#writing emerald

“Got it. I’ll round up the others and meet you at the Tower.” 

“Thanks.” Donna almost ended the call, but stopped. “And Nightwing?” 

“Yeah?” His voice was half distracted as he sought out where the other bats were currently. 

“I’m going to need your help to keep them all from falling apart.” 

“Don’t worry Donna. I’ve got your back.” 

.

Cassie was baffled by her mission. How was it that there was a group of heroes that had flown completely under the radar of the Justice League, yet had somehow earned the respect of the Olympians? Her list had a bunch of different names on it, but all had the same location. She had looked up the names in the JL systems as she flew from Olympus to the middle of nowhere Illinois. None of the people were in the database. Red Robin would be pissed if he knew. 

Even more concerning was the fact that there wasn’t even a town listed at the coordinates. Batman insisted that the League had the best satellites with the best cameras and there was nothing in the area. There weren’t even any JL calls! If there were a bunch of heroes who had been facing things that had been known to the Olympians, there should have been some calls from civilians for help right? 

She was really hoping this wasn’t some kind of weird murder-cult or unsanctioned government organization. She hated dealing with those, and for now she would be on her own. Young Justice got up to a lot of weird stuff that didn’t make it into the League reports, especially under Red Robin’s leadership, and this might top all the rest. 

Cassie landed just on the outskirts of what appeared to be a regular suburban town. Her eyebrows rose at the sign that welcomed her to Amity Park. Underneath the city’s name had previously been an older town slogan, she could still read the faded letters even though the words themselves had been removed, “The Most Haunted City in the US!” Over those faded marks was a new slogan, “A Place to Live.” Clearly the slogan had changed recently, with a real half-assed effort. 

Over top the new slogan was some graffiti in a neon green spray paint that crossed out the other words and said, “Welcome to Hell.” She supposed it only made sense for someone who would replace Hades as the lord of the Underworld to live in a place like this. She sighed to herself, switched her uniform to her more stealth focused look and crept past the city limits. 

Her feelings of concern grew when she saw what was clearly a government blockade stretching across the road into the rest of the city proper. Multiple all white vans blocked all out going traffic and the in going road was limited to a single lane. She could make out multiple government goons in tacky white suits carrying all manner of glowing green weapons; blasters, rifles, even what looked like a bazooka. 

A fence extended from the blockade and seemed to wrap around the entire city. The fence was topped with barbed wire and had strange sensors every few yards. She pulled a few wires, and connected them to the small palm computer she carried with her equipment. She might not be as techy as Red Robin and Impulse were, but she was better than Superboy, and Red Robin made sure they were all equipped to handle the basics of infiltration and espionage. 

Whatever the sensors were searching for, and it wasn’t movement, heat, radiation or anything else she could figure out on her own, they also didn’t detect her. There didn’t appear to be any cameras that she could see, so the goons were solely dependent on these sensors. This was becoming even more of a mystery, and she hadn’t even found Phantom yet. 

Cassie lifted off, flying easily over the fence to land on the other side. Both the goons at the gate and the sensors were aimed at the sky, so she had to imagine that whatever they were trying to contain was a known flier. Even if the sensors couldn’t detect her, she would have an easier time avoiding problems on the ground even if it would take longer to get around. 

She walked quickly into the mid-sized town from the outskirts and her concerns only grew. There were hardly any cars on the roads, which made perfect sense considering the road was pocked with massive craters like the town had been bombarded by meteors. The few citizens she could see hurried by as if afraid to be caught out on the streets. 

This was a city under siege, but from what? 

Also, why hadn’t the Justice League been called? 

Cassie had a bad feeling that she wouldn’t like the answer to either of those questions. 

She hurried through, her eyes peeled for any threat, as well as on the look out for the mysterious Phantom she was supposed to be making contact with. There were stores boarded up, more sensors along with loud speakers on tall poles, and posters warning the populace about a curfew. 

Cassie ducked into an alley at the sound of squealing tires. Her eyes just about bugged out of her head as a silver tank, with that same neon green detailing barreled around the corner. It took out a stop light, then without stopping carried on down to the other end of the street. The tank had what  she could only describe as a cannon on its roof, that same eerie green glow to it. 

She had fought alongside Superboy often enough that her first thought was Kryptonite, but unless there were somehow an entire city of secret Kryptonians, it didn’t make sense for them to carry weapons specifically against the Supers. She leaned out into the street to see if she could see which way it was going, or if there was any sign of what a tank like that was needed for. 

“Hey! Get out of the streets!” A voice hissed to her from the opposite alley way. 

Cassie whipped her head up. There in the opposite alley were two teenagers, desperately waving her over. She double checked that the tank had turned the corner and wasn’t in sight and she ran across to them. They pulled her away from the street into the back alley behind one of the businesses. 

She looked the two of them over once they were no longer moving. The girl was goth, with dark hair, pale skin, a leather jacket, and backpack with several plants hanging out of it. Cassie thought she might get along very well with Raven. The boy had dark skin, a ratty and stained beanie and the oldest PDA she had ever seen even if it looked modded to Hades and back. He would probably get along entirely too well with Red Robin. She would have to keep the two of them apart. 

The boy was watching back the way they had come, his PDA in his hand as he checked for any followers. The girl was watching with Cassie with the same examining glare she was used to from Batman. 

“What are you doing?” The girl snapped her question out. “We told all teenagers to stay off the streets. It's not safe with the GIW on patrol!” 

Cassie ratcheted up her mental alarm scale quite a bit. This whole town already had so many red flags it looked like a ski slope, and now she was adding even more. She set her feet and squared her shoulders. She was a member of Young Justice. She wasn’t going to let this happen. 

“I need you two to tell me everything you know. I’m called Wonder Girl and I’m with the Justice League and I’m here to help.” Cassie said, using her “Daughter of Zeus” voice that she reserved for during a crisis. Impulse always said he could hear thunder in her voice when she did that. 

“What’s the Justice League?” The boy asked, and Cassie was knocked onto her back foot. She had purposely said the main League because people sometimes looked down on YJ and TT because they were kids, but how could someone not even know about the Justice League? They were in the news almost every day for one reason or another. 

“Uh, the Justice League is a group of heroes that protect Earth? They’ve fought off alien invasions and saved lives and things like that? Because of my strength I usually help fight off meta humans who want to conquer the world or steal stuff.” 

The two teens looked completely baffled and Cassie just gave up trying to catalog the red flags in this town and just marked the whole thing as FUBAR. She would probably need the help of the rest of Young Justice to get this sorted, or maybe even the full League. 

“Well, ‘Wonder Girl’ my name’s Sam and-”

“Wait, Samantha Manson?” Cassie ignored the implied finger quotes around her hero name in her excitement that she may have just found one of the people she was looking for. 

“My name is Sam.” Sam snapped. 

Cassie ignored her clear irritation and unrolled the scroll she had been given, ice and frost cracking and flaking off as she did so. If Sam Manson was here, it made sense that she would know the other heroes the Olympians were looking for. Cassie closely examined the list she had before looking up at the boy. He didn’t look like a Jazz, or Danielle, he might be a Dan or Phantom himself, but considering his collection of tech she could see, she had a good guess of who he could be. 

