held up a hand, indicating for Maddie to wait, and watched Clark scoot closer to Danny.
"Danny," he repeated, slightly louder and firmer. He reached out to touch Danny's hand, and Danny blinked, lifted his head, and met Clark's eyes, tilting his head in silent question. Clark repeated, "Can you hear me?"
There was a pause. Danny hummed noncommittally.
"What is-" Maddie started. Lois shook her head sharply, and Maddie fell silent.
"Danny, do you know where you are?" Clark asked, keeping his voice calm and even while his anger with Maddie and the absent Jack Fenton rose substantially. He doubted this was the first time this had happened.
Danny stared at him blankly. It was apparent that he either didn't understand the question or he didn't know where he was.
"Danny?" Fear entered Maddie's voice, and that was all that kept Clark from snapping at her.
"He's dissociating," Lois explained, terse but more patient than Clark at the moment. "It's a symptom of trauma and a sign of extreme stress. Clark's trying to snap him out of it."
"What?" Maddie repeated, horrified, and this time was ignored.
"You're at home, in your living room," Clark told Danny, maintaining eye contact. "Can you see that you're in your living room? Two couches, a coffee table, a television, and a ceiling fan?" Danny glanced around, checking for those things. Couches, coffee table, television, ceiling fan. Danny nodded. "Can you tell me what else is here?"
Danny glanced down at the coffee table, and his eyes landed on the gun. He clammed up again, eyes losing what little life they'd gained and shoulders going limp. Clark suppressed a curse, and glanced at Lois, then at the kitchen. Bless her, she understood, and got up to look for the freezer. Surprisingly, Maddie also responded, and picked up the gun, disappearing into a door to the basement. She returned empty-handed, giving Danny a worried look.
Lois returned from the kitchen with a bag of frozen vegetables, which she dumped into Danny's hands without ceremony. Danny started, blinking down at the bag, then up at Lois in question. She gave him a tense smile and sat down.
"Danny, can you tell me what you have in your hands?" Clark asked.
"...bag of frozen peas?" Danny stared down at them again, then up at Clark, meeting his eyes on his own with visible confusion. "Why?"
Clark gave him a small, relieved smile. "It got your attention, didn't it? You were dissociating. Do you know what that is?"
Danny wrinkled his nose, handling the bag of peas absently as he tried to retrace his mental steps. "I... felt kind of floaty, I guess. Like in a bad dream. I dunno. I wasn't really paying attention." Something about his tone indicated that while he was responsive now, he was still trying, on some level, to 'not really pay attention.' "What's wrong? Can I go now?"
He stopped fidgeting with the frozen peas and left them in his hands, limp and forgotten. Definitely still out of it, Clark decided.
"What's wrong with Danny?" Maddie repeated forcefully, fear in her voice and clearly done with being ignored. As if she had a right, as if she hadn't just bandaged a burn on his arm that she'd put there with carelessness bordering on malice.
"Some people detach from their surroundings as a coping mechanism," Lois explained, clipped but calm. Danny blinked down at the bag of peas in a slightly more ominous kind of confusion, and Clark put a hand on his arm again. Danny jumped, looking up at him in question, and Clark gave him a small, comforting smile, trying to make him feel at ease. "They'll feel like they're just having a dream, or watching something happen to someone else. It's a way of dealing with stress or trauma."
Maddie blinked at her in infuriating confusion. "But... he's just at home. Did something happen while he was at school, or on his way home?"
"I imagine," Clark said calmly, "it's because he was attacked at the door, and then forced to sit and listen while you discussed beings, that at the very least he thinks of as sapient, and justified your desire to torture them to death."
"But-" Maddie cut herself off this time, giving Danny a worried look. "But that's just-" She faltered again, and it was obvious that she didn't know how to deal with the conflict of what was, to her, undeniable scientific truth, and the equally undeniable harm it was causing Danny. "Are you sure?"
"If it was something outside, he would have been unresponsive when he came in," Clark informed her.
Maddie shrank, and Danny looked at her with matching worry.
"It's okay!" he said hastily, trying to shake off Clark's hand. Clark kept it there, and Danny didn't try very hard. "I can deal, I just- today was a bad day is all, I'm just..." He trailed off, lost as to how to play this down.
They stared at each other.
"...I'm sorry, can you leave?" Maddie asked softly. "I think Danny and I need to talk."
Clark does the social math quickly and doesn't see how them staying will do anything but escalate the situation. It's not like he can't just listen in on the whole thing anyway and have them back here in seconds if they need to interfere.
"We'll be in the area for a few days," he says through a tight smile as he stands. "In case we have any more questions."
"Feel free to reach out if you have any thoughts to share," Lois adds, standing and leaning over to hand Danny a business card. She does not hand one to Maddie, and from the narrowed eyes, the woman notices. "Or if you need any other kind of advice."
"Yes, thank you," Maddie says frostily. "I'm sure we'll do just fine. Why don't I show you the door?" Clark slips Danny another business card when she turns, in case the woman confiscates Lois'.
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Fenton," Clark says, because Ma and Pa raised him right. "Danny, it was wonderful to meet you. Feel better."
"Yeah," the teen says, eyes darting side to side, presumably looking for a way to flee before having this conversation with his mother.
That's the last thing Clark sees before Maddie practically shoves them out the door and shuts it quickly behind them.
Clark makes for the car, ears already tuned on the house, but Lois darts around the corner instead, hauling on his arm. "I don't care how fast you can get back here, we are not leaving him alone with that woman," she hisses. "Do you think you know enough to guess which bedroom is his? There's nowhere to hide out here."
"I can give it a shot." Clark shoots up, hopefully faster than any nosy neighbors can track, eyeing the second floor windows. A large bedroom, clearly the parents' by the bed. A bathroom, a study, a wildly pink bedroom. He won't judge, but it doesn't seem Danny's style.
Then, jackpot, a room decked floor to ceiling in NASA merch and teen boy mess. He remembers the kid going on and on about meteor showers and an observatory field trip and how cool it is that the Justice League has a base in space. The room is even on the back half of the building, convenient for sneaking in and out as a teenage hero and a nosy reporter.
He's back at Lois' side in a flash. "Got it." He leads her to the window and boosts her up easily, so no one has the chance to see anything super-related as she jimmies the lock. They're through in under a minute, Lois already cracking the door open so she can hear as Clark tunes back into the specifics of the conversation.
"-just don't know why you didn't mention anything sooner, honey," comes Maddie's voice. It's even, but her heartbeat is elevated and he can detect the tension in her tone that normal ears can't.
"I did," Danny snaps in reply, sounding like he's finally reaching the end of his temper. "I told you the third time you shot me that I wanted the front door guns gone and you gave me an hour-long lecture on ghost safety. I told you when the system shot me the fifteenth time that I wanted it on an automatic timer so it'd always be off when I got home from school, at least. You told me holes in the defenses were unacceptable. I told you the twenty eighth, fifty seventh, a hundred and third, and after I lost count, that they hurt, that the burns made it hard to do my chores and to focus on homework, that I got an infection once from one of the wounds. That was the fifty seventh time, if you were curious."
"...the third time I shot you?"
Lois' nails bite into the doorframe. Danny just sounds exasperated. "All that and that's what you gleaned from it? Alright, fine. The third time the house shot me with weapons you and Dad designed, you and Dad programmed, you and Dad installed, and you and Dad armed without telling me."
"Young man, I do not appreciate your tone. We're just trying to protect you from those abominations. I have no idea why the systems always lock onto you, but we're doing our best to figure it out."
Danny laughs, the grating, sharp edge of it making Clark cringe. "You have no idea? Really? No possible idea at all why I could be so ecto contaminated that the weapons can lock onto me? Mom, you make me clean the lab at least once a week and you two never make sure I have proper safety equipment. You and Dad practically live in your HAZMAT suits. Mine hasn't fit since the beginning of freshman year, right before the portal started working. And I know Jazz put it on the list of things you needed to order, but it never did get here did it? And neither did the industrial filters for the HVAC or the extra fridge so you'd stop putting samples in the kitchen. Do you know how many times I've had to shoot my own dinner?"
Lois has one hand clapped over her mouth in horror. Clark slowly opens and closes his fists, wishing anything in the general vicinity was strong enough to take one of his punches without disintegrating. This house is such a nightmare, it's shocking that the other child who lives here hasn't died. Danny's been careful not to mention a sibling outright, but Clark's made an educated guess from some of the anecdotes he's shared. And the pink room clearly belongs to a fellow teen. Though, hell, for all Clark knows, they have died or gotten sufficiently contaminated to get ghost powers.
"Sweetie." Maddie sounds every inch the exasperated parent. Clark can just picture her pinching the bridge of her nose. "Your father and I have made sure you know the rules of the lab perfectly well. We thought you were old enough and responsible enough that you didn't have to be babysat." Forget super strength, Lois looks like she's about to punch something hard enough to atomize it.
"Did you not just hear me-" Danny cuts himself off, voice shutting down into something painfully toneless. "Yes, Mom."
"We'll order you a larger suit and I expect you to wear it while you're in the lab."
"Okay." Danny doesn't sound like he believes her. Clark wonders how many times she's made similar promises.
"For now, we'll have to get back to work on calibrating the defense system, at least once we're done finalizing the Ecto-Incinerator schematics. We'll get it right, sweetie. It might take a few more tries, but you won't have to deal with this forever. And then you won't have to do this dissociating thing any more. Alright?"
"Uh huh. Can I go do my homework now?"
"Of course. I'll be in the lab if you need me."
Her voice is already getting further, walking away, so she probably doesn't hear Danny mutter, "Right, the lab I don't have any safety gear for doing a project I'm going to have to go down there and literally drag you away from to get any attention. Great." He sighs heavily and Clark can hear him run a hand through his hair. "Right, might as well actually get some homework done while I can."
His footsteps hit the stairs as Lois eases the door closed and they both back away. There's no way to seem casual in the teenager's room they've broken into, but Clark sits at the desk to make his height less imposing and Lois chooses to lean nonchalantly by the window.
Danny freezes comically when he opens his door, eyes darting from one to the other. Clark's never felt less like laughing.
"You can leave the door open if it makes you feel better," Lois says softly. "Or tell us to get out and we will, but Danny, I think we need to have a talk."
"Do we?" Danny's hand tightens on the knob. Clark can hear the metal protest. "Because from what I see, you came in here, got my mom all riled up, and bailed."
"I didn't want her to be more defensive with strangers around, but I can understand why that was frustrating-" Clark starts.
Danny snorts and rolls his eyes. "I'm not having this conversation without backup."
Lois holds up her hands placatingly. "Whatever makes you feel more comfortable."
Danny pulls out his phone, then pauses. "Am I telling them that it's a couple of out-of-town reporters or Superman and his... was the wife thing real?"
"It was. Lois Lane, star investigative journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He's Clark Kent, slightly less good investigative journalist for the same."
"Hey," says Clark mildly. He's not actually offended; he and Lois have been playfully duking for top spot for years now. Turning to Danny, he adds, "I assume these are people who know about your double life?"
"They've been there since the beginning. Accident and everything." Danny's eyes tighten at the corners. It's clearly not a pleasant memory, but most who got their powers by accident didn't have a kind experience.
"Then you might as well tell them. It will make things easier." Danny nods and starts typing.
"You said they were there for the 'accident,'" Lois pipes up. Danny's mouth flattens, but he nods. "Were they close enough that they might be in the contamination range prosecuted by this new law?"
Danny's fingers freeze and he slowly looks up. "Oh, you really don't know, do you?"
The tone sets every one of Clark's instincts on edge, reporter and hero both. He leans forward in his chair. "Know what?"
Hitting send and shoving his phone in his pocket, Danny shakes his head. "Nine percent isn't actually that much when you live in a town with as many fights as Amity Park. At least half the town has enough contamination to qualify. Most of the Casper High students for sure; my rogues like to pick fights while I'm at school."
Clark's jaw drops as he tries to unpack multiple parts of that at once. "I'm sorry, did you just say at least half the population can be detained under this law, most of the teenagers have repeatedly been exposed to a substance that the local experts wear constant HAZMAT suits to avoid touching, and most of your rogues know where you go to school?"
"Oh boy." Danny grins, showing off larger-than-normal canines and a sardonic type of humor that Clark's only seen from the most world-weary heroes. "Welcome to Amity Park. It's a nice place to live, at least if you're already dead."
"We figured out that there was an information blockade a few weeks after the Anti-Ecto Act passed," Danny told them, settling by the park bench where they were supposed to meet Danny's friends. "How'd you get through?"
Danny's other form was interesting, and frankly, a lot less off-putting than Clark had been prepared for. He sat cross-legged in the air, more casual in his defiance of gravity than Clark was, and his glacial white hair drifted slightly, as if he were underwater. He gave off a faint glow, which cast his features into stark relief, with none of the usual shadows. His eyes were a vivid radiation green. The only thing Clark found disconcerting was that he had no heartbeat at all.
Clark felt strongly that the hunters who were so afraid of him needed to get a grip.
He wore an interesting suit, too. Clark could see why Maddie had mistaken it for a superhero costume, except it obviously wasn't - it was a haz-mat, exactly like hers. Apparently it hadn't done him much good even when it fit.
"A lot of persistence and a lot of contacts," Lois said with a rueful smile. "Amity Park disappeared extremely suddenly, and while not a lot of people noticed, some did. One of my old college friends lives in Elmerton, and Elmerton certainly noticed."
"Elmerton's so close that they're lucky it got spared," Danny said dryly. He hesitated for a moment longer, his eyes flicking warily between them, and then asked, "Why did you...?"
Clark gave Danny a gentle smile, noting that while the shocked hostility had faded, Danny was still nervous. "Well, it was obvious that you weren't safe here," he said. "And not in the normal way for heroes. When you mentioned that your species had become illegal, I combed through recent legislation, and..." He trailed off pointedly, and Danny looked away. "I consider you a friend, Danny. I have for a while now. I wanted to help you, if I could."
Danny ducked his head, looking self-conscious and a little overwhelmed. It wasn't a bad change from the defeated look he'd had during Maddie's lecture. Before Danny could figure out an answer, his friends showed up, and he perked up with visible relief. That made sense; Danny seemed like the type of kid that drew a lot of courage from his friends.
"Oh my god, you weren't kidding," the tallest girl said, eyes wide. She was a redhead, with bright teal eyes that had a touch of unnatural luminescence to them. Clark would bet money that this was Danny's sister.
"Of course not, he's Danny," the other girl scoffed, walking forward without hesitation to swing into a seat right next to Danny. There was a hint of a starry-eyed look to her when she looked at Lois, but - the mark of a vigilante's support team - she didn't let it take control. Instead, she crossed her arms and regarded them warily.
The only boy sat across from them, looking almost as nervous as Danny, and the taller girl perched on the table, uneasy and uncomfortable.
They were just kids. Untrained kids, at that, doing their best for the world.
"Jazz, my sister," Danny explained, indicating the redhead. "She helps me deal with my parents, mostly. Sam, my best friend, she's the only good shot here." Sam smirked. "And Tucker, my other best friend, tech whiz." He waved awkwardly.
"It's good to meet you," Clark said politely, giving them a sincere, if tense smile.
"So," Danny continued, with more confidence now, "you wanted to give me a lecture about how my parents are monsters, I shouldn't live with them anymore, and I should pack all my stuff and move out. Am I right?"
Pause.
"Well," Clark said at last, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "That wasn't our intention in coming here, but it was the way I was leaning by the end of that conversation." Danny sighed, and Clark hastened to continue, "I'm sure you've thought about it before-"
"No," Danny cut him off, reaching up to rub his face in obvious stress and frustration. Clark winced in guilt. He was trying to help Danny, not make him more upset.
The only other one who looked sympathetic to Danny's plight was Jazz, who explained to Clark, blushing and apologetic, "Danny's really sensitive about our parents, especially Mom. I know you got a big face-full of the bad lab etiquette and the anti-ghost stuff, but Danny and Mom used to be really close." Something about her tone told Clark that she wanted to defend them too, but knew from experience it was futile.
"As Danny puts it, he's the one that keeps getting shot, and he doesn't need to be reminded how much it hurts," Sam put in, more dry than Jazz, but with the same glance of worry at Danny.
"Of course," Clark sighed, giving Danny an apologetic smile. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Can we talk about literally anything except how much my parents hate me?" Danny pleaded, pushing his hand up his face to run it through his fluffy hair.
Clark took that as a no, and when he glanced down, Sam just gave him a resigned shrug, so clearly this was not new behavior for Danny. Clark resolved to try and approach it again later, much later, when some of the other problems had been solved.
"Practicalities, then," Lois said briskly, bless her. She grabbed her notebook and flipped it open. "So, you said most of the town falls under the Anti-Ecto Act?"
Danny looked relieved by the change in subject. "Most might be a little generous," he hedged. Tucker shook his head fervently, and Danny ignored him. "But yeah. The portal gives off a lot of ambient ectoplasm, which is great for like, me, because it feeds me, and no one else, because it settles into their nervous system." He shrugged. "I never really thought that much of it. At 5%, you maybe start to be able to sense ghosts subconsciously, and you're a bit more resistant to future contamination. At 10%, you can sense ghosts nearby and you might start to see in the dark."
"For the record, he and Jazz were at 20% before the portal even opened," Tucker put in, "at which point shadows cling to you, you develop tapetum lucidum, and your footsteps don't make noise."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you eat it from a young age," Danny muttered. "Anyway, all of which is to say: it didn't really matter until the Anti-Ecto Act passed."
"But now it does," Clark said quietly.
"But now it does," Danny agreed. "Most of the townsfolk don't know it yet, I think, but that's why the GIW is so careless about collateral damage here. You're not a person until they've tested your ecto levels, and they don't usually bother."
