Chapter 13: Propositions
Empty.
The storage unit was empty.
Finding the door locked had been a bad sign, but Robin was prepared to write it off as precautionary behaviour. Now though... the young detective stalked away from his mentor, moving to the corner usually occupied by the teen. Nothing. Not even Danny's bags were there. Part of him hoped that that it was some kind of twisted prank. That the ghost was just invisible and intangible – a practical joke in spectacularly bad taste. The Boy Wonder paced the locker, searching for cold spot, electricity... a pointless exercise, he knew. They didn't have enough knowledge or experience with spirits to be able to detect one outside of conventional methods. Besides... call it a 'sixth sense' but there was a difference between a room with someone in it and one that was empty. Apart from the shadowy presence of Batman somewhere behind him the vault felt deserted. Robin snapped on the holo-screen, activating the thermal scan. Two readings. He tapped into the frequency of the new tracer. No signal. Wherever Danny was, he was human and he wasn't here. The young detective tilted his wrist, turning the display towards his mentor.
"I should have left two days ago." The memory whispered in the back of their minds, threading unease through the Boy Wonder's gut. He glanced up, seeing concern mirrored in the Dark Knight's frown. Every night was a gamble for the ghost. High stakes, dwindling odds. Their request for one more could have been one too many. If something had happened... Batman examined the concrete. Unmarked, no scuffing, no obvious signs of a struggle but... the elder hero drew an ultraviolet light from his belt, carefully running the bluish beam over the floor. Aside from a few small flecks in the corner where the teen slept there were no dark spots, nothing to indicate bloodshed. The Dark Knight dropped to a crouch, dragging a glove across the concrete. He rubbed the grit between his fingers, lifting the hand to his nose. No scent of solvents or other chemicals that could have been used to scrub away evidence. So then...
"Door seems fine." Robin darted back from the entrance as Batman rose to his feet. "No signs of forcing. Lock looks normal as well." The younger detective's brow furrowed. "Do you think someone...?"
"If they did, it was clean." The Dark Knight frowned. "Very clean." The attack – had there been one – had to have been fast. Phantom wouldn't have gone quietly and, from what he'd read of the ghost's powers, Batman doubted he would have been easy to subdue in a fight. A confrontation would definitely have left marks. Which meant the culprits had to have struck before teen had a chance to respond. His eyes narrowed. With Daniel's high vigilance and enhanced senses it seemed unlikely that the boy could be caught so completely off guard. Even less so that he would vanish without a trace. A fight was the most probable scenario, but the lack of evidence was rapidly pointing towards another, more disturbing, explanation.
"It's possible..."
The Boy Wonder bit his lip, hearing the unspoken end of the statement. Yes, it was. The chances were slim, but Danny could have left willingly. The question was, why? Danger might have forced the halfa to relocate – but if that was the case, wouldn't he have contacted them? Left a note? Signalled them somehow? It didn't make sense for the teen to just disappear. Unless... there was another option, one Robin really didn't want to have to consider. An option he couldn't bring himself to believe. Phantom had saved them from Spectra. He'd continued to stay each night, had answered their questions, had shown them his powers. The teen hadn't even wanted to talk them at first – except that suddenly he had. Except that now he knew things about them that almost no one did. The kind of information that was hugely valuable on the other side. Was it possible that...
"Sorry."
The duo started, hands dropping to belts as they whipped to face the voice. Green eyes shone hazily from the shadows of a deep hood, a transparent figure sliding silently through the wall. Danny glanced over his shoulder before pulling down the jacket's cowl, colours solidifying as the ectoplasmic glow faded to its usual blue. He looked briefly at the door, meeting the scrutinising glares with an apologetic expression.
"Where were you?" The accusation in the Dark Knight's voice was barely concealed.
"I..." He swallowed audibly, "Someone was following me." A breath hissed silently through Robin's teeth. "I ditched them eventually, but it took a while to get back." His eyes darted to the entrance again, tracing an anxious path through the sharpened air. The Boy Wonder unconsciously mimicked the action, scanning the already cleared walls. Whelming as it was to see the ghost unharmed and on their side, the news brought a much larger problem.
"Did you manage to get a good look at whoever it was? Can you describe them?"
The teen rubbed the back of his neck, "Not sure. He was... tall-ish. Brown hair. Blue jacket. Wore a baseball cap. Didn't seem too old... thirties maybe?" He shook his head, "I don't know. Sorry."
"Did he have any distinguishing features?" The young detective committed the description to memory, "Tattoos, scars, any injuries, that sort of thing?"
"I really couldn't tell you." Danny fiddled with the zip of his jacket, "I only caught a couple of glances. Didn't exactly hang around to find out. Not worth the risk."
Batman pressed his lips together. "Talk us through what happened."
