Ch.20: Lies We Tell And Irritation We Bring
Danny glared at the cuffs around his wrist as he leaned back against the uncomfortable back of his seat. Batman sat straight beside him, not quite acknowledging his presence at that moment. Both radiated irritation and the other occupants of the large truck, American troops, remained completely emotionless.
The teen studied the cuffs a little closer, pushing his annoyance to the side as he stared them down. Maybe he'd get heat vision at that exact moment and they'd melt off!
Danny waited for the heat vision to come in but, much to his disappointment, nothing happened.
Growling, Danny discreetly looked for a thin piece of metal he could use to pick them off. Nothing was coming to him though but he continued looking anyhow. If he could, he'd phase them off but the inhibitor bracelet was still locked to his wrist.
The teen would deal with that irksome device when he needed too.
Danny twisted his hands in unnatural positions, trying to break the cuffs off, but that didn't work. He continued to try anyways, ignoring the ruckus he was making by jingling the cuffs every time he twisted them. He was earning a lot of stares from the silent troops.
Batman, sighing, pulled something out of his backpack and shoved it into Danny's hands. The teen stared at the various granola bars in his hands before asking "What the heck are these for?"
"One: To start getting your weight back up. Two: To keep your hands busy so you won't accidently break them trying to escape." Batman answered, casting a dry expression at the teen from the corners of his eyes. The two stared at each other before Danny reluctantly caved and opened one of the granola bars.
"I wouldn't have actually broken them."
"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, you little moron."
Danny made a face at the adult before taking a big bite from his snack. The boy gazed at the other troops in the vehicle and gave them a look. "What do you want, fools?"
Batman rolled his eyes. "Don't insult them."
"I will do as I please."
"Except get out of those cuffs, am I right?"
Danny rammed himself into the Dark Knight's side but only managed to jostle himself up, as Batman was like a brick wall.
Batman smirked at the younger while Danny tore off another bite from his food, glaring heatedly at the soldier in front of him. The troop was quickly becoming nervous under the younger's gaze but Danny seemed oblivious to the older's plight. Batman looked between the nervous troop and irritated Danny. "Enough with the pity party."
The teen whined. "I'm not having a pity party~!"
"You lie."
Danny held up the granola bar. "This is you." He took a big bite of the granola bar and emphasized his chewing before swallowing loudly. "Now you are in my tummy, being eaten away by my stomach acid, on the way to becoming crap."
Batman face-palmed and let out a long sigh while Danny cackled beside him, taking another bite from his snack.
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet. Danny chose to be obnoxious a couple of times, which usually resulted in some sort of violence from Batman.
The large truck eventually came to a stop and the troops eagerly left first, followed by the Dark Knight while he shouldered his backpack and his sort-of ward that left his granola bar wrappers on the bench. The two silently turned to the large complex in front of them, long stretches of desert on either side of them. The sky above them was blue and cloudless. Dry, hot air swirled around them uncomfortably.
Looking around, Danny mumbled "This scene is so cliché."
"Can you shut up for five minutes?"
"Nope. I have a motor mouth, remember?"
Batman sighed in annoyance again, wondering why he had had to be declared the boy's 'handler'. Then he remembered he was the one to suggest the deal in the first place.
A man with a crew cut and decked out in camo strode up to them with a stern look. The soldiers stood at attention as he walked by and stood in front of the reforming convict and the Dark Gotham Guardian. He was older than the other troops but that added to the sense of authority he had around him.
"Welcome to Area 51. I am General Nate Olsen and I'll be your escort." The man said simply and gestured for the two to follow him towards the complex behind him.
Danny remained in his spot and he said up to his handler "He says that as if we didn't know it was already here."
Batman shoved Danny forward, after General Olsen, and mumbled "Just walk."
"Don't manhandle me."
"Shut up and listen and I might think about it."
The two followed after the general, one more reluctant than the other, and journeyed into the large complex. Inside, there was a ton of security that took forever to get through and, once inside, it was hard to maneuver around the hustle and bustle of scientists and other military staff.
Glaring at all the older people that gave him weird looks, Danny asked "Why am I here? I have a feeling it has something to do with my network."
"It does." General Olsen answered plainly.
Danny's glare intensified. "Details please."
"Patience please." Batman echoed and Danny gave him an irritated look. Batman gave him a patient look back and Danny calmed but remained irritable, grumbling curses and insulting names under his breath. The Dark Knight patted Danny's shoulder as they walked, knowing that was the quietest he would get the teen.
The general of little words led the two to a large room where a dozen techies were working on what Danny recognized as his network. The teen couldn't tell if they were doing a good job on it or not though and that irritated him the most. He just wanted to know what the government monsters had done to his work.
