Chapter 2 in the works, not sure if I'll put it up or just leave this as a one shot. Young Justice Crossover Because Reasons. Sort of Drabble-ish I guess. Warning: Some people may seem OOC but that's expected in crossovers. Also this has a bit of light angst. This won't be linear if I continue with ch 2. Disclaimer: Don't own DP or DC. Enjoy~
"Yeah!" Danny Fenton, Phantom at the moment, yelled as he slid down the ice chute that he had just created seconds before in the Batcave.
"Woohoohoo!" Dick Grayson screamed, following his fellow protégé down the chilly slide. He flopped onto the mattress at the end of the chute with an 'oof'. "Man, Danny, this was our best idea yet!"
Danny took one more ride down his creation, turning back human as soon as he landed next to Dick.
"I know, right? I can't believe we've never thought of this before!" Danny smiled crookedly at his 'brother'.
Just then, Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, walked into the cave. He gaped at the structure for a few seconds, until boyish giggles assaulted his ears and he collected himself.
"Daniel Fenton, Richard Grayson," Bruce's voice echoed off the cave walls. Both boys immediately sprang up from the mattress and nervously chuckled when Bruce began to walk towards them.
"I thought I told the two of you to train." He stared sternly down at his mischievous children.
"Well—" They both started at the same time. They looked at each other and Dick stepped forward to explain.
"We were. I was heading over to the locker to change and Danny had already transformed when—"
"When I asked him to give me something big to build and time me, sir," Danny interrupted in a rush, staring down at his shoes after he finished.
"I see." Bruce's eyes flashed between the two boys, then finally settled on his first child. "So?"
"So?" Dick parroted.
"So, what was his time?"
"Oh!" Dick exclaimed and then swiftly answered, "30.0 seconds, B. Exactly half a minute."
Bruce narrowed his eyes and investigated the slide more carefully. He noted the perfectly smooth surface and uniquely intricate ladder and railing at the top of the structure. "Impossible."
"It's true!" Danny's eyes flashed green at Bruce's doubt in his abilities. He held his arms out and frost fell from his fingers, making the room colder and colder. "I can show you!"
"No!" Bruce yelled sharply. Danny swung his arms down in shock and the cave returned to room temperature. "Dick, why don't you show Danny a good place to put that slide outside before it makes a huge mess and melts? We'll talk training later."
Dick winced at the gruff tone and nodded, walking over to the sculpture. He briefly talked to Danny before the already transformed teen turned his brother and creation intangible, dragging them through the ceiling.
Bruce watched them go until he was sure they were gone completely. He collapsed into his large computer chair, sighing as he did.
"Sir?" Alfred questioned, walking out of the shadows and eyeing the large puddle and soaked mattress on the floor with distaste.
The vigilante swiveled his chair around to face his father figure. "I don't know what to do anymore, Alfred. Every day, every second, he grows stronger and stronger. His dedication to justice is astounding but I can't help but fear the day he snaps and decides not to play by the rules anymore, or worse, believes himself to be the greatest hero and lets his obsession overtake him."
Silence permeated the cave as the original Batman team thought about their newest member.
"What does Master Dick think? He is your partner, after all," Alfred noted after a minute of quiet had passed.
"You've seen him, Alfred. He'd never think badly of Danny, not now that he's officially part of our family…his family." Bruce passed a calloused hand over his face and sighed. "Even if Danny went mad, Dick would still believe in him and try to help him. He'd break himself trying to piece together a broken Danny."
"Excuse my impertinence, but so would you," Alfred said with a knowing eye. "Doubting Master Daniel will lead to Master Daniel doubting us and his ability to trust us. I would've thought that you'd have already learned this by now, but trust and respect must go both ways to succeed. Judging by the way Master Daniel acts, I'd say he's got his side down. That only leaves you to decide to reciprocate."
With that, Alfred melted back into the shadows of the Batcave and up into the light of the Mansion, leaving Bruce alone with his thoughts.
"Already do, Alfred. Already do," Bruce responded, even though the butler was long gone. "And that's why I'm so afraid."
Quickly, with practiced motions, Bruce updated Danny's ever-growing file on his super computer.
And quietly, with just as practiced actions, an invisible boy flew out of the Batcave unnoticed.