Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny might have to invest in a base of operations if they kept up with their ill-advised vigilantism.

Don’t get him wrong, Tucker’s room was cozy. Maybe for anything else it would have been a perfect fit. But with him, Sam, and Valerie hovering over Tucker’s shoulder, or squeezed on top of Tucker’s bed, it didn’t allow for much breathing space. Let alone the room to pace and gather your thoughts.

It probably also didn’t help that Danny was constantly paranoid that someone would overhear their conversation. Vlad might be an obvious answer, but Danny religiously checked his friend’s houses for bugs or other listening devices. That, he could work around and deal with. Tucker’s family, on the other hand, presented a different issue.

The Foley parents were one of the better parents, amongst their group. They probably came in second only to Damon Gray, Valerie’s father, but Val’s dad was a badass so that was some tough competition to beat. Tucker’s parents tried their best to give Tucker his privacy, seeing as he was a teenager and less than a year away from graduating high school. But just one time, just one curious listening ear and every single one of them could be implicated.

Then, of course, there was the matter of Tucker’s little sister, Lola. If she overheard something, who knew what she might say to someone else, even by accident. At her age she couldn’t quite grasp what should be kept secret and what should be shared. And that was all assuming they caught either Lola or either Foley parent in time to corral them into promises (and maybe bribes, in Lola’s case) of secrecy.

Danny wished they could use his house. But that way lay the risk of Vlad walking in whenever he wanted, since there was no one around to stop him. Then again, even if his parents had been home, Dad probably would have let Vlad walk in without a second thought. His parents had always given Vlad far too much free rein in the house. His mom was guilty of doing the same, despite being aware of how much of a creep he was.

He missed his parents. Oh, they were a total pain in the ass sometimes, but he loved them. He hoped they were safe. Somewhere.

When Tucker spun around to face them, he created ripples in his wake as he, Valerie, and Sam had to stumble back to get out of the way. If Tucker found it amusing he didn’t show it.

No, instead he began, with a severe expression: “Task Force X is a government intelligence agency. It oversees initiatives like the Suicide Squad, Argent, Checkmate, and Project Peacemaker.”

“I’ve never heard of half of those,” Valerie muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t sound disbelieving, but more like… quietly disturbed. “Do I even want to know what the Suicide Squad is?”

“From what I’ve seen, it’s a group made up of some of the worst criminals imaginable,” Tucker deadpanned with a shrug. “We’re talking Deadshot, Killer Frost, King Shark, Rick Flag, Harley Quinn-”

“So known domestic terrorists,” Sam concluded, sounding no more impressed than Val had been. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“They work for the government?” Danny asked in a low voice. That sounded… dumb might not be the right word he was looking for. Risky was the better term for it. He was sure they had policies and contingencies put into place, but it still sounded like a gamble.

“Yeah, and it’s pretty messed up,” Tucker declared. “Suicide Squad consists of criminals on the death row or who are in prison for life with no chance for parole. Or, you can think of Suicide Squad as their parole. For every mission they complete, they get a few years cut off their sentences. But they only get sent on missions that are, you guessed it, suicide runs. Basically, they’re considered disposable so if they die, eh, one less criminal to spend money on. They keep them in line with biochips inserted into the base of their neck that, with one wrong move, can blow at any given time.”

Sam looked queasy now. She had always advocated for due process and appropriate punishment, but this was just… inhumane. Danny would forever be haunted with the possibility of the government trying to do the same to ghosts, the same to him.

“And those robots came from Task Force X?” Valerie asked, baffled. “I don’t believe that. I mean, Danny and I are good, but those robots are supposed to put down Killer Frost. Neither of us used our special suits or powers.”

“They’re an older model, so they probably sent the bots to Amity Park so they got some return after spending millions of taxpayer money,” Tucker drawled with a roll of his eyes.

“Which means we’re not a high priority on their list,” Danny realized out loud. The government didn’t consider ghosts a serious threat. They sent in untrained agents and refitted old factories rather than build new, state-of-the-art machinery. Ghosts didn’t register on their radar, beyond the Anti-Ecto Acts. Danny would just have to make sure it stayed that way.

“There’s no list,” Tucker interrupted, much to their confusion. “Task Force X was made defunct months ago, long before the GIW ever got those robots.”

“Just like that?” Sam remarked.

Tucker nodded. “Just like that. The agency pretty much imploded after losing one of their directors. Apparently she was the only person keeping the organization together and without her it just… fell apart. And she was the only one really fighting for it to stay running.”

“And she would be?” Danny prodded curiously, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

“Amanda Waller,” Tucker replied as he spun around and pulled out an employee photo. She had to be about their parents’ ages, maybe a little older. She didn’t smile at the camera, but her even stare was enough to unnerve Danny. “Otherwise known as ‘The Wall’. Known for her ruthless policies, she’s probably one of the most respected members of any U.S. intelligence agency. She is survived by her three remaining children.”

“She’s dead,” Danny said flatly. Maybe he was just stating the obvious, but the information was a blow all on its own.

“Died a couple weeks before Task Force X went to hell and became defunct,” Tucker confirmed, bobbing his head. “When she was brought to the hospital, the doctors diagnosed her with a spontaneous brain bleed. Before this, the only concerning item on her medical checkups was high blood pressure from stress.”

“You don’t think it was a brain bleed that killed her,” Valerie stated next. It wasn’t a question.

Tucker shrugged. “Honestly, it could be. People get random, unexpected medical emergencies all the time. There was no foul play. She had been in a room filled with people when she collapsed. There’s been internal audits and investigations and it all comes back clean. But we do know someone that might have been able to pull a trick like this off.”

“A ghost,” Danny agreed, “but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s considered the possibility yet. If they had, I’m pretty sure they would put Amity Park under more scrutiny.”

“I’m not complaining,” Valerie snorted. “The sooner the government gives up on the GIW too, the better for all of us.”

“We’re the only ones giving the GIW problems these days,” Sam pointed out, hands on her hips. “We just need to make sure when the GIW get kicked out, they don’t bring in someone worse to handle us.”

“It took Batman a while to be considered legitimate,” Danny drawled with a small, self-deprecating smirk. He didn’t want to think about Gotham, or anything associated with it, but he found the comparison fitting.

Somehow, everything always led back to Gotham. Quite frankly, Danny was sick of it.

He shook those thoughts away and turned his attention back to Tucker, “Have you made any progress with the tracker?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Tucker said with a sigh. His friend removed his glasses to rub at his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. Never a good sign. “The GAV doesn’t ping on the radar. At all. So either your parents dismantled it when they heard it beeping, which is unlikely seeing as it would have come up on the radar at least once if that was the case, or something is hampering the signal. I’ve already tested the tracker on other stuff you gave me, so I know it’s working.”

"And still nothing?" Danny asked, frown deepening. Tucker could only offer up a shrug in response.

It stumped him a little, to be honest. How could it not work? Yeah, okay, his parents hadn't been able to figure it out the first time either but Danny had full faith in Tucker's ability to whip it into shape. They had only been doing it for the past three years. So why couldn't it work this time?

Except that was the problem, wasn't it? It did work. His parents were just- gone. Disappeared off the face of the earth.

You didn't just disappear like that incidentally. Not much could hinder that tracker signal, either. His parents had created the tracker for the express purpose of cutting through ectoplasmic distortion and mimicry. Sure, they had fumbled on the execution but Tucker would have cleaned that up.

Danny was beginning to think someone had dismantled the trackers, but how would they know to do that before Tucker pinged the trackers? No, that was even more improbable. But that other option was there? Unless… parents really weren't on the earth anymore. Not this side of the veil, anyways.

Danny wanted to groan. He saw many requests and favors in his future. But if it meant his parents came home safe, then it would all be worth it.

"Thanks, Tuck," Danny said at last, heaving a sigh. He had far too much work to do and so little time to do it all. He wondered if Clockwork was feeling generous right now. "I owe you one."

"You owe me fifteen, actually, but who's counting?" Tucker practically sparkled with pride, but Danny paid him little mind.

Danny did owe Tucker a few. Okay, more than a few, but people owed him favors too.

He wondered what Fright Knight was up to these days.

Diana did not often find herself staying late as a curator, but she never bemoaned the occasion. She had never been one to sit idly, but she knew how important rest could be. As a demigod, she did not require as much time to recover as some of her teammates might, but she knew better than to constantly push her body past its limits. Diana might have been raised as a warrior, but she was an agent of peace. She had to find that peace within herself too.

Working late into the evenings at the Smithsonian National Museum often gave her time for such musings. On the field as Wonder Woman, a moment of distraction could put countless lives at state. Yet she enjoyed the space and solitude to reminisce and meditate on her daily tasks. In this way it made sense how she and Bruce had coupled so well together, and how their friendship endured even after all these years.

She may not brood as he did, but self-reflection was a mirror into the soul. Diana had not come this far by ignoring her own faults and mistakes.

For tonight, as she worked through the research given to her by archeologists overseas, Diana found this sentiment to be especially true.

Perhaps Lady Luck had seen it fit to taunt her so, by having her assigned to the case of Milos, Greece. The cult there that worshiped a version of her son's future had fallen under international scrutiny. A consequence of three Justice League members arriving to survey the crowd, only to leave with no violent encounter.

Despite the irony, and perhaps the conflict of interest, Diana accepted the assignment with grace. It was not often that her civilian job became useful for Justice League matters, but she would not waste the opportunity presented to her. If the archeologists could learn more about her son, even through indirect means, Diana could not be happier. She herself itched to return to the site of the underground temple, partially submerged it may be with the high tide.

Diana wondered how many more details she could pick out of the statue, now that she knew it was meant to be her son.

She was in part glad she had this assignment to distract herself. Diana had never been one to lose herself in thought often, but the work was better than the endless wait she would receive otherwise. It was still only Monday; Danny had only returned to Amity Park this morning. She knew she should not expect a message this soon, even as she hoped for one. Diana was eager to hear how Danny's visit with Bruce had gone.

