Previously on ANWOB:
"Danny lied to me on the phone," Jason noted. "He said that he doesn't remember anything besides waking up in Star, but the kidnapper randomly dropping him off on the streets doesn't exactly seem likely."
"You think he got away himself?" Tim mused quietly.
"Look, all I know is that he somehow found his way to Roy. All we do now is wait," Jason replied, propping his feet up against Tim's chair comfortably.
Chapter Seven:
"What do you mean he left?" Bruce hissed, his gaze hard as he sent an icy batglare at Roy Harper. Roy's eye twitched. He gazed at the looming, towering figures and absolutely murderous gazes of the Wayne family, trying to keep his voice even.
"He said that you guys were picking him up," Roy blinked at them.
"So you just let him leave like that," Jason stated dryly. "You know, he was just kidnapped, and his kidnapper was in the city."
"You allowed Daniel Fenton to explore unfamiliar territory at night, most likely vulnerable and unprotected, when he was in danger and had a psychopath unknown kidnapper after him," Bruce said calmly, his words cutting into Roy and terrifying him to his very core. The teen stopped himself from gulping at the stare of Bruce. He was entering the beginning stages of Daddy!Bats and, costume or not, it was absolutely chilling. His words were spoken at a deathly low volume. The only thing that could have made the moment even scarier is Bruce being decked out in costume, and in full on Daddy!Bats mode, armed with the knowledge of his most recently adopted son's current state.
"I put a tracker on him," Roy said quickly. "You know, just in case."
"So now you're stalking my adopted brother..." Jason raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused at the whole situation.
"Shut up, Todd," Roy rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."
"Well then where is he?" Bruce hissed slowly, his gaze penetrating.
"He's, ah," Roy trailed off as he pulled out a small device, a blue dot blinking on the surface of it. "On Baker Street. Warehouse 221B."
"What are we waiting for?" Damian asked impatiently, tapping his foot. "Take us to him, Harper. Now."
"Good thing I brought my costume," Dick revealed. Jason looked at him dryly.
"Are you suiting up? Because if you are, then I am too!" The two heroes then ran off, Jason yelling at Dick that he could do it faster.
"Idiots," Damian snorted. "Why would they leave without us?" Damian and Tim then proceeded to run after their brothers.
"Wait!" Bruce called. They either ignored him, or didn't hear him, and Bruce sighed as his palm met his forehead with a smack. "They might not even need to-" he broke off as he noticed that Roy was gone as well, his orange hair bobbing in this distance, right beside two other heads of raven. Bruce watched their disappearing figures dryly.
"221B," Nightwing muttered. "Danny's in there."
"What's the situation?" Red Robin mused. They were sitting on a rooftop across from the building, all of them lined up as they watched the warehouse across from them.
"That's what we need to sneak in to assess," Red Arrow nodded.
"Did he run here alone, or is there someone in there with him?" Red Hood wondered, fingering the triggers of his double pistols as he looked on in interest.
"Someone is in there," a dark, gravelly voice growled out, their tone hard.
No one looked surprised as a tall, intimidating figure detached itself from the shadows, Red Hood muttering a sarcastic, "Nice of you to join us, Bats." Batman glared at him, and he rolled his eyes under his helmet.
"Don't roll your eyes at me," Batman said dryly. Red Hood made a face, and, in turn, caused Batman's glare to sharpen.
"Can't do anything with you," Red Hood mumbled under his breath. Batman ignored him, instead addressing the group as a whole.
"Covert only," he commanded. "If Daniel Fenton is to be found, report back before approaching. Evaluate the surroundings and make sure that the building is empty. If you find anything, tell me. It is unclear as to whether or not he is here on his own accord. There is a possibility of kidnapping, and we do not know what we are up against. Head out, and be careful."
Everyone gave nods of agreement before launching themselves to the opposite side, their grappling hooks quietly clanking as they hooked onto the building. The Bats all stuck to the shadows, blending in unnoticeablely as they snuck into the warehouse.
Robin crawled into the vents, his small figure maneuvering through them easily. Nightwing went in through a window and perched onto the rafters, his observant gaze searching for anything out of the ordinary. Red Hood dropped to the floor of the Warehouse, his heavy boots making no noise as he walked forward silently. Red Robin went in the opposite direction of Red Hood, while Red Arrow and Batman were both nowhere to be seen.
Danny gaze twisted into a grimace as he gazed at the far wall across from his, his hand instinctively moving to rub at his neck. It was throbbing, and the skin was a tender pink color. His body was littered with bruises, and there was a throbbing ache spreading throughout his whole body. A sharp pain was settled uncomfortably in his gut, and he let out a small groan, squinting against the bright light of the room.