General Olsen turned to Danny and informed "We just need you to shut it down."
Danny laughed sarcastically and mumbled "Yeah, sure I'll do that…"
Batman took a breath as Danny walked up to one of the computers and began to look through his network files and such, scanning through every move the government had made to it. The Dark Knight watched as Danny grew increasingly agitated with what he saw until he got up and asked "Where's a supply closet?"
Confused, Olsen pointed to a door off to the side and Danny stalked towards it. He opened the door, walked in, and slammed it behind him. Right after, loud crashes, bangs, and angry screams resounded from the small room and the general made a move to go take the teen down.
Batman stopped him from doing so and merely said "It's not worth it."
As Danny continued to angrily destroy the storage closet, Batman walked over to the computer the teen had used and looked through what Danny had. He grimaced at the results. "I've haven't seen the Dark-Net this disorganized since… Actually, I've never seen the Dark-Net this disorganized period."
Just as Batman straightened, Danny kicked the door open and slammed it behind him again. He dropped the pieces of his broken handcuffs to the floor and yelled "Don't you ever touch my network again, you brain-dead morons!"
Danny stalked over to his computer, fell into the seat, and began to type furiously on the computer again. He mumbled insults and swears under his breath as he worked to put everything he had made back together again, fixing glitches and mending rifts.
General Olsen, who had been stunned at Danny's yell, angrily stated "You can't come in here, disregard orders, and insult tech geniuses."
Danny laughed sarcastically as he connected a laptop to the computer he was currently on and said "I just did and your so-called geniuses are a bunch of idiots."
"Boy, I'm gonna-"
"You're gonna what? I've dealt with other high level assassins. What could you possibly do-? GAH!"
Danny shot Batman a murderous glare while he pointed to the trail mix the adult had just stuffed in his mouth, the snack coming from the adult's backpack. The Dark Knight's annoyed expression looked down at his sort-of ward without any mercy. "I was shutting you up before you made things worse. That mouth of yours is going to bring around the Apocalypse at this rate."
The teen swallowed the food in his mouth and stated "No. Flappy-Bird will. That game is going to anger a bunch of countries and they're going to launch missiles at each other."
Batman pointed to the computers and set the bag of trail mix he had on the table so Danny could help himself. "Just work."
The reluctant teen growled, slouched in his seat, and began working like he was told to. He still mumbled under his breath about how much he hated the government but it was more subdued. He occasionally stuffed a handful of trail mix in his mouth because he was hungry.
Batman ventured up beside the general, who remained ticked off. The Dark Knight placed a hand on his shoulder and said "It's much easier to keep him happy and quiet than win a fight against him. I know from personal experience."
"I can't believe you idiots messed with the black market deals like that! Seriously! That should have been the easiest thing for you brain-donors to work on! I should just kill you all right now!"
"Like he could kill us…" Olsen mumbled.
Batman shrugged. "Just don't give him a gun."
"Give me a gun!" Danny shouted over his shoulder before stuffing his mouth full of trail mix. Batman rolled his eyes and watched as one of the more nervous techies slowly scuttled over to the closet, thinking about peeking inside.
"Don't go in the closet! I kinda knocked some shelves over." Danny called, looking over his shoulder to look at the techie. The nervous figure shrunk under the blue-eyed gaze and Danny smirked at him. Batman walked up behind the boy and smacked him again.
"OW!"
"Work." Batman instructed.
"I'm working! I'm working! Calm yourself!" Danny stated defensively. He sunk in his seat and began typing again, becoming semi-absorbed in his work as he watched Batman leave his line of sight. Danny sighed to himself before focusing completely on the system before him.
After the Dark Knight left him in peace, Danny worked quietly and calmly. It amazed General Olsen since he hadn't seen the teen so stilled before. Even when traveling over to the complex, people had reported that the teen had been jittery and agitated. He also apparently found joy in ticking others off as well when he was bored and nothing occupied his time.
Batman gestured to the teen Olsen was staring at. He quietly, so not to break the teen's train of thought, said "See. Keep him happy and he stays quiet."
They watched as Danny felt around the table, trying to find the bag of trail mix with nothing more than his hand since everything else was focused on doing whatever it was he was doing. His hand eventually found the bag and he scooped out some of the peanuts, raisins, and candy. He put the food to his mouth but most of it missed and fell to his lap. He chewed on what he got in his mouth, unaware of the food he had dropped.
"He also gets sloppy." Olsen muttered sarcastically.
Batman sighed. "But at least he's not running his mouth."
