"I already have a watch," are the first words out of my mouth when I open Danny's gift.
"You do?"
His expression falls when he catches sight of the sleek watch on my left wrist. I furrow my eyebrows slightly at his disappointment, reminding him, "I've had it on since forever, Danny."
"Oh. My bad. I'll just…" He takes the box holding the watch out of my hands. "Change it into something else."
I tilt my head, a little weirded out. He looks so disappointed. "However clueless you may be," I argue, taking the box back, "It's still from you, so I love it."
"You never struck me as the cheesy type." He reaches for the box again but I hold it out of his reach. "I want to make it into something you'll be able to wear."
"I can wear it now," I snipe back, dodging another grab. "Who says I can't wear two watches?"
"Really, it's okay. I'll have it back to you in two days tops."
"Danny, seriously, cut it out." I hold the box completely out of reach, annoyed with his behavior. "I'm not going to argue with your sad little self-esteem on Christmas day because you forgot that I already wore a watch. I like this watch. It's cool, cooler than the one I'm already wearing. But I have to wear this watch. Luckily, I was cloned from a guy lucky enough to have two arms, and with this amazing blessing, I am capable of wearing both of these watches."
To prove my point, I take the watch out of its box and lay it on my right wrist. I wasn't lying; I do think this watch is way cooler than the shiny black plexiglass on my left wrist. Its wristband is made of light blue material with purple stitching, and it feels durable despite being almost like cloth.
The face is old looking, made of light gray stone with dark etches of roman numerals for the numbers. It isn't covered by glass, leaving the clock hands exposed, though it is encircled by the modern outer portions of a watch. I finger the buttons absently, wondering what they do.
Danny smiles at last.
"You are being so weird," I mutter, pushing aside the wrapping paper from the gift he'd given me. "Anyway, here's yours…"
It's considerably less eventful for Danny to open his gift.
With Dick's help, I'd found the most magnificent piece of technology. It worked as a hologram projector for any image. In its memory banks, I'd uploaded several images of the night sky from different hemispheres and time zones. There are even a couple of different star systems from the League's database.
After thoroughly blowing Danny's mind with its ability to project in a sphere or on a ceiling, we joined Danny's friends for another celebration in the snow. Sam and I started a snowball fight against the boys that turned into a war. Eventually, we won, as girls are the superior sex (in my and Sam's opinion, anyway), and all four of us collapsed into the snow, idly making conversation.
"How's living with Batman?" Tucker asks in the ultimate non sequtur.
Not missing a beat, I answer, "It can get annoying because they're always busy. But they teach me stuff, and when they are around, it's awesome." I blow a stream of cold air into the empty space in front of me.
"Teach you stuff?"
"Like how to throw."
Tucker shudders, still traumatized from my triple snowball attack that had hit him into a snowbank with deadly accuracy. "Do they teach you how to fight?"
"Sometimes. They're hot and cold with it. On one hand, they want me to know how to defend myself. On the other, they're afraid I'll be another Stephanie Brown."
"Who's she moonlighting as?" Sam asks lazily.
"She's… Ugh, I don't even know. It switches back and forth between Spoiler and Batgirl. Anyway, she kind of knew kung fu and decided to join the superhero fight. Like Danny, but without the superpowers."
Everyone makes noises of understanding, even Danny.
"So they don't want you being a hero?" Danny asks.
"Yes. N-no? I don't know. Damian says it's inevitable. Bruce says I don't have the dedication. Tim likes teaching me and probably expects me to use it someday. Jason is adamantly against it. And Dick… He refuses to say. All he does is tell me it's my choice and outline the benefits of staying civilian and the dangers of the mask." I sigh, watching my breath steam again. "But he's not against it, per se…"
"Sounds like pressure," Sam announces at once, waving her hand overhead. "You can do whatever you want. It's your life."
"Yes, it is," I muse, and the trio around me falls silent. I close my eyes, settling deeper into the snow. My skin is chilling from the radiating temperature of the snow, but it's also too warm inside my jacket to get up. Besides, my injuries are still healing (Danny's goo works to both stem blood flow and super-healing), and the chill feels wonderful.
All at once, Danny sits up and flips over to me, a hand seizing my wrist and dancing along my watch. I hear a whir and a click, and I pry open an eye. "What?"
