8/13/2020: ARIGHT, TAKE TWO OF REWRITING. XD This time, I'm actually going to finish this time since it will probably be the only thing that I have time to work on this semester. Oh well.
Anyway, like I said in 2016, I'm more or less just updating this story more than rewriting. No huge plot changes or anything of that sort - mostly just me reliving how friggin fun this story is because I'm nostalgic, hahaha. Hope you guys have the same amount of fun as I did and do. :)
Disclaimer: Not my properties.
Chapter 1: Creator of the Dark Net
Not for the first time, Batman found that his mission was not going according to plan. Normally, that wouldn't really bother him. In his line of work, his missions very rarely went to plan, and when they did go right, it usually meant he was being set up for a greater disaster down the line. So, really, he should be grateful wrenches were being thrown into things now.
The only thing was, he hadn't been prepared for how overwhelmingly underwhelming this wrench turned out to be.
The apartment was small, but really, that was a generous description because it was a tiny. It consisted of a single, fourteen by sixteen room that served as bedroom and living space on one side and kitchen on the other, divided only by the single window the Dark Knight had crawled through. The kitchenette seemed normal enough with a fridge and a line of cupboards, but the other half – the part that was supposed to serve as the bedroom – had three folding tables pushed into the corner, creating an even smaller squared off space. A mattress had been stuffed under one of them, a blanket and pillow laid messily on top.
Batman found himself drawn to those tables the most. Two of them, the center and the left ones, had four laptops spread across them. All looked dead and quiet, but above them, holograms flashed with different programs Batman didn't recognize. Notebooks cluttered the space further, spread out without a system and overlapping, the chicken-scratch handwriting bared for all to see. On the third table, a set of subwoofers blared the loudest, most obnoxious music the Dark Knight had ever had the misfortune to hear. It shared the space with half-made machines and worn tools.
Yet, the most surprising part of this whole mission happened to the mastermind behind this whole set-up – a single boy who, from the looks of it, couldn't be any older than sixteen or seventeen.
He stood amongst the tables with his back to the Dark Knight, who almost glowed under the bright lights of the holograms. He wore casual clothes, just a band t-shirt and sweatpants, and a Bluetooth device in his ear, almost hidden by his unruly ebony hair that bobbed as he danced while he worked.
According to the apartment's files he'd checked before entering, it stated this boy's name was Danny Sullivan. Supposedly, he'd moved in when he was 18 but was now 19 – something Batman didn't believe looking at him now. His stature reminded him of his boys before they'd hit their final growth spurts around that 18-19 year range. Even more intriguing than his young age was the shady as hell account he used to pay rent with. Oh, the red flags had been numerous.
However, an underage teenager with a shady bank account had not been what dragged Batman's ass all the way to Las Vegas. Oh no. It had everything to do with this boy supposedly the one, the only, the infamous Dark-Net mastermind.
A deep-web program similar to that of Calculator's old system, which had really only been used for connecting mercenaries with paying clients, the Dark-Net had been on the rise for the past few years, pushing Calculator's system out of relevance. It offered a wider variety of crimes that could be paid for and sold tech and weapons to those willing to carry out their own dirty work. Over the last few years, the number of cases the Justice League took with origins from the program had been skyrocketing, especially within the past year. For the last half of that year, Batman with help of Oracle had been searching for the mastermind behind it all.
And thank God for Oracle, who spent months cracking firewalls and tracing bouncing signals, because she'd been the one in the end to figure out where the scumbag had been hiding.
Only if she could see the little twerp now. She would be furious to see a kid as gifted as herself throwing his whole life away on something that would land him straight on death row, should he ever be caught, which he had been.
Completely oblivious to the Dark Knight and all the trouble that laid ahead of him, Danny continued to boogey, dancing around like the immature kid he more than likely was. Batman took a step forward, ready to cut his fun short, but paused when the music stopped short. A sharp ring rang out, and three of the four holograms cut out. On the remaining hologram, a box popped up with the message: 'Incoming Call.'