Danny did remind her of Bruce in many ways, both in appearance and personality. Diana had found the similarities fitting, and more than a little endearing. However, she knew Bruce might not view it the same way.

She had to be patient with both of them. Bruce often needed time to organize his thoughts and feelings, and Diana did not want to overwhelm Danny with her needling questions.

She had always been one for action, yet she had learned patience. Diana would need to employ some of that patience now, before she drove herself mad wondering and worrying ceaselessly. She would leave the brooding to Bruce; she had always found his scowl and pout so oddly charming.

Lady Luck appeared to shine on her once more. The moment the thought had crossed her mind, her phone suddenly trilled with life.

Diana gave the device a curious look. Midnight was not for another hour, but few people would call her at this time of day to begin with. She could imagine Bruce would, although at this time of night she could only assume it was a Justice League matter. It was rare for him to use her civilian phone number for urgent or private business. He was not one to take needless risks, after all.

When she checked the contact, however, she was presented with another name entirely. It had not been Bruce who called her, but rather her son. It was a shame she did not know his habits well enough to consider him a possibility.

Diana would blame the growing concern in the pit of her stomach on her years of training, rather than some notion of motherly instinct. She did not deserve that title just yet.

She answered the call with no more hesitation, holding it to her ear as she clicked through the scanned PDFs of notes filled with chicken-scratch handwriting.

"Danny? Are you well?" Diana could not hide the concern in her voice, nor did she intend to. If he was ever in any danger, she wanted him to know that she would rush to his aid without hesitation.

"I'm fine, Diana, promise," Danny laughed lightly, voice like twinkling, tinkling wind chimes. "You sound ready to jump someone."

"Only if it were necessary," Diana remarked idly. She leant back in her chair as she inquired, "How was your flight back to Amity Park? I must say I am surprised to see you are still awake at this time of night." Danny was only an hour behind her, back in Illinois. Should she be concerned about his sleep schedule? He often seemed tired when they spoke.

"It was fine, although there was a young family in the back of the plane that made me seriously consider the private jet for next time," Danny revealed with another chuckle, weary though it was. 'Next time'. So his trip had gone well enough that a return visit was still in the question.

Diana had not doubted, not truly, but it filled her with relief nonetheless.

“I can only imagine,” Diana hummed indulgently. She spun around to face the window, where moonlight peeked through the curtains, shy and coy. “I know Illinois is behind D.C. but only by an hour. Is there any reason you are awake?

“I get the feeling it’s probably the same reason you’re still up,” Danny commented, something like a sigh falling from his lips. “I had a shift today, and it ended up running a little late, and I just got assigned a new essay today, so I’m… feeling it. A bit.”

Diana’s expression softened as she clutched the phone closer to her ear, assuring him, “I do not want to take you away from your work.”

“Yeah, I know,” Danny told her, “but I’m the one who called you, aren’t I? I needed the distraction. I have the end of the week to submit the outline, so… I just need to breathe about it. Sorry, I’m sure you don’t need to relive the glory days of high school.”

“I never went to a traditional, brick-and-mortar school,” Diana saw it fit to inform him now. “I have heard many complaints about it, however. You are not troubling me any more than they have, although I still worry about your sleep schedule.”

“Eh, I’ll sleep when I’m- hm, wait, that doesn’t work either,” Danny contemplated aloud. Diana chuckled despite herself, disentangling herself from emotions fraught with anxiety.

Danny had a morbid sense of humor. Diana knew this. She had concluded that such flair came from living in a city like Amity Park, overrun with ghosts and other spirits as it tended to be. His classmates and old friends had certainly acted odd too, albeit in more mild ways. Diana knew better than to be oversensitive about his death, else she may lose out on the here and now.

It was a work in progress, as Bruce might say.

“I will hang up on you if it means you will sleep,” Diana warned him.

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Danny pouted, just as cheeky as his father. Diana rolled her eyes fondly, shaking her head as she turned back to her computer. She glanced over the copied request for permission to enter the underground cove where Danny’s temple lay in waiting. “I’m gonna be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t asked me how my stay at the Wayne Manor went.”

“I will be honest too then. I did not expect you to call me so soon,” Diana parried in response. “I did not want to push the matter, as I expect your father to take his own time processing the weekend. It was only fair I extended you the same kindness.”

“Oh. Right,” he said, voice tinged with stunned disbelief. “That makes sense, and I appreciate it.”

“If you do wish for me to ask, I can do so now,” Diana remarked. When she was met with no resistance, she saw it fit to proceed, “How was your visit? I hope your siblings treated you charitably.”

“I mean, they were nice enough,” Danny replied agreeably. “There were definitely moments where I felt like I was being interrogated, but they all seemed sincere. I always knew that Bruce Wayne had a lot of kids, but Ancients he has a lot of kids.”

“It can be overwhelming for newcomers,” Diana acknowledged with a nod. She took note of his phrasing, his reluctance. The words not spoken but felt all the same.

“Damian’s a cute kid,” Danny tacked on now, much to Diana’s surprise. “Very grumpy, very pouty. I liked him.” Diana laughed quietly to herself. Of course Danny would find Damian endearing, why would she ever doubt him?

“I am sure Damian would be pleased to hear that,” she hummed, a touch sarcastic. Danny giggled at the idea too, although his mirth quickly faded as she continued, “And how did things go with your father?”

“It… went,” Danny grunted. Diana’s brows lifted, but she did not interrupt, and allowed Danny to find his words. “It was- Bruce is-” Danny cut himself off with a sigh. Doubt began to creep in once more, although she did not allow it to root deep within her heart.

Danny’s voice was considerably quieter when he finally admitted, “Sometimes I liked him and sometimes I didn’t. And then sometimes I couldn’t tell if he even liked himself.”

Words did not immediately come to mind. Diana should have expected this, really. Her and Bruce both. Danny had proven himself to be sharp and perceptive, and he had never been one to shy away from voicing his observations. Admittedly, Diana had expected for Danny to notice more than they would have preferred this early onto their relationship.

She just had not expected this to be what stood out to him the most.

That was a mistake on her part, she supposed. Danny always found unexpected ways to surprise you.

“You will find,” Diana began eventually, “that your father is much more than the tabloids and the press paint him to be. At home, however, it can be… difficult to navigate what parts of him are the personality he presents for the public’s consumption, and what parts are all his own.”

Danny drew silent once again. She could hear shuffling in the distance; was he trying to use homework to distract himself not too? To avoid a conversation he was not ready for?

“Doesn’t that… bother you?” Danny asked in a low tone, timid with some emotion Diana could not place.

“There were times when it did, yes,” Diana admitted. She saw no point in lying to him about this, in concealing this truth. “The more I learned about him, about his life, the more I could see the man underneath. Even if he did not always want me to see that man.”

“Is that why you broke up?” Her son questioned. A poke and a prod, all tentative at best and apprehensive at worst.

“No, actually,” Diana told him, and she could imagine this surprised him too. “The fault lies with me for this one, and your father and I have both come to accept it. I- We were young.” She had not been.

She had been young in the eyes of this world, perhaps, fresh-faced and naïve to Man’s World and its inner workings. But she had not been young in any other sense, already a fierce warrior who had spilt blood on the battlefield and trained to become worthy of her bloodline. Diana thought now of her brother and her son, who had never been given the chance to do the same.

Perhaps it was better this way too, even if Fate had never looked kindly upon them.

“Our relationship frightened me,” she revealed, a sentiment she had not shared with any other soul. Until today. “I was afraid of hurting him and it hurt me in turn. I was afraid of losing him, and yet I knew I could not keep him. It was… better, in many ways, that we stayed as friends rather than lovers.”

“Because you wouldn’t get hurt that way?” Danny said in return. From his mouth it felt like an accusation, yet there was no judgment in his tone. It was a question, pure and simple, but it burned and stung nonetheless.

“Yes,” she chuckled without mirth, “I suppose you could say that. It protected him too, of course, but I understand you might not see it the same way.”

Diana was immortal, after all. One day she may be felled in battle, but otherwise she would never die. She would never grow old. Diana would be forced to watch Bruce wither away, slowly, and Diana would gladly take that torch, and spend this lifetime with him. But the risks were too great, for both him and his family, and Diana knew it was better to stay out of the limelight where his name shined.

Mortals always spoke so longingly of eternity. If only she could tell them how lonely it truly was.

“I can imagine too, you know,” Danny told her quietly, an ode to her earlier remark.

Yes, she supposed he could.

Only in the privacy of her mind would she admit this, but Diana drew melancholy with the knowledge her son did not inherit her quasi-immortality. It may not have saved him from dying and becoming a ghost, but perhaps then they could have spent eternity together, as mother and son. Perhaps it was still possible that he was immortal, so long as he lived long enough to see his inheritance through.

Maybe one day he would stop aging, just as she had. Perhaps Diana would even get to see it. Yet now she knew his life was not without peril, and for once she did not know if she could save him from it.

Diana did not fear many things. She had not been taught to know that fear.

She learned.

“Why do you love him?” Danny inquired now and Diana could ask how he knew. How had she given herself away? She did not love him as she once did, but a love endured nonetheless.

“It was so easy I never truly thought about it,” Diana admitted to her son now, a wistful sigh escaping her. “But if I were to put those feelings into words… Your father is very passionate. He does not always show it in the most productive ways, but it is still felt. He is always so full of life, and he never feels sorry for it.”

Diana curled her lips at the thought of Bruce on a mission, so ardent and focused and unstoppable. Once he set his mind to something he never faltered. He always prevailed, and Diana had always admired that about him. How he could come across the worst of odds, against opponents far stronger than him, and never back down.

“He is also stubborn to a fault, and has many reservations,” Diana went on to say. “He is very perceptive, but he tries not to show it.” Diana’s brows drew together when she thought about Bruce and his children, of all the fears he never spoke of. “There are many things about himself that he tries to hide, thinking the world would be better off without it.”