"I don't have much time to explain, but basically, the watch is a time medallion. When you press this button-" his finger taps the button on the upper right "-you freeze in time. To Vlad, you'll look like people Clockwork freezes. Right now, it looks like we're both lying in the snow. I have one too-" he slides up the fabric on his wrist to highlight a watch similar to mine "but I'm much more closely watched than you are. Remember that everyone else isn't frozen in time. I've known about Vlad since almost three weeks ago. Clockwork told me and gave me the medallions, but while time was frozen. Vlad doesn't know about them."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know," he grunts in frustration. "I just knew that you're in a household of people who can potentially help us and that Vlad is watching all of us in Amity way too closely. He's watching the Justice League too closely." He breathes heavily, looking at me with desperate eyes. "I know you aren't interested in being a hero. But I need your help."
I place a hand on Danny's, preparing the words that have been floating around in my head for a while now. "I've always been interested in being a hero. I just didn't want my DNA to decide my life. I didn't want to be Dani Phantom, the gender-bent sequel. I'm not your copy. But I've always known I'd be a hero eventually.
"I've learned a lot in the four years I've been alive. I'm a language savant, did you know that? I know twelve, maybe more. I'm a master escape artist, with or without ghost powers. I'm an amateur chef and artist, I can throw weapons with accuracy and I drive motorcycles. I kind of know karate and I've been studying acrobatics. I know how to slip information to my brothers in code. And I know I'm not your copy. I'm your cousin, your sister, whatever… I'm me. And I'm alive."
I release his hand and fix him with as earnest a stare as I can manage. "I was born a villain, and you and my other family have helped me live long enough to become the hero you all saw in me. Not your cloned sidekick, not another Robin, but something in between. Vlad may have time powers, but you have me." I settle back in the snow and prime my grip to push the button on my watch again. "Now turn time back on so it doesn't look like we're suffocating."
Danny, in some sort of awe, lies down again. I push the button, and the watch clicks again.
Throughout all this, Sam and Tuck had been perfectly silent, undoubtedly listening but betraying nothing. Now, Tucker sits up. "Hey, Dani-"
"Which one?" Danny and I chorus.
"With an i. While you're here, why don't you transform? You must be dying to blow off some energy."
"Wow, you're hilarious," Sam deadpans. Danny helps her to stand but doesn't relinquish her hand afterwards.
"Not really," I reply, standing as well. "It's urgency goes away after a while."
"That's never happened to me." Danny shrugs. "Want to anyway?"
I raise an eyebrow at the three of them. We shouldn't be testing my energy levels while Vlad could be watching. Danny notices my hesitation and flicks his watch.
"We want to see if you still can, Dani," he explains in a rush. "We're not going to test your powers or anything."
He clicks his watch again.
That's it?
Not releasing my weirded-out gaze, I delve deep inside myself to fumble for the feeling of my ghost form. It'd been so long since I'd last used it. I mastered using small amounts of energy without switching over almost two years ago, and there'd been no reason to.
The feeling of my ghost form washing away my human one greets me like an old friend. Energy surges through my bloodstream. The cold fades to a forgotten sensation. My feet drift off the snow.
"Whoa," Sam breathes. "It looks like you've changed your uniform on your own."
I open my eyes, greeted by the sight of before with enhanced vision. It isn't much more than night vision and a clarity that my human vision can't grant me, but it makes me feel powerful nonetheless. At Sam's exclamation, I look down at myself.
Sam snaps a picture and forks over her cell phone so I can see it all.
My jumpsuit has melded into a one-piece, still skin tight but plated with the same material Babs uses for her Batgirl uniform. The black/white splice of my former jumpsuit is now a white middle with black running down the sides. A black jacket, little more than just sleeves and a collar, runs to my wrists. The jumpsuit ends at boots and gloves that are white with black accents. A double belt-one black and the other white-hugs my hips, crossing in the middle of my body.
Besides that, my hair remains the style it was in my human form, albeit white and flowing in a nonexistent breeze. My eyes glow the familiar radioactive green of Phantom.
But the most shocking change in my uniform is the symbol on my chest. It used to be Danny's DP logo, but now instead of a P being inside an open D, there is now a closed D with a bat opening.
I place my hand on the symbol, almost cautiously.
"It's different. I like it." Danny gives his approval with his words as well as a proud sparkle in his eye.
"You weren't kidding about being with Batman, huh?" Sam takes her phone back. I tug my ponytail, awkward at the inflection of Sam's question. "No, no, it's good! You've grown up into this awesome double hero!"
"Do you have a name?" Tucker asks.