There was a clank, and his hand was stopped in its path. He sighed, slouching back against the wall. His powers were still being blocked of from the Plasmius Maximus, and he wasn't sure how long he had until it wore off, but knew that it would be a while.
He stared off, ignoring the immense pain in his body. The silence stretched on, blending past until it had to have been at least a few minutes of him just sitting there, waiting for something to happen. Danny was growing very restless, and he started tapping his finger against the floor. It was driving him crazy.
But then something in the air changed. A figure appeared in front of him, and it made Danny regret his earlier thoughts so much.
A young, almost transparent woman materialized before his icy eyes, her own purple pools boring into his. She had a casual smile on her face, and was wearing a teal hazmat suit. An orange bob framed her pretty face.
"M-Mom..." Danny breathed out quietly, his words a small whisper, but conveyed an intense amount of emotion. His eyes started burning, a stream of salty tears pouring from his red rimmed eyes. His heart aching, Danny lifted his hand as much as possible against the restraints, feebly reaching towards the woman.
"Hello, Daniel Fenton," Maddie said lightly. She tilted her head at him, her purple eyes looking at him without emotion. "Is there anything you need?"
"Wha-" Danny swallowed, his throat tightening against his will as it dawned on him that this wasn't Maddie. It wasn't his mother. Her body was fizzing erratically, and their was a small light shining on her, leading towards the corner of the ceiling. There was a small bulb, and it was projecting a hologram. His hand fell back onto the floor with a clang, and he stared at her, his blue eyes glazing over with pain.
"Mr. Fenton?" the hologram repeated, sounding so much like the original that it hurt.
"Please..." Danny mumbled, his breathing getting faster as his heart constricted in his chest. "Please don't do this..." He curled up in on himself, repeating the word "please" repeatedly, the hologram watching on emotionlessly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fenton, but I'm afraid I don't understand what it is that you require." The words made a small whimper escape his throat. His eyes were clenched tightly, desperately attempting to dispel the image from his mind. Shoulders shaking, Danny continued to cry quietly, listening to the painfully familiar, yet horrifying machine address him as 'Mr. Fenton'. Not son. Not Danny. Not even those little pet names that he always hated so much. He wanted to hear those words so desperately, accompanied with soothing motherly touch and affectionate smile that he would never see again.
The thought made him want to start sobbing all over again. He didn't even notice the sound of the air displaced, and he didn't notice when a glint of metal shone under the light. There was a small spark, the metal making contact with the projector, and causing the Maddie imposter to dissipate. The metal fell to the floor, the bat shaped item failing to catch his attention.
His soft cries echoed around the small room, and their was a whoosh as a black figure glided down to the floor. Crouching next to the broken teen, Batman eyes softened under his cowl. He laid a gloved hand on Danny's back, his cape wrapping around his adopted son protectively as he rubbed soothing circles onto him. Danny's breath started to even out slightly, his tears slowing when a few minutes passed by. There was a thud as a figure landed beside Batman. He took in the state of them, and raised an eyebrow.
"What did you do to him?" Red Hood asked dryly.
"I did nothing," Batman glared, choosing not to divulge anymore information, considering he wasn't as informed about the situation himself. "Danny," he said gently, prodding the teen to turn his gaze onto him. Danny blinked, his puffy eyes and tear-stained face taking in the Caped Crusader.
"B-Batman?" Danny mumbled confusedly, looking at the dark figure in confusion.
"Daniel," Batman said gruffly, "what happened?"
"Why are you here?" Danny asked hoarsely, his brow furrowing. "Why do you know my name?"
"Batman, Bruce Wayne, they're the same person. Now what happened?" Jason demanded impatiently.
"Hood!" Batman barked sharply, his white-slitted eyes narrowing angrily at Red Hood. Jason simply shrugged at him, and Batman sighed, turning his attention back to Danny. Red Hood pursed his lips, knowing that he was most definitely going to get a talk later, but couldn't find it in him to really care at the moment.
"Di-" he started speaking to a wide-eyed Danny gently, but then cut off as he felt a warm liquid seeping onto him. "You're hurt," he stated, frowning.
"You're Bruce Wayne!" Danny exclaimed, his eyes still wide, before he seemed thoughtful again, his mouth twisting bemusedly. "...That actually makes a lot of sense." Batman's frown deepened. The kid was just sobbing his heart out one minute ago, and now it looked like he took a complete one-eighty. His eyes were still pink, but they didn't hold any hint of pain in his icy orbs. The only sign that he had been actually crying were the tear stains streaking his cheeks.