"You didn't..." Clark hesitated, reluctant to say anything that might be construed as an accusation against the young ghost. Danny caught on anyway and ducked his head.
"Well," Danny said quietly, "I didn't know what you thought of ghosts."
"Danny," Clark said seriously. "I will make sure you get rights if it's the last thing I do."
Danny shifted uncomfortably and looked away, âsure.â
Clark sighed, âDanny, I know you might not believe me, but I have the wonderful Lois Lane right here with me and as soon as I tell them, the Justice League will stand with us and help us get these laws handled.â
âThere is a reason Lois Lane is an award winning journalist,â Jazz adds, her arms crossed as she looks at the two adults. âHelping them out with this would be a good first step to help you with your other concerns.â
Danny stared at her a moment, only nodding in agreement when Tucker nudged him. âCome on, dude! Besides, Whats the worst that could happen?â
âthey get put on a hit list by the GIW,â Sam and Danny deadpan at the exact same time.
Lois pulled out her well-loved notepad and started jotting down the cliffnotes of their conversation so far while Clark carefully checked their surroundings, making sure that the GIW and the Fentons were nowhere to be found.
Caught up, she looked back to the kids. "Alright, if we're going to do this, we need facts about ghosts. REAL facts that we can use as evidence against the GIW's claims."
The quartet exchanged looks, a silent debate between them causing expressions to shift and pinch and eyes to roll. Eventually, Danny let out a drawn out sigh, rubbing his face as he seemed to take a moment to collect himself, nodding. "Fine, I guess that makes sense. What do you need to know?"
"Let's start with the elephant in the room. There's ghost attacks, but can you tell me WHY? The main reason the GIW are able to fear monger is because of the supposed ghost-led destruction of the town, but if we can figure out what's causing the attacks, we can look for a way to redirect and mitigate them."
"O-oh um," Caught off guard by the blunt question, he blinked before clearing his throat. "It's sorta... my fault? I mean-" He winced.
"What Danny's trying to say is that after the portal opened with his accident, this place became a beacon for the minority of ghosts that happen to be trouble makers." Jazz took over, resting a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "They come over to try and fulfil their Obsessions, which is basically is what gives them a reason to exist at all. They just- don't really understand how fragile the Living Realm is in comparison to the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone, as our parents call it. So when they try to do something like, make themselves a famous singer or try to provide a balanced diet for high school students, they tend to get... overzealous."
"There's sometimes a LOT of collateral, like when Technus tries to take over the world." Tucker grumbled, glancing down at his- was that a PDA?
"Technus?" Clark raised an eyebrow.
"He's the ghost of a electronics genius, his thing is tech, like literally ANYTHING tech, and he's mostly Obsessed with showing off and trying to prove he's the best at it. Danny accidentally gave him the idea of world domination when we first encountered Technus because at the time that's what we thought all the ghosts wanted. It was pretty early days at the time." Sam explained, making Danny blush green from embarassment.
"I see... so I'm guessing he messes around with tech and that's what the collateral is?" Lois, still jotting things down, predicted as she looked up at the teens.
Sam nodded with a sour expression. "Pretty much, he possesses tech and then makes a giant robot out of them most of the time, meaning that tech gets destroyed in the fight a lot, warranties are voided, and oftentimes the GIW will confiscate everything to try and study it and they won't compensate their owners. All in all, the ghosts get the blame for very expensive technology being lost and having to be replaced."
Danny grumbled, his hands and fingers flexing like he wanted to pick at something, if only to distract himself. "The adults only care about how much damage there is and how much money it costs to fix and replace things and they keep blaiming ME, when it's usually the GIW and my parents that cause the majority of the damage. I've tried explaining that, but the news is largely controlled and edited by the GIW these days, making me look even worse. Most of what people post online gets scrubbed if it even remotely sheds good light on me."
He shakes his head before continuing. "Anyways, most of the ghost attacks that actually happen these days are done by animal ghosts, which majorally aren't sapient. They're the ones that usually get captured too, so it just adds to the biased data picking. The sapient ghost attacks are mostly targetted at me because... Well, a lot of reasons?" He scrunches his nose up.
"For one, this town is my Haunt, my territory, meaning that them entering it is trespassing and a challenge. Secondly, I'm still considered a 'baby ghost', at least until I've been a ghost longer than I was alive AND I feel mature enough, so they both want to try to bully me out of my Haunt so they can take it over, and they also want to try to teach me to be a ghost, which is very strength based. Except I'm a lot stronger than most of them and I just keep getting stronger. Lastly um..." He hesitated for a moment and glanced at his friends.
Jazz and Tucker gave him encouraging nods but Sam still looked pensive. He nudged her and another silent conversation was held before her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
Meanwhile the couple watched them patiently while Lois kept writing things down. Eventually Danny breathed out again and grasped Jazz's hand, the ginger giving his hand a squeeze.
"Remember when I emailed you that my town had been kidnapped?"
Clark nodded slowly, a cold ball beginning to form in his gut, already knowing that this would be something heavy.
"Well, that was because of the Ghost King attacking. And I ended up beating him, which is what returned Amity Park back to the Living Realm. Everything was great for a bit after that, but then I found out that because I defeated the Ghost King is trial by combat, it meant that I took..." He trailed off as the ball grew into a frozen boulder in Clark's stomach. "It meant that I took his title as High King, meaning that the ghosts are now all my subjects? At least, once I'm an adult."
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Danny Fenton sends Superman a fan email in which he asks for advice. In it he says he is also a non-human hero (he is vague because being a ghost is illegal) Danny mentions that he is being raised by humans. His parents don't know about his activities or species and hate his kind.
Danny was mostly looking for advice on how to make people stop being scared of his non-human characteristics. But Clark really sees himself in this teenager's email. He knows he was lucky to get parents who loved him even as an alien, but he also recalls being young and scared that would change.
So they start regularly exchanging emails, and Superman becomes a kind of mentor even if Danny refuses to tell him anything about his identity.
Clark was embarrassed to admit it, but the first thing he did every morning was usually to check the inbox of his official Superman email. He tried not to check it too often, but in the morning, reading those emails reminded him why he did what he did. Why it was so important to keep treating each civilian with such compassion, and not allow himself to become preoccupied with other things while he worked.
There were at least half a dozen emails every morning, more after major events, and he read them all. Occasionally, one stood out.
To Superman,
I wanted to tell you that I really admire you for what you do. I'm fifteen now and you've been a pillar of safety for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine how much dedication it takes day-to-day, especially for as long as you've been a hero. I hear stories all the time about how considerate you are, and how understanding, and how unconditional your compassion is. It's something I try to keep in mind.
You haven't saved me. Not personally, I mean, and that's not why I decided to email you. I actually wanted to ask you for some advice, if that's okay.
See, I'm not human. I'm not going to tell you what I am, but it's really obvious whenever I'm using my abilities, although I can hide it the rest of the time. (My parents are human and even they don't know. They don't like my kind.) I started doing hero work about... eight months ago now. But the people in my city are scared of me, because of what I am. And I wondered if you had any advice about that. Everyone knows what you are, and how powerful you are, but no one is afraid of you. Well... no one reasonable is afraid of you.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have for me, but either way, thank you for everything that you do.
From Danny
Clark set his chin on his hands and considered the email for a while. It wasn't unheard of for young heroes to email him for advice - all of the Justice League founders got them sometimes except, amusingly, Batman, the only one with significant experience teaching new heroes. But it was rarer for those heroes to identify themselves as nonhuman.
His parents must have found him and taken him in without knowing what he was. For those same folks to be anti-alien... Clark's heart ached for the young hero, growing up without the kind of support Clark had gotten. It was admirable of him to stick to it despite an apparently chilly reception.
He set his hands on the keyboard and started to reply.
---
Danny was shocked to receive an actual reply from Superman just the morning after he sent his email. He hadn't expected a reply at all, really - surely Superman had better things to do than read emails from random civilians? But he'd been awake long past his bedtime, kept up by the aching burn on his back from Valerie, and sent it in a fit of self-pity.
And Superman had replied.
To Danny,
The more time passes, the more often I hear from kids and even young adults that I've been making them feel safe for as long as they've been alive. That is worth more to me than you could imagine, and it makes every day of hard work worthwhile. Given what you've told me already, I think you're doing an excellent job of keeping those values in mind.
Believe it or not, my reception was rather lukewarm at first as well, for much the same reason. Batman and my media contact, Lois Lane, helped me straighten the issue out over the first few years. (Yes, I'm sorry to say, it may take years for you to be fully accepted.)
Here are some suggestions:
Try to stick around for at least a little while after each incident you help with. Let people talk to you. Let them see you outside of fights or feats of strength. You are not a combat machine.
Don't be too secretive about yourself. You implied that you have a secret identity, but there are still things generic enough for you to share without giving yourself away. Work with those.
Don't hide what you are, and don't lie about the traits that you have from it. I know it might seem like a simple short-term solution, but it won't help you in the long run. It will just make people suspicious.
Let people know at least part of your motive for helping people. My planet was destroyed, and I want to protect this one. The same goes for Martian Manhunter. Starfire fled her planet and has found this one to be much kinder. Be as open as you can.
Keep yourself safe. Don't be open about your weaknesses, no matter what people say to you. Don't linger too long around people who openly hate you. Don't allow yourself to be a target for hatred.
I hope you find these ideas helpful. And feel free to contact me for further advice anytime you want. I check my email every morning and I'm always happy to help a budding hero.
From Superman
Danny muffled a delighted squeal into his arm. Sam and Tucker weren't going to believe this!
---
It soon became apparent that Danny was either mostly or completely without an adult support system, because he quickly took to emailing Clark every day, usually in the early evening or late at night. Clark continued to read them in the morning and reply to them as thoughtfully as he could, and Danny soon grew to be a constant presence in his inbox. Which also meant...
"You're worrying about Danny again," Lois pointed out over breakfast.
"I wouldn't worry about Danny if he didn't say such worrying things," Clark muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.
Because over the last year, that trend had quickly become apparent. Whatever Danny was, their reception was more hostile than any other Clark had encountered on Earth, matching more to some of the blood feuds he'd heard of on other planets. Every few emails, he slipped in the most concerning little nuggets, seemingly without noticing.
One day my parents are going to invent a shield that actually locks me out of the house and I'll really be in trouble.
I keep trying to do what you said and stick around to talk, but it never lasts for long before the hunters show up and start shooting at me, which makes things kind of awkward.
I don't know what I would have done if defeating that tyrant guy hadn't brought my city back to Earth.
I wish there was some way I could convince the hunters that I'm just trying to help.
And now, most recently:
It's illegal to be what I am now. I'm getting kind of scared.
"I think I'm going to call out of work today," Clark said at last, still staring down at his computer. "I need to do some research."
What was Danny that he had apparently just been declared illegal?
Clark was ready for one of the more off-putting alien species. He was ready for something he'd never heard of before. He thought even some sort of time-traveling incident that resulted in more Martians would have been less surprising than this.
He'd combed through new federal legislation from the past two months. Danny had mentioned the ban as though it had just happened, but Clark would look back further if he needed to. He had no idea what he'd do if it was a state law; he knew Danny was in the Central Time Zone and almost certainly in the US, but he couldn't pinpoint it more clearly than that.
So yes, he'd prepared himself for some sort of Eldritch horror folded into human skin or violent race that was famed for massacres that Danny himself wasn't carrying out.
Clark had not prepared himself for ghosts.
"'-extra-dimentional ectoplasmic entities, self-identified as ghosts, hereafter refered to as ectoentities, are defined as any being with a physical makeup that includes 9% or more ectoplasm; or which needs ectoplasm to continue its existence. They have been deemed non-sapient and non-sentient threats to public and personal safety. As such, ectoentities are banned from all public and personal property. Knowingly harboring or aiding an ectoentity-' I mean, this is complete bullshit!" Lois hissed, cutting herself off and smacking the printout Clark had handed her. "You talk to Danny every other day; he's obviously sapient. And they folded it into a bunch of stuff about infrastructure, clearly hoping no one was going to read it. Clark, this says 'all necessary force authorized.'"
"I know," Clark responded, feeling sick. "They have a task force, apparently. One that can apparently harm these ghosts. They're clearly trying to prevent public panic by keeping this quiet, but if you searched the right things, I bet a Ghost Investigation Ward squad would show up anyway. There's a clause in there about the Patriot Act; it's on the third page."
Lois hissed like an angry cat, flipping the pages until she found the highlighted section. "You need to be careful what you email Danny. This is broad-spectrum permission to interfere when they even suspect someone's talking about an ectoentity."
"I need to find Danny," Clark replied. "His parents will almost certainly be on the side of this new law. If they find out what he is..." Some of Clark's worst nightmares come from the time he had just begun to understand how he was different from his peers and what that meant. Government experimentation was a recurring theme until well into his 20s. "I need to evacuate him."
"And that means you need to find him." Lois' eyes lit up with the challenge. "He's been cagey, right?"
"Yep," Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've tried to get more information out of him, to set him up with a mentor, but he clams up every time. Once, he stopped sending emails for a week. I don't think I could take the worry if I didn't hear from him after this."
"So we find him," Lois told him fiercely. "Are you an investigative journalist, or not? A young hero as divisive as this, no way he didn't make the news. What have you got so far?"
~*~
Three and a half weeks later, Lois slammed a newspaper page on the kitchen table, eyes lit up with the manic glow that she got when she was hot on the trail of a new story. "Amity Park, Illinois doesn't exist."
Clark paused, spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. "...okay?" he said uncertainly, lowering it.
"It used to exist, but they tried to erase it. But they couldn't erase everything." She jabbed a finger at an article in the paper impatiently.
Clark bent over it. A quick glance at the top told him that it was a copy of the Elmerton Enquirer from November of thirteen years ago. "'Elmerton Central Rams Face Casper High Ravens in Final Game of Season'?" he read. "What is this-?"
"In the article, it says the Casper High Ravens are the team from a city called Amity Park. A city I can't find a mention of anywhere else."
Clark finally started to catch on. "Is this about Danny?" They'd hit a brick wall on their search for the young hero almost instantly. There were no reports of unknown young heroes anywhere east of the Rockies.
They'd started smaller, of course. Clark had tentatively identified Danny as probably being in the Midwestern part of the Central Time Zone rather than Southern, based on his speech patterns and some of the things he'd said about the world around him. When that didn't turn up anything about any controversial heroes, they'd expanded it to all hero news in general, then to crimes getting stopped without anyone knowing how. They'd expanded the area they were looking at three separate times. Nothing they couldn't explain turned up. Clark was growing increasingly frantic, breathing a sigh of relief every time Danny sent another email. But he also knew that there was no guarantee the boy would keep being safe.
"Yes, it's about Danny!" Lois brought Clark back to the conversation at hand. "This is the only mention of Amity Park I've been able to find, and I had to have it mailed to me by a college friend in Chicago with an ex-boyfriend whose stepson has a best friend that moved to Elmerton to live with his grandmother who obsessively collects old papers that mention the charity she volunteered for. Do you know how hard it is to maintain that chain of communication without incurring the wrath of the Patriot Act?"
"Super hard," Clark guessed, mind already spiralling with the implications. "I'm assuming there's nothing online about Amity Park."
"Some sort of agent pair converged on the east branch public library 7 minutes and 36 seconds after I searched the town name," Lois told him, mouth tight. "I'm guessing that's our Ghost Investigation Ward. They wore all-white uniforms, so they should be pretty easy to spot."
"As long as they're in uniform," Clark replied grimly.
"As long as they're in uniform," Lois agreed. "I was able to find out that Amity Park isn't on any of the map softwares I could access. There was no mention on social media. No local paper online. I couldn't even find a parent portal for the high school."
"The agents didn't see you, did they?" Clark asked, suddenly straightening. "If we need to take an unplanned vacation to the farm-"
Lois waved him away. "I gave myself five minutes. And wore a wig. I still look terrible blonde."
"You look good in whatever you wear," Clark replied absentmindedly, scanning the article. There wasn't much information in it that helped them. "This says Elmerton and Amity Park are rivals. That means they're probably nearby each other, right?"
"I have the sudden urge to visit my old college friend," Lois said with a sharp smile. "Wanna come? We can leave Jon with Ma and Pa, maybe see what else Illinois has to offer?"
Clark was already reaching for his phone to call into work. "I think a bit of travel would be excellent for us."
It wasn't the first time Lois and Clark had done undercover work. Lois in particular was a widely-known reporter of corporate crimes and human rights violations, so the people who indulged in those sorts of activities often knew her name. Clark wasn't as well-known, but he wasn't unrecognizable either. They went to Elmerton as Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and headed for Amity Park as Lucy and Clark Taylor.
Their rented vehicle was stopped not far past the billboard that read 'Amity Park: A Nice Place To Live!'
"Names," barked the agent, a brown-haired man with sunglasses that hid many of his defining features.
These types didn't like people who knew their rights. It wouldn't be impossible to get into Amity Park without using a road, but the agents inside might keep records of who had been let in. "Clark and Lucy Taylor, sir. Have we done something wrong?"
"Not yet," the agent said darkly. He repeated their names over his comm unit, and waited for the voice on the other end to give him a tinny 'they're clean' before addressing them again. "Professions?"
"Between jobs right now," Clark said with a bashful smile. "A friend of mine told me that the high school here was looking for teachers? I teach social studies. I just wanted to have a look." It was a guess. A town blocked off by the government probably had trouble finding teachers.
The agent grumbled something indistinct. "And your wife?"
Clark smiled guilelessly. "She's my wife. What do you mean?" He could practically hear Lois rolling her eyes, but the agent bought it.
"Head on through," he grunted, waving them on. "You might change your mind about living here once you've seen it."