The boy slumped and growled. Muttering something under his breath, he reached for his Bluetooth and tapped the side, accepting the call.
On the screen, a window popped up, a man peering out from inside it. Batman didn't recognize him on the spot with his well-kept dark hair, tanned skin, and dark mustache lining his lips. He was in a dark, plain room that reminded Batman vaguely of here as dozens of men and women worked on computers behind him, every face glowing with blue light.
However, this new player didn't intrigue Batman as much as the box in the corner of the screen, showing a very interesting picture of what the plain teen before him supposedly looked like on the other side of the line.
Having been monitoring the Dark-Net for some time, Batman shouldn't be too surprised. The topic of the Dark-Net's creator appeared on dozens of deep-web discussions forums, and one thing people loved to talk about most was what he looked like – or more specifically, that across all the people that talked with him, no one could agree on what he looked like.
Batman had read every account. Some claimed him to be white, others black, and even more claimed he was blue. People raged about his age, unsure if he were a child, man, or senior. Hell, people even discussed him not even being human, proclaiming him an anthro or a monster.
Seeing the little box in the corner now, Batman understood how this could be.
In that little box, from the waist up, stood Danny. Yet, it wasn't Danny at all. This Danny appeared much older, probably late twenties or early thirties, with hair made of white flames and blood red eyes. His skin had the blue complexion of ice, his ears stood pointed, and fangs peeked from his lips. Computer-Danny wore a strange black jumpsuit with white strips up his sides and around his collar and a long, white cape. The only thing that remained the same, other than the same general facial structure, was the Bluetooth in the boy's ear, which looked out of place on this otherworldly design of his, especially given the translucent green hologram hovering above his left eye.
His arms crossing over his chest, the boy snapped, "What?
The appearance of computer-Danny obviously intimidated this guy. He seemed to quake in his seat, and his eyes darted every which way, avoiding the red stare of the ghostly figure.
There was another thing the Dark-Net users liked to discuss: the creator's name. Dozens of them had been given over the years: Ghost, Apparition, Osiris, Reaper, Wraith, Grimm, Hades, and the list went on, never seeming to end. However, the most infamous alias had always been…
"Um, I apologize for the sudden interruption, Mr. Phantom Sir, but," the man started, flinching when the ghost-like figure rolled his eyes. "you never sent me the instructions to that new program you wanted me to upload. You know, the one that'll allow you to–"
"I know the one you're talking about," Danny snapped, shutting the poor man up with a wave of his hand. With his free hand, he reached out and pulled up a second hologram screen next to the video feed. He muttered something about 'fucking idiots' as he scrolled through some emails, eventually finding what was he looking for. He scanned it before looking back up at the man on the screen. "According to the email I sent you, I sent the instructions."
The man shook his head, deepening the irritated look on Danny's face, and looking elsewhere, said, "Um, n-no sir. I was sent an inscription code."
Danny released a long, heavy breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. His shoulders shaking, the teen asked slowly and deliberately, "Did you think that maybe you were supposed to crack the inscriptions to open the instructions I sent you?"
The man paled, his eyes widening as the puzzle pieces clicked into place. "Oh… um, no Sir, I didn't think about it–"
"No shit!" Danny yelled before rubbing his temples. "Why would you, though, amiright? I mean, your brain's even smaller than your dick, so I guess I'm going to have to spell it out for you: this is an illegal operation. I'm not going to just send you some black-market tech without some kind of precaution. Do you read me, Captain Dipshit?"
"Yes, Sir! I'm really, really sorry, Sir–"
"No need to apologize. Really." A sudden smirk overtook the boy's lips. "But do consider yourself fired."
In a fraction of a second, Danny hit the 'end call' button, allowing all his computers and stereos to come alive again. His shoulders rose and fell with another deep breath, and just under the noise, Batman heard him say, "God, I hate people." Turning to one of the holograms to his left, Danny pulled up a live feed of a desert village.