“And there are times when it is enough to drive you mad,” Diana said with a huff, nearly rolling her eyes. Her expression softened, finally, as she said, “But then you will see him carrying a little one in the crook of his arm, or sitting on a dirty curbside with someone who needs a listening ear, and then you will remember he cannot hide all of himself forever.”

Bruce had created a reputation for himself, as Batman and Bruce Wayne alike. He could conceal himself, hide his true nature, but there was no denying who was the man underneath. A good man. One that loved his children and cared for his community. One who used his lavish lifestyle and immense wealth to the advantage of others, supporting the whole of Gotham where he could.

It was the man she had fallen in love with, because he may try to hide.

But he could never hide from her.

“I can see why you fell in love,” a whisper tickled her ear, quiet and timid. “I hope I get to see more of that man. Someday.”

“I am sure you will eventually,” Diana told him. Danny hummed in response, a tinny, tired sound. “Are you falling asleep, Danny?”

“No, ‘m awake,” Danny slurred in response, already dozing off again. His voice was light, and maybe a touch petulant. Diana could almost imagine he was just like this when he was younger, in a smaller frame and even messier hair, eyes like his father’s and a soul like his mother’s.

It was a beautiful picture.

Softly, Diana bid him goodbye, “Good night, Καμάρι μου.”

She waited a moment to hear his soft breathing, a son drifting off to sleep to his mother’s voice, and ended the call. She cradled the phone close to her chest, just for a short while, and imagined she had done the same for that little baby boy all those years ago.

She hoped, for those few brief moments before Danny was ripped from her arms, that he had felt loved.

Bruce knew he had to talk to Diana about Danny’s visit. She would be curious, understandably so, and Bruce couldn’t postpone a conversation forever. Diana might grant him a grace period, but eventually she would call him out if he delayed the discussion too many times, and nobody wanted or needed that right now.

Maybe he had jumped the gun by asking her to stay behind on the next Justice League meeting, just two days after Danny had returned to Amity Park. But Bruce doubted that waiting any longer would provide him with more clarity. He might as well get this over with in the meantime.

“What was he like?” Diana asked as they settled into a private meeting room in the Watchtower.

Bruce had considered inviting her back to Gotham with him, where they could quietly converse in the Cave or his study in the Manor. Unfortunately, he was sure his children had commandeered both spaces by now; Damian to practice his katas, and Tim to catch up on some paperwork. Bruce wished his kids would just rest for once, but maybe that was too much to ask.

And Danny…

“He was beautiful,” Bruce murmured, distracted by his thoughts. “I know I can stand to be more physically affectionate sometimes, but you would be surprised by how hard it was for me not to hug him when he first arrived.” He offered her a sardonic smile, one that quickly fell as he continued, “He looks like my mother. With those eyes. I wasn’t ready for that.”

“I did not think of it that way,” Diana hummed to herself, staring down at the table, brows slightly furrowed with her focus.

Bruce grunted. “He is… very observant. Almost too observant in some ways.”

“Yet another thing he inherited from you,” she remarked coolly. Bruce shot her a flat look, but she was undeterred.

“Everything had gone so well,” Bruce told her now, with a deep sigh. “We talked about his family and we found out more about his ex-girlfriend. He got along with almost all his siblings. Although Damian called him ‘Fenton’, probably to get a rise out of him.”

“That is interesting, seeing how Danny spoke of Damian rather fondly,” Diana commented. He turned his attention back to her, quietly perplexed. She explained, “He did not mention any of his other siblings by name, but he called Damian ‘grumpy’, ‘pouty’, and said he found him ‘cute’.”

Diana was smirking by the end of her sentence, and Bruce laughed alongside her. Somehow that part did not surprise Bruce at all. Although he still worried what rift Damian’s remark could cause, it was… almost nice to see Danny keep his humor. Said humor might be morbid and a touch concerning, but it would match his behavior from other conversations, at the very least.

“You spoke to him already?” Bruce questioned, taken aback. He had only waited two days to speak with Diana, how quickly had Danny gotten to the woman first?

“Yes, he called me on Monday night,” she answered. It filled Bruce with equal parts surprise and dread. She shook her head at him. “I was concerned at first too. I did not know what to expect when he reached out so soon, but it sounded as if he needed a distraction from schoolwork. He had been staying up late after an evening shift to get ahead on an assignment.”

“He flew back, did a full day at school, worked, did homework, and called you all in the same day?” Bruce laid out Danny’s itinerary just to be certain, and he couldn’t say he expected such a stringent schedule. It might not be extensive physical work, but Bruce knew it had to be mentally taxing on the boy if nothing else.

“He fell asleep during our call," Diana saw it fit to inform him now. A troubled expression crossed her face. "As endearing as it may be, it is concerning to hear him so exhausted. Monday might have been a special case but more than once we have spoken. He never sounds well-rested."

"The Fentons' disappearance might affect him more than he lets on," Bruce noted aloud. It would make sense too. Danny had spoken about his parents in passing, but he never lingered on their MIA status. In hindsight, Danny hardly spoke about his godfather either.

Maybe in other circumstances Bruce would have been grateful for this. Maybe in another world Bruce would see Danny's isolation and take advantage of it. Danny was his son, after all; of course he wanted them to be close. Had it not been for Hippolyta and Kronos, Danny would have been raised as a Wayne.

But that world was not this one. Here, Bruce recognized Danny's independence as one borne out of necessity, not entirely choice.

His parents were absentminded and consumed by their work, a study and ethics that Danny didn't even agree with. Bruce couldn't even begin to say where his godfather fit into the picture. There were no other older relatives that lived close by to lend a hand, and while Danny's sister might be an adult now too, it wasn't her responsibility to raise her younger brother.

Now Bruce wished he had pressed Danny to accept the private jet, or at least to let Bruce pay for the flight. Airfare on short notice wasn't cheap, even if your destination was Gotham City, New Jersey. Danny worked part-time, and likely had to skip a few shifts just to make the trip. Was that why Danny wanted to go back on Monday? So that he wouldn't miss another day of school and work?

And then there was his parents' disappearance to think about. Danny had told Diana that his aunt was ill and the Fentons had gone to check up on her. Somewhere along the way the pair had gone missing. How much did Danny know about their disappearance? Had he taken any steps to find out what happened to them?

Even at Danny's age, Bruce would have gone looking for them himself. And that worried Bruce. Because in many ways, Danny was oh so painfully like Bruce. It might have flattered any other parent, but not him.

Bruce didn't want Danny to go looking. He could understand the desire to search personally; this was still Bruce after all. However, the fact that the couple had simply vanished was incredibly suspect. The last thing Bruce wanted was for Danny to go missing too.

It seemed like all his children would take on responsibility they shouldn't have to shoulder. Especially not alone. Bruce had never wanted any of his kids to be vigilantes, but he had also known from the very beginning that if he didn't step in, Dick would have gone out to find his parents' murderer and gotten himself killed.

(Was this how Danny died? Gone out searching for parents that might already be dead and gone? Killed and came back as a hero, trying to save the people he never could. The very same people that shot at him without batting an eye?)

“We need to get Danny out of that house,” Bruce informed her abruptly, as his mind churned with endless, graphic possibilities. Each worse than the last. Bruce hadn’t even seen Fenton Works yet, but if the Fentons put as little care and thought into their workspace as they did their academic papers and scientific processes, then their lab was likely a death trap.

Danny never needed to leave his house to die. All he’d have to do was go downstairs and touch a piece of equipment that should have been dismantled and removed and destroyed, and that would be it. One simple mistake was all it would take. An unspeakable tragedy that could have been avoided if his parents just cared a little bit more, paid a little more attention.

The injustice of it rankled him. It chafed at his patience and fed into his anxiety.

Of all the people Kronos could have given Danny to, why the Fentons?

That question had pestered for weeks now, but Bruce was no closer to finding out the answer. Bruce doubted he ever would, as the only person that could give a satisfactory answer would have to be Kronos himself. Yet Bruce sincerely doubted any excuse or reason Kronos offered would console Bruce. Kronos had taken Danny away from Themyscira and the Waynes alike, and for what reason? What was his agenda in all of this?

Bruce could protect him from the Fentons, and whatever nefarious entity had taken them. Could he do the same with Kronos?

“I do not know if his parents have been declared missing,” Diana noted aloud, humming thoughtfully to herself. “He may be seventeen, but the authorities are bound to ask questions. We may need to take him in while the search continues. If it continues much longer.”

“I haven’t made much more progress on that front,” Bruce grunted with a scowl. He didn’t like how the pair could evade notice so easily. However, it just confirmed the theory that something suspicious had happened to them. That GAV could be spotted a mile away, and it disappeared just like that? Something was wrong with this picture.

“Danny may know more,” Diana pointed out.

Bruce wanted to sigh. “If he does, he hasn’t said anything about it. Considering how his visit ended, I doubt he’ll be telling me anything soon either.” He pinched his brows as a headache slowly built up in the back of his skull. He hadn’t been sleeping well these past couple nights, not since Danny had left. Bruce couldn’t exhaust himself forever, though.

“How did your visit end, then?” Diana questioned in return. She sounded neither surprised nor frustrated, so calm it was near maddening.

Bruce wondered how long that would last.

"It had gone so well," he said in a low, mournful tone. "Maybe not perfect, but he seemed to settle in so quickly. It gave me hope. And then on Monday morning we talked. Just the two of us. And I had to lie to his face and he knew it. I could see the moment he realized I was lying and he never said a word. He never called me out on it."

Self-loathing filled Bruce at just the reminder of it, of the small, fragile trust withered right before his very eyes.

Worse still, Bruce had told the truth. He had called the Mansons to explain his presence in Amity Park without fanfare. He hadn't wanted to draw attention to Danny. The only other option would have been the whole, full truth and there had been no time for that.

If Bruce had chosen to reveal it all then and there, would Danny have believed him? Bruce was under no illusion that the theory sounded impossible. Danny knew Phantom better than they did, the boy would probably insist Phantom could never be his future ghost.

How could Bruce tell his son he was meant to die? How could Bruce explain a prophecy he didn't even believe in? A prophecy he had to try and evade anyways because Bruce couldn't just stand aside and let Danny become a warped shadow of himself. He couldn't- wouldn't- lose another son.