"Oh, it can't be that bad!" Clark chuckled, and raised the window to pull away before the agent could reply.
"Soft lockdown," Lois interpreted, frowning at the road. "They'll probably have us sign an NDA on the way out."
Clark nodded. Less red tape on the way in, less suspicion from casual visitors, less eyes on them. "Not if we don't leave that way." They wouldn't be able to take Danny out through the checkpoints anyway. It'd be best to fly out.
Once they were in, it was almost insultingly easy, considering all the trouble it had taken to get this far. He focused his hearing on Amity Park, but there didn't seem to be any fighting at the moment, so he and Lois headed to a diner for lunch and, more importantly, to chat with the waiter.
"You're from out of town, aren't you?" the waiter checked, catching both of them by surprise. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged at them. "I don't recognize you, and Amity Park is a pretty small town. What brings you here?"
"Well..." Clark dragged it out, scratching his neck in embarrassment. The kid caught on quickly and laughed out loud.
"You're here about the ghosts, aren't you?" Completely unconcerned, matter-of-fact. He hadn't been told to keep it a secret, Clark realized, which meant that the GIW probably didn't want the residents to realize how tightly locked down they were.
"Yes, we are," Lois confirmed, leaning over to catch the kid's eye. "What's your name? So I can write it down."
The kid lit up, which wasn't unusual. People loved to be in the paper. "Kwan Choi!" he chirped. "Are you a reporter?"
Still no concern. The GIW had never intended outside reporters to ever get this far, probably. People at nearby tables were starting to turn around, interested in the proceedings but not stepping forward yet.
"That's right," Lois confirmed, flipping her notebook open. "May I record this conversation?"
"Sure!"
Lois set her phone to record. "So, Mr. Choi, what can you tell me about the ghosts here?"
"They're pretty much everywhere!" Kwan told her, with obvious delight that became disconcerting as he went on. "There's attacks every day, you'll probably at least hear one if you're staying for a couple of days. Ghosts are pretty powerful too, so it's not like you'll miss it. Just follow the sound of smashing concrete. And yelling."
"You don't seem very worried," Lois pointed out mildly, exchanging a look with Clark. Danny had never really indicated how powerful he was, and had avoided mentioning most of his powers. If his rogues gallery was regularly breaking buildings...
"Of course not!" Kwan exclaimed, laughing at the thought. "Trust me, we don't have anything to worry about as long as Phantom's around." He almost vibrated with excitement, obviously waiting for them to take the bait.
Clark was happy to. This was what they'd come here for, after all. "Phantom? Is he a hero?"
"He's the best!" Kwan beamed. "He's a ghost too and he's super powerful! Don't listen to what any of the ghost hunters tell you. Phantom's casualty record is literally perfect and Dash says even Superman can't say that! Course, Amity Park is a lot smaller than Metropolis..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Lois and Clark exchanged a look. "Phantom beats up all the ghosts, even the ones the ghost hunters can't touch, and he doesn't cause as much collateral as the Fentons say he does! They just blame him for all the damage from all the ghosts and that's bullshit."
"So he's controversial?" Clark prodded carefully. He was startled when Kwan actually scowled at him, dropping his bouncy demeanor for a moment.
"You can't do one of those scaremongering articles on him, okay?" the kid argued, looking defensive. "None of that 'he's a scary ghost' or 'is Phantom secretly behind all the ghost attacks' horseshit. He's a hero. We'd be completely screwed without him."
"We won't do that," Lois promised Kwan, earning a beam in return. "Is Phantom the only hero in Amity Park?"
Kwan actually looked thoughtful, and he wriggled his hand. "Depends on who you ask. The Red Huntress is pretty cool too, when she's by herself, but she attacks Phantom a lot, so a lot of people don't really like her. The Fentons and the GIW are both almost as dangerous as the ghosts though, and they're not nearly as good at fighting them."
"The GIW?" Clark asked, just to see how he reacted. He wasn't entirely surprised when Kwan flinched, glancing nervously at the door.
Kwan lowered his voice. "You should probably avoid those guys, all the government people in white suits. They're, uh, pretty liberal with those guns." His nervous expression said it all. Clark's hatred for the GIW grew.
"We'll be careful," Lois assured him. "What about the Fentons?"
Kwan made a face, but he did straighten up, his shoulders relaxing. "If you're reporting on the ghost attacks, you probably want to talk to the Fentons." Another grimace. "Well, want may not be the right word. They know a lot, but they're also wrong about a lot, and they're really anti-ghost. Maybe you can talk to their son Danny instead. Rumor has it that he's where Phantom gets all his Fenton tech."
Bingo. Clark wasn't expecting Danny to fall right into their laps, but this fit perfectly: the son of two ghost hunters, already suspected of having ties to the town's hero. "And where can we find Danny?"
"He lives with his parents," Kwan shrugged. "It's hard to find him anywhere else, unless you want to catch him at school or something." Of course; if there were multiple attacks a day, he probably poured a lot of time into his vigilantism. "I don't know their exact address, but you don't really need to. They have a giant UFO on top of their house, you can't miss it."
"They have a what?"
----
They did have a UFO on top of their house.
"Well," Lois said resignedly. "I think we found it." 'Fentonworks' blinked on the sign, pointing to the door. "Now let's find your adoptee."
"Who do you think I am, Bruce?" Clark asked indignantly.
Lois didn't dignify that with a response, instead making her way toward the door and pressing the doorbell. It rang, and almost immediately, there was a crash, a clatter, and a blast on the other side of the door. Someone yelped. Clark tensed, but a moment later, the door swung open, and a red-haired woman smiled at them, unaffected by the commotion.
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked, perfectly cheerful.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look, and then Lois focused on the woman. "Hello. My name is Lucy Taylor, call me Luce, and my husband Clark. Mrs. Fenton, right? I was told you were the people to talk to about ghosts." It was always best to get both perspectives of a story; even with something as one-sided as this, you had to understand what everyone was thinking.
It was also the easiest way to get in the door.
"Dr. Fenton, actually!" the woman said, with a smile that showed she wasn't offended. "Both me and my husband. Come in!"
She spun on her heel and went inside, and Lois and Clark followed. The commotion had evidently been someone dropping a large energy gun, which had then gone off and hit the ceiling; the scorch mark was still smoldering. The gun was on the floor. Clark glanced at it, and Maddie chuckled, picked it up, and put it on the table.
"Don't worry, it doesn't harm humans," she reassured them both, unconcerned. "I know it can seem a little extreme if you've never met a real ghost, but I assure you, those ectoplasmic abominations deserve no mercy."
The sudden vitriol was disconcerting with her cheerful, upbeat tone.
"Really?" Clark asked, unable to help himself. "From what I've heard so far, they sound pretty complex." Along with Kwan, who was happy to talk as long as his manager would let him, they'd heard stories from all the people at the tables around them. It wasn't just Danny; plenty of the ghosts had shown obvious signs of sapience, from dating problems to earnest chats about new music to a child ghost playing carefully with other kids, supervised by Phantom.
"Oh, this talk again," Maddie sighed, and sat down with a reassuring smile. To show she wasn't offended. She gestured for them to sit down. "Not at all. It's all in the science of it. Ghosts are very good at appearing complex; it's necessary for their manipulations. But all of the emotion and personality that they display is faked. It's an echo of who they were when they were alive. What's really happening is a mindless feeding instinct, since ghosts need human emotion to sustain themselves. The more emotion they can evoke, the more they can feed." Maddie smiled and shrugged, like 'it can't be helped.' "That's why the best thing to do is to put them out of everyone's misery. Someday, I hope, there won't be any ghosts to haunt us."
Clark couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this sick and angry. Maybe when Kon had explained exactly what had happened while he was still at CADMUS. He closed his hands gently, careful not to clench them, so as to not tip Maddie off too much.
Lois set a hand on his arm, understanding. "You want to wipe them out?"
Maddie blinked at them guilelessly. "Well, yes, of course. They're very dangerous, as anyone in this town knows. And as I explained, they're not sentient at all, so there's really no reason not to. It's like putting down rabid animals, really - after all, by rights, they should already be dead."
Clark wondered how often Danny heard his mother call him a rabid animal.
Lois squeezed his arm. "What do your children think of this?"
Maddie's smile thinned, showing that she was losing her patience. "Oh, they're quite pro-ghost, I'm afraid. Most of the children are. I try not to hold it against them; they're very vulnerable to the manipulations of Phantom in particular. It was clever of it to both take the form of an adolescent and wear something resembling a superhero costume. It even formed an emblem after a while."
"How can he be clever if he's not even sentient, ma'am?" Clark asked, quiet and even. Maddie's smile disappeared altogether.
"I see you formed an opinion before talking to an expert," she observed coolly. "One of the children, I'm guessing?"
Before the situation could escalate, the front door opened, and another energy beam fired. Clark shot to his feet, but was too late to react, caught in his secret identity; the beam hit, and the person at the door yelped in pain and reeled back.
"Mom!" they yelled after a moment, more frustrated than hurt. "You're supposed to tell me when you turn on the security system!"
With a sinking feeling, Clark guessed that that was Danny. He glanced up at the ceiling above the door. A smoking gun was pointed at the door.
"I'm sorry, dear!" Immediately forgetting them, Maddie bustled to her feet and across the room, opening a panel in the wall to input a code. The gun withdrew into the ceiling. "I really thought I got it this time, I don't understand why this keeps happening."
"Mom." Danny appeared in the doorway, giving the ceiling a wary glance before continuing inside. He hadn't noticed them yet, focused on his mother as he pleaded with her. "I'm not even asking you to stop testing it, just tell me when you turn it on, please?"
That was a pretty big concession, considering that Clark suspected it was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, and shooting a ghost that tried to come inside. Into his house, where he lived, with his parents that were supposed to be protecting him. Clark clenched and unclenched his fists, not sitting down yet.
Maddie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Every time I think I've figured out why our trackers lock onto you..." She trailed off with a shake of her head, and gestured for Danny to come closer. "Here, let me fix that up for you. And be polite, we have guests."
Despite her willingness to program the house to shoot him, apparently at random, Danny approached his mom without hesitation and held up his burnt arm for her inspection. A large pink splotch was on his forearm, where he must have blocked the beam, maybe protecting his head or chest. Most tellingly of all, his heart beat slowly, at half the rate Clark was used to hearing.
Maddie winced. "Oh, that's going to blister," she murmured.
"Mom!" Danny whined, glancing down. "Did you turn up the power too? Seriously?"
"I really thought I had it this time," Maddie repeated, contrition tightening her voice. It meant nothing, Clark thought darkly. She grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink and spread burn cream over the injury, then started to wrap it up. To Lois and Clark, she added, "I'm sorry you had to see this. If you could keep it private, I would... appreciate it. I'd rather it not get around exactly how ectocontaminated Danny is."
A hint of apprehension crept into her voice. It was telling. Even the Fentons feared the Ghost Investigation Ward.
"We understand," Lois said smoothly, pointedly not promising to keep it quiet.
For the first time, Danny glanced over at them, and confusion entered his eyes. Then they widened slightly. If anyone was going to see through Clark's thin disguise in less than a second, it would be another vigilante.
Clark wasn't surprised that Danny's only response was to tense nervously and look away again, shoulders rising. He'd gone to lengths to hide his identity and location from Superman, after all.
"Who are they?" Danny asked his mother.
"They're journalists!" Maddie said, bright and cheerful again. She finished wrapping Danny's injury, that she gave him, and took his shoulder to steer him toward the living room. "Luce and Clark. They're doing a story about Amity Park, so we're talking about ghosts."
"Great." Danny looked unenthusiastic. "Can I go upstairs, to do my homework, and like, not be here for this conversation?"
Maddie paused, studying him for a moment, and then tugged him gently toward the living room. (Truly gentle - Clark had seen people yank others and disguise it as a gentle motion before, and this wasn't that.) "No, I think you could benefit from this conversation too."
"Great." Danny looked defeated, and didn't protest further as he was pushed onto the other couch. He glanced at the gun on the table. "That's a new one. What does it do?"
Maddie beamed. Clark hated everything about this.
"It's the Fenton Ecto-Incinerator! It should cause any ghost's ectoplasm to react violently with itself and boil them from the inside out!"
The look of defeat magnified into a recognizable 'I wish I had never been born' expression, with dull, lifeless eyes and slumped shoulders. Maddie didn't seem to notice. "Fantastic." He scuffed his shoes on the floor and stared at his knees. Clark tried to figure out if there was a diplomatic way to ask 'have you noticed that your son obviously needs serious mental health treatment or are you ignoring it on purpose?'
It occurred to Clark that if Danny was a ghost, and his parents didn't know, that implied that he'd died and they hadn't noticed.
Lois, as always, rallied first. "Is that an... efficient way to get rid of a ghost?"
Danny sighed softly. With a wince, Clark realized that he'd missed the part of the conversation that indicated they were against this.
Maddie sighed too, but for a different reason, and she gave them a rueful smile. "No, not particularly. We're still trying to figure out how exactly to destroy ghosts permanently. We'd need to experiment with an intact specimen to manage it, but they keep... escaping." She glanced at Danny, indicating she had a suspicion as to how, but he didn't seem to notice. "Until then, we're trying to use pain as a deterrent."
"I thought they weren't sentient," Clark said, meeting Maddie's eyes. She pressed her lips together before responding.
"Everything dislikes pain, Mr. Taylor."
Clark had to work to retain his patience. "Do you know the difference between sentience and sapience, ma'am?"
Maddie's brow furrowed. "I... didn't believe there was one?"
"Sentient beings are capable of sensing and reacting to stimuli," Clark told her, because everyone needed to understand this, even - perhaps especially - the most horrible of people. "Sapient beings possess human intelligence."
Maddie looked thoughtful. "Hm... perhaps we should amend some of our professional work. That's quite a mistake." She shrugged it off. "But the principle remains the same. They can't stay here, and the pain is a deterrent."
Danny didn't look comforted by the concession. It was possible he wasn't even listening, and Clark couldn't blame him.
"Dr. Fenton, do you realize that that mistake enabled the government to give ghosts fewer rights than are given to lab rats?" Lois asked, barely maintaining a veneer of politeness.
Maddie's voice chilled again. "Ghosts don't need rights, Mrs. Taylor. As I explained, they are evil, selfish creatures, manipulating humans and feeding on the resulting emotion. I assure you, I've read the entirety of the Anti-Ecto Act, and I have no problem with any of it."
Danny stared at his knees and picked absently at a hole in his jeans.
"There's a reason that animal cruelty is illegal, Dr. Fenton. No feeling creature deserves that, whether you believe in their sapience or not."
"Rabid animals are put down as a matter of course. Why should ghosts be any different? Of the two, ghosts are far more dangerous."
Danny poked his finger into the hole.
"They're not sick, they're not dying. Rabid animals are put out of their misery. What is the point of torturing a ghost?"
"By all rights, they should already be dead. It's frankly an abomination that they didn't stay that way. Whatever measure is required to make that happen, I will do it myself - for the safety of our town and my children."
Actually, Clark was starting to get... extremely concerned about Danny's lack of responsiveness.
"Danny," he said, interrupting the intensifying argument. "Can you hear me?"
"What?" Maddie asked, baffled. Lois, however, caught on quickly, her back straightening with alarm. She held up a hand, indicating for Maddie to wait, and watched Clark scoot closer to Danny.
"Danny," he repeated, slightly louder and firmer. He reached out to touch Danny's hand, and Danny blinked, lifted his head, and met Clark's eyes, tilting his head in silent question. Clark repeated, "Can you hear me?"
There was a pause. Danny hummed noncommittally.
"What is-" Maddie started. Lois shook her head sharply, and Maddie fell silent.
"Danny, do you know where you are?" Clark asked, keeping his voice calm and even while his anger with Maddie and the absent Jack Fenton rose substantially. He doubted this was the first time this had happened.
Danny stared at him blankly. It was apparent that he either didn't understand the question or he didn't know where he was.
"Danny?" Fear entered Maddie's voice, and that was all that kept Clark from snapping at her.
"He's dissociating," Lois explained, terse but more patient than Clark at the moment. "It's a symptom of trauma and a sign of extreme stress. Clark's trying to snap him out of it."
"What?" Maddie repeated, horrified, and this time was ignored.
"You're at home, in your living room," Clark told Danny, maintaining eye contact. "Can you see that you're in your living room? Two couches, a coffee table, a television, and a ceiling fan?" Danny glanced around, checking for those things. Couches, coffee table, television, ceiling fan. Danny nodded. "Can you tell me what else is here?"
Danny glanced down at the coffee table, and his eyes landed on the gun. He clammed up again, eyes losing what little life they'd gained and shoulders going limp. Clark suppressed a curse, and glanced at Lois, then at the kitchen. Bless her, she understood, and got up to look for the freezer. Surprisingly, Maddie also responded, and picked up the gun, disappearing into a door to the basement. She returned empty-handed, giving Danny a worried look.
Lois returned from the kitchen with a bag of frozen vegetables, which she dumped into Danny's hands without ceremony. Danny started, blinking down at the bag, then up at Lois in question. She gave him a tense smile and sat down.
"Danny, can you tell me what you have in your hands?" Clark asked.
"...bag of frozen peas?" Danny stared down at them again, then up at Clark, meeting his eyes on his own with visible confusion. "Why?"
Clark gave him a small, relieved smile. "It got your attention, didn't it? You were dissociating. Do you know what that is?"
Danny wrinkled his nose, handling the bag of peas absently as he tried to retrace his mental steps. "I... felt kind of floaty, I guess. Like in a bad dream. I dunno. I wasn't really paying attention." Something about his tone indicated that while he was responsive now, he was still trying, on some level, to 'not really pay attention.' "What's wrong? Can I go now?"
