That evening Batman came to debrief the team and Danny, Danielle and Garfield from their impromptu mission. He still wasn't happy, but he shouted at the team the previous day. He'd forgone any proper punishment as he heard how Danny had reacted. Black Canary gave him a brief explanation of what Danny had told her after she left him. Since Batman already knew everything, he wanted to know only to see how the boy was doing. It was a good sign that he'd finally started to talk to Black Canary.
Batman scanned the group of children in front of him, lingering for a second longer on Danny. For the first time, Danny didn't seem to shrink away from Batman's gaze. Batman knew he was an imposing character. He'd made sure of it in order to scare criminals. It always made him feel a little guilty though when Danny flinched away from him. So it was gratifying and telling that Danny wasn't shying away now. He was growing more confident and more used to Batman's presence.
"Well, now that you're all present, I'd like to go over everything we learnt during that unsanctioned mission," Batman began with a slight growl. Once again, Danny didn't flinch. Batman wondered to himself if the boy would be afraid of any angry motion he made now.
"This is Lex Luthor," Batman continued and an image of the bald businessman appeared on the holographic screen above.
"He runs LexCorp and is a member of the Light," Batman explained for the three non-team members.
"Hate him already," Danielle grumbled. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Ignore her. Bad experience with a millionaire," Danny interjected. The others blinked, not missing the glare Danielle shot at Danny and his sideways smirk at her.
"Well, he was at the complex you were in the other day," Batman resumed. He knew how Danny disliked the name Guys in White and the dark knight really couldn't blame the kid.
"So, this Light? Bad news?" Danny asked with a frown.
"Very," Conner answered with a hateful glare at the image of Luthor.
"So, him being at the Guys in White is not good," Danny concluded. Batman hid his surprise and repressed a proud smile. It seemed that Danny had started on his road to recovery. Batman nodded to the teenager. Danny frowned at the image.
"How bad are we talking?" Danny inquired.
"The Light took down the Justice League last New Year using mind control chips. Luckily Red Tornado installed programming to short circuit himself if he ever tried to put one on someone," Robin informed the halfa. Danny grimaced.
"Mind control," he muttered distastefully.
"You sound like you've experienced that," Wally pointed out, with a suspicious raised eyebrow.
"Let's just say "unleash your dark side at Circus Gothica" wasn't just an advertising slogan," Danny replied. Batman frowned at that and mentally noted to research Circus Gothica when he returned to the Bat Cave.
"Moving on. We don't know why Luthor was with the Guys in White the other day. But it is safe to say he saw what you did Danny. The Light might be interested in recruiting you," Batman warned, watching Danny carefully for any sign of discomfort at the name of his captors. But he didn't react beyond frowning at the image above again.
"How far would the Light go to get me on their side?" Danny asked. Batman understood what the halfa was asking.
"I see that you understand what this could mean. And yes, they'd use any weakness to get to you. Including your family," Batman confirmed. Danny folded his arms and turned to Batman.
"We have placed a rota of Justice League members to watch your family and friends," Batman informed the teen.
"Do they know?" Danny inquired. Batman blinked. Danny smirked.
"Years of ghost fighting makes someone really perceptive. They could see that they're being followed and they might react badly. Especially after what happened to me. I'd warn my family and friends and maybe send a picture of who's watching them in case. My friends may be young, but they do carry ghost weapons most of the time. And while they're meant to only hurt ghosts, they can pack a punch," Danny explained.
"Wait, are you saying that the League might get attacked by following your family and friends around?" Zatanna interjected. Danny shrugged.
"Trust me, my dad has done worse by accident. And my friends, they're good at ghost fighting. And Tucker is a mean hacker. I know that it's illegal, but he's gotten me out of a lot of tight spots. I'm just saying, ghost fighting can make a person paranoid. Seeing that they're being followed could make them do something that they would regret. That and Sam hates being controlled," Danny replied.
"Also, do the people you're sending have any experience fighting ghosts? Because Amity Park is always crawling with ghosts. Especially since I'm not there to keep things under control. There's only so much the local ghost hunters can do. They will probably encounter ghosts and most aren't friendly. Box Ghost is a nuisance and you can more-or-less ignore. But other ghosts like Lunch Lady or Ember, for a newbie… they're bad news," Danny added after a moment of thought. Batman blinked at Danny again, he'd become so much more confident since speaking to Black Canary. It seemed that a talk had helped Danny immensely. Batman nodded.
"I'll keep it in mind. We could organise the Leaguers going to watch your family and friends to get a crash course in ghost hunting," Batman suggested. Danny snorted.
"As long as you don't mind the whole crashing thing. Dad's a maniac on the road," Danny remarked. Batman didn't quite know what to say in regards to that comment but nodded to the teen.
"So, any idea why they'd want Danny?" Danielle asked, nodding to the image of Luthor. Batman glanced at the picture and shook his head.
"The Light are always trying to find new weapons and new schemes to, in their words, further human kind. They may wish to simply understand ghosts better or they may want Danny as a weapon. Unfortunately, Danielle, you'd be an easy replacement in their eyes. But the Guys in White are unaware of your halfa status as of now. But they may suspect it. Are there are other halfas?" Batman continued his debriefing. Danny and Danielle shared a look.
"There is one other," Danielle began.
"But I'm kind of sworn to keep quiet," Danny added.
The team frowned.
"If it's for their protection-" Kaldur started.
"No, you don't get it Kaldur. Sorry, but this isn't a case of I'm protecting them. I'm actually protecting my family. Me and the third halfa, well technically the first halfa, don't get along," Danny interrupted.
"That's an understatement," Danielle scoffed. Danny glanced at his clone.
"We have a deal. He keeps my secret and stays away from my family… most of the time, as long as I keep his. It's not that I don't trust you guys, I just don't trust the other halfa to keep quiet if it gets out that I told others about him," Danny explained.
"So, he's blackmailing you and you're blackmailing him," Raquel realised. Danny shrugged.
"Not pretty but yeah," Danny confirmed.
"So, you want to leave him to fend for himself," Conner pointed out. Danny frowned to himself.
"Look, you don't know this halfa like we do. He's no pushover. I have trouble stopping him. But… I guess I should talk to him. But I'd have to leave the cave," Danny decided reluctantly.
"I don't like sending you alone," Batman retorted. Danny nodded.
"Believe me, I'd rather not go see this guy but you do have a point besides I should probably show my face. Apparently he's been informed that I got caught. Not that he was willing to help, but he has this weird obsession with me so…" Danny replied and trailed off with a lift of his shoulders.
"What does that mean?" Garfield interjected confused. Danny sighed.
"If you need to find a ghost, it's easiest to ask a ghost for help. So when I got caught, my friends went to only other person they could think of and could get in contact with. The other halfa. But he wouldn't actually help because it put him in danger of discovery," Danny explained.
"Selfish fruit loop," Danielle hissed. Danny shrugged.
"Didn't really expect anything different," Danny admitted. The team were starting to see what the halfas meant about this mysterious third halfa.
"Either way… we should warn him. So, where do you need to get to?" Batman decided.
"Well, he has two usual haunts. Most likely he's in Amity Park though," Danny answered.
So Danny's off to Amity Park to visit the only other halfa. In case of any confusion, yes, I mean Vlad.
But will this visit go according to plan?
Until the next chapter.