Haven't you already lost him?

Bruce had always considered himself pragmatic. He knew better than to hope for something like this.

“He mentioned visiting again.” Diana’s voice broke through his reverie. He turned back towards her, mouth slightly agape. She smiled, kinder than he deserved. “You have not lost his trust entirely. Just give him time.”

Bruce let out a hollowed laugh. “That’s the problem, Diana,” he met her gaze, “Danny doesn’t have time.”

And time ticked on regardless.

Danny knew this was a bad idea the moment he caught sight of Finn’s house. The entire front porch had been decked out in streamers and balloons, you’d think they were celebrating a wedding or something. Danny heaved a sigh as he approached the front steps, wrinkling his nose at the low vibrations from inside. He would have to see if the music could get turned down, that was going to be hell on all their senses. Danny had learned that the hard way.

Careful about his carry-on, Danny rapped his knuckles against the door. Waiting for someone to let him in also gave him the perfect opportunity to assess his surroundings. While Danny wasn’t exactly hiding his attendance, neither did he want Vlad to come knocking down the door to get to him or something. Vlad might have more subtlety than that, but he also had less patience than you’d expect.

The door opened to Finn, the generous host himself. Upon seeing Danny, his face threatened to split in half, pleased as a cat that got the cream.

“Well if it isn’t Danny Fenton,” Finn crowed, eyes alight with mischief. “Never thought you’d show up to one of these things again. I thought you were just a specter haunting Casper High for a while there.”

“What, and intrude on Sidney’s territory? I’d never hear the end of it,” Danny sighed dramatically, almost swooning. “Shoes on or off?”

“Always on in case the cops are called,” Finn replied before beckoning Danny inside.

“Always the man with a plan, you are,” Danny muttered as he followed Finn through the halls, towards where the rest of the party-goers lingered. He received some whoops and shouts of joy as he passed, and he had to do chest pumps with a few too many jocks for his tastes. Danny still didn’t entirely understand why these guys respected him so much after so many years of stuffing him in lockers.

“You brought beer?” Finn remarked as they arrived at the kitchen, where an entire feast of junk food and a gazillion different sodas were set out and displayed.

“Root beer, I’m not stupid,” Danny snorted, placing the 6-pack on an empty spot on the counter. “I don’t trust anyone here not to spike the drinks with something.”

“And you trust yours?” His classmates drawled, gaze dropping to the glass bottles. Danny could understand the initial mix-up. This brand did look like regular beer bottles to anyone unfamiliar with it. And that might have been half the reason Danny chose it to begin with. No one would call him prudish if they thought he was actually drinking beer.

“Sure, I do. They’re glass bottles. Once the cap’s been removed, you can’t put it back on. If someone tries to mess with it, I’ll know,” Danny pointed out with a shrug.

Finn shook his head. “You’re a paranoid one, you know that?”

“Is it paranoia if they’re really out to get you?” Danny quipped sarcastically. “Also, you should really do something about that music before you attract someone like Ember or Spectra.”

“I get the Ember comment, but why Spectra of all ghosts?” Finn frowned.

“A house full of hormonal, self-conscious teenagers? It’ll be an all-you-can-eat buffet,” Danny snorted, “the only place better would be an actual school, and you know what that looks like.”

Despite Finn’s earlier reservations, he grimaced at the reminder. “Fine, I’ll turn down the music a bit.” Danny thanked his classmate in return, turning his attention to the platters of tacos instead. He could feel Finn’s eyes stay on him, but he certainly hadn’t expected Finn to say: “What’s with the turtleneck?”

Danny looked down at himself. “What? It’s the end of October, why wouldn’t I be wearing something warmer?”

“Yeah, like a puffer or a varsity jacket, not a turtleneck,” Finn deadpanned. “You look like a mini Bruce Wayne.”

Danny covered up his flinch by rubbing a hand over his collar bones. It was a miracle no one had made the connection yet, but if Danny really did look that much like Bruce then he would have to be more careful in the future.

“Everything I wanted to wear was in the wash,” Danny admitted under his breath, embarrassment creeping up his neck, coloring his cheeks. When Finn shook his head at him, Danny defended himself, “You should be happy I even showed up. It was either the turtleneck or I didn’t come at all. Would you have preferred I showed up naked?”

“I’m sure Valerie wouldn’t have minded,” Finn teased with a saccharine grin. Danny made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat and moved to walk away. He didn’t want to throw up in the kitchen, after all. Finn didn’t seem to get the memo and followed him like a stubborn mule. “Oh come on, everyone knows you two got caught shacking up again.”

Where did the ‘shacking up’ part come from? It was a good thing Finn was behind him, or else he would have seen Danny rolling his eyes. At least now he knew what stage the school rumors were on.

“Which everyone is this?” Danny snarked. “Everyone in the school or everyone with an opinion I actually care about?”

“Damn, you’re ruthless tonight,” Finn huffed. “What’s got your panties in a twist?”

“I don’t think you understand how big of a sacrifice this is for me,” Danny twisted around to face Finn again, “I could be in bed right now. I could be catching up on a week’s worth of sleep, but instead I am here at a party I only nominally care about.”

“‘Only nominally’, huh?” Finn demurred, arching a brow. “You need to relax some more, man, jeez. You’re always so ‘work, work, work’ nowadays, why do you think people keep showing up at the animal shelter just to talk to you?” Okay, that was… a good point. Danny couldn’t argue with that.

He grimaced while Finn continued, “The Halloween Bash is only a couple days away, and I know you won’t be coming to that one. So take this as your party for the year and have some fun! What’s it gonna do to you? You don’t even have to stay the whole time if you’re really that tired.”

“We’re not close enough for you to be giving me advice,” Danny attempted to object, but Finn wasn’t having any of it.

“And I don’t respect you enough to believe that, so go mingle until your girlfriend shows up,” Finn waved him off, literally shooing him with his hands.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Danny insisted reflexively. There was little chance anyone would believe them, unfortunately, after that little coverup in the hallway. Everyone knew that neither Danny or Valerie did ‘flings’.

He turned his attention to the main room once again, where a mass of teenagers milled about. He didn’t see most of the cheerleaders yet, which meant the party wasn’t even in full-swing yet. Lovely. Danny could see many pizza orders in Finn’s future.

Snorting to himself, amused by his own remark, Danny turned his attention towards the hallway. And then immediately did a double take when he noticed Cindy in the crowd, talking to some of the Juniors in the game room just around the corner.

“She doesn’t go to our school,” Danny interrupted whatever Finn was saying, pointing to Cindy. He knew who she was, obviously, but he still didn’t understand why she was here.

“Who, her? Yeah, apparently she’s Paul’s cousin or something. She’s staying with his family for a while so he asked if she could come too,” Finn answered, with a nonchalant shrug. “She’s homeschooled, so you know. She could stand to get out and hang out with some kids her age.”

Danny grunted in acknowledgement.

She hadn’t noticed him yet, it looked like, and he hoped it stayed that way. Maybe this really was the paranoia talking, but he never liked the way she looked at him. She might not have known he would be here, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she took advantage of his presence to pester him some more. And this time, Danny didn’t have Bertie to back him up. Danny would have to keep an eye out for her.

So much for relaxing.

Paulina herded the group of Freshman hopefuls with all the grace and patience demanded of her. Usually she would have Star here to lend a hand, but she would be arriving with her boyfriend. Which left Paulina to deal with half a dozen fourteen-year-olds. How lovely.

Star was lucky Paulina loved her so much.

Before the group entered the bullpen, Paulina saw it fit to cover some ground rules with the younger girls.

She whipped her hand around as she faced them, noting with some satisfaction how most of them straightened up under her watchful gaze. Good, they learned fast.

“For most of you, this will be your first official high school party,” Paulina addressed her little group of followers, eyeing them critically. “And if you want to be a part of the cheer team, there are a few things you have to know. One, you are not obligated to hang out or spend time with any of the jocks. It doesn’t matter what they say, you do not owe them your time or attention. You see them enough on the field.”

When she received a few nods, she went on, “Two, always take a buddy to the bathroom. In general, never go alone to somewhere you can be cornered. You all are sisters here, and that means you have each other’s backs. Which leads into rule number three, do not share the personal information of any of your cheer teammates. That is not your information to give, no matter if you think it’ll score you points with a boy you like.”

Here, Paulina gave a pointed glare to Sandra, who withered under her gaze.

“Four, only give your drinks to someone you trust,” Paulina announced next. “And if you’re one of those people, never take your eyes off of it. Even if it’s in your hands, someone can easily slip something in if you’re distracted talking to someone else. I know people only ever talk about ghost crimes nowadays, but never underestimate the living. That’s how you end up in situations you don’t want to be in. Understood?”

A couple girls shifted uncomfortably on their feet, reality settling in over the high of adrenaline and excitement. That was good, maybe they would actually learn something. Paulina was the head of the cheerleading team. It was her job to make sure these girls came out of here unscathed.

“Now onto our final rule,” Paulina concluded with a clap, “if someone can’t take no for an answer, you either come to one of the older cheerleader girls, or- if he’s there- go to Danny Fenton. I know he doesn’t look like much but he has a spine and he can waste a man twice his size in five seconds flat. He’ll know what to do.”

“Does everyone understand the rules?” She called out one last time. After receiving either an affirmative answer, or a timid nod of the head, Paulina nodded to herself. Pleased. “Don’t forget to have fun.” She winked at them and turned back to throw the doors wide open.

The queen of Casper High had arrived.

Paulina smirked at the calls of her name, blowing kisses at her admirers as she wandered further into the house. She would have to keep an eye on the newbies, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself.

“Hey, Paulina, you’re looking fabulous,” Christina, the team flyer, complimented as she leaned in, giving Paulina air-kisses on the cheeks. “Is that new eye shadow I see?” Paulina returned the favor, giggling lightly.