"No. I'm not even officially a hero yet. I'll figure out my name when I make my debut."
I float higher experimentally, the sensation both familiar and foreign. Flying is like riding a bike; I remember how to balance, how to hold myself, how to move. But the feeling of weightlessness, of total equilibrium… I haven't felt this disconnected since I was… thirteen?
Danny switches to his ghost form without warning, floating up to me with a tilt to his smile. I wonder vaguely if I should incorporate green into my costume as Danny has done, but decide against it as I'm not sure how my costume changed in the first place.
"Race?" he suggests, not losing the mischievous glint in his eye.
"You are so on," I banter back, rising higher in the air.
"Where to?"
"I'll let you decide that! THREETWOONEGO!"
I take off through the trees, switching between intangibility and dodging to get through them before I catch a flash of shadow on the ground beside me. Twisting in the air, I catch sight of Danny easily keeping pace with me above the trees, waving when I notice him.
I narrow my eyes to glare, but he's suddenly not above me, crashed into a tree he hadn't seen because he was too busy gloating.
Not one to waste a gift, I take to the skies and add more speed, soaring only higher when reaching the city's edge.
"Sam and Tucker are going to be so ticked," I call out to Danny, who's caught up again.
"We'll go back for them."
"Maybe whoever loses goes back for them."
"Deal! To my house!"
The conversation halts again with the roar of the wind. I can tell Danny isn't going top speed, as he stays close to me even though he could easily outpace me. After all, he did catch up despite slamming into a tree at /- 200 mph. His legs have morphed, though I recognize mine have not. Annoyed, I only add more speed, but they fail to conjoin.
"I WIN!" Danny crows, swooping down to circle the op center. "Take that!"
"Please! We all knew you were going to before we even started," I bite back, folding my arms in contempt. "You were faster than me the whole time."
"I've had six years practice," he boasts, still flaunting with various superhero poses. I charge a finger and zap him in the thigh.
My finger tingles, unused to the sensation of ectoplasm, and I unconsciously rub it.
"Spoilsport," he whines, hand on his thigh.
"Sore winner," I shoot back, darting away when he launches himself forward in retaliation.
"I think it's sore loser," he insists, trailing after me as we leisurely float back the way we came.
"Why must everyone hate on my idioms? I mean, the people that said them are dead. It's not like I'm offending them."
"What if they're ghosts?"
"Tell you what: if the ghostly manifestation of the person who first said 'sore loser' wants to come personally correct me, I'll accept the criticism graciously."
Danny grins as we continue to soar through the sky.
"Are you going to the League's party?" I ask all at once, realizing Dick is probably there now.
"No. I spend way too much time with them already. This is the only day off from ghost hunting I get for the entire year… I want to spend it with my family."
"Yet you're spending it with me…"
"You are family, Dani. 'Sides, I spent all morning with them."
We alight on the snow beside Sam and Tucker, who are in a heated discussion about some kind of school project.
"What took you guys so long?" Sam demands, breaking off from her argument with Tucker. "I swear you spend all that time flying around with the League with no improvement to show for it. I'm freezing!"
"Somebody's being her normal goth self," Danny teases, losing his ghost form as he drops down in front of her. "Which, for Christmas, is totally strange." I clumsily change my form, dropping into the snow with much less practice. Preoccupied with my balance, I almost miss the kiss Danny and Sam share.
"Tucker, I'm confused," I announce loudly, lifting my hand above my eyes as if searching for something. "I don't see any mistletoe! Isn't it bad luck to kiss on Christmas without mistletoe?"
"I think it should be," Tucker grins, playing into my charade. "I mean, something has to stop them. Maybe they'll get mono and be forced to keep their mouths to themselves."
Sam rolls her eyes at our display, letting her hands fall from Danny's shoulders. "We do not kiss that often."
"Don't be so melodramatic," Danny adds, lacing his gloved fingers through Sam's.
"Wow, five syllables," I say in mock-awe. "College is making an impact on you."
Danny rolls his eyes. "Sooo, Christmas dinner, anyone?"
We drop Tucker off on the way to FentonWorks, since his mom always makes an extra stuffed meatloaf-in addition to four other meat entrees-for Christmas dinner. Sam's parents are off in France and had left Sam to her own devices, making her the second guest in the Fenton household.
"Hey, we're back," Danny calls when he enters the house. We start shrugging out of our gear. I revel in the homey, warm feeling of this place in contrast to the airy feel of Wayne Manor. They might be a family, but it can hardly be seen in the house around them like this place. "Hope we didn't keep you waiting."