Batman took that as his cue. Pulling out a batarang, Batman moved to the stereo and unplugged it, the room dropping into unnerving silence – just the way he liked it.
"Care to share what game you're playing?" Batman asked.
The teen stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't dare move an inch, for fear of it setting the intruder off. However, as the saying went, curiosity killed the cat. When Batman didn't give any demands, the boy put his hands up in surrender and slowly turned around.
Finally face-to-face, the two looked each other up and down.
Batman couldn't believe but somehow, he found himself even more underwhelmed looking at this kid. Danny appeared scrawnier up close, and it may have been the glow of the computers, but damn, was he pale. Curious blue eyes peered up at him, his left eye hidden behind a translucent, green hologram - the exact same one that had covered his eye in the corner window. So, that had been real after all.
Slowly but surely, a grin perked at the edges of the teen's mouth. In a casual tone, Danny said, "Yeah, that's exactly what it is. I designed it myself. You like?"
Batman had to hand it to the little shit. He hadn't flipped his lid at the sight of him, and he had enough wits about him to catch onto the nuance of his simple quip and confess (in the loosest sense). It was too bad his knack for snark and his obvious smarts for technology could not make up for the unfathomable amount of stupidity he had for 1) getting himself into this situation in the first place and ruining his life, and 2) daring to talk to Batman so flippantly.
"Yes. In a word, it's extraordinary." For such a high complement, Batman forgot to lace with it any emotion and also forgot to wipe the disgusted sneer from his face.
Danny's grin broadened, but as much as it looked like he wanted to, he was smart enough not to comment.
Batman nodded towards the screen behind the boy – the one with the village. "So, what's so interesting about a little desert town? Got an ex you simply can't let go?"
Danny barked a loud laugh, and his hands dropped from sky, hugging his middle. He shook his head, tossing his bangs around, and calmed himself. A spark twinkling in his eyes, he answered, "Cute thought, but no. Believe it or not, I'm working a job. Shocker, I know, since I'm supposed to the big, bad Phantom." His bemused look dropped faster than a penny from the Eiffel Tower. "But like the rest of my lousy generation, money tends to burn a hole in my pocket, and I forget I have to eat until I'm hungry. You feel me?"
Damn, this kid liked to talk. Batman shook his head the slightest bit, bringing Danny's grin back in seconds. The two locked stares in a contest, and as usual, Batman won a few minutes later – but not for the same reason he normally did.
BUZZ BUZZ. BEEP BEEP.
'Incoming Call.'
"Fuck," Danny muttered as he facepalmed. Glaring at the lone hologram hovering above him, he turned around, ready to face his caller. Over his shoulder, he said, "Might want to take a couple steps back for me. Just sayin'."
Such unfathomable stupidity. Batman quirked an eyebrow at the kid, his growing anger already hot enough to heat the air around him. "You think I'm just going to let you take a call with one of your little friends?"
"Wow. Hold on. First off, in this house, we don't use such strong language as 'friends'. I'm so far out of everybody's league that I'm in an entirely different reality, ok? Second, I don't expect you to let me take a call. I expect you to want to gather as much info on Dark-Net users as you can, not just its creator." He tilted his head, almost looking cute, if not for that smug little grin. "What do you say?"
Screw the little shit and his smart ideas.
Batman stepped back, his angry frown on full display.
Danny winked and blew a kiss before spinning back around, accepting the call without another moment's hesitation. After a brief loading screen, a new person appeared – another man, this one older but in far better physical shape, a cigarette in his mouth and an AK-47 strapped to his back. At the same time, the window in the corner revealed Danny's generated appearance: a small child with beady green eyes, tiny horns amongst green hair, and a cloak that encompassed his whole figure. Even as young as he appeared, his signature crooked smile was all it took to be intimidating.
"Oh, if it isn't my honey bunny! I was just beginning to wonder if you'd ever call me again. It's been simply ages. Tell me all about what's happened since we last chatted."