“I knew you’d notice,” Paulina sighed wistfully, brushing away her bangs to show off her sparkling eye shadow. “Have you heard of any juicy tea so far?”

“Only the juiciest,” Christina told her, a smile transforming into a smirk. “Guess who showed up tonight?”

Paulina gasped. “I never thought he’d show his face to one of these again.” Paulina knew exactly who Christina was talking about, of course. It was the one and only Danny Fenton. Casper High’s very own Ugly Duckling story.

Paulina felt like it was just yesterday he’d been that dorky twink that swooned whenever she gave him an ounce of attention. But that was old news. Nowadays Danny was the hottest piece of ass in school, and yet he still insisted on hanging out with his unsociable friends at the bottom of the social barrel. It was such a waste of a cute face, Paulina would never get over it.

“I know right? But I saw him talking to Penny from Economics, and it was him alright,” Christina told her in a conspiratory tone. “You should take a look at him, I didn’t think he owned a top that wasn’t a tee or a sweatshirt. He looks good.”

Now Paulina was pretty sure Christina was just pulling her leg. Danny was obscenely lucky in the fact he didn’t have to style himself at all and still be attractive. But a Danny that had actually dressed up? Even when he’d been a dork, he’d been cute in that suit. Paulina needed to check this out for herself.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Paulina sniffed contemptuously, although she doubted she fooled anyone. “I need to warn him about the Freshman anyways.”

“Good luck,” Christina called after her in a sing-song voice. As if Paulina needed luck on her side.

She strutted through the house like she owned the place, eyes constantly seeking out a certain someone. Paulina did spot Valerie in the fray, playing pool in the game room. But she was without Paulina’s target for the evening. To be frank, Paulina wasn’t even sure if the two had gotten back together again, not after more than two years of dancing around each other constantly.

Valerie ought to make her claim before someone else stole her man out from underneath her.

Paulina found Danny eventually, in the hallway furthest from the booming speakers. He was talking to Oscar from the student body, quite enraptured in conversation too. But Paulina knew how to catch his attention.

Smoothly, she pulled up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she declared, “If any of the Freshman girls come up to you, don’t turn them away.” With that cryptic remark, Paulina walked away, further from the crowd of potential onlookers.

Sure enough, Danny accepted the bait, slipping off after her.

Paulina could have laughed. She hoped some of the girls caught him following her. She wondered what Valerie would have to say then.

“Whoa, why do you keep sending girls to me?” Danny questioned her now, gently tugging at her arm to catch her attention. “People are going to think I’m a pimp or something-” He might be hot, but sometimes he could be so dense.

“No one is going to think you’re a pimp,” Paulina scoffed, rolling her eyes. “They’ll only come to you if someone is giving them a hard time. It’s that simple. I thought you had more faith in human decency, darling.”

“Don’t call me darling,” Danny told her, snappish. He never let her have her fun. “Couldn’t you have sent them to someone else? Like Dash or Kwan or, hell, Wes?”

“I don’t associate with Wes,” Paulina sneered at the name. She might find Danny attractive, but no one could compare to the ethereal beauty that was her knight Phantom. For Wes to insist anything of the like was just disrespectful.

Besides, if Danny was Phantom, as unbelievable as it might be, then the GIW would just haul Danny away, never to be seen again. Paulina couldn’t have that now, could she? It was better to make Wes a social pariah than to let his conspiracy theories take root in the hearts of the masses. It wasn’t her fault that Wes didn’t know how to play the game.

“My point still stands,” Danny reminded her, arching one of his annoyingly perfect brows. Most of the school had long since figured out that Danny was adopted. From who and how, no one was quite sure. Paulina was almost jealous that Danny had won the better genetic lottery.

Paulina made a show of sighing. “Dash is a people pleaser and Kwan wants to see the good in everyone. Neither of them read people as well as you do. If a guy comes asking for trouble, you’re one of the only people I can trust that’ll answer it.” She gave him an expectant look, practically begging for a challenge.

Danny couldn’t provide one.

He relented finally, shoulders slumping as he considered her. “Don’t take this to mean I enjoy it.”

“I wouldn’t begin to dream of it,” she plainly stated. He might put in a good show, but anyone with half a brain cell knew he would accept. Danny was far too good a person not to. It might be one of his more attractive qualities, but it was just as likely to get him taken advantage of.

Her gaze fell to the turtleneck, and Paulina began to see what Christina had meant. It was always such a shame that Danny chose such ill-fitting clothes. All that work for the animal shelter had given him volume.

"How nice of you to dress up today," Paulina teased, lips curling into a demure smile. She might play the innocent part well, but Danny would never believe it a day of his life. Not anymore. That was fine by her, she enjoyed taunting him. "Valerie is a very lucky girl."

"We didn't get back together," Danny replied without missing a beat. She thought Danny protested too much, but if that was the narrative Danny wanted to push then she could play along.

"Then it shouldn't be so horrible to have some scared Freshman come to you for help, now should it?" Paulina tutted at him. "I have to go socialize, but I'll be back for you later." She giggled as she strutted away once more. And if she swayed her hips a bit more exaggerated than normal when she felt his eyes follow her, then that was no one's business but her own.

As she turned the corner, she heard him mutter, "Being a good person is so inconvenient sometimes."

She had never related to anything more.

And that's how Danny found himself surrounded by three fourteen-year-old girls. When it had just been the one, he'd been okay with her following him between conversations. But when the second had joined, Danny knew he needed to mark his territory. So he claimed the sectional couch up in the attic loft. If anyone needed anything from him, they could come to him for it.

He felt like some kind of kingpin from those old mafia movies he used to watch with his mom. All Danny had to do was sit around with a root beer in hand and people left him largely alone. While he might not have been happy with the arrangement initially, after a full night of socializing he could really use the break.

So when a fourth girl had approached the group timidly, Danny hadn't thought anything of it. He didn't know this one, she was probably one of the more reserved members of the cheerleading squad. Danny was disquieted by how many people had sought him out, though. Usually he might get one girl seeking protection, but four? It was something he'd have to look into.

"What's your name?" He addressed her, jutting out his chin towards her. She startled easily, blinking at him with shock.

"Uhm, I'm Amy," the Freshman, Amy, replied.

He smiled at her kindly. "Paulina sent you, right?" She nodded, so he gestured to the long, sectional couch. "Feel free to have a seat wherever you like. We're trying to help Izzy pick a dress for Homecoming." Well, Danny wasn't. He was mainly here as a guard dog to bite anyone's heads off but that wasn't nearly as comforting.

Although reluctant at first, Amy made herself comfortable between Izzy and Rachel. The two girls immediately welcomed her into the fray. Paulina had drilled the rules into their heads, it seemed. Valerie had warned him about those when they'd first been dating. It had given Danny a better understanding of the girl he used to admire. Before Paulina there hadn't been any.

"Well look who it is, the fucking Fenton Freak," a sleazy voice shouted over the noise. Almost instantly the room drew silent in the wake, the crowd parting to reveal Frank Jones. Amy and Whitney, the third girl who'd come to him, both drew back at Frank's approach.

That explained one mystery. Danny never had classes with Frank, seeing as the ass was in his sister's grade and not his own. Yet that had never stopped him from harassing Danny in the streets, pushing him into disgusting sewage water or stealing his backpack and throwing it into dumpsters to fish out later.

Danny had thought he was done with the dipshit when he graduated high school, but apparently he'd only scraped through to graduation. Certainly not high enough for the college of his dreams out in sunny California. He'd stuck around Amity Park for community college instead, leaving him to Danny's tender mercies.

Someone was definitely about to be tenderized, Danny thought viciously as Frank swaggered up to the couch like he was owed something. Even Paulina wasn't that self-absorbed.

"Hi, Frankie," Danny taunted, because he knew how much Frank hated that name. He took a long sip of his root beer just to watch the incensed expression on the guy's face. "Surprised you could crawl out of your pigeonhole to get here." Why was Frank here anyhow? He was easily six years older than the youngest attendant here, who had invited this asshole?

"I'm surprised Finn lowered his standards to get you here," Frank sneered back, reminiscent of a drooling dog. "Then again Casper High did start going downhill when I left." A few people chortled from the crowd, and Danny quickly spotted some of Frank's old high school buddies amongst them. To no one's surprise, it was the very same people who were left stuck in community college with him.

"How's your sister by the way? Does she still miss me?" Frank leered. Danny prickled at the mention of Jazz. He sat still as a board, which drew snickers from Frank's little lackeys. Unbeknownst to them, Danny was trying very hard not to let his 'scary eyes' show or, Ancients forbid, he bare his fangs at their impunity.

"She'd have to know you existed to miss you," Danny deadpanned. Not even a swig of his drink could hide the smirk that spread at the 'oohs' that followed. Frank's face was stained red in embarrassment. If he kept going like this he might get some steam bursting out of that fuming head.

"Oh yeah? Like those girls draping themselves over you know you?" Frank spat in response. Oh, so Danny could add delusional to his list of qualities. There was a pillow's width between him and each girl on either side of him, and none of them leaned towards him. Frank was showing his true colors, and they weren't attractive in the slightest. "Do they know about all the times I used to shove your head into toilets?"

Danny arched a brow at Frank. "Are you attempting to discredit me because you're just making yourself look worse, you know that right?" The crowd tittered, which only served to feed into Frank's rage.

"Get off that couch you piece of shit so I can cave your stupid fucking face in," Frank growled savagely, snarling like an animal. The crowd scattered further away from the scene, although no one had left or attempted to call the authorities. It wasn't as if they were necessary.

Danny remained calm throughout, noting how Frank's friends had started to lose some of their confidence in him. His little pissing contest no doubt killed a little of their respect for him. For his part, Danny pulled out his tab that resealed cap bottles, a little extra insurance he'd brought with him for the evening. He was nothing if not thorough nowadays. After a few too many kidnapping attempts, he'd learn to get smart. Fast.