“And that means, you must be Tucker Foley!” Cassie said triumphantly. 

Both of the teens now looked at her with even more wariness than before. That made sense considering what Cassie had seen, but she now had part of her mission objective in front of her. She dismissed the stealth mode on her costume, flicked her wrist to unfurl her lightning lasso and allowed some of her ‘demi-god aura’ out. 

“I am from the Justice League, and I am a hero, but I am also a daughter of Zeus, and I have been sent here on a mission from Olympus to summon the heroes of this town to come to our aid. It is only right that I assist you in any way I can from the troubles you currently face.” 

Cassie hadn't wanted to bring it up, but the gods around them did seem... older... weaker than they ever had been. They were still far over any mortal, but even with all the gathered Olympians the air was suffocated by their power like it had been even a few years before.

"Is there some way we can assist?" Donna asked, looking around them and no doubt cataloging the same changes Cassie had noticed.

Hera smiled at the trio of Wonder Women.

"Your noble spirit is why we have summoned you, but there is nothing that can be done to save us now." The words had a weight of surety to them. Everything had already been tried. The end of the Olympians was inevitable.

"The worship from the mortals has declined in recent centuries." The ground rumbled and shook under her feet as Poseidon spoke. "We are not as powerful now as we were a decade ago and in another decade more our infirmity will only grow."

Hades spoke next, his voice cracking with cold that stole Cassie's breath away. "There were some of us who felt we should just fade away, if the mortals no longer wished to worship us, then they can see how well they do without our influence over our domains."

"However, the rest of us wanted to ensure our domains remained to serve the humans even after our passing." Hera said, her words like a gavel. "The solution we have reached is to pass on our mantels to new, worthy successors. Those who have some skill with our domains, unshakable moral codes, and a deep love for their fellow mortals."

Cassie pondered the words of the Gods in the following silence. Then her eyes widened and her head whipped up to meet the eyes of Zeus who smiled at them as she gasped.

"Yes, we plan to pass on our duties to heroes such as yourselves." He declared, his arms open, magnanimously.

Cassie could see that Donna and Diana were as shocked as she was, though both of them kept their gasps silent. Diana gave a short bow.

"If there is no other way, than is a duty I can bare." She said.

"Not you Diana." Hades said, his empty eyes capturing them each in turn. "You have your own purpose among the new Pantheon, God-killer."

Diana stiffened and rose to face the Olympians once more, her shoulders set. Hera was the one to speak next.

"We decided those best to handle the weight of the cosmos would be those who are young enough to grow into their new roles. There are many such young heroes in your world who could train alongside us before our decline is complete."

"And if they should fall short of your standards, you expect me to serve as their executioner." Diana's disdain could have only been more clear if she had spat on the floor.

"Yes." Poseidon snapped like the crash of wave. "The power we have, that we are offering is too great to exist without some kind of check to prevent its abuse."

"Besides," spoke Athena for the first time, her eyes still filled with power despite her declining worship. "How many problems have been created for the mortals by the petty squabbles of those who sit on these thrones? We believe you, Diana, will be a worthy mentor for our successors, but you will not be among them. Always apart, always with your sword ready."

Diana's fury burned off her in waves, hating the idea that she would have to turn her blade against some of the junior heroes that she had helped raise, and seen grow up. Cassie swore she could hear her grinding her teeth and was afraid that Diana would decide to end the Pantheon right there.

"So! Who is it you have decided to be your successors?" Donna spoke up quickly, clearly thinking the same thing Cassie was.

"We have consulted the greatest oracles and soothsayers and each of us have chosen one who will suit." Hera said. "Zeus, why don't you go first."

Zeus held his hands out towards Donna. His eyes locked on hers. He stepped down from his dais as Donna stepped back, her eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Who else could take my place other than the sister of our dear Diana, who has proven her metal through lifetimes of strength and suffering. Donna Troy, you will be the next Queen of Olympus."

Donna looked like she might pass out, but shook the shock off and stood firm, earning her a proud smile from Zeus. Cassie patted her on the back, proud of her idol for everything she has accomplished.

"And you Cassandra, daughter of Zeus will take my place as the Goddess of War." Ares declared. "As you should."

Cassie carefully kept her snarl inside, her problems with her "brother" Ares was better left for when she was away from the rest of the Pantheon. At least if she were the Goddess of War, she wouldn't revel in the violence like he always did.

"We will not transfer our power now." Zeus spoke up again, returning to his throne. "Once the New Pantheon is assembled we will hand over our mantels, retaining only a fraction of our power to train our successors."

"Your responsibilities, and the reason we called you first, is so that you may notify those who will join you by your side." Hera said, settling to the details of their mission. "Diana, you will inform the mentors of these young heroes to prevent a panic. Diana, many of these are known to you, and you are known to them, so you will be the primary contact."

Hermes and Athena stepped forward to hand off scrolls to the two of them. Cassie fought to keep her emotions neutral. She would help no one by pouting at being redundant. Diana and Donna looked closely at the scrolls, their faces journeying through emotions as they considered the names.

"And you Cassandra," Cassie looked up in surprise at being addressed by Hades. "There are other heroes that you must reach out to who are not known to your organization, including my own successor."

"Secret would be a perfect-" Cassie started, quick to suggest her own teammate before Hades cut her off.

"No!" He snapped, the word stealing her breath away, forcing her to gasp and clutch her chest. "Your companion does have skills with regards to my domain, but there is another whose power and dominion of death is absolute. He is already a king in his own right, and his connection to life remains strong enough that he would be able to sympathize with the mortals. While he is unknown to your Justice League he is know and beloved to me."

Cassie nodded her head as another scroll, this one cold as ice was handed to her by Hermes. She couldn't help but be impressed by whoever this person is. She hadn't heard Hades call anything beloved other than Persephone in all the time she had known him. She looked at the names and coordinates on the scroll.

He emerged from the shadows, his customary glare firmly affixed to his face. She smiled at him and playfully adjusted the zipper on her skin tight suit. Despite all of his iron will power he still couldn’t help a glance at her generous cleavage. 

“Mom?”

Her eyebrows pulled down in confusion and she glanced around the rooftop. Batman strode toward her, his usual imposing figure ruined by the fact that she had seen him completely naked and that she wasn’t paying attention to his attempts at intimidating her. 

“Catwoman, you need to return what you’ve stolen. And come in for questioning about the missing diamonds from Starlabs.” 

“Mom! I need you!”

She whirled around. There was a tugging sensation on her heart as she heard those words she had desperately wanted to hear for so long. Fifteen years had passed since she had last had hope of actually hearing someone call her that. 

“Selina? What-?”

“Can it Bats.” Selina snapped as she tried to follow the tugging on her heart, but she couldn’t find any source for the voice. 

Green mist began seeping out from around her feet, forming a circle on the rooftop and the tugging grew stronger. The mist was rising up and obscuring everything around her. She could only barely make out Bruce’s growing look of concern. 

“Mom! He’s going to kill me!”

“Alan?!” Selina all but shrieked the name of the boy that had been taken from her. (Name borrowed from BatCat Spectre on AO3, Check it out!)