The man on the other end of the line was already sporting an eye-twitch. The bright smile Danny gave must mean he'd achieved a new record.
"Cut the crap, Phantom. You know why I'm calling. I want an update on the target." The man's voice was a deep baritone, curt but smooth, despite the bad habit sticking from his mouth.
Danny held one hand over his heart while the other swooped to his forehead, where he held it palm-out like a woman from a sitcom. "You wound me, Mathias!"
"For the last time, it's Matias."
"Here I sit on my end, worrying endlessly about my beloved mercenary, and when he calls, he demands nothing more than a status update! Is that all I am to you, Mathias? An informant?"
"Matias, and yes, you are. James Patterson. Status update. Now."
"What's the magic word~?" Phantom sang, giving a big sweep of his arms to his contact, his smile as sweet as black coffee.
The man – Mathias, Matias, whatever – took a deep breath, released it, then muttered under his breath, "Ninnyhammer."
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Your prize is – drum roll please – knowing you're the biggest ninnyhammer of them all." Danny reached out and with a wave of his hand, pulled up the video feed from where it had gone to sleep. He added, "Also, I found Patterson yesterday finally. However, to unlock this portion of your prize, I'm going to need the other half of our agreed price. Better pay now before this offer ends soon, and the price suddenly doubles." Danny batted his eyes, expectant.
Matias rolled his eyes. "Consider it done. My flunky's sending it over now."
Another, smaller hologram under Danny's right hand. He waited in silence until he found what he sought, then the hologram disappeared again. He turned to his caller once more. "Congratulations! You've unlocked Phantom's insight. Patterson's in the town-I-can't-pronounce six miles south of where you're stationed. From my digging, he'll be headed your way in two days, so I'd suggest keeping on the lookout." Danny looked up, suddenly thinking. "Or don't. I don't really care, you see, because as stated in our contract, r-e-f-u-n-d is a word I never learned to pronounce~," he sang.
Matias rolled his eyes so hard, his pupils and irises disappeared behind eyelids. Without another word, he ended the call, all holograms coming to life again.
Danny laughed, the sound so innocent for someone so stained with guilt, and turned to his worktable. He shoved all the half-finished projects aside and sat in the spot he cleared. Giving all his attention to his house guest, he said, "So, what'd you think of dear old Matias? A real charmer, isn't he?"
"You led a mercenary right to his target?" Batman snapped, the temperature only continuing to rise as his anger mounted. Bile rose into his throat, but he swallowed it down.
Danny gave Batman an incredulous look, his mouth hanging open and eyes squinted. He gestured to the screen he'd taken the call with. "Um, did you not just listen to a word I said?"
A beat of silence. For once, Batman found himself speechless. He couldn't believe this little bastard. How could he just throw another person's life away like that? Red creeped in around his vision, but he pushed it back. He needed to keep his wits about him. Danny said he had about two days; that was more than enough time for him to track down Patterson's exact location and have him or another League member retrieve him. But first, he had the little twerp to take care of.
…the little twerp who, after five seconds of silence, started laughing his head off.
Batman's anger momentarily scattered as he stepped back, confused by the sight of Danny throwing his head back and laughing so hard, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes in a Joker-like manner. Before he could ask, the boy waved him off and said, "Only kidding!"
Um… what?
Turning to one of the farther left holograms, Phantom swiped through a couple programs before landing on the same email inbox Batman had glimpsed early. A new message had appeared, and Danny skimmed it before swiping the entire program from the screen, leaving a little animation of himself dancing in its place.
Danny smiled in a way that Batman had yet to see, as if he were a normal kid without a laundry list of crimes to his name. "I was just teasing you. Geez, chill out, old man. Look, I'm not one for spilling blood much, so I may have scammed Matias just a tad." Danny pointed to the screen with the dancing animation. "I've got a contact sending a lifelike android to Patterson's location while a different contact picks the real Patterson up to drop him somewhere safe. No saving required on your part."
