Danny fidgeted as Vlad finished tying the knot of Danny’s tie. He couldn’t believe Vlad was making him put on another monkey suit. How did he even get another one so quickly? Rich people and their hacks.
“Remind me, why do I have to wear this monkey suit again?”
“First impressions, Daniel. We have to show our best selves. Smile, little badger.”
“Fuck off, Vlad. Besides, they already met me once, and I don’t think it was a good first impression.”
“You only met Jason and Dick Grayson. I say you have a good chance of making a good first impression on the other kids and on Bruce Wayne.”
“I doubt they’ll think a monkey suit is going to do all that. I swear, if they’re wearing jeans and t-shirts, I’m going to riot, Vlad. I don’t want to be the only one in this.”
“I’m sure they won’t be. Besides, I’ll be wearing a suit, too.”
“Whatever. Just promise you won’t overshadow the man. It could end badly if you make Jason’s adoptive father sign all rights away to his company.”
“Really, Daniel, I have more self-control than that, and I have my own money now. There, perfect. Ta-da.”
Vlad turned Danny around so he could look at himself in the full-length mirror.
“Ancients, I look like a tool.”
“Nonsense, Daniel. You look very handsome.”
Danny made a gagging noise, “Eww, don’t ever call me handsome again. It sounds weird coming out of your mouth.”
Vlad ignored him and put on his solid-gold cufflinks. It seemed tacky to Danny, but in a rich man’s world, he guessed it was the greatest fashion.
Danny sighed. He didn’t know how he ended up caught in the middle of Vlad’s family drama, but for the first time, it had nothing to do with him, and he could just enjoy the show. Danny tugged at the tie, loosening the knot a little, and followed after Vlad.
Danny glared at Vlad. Vlad ignored him.
Bruce was wearing a navy-blue linen shirt with black slacks, but the rest of the kids were wearing jeans and expensive polo shirts. Hell, Jason was wearing a pair of ripped and oil-stained jeans and a red t-shirt. All the kids looked Danny up and down. He couldn’t help but blush. Ancients, he was dressed up to the nines while everyone else looked like normal people.
He was going to kill Vlad.
The balding butler who had opened the door stood by Mr. Wayne’s side and gave a small bow.
“Mr. Masters, Mr. Daniel, welcome to Wayne Manor. I am the Waynes’ Butler and will be happy to serve you however you need it.”
“It’s Danny,” he said automatically.
“Of course, Mr. Danny. I do apologize. Dinner will be ready in a few. Why don’t you follow me to the drawing room, where I can serve you tea and biscuits while you wait?”
Wayne’s kids all watched, or, in the youngest’s case, glared, at Danny and Vlad. Danny ignored them and looked at the paintings hanging on the walls. He felt judged by the people in the paintings. Great.
Eventually, they made it to a room with big windows and old, but comfortable furniture. Despite its name, there were no drawing materials or paintings. Danny sat on the sofa with Vlad by his side. An Asian teenage girl with short black hair and piercing brown eyes sat directly in front of him. She stared at him as if she was staring deep into his soul. He felt a shiver go up his spine and tried to get out through his breath.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out the girl in front of him had also died.
Actually, either the place was haunted—a very distinct possibility it was—or more than just Jason and the girl in front of him had died before. Now, why would a billionaire’s adopted children be so death-touched?
They sat in awkward silence, staring at each other. Well, Jason was glaring, but close enough. Wayne suddenly cleared his throat.
“Kids, why don’t you show Danny around while I talk with Mr. Masters?”
Danny’s glare matched Jason’s. Wayne was trying to get rid of them. He looked at Vlad, who was sipping a cup of tea as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He put the tea cup on the saucer and turned to Danny.
“Daniel, go with Mr. Wayne’s children. He and I need to talk.”
Danny looked at Vlad before nodding, tense. He wasn’t looking forward to being stuck with a bunch of kids he didn’t know—well, Dick wasn’t a kid—but he knew that Vlad needed to talk to Wayne. So, he got up and followed the kids. He was tempted to leave behind a clone invisibly, but then discarded the idea. Vlad would have to be on his own for this.