“Selina!” Bruce shouted just as the toxic green mist fully filled her vision and the tugging sensation grew to encompass her entire body. In the seconds she had she adjusted her costume for combat and bared the claws built into her gloves. If Alan was calling her for help, he would find her ready and willing. 

“Mom, please hurry!” The voice that had sounded distant and distorted suddenly grew close and clear as the mist began to vanish from her sight. 

Selina spun on her heel quickly taking in the boy cowering in the corner wearing an oversized NASA hoodie and the vampire? that was standing over his huddled form. Years of thieving and going toe to toe with the Bats had left Selina with incredible instincts and she used them now as she reacted. She raked her claws across the figure that towered over her son multiple times, drawing blood across his back, chest and face. She didn’t know if the sedative laced in her claws would affect this kind of creature, but the slash certainly got its attention. 

The being immediately spun, faster than any human could move to grab her around the throat. She dug her claws into his hand and wrist, digging for his tendons even as she was lifted off her feet with one hand. 

“Ah. The infamous Catwoman. This is who you summon for help? And here I thought you were calling your mother. You know very well, Little Badger, that Maddie has better things to do than come to your rescue.” The vampire said, seemingly unaffected by her ripping his hand to ribbons. “But I must thank you for delivering her. When I overshadow her I will have the best thief in the world under my control.” 

Through her fading vision she could see his eyes glowing with a red light and could feel some strange force pressing down on her mind, even as she went through all the exercises Bruce had taught in how to resist mind control. 

“You don’t get to touch her!” The same young voice that had called for her before shouted out. 

Then her vision was once again filled with overwhelming, toxic green light. She fell to the ground released from the hold on her throat and the pressure on her mind disappeared in the same instant. She gasped for air then stood and braced herself for combat. 

“Oh, Ancients! I’m so sorry!” The boy, who looked so much like Bruce cried as he jumped to her side to make sure she was alright. 

Selina looked around for their assailant but all she could see was a smoking hole dug through the building. She couldn’t help but let her eyes widen at the clear power Alan possessed. 

“I was trying to summon my mom to come and help me, but for some reason you came instead. It’s like when I tried to summon my sister and I kept getting all the different bat boys from Gotham. Like I got Nightwing and Red Robin. I even got a cow once when I tried to summon my pet!” 

The boy kept talking at a rapid pace as he checked her for injuries. If it weren’t for having been around Dick when he was Robin she might have been able to understand Alan as he was speaking. Selina felt a chill around her neck that eased the pain in her throat. Something in his words stuck out to her. 

“Did you try to summon your sister or your sibling?”  She asked, looking over the boy curiously. 

Warning bells were ringing in her head as she examined him. He was far too thin and for how tall she and Bruce were he should be much taller at fifteen, almost sixteen. He had dark bags under his eyes and cuts on his face. When he came to her side he moved with a noticeable limp, and he held one of his arms awkwardly close to his body. 

“Uh. Sibling I think. Ghost Speak applies more weight to title than gender. Wait, why are we discussing summing semantics when Plasmius is still out there?”

“Plasmius?” Selina growled the name out even as her mind was racing at his words. 

He had tried to summon his sibling and had gotten Dick and Tim. He tried to summon his pet and had gotten Bruce’s pet. He had tried to summon his mother and he got her. She  mentally preened as the thought occurred to her. Whatever summoning ritual he had used clearly knew he was her family. But she still had the current problem to deal with before she could celebrate finding her son. 

“Yeah Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius, floating vampire wanna-be, with the terrible dress code of someone who slept through the last century even though I know he was born in the eighties at the latest. He’s way more angry than he usually is but he’s obsessed with my mom, er, my uh, adopted mom. So I thought she would snap him out of it. Now come on, I need to break the ritual connection and send you back before you get hurt again.” 

Alan dragged her back towards the glowing green sigil on the ground, but Selina dug her heels in and stopped him. He looked past her, desperation on his face, but he must have hit this Plasmius harder than he thought because he still wasn’t back. 

“Alan, you called for help. Do you really think you’re going to just send me away?”

“Wait, Alan? Why are you calling me-? Never mind. I promise I can handle him myself. He’s never beaten me before no matter how close it’s gotten and I’m sure I can handle him now even as angry and nuts as he is now.”

“Absolutely not! I lost you fourteen years ago, I’m not going to turn my back on you now!” 

The poor boy seemed frozen by her declaration. He had stopped trying to pull her towards the sigil, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. Worst to her was the anguish on his face and the tears starting to shine in his eyes. What was wrong with Alan’s life that he had never had someone to protect him before. 

“Now, tell me how to fight this guy, and quickly!”

He looked at her for another second, seemingly trying to read her very soul before he nodded. He stepped back from her and a blinding ring of light covered his body. Selina panicked for a moment before the flash of light vanished and Alan reappeared. He was floating, and all of the color had been bleached from his appearance other than his previously blue eyes turning a bright toxic green, but she could still tell that he was her Alan, just like she had been able to tell from the moment she set eyes on him. 

“Ok. I didn’t want to show you my powers, but I can’t risk you getting hurt because I’m not doing my best.” He quickly floated over to a backpack in the corner and dug something out and tossed it to her. “Put that on! It will protect you from getting overshadowed. Er, humans call it getting possessed.” 

Selina briefly examined what she now saw was a quite frankly hideous bracelet. This is exactly the type of trap someone who had never been bossed around by Batman would fall into, just slip on the bracelet that is said to protect you from mind control and immediately open yourself to actual mind control. Bruce would never put the bracelet on without a hundred questions. It was exactly the type of trap Selina was going to jump into. She had to trust the feeling in her heart and the look in Alan’s eyes that he wasn’t going to hurt her. She snapped the bracelet around her wrist. 

“Oh perfect.” Alan was visibly relaxed seeing her protected, and he immediately stood back up and grabbed her hand to examine her claws. “So Vlad Plasmius is a ghost. He can phase through materials and turn invisible. If he disappears be careful but he should still be visible on thermal vision as a warm patch. He has a flame core. Your weapons and armor aren’t going to do anything, you only got those early attacks off because he was surprised.” 

Alan examined her claws for a moment then nodded to himself a smirk on his face. Another chill spread across her hands, even colder than what she had felt on her neck. Ice formed around each of her fingers and spread up her wrist to her elbow. Her usual claws were now covered with massive talons that were supported all the way down to bracers that formed on each wrist. Selina couldn’t help but feel proud at Alan’s clear skill with his powers. She wasn’t sure where or how he had gotten powers, but now wasn’t the time to ask. 

“Phantom!!!” A voice growled from the smoking hole in the wall. Alan turned to look, fear clear on his face before he returned to examining the rest of her body suit. Ice continued to flow from his hands in blue waves until almost every part of her was covered. “Phfffffffaaaaannntooommm!!!”

The lingering call seemed to be coming from every direction. Catwoman looked down at herself and was even more impressed at the ice armor her son had crafted for her. The ice was still light enough that her usual, very acrobatic, combat style wouldn’t be affected, yet covered her with leg and shin guards, arm guards and pauldrons and a flowing almost mech like armor on her torso. 