With that settled, he pushed himself to his feet and folded up his sleeves. "You know if you just wanted a fight you could have just said so. There was no need to get so personal-"

Danny was interrupted by a fist swinging for his jaw. Gasps rang around the room but Danny just reached out and caught the fist before the blow could land. He twisted the arm back at the same moment he socked Frank in the face. Danny released the douchebag as he went down, watching with apathy as Frank whined and cradled his nose.

He glanced down at his own fist, knuckles speckled with blood.

His eyes snapped back to the fetal body on the floor.

Danny mimicked Frank's lazy strides as he made his way to the downed man. He picked Frank up by the collar of his shirt, testing his weight. Frank stared up at him with fearful eyes, pupils dilated so wide Danny almost couldn't see the browns of his irises.

Without dropping him, Danny turned his attention back to the room. Notably Frank's friends, who had done nothing so far to step up for the guy. Some friends they were. Although maybe Danny should congratulate them for their sense of self-preservation.

"Who here has received any unsavory, unwanted comments from Frank here tonight? By a show of hands?" Danny called to the room, gaze trailing over the onlookers. After the initial disbelief, a few hands rose up from the group. Amy and Whitney were among them, followed by two other girls. Making a total of four.

Four too many, as far as Danny was concerned.

"Four girls you harassed tonight, Frank," Danny commented in a deceptively calm voice. "You'd think a guy would learn after the first try, but I guess that's just wistful thinking." He hefted Frank higher in the air, letting him scramble for purchase. "I am going to punch you one time for every girl you harassed, and I want you to count. You can count to four, can't you?"

It was telling that Danny only received a few, quiet sniggers in response. Everyone else was unnerved by his display, and you know what? Let them.

Frank tried to spit in his eye, but he had pitiful aim.

Danny punched for that, starting with, "One." Frank wheezed in shock, but Danny didn't relent. He socked Frank in the jaw again, repeating, "One."

"You just said-" Frank sputtered, and Danny cut him off.

"I don't hear you counting," he stated lightly. He punched him again, this time emphasizing, "One."

Finally throwing away his pride, Frank garbled out, "One." Danny hit him again. "Two." And again. "Three." And again- "Four."

Danny released him here, letting his bruised, abused body hit the floor. Blood painted his knuckles, none of it his own, as he turned his attention back to Frank's buddies in the witnesses.

"This is me being nice," Danny warned them. "I could be worse. You won't like it."

With nothing more to say, Danny returned to his spot on the couch, sinking into its plush padding. There were dozens of eyes on him, and if they weren't on him, they were on the body on the floor. The body Danny had put down with damn near glee. Danny didn't like showing his cards if he could help it, but this time he thought the guy deserved it.

A few seconds more were enough to bring down the adrenaline, and an elated Dash shouted, "That's Amity Park's Dark Knight for you!" A smattering of applause followed suit, but Danny wasn't in a celebratory mood. He just popped open the seal of his root beer again and took a long, long swig. A part of him almost wished it was alcohol.

"Holy shit that was awesome," Amy- timid, shy Amy- declared as the room's energy picked again and people started turning away from him. "That was such a Red Hood thing to do."

"So I went from Batman to a crime lord?" Danny drawled with mild amusement, peeking over at her. All of her earlier anxiety seemed to melt away, and she leaned towards him with clear excitement.

"Red Hood is cooler anyways," Amy said dismissively, earning an affronted gasp from Izzy.

"He is not," Izzy shot back and in a matter of moments the two had fallen into a familiar song and dance that became white noise to Danny's ears.

"Thanks," a quiet voice broke him out of his reverie. Danny turned towards Whitney, who refused to make eye contact. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she repeated herself, "Thanks. For standing up for us. I didn't really think you would."

And she had still come to him anyways?

Quietly he mourned for her, that she had no one she could trust that she came to a stranger instead.

A lot of people talked as if the ghosts were the worst thing to happen to Amity Park. Danny wished people would start asking why Amity had so many ghosts in the first place.

"You're welcome," Danny told her, just as quietly, "I do my best."

She nodded in response and then walked away, now that the threat had been neutralized. Danny watched her go for about half a second before he stared down at his bottle, trying not to melt it in the haze of his rage.

Deep within his chest, his core rumbled, unsatiated. It demanded violence, it demanded justice.

There was no justice in this.

Danny placed a hand over his eyes and let go.

Sometimes Danny wished people would just take a hint already and leave him the fuck alone.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Finn said pleadingly as he stalked down through the halls, hot on his heels. Danny had been ignoring him this whole time, so you’d think he’d realize Danny wasn’t interested in talking to him right now. “I had no idea those guys would come tonight. I didn’t invite them, Dale did!”

“And you still invite Dale because?” Danny hissed in return, spinning around to bare his teeth at Finn. Teeth, but never fangs. The fangs were only reserved for the people who deserved it.

That didn’t stop Finn from stumbling back in shock anyways.

“He’s one of the most important members of the football team, I can’t just not invite him,” Finn reminded Danny.

He was unimpressed. “Do you not remember what happened at Dash’s birthday party? I wasn’t even there and I know what happened. What does that say to you?”

Finn just stared after him, opening and closing his mouth like a gaping fish out of water. Danny ground his teeth together, irritation flaring up from deep within. It just served as a reminder for why he’d started stepping up in the first place, despite the risks it posed to his secret identity. No one had ever done anything for him, and let dicks like Dale and Frank and Dash walk around with no consequences. No one was ever willing to stand up to the social pressure and actually do something.

And people wondered why Danny preferred to be at the bottom of the so-called social barrel. At least down here people weren’t so superficial.

Danny sighed heavily. “I need some food, I’m starving-” He didn’t give Finn any more opportunity to change his mind, shouldering past the other teen towards the dining hall, where five platters of pizza were spread around.

The party had started to wind down by now, although there were a surprising amount of people left. Danny supposed it helped that there was no school tomorrow. In the dining room, however, there was only one other occupant: Morgan, who seemed to be making some kind of sandwich out of various slices of pizza.

“Hey, Morgan,” Danny greeted politely, peeking under the lids for a pizza he liked. Truth be told, Danny could eat just about anything. Living in Fenton Works gave you an iron stomach, and while the influx of ectoplasmic samples in the fridge, Danny was pretty sure he could survive uranium poisoning. But he was also very irritated right now and figured he could treat himself to something nice.

“Oh hey, Danny,” Morgan nodded in his direction. “Surprised you showed up today.”

Danny’s smile turned brittle. “Yeah, you wouldn’t be the first… Do you really think I’m that antisocial?”

“Nah, not really,” Morgan lifted their shoulders in a shrug. “I just figured your parents wouldn’t let you come. How are they doing anyways?”

Danny lowered a pizza box lid, gaze sliding over to Morgan in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“They’re back in town, aren’t they? I saw their souped-up RV over in the power district a couple days ago,” Morgan answered nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just turned Danny’s entire world upside down.

Dread pooled in Danny’s gut like boiling miasma, lungs filled with fumes of ash. The GAV was here in Amity Park? It had been here for days already and Danny had never noticed. Why hadn’t his parents come home? Why hadn’t they returned his messages?

Danny didn’t need a mirror to know he’d gone deathly pale. “I need to go,” were the only words he offered before he bolted out of the room, stomach long forgotten. He didn’t have much of an appetite anymore anyways, not when he knew his parents could be out there so close yet so far, just out of-

A hand reached out and yanked him into a bathroom, door slamming shut behind him and locking with an eerie click. Danny reoriented himself quickly, and was surprised to find Star glaring at him. Had he… offended her somehow without realizing it? He really hoped he hadn’t scared one of the Freshman cheerleaders.

“I’m a bit busy right now,” Danny started to say, but Star interrupted him by shoving a plastic bag to his chest. He grabbed it before it could tumble to the floor and glared down at its powdery white substance. “...What am I looking at here?”

“It’s crack,” Star replied simply. Danny felt his brain do a forced reboot.

“Why are you giving me crack cocaine?” Danny hissed in response, holding the bag as far away from his body as possible. “I don’t want any!” He tried to shove it back towards her, but she wouldn’t accept it.

“Well neither do I!” Star balked, shoving the bag towards him again.

“Then why are you giving this to me?” Danny whispered in a hushed tone, suddenly very self-conscious of the echo in the room.

“So that you can give it to the police,” she told him. Told him, like he had already agreed to anything.

“Why do I have to be the one to hand it over?” Danny spluttered. “You’re the one who found it in the first place!”

“Do you have any idea of what my dad would do if he found out I got within a hundred feet of that stuff?” Star seethed while pointing at the bag, like it had personally offended her somehow. “He might only be GIW but he’s still a government agent, you know!”

“And my godfather is Vlad fucking Masters, what difference does it make?” Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“The difference is that I would be grounded for life ‘out of an abundance of caution for my well-being’,” Star reiterated as if she had heard the phrase a thousand times before. Knowing how strict some GIW agents could be, Danny could actually believe it. “Can’t you just do this one favor for me?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kinda in the middle of the last favor I agreed to,” Danny muttered, nodding towards the door.

“It’ll just be a quick pitstop,” Star practically begged him now. “The station is on the way back to Fenton Works anyways. C’mon, please? Do this for me?” She clasped her hands underneath his chin, jutting out her bottom lip as she stared up at him with teary eyes. Dammit, she had always been good at puppy eyes. Danny screwed his eyes shut, twisting back and forth as he tried to resist her charm. He could feel her leaning forward, the power of the puppy eyes was penetrating his shields.

“Ugh, dammit, fine,” Danny caved like a soggy french fry. “But you owe me… so much for this.”

“You got it, thank you so much,” she breathed out in a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He turned his attention back to the plastic bag, wrinkling his nose as he pressed down at the powdery substance. “Are you sure this is cocaine? Do I even get to know who you got this from?”

“Frank’s friend Tom tried to sell me some,” Star revealed in a lower tone, glancing around the bathroom like someone might overhear. Great, another reason why these idiots shouldn’t have been invited to a party for minors. “But he was already drugged to hell and back and didn’t notice when I snatched it off him. I think it induces hallucinogens or something?”

“I’m pretty sure crack doesn’t do that,” he remarked, confused.