He hangs his jacket up before catching sight of the jacket next to it. I wouldn't have noticed if Danny hadn't stared so long. Quickly he breaks his gaze and helps Sam shrug out of her jacket, giving me ample opportunity to search the pockets of it discreetly.
Nothing but gloves and a handkerchief. I withdraw them anyway for good measure, discovering initials stitched into the corner.
VM.
Instead of panic, my heart drops into a sort of resigned acceptance.
"Thanks for the gift," I mutter to Danny, slipping my shoes back on in two fluid movements. He catches the handkerchief as I move to put it back in the pocket and fixes his glare on the letters. His jaw and hands tighten, his eyes very briefly flashing green.
"No, Dani, you're not leaving. I'm going-"
"Danny!" shouts a loud, boisterous voice. Seconds later, the three of us are cornered in the hallway by a huge man clothed in an orange jumpsuit. Jack Fenton is a family man; this much is obvious by the large hug he encircles all three of us with. "And the other Dani! A pleasure to meet you!" Every sentence is said with an exclamation point, his joyful attitude prominent in every word.
"Leaving," I gasp from his embrace. He lets go with a cheerful smile.
"Of course not! You must meet my wife, Maddie! MADDIE! Come meet Danny's clone! Vladdie! Did you know we have a Danny-boy and a Dani-girl?"
"Why is Vlad here," Danny hisses at his father.
Jack ignores his hostility and slaps him on the back, jerking him towards Sam. She steadies him, her gaze fixed on me. "He had nowhere else to go! He's our friend, Danny! You wouldn't have us turn friends out on Christmas, would you?"
"Would you, Daniel?" Vlad mocks, just sincere enough for Maddie and Jack to overlook his taunt.
I dart under Jack's arms. "Bye, Danny, Sam," I breathe to them, flickering out of visibility without another thought. Yet months under the Bat's roof prevent me from leaving just yet.
"Where'd Dani-girl go?" Jack asks Danny, his joyful smile turning into something that might've been a puppy dog pout on someone younger.
Danny grits his teeth, his eyes on the verge of flashing again. "She had to go," he snarls, directing all of his hostility to Vlad. He merely smiles, fidgeting with the cuffs of his cashmere sweater with an expression that might've been innocence on someone more… innocent.
"A shame," Vlad tells Danny politely. "She seemed like such a nice girl."
"I don't want you here," Danny states very seriously. Sam places a hand on his elbow and he snatches it with his other hand, holding her tightly. "I don't like you." His eyes flick to his dad, who's looking appalled at his son's manners. "But, in the spirit of Christmas" it comes out like a hiss "we'll pretend you're allowed three miles within our house."
His glare intensifies but Sam drags him through the hallway, into the dining room. Jack apologizes to Vlad, looking beyond confused, and follows his son. Vlad coolly slides his gaze onto me, seeing right through my invisibility (or perhaps just looked in time to see I'd stayed, who knows).
"Run along now," he taunts, "like a good little coward."
My eyes flutter shut; my breath stalls. Two separate needs demand my attention at the same time: the need to make a remark that would make his blood boil, and the equal need to put distance between the two of us.
The latter wins, and I silently slip out the door and into the frigid outdoors, leaving the Fenton family behind me.
"What are you doing home?" Damian demands the second I pop off my helmet.
"I'm tired." I set the helmet on the motorcycle.
"You said you'd probably stay the night."
"I didn't."
I sidestep him and continue towards the stairs, trying to ignore his attempts to place himself in front of me.
"Why not?"
Petulant. He's a petulant child. Spoiled, rich brat.
"I didn't feel like it."
"You are a terrible liar."
"Well, we already established that, didn't we?" I snap, my suppressed anger making its inevitable comeback. "Leave me alone!"
His expression registers the slightest flicker of surprise. I don't often snap at anyone, not really snap. It's always playful, or at least without true anger. The surprise quickly fades, however, and his mask of neutral curiosity slips in place once more.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," I answer truthfully. Technically, nothing did happen. It's just what could've happened. "Why aren't you at the League's party? Is that where everyone else is?"
"Jason is with his Outlaws and Tim with the Titans. Do not redirect the question. There is something you aren't telling me."
He follows me through the manor and up to my room.
"It's none of your business."
"You live under my roof. It is my business."