“Daniel! This is enough. You just need to listen to me and do what I say!” Plasmius shouted. 

Selina flexed her claws then darted to the side of the hole just before a pair of glowing red eyes shone into the room they were in. She looked over at Alan and now saw him standing almost fearlessly as his enemy entered the room. 

“I heard dear Maddie and that oaf, Jack had you down in their lab recently!” Selina decided to let Plasmius monologue as she navigated directly behind him. “And yet you’re still loyal to them and not to me!” 

Alan, Selina guessed he was known as Daniel here, grimaced at Plasmius’ words and she scowled, furious at him taking that tone with her son. She crouched, ready to pounce, waiting for the perfect moment. 

“Maybe all you need to learn your true place is to spend some time in my lab. I could do it too, fill jars with your organs and blood and leave you to rot on my lab table, just like your parents did!” 

Selina’s horrified shriek was the only warning Plasmius had before her claws were in his back and her weight was bearing him down to the floor. She rent his back as she pummeled him with her knees. Plasmius tried to buck her off but Alan, or Daniel grappled with him from the front. The ice on her claws and on her knee pads allowed her to tear into him. She tried to ignore the green that now covered her claws. She and Alan fought side by side keeping Plasmius on his toes and unable to use his more significant powers. 

Plasmius blasted Selina back and fired another blast at Alan. Selina shrugged the blast off with her armor, but cried out as she watched her son fall. A metallic cylinder flew through the air having been knocked from Alan’s grasp by the Plasmius. Selina caught the cylinder out of the air, a brief glance told her it was some kind of mechanical… thermos? 

“Mom! Use it!” Alan’s desperate cry snapped her back to reality even as Plasmius slammed into her son. Selina had not mourned her son for the past fourteen years for him to get hurt on her watch. It only took a moment for her to figure out the “ON” switch for the thermos and she aimed it at the man attacking her son. With a scream of rage and a flash of light he was sucked into the thermos and Selina was left alone with her son. She immediately fell to her knees at his side where she could see he was holding a burn at his side. 

“Alan? Or do you prefer Daniel?” She asked, trying to keep her voice soft and gentle. 

“Uh, Danny actually.” He said with a smile that could have been from her own high school yearbook. “Though, Alan… might not be so bad, eventually.” 

“Ok, Danny, are you ok? Do we need to get to a hospital?” 

“No!” His shout startled her, but she didn’t let herself pull back from his side. “I can’t go to a hospital, they’ll turn me in, they’ll tear me apart.” 

His voice fell away in a broken whine and she immediately curled her body around his, holding him tight. He started to shiver against her and she could feel sobs start to rack his too tiny body. 

“That will never happen again, do you hear me? You were taken from me when you were a baby and I thought you were dead. But you managed to find me, you’re so smart, so clever, you found me and I’m here now and I-”

Her words cut off as a green mist began to again swirl around her. Danny looked at her with sad eyes. 

“I’m exhausted. I can’t maintain the connection anymore.” He hesitated, looking away from her for a moment, before he looked back at her with an earnestness that startled her. “Are you really my mom? My birth mom?” 

“I am.” Selina spoke with more confidence than truth, but she didn’t care about truth, or DNA checks or anything the Bat would insist on. She felt it in her heart. This was her baby. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” The mist was swirling around her faster and faster, she did everything she could to stay focused on Danny’s face. “I’ll find you. I promise you, I’ll find you!” 

The green mist filled her vision and for just a moment she could feel skinny arms wrap tightly around her before the sensation faded along with the mist. Far too soon she was back on a rooftop in Gotham, breathing in the smog, still holding a thermos filled with someone who had threatened to disembowel her son. Selina threw her head back and howled her grief and rage at the sky that Danny wasn’t here any longer. She pulled the cowl of her costume off her head so she could dash tears from her eyes. 

“Selina? What happened?” Bruce’s gruff voice made her whirl around and he almost got a face full of ice covered claws. 

“Take me to the cave.” She stood on slightly shaky legs, clutching Danny’s enemy to her chest. 

“Catwoman, you’re not acting like yourself.” He tried to stonewall her, but she was not having it. Danny was out there, exhausted, injured and was being abused by the people who should have loved him. 

“Take me to the cave Bruce!” Selina snapped at him, already moving towards where he had parked the Batmobile. “And get your little listeners on the line, our son is out there, alive but in an abusive situation and I won’t allow him to get hurt any more.” 

The ride back to the Batcave was spent with Bruce mostly in a paranoid and sullen silence. She didn’t care. She just didn’t care. She loved Bruce, he was one of the most important people in her life, but their son, the baby they had made together, was even more important to her. Instead she spent the ride filling in Oracle with everything she knew. 

“His name is Danny, short for Daniel. His adoptive parents are named Jack and Maddie. They own a lab. A lab they held my son prisoner in.” Her voice broke and Batman almost drove off the road. Selina took a moment to gather herself, fiddling idly with the bracelet Danny had given her to keep her safe. Surprisingly it was still with her and the icy armor she was wearing wasn’t melting at all. The cold from the armor didn’t even feel uncomfortable. “He has wavy black hair, Bruce’s eyes, and my jaw. He’s about 5’3”, interested in NASA.” She leaned over to grab Bruce’s arm. “He’s too skinny, our kitten is too skinny.” 

The Batmobile thundered into the Batcave where to Bruce’s surprise most of the rest of his kids were waiting. Alan’s siblings in another life. The knowing look they sent her made her think that Oracle must have been keeping the rest of them updated as she spoke. Red Robin was typing away at the Batcomputer while Robin leaned over his shoulder looking at the screen. Signal was probably still in bed. The two Batgirls, Black Bat and Spoiler leaned casually against each other nearby.  Selina was surprised Nightwing wasn’t here. He, Red Hood and Oracle were the only ones who had really known that Alan had existed, much less that he had been taken from her and Bruce. 

Selina struggled with the armor Danny had made for her for a few minutes while Red Robin and Oracle searched for anyone who matched the description she had given in their systems. Eventually Cass and Steph joined her to help her shed the armor. They were both curious about it even as they helped her out of it. They, like her, ignored Bruce trying to integrate her about what she went through and check her for known mind control elements. It’s Cassandra who notices the bracelet on her wrist, something she would normally not be caught dead in. She examines it then lifts her eyebrows in surprise. She twists Selina’s wrist so she can see the bracelet where a logo is placed. 

“Fenton… Works. Fentonworks. Fentonworks!” Selina cheers as she reads the name out loud. Surely that could help them find Danny. “Search Fentonworks!”

There is a flurry of typing after her announcement both from Red Robin and from Oracle over the coms. It only takes a few more minutes of keys clacking, the noise grating against her already frayed nerves for Tim to cheer. She is at his side in a moment, looking at a hideously designed website for Fentonworks. Were these people incapable of actual aesthetically pleasing designs? The heavily modulated voice of Oracle began reading out information and coordinates of a city called Amity Park. 