“Well it did for him. Does it matter?” She looked uncertain suddenly, hands tightened to fists. Danny could tell she was worried, probably for him. He would appreciate the sentiment more if it hadn’t been her fault he was doing this to begin with.

“We’ll have to see when I get to the station,” Danny said with a shake of his head, slipping the package in his pants pocket. He carefully pressed down on it so it wouldn’t slip out easily or bulge noticeably. “But I really have to go now-”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Star hastily replied, “thank you again, really.”

“Don’t mention it,” Danny sighed as he unlocked the door. “Seriously. Don’t mention this to anyone.”

“My lips are sealed.” She mimicked zipping her lips. Danny supposed that would have to do for now. At least he had blackmail on her, if need be; something he could use against her on her parents if it came down to it.

But Danny knew he likely wouldn’t use it. He saw what it had done to Valerie, although he still insisted it was a good idea. At least one of them deserved to have a decent parent who knew about their secret vigilante identity, after all. The GIW were only so much more considerate to the living, no matter what Star might say about her father.

No matter how hard he tried, Danny found himself tangling further and further up in this web. What spider laid waiting for him in this elaborate trap?

What was one more secret to keep?

Danny did not head for the police station. Not right away. Instead, he made a beeline for the old, defunct power district. Transformed into Phantom, tail for feet, Danny zoomed over the horizon like a comet streaking the night sky. Maybe it was dangerous for him to go out and about as Phantom with his parents rummaging around, but maybe that was the whole point, too.

What better way to find his parents than to draw them out, with himself as the target?

Except. They never came.

Danny must have lapped that district fifteen times before he stopped, finally, hovering in the sky as he stared down at the old metal remains. There wasn’t a hint of the GAV’s special tire tracks, nor any sign of ectoplasmic involvement or contamination. For a brief moment, Danny even entertained himself that this was an ambush, set up by Morgan. That any second now the GIW would come out of the broken down stone warehouses and reveal their dastardly plan.

Maybe in a cartoon that would have been true. But reality was far harder to swallow.

If Morgan really had seen the GAV, then it was already gone. Gone somewhere that even Danny couldn’t reach.

Levitating in the sky, with the stars he used to adore glittering overhead, Danny had never felt so alone.

“You know, Mr. Fenton, when I said I had an open door policy, this isn’t quite-” Deputy Fitzgerald cut himself off when Danny slammed the plastic bag atop his desk. The man’s jaw clicked shut when his mind processed what Danny had just given up, gaze slowly lifting to meet Danny’s.

Danny just looked tired.

Without a word, Danny started pulling the pouches of his pockets inside out. He pulled his shirt until it was tight against his body, revealing no stowed away packages. While he did so, Danny made a slow turn to show the deputy he had nothing on his person, free hand lifted above his head. He didn’t even acknowledge Officer Phan at the door, who watched the proceedings with silent judgment.

Once he had turned back to face Deputy Fitzgerald, he lowered his hand and released his shirt.

“I am willing to remove my socks and shoes for further examination,” Danny announced, calm and concise. “I will also submit to a breathalyzer and drug test if it’s required.”

Deputy Fitzgerald said nothing. He just stared at Danny for a good, long while, face impassive as always. It had been one of the man’s most redeeming qualities, as far as Danny was concerned. It made him one of the few members of the force Danny trusted with anything.

Danny really hoped he could trust him with this.

The deputy turned his attention back to the plastic bag, expression inscrutable.

A moment more, and Deputy Fitzgerald said, “Phan, close the door behind you.”

Wordlessly, Officer Phan did as he was told, stepping into the room and closing the door shut. It wasn’t locked. Danny hoped that was enough to soothe his squirming core.

“Do you know what this is?” Deputy Fitzgerald asked in a deceptively calm voice. Danny knew better than to take it at face value, trust be damned.

“The person who gave it to me said it was crack, but it caused hallucinations, so I’m seriously doubting it actually is,” Danny deadpanned with a measured shrug. He aimed for casual nonchalance but likely missed it by a mile. “The person who gave it to me got it from someone else. Neither of us took it.”

“And am I allowed to know who you got it from?” Deputy Fitzgerald questioned next. Testing Danny’s boundaries.

Danny gave him an emotionless expression right back. “Only who they got it from.”

“Your friend won’t get in trouble for this-” The deputy tried to insist. Danny didn’t believe him and made that fact known.

“With all due respect, sir, I’m not even sure if I’m not in trouble,” Danny said curtly, shoulders squared and chin lifted. He answered to the deputy like he was one of his own officers, a fact the man had always appreciated. Despite Danny’s occasional cheek. “My friend wanted to do a good thing. I’ll take the blame if it means they’ll keep doing good things.”

Deputy Fitzgerald went back to staring at him again. This time his lips were pursed, the only true window to his thoughts. Danny stood as stiff as a board, immovable and stubborn to a fault. The deputy wouldn’t change his mind, and they all knew it.

Finally, finally, Deputy Fitzgerald fell back into his chair with a sigh of defeat. “Who did your friend get it from?”

“Thomas ‘Tom’ Maurucio. Age 20. Caucasian male, five foot eleven. Attends the local community college four times a week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. You might find him at the Jones’ country club, ask for Frank. He’ll know where to find him,” Danny listed.

The deputy snapped his fingers, asking, “You getting this, Phan?”

Officer Phan muttered a quick, “Yessir.” Danny didn’t even turn to glance at the man behind him. He kept his head held high, just like his mom had always taught him.

Deputy Fitzgerald addressed him again, “And here I thought you weren’t a snitch.”

“I could keep it to myself next time if you’d prefer it,” Danny quipped. After a second, he added, “Sir,” with a deferential nod of his head.

The deputy snorted. “You lookin’ for a career after high school? Could use an officer like you on the force.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Danny said out of politeness rather than actual interest. “Is there anything else you need from me, sir?”

“Sir,” Officer Phan spoke up suddenly, “can I talk to you for a moment?”

Deputy Fitzgerald considered the officer, looking just over Danny’s shoulder. Danny’s spine prickled as shark-like eyes fell back onto his face.

“Go have a seat outside, Mr. Fenton,” Deputy Fitzgerald dismissed him. Danny didn’t waste the chance, slipping past Officer Phan to sit outside on the bench, just across from the deputy’s office.

The door clicked shut behind him as he went.

It was more than a little awkward to sit in the middle of the bullpen like this. He could feel one pair of eyes on him at all times, even if he understood their curiosity. When it came to Danny, he could be here for all sorts of reasons. Maybe something had come up with his parents, or maybe even Vlad. Maybe something had happened at the house they needed to look into, especially with so many nosy neighbors sticking their noses in his family’s business. And then, of course, Danny tended to find trouble in the most unexpected of places.

Danny was not ashamed to say he had been to this station more than once already. Although it was very rarely ever his fault.

Not that it made a difference to some officers here.

He tried not to shift under their gazes, and kept his eyes trained on his ratty sneakers. It also helped him keep an ear out for the conversation behind closed doors. The two men kept their voices down, probably so that no one could overhear their tense discussion. Neither of them could have known about Danny’s keener senses, however, and restricted them somehow.

Even still, Danny only eavesdropped on bits and pieces of their conversation. “...This is the first time we've seen an actual package of this drug, if they’re trafficking it through minors now…”

Danny didn’t catch much more than that. It was unfortunate, but it already left his mind spinning with questions rather than answers.

Was Danny missing something? He didn’t know everything that went down in Amity Park, but he felt like he should have at least heard about this a while ago. He had ears to the ground everywhere in Amity. The police hadn’t informed the public about a new drug crisis either. Were they keeping it close to catch the traffickers off guard? Was that powder not crack after all?

Consumed by his thoughts, Danny startled when the door clicked open again to reveal Officer Phan. He stood up once more and saw the officer closing the door behind him, which said enough about what Deputy Fitzgerald thought. It was pretty late regardless, well past midnight at this point. The fact Danny had been allowed this far inside was a miracle.

Danny hoped it wouldn’t be taken for granted.

“Did someone drive you?” Officer Phan addressed him with a mild smile. Measured just like the straight of Danny’s back, all carefully chosen from consumption.

“No, I walked,” Danny lied smoothly. He had flown, technically, but that hardly seemed relevant right now.

“Let me drive you home,” Officer Phan told him. When Danny tried to protest, the officer assured him, “You’re not in trouble, Danny, I promise. I would just feel a lot better if I escorted you home rather than have you walk the rest of the way.”

Danny pursed his lips. “...Yeah, okay.”

If he argued any more it might be deemed suspicious. Officer Phan was one of the good ones, too. He might not have earned Danny’s implicit trust like Deputy Fitzgerald had, not yet, but he would have to do. Besides, the officer was Kwan’s cousin; if anything happened to Danny on his watch, he was sure Kwan would give the man an earful about it.

Getting into the patrol vehicle was awkward as hell. Officer Phan didn’t hold the door open for him, so it didn’t feel like he was being detained. But sitting in a vehicle, no radio turned on, next to a man Danny only distantly knew did not make for a comfortable experience. It was only a matter of time before conversation started up.

“Your parents still not back yet?” Officer Phan asked to fill the awkward silences.

“I-” It would be so easy to tell him. Tell anyone.

He could just lay it all out, how all attempts to track the GAV had failed, how Morgan had sighted the vehicle just days ago, how they had never showed up at Aunt Alicia’s house. Yet trying to make the words come out just had his throat closing up on him, body rebelling against the very idea. His core hummed in his chest, so loud Danny almost worried the man might hear it.

“No,” Danny settled with. “No, they’re not back yet.”

The officer peeked over at him during a traffic stop, no more than a moment and then he looked ahead.

“Mayor Masters taking good care of you?” Officer Phan questioned, much to Danny’s amusement.

“He’s only okay,” Danny remarked with a tiny smirk. Officer Phan made a noise of interest. “What, you expected me to be screaming to the rooftops how great he is? You have seen us argue before, haven’t you?”