"And for that, I thank the Lord for this glorious moment of peace."
Danny dumped the last of the trail mix in his mouth and frowned at the empty bag. He looked between his computer screen and the Dark Knight, whom stood next to him quietly. Danny batted his eyes and asked "Do you got anymore food in that bag of yours?"
"You're still hungry after six granola bars and two bags of trail mix?" Batman asked him, almost expectantly.
Danny smiled cutely and extended his hands. He made a grabby gesture at his handler.
Batman rolled his eyes but dug through his backpack. He roughly put a box of Lucky Charms on the table. On the front, the words 'Family Size!' were in big letters, bringing even more attention to the huge box.
Danny brightened and tore the box open, putting a handful of the marshmallows and cereal in his mouth. He went back to work contently, occasionally scooping out cereal to feed his hungry stomach. Happy for the time being, Danny went back to working and left the Dark Knight alone.
Batman watched Danny for a few minutes more before growing tired of observing and walking off to stand beside General Olsen, who was also being unusually quiet.
"That kid is a pig." Olsen commented.
"Heard that!" Danny yelled but didn't seem too phased by the insult.
Batman and Olsen rolled their eyes. The Dark Knight stated "He's not usually this hungry. He just hasn't eaten much in awhile."
"And by 'not eaten much', he means I haven't eaten at all." Danny called sarcastically.
"Will you concentrate on your work?"
"I'm almost done anyways! It doesn't matter how much how much I pay attention right now! Nothing can go wrong!"
"Don't get too cocky." Batman stated dryly.
Danny laughed long and sarcastically in response.
"How can he almost be done? It's only been an hour and it took my guys an entire day to get in the network." Olsen asked.
Danny's laughing increased in volume while Batman rolled his eyes. "It's his network. He knows the ins and outs better than anyone. It wouldn't take too much time for him to shut it down. … You did shut it down, right Danny?"
"Yeah. I shut it down." Danny answered.
Batman narrowed his eyes at the teen. "Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure!"
Danny fell into the seat in front of the desk he would use temporarily. He was currently in a tiny room Olsen had provided for him. The general said he'd stay there for the night before Danny was shipped out to Gotham, where Batman would keep an eye on him. The Dark Knight was already gone and had left the teen with strict instructions not to kill anyone or destroy anything.
As the boy opened the laptop he had been supplied with, Danny brought up the Dark-Net on the screen, making sure to hide his movements from the censored device. He chuckled to himself and mumbled "Yeah Bats… Of course I destroyed the Dark-Net. Because I've always listened to you so well, haven't I?"
Because Danny has always been so obedient before, right guys?
Reviews:
KainVixenheim: You tried to insult me? Whoops. Didn't even notice that. XD Yeah, we can be friends again~!
Allietheepic7: Go Clocky! :D
KuriMaster13: That is true. That is very true. :D Danny's gonna live! Yeah~!
Grava: You can ask him. I don't know if he'll do it or not. XD
YumiStar: *dies laughing at the thought*
BrownHair2918: I left with a cliffhanger cause I thought it'd be funny. :3 I'm a horrible person.
16ckelman: Yeah life~! Aw, I feel ya and the sister thing.
Guest of Honor: HA! I enjoyed his last words too~! And Bats is gonna try and change Danny. We'll see how that goes though.
SFN: Hm... That's an idea. Don't know if I'll use it cause it doesn't quite fit what I've got going but I can try?
Abazaba: I wouldn't call him "good" by any means... Not at all... XD
ShadowPillow: XD Of course I mean stories~! I wouldn't actually kill someone (maybe)! Glad you're enjoying! Brings me joy! :D
Roselin: :3 Wuv you too~! Glad you enjoyed~!
Scheffelman: No. I've been busy.
Chicaalterego: :D That would be cool! Though I'm not quite sure how that would work cause Danny is very happy being anti-good. *.*
Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Yeah for life~!
Poohbearmorris: XD You almost puked? Sweet.
Bibbledoo: No. Not GIW. But close. XD Yeah unicorns~! I'm just kidding. I hate unicorns. They are not ghost proof but he's still got the inhibitor bracelet.
Ninuhuju: XD I love that saying! You continue saying that!
H. H. Xia: Yeah violent-ness, right? XD
Eirena Gaia: Why do you read that early in the morning? SLEEP DUDE. The story can wait! :D
Sarra Torrens: Thank you, thank you! :D
Shadow: Ah, you're welcome. It's an awesome book. :D Aw, thanks so much! I didn't feel up to killing Danny so, yeah, not taking that route. XD I can manipulate emotions? YES!