They were getting more and more information, images flying across the screen of the Batcomputer. The Drs. Fenton. Their research and experiments on Ecto-entities. Their children, one biological Jasmine Fenton, one adopted true age and name unknown, renamed as Daniel Fenton. His social media was pulled up, where it was clear he went by Danny, his close friends Samantha and Tucker. More and more information, but Selina was staring at the picture of Danny like a man in a desert staring at an oasis. That was her boy. That was her son. He had called her for help, she had told him, promised him that she would find him again and she had. 

Suddenly the screen went dark. From the cries of anger and annoyance from the two boys it was clear it was not because of them. She looked over and saw Bruce near the power button for the screen, his cowl pulled back so she could see the suspicion in his eyes. 

“Selina, you’re not acting like yourself.” He said slowly, calmly. As if he were talking to a wild animal. “I think it would be best if you lied down, and I can call Martian Manhunter to check your mind. Our son vanished fourteen years ago. Survival rates for kidnapped children are miniscule for that length of time. Also our son couldn’t be a meta, neither of us have the meta gene. This person is manipulating your emotions. Probably to extract information from you.” 

Selina couldn’t help a sneer crossing her face. She regretted taking off her ice claws and armor. She would like to see how well the new attachments fared against the armor Batman wore. 

“You can be a paranoid bastard all you want. I’m taking one of your planes to Amity Park tonight.” 

Bruce tapped at something on his wrist computer. Her sneer curled up into a snarl, presumably he had just locked the planes. How dare he treat her like one of his Robins that he could just ground whenever he wanted to. Especially when their son was trapped in another state, injured and exhausted. 

“No.” Bruce’s curt answer cut into Selina’s already thin patience. She was about to start screaming when another voice cut in. 

“It may not be up to your decision any more, father.” Robin said, looking closely at his own wrist computer. “It looks like Richard rendezvoused with Todd at the secondary Batplane immediately after finding out about this person. As soon as they had coordinates they took off.” 

Bruce turned the monitor back on to reveal one of the locator beacons from one of the other Batplanes already leaving Gotham airspace. 

“Oracle. Shut the plane down remotely.” 

There is a long moment of silence of the coms before Oracle hesitantly rejoins the conversation. 

“I’m not going to do that.” Bruce looks like he wants to angrily reply but he is cut off as Barbara continues. “Catwoman knows enough about the risks of mind control to know when she’s being influenced. If there’s even a chance that there’s a child trapped in an abusive situation like she described, blood relative or not, meta or not, that child deserves to be freed from that situation. Red Hood and Nightwing are capable. They can retrieve the boy on their own.” 

Jason’s own modulated voice came through the coms next. 

“Don’t worry B, I’m here to restrain Dickiebird’s murderous impulses. We’re going to rescue our little brother, we’ll bring him home, Selina.” 

Selina walked up to the computer and pressed the com button there. 

“Be careful boys. His adoptive parents aren’t good people.” She hesitates, the desire so strong to tell them to make the Fentons pay, in blood if necessary. But she can’t do that. She can’t ask them to go against their code for her. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” 

“Understood, Selina.” Dick’s voice came through next. There was none of his usual cheer in his voice. “We’re switching to stealth mode now that we’re away from Gotham. We’ll be radio silent until either we have him safe and secure or something goes badly.”

Red Robin responds to the sign off. Selina can’t hear any more. She paces. Alfred convinces her to change into her civilian attire. She even showers on his recommendation. Then she’s back pacing the floor of the Batcave, her hair still damp. Red Robin eventually retires for some much needed sleep. Cassandra and Stephanie fall asleep cuddled together in their civies in the cave. Bruce the miserable, paranoid bastard just watches her. Every turn of her pacing she has to look at him. He’s still glaring at her, still thinking she’s been brainwashed or some such nonsense. 

Hours pass. 

Long hours of pacing. Long hours of flight over the midwest towards Amity Park. Long hours where Danny is hopefully safe and resting from his fight with Plasmius. Long hours where she could only pace and hold the thermos that held Danny’s enemy. The man who wanted to cut her baby open. 

The passing hours strained every last iota of her self restraint. She wanted to slap Bruce and scream at him for his pigheadedness. She wanted to let Plasmius free and shred him to pieces under her claws. She wanted to pull up the flight data for the Batplane and track it across the country, even though that would be useless while it was in stealth mode. 

Finally, just have dawn had broken, when Selina herself was starting to feel a little broken there came a crackle on the coms before a voice joined them. 

“Nightwing to Batcave, come in Batcave.” Dick’s voice came in loud and clear, startling both of the Batgirls awake. Selina immediately dashed to the computer, pressing the com button herself. 

“We can hear you, Nightwing. Do you have him?” Selina couldn’t keep the desperation out of her voice even if she tried. 

“Red Hood and I recovered one Daniel James Fenton, born Alan Thomas Kyle.” Selina could have jumped for joy, even as she wanted to laugh at his subtle dig at Bruce. The actual last name on Alan’s original birth certificate was Wayne. “We’ve also managed to recover his adopted sister, Jasmine, he wouldn’t leave Amity Park without her.” 

Selina could feel the tension from the night draining out of her and she collapsed into the computer chair in front of the Bat computer. Bruce stepped up to the consol next. 

“What of their parents?” He growled the question out. There was another long silence. Far longer than previous silences before Red Hood’s modulated voice came through the comms. 

“They’ll live.” A brief pause then, “Though I did burn down their house. Both of the children insisted and I needed to destroy something after everything we saw.” 

“They’ve been in a rough place for who even knows how many years. We’re going to bring the Batplane into the cave, have Agent A on stand-by.” Dick also hesitated for a moment. “Selina, we’re bringing him home.” 

Selina could almost sob in relief. 

This was not my intention to write something this long. I just hope you enjoy. If you like my writing, hang around! I’m going to be sharing some fully original pieces at the end of the month. 

@memecow1, @andaspoonfulofangst-whoops , @colornotes23, @theamazingfox , @spectralstardustandphantomnights , @alcorbearson , @talafairy , @hnymp , @ironicvixen , @dangnoodles, @satoshy12 , @suppengott, @samgirl98 , @skulld3mort-1fan , 

He very much would not be ok. He stepped next to Diana, leaning on her slightly. “Aunt Diana, do you think you could help her get back to my apartment? I don’t think she would trust me to touch her when she’s that upset.” 

“Certainly.” Wonder Woman knelt down in front of Jazz. “Sister, this is no place for a conversation, may I hold your brother while you rise?” 

Jazz shook her head repeatedly, pressing her face to Danny’s shoulder. She held him even tighter, and Jason felt his heart crushing in his chest, there was no way she was going to give up her brother. 

“May I pick you and your brother up? I promise I will be gentle, and you can keep holding him.” Diana offered. 

Jazz hesitated before giving a small nod. Diana lifted the two of them effortlessly, eliciting a tiny squeak from the elder of her two passengers. Jason felt the fire that had been burning in his gut since he had met Danny, sputter and almost die. He was going to lose his son and he had only barely gotten to know him. When Diana took off into the air, he followed them with his grapple, a morose feeling, like he was once again going to his own death filled his chest. 

. 