“My ears still ring from time to time at the memory,” Phan huffed, earning him a hearty laugh from Danny. “Do you feel safe at home?”

“Yes, and I have enough to eat, and I’m cleaning up after myself,” Danny trailed off, “is this an escort or a house visit?”

“Why can’t it be both?” Officer Phan commented, a grin spreading over his face when he saw Danny roll his eyes. “We’re just… worried, is all. You’re a good kid, and we don’t want to see you get hurt for something like this.”

That was more than Danny expected he would admit. Certainly more than he really ought to say to a civilian. But Danny hadn’t been a regular civilian in a long time, and even the police knew it too.

“Will you ever tell me what that drug was?” Danny murmured quietly, as they pulled onto his street.

“Maybe eventually, kid,” Phan offered. Danny leaned against the head of the chair, staring at the man’s side profile. A part of him hoped he could make the officer uncomfortable, self-conscious. Make him really think about what he was going to say next.

A few minutes more and Phan had pulled up in front of the house. “Do you want me to walk you up to the front door?”

“I can walk five feet by myself, but thanks,” Danny quipped with a wry grin. His grin faltered, and he said, “And… thanks. For keeping an eye out for me.”

“‘S no trouble at all, promise,” Officer Phan reassured him. Danny slipped out of the car and headed for the door. He didn’t dare look in the direction of the cameras, not even to check if they were offline or not. Danny didn’t want to give the officer any substance, nice as the guy might be.

There were some secrets Danny had to keep.

The officer, for his part, didn’t leave until Danny had pulled the drapes back to wave him good night. Phan gave him a two-fingered salute, shifting the car back into drive. He let the drapes fall back down, but kept an eye on the retreating vehicle regardless.

Only once the roar of its engine had faded into the distance did Danny release a sigh of relief.

As nice as it was to know someone cared, Danny didn’t need anyone poking their nose where they shouldn’t. Especially when it came to his personal business. One of these days they might hear something they shouldn’t.

Danny couldn’t save them all.

But he could damn well try.

“I have a development from Amity Park,” Oracle intoned from over the Computer, remotely connecting to the system from her perch in the Clocktower. The vigilantes that had been assembled, preparing to wind down for the night, instantly went on the alert.

“What do you have?” Bruce barked as he headed over to the Computer.

“The police just logged in a trace of an unknown substance that has been making its way through the city. They’ve gotten reports on it before, but this was the first time they actually got their hands on a sample of it before ingestion,” Oracle explained, pulling up reports and photographic evidence.

She went on to say, “Says here that it was submitted through an anonymous source. Similar in appearance to cocaine, it causes vivid hallucinations that can induce symptoms similar to mind control in victims. As users come off of it, however, they are subjected to horrific nightmares that can cause physical ailments and, in extreme cases, organ failure.”

“I know that drug,” Jason said suddenly, his whisper cutting through the room like a knife. “Scarecrow developed it, to pad his pockets to make more Fear Toxin. He was also testing a few new strains of the toxin in a powder form, made to be mixed with flour. A silent, deadly killer. When I finally cracked down on it, it had already been sold through a couple different vendors. I tracked down every single shipment. Except one.”

“The one that ended up in Amity Park,” Tim finished aloud. “This can’t be a coincidence. Amity Park never had been a drug trafficking hotspot before this, not even before the ghosts.”

“Do you think those two vigilantes could be up to this? The ones that have been destroying GIW bases?” Dick inquired, frowning to himself. “It doesn’t seem to fit their M.O.”

“Somebody has to be equipping them with weapons,” Bruce pointed out. Although, he did have to agree with his son on this one. He wasn’t inclined to think the two mysterious anarchists were behind this drug trade. “Do you know who the buyer was?”

“Yeah, and he was killed a day after the shipment arrived,” Jason grunted with a scowl. “Not by me either. Gang fight gone sideways. The drugs were never found.”

“This could be our in,” Tim commented, piquing Bruce’s curiosity. He turned around to face his boy, who continued, “We need an excuse for the Justice League to address the Anti-Ecto Acts, don’t we? If we come in as the Bats, taking care of Scarecrow’s drug, we can say we found out about the ghosts now and open an investigation.”

“It would be a good excuse to make connections with Phantom,” Damian approved with a pinched expression. “As one of the city’s few heroes, he would be foolish not to meet with the Justice League. Even if he refused, it would give us the opportunity to observe him closer.”

Pride and satisfaction filled Bruce, watching as his sons perfectly laid out all the pieces.

“Jason, I need a report on everything you know about the drug,” Bruce began, “as for everyone else, I need a schedule of all your civilian obligations so that we can make a list of shifts. We don’t want to leave Gotham understaffed, but providing Phantom and Red Huntress with different vigilantes to trust could be beneficial.”

“Oracle, do you have anything on that anonymous source?” Bruce turned back to the Computer.

“I’m on it,” Oracle answered, a quiet click of the speakers the only sign she had left the call.

Soon, Batman Inc. would be in Amity Park, with the Justice League close to follow. The Anti-Ecto Acts would be repealed and in this way, Bruce might be able to save both versions of his son.

Just a little longer, Danny. I promise.

“Daniel.”

Danny froze.

Slowly, Danny retreated from the front door, turning to Vlad looming by the kitchen door. He hadn’t even known the man was here, staying up in his bedroom for most of the morning before he headed off to Sam’s for the day. It suited Vlad’s dramatic tastes that he made no display of his arrival, creeping in wait to snatch Danny up in his convoluted plans.

“Hi, Vlad,” Danny sighed, shoulders slouching with dread. “Can I help you with something?”

“I just wanted to check up on you,” Vlad talked like he did it out of the goodness of his own heart. “I am your guardian while your parents are away, it’s only right that I keep an eye on you where I can.”

“Believe me, you do plenty of that already,” Danny grumbled. Did Vlad already forget how he’d come into Danny’s house and made food Danny didn’t ask for, backhand Danny for his trouble? “Is there something you wanted to tell me specifically or…?”

“Yes, yes,” Vlad stepped forward, one foot at a time, heels clicking on the hardwood floors. It took everything in Danny not to cringe away at his steady approach. “How was the party last night?”

Danny went numb.

“It was okay,” his mouth said, voice echoed, while his heart hammered in his chest. “I had to punch an asshole a few times for harassing some girls, but all in a day’s work.”

“You do so love playing the hero,” Vlad said agreeably, bobbing his head along. Within seconds he had stepped firmly into Danny’s personal space. His throat expanded with nausea, yet he somehow managed to hold himself still, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Is that what you spoke to the police about? The sexual harassment?”

Panic filled him.

“That’s-” Danny gasped as Vlad grabbed him by the hair, yanking him closer, tilting his head to the side. “I ratted out one of his buddies to the police. That’s all it was.”

“Is that so?” Vlad hummed thoughtfully, eyes searching Danny’s face for any sign of deception. Any sign of weakness. “I would hate to find out that you lied to me about this, Daniel. I was hoping we could come to some sort of accord.”

“Would you even believe me if I promised?” Danny gnashed his teeth as he spit out those words. “If you want to go to the police and ask if I ratted you out as a bastard then be my-”

He whimpered as Vlad yanked his hair back harder, forcing him to arch his back, the length of his neck revealed as he stumbled for footing. Danny knew what this little power play was. Vlad had him bare his neck in a sign of submission, forced though it may be. Vlad had to know it was all a rouse too, just an act to feed into his ego. The fact that it worked so well said more about the man’s fragile pride than anything else.

Sweat beaded on his brow as Vlad’s stare grew more intense, eyes fixated on the bob of Danny’s throat.

Danny could throw the man off him if he really wanted to. It wouldn’t even be that hard. But there was something dark lurking in Vlad’s eyes that scared him. One that spoke of inescapable horrors and threats alike.

He knew his position right now was. Tenable, at best. Vlad could do all sorts of things to him like this and Danny would have no way to stop him. Vlad could facilitate some kind of scandal and have Jazz kicked out of college. He could go out and raze Alicia’s little town to the ground, all without Danny knowing. If Danny pushed too hard, spoke up too loudly, Vlad could have his parents declared dead with fake evidence.

Bruce and Diana might be his biological parents, but his adopted ones had the paperwork that signed Danny’s life away to Vlad until he became of age, should anything happen to them. Danny didn’t even know why Vlad hadn’t tried it yet. He didn’t want to find out.

“I’m sorry,” Danny murmured, “I should have been more tactful about it.”

Vlad considered him for a few moments more, eyes glued to his face, to catch every micro-expression, every pull of his facial muscles. After another terrifying moment, Vlad’s merciless grip relaxed into something softer, kinder. His hand ran through Danny’s hair as if he were petting him, soothing the wound he’d inflicted.

Danny loathed him with a passion.

“You have been very tired lately,” Vlad agreed, as if his bastard nature was any way Danny’s fault. “You should rest some more. I know you spend far too much time on your phones these days.”

Danny squared his jaw, swallowing down the bile and acidic rage threatening to boil over.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Danny offered with a helpless sort of shrug. Danny had never been the best at time management. It was a wonder how he could juggle so many projects at once.

Vlad removed his hand in Danny’s hair to brush against his cheek, a gentle caress that could have been called adoring, had it come from anyone else. Danny would rub his skin raw if it got rid of the vile sensation.

“I have a town hall to attend,” Vlad announced, now that he had been satisfied. “I should be back later with dinner, so do try to come back before then, hm? I would hate to bother the Mansons with my presence just because you couldn’t follow instructions.”

Danny said nothing as Vlad rambled on and on, too busy trying to contain the disgust and self-loathing and horror churning in his core.

“...I best be off. Ta-ta, little badger!” Vlad called out just before he slammed the door shut behind him.

Danny stared at the back of the door, frozen in place. Ice would have been preferable to the heat licking up his body, straight from his core. Snow would have diluted the pain, ebbed away at the fear.

He lifted up his hands to see them trembling, visibly shaking. He brought them close to his chest and did not pull them away until the trepidation had left him.

Danny stood there for a long time.

The fear did not abate.