"Right. Um..." The teen frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I went out to get some things. Supplies were getting low – figured I should top up before moving."
"Where are your bags?" Robin suddenly registered the absence of packages from the older boy's person.
Danny blinked at him. "Oh. That. If I could just..." he slipped past the duo, moving to a patch of cement that seemed just as unremarkable as the rest. Green flared in the teen's eyes as he sank to a crouch, plunging a translucent arm through the ground. The limb vanished to the elbow, oblivious to the duo's faint shock as he rooted around below the slab. A strap emerged, black sports bag coming to the surface. The bulk of the traveller's pack quickly followed. "There's a space under the floor," he explained as he set them aside. "I leave them there when I'm going out."
"You were saying?" prompted the elder hero.
"... So I went to get supplies," The halfling refocussed, wiping palms distractedly on his jeans. "There's a convenience store a few miles from here. Bit of a walk but," he shrugged. "I was almost there when... you know that feeling you get – like you're being watched? I changed direction, went a couple of streets over, came back a different way..." his eyes flicked to the door again, "couldn't shake it. After that I started moving. Tried to go with the crowd, stick to public places – too many people for anyone to try anything. First saw him around then."
"The man you described?"
The older boy dipped his chin in confirmation. "I think... I remember cutting through a park. I kept looking for somewhere to turn invisible, but there were always cameras or people around or he was too close–" he broke off sharply, shaking his head. "A bunch of kids were getting on a bus and I managed to get on with them. Lost him after that. Found somewhere quiet to disappear and... hid," embarrassment coloured the word, "until it felt safe. Headed back once it started to get dark." Robin saw his fingers quiver before they were buried in the pocket of the hoodie.
"What time did this happen?" Batman honed in on the details. A battered watch was revealed as the teen pulled back his sleeve.
"I left here around... one o'clock, I think. So I guess it might have been two-ish? Maybe a bit before."
"Can you identify the route you took? Would you be able to name any landmarks?" Danny's gaze drifted up and to the left, fidgeting his left cuff into place as he frowned.
"I don't know. I'd probably recognise the names if I heard them... might be able to point them out..." he bit his lip, nose wrinkling in frustration. "I was too focussed on the other guy to notice much."
Doors shook, metal rattling on their tracks. The teen flinched, dropping halfway into a fighter's stance as he skittered back, wide eyes snapping to entrance. The sound came again, this time accompanied by a low hum. A rush of air brushed against the Boy Wonder's ankles. Wind. It was just the wind. For a moment Danny stood frozen, locked in frightened rigidity before shoulders slumped, joints loosening as his face dropped into his hand. Something that could have been a weak laugh or shaky breath escaped, sarcastic mutter muffled by his palm. He ran the hand jerkily through his hair, inhaling deeply as he forced himself to relax out of the tense lines. Robin unclenched white knuckles inside his glove.
"I- look," the older boy shivered slightly, "I can't stay here anymore. Maybe today was just some regular creep, but they're here." The Boy Wonder didn't need to ask who he meant by 'they'. "I can feel it. I don't know how," he shook his head, "but they're here. In town. I need to leave."
"Do you have a plan?" Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but the Dark Knight was curious as to what the teen would do.
"Not really." Blue eyes turned calculating, "Don't want to leave the country, so... probably head south again. California... San Diego maybe? Find a new city to disappear." Danny rubbed the side of his face, sending them an imploring look, "If you still have questions... I mean, I don't want to run out on you, so if there's somewhere you wanted me to go...?"
"Actually," Robin surprised the older boy with a cheeky grin. He glanced up at his mentor, "we were hoping to talk to you about that."
"You're kidding." The words tumbled out almost before they finished speaking. Danny seemed to realise what he said, ears flushing pink as he clamped his mouth shut.
Batman raised an eyebrow. "We don't 'kid'." The flush darkened, gaze dropping to the floor. He looked back up with stunned incredulity.
"You want me to live... with you?" Robin nodded. Confusion twisted the older boy's features, "...Why?"
"Why not?" countered the Boy Wonder.
The response earned him a flat look. "But," Danny frowned, "isn't that really dangerous?"
Robin supposed he had a point. Even senior League members avoided Gotham where they could. Although, "We're not asking you to come on patrols. Just to stay."
The teen shook his head, "That's not what... I mean, there are people after me. If they connect me to you..."
"Precautions can be taken against that." The Dark Knight was well-aware of the risks. "Our headquarters and... residences... are well-defended against the use of surveillance and tracking equipment. You would not be making public appearances. We can devise additional strategies as necessary." Concern slowly began to fade, the look of puzzlement refusing to leave. He appraised the duo with questioning hesitancy.