Stephanie broke into Jason’s apartment shortly after getting the message from Babs. Technically he had given the Ants and Buncles access to the apartment in case something happened to him, or if Danny needed them, but it was more fun to break in, rather than use her key. Plus it annoyed Jason every time. Unfortunately, It didn’t look like he was in a mood to notice. 

She quickly cased the place with all the training she had, and carefully kept her grimace internal. Jason looked like he was about to throw up or shit himself and kept giving longing, heartbroken looks to Danny. Danny himself looked like any toddler she had seen who had an emotional day and still had to stay awake even though he didn’t want to. He was being held like a teddy bear by his sister on her lap, his back to her chest. 

Jazz looked wrecked completely. Her hair was unkempt, she had red eyes from crying and scratch marks on her face and neck. Considering she was now completely nonverbal, holding onto Danny like he was the last shred of her sanity, and would occasionally press her face into his shoulder to hold back sobs, Steph considered it a good thing that Jason had thought to call for backup. 

Diana was the only person who looked marginally put together. Obviously she always looked hot as hell, and the fact that she continued to look hot in what were clearly Bruce’s castoffs was quite frankly criminal. However, as much as she might wish otherwise, she was not her to slobber all over Diana’s muscles. Steph put on a friendly smile and stepped forward, setting her bags of spare clothes for Jazz down near the entrance way. 

“Hiya Diana.” Steph said, keeping her voice soft, attracting the attention of the room. 

“Aunt Steph!” Danny waved excitedly, though his voice was also soft, keeping in mind Jazz’s state. 

Steph smiled, touched that Danny was so happy to see her, though she kept her eye on Jazz. While she was currently non verbal, and not making eye contact with anyone, that didn't mean she wasn’t still observing. She had noticed the exact moment Steph had entered the room and had performed her own threat assessment. She seemed relieved to have another regular looking girl there, and by how happy Danny was. Steph guessed that Jazz was hoping for an ally, and had at least mentally assumed the others were her enemies. 

“Hi, Danny. Jason.” Steph let her voice grow frosty when she addressed Jason, as if she disapproved of him. He would forgive her if she could help him and Danny stay in contact with each other. She crouched in front of Danny and Jazz, though left enough space to not crowd them. She signed as she spoke to Jazz. 

“You must be Jazz, Danny’s talked a lot about his wonderful older sister.” Steph watched as Jazz’s shoulders relaxed a little at the use of Danny’s name sign for her. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere, but we didn’t have enough information to find you.” 

Jazz signed in reply, keeping her attention on Steph’s hands rather than trying to make eye contact. 

“He didn’t know our last name?” Jazz asked, her signs clumsy. The clumsiness wasn’t helped by Danny sitting on her lap. 

“No. We only had your first names, but there were a few other people involved, do you mind if we get them on a group call?” 

Jazz tensed again but gave a small nod, though she reached out a hand in an aborted move to grab Steph’s arm. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right here to help as your interpreter for the call. You won’t need to speak to have your piece heard.” Steph gave her a warm smile even though Jazz didn’t look up at her. She turned and gave Jason a nod. 

Jason turned on the tv and adjusted the webcam that sat on top of it. Instantly the screen filled with the faces of the rest of the Bats, clearly Babs had them all waiting for Jason’s signal. Steph watched as Jazz tensed, her breaths coming fast as her eyes widened. Certainly, hitting her with the entire assembled Bat Clan, some in costume, some not, was one of hell of a choice, but considering Jason was still mostly in his Red Hood get up other than his stupid ass helmet, and Danny knew them all out of costume, there wasn’t really anything else for it. 

Steph needed to take charge of this conversation before anyone could fuck it up. Jason looked like he had swallowed his own tongue and she didn’t trust anyone else to not make a mess of things. She could also see that Jazz was about five seconds from grabbing her brother and diving out the window with him. 

“Thank you all for joining us.” Steph said, her voice clear and business like. She sat with her back straight and her hands in her lap, but her body tilted so she could still see Jazz. “I think for the sake of clarity we should all introduce ourselves. My name is Stephanie Brown, I operate in Gotham City as the vigilante, Spoiler.” 

People sometimes talk about Steph like she’s stupid. The gossips and paparazzi say she’s a brain-dead blonde or a gold digger, hanging onto the Waynes hoping for scraps from their table. Like she would do anything for some of their fame and wealth. They didn’t know that she became Spoiler on her own, without Bruce’s paranoid ass training. They didn’t know that she was smart enough to keep up with any of the Bats, and beat most of them seven times out of ten. 

Stephanie had to gamble on her intelligence right now. If Jazz thought they were going to try and keep Danny from her, the pair would likely disappear and even the “World’s Greatest Detectives” may not find them again. That would break Jason, and all the others already loved Danny. She had to balance what was best for everyone, and hope they could all work together. 

She had already made two very large gambits. She had revealed her own name, leaving the others to decide for themselves how paranoid they would be with this unknown. She could see the way Bruce clenched his jaw, paranoid tight ass that he was. Her second gambit was that she set herself aside from the rest of the Bats. Hopefully Jazz would still think that she’s her ally in this conversation. 

“I’m Dick Grayson.” Dick thankfully joined in immediately. “I’m also Nightwing, and technically I was the first Robin.” 

He had a wide smile, and had clearly caught on to what Steph was attempting. He carefully peeled off his mask to reveal his full face. Bruce’s scowl grew even more pronounced as one by one the rest of the brood revealed themselves with varying levels of resistance. 

“My name is Jazz Fenton.” Jazz signed, spelling out the letters of her name. Steph translated out loud for those on the camera as well as signing along with her own words. “I’m Danny’s big sister.” 

Tim briefly disappeared from the camera before reappearing. No doubt he had grabbed a tablet he was keeping out of sight of the camera and was working to research Jazz’s history now that they had a last name. 

“I am Diana of Themyscira, I am also known as Wonder Woman.” Diana said, and that brought Jazz’s head up, because apparently Jazz had good taste. Diana had to nudge Jason, who shook himself like a dog. 

“Uh, I’m Jason, I’ve been caring for Danny since I found him.” Jason said, trying to remember how to be human. 

“Jay taught me how to make ‘melets!” Danny whispered to Jazz, patting her arm that was still around his waist. 

“With everyone introduced,” Other than Bruce the uptight asshole, Steph thought. “I think it would be best if we described our side of things from the beginning.” 

Steph continued to guide the conversation like she was a mediator in a custody trial, which this kind of was, with the addition of whatever horrible abuse Danny had been subjected to prior to Jason finding him on the rooftop. Dick described encountering Danny with Jason and what they had found with him. Jazz patted her hand on her own thigh to get Steph’s attention. 

“Bear?” She asked with her signs, slowly spelling the word out. 

“Uh, yeah, among the other things was Danny’s bear.” Jason explained, showing off the astronaut bear. 

Jazz looked at it in confusion, like she had never seen the bear before. When she reached out for it, Jason handed it over. Jazz looked it over, still looking confused. Danny grabbed the paw of the bear and squeezed it. 

“I love you so much Danny, no matter what.” 

Jazz looked startled at hearing her own voice come from the bear. Then her face twisted with rage. 

“Clockwork.” She snarled, the first word she had spoken out loud during the meeting. 