He bottles his emotions, Batman noted. Quite well.
"Are we gonna get him out of hear, or what?" Jason demanded. He leaned down next to Danny's arms, reaching for something in his utility belt, and took out a silver wire. The cuffs surrounding his wrists opened and fell off, freeing his hands and leaving a small ring around his wrists, where the cuffs dented into his skin. Danny rubbed at it gratefully and stood up, once again ignoring the fiery pain shooting through his body as soon as he did so.
"We need to get you medically attention immediately," Batman stated.
"How did you get in here?" Danny asked quietly. The Dark Knight simply wrapped his arm around Danny's waist, shooting his grappling hook out of a giant hole in the wall as an answer. Red Hood followed immediately, and they came to a stop inside a small, two-sided hallway.
"Which way?" Red Hood demanded. Danny shrugged and turned down a random direction, hiding his unease with a blank mask. The two vigilantes followed, but they paused immediately when a large figure materialized in front of them. He had blue glowing skin and malicious red eyes. Danny gave a start, watching Plasmius growl at the group angrily, before he didn't hesitate to turn around, heading in the opposite direction. Batman's eyes narrowed, and he threw a pellet at the ghost, not pausing to watch as a gray cloud of smoke engulfed the ghost. Running after Danny, Batman ears honed in on a small buzzing sound. His brows furrowed, and he turned his gaze, about to warn his two comrades, but found himself too late when he heard a yell of pain from Danny.
He stumbled, and his side was still bleeding, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to fall. The material around his leg was charred, his skin bubbling underneath from contact with the charged ectoblast shot just moments before. He was limping forward, but then Batman ran ahead, grabbing the teen and throwing him over his shoulder effortlessly.
"Hold him off," Batman commanded Red Hood. "Be. Careful." Red Hood nodded once with a smirk, slowing to a stop. He watched as Batman and Danny disappeared down the hall, before he narrowed his eyes. Turning to meet the evil ghost, Red Hood flipped his guns once, a malicious glint flashing in his blue-green eyes.
YES, I AM ALIVE! What's up? :P I feel like I needed to tell you guys something, but I always forget, so I'ma just go hide behind a corner for taking three weeks to update, m'kay? Also, everything sort of went by really quickly, so it'll get into the details about Danny knowing the identies soon ;P
RR
Poohbearmorris: YOU ARE AMAZING! xD IS YOUR SANITY OKAY?
Guest of honor: *Coughs nervously* Hey? ...Don't get me started on Twilight -.0
KodiakWolfe13: JASON HAS HIM FOR YOU! (I think...) Roy can be so pissy sometimes.
animegal1357: ...It was last year... A long time ago, actually. Just look at your old PMs, I guess.
scheffelman: Yes, that is very pleasant. *Grins evilly*
LoneCreator: VLAD IS A CRAZED LOON. THAT'S WHY.
Ninuhuju: SO MUCH HATE FOR THIS DUDE. IT'S AMAZING.
Good Witch of Babble: So glad you enjoyed it :D And if you look at Vlad that way... I mean, I personally was always creeped out by him, so I never really could actually view him as the creepy uncle type *Shrugs* (Your reviews always make me smile, by the way xD)
thecharmedone927: Thank you! xD I don't plan on it, but your review made me have a dream that night about discontinuing this story... -.0 ONLY A DREAM.
Kitsune's Den: Thanks, you! xD
Ciestess84: HAHA, GLAD YOU THINK SO! :D JASON HAS HIM! (I think...)
IWasNeverReal: They are :) Thanks you xD
jaguarspot: That makes sense too, and that would have been a funny image if he kept eating everyone's food xD Probably not, but I wouldn't complain if he did get some Bat-punches to the head...
Appa: YES, IT WAS THE HOLOGRAM THING. It wasn't that evil, but oh well xD
Bibbledoo: HAHA, THANKS! xD Vlad punching bags are always fun :D
GreenDrkness: Would've been a little hard to explain to Danny why they had access to zeta beams... (You know, before Jason ruined everything...) xD
THEBOXGHOST113: DUDE. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO MENTIONED THAT, SO THANK YOU. A LOT. xD Hehe, alright xD
Guest: Now ;p
Lydia: I will, thanks
Mellany Jackson: THANKS YOU. YOUR REVIEWS MADE ME SMILE AND LAUGH! xD :D
Guest: ...Well, you just ticked me off... You know, I am indeed very busy, and writing a chapter takes a lot of TIME, so I would appreciate it if you would chill out and grow some patience, m'kay? Thanks.
natashawagner122: Thanks xDxD