He stopped fidgeting with the frozen peas and left them in his hands, limp and forgotten. Definitely still out of it, Clark decided.
"What's wrong with Danny?" Maddie repeated forcefully, fear in her voice and clearly done with being ignored. As if she had a right, as if she hadn't just bandaged a burn on his arm that she'd put there with carelessness bordering on malice.
"Some people detach from their surroundings as a coping mechanism," Lois explained, clipped but calm. Danny blinked down at the bag of peas in a slightly more ominous kind of confusion, and Clark put a hand on his arm again. Danny jumped, looking up at him in question, and Clark gave him a small, comforting smile, trying to make him feel at ease. "They'll feel like they're just having a dream, or watching something happen to someone else. It's a way of dealing with stress or trauma."
Maddie blinked at her in infuriating confusion. "But... he's just at home. Did something happen while he was at school, or on his way home?"
"I imagine," Clark said calmly, "it's because he was attacked at the door, and then forced to sit and listen while you discussed beings, that at the very least he thinks of as sapient, and justified your desire to torture them to death."
"But-" Maddie cut herself off this time, giving Danny a worried look. "But that's just-" She faltered again, and it was obvious that she didn't know how to deal with the conflict of what was, to her, undeniable scientific truth, and the equally undeniable harm it was causing Danny. "Are you sure?"
"If it was something outside, he would have been unresponsive when he came in," Clark informed her.
Maddie shrank, and Danny looked at her with matching worry.
"It's okay!" he said hastily, trying to shake off Clark's hand. Clark kept it there, and Danny didn't try very hard. "I can deal, I just- today was a bad day is all, I'm just..." He trailed off, lost as to how to play this down.
They stared at each other.
"...I'm sorry, can you leave?" Maddie asked softly. "I think Danny and I need to talk."
Clark does the social math quickly and doesn't see how them staying will do anything but escalate the situation. It's not like he can't just listen in on the whole thing anyway and have them back here in seconds if they need to interfere.
"We'll be in the area for a few days," he says through a tight smile as he stands. "In case we have any more questions."
"Feel free to reach out if you have any thoughts to share," Lois adds, standing and leaning over to hand Danny a business card. She does not hand one to Maddie, and from the narrowed eyes, the woman notices. "Or if you need any other kind of advice."
"Yes, thank you," Maddie says frostily. "I'm sure we'll do just fine. Why don't I show you the door?" Clark slips Danny another business card when she turns, in case the woman confiscates Lois'.
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Fenton," Clark says, because Ma and Pa raised him right. "Danny, it was wonderful to meet you. Feel better."
"Yeah," the teen says, eyes darting side to side, presumably looking for a way to flee before having this conversation with his mother.
That's the last thing Clark sees before Maddie practically shoves them out the door and shuts it quickly behind them.
Clark makes for the car, ears already tuned on the house, but Lois darts around the corner instead, hauling on his arm. "I don't care how fast you can get back here, we are not leaving him alone with that woman," she hisses. "Do you think you know enough to guess which bedroom is his? There's nowhere to hide out here."
"I can give it a shot." Clark shoots up, hopefully faster than any nosy neighbors can track, eyeing the second floor windows. A large bedroom, clearly the parents' by the bed. A bathroom, a study, a wildly pink bedroom. He won't judge, but it doesn't seem Danny's style.
Then, jackpot, a room decked floor to ceiling in NASA merch and teen boy mess. He remembers the kid going on and on about meteor showers and an observatory field trip and how cool it is that the Justice League has a base in space. The room is even on the back half of the building, convenient for sneaking in and out as a teenage hero and a nosy reporter.
He's back at Lois' side in a flash. "Got it." He leads her to the window and boosts her up easily, so no one has the chance to see anything super-related as she jimmies the lock. They're through in under a minute, Lois already cracking the door open so she can hear as Clark tunes back into the specifics of the conversation.
"-just don't know why you didn't mention anything sooner, honey," comes Maddie's voice. It's even, but her heartbeat is elevated and he can detect the tension in her tone that normal ears can't.
"I did," Danny snaps in reply, sounding like he's finally reaching the end of his temper. "I told you the third time you shot me that I wanted the front door guns gone and you gave me an hour-long lecture on ghost safety. I told you when the system shot me the fifteenth time that I wanted it on an automatic timer so it'd always be off when I got home from school, at least. You told me holes in the defenses were unacceptable. I told you the twenty eighth, fifty seventh, a hundred and third, and after I lost count, that they hurt, that the burns made it hard to do my chores and to focus on homework, that I got an infection once from one of the wounds. That was the fifty seventh time, if you were curious."
"...the third time I shot you?"
Lois' nails bite into the doorframe. Danny just sounds exasperated. "All that and that's what you gleaned from it? Alright, fine. The third time the house shot me with weapons you and Dad designed, you and Dad programmed, you and Dad installed, and you and Dad armed without telling me."
"Young man, I do not appreciate your tone. We're just trying to protect you from those abominations. I have no idea why the systems always lock onto you, but we're doing our best to figure it out."
Danny laughs, the grating, sharp edge of it making Clark cringe. "You have no idea? Really? No possible idea at all why I could be so ecto contaminated that the weapons can lock onto me? Mom, you make me clean the lab at least once a week and you two never make sure I have proper safety equipment. You and Dad practically live in your HAZMAT suits. Mine hasn't fit since the beginning of freshman year, right before the portal started working. And I know Jazz put it on the list of things you needed to order, but it never did get here did it? And neither did the industrial filters for the HVAC or the extra fridge so you'd stop putting samples in the kitchen. Do you know how many times I've had to shoot my own dinner?"
Lois has one hand clapped over her mouth in horror. Clark slowly opens and closes his fists, wishing anything in the general vicinity was strong enough to take one of his punches without disintegrating. This house is such a nightmare, it's shocking that the other child who lives here hasn't died. Danny's been careful not to mention a sibling outright, but Clark's made an educated guess from some of the anecdotes he's shared. And the pink room clearly belongs to a fellow teen. Though, hell, for all Clark knows, they have died or gotten sufficiently contaminated to get ghost powers.
"Sweetie." Maddie sounds every inch the exasperated parent. Clark can just picture her pinching the bridge of her nose. "Your father and I have made sure you know the rules of the lab perfectly well. We thought you were old enough and responsible enough that you didn't have to be babysat." Forget super strength, Lois looks like she's about to punch something hard enough to atomize it.
"Did you not just hear me-" Danny cuts himself off, voice shutting down into something painfully toneless. "Yes, Mom."
"We'll order you a larger suit and I expect you to wear it while you're in the lab."
"Okay." Danny doesn't sound like he believes her. Clark wonders how many times she's made similar promises.
"For now, we'll have to get back to work on calibrating the defense system, at least once we're done finalizing the Ecto-Incinerator schematics. We'll get it right, sweetie. It might take a few more tries, but you won't have to deal with this forever. And then you won't have to do this dissociating thing any more. Alright?"
"Uh huh. Can I go do my homework now?"
"Of course. I'll be in the lab if you need me."
Her voice is already getting further, walking away, so she probably doesn't hear Danny mutter, "Right, the lab I don't have any safety gear for doing a project I'm going to have to go down there and literally drag you away from to get any attention. Great." He sighs heavily and Clark can hear him run a hand through his hair. "Right, might as well actually get some homework done while I can."
His footsteps hit the stairs as Lois eases the door closed and they both back away. There's no way to seem casual in the teenager's room they've broken into, but Clark sits at the desk to make his height less imposing and Lois chooses to lean nonchalantly by the window.
Danny freezes comically when he opens his door, eyes darting from one to the other. Clark's never felt less like laughing.
"You can leave the door open if it makes you feel better," Lois says softly. "Or tell us to get out and we will, but Danny, I think we need to have a talk."
"Do we?" Danny's hand tightens on the knob. Clark can hear the metal protest. "Because from what I see, you came in here, got my mom all riled up, and bailed."
"I didn't want her to be more defensive with strangers around, but I can understand why that was frustrating-" Clark starts.
Danny snorts and rolls his eyes. "I'm not having this conversation without backup."
Lois holds up her hands placatingly. "Whatever makes you feel more comfortable."
Danny pulls out his phone, then pauses. "Am I telling them that it's a couple of out-of-town reporters or Superman and his... was the wife thing real?"
"It was. Lois Lane, star investigative journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He's Clark Kent, slightly less good investigative journalist for the same."
"Hey," says Clark mildly. He's not actually offended; he and Lois have been playfully duking for top spot for years now. Turning to Danny, he adds, "I assume these are people who know about your double life?"
"They've been there since the beginning. Accident and everything." Danny's eyes tighten at the corners. It's clearly not a pleasant memory, but most who got their powers by accident didn't have a kind experience.
"Then you might as well tell them. It will make things easier." Danny nods and starts typing.
"You said they were there for the 'accident,'" Lois pipes up. Danny's mouth flattens, but he nods. "Were they close enough that they might be in the contamination range prosecuted by this new law?"
Danny's fingers freeze and he slowly looks up. "Oh, you really don't know, do you?"
The tone sets every one of Clark's instincts on edge, reporter and hero both. He leans forward in his chair. "Know what?"
Hitting send and shoving his phone in his pocket, Danny shakes his head. "Nine percent isn't actually that much when you live in a town with as many fights as Amity Park. At least half the town has enough contamination to qualify. Most of the Casper High students for sure; my rogues like to pick fights while I'm at school."
Clark's jaw drops as he tries to unpack multiple parts of that at once. "I'm sorry, did you just say at least half the population can be detained under this law, most of the teenagers have repeatedly been exposed to a substance that the local experts wear constant HAZMAT suits to avoid touching, and most of your rogues know where you go to school?"
"Oh boy." Danny grins, showing off larger-than-normal canines and a sardonic type of humor that Clark's only seen from the most world-weary heroes. "Welcome to Amity Park. It's a nice place to live, at least if you're already dead."
"We figured out that there was an information blockade a few weeks after the Anti-Ecto Act passed," Danny told them, settling by the park bench where they were supposed to meet Danny's friends. "How'd you get through?"
Danny's other form was interesting, and frankly, a lot less off-putting than Clark had been prepared for. He sat cross-legged in the air, more casual in his defiance of gravity than Clark was, and his glacial white hair drifted slightly, as if he were underwater. He gave off a faint glow, which cast his features into stark relief, with none of the usual shadows. His eyes were a vivid radiation green. The only thing Clark found disconcerting was that he had no heartbeat at all.
Clark felt strongly that the hunters who were so afraid of him needed to get a grip.
He wore an interesting suit, too. Clark could see why Maddie had mistaken it for a superhero costume, except it obviously wasn't - it was a haz-mat, exactly like hers. Apparently it hadn't done him much good even when it fit.
"A lot of persistence and a lot of contacts," Lois said with a rueful smile. "Amity Park disappeared extremely suddenly, and while not a lot of people noticed, some did. One of my old college friends lives in Elmerton, and Elmerton certainly noticed."
"Elmerton's so close that they're lucky it got spared," Danny said dryly. He hesitated for a moment longer, his eyes flicking warily between them, and then asked, "Why did you...?"
Clark gave Danny a gentle smile, noting that while the shocked hostility had faded, Danny was still nervous. "Well, it was obvious that you weren't safe here," he said. "And not in the normal way for heroes. When you mentioned that your species had become illegal, I combed through recent legislation, and..." He trailed off pointedly, and Danny looked away. "I consider you a friend, Danny. I have for a while now. I wanted to help you, if I could."
Danny ducked his head, looking self-conscious and a little overwhelmed. It wasn't a bad change from the defeated look he'd had during Maddie's lecture. Before Danny could figure out an answer, his friends showed up, and he perked up with visible relief. That made sense; Danny seemed like the type of kid that drew a lot of courage from his friends.
"Oh my god, you weren't kidding," the tallest girl said, eyes wide. She was a redhead, with bright teal eyes that had a touch of unnatural luminescence to them. Clark would bet money that this was Danny's sister.
"Of course not, he's Danny," the other girl scoffed, walking forward without hesitation to swing into a seat right next to Danny. There was a hint of a starry-eyed look to her when she looked at Lois, but - the mark of a vigilante's support team - she didn't let it take control. Instead, she crossed her arms and regarded them warily.
The only boy sat across from them, looking almost as nervous as Danny, and the taller girl perched on the table, uneasy and uncomfortable.
They were just kids. Untrained kids, at that, doing their best for the world.
"Jazz, my sister," Danny explained, indicating the redhead. "She helps me deal with my parents, mostly. Sam, my best friend, she's the only good shot here." Sam smirked. "And Tucker, my other best friend, tech whiz." He waved awkwardly.
"It's good to meet you," Clark said politely, giving them a sincere, if tense smile.
"So," Danny continued, with more confidence now, "you wanted to give me a lecture about how my parents are monsters, I shouldn't live with them anymore, and I should pack all my stuff and move out. Am I right?"
Pause.
"Well," Clark said at last, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "That wasn't our intention in coming here, but it was the way I was leaning by the end of that conversation." Danny sighed, and Clark hastened to continue, "I'm sure you've thought about it before-"
"No," Danny cut him off, reaching up to rub his face in obvious stress and frustration. Clark winced in guilt. He was trying to help Danny, not make him more upset.
The only other one who looked sympathetic to Danny's plight was Jazz, who explained to Clark, blushing and apologetic, "Danny's really sensitive about our parents, especially Mom. I know you got a big face-full of the bad lab etiquette and the anti-ghost stuff, but Danny and Mom used to be really close." Something about her tone told Clark that she wanted to defend them too, but knew from experience it was futile.
"As Danny puts it, he's the one that keeps getting shot, and he doesn't need to be reminded how much it hurts," Sam put in, more dry than Jazz, but with the same glance of worry at Danny.
"Of course," Clark sighed, giving Danny an apologetic smile. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Can we talk about literally anything except how much my parents hate me?" Danny pleaded, pushing his hand up his face to run it through his fluffy hair.
Clark took that as a no, and when he glanced down, Sam just gave him a resigned shrug, so clearly this was not new behavior for Danny. Clark resolved to try and approach it again later, much later, when some of the other problems had been solved.
"Practicalities, then," Lois said briskly, bless her. She grabbed her notebook and flipped it open. "So, you said most of the town falls under the Anti-Ecto Act?"
Danny looked relieved by the change in subject. "Most might be a little generous," he hedged. Tucker shook his head fervently, and Danny ignored him. "But yeah. The portal gives off a lot of ambient ectoplasm, which is great for like, me, because it feeds me, and no one else, because it settles into their nervous system." He shrugged. "I never really thought that much of it. At 5%, you maybe start to be able to sense ghosts subconsciously, and you're a bit more resistant to future contamination. At 10%, you can sense ghosts nearby and you might start to see in the dark."
"For the record, he and Jazz were at 20% before the portal even opened," Tucker put in, "at which point shadows cling to you, you develop tapetum lucidum, and your footsteps don't make noise."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you eat it from a young age," Danny muttered. "Anyway, all of which is to say: it didn't really matter until the Anti-Ecto Act passed."
"But now it does," Clark said quietly.
"But now it does," Danny agreed. "Most of the townsfolk don't know it yet, I think, but that's why the GIW is so careless about collateral damage here. You're not a person until they've tested your ecto levels, and they don't usually bother."
"You didn't..." Clark hesitated, reluctant to say anything that might be construed as an accusation against the young ghost. Danny caught on anyway and ducked his head.
"Well," Danny said quietly, "I didn't know what you thought of ghosts."
"Danny," Clark said seriously. "I will make sure you get rights if it's the last thing I do."
Danny shifted uncomfortably and looked away, âsure.â
Clark sighed, âDanny, I know you might not believe me, but I have the wonderful Lois Lane right here with me and as soon as I tell them, the Justice League will stand with us and help us get these laws handled.â
âThere is a reason Lois Lane is an award winning journalist,â Jazz adds, her arms crossed as she looks at the two adults. âHelping them out with this would be a good first step to help you with your other concerns.â
Danny stared at her a moment, only nodding in agreement when Tucker nudged him. âCome on, dude! Besides, Whats the worst that could happen?â
âthey get put on a hit list by the GIW,â Sam and Danny deadpan at the exact same time.
Lois pulled out her well-loved notepad and started jotting down the cliffnotes of their conversation so far while Clark carefully checked their surroundings, making sure that the GIW and the Fentons were nowhere to be found.
Caught up, she looked back to the kids. "Alright, if we're going to do this, we need facts about ghosts. REAL facts that we can use as evidence against the GIW's claims."
The quartet exchanged looks, a silent debate between them causing expressions to shift and pinch and eyes to roll. Eventually, Danny let out a drawn out sigh, rubbing his face as he seemed to take a moment to collect himself, nodding. "Fine, I guess that makes sense. What do you need to know?"
"Let's start with the elephant in the room. There's ghost attacks, but can you tell me WHY? The main reason the GIW are able to fear monger is because of the supposed ghost-led destruction of the town, but if we can figure out what's causing the attacks, we can look for a way to redirect and mitigate them."
"O-oh um," Caught off guard by the blunt question, he blinked before clearing his throat. "It's sorta... my fault? I mean-" He winced.
"What Danny's trying to say is that after the portal opened with his accident, this place became a beacon for the minority of ghosts that happen to be trouble makers." Jazz took over, resting a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "They come over to try and fulfil their Obsessions, which is basically is what gives them a reason to exist at all. They just- don't really understand how fragile the Living Realm is in comparison to the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone, as our parents call it. So when they try to do something like, make themselves a famous singer or try to provide a balanced diet for high school students, they tend to get... overzealous."
"There's sometimes a LOT of collateral, like when Technus tries to take over the world." Tucker grumbled, glancing down at his- was that a PDA?
"Technus?" Clark raised an eyebrow.