The door closed softly behind Danny. Jason didn’t move from his corner. Bruce turned toward his son.
“Jason, please, I want to talk with Mr. Masters alone.”
His glare turned downright deadly. Masters didn’t seem affected by it. He sighed.
“No, this has to do with me, which means I get to listen in on the conversation.”
“Don’t you ‘Jason’ me. I’m a full-ass grown man and deserve to be here.”
“Really, Mr. Wayne. If he wants to stay, let him. As he said, he’s a grown man, unless there are secrets you don’t want him to know.”
Vlad gave a smarmy smirk. Bruce glared at the man. Vlad frowned at Bruce’s glare and stared at Jason’s identical one. Bruce felt like smirking himself, after all, he had shown his children how to glare, and he knew they all copied him in that regard.
Bruce took a deep breath and turned toward Jason.
“Please, son. I want to talk to Mr. Masters, father to father.”
Jason scowled but left without another word. Masters picked up his tea cup and sipped it calmly. Bruce stayed silent. He knew how to weaponize silence, after all, most people got uncomfortable in it and tended to blab just to fill it.
The clock ticked. Masters continued with his tea.
“Really, Mr. Wayne, I’m flattered but I don’t swing that way.”
The smarmy smirk had returned. Bruce said nothing. He had long since become used to sexual innuendos.
“What do you want with my son?”
A quick frown marred his face before the smarmy expression came back.
“My son deserves to know his biological father, don’t you think?”
“Mr. Masters, I’ve noticed some discrepancies with how you’ve obtained your wealth. How do I know you did it through legal means? How do I know you’re not using Jason to try to get to my wealth? My son has gone through enough; he doesn’t need a stranger trying to use him.”
For the first time, Vlad Masters looked angry—no, livid.
“How dare you, Mr. Wayne? I have been looking for my son for a long time. Ever since Sheila Haywood took him away from me! I have my own wealth; I don’t need to go after yours!”
“If that’s true, why didn’t you contact me sooner?”
“I found out about Jason after his death. Why should I have contacted you only to be told that he was dead? Though I do regret it now, since he’s back.”
“Why didn’t you want to contact me? You could’ve gotten pictures, stories, mementos. I can’t think of a reason a father who had been looking for his son wouldn’t show up and demand more.”
Vlad said nothing. He didn’t want to contact Wayne because he didn’t trust the man. There was something predatoryabout Bruce Wayne, and Vlad’s instincts had told him to stay away. It’s one of the reasons he had never gone after Lex Luther.
“What does it matter, Mr. Wayne? You know I’m his biological father. I want to get to know Jason. Besides, isn’t it up to him if he wants me in his life or not?”
“Mr. Masters, I’ll ask point-blank. Are you a meta? Is that how you acquired your wealth?”
“Mr. Wayne, I acquired my wealth through pure business skills. I tend to favor hostile takeovers.”
“Funny, I haven’t seen any kind of documentation or loans from banks. You were from a middle-class family, yet somehow, seemingly overnight, you were able to build a multi-billion-dollar company.”
Vlad took a sip of his tea. It was getting cold.
“I’m just that good, Mr. Wayne.”
“The people who have signed over their companies have claimed they don’t remember doing so.”
“Well, they should go get their head checked, then.”
Bruce stood up, hoping to use his height to cow Vlad.
“I don’t care how you’ve gained your wealth. All I care about is that you don’t hurt Jason,” and it was true. Bruce Wayne didn’t care about any illegal things Vlad had done. He could continue investigating and, if he found concrete proof, bring the man to justice. Right now, all he wanted was to make sure his child was safe.
“If you hurt Jason in any way, shape, or form, I’ll make you wish, Masters, that you never had set eyes on my son.”
“If I ever hurt Jason, I would like you to do the same.”
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