Most of the Bats looked at each other in confusion at the name, and her sudden fury. Steph was about to ask her if she could clarify her mood change, when Diana spoke up. 

“If I may, I have some clarification that may assist this conversation.” 

Everyone gave her the proverbial mic and she described her own interaction with the former titan, Chronos, also known as the mysterious Clockwork. She described the riddle that had seen her searching the streets of Gotham, as well as what she was able to find in the archives of Themyscira. Fury radiated off of Jazz, and Danny looked concerned, turning around in her lap so he could see her. The Bats could all connect the dots between Jazz’s fury and Clockwork’s meddling. 

Once Diana was done, Danny seemed solely focused on Jazz’s mood, which was both very touching and very concerning. Eventually Jazz smiled and pressed several kisses to the top of Danny’s head and his cheeks before blowing a raspberry against his neck causing him to giggle and squeal in delight. Then she hugged him tight and pressed her face to his shoulder, he hugged her back, putting his whole little body into holding her just as tight. 

With Danny held, not able to see the rest of the group, Jazz shared in shaky signs behind his back what she had heard from her home town. Steph echoed the signs without speaking so the others could see, without Danny having to hear. Dick blanched at hearing about the explosion that had killed the elder Fentons. Steph could see Tim confirming the information even though Jazz couldn’t. 

Steph knew that there were more conversations that had to happen, with and without Danny. It was clear that everyone wanted to spare him as much grief as possible. But it was equally clear that Jazz had hit the end of her rope and couldn’t handle one more thing, and Danny was exhausted as well. Once Jazz had finished sharing what had happened to leave both of them orphaned Steph guided the conversation to a close. 

Jason told Jazz that her car was somewhere safe, though he purposefully left out that a member of his gang was the one to secure it. Tim said that he had informed Jazz’s school about her absences, and had gotten an indefinite extension on her homework and a hold on her rent. Steph was pretty certain he had done some illegal hacking and blackmailing to accomplish that second one, but honestly fuck land lords. 

Stephanie went ahead and offered Danny’s bedroom for Jazz to sleep in, especially as it was clear that she would not be comfortable letting her brother out of her sight. Steph brought the bags she had brought with her to the room and showed Jazz some of the basics. The bags were a mix of the kits the Bats had to hand out to the homeless people of Gotham, with hats, gloves, toiletries, including pads; and some of the spare clothes they kept stocked at most safehouses. The pants would probably be a little short for Jazz, but the rest should hopefully fit. 

The Slaughter Swamp team were next back with Jazz utilizing a portal gun built into her suit to appear in the base with an unfortunately large cloud of midges. Duke got into the shower that Cass just abandoned with his armor still on, no doubt hoping to clean off as much of the muck from the swamp as possible. Tim took the time to strip down to civies before he got into a protracted argument with Steph through the shower door about her using all the hot water. Steph shot back that she had way more hair than he ever would and she had a right to use as much water as she wanted. Barbara made a note in her systems that if the Bats were going to continue using her Clocktower as a base, she would have to install more showers. 

Danny helped Jazz to shed her power suit, complaining good-naturally about the damage to the suit that he would have to repair. That was until she winced stepping out of the opened armor. Danny immediately zeroed in on the motion, and when she hesitantly lifted her shirt to reveal the mottled colors on her chest of several bruised and cracked ribs, his eyes started glowing a toxic, Lazarus green. The temperature in the Clocktower dropped at least ten degrees. He helped her to the couch that Cass and Steph usually slept on, and once she was laying down created some ghost ice to help reduce the swelling and pain. Babs guessed by the way his tail lashed the air that if Jazz hadn’t been successful Danny would have portaled back to the swamp and torn Grundy apart. 

His agitation only increased when a jittery and anxious Jason returned with Damian and Dick in tow. Barbara was worried about ghost mind control as they shared their report. Danny once again looked like he was about to fly off and wring the neck of this Fredrick Showenhower, but instead was comforting Jason and talking to him quietly near the ceiling. Dick had multiple injuries, including his own bruised ribs that he insisted absolutely had to be kept a secret, with a guilty glance up towards Jason. Dick also got a thorough scolding because apparently Damian had been fighting with a broken wrist and he hadn’t noticed. 

Duke and Tim did eventually join the rest of the family, fresh from the showers and thoroughly de-swamped. Duke had found a garter snake hiding in his body armor during his shower and kept double checking his clothes to make sure that he was snake free. Dick and Damian showered quickly then got their injuries wrapped up. 

Once everyone was settled on different couches, relaxing and recovering, Barbara arranged for food to be delivered. She wished Alfred was there to celebrate with them, but he was still on his extended “vacation” with the Kents. She was fairly certain that he was actually spending his time with a more intimate form of relaxation with his contemporaries, but quite frankly, she didn’t want to know, and he deserved to enjoy his time after having to deal with Bruce for so long. 

By the time food arrived and everyone was resting, some of them were nodding off into their plates as the exhaustion from the day weighed on them. Dick looked around before catching Jason’s eye. 

“So Jason now that the curses have been broken, what's next?” He asked. 

Jason sighed, and set down the ghost pizza he had been eating. He floated down to be level with the rest of his family, as the others focused again. Duke blinked and shook his head to shake off the clinging sleepiness. 

“I guess that’s one bad habit we all got from the old man.” Jason said, ignoring Dick’s flinch. “We can’t really relax while a mission is in progress.” 

“At least most of you don’t treat your entire life as a mission like he did.” Jazz declared. There were some who flinched again, reflecting on the shortcomings they inherited from Bruce. Though there were some who felt a sense of relief, knowing that at least they were better than him. 

“Next, I will use my authority as King to free Gotham from her chains, and place the burden on Jason’s shoulders.” Danny said. “If you are ready, I can do that now.” 

Barbara watched as Stephanie and Cass sat up and focused. They alone of the Bats had seen what Danny was truly capable of as the Ghost King. 

“And does that mean that Jason will be back?” Dick asked, desperation in his voice. 

Both Danny and Jason looked guilty for a moment. 

“Dick-” Jason started but was interrupted. 

“No! We did this whole mission, risked all of our lives, simply because you asked.” Dick’s anger and long unaddressed grief came storming to the front. “You said that Jay would be able to stay in the city.”

“I did.” Danny took on the regal posture of the crown. “And he will. But he won’t be human.” 

“But you-”

“Jason isn’t like me.” Danny cut Dick off. They had all seen Danny take on human form during their planning session. “Maybe if Bruce hadn’t intervened, if Jason had more time as a human, he could have been a Halfa as well. Now however, I am the only one of my kind.” 

They could all see the weight and grief in Danny’s eyes at his words. They had seen that same weight in Superman’s eyes and in Martian Manhunter’s. The weight of having outlived everyone else like you. They could see how it hurt even more, considering Jason could have been one as well. 

“But we have Jason’s body, we could dig it back out.” Tim seemed desperate, but Jason shook his head. 

“Timbo, I’m not going to possess my own corpse.” Jason said, his voice low and sad. “That’s not how someone becomes a Halfa. It’s about equality. Danny is fully human and fully ghost. He’s half human, half ghost. It’s balanced. It's why he’s such a powerful King.”