"He's the ghost of a electronics genius, his thing is tech, like literally ANYTHING tech, and he's mostly Obsessed with showing off and trying to prove he's the best at it. Danny accidentally gave him the idea of world domination when we first encountered Technus because at the time that's what we thought all the ghosts wanted. It was pretty early days at the time." Sam explained, making Danny blush green from embarassment.
"I see... so I'm guessing he messes around with tech and that's what the collateral is?" Lois, still jotting things down, predicted as she looked up at the teens.
Sam nodded with a sour expression. "Pretty much, he possesses tech and then makes a giant robot out of them most of the time, meaning that tech gets destroyed in the fight a lot, warranties are voided, and oftentimes the GIW will confiscate everything to try and study it and they won't compensate their owners. All in all, the ghosts get the blame for very expensive technology being lost and having to be replaced."
Danny grumbled, his hands and fingers flexing like he wanted to pick at something, if only to distract himself. "The adults only care about how much damage there is and how much money it costs to fix and replace things and they keep blaiming ME, when it's usually the GIW and my parents that cause the majority of the damage. I've tried explaining that, but the news is largely controlled and edited by the GIW these days, making me look even worse. Most of what people post online gets scrubbed if it even remotely sheds good light on me."
He shakes his head before continuing. "Anyways, most of the ghost attacks that actually happen these days are done by animal ghosts, which majorally aren't sapient. They're the ones that usually get captured too, so it just adds to the biased data picking. The sapient ghost attacks are mostly targetted at me because... Well, a lot of reasons?" He scrunches his nose up.
"For one, this town is my Haunt, my territory, meaning that them entering it is trespassing and a challenge. Secondly, I'm still considered a 'baby ghost', at least until I've been a ghost longer than I was alive AND I feel mature enough, so they both want to try to bully me out of my Haunt so they can take it over, and they also want to try to teach me to be a ghost, which is very strength based. Except I'm a lot stronger than most of them and I just keep getting stronger. Lastly um..." He hesitated for a moment and glanced at his friends.
Jazz and Tucker gave him encouraging nods but Sam still looked pensive. He nudged her and another silent conversation was held before her shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
Meanwhile the couple watched them patiently while Lois kept writing things down. Eventually Danny breathed out again and grasped Jazz's hand, the ginger giving his hand a squeeze.
"Remember when I emailed you that my town had been kidnapped?"
Clark nodded slowly, a cold ball beginning to form in his gut, already knowing that this would be something heavy.
"Well, that was because of the Ghost King attacking. And I ended up beating him, which is what returned Amity Park back to the Living Realm. Everything was great for a bit after that, but then I found out that because I defeated the Ghost King is trial by combat, it meant that I took..." He trailed off as the ball grew into a frozen boulder in Clark's stomach. "It meant that I took his title as High King, meaning that the ghosts are now all my subjects? At least, once I'm an adult."
Danny was just enjoying his lunch, sitting in the park.
Now the local hero has been brought to their knees in front of the local villain, and neither of them seem to realize that they're doing this bullshit right in front of Danny's lunch.
So, naturally, Danny gets a little pissed off. He just wants a quiet, nice lunch, and they're over here with their unresolved issues and sexual tension tainting everything.
So he stands up, walks over to the contraption that the villain built to take out the hero, and turns it off.
Danny turns around turning his back to the bald headed Fruitloop, and the spandex wearing hero and just resumes eating his lunch,
Lex tries to turn his contraption back online before the radiation rays wears off and Superman deals with him. He then sees Danny has the power source next to him covered in ice.
'how did he even get it, this weapon is phase proof'
Superman Starting to feel his heart calm down his hearing return to him, he is starting to feel better, but still a tad sluggish, rises from his knees, and decks Luthor 'lightly' knocking him unconscious.
"thanks for saving me uh?" Superman starts.
He looks towards the Bench, the boy who saved him is now gone, the power has been taken, a kryptonite reactor in an unknown persons hands.
Assassin Heir? Crime Fighting Furry? NOPE NO THANK YOU!
"Danyal, its time to end this game and return with me."
Danny should had known Clockwork had something in mind when he sent him on this mission. He knew he should had been suspicious of the time keeper when he noticed the little 'this is going to be fun' smile on his face when he sent Danny off into the portal.
"Get back here you demon spawn 2.0!"
But how was he supposed to know that he'd wake up in this world version of himself in a pit full of corrupted (AND NASTY) ectoplasim at the tender age of five or that when he swam up to the surface he'd be meeting face to face with what was apparently a cult.
"-O just spotted him a block away! I'll try to cut itty bitty bridie off!"
An Assassins Cult his, new to him, loving yet a little insane mother was in charge of (though during the few months he stayed in the compound he heard rumors and gossip from maids and others alike that if his grandfather returned from the dead he'll take over once again, no doubt punish Talia for creating another heir after the failure of the last one, most likely was going to kill Danny and that... that was can of worms Danny didn't wanna deal with yet)
"Ten bucks says they try to stab RR when we get the feral thing home"
"...Losers bet...."
Danny had lived with his mother for a while after being brought back from the 'dead' for apparently the first time, it turned out training a five year old with an actual sword and a dumbass hidden revenge seeking teacher was a terrible idea.
"I swear if this one tries to murder me like the others I'm asking Zatanna if there is a curse on me."
He dealt with her high demands of perfection, the endless training, and the constant comparisons to his apparent older brother Damain... Who didn't know Danny, or rather Danyal existed.
Nor did his father (when Danny, using his powers he's kept hidden since 'waking' up in this Realm, he sneaked his way around the base and discovered how he came into the world. And tbh he couldn't blame his mom how she made him, she was an assassin first and foremost, being naturally pregnant would had painted a target on her for to long... but he also felt it was unfair and an asshole move on his unsuspecting father as well)
"As your elder brother I demand you to stop running!"
Now don't get him wrong, he did like his new mother (total badass assassin lady and all that) and he knew she loved him in her own... deadly way. But yeah, she really shouldn't be taking care of kids. He could tell she struggled with wanting to be a normal mother but her first instinct after so many years was to be an assassin first.
Something she was trying to engrave into Danny with as well.
"Ah, hello Beloved. I see you've learned of our Danyal."
"Talia. Back away from him and leave Gotham now."
"I can not do that. The League needs an heir and since Damian refuses to return... I have decided to create a new one and I shall not be leaving until he returns with me."
"Talia."
Hence why when Danny, or rather Danyal al Ghul had gotten decent control over his powers he decided to leave the League. Again nothing wrong with the life his mom leads, to each their own, but he... really, really didnt want to be an assassin. Or an assassin heir.
So here he was, after almost a year on the run, using his powers and training to out smart and out maneuver his mother and her many band of Assassins, in Gotham. One of the last places he ever wanted to run to cause he knew his father and brother lived here.
It was just his luck that his mother had managed to intercept his train ride that passed into Gotham for a few hours and forced him to run into the city...
Add her assassins into the mix and running into Robin, who heard from Oracle his mother had been spotted chasing a young boy across the city, that same night.
After that it became a full on "catch me if you can" chase for not only his mother but for the batclan as well.
And after two whole days of chase, it seemed like the final showdown was about to begin because everyone was on top of this rooftop, his mother and her assassins on one side, his father and the batclan on the other and Danny well... he was right in the middle of all of it.
He just had to hope no one would notice him once the fighting started...
The two sides were glaring at each other. Or at least, that's what Danny assumed. It was hard to tell when people's faces where half covered. Neither side moved watching the other.
"Danyal. Come here," his mother ordered.
Nah. He loved her, just as she loved him. She wasn't exactly the sanest though. Neither was his dad, since he was a surprisingly popular out and proud furry. Danny was waiting. As soon as the two sides went after each other, he was going to make a run for it. His mom stepped forward, and the batclan leapt forward.
Danny dodged and weaved as the two sides clashed, trying to prevent the other from getting to him. Once he was pretty sure they were all distracted, he jumped down onto a fire escape and made himself invisible, running away. He couldn't hold it for long, but it should hold long enough for him to lose his tails for a bit.
***
Danny was pretty sure he wasn't followed. He'd managed to make his way to the observatory. It was easy to sneak inside. He'd decided to use the techniques his mom had shown him. Danny was still tired from using his powers earlier. He paused at the gift shop, looking longingly at some of the posters, toys, and clothes. He could live without it, but it would be nice to have one of those.
Danny shook his head.
He didn't want to steal.
Sighing, Danny moved on. He wanted to check out the movie room. It would be a nice place to sleep for the night, and he could fall asleep listening to the stars. Following the signs, he made it to the theater room. It was easy to find the console. From there, he turned on a video about the Hubble telescope and the James Webb telescope. Those would be fun.
Danny started them up, then meandered down to the rows of chairs. He laid down in the first row, spreading himself out across two of the seats. They were cushioned nicely. He'd been taught how to fall asleep when in uncomfortable situations. Danny drifted off hearing the narrator talk about the galaxies.
***
He woke up hearing two people talking, asking who had been the last to lock up for the night, how could they have left the projector running. Danny scrambled to get up and hide. It was child's play to sneak back out. His stomach grumbled. He'd had to steal food this past year in order to say alive. He didn't like it, but it was necessary. Danny made his way to a fancy looking grocery store that wasn't that far away.
His mouth watered seeing the fruits and vegetables. He'd hated them in his last life, but he appreciated them so much more in this one, where he rarely got enough to eat. Danny went in, looking for an adult to hang around who he could pretend he was with. There. There was an elderly gentleman stocking up his cart, filling it full. Danny made his way to the man and hovered around him, but not too close.
Danny stole an apple and an orange, hiding them in his hoodie. He also snuck a chocolate bar. Life was tough. Some sugar would do him good. Not only that, but chocolate was full of magnesium. That was an important micronutrient. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the elderly man say to the cashier.
"Add an apple, and orange, and a kit kat bar. I'm afraid my grandson has squirreled them away. He refused breakfast, so of course he is hungry now." Danny's head snapped up, assessing the man.
He had white hair and was balding at the top. He looked stern, but there was a kindness to him. Afterall, why else would he have paid for Danny's stuff? He followed the man out of the store.
"Thanks. You didn't have to do that," Danny admitted, scuffing the ground with his toe, ashamed yet grateful.
"No. There is a a small bakery and coffee shop down the street. If you help me put the items in my car, I'm more than happy to get you breakfast," the man explained. Danny nodded. It was a good trade, not only that, but it was easy to help the man. He told Danny his name was Alfred Pennyworth. Danny just said his name was Danny.
At the cafe, Mr. Pennyworth got some tea and scones while Danny got hot chocolate and an egg quiche with vegetables. It was really yummy. Danny tried to savor the drink. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had something so yummy. Definitely not since waking up in this body.
"Some of my grandsons will be here shortly. They were in the area. I do hope you won't mind them joining," Mr. Pennyworth told him calmly.
"Okay," Danny mumbled. Maybe he should try to leave before that... he was kinda gross and stinky.
He didn't really have a chance to leave though, as it felt like just seconds later, three men entered the store. The oldest, silver just starting to enter his hair, sat down next to Danny. He shifted uncomfortably. It was going to be harder to leave now. He didn't want to act suspicious and attract attention though.
"Bruce! What a surprise. I'd thought it was just going to be Tim and Damian."
"I was the one who drove them out here! Tim wanted to check out the observatory," Bruce said joyfully before turning to look at Danny. It kinda unnerved him. It reminded him of his mother's gaze, picking him apart, looking for Danny's flaws. He hated it. He needed to get out of here!
"Hello there! I'm Bruce Wayne! Nice to meet you! Where did Alfred pick you up at?" Was this something Mr. Pennyworth did often? Danny thankfully didn't have to answer as the boys sat down. One was older, probably sixteen or seventeen while the other looked to be twelve.
"Here's yours," the elder one said sliding a cup to Bruce. He then sat next to Alfred, the twelve year old sitting at the end of the table.
"Thank you Tim." He was turning to ask Danny something again, something Danny didn't want. So he decided to jump in.
"Tim! You wanted to go to the observatory. What did you want to see there?" Tim blinked.
"Uh, they updated the documentary to include new information since the James Webb telescope was launched a little while ago."
Perfect.
Danny has spent all night listening to that on repeat. He could rant about that telescope till he bored them and made them leave him alone! He just needed to be as annoying and know-it-all as possible. Time to channel Jazz.
"Did you know that the James Webb was built to extend the capabilities of the Hubble telescope? It has a whole bunch of infrared equipment, that way it can be an orbiting infrared telescope. It's made with gold coated beryllium that way..."
Why werenât they getting bored? Why were they all listening as if this was the most interesting thing theyâve ever heard? Danny was running out of information to info dump on them about the telescopes. He had plenty of more facts about space and galaxies and all that good stuff, but the satellites and telescopes? Yeah, he was out. Tim had been surprisingly knowledgeable and had been a good listener. Heâd mentioned some a University in Arizona that was known for their optics program and made some of the best and largest lenses in the world. Also how they had a great astronomy and astrophysics program due to the fact that the sky was so often clear there and it was relatively easy to find an open patch of land in the desert that did not suffer from light pollution and view the heavens from there. Danny hadnât known any of that, happily drinking his hot chocolate while Tim explained. He was brought out of his thoughts when Bruce interrupted.Â
âWow. You know a lot about the stars. Would you like to come with us to the observatory?â Bruce was smiling, but it was softer this time and didnât feel as fake. It still felt weird. Why was this family accepting him? It was really suspicious.Â
âOh no, I couldnât. Itâs your family that you were going to do with Tim and Damian,â Danny protested.Â
He wanted to go. He did. But he shouldnât. Also, this was Gotham? Heâd heard so much about this city, who in the world were these people that they were like: ah, letâs take that street urchin in his ratty and stinky clothes to an observatory! Were they trying to kidnap him? Probably. Ah well, he could kick their asses when they revealed their hand and then leave. Danny was still trying to lay low and hide from his mother and his father, the Batman. Mother might suspect him of going to an observatory. She did know him, and knew that he liked stars. Probably? Was he giving her too much credit? She had him on purpose because her other son hadnât turned out the way she wanted. Mother hasnât been thrilled to discover his interest in space. No, sheâd just wanted the perfect soldier, the perfect heir.Â
Sheâd lost that when sheâd killed her son and revived him in the Lazarus Pit.Â
Older Dannyâs memories had meshed with his younger, reincarnated selves ones, but older Danny had so many more memories and a lot more life experience. Little Danny? Not so much. The love he had for his mother had stayed though.Â
âOh, I insist,â Bruce said, putting his hand gently on Dannyâs shoulder.Â
Danny bit his lip. He glanced around at the others. Damian hadnât said a word, just watching Danny. He had the same gaze as his father, Bruce, had initially. As if he was trying to look into Dannyâs soul. Alfred looked serene and calm as ever. Danny felt safer if both Tim and Alfred would come with.Â
âWill you be coming too, Mr. Pennyworth?â Danny asked, trying to give his best innocent and cute look at the older gentleman. He also subtly pushed off Bruceâs hand, not liking it on him.
âIâm afraid I must get the groceries home. They would not survive a trip to the observatory,â Mr. Pennyworth said. Danny frowned. That sucked.Â
âOh. Well, I wouldnât want to imposeâŠâ yes, nice and easy, get away from this nice but really weird family.Â
âYou wouldnât be imposing! Donât worry about cost either! I have plenty of money,â Bruce chuckled.Â
âYuck,â Danny blurted, then blushed. Okay, so he kinda hated rich people. He blamed Vlad. Tim let out a surprised laugh, although he tried to stop it as quickly as he could. Damian, however, bristled.
âHow dare you say that! Father is one of the most generous men on the planet and his charities help the people of this city and those all around the world!â Bruce put his hand on Damianâs shoulder.Â
âItâs alright, son. I donât think Danny knows who we are. Iâm Bruce Wayne, does that ring a bell?â It did, but Danny didnât want to tell him that.Â
âNo,â Danny told the man before finishing off his hot chocolate. It was a little cold at this point, but it was still good. Heâd finished the quiche during his discussion with Tim. Decisions though. He really, really wanted to explore the observatory while it was open and not at nightâŠÂ
âIâll go, but you have to answer one question first,â Danny told Bruce, looking up at him. He was going to have so much fun messing with this trillionaire.Â
âOf course!â Danny was going to make him regret that. They would either let him leave or still take him after this question. Probably let him leave.Â
âYouâre not a pedophile, are you?âÂ
Bruceâs eyes widened, and he looked stunned. Damian stood up and started yelling. Mr. Pennyworth looked perturbed. Tim looked like he wasnât sure if he was going to laugh or cry. What could he say? He was a bit of a chaos gremlin.Â
***
To Dannyâs utter amazement, the Waynes still wanted to take Danny to the observatory.Â
They had to have some sort of ulterior motive. No one would have taken Danny after he asked Bruce that so bluntly. Were they connected to the Bats? Or his Mother? Either way, Danny was just going to use them a bit, making them go with him to every single exhibit, check out all of the telescopes, and watch as many of the movies in the theater as possible. Tim though, Tim had been the one to surprise Danny by getting him a few items from the gift shop. A little model rocket, a poster of a few different galaxies, and even some astronaut food.Â
It was really nice of the teen.Â
Damian had been extremely bored and clearly did not want to be there. He kept trying to tell Danny what to do and how to act, which just made Danny want to do the exact opposite. It was honestly fun to make the other kid mad. When he did, he would hide behind Timâs leg and give the older teen the most innocent look he could manage. Bruce looked super tired from dealing with their squabbles.Â
If he couldnât handle it, he shouldnât have invited Danny along!Â
That led to the interesting conundrum. It was becoming dark, and the observatory was about to close. Bruce and his kids didnât seem to want Danny to leave. It was super suspicious. They were outside now, Danny holding his little bag of goodies. While he could be subtle when he wanted to be, now really wasnât the time for subtlety. Walking forward in front of the little family, Danny turned to face them. He was prepared to run if they made any weird moves.Â
âSo. Whoâs side are you on? My momâs? Or are you on the side of my dad, the furry?âÂ
âWhat makes you think we have anything to do with your parents? Whoever they are,â Bruce asked. Danny rolled his eyes.Â
âPlease. Any normal person would want to get away from me as soon as I asked if they were a pedophile. The fact that you didnât leave me alone right after that? Super suspicious. I may be five, but Iâm not dumb,â Danny told them, annoyed. Sometimes being so little was helpful, sometimes it really, really sucked!Â
The three people studied Danny. He fidgeted.Â
âWell? Are you going to answer my question?â Danny demanded.Â
âWeâre with⊠Batman,â Bruce reluctantly said.Â
âYeah, I thought so. None of you really seem like people my mom would associate with.â Apparently, that was funny, as Tim covered his mouth with a hand to muffle his laughter.Â
âWhy would you think that?â Damian questioned, crossing his arms and⊠pouting? Ancients, was the twelve year old kid really pouting? It was only because Danny had been taught how to read even the most subtle body language by his assassin mom that he could tell the other boy was upset.