I look sideways at him. Everyone in this household took it upon themselves to never use that particular card against me. Last time Damian used it, Dick forced Damian to apologize. I never had to say that a comment like that hurt me down to my core; they just knew.
After a beat of silence, Damian scoffs quietly. "Fine. I withdraw the statement. But you cannot expect to make such a monumental deal of a holiday spent with Daniel Fenton and come home early with no explanation as to why."
"That's exactly what I'm doing."
I shrug off my snow clothes while stoically ignoring Damian's gaze. When I toss them into my wardrobe, a pair of shoes stand out to me. "You went through my things," I deadpan.
"I did not."
I turn a flat glare to him. "I live in a house of bats." I point to the pair of shoes. "I put these shoes perfectly aligned, one stitch off." I point to the stitches. "Now they're just perfectly aligned." Moving my pointer finger up to the racks of clothes, I come to a dress. "All my dresses are haphazardly thrown on the hangers, but this one is on perfectly. Now it's matching all the others." Turning to my desk, I scan the mess before coming to another marker I'd placed. "The nib of this pen was perfectly between the words 'the' and 'inside'. Now it's in between 'inside'." I turn back to him. "Do I need to find more?"
Damian scoffs. "Fine. So I looked through your things. You had a bag of belongings when you came here, but it's not in this room. Where is it?"
I look up at the sky in exasperation. "Wow. You… are… Whatever. You know what, whatever! Damian is incapable of sin, I see that now! For your information, it is in this room. You just haven't found it. Now get out!"
He stares me down, but I refuse to step down.
Finally, he averts his eyes and his face softens. "What's wrong?"
The earnest question surprises me. I sigh, long and hard. "I'm tired. Can you please, please, just leave me alone?"
"Dani…"
"Can we just pretend that's it? Can we pretend that I'd rather go to bed than meet Danny's family and eat probably radioactive dinner and make snide comments about Danny and Sam's relationship? Can we just pretend, just for the rest of tonight, that Masters is not an old friend of the Fentons, and that I only left because I'd rather get some rest? Please?"
Damian's eyes widen a fraction at the name. He opens his mouth to say something, but I'm done with the conversation. I climb into my bed and pull the covers over my head.
"You're still here, aren't you."
"The katanas in my room," he answers, coming from the foot of my bed. I didn't even hear him move… Guess that's an assassin for you. "They're ancient. Their workmanship is flawless. Where did you get them?"
"I won them in Japan," I mumble into my pillow. "Something about curses and samurai and temples… I stumbled on an ancient prophecy and got wrapped up in this clan war or something. I lose track. It happens a lot."
"So you kept the katanas?"
"I left them in the temple. But you like that kind of swords, so I called them up and asked them to be shipped here. They delivered them personally, so that was nice of them."
"Who?"
"The monks of the temple. Kannushis, I think they're called." I don't say that the katanas were worshipped because Phantom was the one who had used them. He saved the kannushis from Vlad's rule when he went rampaging through time three years ago. A couple of years back I'd stumbled upon it and ended up transforming and saving the temple from destruction. They gave me the katanas as a gift but I'd declined, but when I sent a letter asking for them back they couldn't deliver them fast enough.
Ancient blades. I thought Damian would appreciate them, and I'm glad he does.
"You gave Drake, Todd and Grayson mementos of their parents," Damian reproaches.
"You aren't the sentimental type," I reply. "I wanted to give you something from me that you'd be able to use. These are priceless, so I hope you'll at least hang them up."
Silence falls. I stay under my blanket.
"Are you still mad I set you on fire?"
He doesn't answer, so I peek out discreetly from my blanket. The slightest flicker of a smile glows in the moonlight. "Yes."
Silence again. Next time I peek out, he's sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Why are you staying?" I mean it to sound rude, but it comes out more curious than anything.
"It's Christmas," he replies.
He's there until long after I pretend to fall asleep.
Next chapter reveals part of Vlad's plot, and some of Dani's involvement. I haven't written it yet, though, so I'm not sure what's going to be in it yet. Thanks for reading!
Some quick review responses: Yes, the review on Selina did encourage me to involve her in the Christmas party. Again, I may or may not add more with her. And the costumes... Technically she bought them, but she had to be pretty aggressive to get the owners to give them up. The Flying Graysons weren't famous, but they were the best acrobats in the world and now that they're gone, I'm willing to bet the price on their merch has gone up. And Vlad's time powers are limited to sight only, not travel. I'll go more into depth with it in later chapters, though.
~Disclaimer disclaimer~