“The responsibility, the burden, that I am offering Jason is that of the City Spirit. He will be here to watch over the city and all of its denizens; human or ghost; cop, crook or hero. He will become the very streets you watch over, the very buildings you swing from. He will watch over you all in spirit and you will be able to see him as he is now.”

“And then what?” Damian all but demanded in his question. “Jason takes up his watch, and what about the rest of us? Do we continue to fight the endless battle against the evils that plague this city?” 

“All of you may not have to.” Jazz said. “With some of the curses on Gotham broken, those that fed on and corrupted the denizens, with Jason’s strength and not having to fight to heal an injury like the current Gotham spirit, some of the darkness that plagues the city may be eased. The never ending crusade may one day ease.” 

That seemed to leave the Bats flummoxed. Even Barbara didn’t know what she would do if she wasn’t Oracle. She could see the same confusion, the same fear on the faces of the others. Who were they if they didn’t need to be vigilantes anymore? Danny either could sense the question on their minds, or just knew from his own hero days what they were thinking.

“The future of Gotham’s cape scene is up to you now.” Danny said. “Each of you can choose what you want from life, and that doesn’t necessarily mean being a hero.” 

“What about Batman?” Tim asked. 

“What about him?” Dick growled, but Tim was already shaking his head. 

“Not Bruce, Batman. The symbol. Gotham needs a Batman.” 

“Does it?” Jazz asked, her voice placid. 

“Yes!” Tim declared. “Barbara put the numbers up.” 

Barbara turned back to her computer and with a few key presses put the data that the two of them had been running in secret. The data showed the rise of criminal activity, including organized crime and costumed rogues. It also showed a rise in injuries taken during patrols and a drop in successful arrests. It wasn’t extreme, but the data clearly showed a trend. 

“We may have beaten some of the causes of the problems we’ve faced, but we haven’t eliminated all of the threats to the city. And the struggle against the criminals is taking more and more out of us. I believe that the threat of Batman as a symbol keeps the criminal element restrained, not just in their normal activity, but in their actions against us as well. I’m not suggesting we ask Bruce back to the city, but I think we need one of us to stand up and be the symbol.” 

“Well what do you want Batman to represent as a symbol? ” Danny asked. Settling on the back of the couch, his arms resting on Jazz’s shoulders. Neither of them seemed surprised or concerned by the direction of the conversation. 

“Batman cares for the people of the city.” Dick said immediately, remembering his early days as Robin, before the crusade had consumed Bruce’s heart. 

“Batman draws the attention of the worst of the Rogues so they don’t target civilians.” Barbara offered, thinking how other than the clown most Rogues would rather match wits with the Bats, than random citizens. 

“Batman is a detective, he solves crimes others can’t.” Tim said, thinking of the hours spent in front of the Batcomputer researching different cases. 

“Batman does not kill.” Cass signed with a firm hand. 

“Batman used to be known for hating metas, things are changing and Batman should change with it.” Duke said, his voice soft and tenuous, the others nodded and patted him on his shoulder. 

“Batman raises up those who want to be heroes.” Steph declared, thinking of her own training and the training the others had gone through, and how it could have been better. 

“Batman is the best trained fighter.” Damian whispered, remembering the tales his mother had filled his head with about his father, before reality shattered those fantasies. 

Jason snorted from where he was leaning on the back of Barbara’s wheelchair, mirroring Danny leaning on the back of Jazz’s couch. 

“Sounds like you’re describing Cass.” 

Cass sat up startled. Her head whipped around, her eyes wide as the rest gave her smiles and considering looks. 

“I am not a detective. I needed help to read when I first started.” Her signs were more flustered than usual, then she looked at her hands, and her signs seemed to stutter. “I don’t speak. I can’t be Batman.” 

“Does Batman have to carry every part of that role by herself?” Jazz asked. “Haven’t each of you been performing those roles even when Bruce wore the cowl? You’re not alone Cassandra, Stephanie has an amazing skill with people, Timothy has deduced what even Bruce wasn’t able to. Where you might fall short, the others shine.” 

“Together you create something greater than Bruce could ever conceive.” Danny said, looking over the Bats, before looking to Jason. “You create something greater than even Gotham could.”

Cass’s hands shook as she signed to her family. 

“Are you sure? You want me to be Batman?” She asked. 

“Yes! And I’ll be your Robin!” Steph declared before she pounced on Cass and kissed her. 

For once, Cass was caught by surprise as well. 

.

When Cass and Steph were eventually separated, both blushing like mad, especially at the wolf-whistling and cheering of the rest of the family, plus Danny cackling like a hyena, the Bats and Phantoms settled. Cass was going to be Batman. The rest of the details could be worked out later. First they had to see to the exchange between Gotham and Jason. 

The Bats watched in awe as Danny summoned the Spirit of Gotham to the Clocktower. Steph earned an immediate light-hearted smack to the back of her head from her new sort-of, maybe girlfriend for ogling the spirit. None of them could deny however, how beautiful they found Gotham. This was the spirit of their home, how could they not find her beautiful? 

Jason once more knelt before her, while Jazz and Danny gave her respectful nods. The others bowed or knelt and spirit looked over them all with love shining in her eyes. She bid them all rise, and she greeted each of them by name, mentioning their accomplishments, and how she had watched over them. Tears glistened in their eyes as Gotham revealed the grievous wound in her side. 

Danny stood, his full regalia in place before Gotham and Jason. He looked them over closely before stepping around behind Gotham. She knelt, her head down, and Danny reached down and pulled her long evening coat from her shoulders. She panted and her shoulders drooped as if a horrific burden had finally been taken from her. She fell forward onto her hands as blood filled tears of relief dropped to the floor. 

“Gotham, Shadowed Protector. I relieve you of the duty you have carried for so long.” 

Jazz knelt next to the former city spirit and helped her to rise, wiping the blood from her face. All the Bats stood as one out of respect for what she had done for them their entire lives. Danny waited until Gotham could stand under her own power, when she gave him a nod he turned to Jason, who knelt as well. 

“Jason Todd, son of Gotham, Protector Spirit, Beloved Brother of King Phantom, I name you the new Spirit of Place of the City of Gotham.”

Danny gently placed the jacket on Jason’s shoulders. 

The Bats and the Phantoms watched as the weight settled onto Jason. He also fell to his hands, his breaths coming fast even though he didn’t need them any more. He grit his teeth and growled, taking the burden and making it his own. The evening coat shifted and morphed into an armored leather jacket. Lava flowed and flames roared across his body and Jason rose to his feet. His crimson, blood soaked helmet enclosed his head and burning, twisted rebar wings burst from his back. 

“May I present to you, Red Hood, the new Spirit of Gotham.” 

Jason stood there breathing heavily for a moment before Danny pulled him into a tight hug, that would have crushed any bones he had. The rest of the Bats surrounded him and hugged him, the flames licking harmlessly at them, as no member of Jason’s family had to worry about being burnt by him. After each of the Bats had slowly peeled themselves away from him, Jason pulled Gotham into a hug. He pressed his face to her shoulder as he held her.