âUh, youâre not all stabby and donât really seem super dangerous,â Danny explained. That seemed to get Tim even more, as he made a strangled sound and pulled out his phone.Â
âI need to tell Jason. Heâs going to love this so much,â Tim managed to wheeze out. Danny was not waiting around till Jason showed up. He was getting out of here.Â
âAnyway, good to know that youâre with the caped furry. I hope to NEVER see you again,â he told them cheerily.Â
âWAIT!â Damian yelled, grabbing Dannyâs hand. Danny frowned at the surprisingly strong grip. âDonât you want to meet your older brother?âÂ
âUh, no,â Danny told the other boy. Damianâs face went stony at the answer. âIâve been compared to my older brother my entire life. Mother said that once I beat my teacher, I could learn his name and once I beat her I could learn my fatherâs name. I donât want to know, though. Mother always said I was slower than him, I didnât learn as quickly as him. I wanted to yell at her so many times that I wasnât him! Iâm Danyal. Iâm Danny. I donât want to be my brother. I want to be nothing like him! Mother boasted how heâd completed his first kill at three. Iâve never killed anyone. I love my mom, but sheâs not exactly sane and really shouldnât be raising a kid.âÂ
âSo I ran away, and thereâs no way Iâm going to get involved with Batman, because if Mother picked him to be my father, then heâs probably not really sane either. I mean, he runs around at night in his fursona!â Danny argued. He tugged at his arm. âNow let me go!â
Damian wasnât letting go though. In fact, his grip just got tighter. Danny tried a few techniques heâd learned from his Mother, but none of them worked. Damian had a smug expression on his face as Danny struggled to get away. Bruce and Tim got closer, caging him in.Â
Well, screw that!Â
âYeah, no, bye!â Danny told them, turning intangible to Damianâs hand slid off him, his eyes ridiculously wide in shock.Â
Not bothering to see the otherâs reactions, Danny turned and ran, gripping his bag of goodies tightly. He heard them chasing after him. His legs were short, but all he needed to do was get to the shadows, then he could turn invisible and get away. It didnât matter if they saw he had powers at this point. He just needed to get away.Â
***
The bad thing about spending the whole day in the observatory was that Danny hadnât picked a nice, safe spot to sleep for the night. Once he was sure he was far enough away from the Waynes, heâd dropped his invisibility then wandered. Heâd received so many looks from others. Whatever. Danny could take care of himself. He could tell it was going to rain. He needed to find a place to get some shelter and keep warm for the night.Â
Danny found a nice little space to hide and keep warm, under the roof of a large building. The overhang was large enough that it kept him dry. The thick stone slabs on the⊠bank. It was a bank. The outside of the bank was warm. Well, warmer than elsewhere. From up here, Danny could watch the street and everything that was going on. The bag rustling, he pulled out the model rocket, admiring it. It was really, really nice of Tim to buy this for him. It was a model of the Javelin, the type of rocket that was a spaceship and a jet. It was used exclusively by the Justice League.Â
This type of technology hadnât existed in his old world. He really wanted to fly in one. Or look at the engine of it. Saw how it worked. The specs on it. Danny wanted to know about the aerodynamics of the plane, the material used to make it both sturdy and heatproof for reentry into the atmosphere. He couldnât always let his adult side take over, or dominate him. So Danny let his younger side out, making the Javelin fly around above him, making soft zooming noises. He thought about if he went with his dad, with Batman, maybe he could get to fly in one.Â
Danny shook his head, dispelling that thought.Â
It was a nice one, but he didnât want anything to do with the Bat themed vigilante or the bird themed ones that seemed to flock around him. Danny just wanted to be a normal kid. Well, as normal as he could be. It wasnât worth sacrificing his normalcy or his freedom to fly in a Javelin, as cool as it would be. Danny put the model on his chest and sighed. He tensed as he heard two people land on the ground by the entrance to the bank. It was Nightwing and Red Hood. Nightwing was hiding something behind his back, a smile on his face.
âThat sure was a big sigh! Are you doing alright up there, Danny?â Nightwing asked kindly, giving him a small wave.Â
Oh great.Â
âIâm fine. Go away,â Danny ordered.Â
âOkay. If you come down though, Iâll give you this!â Nightwing brought out what looked like a Build a Bear in an astronaut costume. It was tempting, but Danny wasnât falling for it.Â
âPass,â Danny told him. Red Hood snickered. Danny eyed him.Â
âAre you going to try and convince me to come down too?â He asked the anti-hero.Â
âNah,â came the robotic voice. A voice changer. âIâm just here to watch Goldie fail.âÂ
âLittle wing!â Nightwing complained. Wait a minute.Â
âLittle wing? Red Hood is bigger and taller than you. How is he little?â Danny asked.Â
âWell, heâs younger than me,â Nightwing explained, as if it explained anything!Â
âSo⊠Do you call people older than you Big wing?â Danny questioned. The logic wasnât really logicing for him. Red Hood started chuckling. It sounded kinda weird with the voice modulator.Â
âYouâre a riot kid. Iâm going to enjoy this.âÂ
Red Hood might be enjoying this, but Danny was not. He glared down at the two men. Nightwing just cooed at him. What was wrong with the man? Why was he all excited about a moody toddler? Red Hood was staying true to his word leaning against one of the bollards in front of the bank. Weirdly, a couple of them were damaged. Were people so bad at driving in Gotham that they kept running into them? Or were there seriously that many attacks from proclaimed villains.Â
Ancients, this place got weirder and weirder the more he learned about it.Â
This place wasnât going to work for the night. He got the feeling that Nightwing was like an overactive golden retriever puppy. Sorry Nightwing, Danny preferred Rottweilers and Doberman. They reminded him of Cujo. He really wanted to sleep. Itâd been such a good day at the observatory messing with Damian and hanging out with Tim. Heâd liked Mr. Pennyworth too.Â
Too bad they were all associated with his dad.Â
If only his mom had told him the names of his dad and older brother. All he knew was that they were Batman and Robin. Sighing to himself, Danny put his toy Javelin back in the bag, holding tight to it. He could climb out from under the overhang and then get on the roof, but with their grapples, theyâd get up there before him and would be waiting for him. Danny would be captured, unless he used his intangibility again. That wouldnât be good. His legs were hurting and he was tired, which meant he wouldnât be able to told onto any of his powers for long.Â
âDanny? You okay up there babbiest bat?â Nightwing asked. Red Hood snorted.Â
âBabbiest bat? Really?âÂ
âBaby Bat is already taken by Robin! Red Robin is Baby Bird and youâre Little Wing. Iâm running out of nicknames!â Nightwing defended himself, pouting but focusing on Red Hood.Â
Now.Â
Now was the time for him to briefly go invisible and phase on to the roof. Hopefully by only using his powers for thirty seconds or less, he could make his escape. Up he went, then running across the roof, holding on to his invisibility for as long as possible. Theyâd somehow seen him, probably on the cameras. Danny needed to be undetected getting into his next sleeping spot, otherwise theyâd find him. He really, really needed to sleep in order to regain his strength and his powers. He was running on empty, and they were bound to give out on him soon.Â
This time, even though it meant the vigilantes themselves might spot him easier, as the rooftops kinda made it easy to spot him. It kept him out of the line of sight from the cameras that were around the city. Heâd heard of the Oracle person, that was probably how Nightwing and Red Hood had found him. As long as he was invisible, they couldnât see where he was going, and he needed to get as far away as possible.Â
Danny stopped on an apartment building that was only a few blocks from Wayne Tower. He crawled into the space between the air conditioner and heater units that were bolted in place. There, he let his invisibility drop. It was cramped, and if it rained, which was likely, he would get drenched. Danny had to try, had to try and sleep for a bit. Shivering, he curled into a ball and tried to sleep.Â
***
Danny only got to sleep for three hours before the heavens opened above him, the rain soaking him to the bone. His entire body trembled. He was out of power, extremely tired, and cold. The younger part of him wanted to cry. The older part of him knew he had to get up, to go somewhere warm and dry otherwise he would die from hypothermia. Struggling, Danny got up and exited his hiding spot.Â
He stilled when he saw who was on the roof.
Red Robin was sitting on the edge, looking out at the city. Hearing Danny, he glanced back at the small boy before returning his gaze to the city.Â
âIâm done with patrol for the night,â the vigilante commented.Â
Dannyâs mind was whirring. How long had Red Robin been there? Why hadnât he told anyone? How had he found Danny?Â
âIâm about to head home. It would be easy to hide a small kid in my cape as I went to my apartment. The apartment I live alone in. Might even make two mugs of hot chocolate. You know. Just in case.âÂ
Some of the fight drained from Danny, his stiff and tense shoulders dropping. That sounded really good. A dry and safe space to spend the night and hot chocolate. It sounded too good to be true! Yet he couldnât stay out here. Danny had half died once and died twice now. He didnât want to die a third time and deal with whatever nonsense was sent his way that time. Slowly, step by shaking step, he approached the unmoving vigilante. Swallowing his pride and taking a leap of faith, he tugged on Red Robinâs cape.Â
âCan you⊠take me with you to your apartment? I could⊠drink that extra hot chocolate,â Danny whispered. Red Robin looked at him and nodded.Â
âYeah. Yeah, I can do that.âÂ
It was nice, but still really weird when he was brought under Red Robinâs cape and held tight to the manâs (teenâs?) body. The trek across the city was quick. Danny was able to warm up a little. Red Robinâs apartment was high up and had a ton of security. Danny was ushered to the couch, and given some clothes. They were big for Danny, but they werenât Red Robin sized.Â
âThose are Robinâs,â Red Robin told him. Danny stiffened, looking at the items. âHe stays over every once in a while, or sometimes he changes here after school. Itâs not often, but just enough that Nightwing insisted that I keep some spares here. The bathroom is over there. Iâll be right in the kitchen, starting the hot coco.â
Danny sat there, watching dumbly as Red Robin took off some of his outfit, but left the domino on. The man clearly didnât care that Danny saw him in his underwear during this. Once Red Robin was in sweats and a ratty tee shirt, Danny made his way to the bathroom. He stared at the clothes. He didnât want to be like his older brother, but at the same time, part of him was fascinated by the clothing in front of him.Â
It was 100% cotton, which indicated wealth. It was a solid green color. There was fur on it. That, Danny hadnât expected. Most of it was black, but there were some white strands as well. Likely a mostly black animal with some white patches? The cuffs were worn, and there were slight wrinkles in the elbows and lower half of the sleeves. Dannyâs older brother liked to roll up his sleeves a lot. The pants had the same type of animal hair and were of hush quality as well, not telling Danny much about his sibling.Â
Danny heard cursing coming from the kitchen. He exited the bathroom, finding Red Robin trying to mop up an overflowing pot of milk. Milk tended to bubble up quickly once it boiled. Did Red Robin not know that?Â
âUh. Just⊠give me a minute. I have this under control!â Red Robin told him flustered.Â
The kitchen was actually pretty bare except for a super shiny and well used coffee machine. The rest of it had a small layer of dust. What did the man eat? Take out? Said man was opening a dusty box with round chocolate orbs.Â
âNightwing gave me these. Said I should be able to boil milk and then just put them in a mug. They should still be good?â Red Robin questioned. Danny got the feeling he wasnât supposed to answer that.Â
After all of that mess, he got a mug that was filled with warm milk and one of the chocolate balls dropped in. Danny was ushered to the couch again. Red Robin gave him a ton of blankets to snuggle under. Then the man left him for his own room. Danny sipped his chocolate, thinking. Danny had taken a risk to trust the vigilante, and the vigilante had taken a risk to trust Danny. Wait, that was the sound of security activating. Okay, maybe not a ton of risk, but it was smart of Red Robin to try and keep a kid trained by the League of Assassins out of his room while he slept.Â
He yawned.
Danny really needed to sleep.Â
First though, he opened the bag, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes seeing how the posters were ruined from the rain. The Javelin was fine, as it was made out of plastic. It was fine. Not all of his gifts from Tim had been ruined. Danny sniffled a bit, then sneezed. Setting his mug down on the coffee table, Danny wrapped himself in blankets and made himself comfortable on the couch, falling asleep almost immediately.Â
He was shivering and cold, his head was pounding, and snot was dripping from his nose. Heâd caught a cold. Danny coughed weakly. His immune system was pretty good, and it had always been good as a halfa. Not eating enough, not getting enough sleep, and being soaked for a while had taken their toll and how he was sick.Â
Weakly, Danny stumbled off of the couch, clinging to the blankets around him. They dragged behind him like a little cape. He made his way to the door that had to be Red Robinâs bedroom. Danny knocked. It was faint, way too faint. Gritting his teeth, Danny knocked harder so it could actually be heard. He waited, swaying slightly. Oh, there was movement from inside the bedroom. The door opened, and Danny was looking up at Tim. What was Tim doing - oh. Tim = Red Robin. If his brain was currently trying to boil itself to make him feel better, Danny would think that over a bit more.Â
âI donât feel good,â he announced sadly. Tim frowned, reaching out to feel his forehead. Alarm flashed across his face.Â
âYeah, youâre definitely sick. Um, letâs get you back on the couch. Iâll⊠call back up and get you some kids motrin or something. Chicken soup, thatâll⊠yeah.â
Danny went back to the couch, cocooning himself inside his blankets, not before he grabbed the Javelin. It was his only toy, and he was going to hold on to it and cuddle it, even if it was a bit pokey. Maybe he should have taken the time to swipe the bear from Nightwing. It had been bought just for him. No. Danny shook his head. He could not be bribed! Not with gifts or toys! That was what Vlad did! It was scummy! The only reason heâd accepted the stuff from Tim was because heâd spent the whole day with Danny talking about space and the stars. Heâd earned some of Dannyâs trust.Â
Tim came back, on the phone with someone, sitting down on the couch next to Danny. Danny wanted hugs. He wanted cuddles. He felt bad and icky and just wanted someone to hold him and tell him it would all be better. He couldnât remember that happening at all in this life, and it happening rarely in his other one. Danny sniffed, trying to hold back tears. Why were his lives always so crazy and bad?
â-heâs got a bit of a fever. Can you bring a fever reducer? Can I also bother you to make some chicken soup? I um. I have no vegetables or food in my fridge. I have milk and coffee creamer, but thatâs about it.âÂ
Tim was distracted. Maybe he wouldnât notice Danny shuffling closer. Okay, that was a lie. He was a vigilante, heâd totally know. Tim had taken Danny in last night and given him shelter. That had to mean something, didnât it? Tim ran his free hand through his hair, looking admonished. Whoever was on the phone was giving him a good scolding.Â
âI eat! I promise! You know I canât cook Alfred. Not like you and Jason can. Coffee is about the best I can do. I over boiled the milk last night. It was supposed to be easy, just warm the milk and then drop the hot chocolate bombs in there. Yeah they were good. See you soon Alfred. Thanks for everything.â
âAlfredâs coming?â Danny asked, his throat all scratchy from the nasal drip.Â
âYeah. Heâs on his way with food and medicine. Um. Do you want to watch cartoons?â Tim asked. âI can make you some tea. Pretty sure I have peppermint. Alfred says itâs good for when youâre sick.âÂ
âYeah. Sounds good.âÂ
Tim left, and Danny slumped in his pile of blankets.Â
He could hear the sounds of an electric water kettle and the sound of the coffee machine starting up. Tim came back to grab Dannyâs hot chocolate mug from last night, puttering around the living room. Tim was in a pair of boxers and an oversized sweater. Since the domino was off, Danny could see the deep circles under the teenâs eyes. Tim had to be a teen, right? Ages were hard to figure out with his brain a mix of old Danny and young Danny. Everyone was older than him, so it didnât really matter that much. It was just how much older than him they were.Â
The TV lit up, his companion using the remote to go to a streaming service. A show called Bluey was selected. He wasnât a baby! He didnât need to watch a show about dogs and their life! It⊠wasnât that bad though. It was much better than Paw Patrol, which heâd seen glimpses of while he was fleeing Nanda Parbat. It made his chest ache though. Heâd never had a family like that. Not in his past life, and not in this one.Â
It wasnât fair.Â
Heâd been reincarnated here, why was he given such a crappy hand again? Wasnât the whole thing about karma that you would reincarnate into a better life? Hadnât Danny been good in his last one? Heâd been a hero, heâd helped others! None of this was fair!Â
Danny was brought out of his thoughts when Tim set down two mugs. One was clearly coffee, and the other was the tea. Both were steaming. Tim left and came back with a damp cloth.Â
âCome on, we need to put this on your forehead to try and cool you down a bit. I donât have a thermometer, but it seemed pretty high to me. Are you okay? You lookedâŠ. Sad.â Tim said softly, folding the cloth and placing it on Dannyâs forehead.Â
âItâs not fair.âÂ
âWhatâs not fair?â
âThis. All of this. I just wanted a better life. I just wanted to be free.â He wasnât sure if he was making sense or not. He didnât care.Â
âIs that why you ran?â
âYeah. Mom wants me to kill. Dad makes people fight. Neither was good. I just wanted to be normal. I want to be an astronaut. I didnât ask for this,â Danny complained. Oh, he was a little dizzy now. The cloth felt nice, but he was still having the chills. So he still had a bad fever.Â
There was a sound elsewhere in the apartment. He should care, but all he could focus on was how miserable he felt. There were footsteps. Two people came in, but they were blurry.Â
âDid Talia give you the powers?â Danny shuddered. Weakly, he put his palm over Timâs mouth.Â
âSHHH. Mom doesnât know. She was dumb. Hired this - this guy who didnât like her. He killed me. So I got a bath in the green pool. Thatâs where the powers come from. But thatâs where the - the voice, the other me is from. Older me. He saidâŠ. He said mom wouldnât ever love me the way I wanted her to. She wasnât capable.â Danny hiccuped, the tears heâd been holding back starting to fall. There was a crash from the blurry people. Oh, Tim was looking blurry too.Â
âSaid mom would never let me go if she found out what I could do now. So I practiced in secret. She canât know,â Danny insisted.Â
âWe wonât tell her. What does this⊠other voice say about me? About your dad?â Tim asked. His voice was nice and calm. Soothing even. Ugh, he was getting tired of all the stuff about his dad though. Â
âHe doesnât mind you. You like to talk about space with us. So youâre cool. My dad⊠he thinks heâs weird. Who runs around dressed like a bat? People who arenât all there. But this whole place is weird. I donât understand a lot. Um. Tim?âÂ
âYeah Danny?âÂ
âEverything is spinning.âÂ
That was all Danny got out before everything went dark and he felt himself pitch forward.
