"Ah, Master Daniel," Alfred said as I dragged my feet in. I had my shirt back on, but I was holding the other stuff. "How was the prom?"
"Fine. The prom was fine." I said flatly, walking over to him. I sat on a bench near him. "I messed up Alfred. I messed up more than anything."
He hustled over to me and say next to me. "What happened, Master Daniel?"
I told him everything that had happened in the car. I held back on some detail, but that was for his sake.
"Master Daniel... Do you want my opinion on this?" He asked me, placing his hand on my arm. I nodded. "I think you should stop this. Quit the Dayhound altogether, have a normal life."
"I can't Alfred. This is all I know. I haven't gone to high school for the past yeah, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get into college with my school."
"You know who you sound like? Me. You sound exactly like me when the war ended. I had come back, didn't have a high school degree, and all I knew how to do was kill. Butler was not my first choice of career, but I am all the better for it. Because I became the Wayne's butler when Master Bruce was a baby, I watched a boy grow into a young man, I was able to comfort this boy when his parents were shot in an alley, I was here for Master Richard when his parents died, I watched him grow into a young man who was as selfless as could be. I watched you grow up quicker than you should've, but I was here for you and your brother when your mother died. If I hadn't become the Wayne's butler all those years ago, I wouldn't have made the impact I had. Sometimes, your true calling is not what you think it would be."
I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure how long I had planned to be the Dayhound, but I never planned to quit. I wasn't sure how long we stayed in there, but eventually Bruce came in after saving the city for the night.
"Ah, Danny, you're awake. Good. You can debrief me." He said, drying his hair. He had just showered. I stood up, reorganizing myself before I spoke.
"We almost managed to catch the Burner, but he surprised us with a smoke bomb and alluded us."
"Damn. Do you have anything to go on?"
"Yes, actually. I saw his face and ID'ed him already. I can't remember his first or last name, but I remember who he is. He's a low level criminal I took down around the time I was just starting: Anarky.
"Good job, Dayhound. Get some sleep."
"Yes sir." I said as I went up stairs to my room. I didn't realized how exhausted I was. I fell asleep as soon as I was in bed.
—
"Are you in position, Dayhound?" Batman said in my ear communicator.
"Yeah. On three?"
"On three." He said quietly. He counted to three, then I busted through the window to Anarky's house. Batman busted through the front door.
Anarky as in he saw us, he ran for the other window, but I cut him off.
He spun around for the door, but Batman's massive form filled the small doorframe. Anarky, panicked, but he picked up a butcher's knife off the table. He slashed at my throat, but I dodged backwards. Batman ran up behind him, but Anarky held him back by slashing at him. I charged him, and grabbed his hand as he chopped down. I twisted his arm and smacked his elbow, breaking it. He cried out in pain, but Batman punched Anarky in the chin, knocking him out.
"Whew... You and I make a good team, huh?" I said, breathing out a heavy breath. I swore I saw him almost smile. He'd never even got that close before while he was Batman.
"Dayhound," He said, after tying up Anarky. "Don't beat people more than they deserve. And don't cut off fingers during interrogations. Break as many bones as you want until they tell you, but leave them attached."
"I know. I just... I have so much going on right now. My life isn't the same as it was a year ago."
"Maybe that's a good thing." He said, pulling his cowl down. You don't have to be alone, Danny. Alfred, me, Dick, and the titans, we are all here for you."
I felt like hugging him. Bruce or Batman, or whoever, he was the closest thing I have ever had to a father. He wasn't the greatest, but he was what I needed. I may have been a good soldier, but I was only that way because I thought of Batman as my father, not my leader. I chose not to hug him, despite feeling like I should.
"Master Bruce, Master Daniel," Alfred's voice chimed in my earpiece, "Both a shipment at the harbor and a bank in the diamond district are being robbed."
"You deal with the bank," Batman ordered me, "I'll get to the harbor. Take the Batmobile."
I nodded, then jumped out the window I crashed through. I landed in the car, shut the top, then sped off.
I got to the bank fast. It was one of those high rise, digital banks. Most of the money there was digital, but a skilled hacker could transfer it over to an offshore account in a couple of hours. I ejected out of the Batmobile, and used my grapple gun to grapple up to a broken window. Judging by the bodies of the security guards, the window was broken by bullets.
I sneaked as I followed a trail of bodies, but eventually I heard commotion. It sounded like fighting. There was no way Batman had finished up at the harbor then made it here in that amount of time. I looked around the corner. There were some guys firing submachine guns, but it didn't seem like they were hitting much. They stopped shooting.
"Is she dead?" One of them asked. Were they shooting at Batgirl. A crossbow bolt from the shadows nailed one of the men in the chest.
"Shit! Get down!" A different one screamed. They took cover behind a few desks. Now was my chance.
I pulled out the extending baton from a pocket in my coat. I extended it, and sneaked up behind them. I brought the baton down on the nearest's head.
"Oh crap! It's the Dayhound!" He said, staggering back. This baton wasn't nearly as effective as my bat. I whipped him in the face with it, then took him as a human shield.
"Drop him, Dayhound!" They yelled, pointing their guns toward me and my hostage. They had forgotten about their crossbow assailant. A bolt flew through the air, barely missing one's head. It nailed a computer monitor next to him. They all cursed and swore, scattering in all different directions.
I bashed my hostage in the face multiple times, until he went limp, then pounced on another one.