"Okay but... why? Not that I'm not grateful," he added quickly, "but two weeks ago you didn't even know me." There were, Batman realised, any number of answers for that question. They'd considered a multitude of factors; protection, education, opportunity, publicity, age, skill, experience... and many less rational, more personal reasons. The Dark Knight settled on the most logically sound argument.
"You need somewhere safe to go. Staying out in the open is no longer an option – what nearly happened today should make that clear. Arranging protection through the League would require us to make a number of other people fully aware of your situation and status – something we assume you would prefer to avoid. You already know our civilian identities..." Robin's neck prickled. He fought the urge to squirm, feeling the disapproving gaze bore into his back. It may have been the point that sealed their decision, but Batman's reaction to the revelation had been... well, underwhelmed was putting it lightly. Time constraints had spared an immediate reprimand but the Boy Wonder knew he was soon to be treated to a stern – and largely one-sided – discussion in which the words 'reckless decision', 'unacceptable risk', 'potential repercussions' and 'suspension of privileges' would no doubt feature heavily.
"...and we need your help," the young detective took over, moving swiftly away from the topic. Surprise flitted across the older boy's face. "Supervillians, criminals, aliens... we know how to deal with those things. But we don't know ghosts. Not the way you do." Danny made a small noise, glancing away self-consciously. "We can't fight them the way we normally would. Spectra wiped the floor with us when we tried," Robin winced internally. "We need someone who knows their strengths and weaknesses. Someone who knows how to stop them, to contain them... someone who can handle this properly." The teen's ears were scarlet by the time the Boy Wonder finished. He coughed, shuffling his feet as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"And you think that's... me?" A hidden spark of pride played behind the uncertainty.
Batman regarded the boy calmly. "You're the most reliable source we known." Danny ducked his head again, lips twitching into a small smile. "Consider this a probation – a trial period. If it doesn't work we can make other arrangements."
The smile faded, becoming solemn once more as the teen considered. He ran a hand down the side of his face. They could almost see the gears turning, the consequences being weighed up. Fear. Safety. Loneliness. Trust. Hope. Despair. Familiar danger, uncertain opportunity. The devil he knew or the one he didn't. Danny flicked the heroes a cautious glance.
"You're sure about this?"
"Like I said before," Robin braved his mentor's displeasure, sending the older boy a tiny smirk, "we wouldn't have offered if we weren't."
The halfa exhaled, fingers raking through dark bangs before travelling down to scratch absently at his neck. The hand moved to his brow, small creases appearing as a thumb and forefinger rubbed his temples. His head shook slowly – but not in negation. Disbelief marked his features; wry, slightly dazed amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth. Danny set his shoulders, resolution finding its way onto his face as the hand dropped back to his side. Their watchful gazes were met with equal parts excitement, wariness and acceptance.
"Okay. I'm in."
The Boy Wonder's smirk broadened into a full grin. Everything was about to change, he could feel it. Almost tangible – a near-imperceptible shift in the way the world turned. A faint sense of vertigo seized him. It would all be different... but in some ways exactly the same. Robin kept the smile as friendly as he could manage, trying to put a voice to the jumbled mess of exhilaration and apprehension. The Dark Knight intercepted him before he could speak.
"And you're sure?" There was a half beat pause before Danny nodded. "Then the details can wait. We can finish this once we're somewhere more secure." Batman tilted a hand towards the exit.
As the teen stooped to gather his bags, the young detective surveyed the locker's oppressive greyness for what he hoped was the final time. A creature of the night he may be, but at heart the acrobat was still a bird and – while certainly no stranger to even tighter corners – he was grateful for the wider spaces of their usual haunts. The concrete box would not be missed. Robin shifted onto the balls of his feet, suddenly eager to be gone.
Danny tightened the last of the pack straps, shouldering their sizeable awkwardness with practiced ease. The vault's key was fished from a pocket, hood raised to shade his face as he fell in step behind the Bat's protégé. The now trio padded carefully into the openness of the night, teen's footsteps ever so slightly louder in the wake of two trained shadows. A thought pulled at the Boy Wonder. A ghost. They were bringing a ghost. To the Batcave. Robin groaned silently.
As if Wally needed any more ammunition for bad jokes.
Merry Christmas! I thought it might be fitting to get the latest instalment up today, it being the season of giving and all.
...and we're finally moving out of the locker. Robin might be in a lot of trouble, but I fully agree with his sentiments regarding the place - even I'm fed up with concrete walls by now. Superheroes or not there's only so much narrative you can create from 3 people standing in a box. Next chapter we'll have the characters interacting with actual objects. Possibly even other characters. Imagine that!
Still looking for bridging mission ideas. I've filled most of the blanks but still digging for one or two scenarios. Thanks to all the people who've reviewed or PMed with suggestions already. Let me know if there's something you'd like to see.
Reviews are always appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think of their latest misadventure.
Buon Natale & Happy New Year!
Until next time,
-3WD