When he woke up, he felt a lot cooler. He was in a bathtub filled with cold water. Danny saw a few pieces of ice floating in the water. There was a man with black hair and a white tuft of hair in the front reading a novel. Not just any novel, it was Pride and Prejudice. He was big and muscular. It would have been more intimidating, if he wasnât sitting clothed on top of the toilet.Â
âWhoâre you?â Thatâs what Danny tried to say, but it came out really mumbled. The black and white haired guy looked up. There were so many nicknames that were flitting through his head at this point. Magpie. Skunk. Cow. Panda. Penguin. Sebra. There were so many animals that were black and white.Â
âIâm Jason. Howâre you feeling?â Jason got off of the toilet, kneeling down beside the bathtub to feel Dannyâs forehead. He had to move a damp washcloth to do so.Â
âI feel yucky. But not as bad as before,â Danny reported. Jason nodded, removing his hand.
âSeems like your fever has gone down a bit.â That was good. âYou up to taking some Motrin? It will help even more. Your choice.âÂ
It was nice of them to give him the option. Little Danny had never gotten to choose what happened to him. Mom and Grandfather had always decided for him. Was giving him a choice a reverse psychology thing? Heâd be more likely to take it if he had a choice? Also, Jason was new. Danny didnât know this guy, didnât trust him.Â
âIâll pick after I talk to Tim.â Tim hadnât lied or done anything to make Danny mistrust him. He also hadnât pressured Danny. Jason nodded.Â
âOkay. Iâll get him. We took shifts watching you.âÂ
With that, Jason got up and left the bathroom. Danny sat up a bit, the washcloth on his head falling off into the tub. Heâd been propped up on some stacked towels. He was still in his underwear, thank goodness. The bathroom was sea themed, the walls a pale blue. The soap holder was shaped like a seashell and the toothbrush holder looked like red coral. There was a painting with palm trees and the beach on it. The shower curtain, which had been pulled back, was covered in fish. It was a cute little bathroom. He hadnât really focused on it last night when heâd changed clothes, more intrigued by what he could learn about his brother. Assuming it hadnât been that long since heâd passed out.
Danny brought up his knees, bringing them to his chest. Here, in the bathtub, he felt so small and alone. It didnât last long, as the door opened. Standing in the open doorway was Tim. Behind him, Danny could see Alfred and Jason. Tim left the door open and walked in. Like Jason had, he knelt next to the bathtub, leaning against the porcelain tub.Â
âJason said you wanted to see me.â Timâs tone was neutral.Â
âYeah. He mentioned Motrin, and that I didnât have to take it,â Danny explained. Tim nodded.Â
âYes. You can take some Motrin, if you want. It will help get rid of your fever and some of your symptoms. If you donât want to take it, you would need to get back in the ice bath the next time it spikes. We have a new bottle, unopened. I can open it in front of you, if that makes you feel better.â Relief flooded his body. Yes, that would make him feel a lot better. Never could be too safe after having grown up with assassins. Plus heâd been unconscious for a while. They would have had plenty of time to tamper with things. That did include the Motrin bottle, but it would be harder to hide that.Â
âThat. Can you open it in front of me and let me read the bottle before I have any?â Danny turned to the side, turning closer to the edge of the tub. It was faint, but he could hear Jason and Alfred whispering in the hallway.Â
âItâs ironic how he likes Tim. Demon Brat hated Timâs guts and loved Dick,â Jason mused.Â
âI would prefer if you did not refer to Master Damian as that around me,â Alfred scolded.Â
âSorry. Habit.â Alfred merely tutted in response.Â
Danny did not want to focus on that. Yet his mind was already whirring. Demon Brat. That could only be his older brother. Alfred had called him Master Damian. Which meant the Damian Danny had met the other day. Danny had met his older brother. He felt⊠conflicted. Older Danny lamented, as his older sister, Jazz, had been incredible, one of the best siblings someone could ask for. Danny hadnât like Damian. At all. But⊠Tim had been Damianâs older brother. So that meant he was Dannyâs brother too. Tim wouldnât replace Jazz, no one could. But Danny was looking forward to an older sibling, one that he wasnât being compared to.Â
This didnât mean that he was living with Batman!
Wait, this meant Batman was Bruce!
âDanny? Are you still with me?â Tim asked worriedly. He was holding the unopened Motrin bottle. One of the others must have brought it to him. Heâd missed that.Â
âHuh? Yeah. Can I see it?âÂ
Tim didnât answer, handing it over. Danny skimmed the ingredients on the back. He also turned it over, checking the seal. It all looked good, so he let Tim pour himself some. Danny tipped his head back and took it like a shot of alcohol. That came from older Danny. Tim kept a calm, expressionless face, but Jason had clearly seen Danny throw back that little cup of Motrin, and he didnât look thrilled.Â
Danny got out of the tub on shaky legs. Alfred brought him a towel, and he reluctantly let the elderly gentleman help dry him. Danny made his way back to the couch, where he was basically swaddled in blankets. Danny refused to let someone feed him, insisting he could do it himself. Tim sat on the loveseat that was diagonal from the couch. He was resting his legs on the coffee table. After finishing the soup, which heâd thanked Alfred for, Danny sneakily made his way over to the loveseat. He wanted to sit next to Tim, snuggle into his side.Â
Being sick made it harder than normal. He was so weak right now. Danny could tell Tim was keeping an eye on him. It would be okay, as long as he wasnât rejected. Pulling himself and his mess of blankets onto the seat was the hardest part. Tim didnât react as Danny slowly leaned against him, resting his head on Timâs left arm. He wasnât pushed off, so he counted that as a success. Tim kept working, fingers flying across the screen. Not that Danny could see it, as the brightness was lowered when he came closer. There also seemed to be a privacy screen on the laptop.Â
Tim probably had a lot of sensitive stuff on there, as Red Robin.Â
Jason stretched out on the couch, returning to reading Pride and Prejudice. Not before snapping a picture of Danny and Tim on the couch. Danny glared at the man, but he wasnât cowed by his best one. Darn. Thankfully Tim wasnât having it.Â
âIf you send that to Dick and he comes here disrupting what trust Iâve built so far, there will be glitter in all of your safe houses and you wonât be safe for months,â Tim threatened, not even bothering to look up from his laptop. Danny couldnât help but laugh a little. It came out raspy and ended in a cough.Â
âFine, Baby Bird. Iâll wait. I just want to rub it in Dickieâs face.â Jason didnât sound that put out.Â
Danny sighed and snuggled a little closer to Tim. He had a lot to think about. This was all good for now, but did he really want to give in and live with his dad? Tim was nice. How long would that last? How long would any of this peace and care last? It never had in his previous life or this one. Little Danny wanted to give in and have a family. Older Danny was skeptical. He was paranoid.
Tim turned Bluey back on, and Danny watched it listlessly. He was still half out of it. Alfred came by, checking Dannyâs forehead and talking to Tim and Jason. The rest of the day was spent mostly resting and eating the warm soup that Jason and Alfred had made. Eventually both of them had to go. After they left, Danny felt good enough to take a shower. Heâd had to promise not to lock the door, so Tim could get in if he got too dizzy or anything.Â
It was worth it though, to be able to stand under the warm spray. It had been a long time since heâd been able to shower. A few months? It was good to wash the grime from his skin and watch it go down the drain. Some of it had come off when theyâd put him in the ice bath, but not all of it. Danny probably needed a haircut, as the wet hair was getting into his eyes a little.Â
After he got out, Danny investigated the cabinets. There were a lot of interesting products in the bathroom. Timâs lotion wasnât as thick as the one theyâd used in Nada Panbarat. He⊠might have put too much on. There was a surprising amount of makeup in here. And perfume. Well, technically cologne because Tim was a man. It all smelled horrible though. Danny ignored the cleaning supplies. There was shaving equipment, but nothing else that was very interesting. It was only after his investigation that he realized he didnât have any clean clothes to wear.Â
Looks like heâd have to ask Tim for some.Â
Danny exited the bathroom in a towel, padding over to where Tim was still on the couch.Â
âUm. Do you have any more clothes for me?â Tim looked up.Â
âOh. Yeah, Jason brought some. Itâs in that box over there. Hopefully it all fits. We had to guess your size.âÂ
Looking through the box, Danny found some nice blue pjs with stars all over them. His heart clenched. These⊠had been bought for him. Bought because they knew he liked the stars. He went back to the bathroom to change into them. Once that was done, Tim seemed surprised that Danny crawled back on the couch next to him, snuggling back into his spot. Really, why wouldnât he? Tim checked his temperature and made him take a bit more Motrin. Tim was hesitating. There was something he was worried about. Older Danny advised him to wait.Â
âDo you⊠do you want to sleep in the bed with me? It will be more comfortable than the couch,â Tim offered. Ah. Thatâs what he was nervous about. Little Danny was practically screaming in happiness and excitement. Older Danny was trying to keep their cool and not potentially screw everything up.Â
âYeah. If my fever gets worse, youâll be right there,â Danny agreed.Â
He could pretend, just for the night, that Tim was his family, his big brother and he was Timâs beloved baby brother. Ancients, that fever was making him a bit delusional. One night would be okay.Â
***
Heâd been with Tim for a full day now.Â
Danny needed to make a decision. Was he going to stay or was he going to go? He was in limbo here. He couldnât really just stay here with Tim, could he? Was Tim even an adult? He looked like he was on the edge between being a teenager and an adult. Tim did have his own apartment though, so probably adult? If he did leave, where would he go? Metropolis? Central City? Star City? Those all had heroes though. Heroes who were friends with Batman. That would surely get his dad to come and try to catch him.Â
If he stayed here, with Tim, his dad might leave him alone? But heâd also have to see him. Was that a bad thing, little Danny wondered. Older Danny didnât know. They had judged Batman based on how he looked. Bruce⊠had been weird and a bit awkward, but older Danny had been so, so awkward when heâd been a teenager in their previous life. Maybe Bruce had never grown out of that? It would explain how he had no shame when it came to running around in his fursuit. It wasnât even that great of a fursuit, older Danny snarked. Their friend Tucker had made much better ones.Â
Danny sighed.Â
He was so comfy in the bed. He didnât want to get up, but he was getting hungry. Tim was still out, the covers wrapped around him, drooling on the pillow. Danny sat up, alert, when he heard the security system beep, allowing someone in.Â
âTimmy! Baby Bird! Are you sick and hiding? Alfred doesnât go and make soup for just anyone. Tim?â called out a masculine voice. Danny didnât recognize it. Worried, Danny crawled closer to Tim and started shaking him.Â
âWha?â Tim sleepily asked. It was too late though, as the door to the bedroom opened.Â
âGood morning Sunshine! Itâs -â the man halted in the door frame, his mouth open in shock. Timâs eyes widened.Â
âDonât!â The man didnât listen, running forward and leaping onto the bed. He was going to touch them! He was going to touch Tim and Danny! Panicking, Danny held onto Timâs arm, turning them both intangible and invisible.Â
âTim? Danny?â The man sounded surprised and shocked when he landed on the bed, the springs creaking.Â
âThis feels⊠weird.â Tim said. Danny could see his faint outline turn towards him. âItâs okay Danny. Heâs not going to hurt us. Dickâs just super physically affectionate.â Danny thought that over. He didnât want to turn off his powers, not yet.Â
âHeâs the one that you told Jason not to text yesterday?â Tim sighed. Dick sat up, looking to where the sigh had come from.Â
âYeah. Dickâs over affectionate. I didnât think that youâd⊠want to be smothered in his hugs and attention. Not yet. Weâre still building trust here.âÂ
Feeling better with the answer, Danny let go of his powers before crawling behind Tim, peeking out at Dick. Oh boy. He could practically see Dick vibrating with the urge to hug Danny. No thank you! Older Danny didnât trust it and little Danny wasnât used to hugs. So it was a no go for now. Tim accepted a hug though.Â
âI brought breakfast. Itâs only for two, but I can go out and grab some more,â Dick offered.Â
âThanks,â Tim sounded relieved. Dick laughed.Â
âNo sweat. I canât cook either. Iâll see you two again in about⊠oh, thirty minutes or so? Thatâll be enough time for me to grab the food and for you two to get ready for the day.â Dick ruffled Timâs hair. His hand reached for Danny, but pulled back after Danny leaned away. He left the bedroom. Shortly after the security system beeped.Â
Danny crawled out from behind Tim.Â
Heâd made his decision.Â
Danny would stay with Tim, even if it meant having to deal with Batman. Tim understood him and didnât push for him to do anything and gave him choices. He was also totally aware of where they stood, that Danny didnât fully trust him yet. It also meant Danny would be warm, fed, and taken care of. Yes, Tim was the best choice.