The relief in Danny's voice struck Batman hard. Up until this point, he hadn't seen an inkling that the boy could be any more than a devious, narcissistic, greedy little bastard that had too many skills and not enough good influence. But here the boy was, scamming his fellow cons to help someone he didn't know, someone that couldn't ever repay him, someone who would probably know what Danny had done. If not for the ulterior motive of getting his hands on some cash from the start, it could almost be deemed a selfless act – one it didn't seem Danny had thought too hard on before making the decision.
A spark of hope lit in Batman's chest.
The conversation with Matias melted from the boy's thoughts; out of sight, out of mind for now. Danny's happy grin melted into one of his devious smirks, but it couldn't hide the sudden nervousness from his eyes. The cheer leaking out of his body, he leaned forward on his knees and rested his chin in his hands. "So, what happens now?"
Danny's voice was level, yet still, anxiety underlined it.
When he first entered the tiny apartment, Batman had been hellbent on bringing in a hardened criminal and halt the criminal underworld in its track until someone rose to fill the vacuum. Yet, here and now, his perception thwarted by reality, the Dark Knight had a new idea in mind.
A smirk twisted onto Batman's lips. Sliding his batarang back into his belt, Batman stated, "I have an offer."
Danny narrowed his eyes. "This feels like the beginning of a cliché."
Batman ignored him. "I'll let you continue working here on your program, just as you always have."
"But?"
"There will be restrictions." He got an eyeroll for that one, but as he was becoming used to doing, Batman ignored it once more. "For one, you won't be accepting anymore jobs. If you're that in need of cash, get a real job, and whatever you can't come up, I'll help within reason."
That seemed to catch Danny's attention. He quirked an eyebrow, but Batman couldn't quite tell if it was in response to seeing an opportunity for easy cash or mere surprise he'd offered in the first place.
"Two, if I need help tracking someone, you'll do everything in your power to help me. Three, you alert me to any and every major scheme you find out about." Danny seemed to be waiting for more, but Batman wrapped up, "I won't force you to take this deal, but if you don't want to cooperate, I am taking you to jail."
It was an easy deal. All Danny had to do was accept, but he didn't jump at the chance like Batman expected, given the amount of freedom he'd become accustomed to. He mulled the offer over for a few minutes, pressing his tongue to his cheek, his eyes wondering the apartment's stained ceiling. Finally, he asked, "I'm sure if you really wanted to, you could just run the program by yourself. Maybe find someone else who could. You don't really need me. So, why bother with a deal?"
The Dark Knight gave a nearly inaudible snort. "For starters, the Dark-Net is yours. There's no one else that could run it like you do. I don't have the time to maintain it either, nor would I want to dump that responsibility on someone else. I might as well get the person who knows it best to work for me."
Simple words, but the slight complimentary tone to them had Danny beaming with pride. The teen shrugged as if trying to underplay his success but only managed to make himself appear even more arrogant. "Yeah, fine. I'll work with you. I'm sure we'll get along just fine, don't you think, honey bunny?" His smirk returned, and for good measure, Danny waggled his eyebrows.
"Call me 'honey bunny' again, and you can consider this very generous deal null and void." Batman turned on his heel and headed back towards the window to leave (no sense in leaving through the door and risk being seen). On his way out, he paused. Over his shoulder, he called, "I'll be in touch soon."
Danny gave an absent salute, plugged his speakers back in, and turned his attention back to the holograms. "I look forward to it, my dearest snookums."
Batman released a heavy breath. "What I meant when I said 'never call me honey bunny,' was that you should never call me any pet name ever. Are we clear?"
"Crystal." Danny gave a thumbs up to the Dark Knight, waited for him to finally exit the window, and shut it behind him. As Batman climbed to the roof, he could hear Danny's voice singing behind him, just as loud and obnoxious as the racket, "How do I say I'm sorry 'cause the word is never gonna come out, now~?"