Tim and Danny changed into clothes. He allowed his older brother Tim to check his temperature. The coffee maker got turned on and he got a glass of water. While Dick had left the two portions of food behind, it wasnât nice to eat it without him also being there. Whatever was in there smelled greasy and good. Dannyâs stomach growled. He climbed up onto the barstool to take a peek in the bag. Hash browns, sausages, eggs, pancakes, and more. All carby and delicious.Â
âYou can start eating. Dick wonât mind,â Tim said, sipping on his coffee.Â
Well. He had permission? Hesitantly, Danny pulled out one of the hash browns. It crunched so satisfyingly, with a nice, warm mushy middle. Greasy food was something older Danny had all the time in the other world. Little Danny hadnât tasted it yet. This was his first time. He hadnât been desperate enough to dumpster dive for food yet behind a McDonalds. Danny finished the first one, then grabbed the second one savoring it. The security system beeped. Dick was back.Â
âBoys! I have noms!â Dick cheered. He was grinning as he walked into the open concept kitchen and living room. He was carrying three bags of food.Â
âDick, how much food do you think we can eat?!?â Tim protested.Â
âNot a lot. But I texted Jason, and heâll be here soon. Oh! Here! I got them to give me all of the Happy Meal toys! I have a few things in the car that I need to bring up, so Iâll be back in a sec. Feel free to dig in!â Dick placed two of the bags on the counter and handed the third to Danny.Â
âWait a minute. You canât just invite people over to my apartment! Dick!âÂ
âSorry Tim! Canât hear you!â Dick sang as he walked back out. Tim huffed.Â
âDid you get anything good?â he asked, looking at the bag Dick had handed Danny.Â
Honestly, he didnât know. Reaching in, he pulled out the first one. It was Wonder Woman, her lasso up in the air. Okay, that was kinda cool. Flash, Green Lantern, Hawgirl, Martian Manhunter, Superman, andâŠ. Batman. Annoyed, he passed Batman to Tim.Â
âCan you put this in the trash please?â Tim took the Batman toy, looking at it and biting his lip.Â
âHow about I hold on to it? For now?â Danny didnât have a chance to answer as Dick came back into the apartment.Â
âAlright! Food time!âÂ
The three of them ate. Danny didnât talk much, listening to the two brothers talk. He tried to squash some of his jealousy. It was so⊠normal and mundane. How was work? How were their friends? How was Timâs boyfriend? When would Danny have a nice life like that? Heâd really like some friends please. Honestly, some friends, a home, three square meals a day, and a nice normal kindergarten werenât much to ask for.Â
Oh, he needed to ask Tim if he could live with him. Permanently. That was a lot to ask though. Maybe he should do the long con. Ask Tim if he could stay for a bit. Then just just never leave. Yeah, that might work. Danny sipped from the chocolate milk that Dick had gotten him. Halfway through breakfast, Jason came. He slotted right in with the others. He felt⊠ignored. Unseen. Left out. Ancient' emotions were so much stronger when you were little. Danny tried so hard not to cry. Not to show how sad he was.Â
He slid down off of the barstool, ignoring the looks he got from the others. They didnât stop talking though. Danny went back into Timâs bedroom and climbed onto his bed. He spent a few minutes dragging all of the blankets into the corner, where the mattress was pressed against the wall. His little nest of blankets. Maybe he could pretend for a little bit that he was being held and snuggled by his older brother Tim. He was being stupid though. Getting so attached to some guy who had shown him kindness. Expecting to fit right in, when theyâd all been brothers for years.Â
It still hurt though.Â
He wished he could fast forward. To where Tim and the others trusted him and he trusted them. Then he could get the physical affection he craved safely. Danny was pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle knock on the open door. Tim entered, but stayed by the doorway.Â
âDanny? Are you feeling okay?â It was nice that Tim was checking on him. It was probably because heâd been sick.Â
âMâfine,â he mumbled. Tim clearly didnât believe him, crawling in bed to feel his forehead. Danny let him.Â
âYouâre not warm.â Tim looked into Dannyâs eyes. He squirmed. It felt like Tim was analyzing him, staring into his very soul.Â
Seeing something in there, Tim just⊠picked him up. Danny didnât protest. He wrapped his arms around his brotherâs Timâs neck, burying his face into the manâs T-shirt. Tim let out a short, surprised laugh. Danny got carried back out to the group. He turned to pout and glare a little at Jason and Dick. He wanted some alone time with his brother Tim! Dick in particular looked smug.Â
âTold you,â he said with a blinding grin.Â
âYeah. Yeah you did. I didnât fully believe it, but you were totally right,â Tim responded.Â
âYouâre the chosen one, Timbo,â Jason teased.Â
âOh, shut up.âÂ
Danny didnât mind anymore, that the brothers were talking. He was snuggled against Tim. His brother person.Â
***
The rest of the day wasnât bad. It also wasnât great. Danny played a bit with the toys except for Batman. He had the Justice League fly around in the Javelin. While Tim hadnât been willing to throw Batman, Jason had. Heâd done it pretty gleefully too. Dick had rescued the stupid toy from the trash though. Whatever. It was pretty clear Dick was Nightwing and Jason was the Red Hood. He was smart. Also, Dick had brought out the astronaut Build a Bear toy. Overall, the day hadnât been bad. Dick had left, but Jason was lingering. Heâd made a really nice sage and apple chicken dinner with peas and mashed potatoes. It had been really good.Â
Danny put down the toy Javelin.Â
Something felt off, felt wrong.Â
Little Danny had gotten it beat into him to always follow his instincts. He got up and went over to Tim, tugging on his pants.Â
âSomethingâs wrong. I donât know what,â he alerted his brother Tim. Immediately, Timâs hand went to his forehead. Danny batted it away.Â
âNo, Iâm not sick again. Itâs something else, I donât -âÂ
Danny didnât get a chance to finish his sentence as the security system went off. Next thing he knew, there was the sound of an explosion outside, and the living room wall became dented and discolored.Â
âFuck!â Jason cursed. âTim!â Danny yelped as he was lifted into the air.Â
âIâve got Danny! Iâm going to set off the emergency beacon! B, Nightwing, and Robin are on patrol tonight. My gearâs in the bedroom and in the hall. You think you can hold âem off?â Tim yelled over the sound of another explosion. The wall was buckling. It wasnât going to withstand another hit.Â
âYou got it. My gearâs downstairs on my bike. Thereâs plenty of kitchen knives though,â Jason responded with a vicious grin.Â
Danny felt like a football as he was carried into the bedroom. He was lightly tossed onto the bed, bouncing on the mattress. Tim hurriedly stripped and opened a panel in the wall, frantically changing into his outfit. Once he was dressed, Tim looked back at him.Â
âStay.â
Danny huffed. Yeah, no. Danny wandered out, behind Tim. The wall was broken, and there were ninjas. Specifically members of the League of Assassins. His mother was there too, looking as calm and poised as ever.Â
âTimothy. My father would be disappointed if you were to be harmed. Do step aside. I merely wish to collect my son,â Mother said.Â
âYeah, thatâs not happening. He doesnât exactly want to go with you. He wants to stay with Timmy,â Jason laughed. âGuess he takes after Raâs that way.âÂ
âReally Jason?â Tim complained, his bo staff at the ready, body tense and ready to leap forward. Danny approached, standing next to his brother Tim. âDanny! Get back in the bedroom!â Tim hissed at him.Â
Nah.Â
Danny was going to help in this fight. If needed. The fighting started. Tim and Jason were holding their own. For now. Mother hadnât joined the fight. She looked Danny in the eye. Little Danny wavered. This was his MOTHER. Sheâd raised him. Sheâd taught him everything he knew. Older Danny rebelled. Just because she was his mom didnât mean that she was good! Talia had been cruel to them! Sheâd gotten them killed! It was her fault, her fault that they remembered who they were before, that their conscience was split in two. Hadnât Tim been kinder to him? Heâd taken care of Danny when he was sick. Heâd tried his best to give him space and go at his pace. Heâd gotten him food and let Danny snuggle him as much as he was comfortable with.Â
Tim and Jason were losing. They were outnumbered. Mother was walking towards him. Tim growled, doing his best to keep all of the assailants away from Danny, uncaring of the wound he received. Seeing how Tim was fighting for him⊠they were in agreement.Â
âGoing ghost,â Danny whispered to himself, letting the transformation wash over him.
All heads turned to look at Danny as light engulfed his body. He wasnât going to have much time, so he needed to make every bit count. Gathering the ectoplasm Lazarus magic in his hands, he sent it towards all of the attackers. It pinned them to the walls and the rubble around them, acting like a sticky glue. Danny stepped out from behind Tim, trying to look as confident as possible. He was going to need everything heâd learned in this life and the previous one to confront her and talk this through peacefully.Â
Shoulder back.Â
Head held high.Â
âMother.â She was looking at him in awe. He figured he still looked like he had in human form, just inverted. He also had no idea what clothes he was in. Danny was⊠taller than his mother. It dawned on him that his ghost form was the age of her older aspect of him. That both made sense and did not. It was older Danny at the forefront at this moment in time.Â
âDanyal,â she breathed. âYou have been blessed.â Oh boy. Right, the League of Assassins was basically an ectoplasm Lazarus Pit cult.Â
âBlessing. Curse. It depends on your perspective,â he told her, doing his best to sound mature and like an adult.Â
âBeing revived in the waters of the Lazarus Pit has given me clarity. They have given me a maturity I donât want and one that has shown me the path you had placed me on. Mother. I love you. I know you love me. It is not enough. I desire companionship. Friends. Siblings. To feel safe and carefree. To be able to play. That is something I will never have while living with you.â Danny saw a muscle in her jaw twitch at his words. He kept speaking, injecting some of his power, making his words stronger and resonate with power.Â
âChildhood is precious. The innocence that you seek to rip away from me can never be restored once it has been lost. The League claims to be for a better world and to rid it from corruption. Yet you would sacrifice a child? Your own flesh and blood to do so? Not only that, your desire for me to be strong caused you to have me train with a man who sought vengeance on our family; who ran his sword through my heart.â Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Nightwing, Batman, and Robin arrive. They were cautious, yet confused as to what was happening. Nightwing stopped to help Jason patch some of his wounds.Â
âYou are the cause of my creation. Yet you are also the reason I died. You are the reason I was blessed. The reason I have been cursed. You have soured the relationship between my biological brother by constantly comparing us. It will likely take years, potentially decades, for me to unpack and unwind the hate that I feel for him. There is a chance our relationship has been permanently destroyed. While I love you, this⊠power that I have been given warns me away from you. It speaks to me, telling me how toxic you are and how I will never be happy or at peace with you. Being with you will only make me miserable.â
âI love you, Mother.â Danny took a shaky breath.Â
âBut not enough to doom myself to a life of pain and suffering.â
âIt draws you towards your father?â she asked quietly. Ancients, he hated this. Talia was hiding it as best she could, but Danny could see her hurt and pain.Â
âNo. Someone who would willingly have children be vigilantes is not a healthy parent either.â Danny heard the muffled gasps and intakes of breaths from around him. None of them mattered at this point in time besides his mother and Tim. He stepped forward and cupped her face.Â
âMother. This does not mean we cannot ever see each other again. Nor does it mean that I hold less affection for you. Nothing will ever change the fact that I am of your blood. I beseech you to reconsider your path. It is never too late to take a different one.â Danny rested his forehead against hers.Â
He hated that he had to be this cruel and to hurt her with his words. He had to do it so she would let him go. Mother had loved his brother enough to let him so, so it only made sense that she would love Danny enough to separate from him too. Talia stepped back from him.Â
âGoodbye Danyal. I will stop my pursuit of you. Till we meet again, my little star.â She turned and walked away from him, jumping off the edge of the broken and ruined wall into the dark night.Â
OH.Â
She did know him well enough to know he loved the stars.
Dannyâs core throbbed and he released his hold on his ghost form, shrinking back to that of a child. The bonds holding the assassins faded, and they sprinted away, following his mother. Danny sniffed, tears falling down his cheeks. That had sucked. He hadnât wanted to do that. It was necessary. Older Danny had done a good job. He wiped his eyes. Tim gently touched his arm. Danny turned and flung himself at his brother the older boy, sobbing. He felt bad. Timâs apartment had gotten destroyed because of Danny.Â
Danny clung to Tim. He didnât let anyone else take him. Tim grappled them to the Batcave. His Javelin toy had been destroyed. Danny decided to ignore the fact that there was a smaller tracker in the body of the plane. It was obvious that was how Tim had found him a few days ago when heâd hid between the air conditioner units. The astronaut bear had survived though. Dick - Nightwing - wanted to take him, but Danny refused to let go of Tim. He even turned intangible a bit so Dickâs hands would go right through him. Danny didnât want to leave his older brother person.Â
There was a lot of arguing. None of them knew what to make of Dannyâs affliction. Thatâs what they called his ghost form. Theyâd apparently dealt with ectoplasm Lazarus Pit water before. Jason especially. They hadnât become half ghosts like Danny though. It sounded like they didnât even know what that was. Tim tried to convince Danny to talk, to speak up and explain what he knew. He just grumbled and told them not now. He was still hurting. He didnât want to sleep yet. But Nocturne was calling for him, dragging him under. He let himself succumb.Â
***
He had nightmares. Could they be called that, if they were just repeats of what had happened that day? His harsh words to his mother and her walking away. Danny woke up a few times that night, tears falling down his cheeks and a whimper stuck in his throat. Each time he was encouraged to fall back asleep by a large, warm hand that would stroke his hair and tucked a soft blanket around him. After the fitful night, he woke up.Â
Danny was still in the cave. He was on a cot, surrounded with soft blankets. During the night, someone must have given him the bear, as he was cuddling it. It was soothing, to cling to it. To bury his face in its soft fur. He ignored the man in the chair next to the cot. His father.Â
âHow are you feeling?â His father, Batman, asked. He wasnât in his Batman gear anymore. Just a dark turtleneck and slacks. He looked tired. Danny shrugged, not wanting to talk. He looked around. Where was Tim? He wanted Tim.Â
Danny didnât answer his dad. He really didnât know what to make of the man. Bruce had been okay, if a bit overbearing at the observatory. Heâd spent a lot of the time watching Danny and Damian and keeping Damian from exploding when Danny pressed his buttons. Batman had chased and chased after him. Just wanting to catch him and keep him. What did he want with Danny? He just wanted Tim. Tim was safe and nice and would explain things. He would give Danny a choice instead of just forcing him to do what he wanted.Â
That was why Danny liked Tim.Â
âDanny?â Batman asked, watching him carefully.Â
âWhereâs Tim?â Danny asked softly. He had regained some of his strength. He could turn invisible and intangible for a bit. Probably. The problem was that he didnât know where Tim was.Â
âTim is upstairs in his room sleeping. Did you want to see him?â Danny blinked in surprise and nodded. âFollow me.âÂ
He hadnât been expecting that. Grabbing the astronaut bear, Danny followed Batman/Bruce through the cave and to an elevator. He stood on the opposite end during the ride up, glancing at his father often. They exited through a clock? It was a cool secret door. He followed Bruce down some halls and up a set of stairs. He knocked on a door.Â
âTim? Are you awake? Thereâs someone who wants to see you.â There was a groan from within.Â
Danny perked up. That was totally Tim! Turning intangible, he ran through the closed door and into the dark room. He jumped on the bed. Sure enough, eyes barely open, that was Tim. Danny crawled up towards his brotherâs personâs face. He laid down in the crook of the other manâs arms, nuzzling into Timâs chest. Danny felt better here. Safer. The door opened and a triangle of light fell onto the bed. Tim groaned, and hand flying up to protect his eyes.Â
âItâs way too early for this,â Tim complained. There was a light chuckle from the door.Â
âChum, itâs nearly noon.âÂ
âLies,â Tim said with a sigh. He sad up a bit, jostling Danny. Tim looked down, seeming to realize Danny was there. âCoffee. I need so much coffee.â
Right. Heâd only been with Tim for a day or two, but he already knew that his brother didnât function very well without his caffeine. Tim staggered out of bed, fumbling to get into his slippers. Danny slid down to follow him. Should he go for Timâs hand? Yes, he wanted to hold it. Using a burst of courage, he took Timâs hand. Tim stopped in the hallway, looking down at their joined hands. Oh no. Did Tim not want to hold hands?!? Dannyâs face burned and he tried to let go. Except⊠he couldnât. Tim gripped his hand tightly, then resumed walking, Danny following in surprise. There was a hum from behind them. Right. Bruce. He was still there. Danny had kinda forgotten about him.Â
The dining room was empty, so they went into the kitchen. Tim still held his hand as he began to fill the coffee machine with ground beans and water. It was rather funny watching. Mr. Pennyworth came out from what Danny suspected was a pantry.Â
âMaster Timothy. Wonderful to see you up and about. Iâd feared we wouldnât see you until supper.â Oooh. Mr. Pennyworth had some sass and snark to him! Danny giggled.Â
âMaster Danny. Wonderful to see you. Would you like some hot chocolate? Lunch will be ready in half an hour. Can you boys wait that long?â Mr. Pennyworth asked this as he confidently strode through the kitchen; checking in the oven, stirring a pot on the stove, and washing lettuce for a salad.Â
âYes, I would like some hot chocolate. Thank you,â Danny responded. He liked Mr. Pennyworth, so heâd be polite.Â
âI can wait till lunch is ready. Although I wouldnât mind a small snackâŠâ Tim said, sitting down at the table.Â
Danny sat down next to him. Bruce sat across from them. Before he knew it, hot chocolate was placed before him. He sipped on it and Tim drank his coffee. Bruce was just watching them. Danny did his best to ignore his father. He still had his bear. He wished he had his javelin. It was sad that itâd gotten broken the other day. Alfred gave them a plate with some crackers, cheese, and little meats. It was basically a charcuterie board. It was yummy and he kept going. He stopped when heâd eaten about half of the board. Tim had eaten some along with him.Â
The silence was awkward.Â
He wasnât going to break it though.Â
When Mr. Pennyworth told them lunch was ready, all three of them walked to the dining room. Danny made sure to grab Timâs hand again. Danny wasnât expecting others to be there. He saw Dick, Jason, Damian, and two women. One had blonde hair, the other black. That could only mean Spoiler and Black Bat. Dick got up as they walked in. He had a large grin on his face. He pulled back the chair Tim had been heading towards. Dick patted it.Â
âThanks?â Tim sounded confused. Thatâs okay, Danny was confused too. He didnât see a whoopie cushion or anything on the seat, but that didnât mean there wasnât some sort of hidden prank. Tim sat down. Danny let go, as he was going to sit in his own seat. Even if he would have a hard time looking over the edge of the table. Danny was rather small for a five year old. Heâd been taller at five in his previous life.Â
Danny got what Dick was doing when he felt himself get picked up. Except. Danny didnât want to be touched by Dick. He didnât want to be picked up by Dick. He only trusted Tim right now. So he unleashed some of his freeze powers to make Dick let him go! He growled, angry at being picked up without his consent. Danny stopped as soon as he was placed in Timâs lap.Â
Oh.
Okay, maybe he could somewhat forgive Dick for that. Danny turned to look at Dick, wincing when he saw the blue and purple hands. There were even little ice crystals on there. The entire room was tense, and there were tears in his eyes as he was trying to hold onto a smile.Â
âIâm sorry. I didnât know what you were doing,â Danny explained guiltily. âIâll fix it.âHe reached out, to try and draw the ice and cold back into him. He could do that.Â
Probably.Â
Thankfully it worked as Dickâs skin returned to normal.Â
âNote to self. Donât pick up the baby without getting his consent,â the blonde woman muttered.Â
âItâs alright, I know you didnât mean it. Iâll know better for next time,â Dick said. Danny wasnât sure if he really was forgiven. He cuddled closer to his brother. Dick pushed the chair in, so Danny and Tim were in the same seat.Â
***
When Tim had gone to sleep last night, heâd acknowledged that Danny, Damianâs biological little brother, was attached to him. It was becoming all the more clear how attached to Tim he was. The selfish part of him loved it. Heâd always wanted a little brother. When Damian had first arrived, heâd been so excited. That feeling had been killed quickly. Danny though. He trusted Tim, and no one else. Tim was the first person he looked to. Danny had tried to protect Tim, when Dick had come in unannounced the other day, using his powers to density shift both of them.Â
Tim felt sorry for Bruce, that there was another son that wasnât really accepting him. But he couldnât help feeling happy that Danny loved him and no one else. Heâd been jealous of the closeness between Dick and Damian. Now though. Now he had a chance to have that relationship with Danny.Â
A close brotherly relationship that heâd always wanted but hadnât really gotten with Dick, Damian, or Jason.
