Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Danny Phantom or the Justice League. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.
Chapter Two - The End Of The Beginning
What Was
Sam checked her phone one more time before acknowledging that yes, this was the address Danny had texted her to put in her GPS, and yes it was where she was supposed to be. It was just so strange though. She hadn't even known Amity Park had abandoned lots with single warehouses on them to begin with. What were they, a mob town hiding drug operations?
She put her car in park and got out slowly, making sure there weren't any unsavory sorts waiting to attack from the shadows, and slowly made her way to the front door. Why on earth would Danny want her to meet him here of all places? What was wrong with his place? It had books, video games, his bed…. She quickly slapped her cheeks to get that image out of her head. Her insane crush could wait until after this was figured out.
The door had an embedded retinol scanner, but a quick application showed that she had apparently been added to the system, because the entry portal promptly opened for her to reveal a sparse reception area that seemed to be a makeshift mudroom, for shoes and the like. She took her own boots off and entered the building proper to find a long hallway full of pictures and trophies leading deeper into the bowels of the facility.
As she walked ever further she started taking note of the contents of said items, and openly balked as her feet carried her suddenly overheated mind forward with her body. Golden gloves beneath a photo of a much younger Maddie Fenton, perhaps fourteen years old, standing victorious over a fallen opponent in a boxing ring.
A trophy of a figure in mid flying kick, labeled '1st place, Women's National Karate Championship' below another photo of the Fenton matriarch, closer to eighteen this time, clad in a white gi and bowing to a panel of judges.
Two neatly stacked katana's beneath a plaque labeled, 'Maddie Fenton, World Kendo Championship, First Runner Up'. Twin rapiers followed an award from the National Fencing Association. Dozens of marksman awards came after as well.
Everywhere she looked there were more examples of how truly badass her best friend's mom truly was. Why was none of this displayed in their home? If she had to guess it was to keep Jack Fenton from getting emasculated. The man certainly did have an overinflated ego in Sam's opinion at least.
This pattern continued for a while longer before she reached a steel door held closed by yet another retinal scanner. This one took a bit longer to verify her identity, but in the end it did open, and the sight it revealed was certainly enough to take her breath away. Walls upon walls of stacked weapons. Tables full of tools and charts. And finally, a central space dominated with a raised platform covered in a padded sparring matt. Said matt was currently in use, and this was the sight that had struck Samantha Manson dumb. Two figures were currently running through punching drills, and each was sweaty, muscled, and displaying clear skill in their actions.
The first, surprisingly enough, was Maddie, and if her sheer number of awards for physical excellence weren't enough to tell Sam how jacked she truly was, then the clearly defined abs and biceps visible around the obstructions of her midriff baring tank top and yoga pants would have certainly done the job. Jesus Christ, were moms even legally allowed to look that good? Her own certainly didn't. Oh she really hoped she had it in her to look that good at Maddie's age.
Danny, however, was completely shirtless, and Sam would be kidding herself if she said she wasn't deeply appreciating the clear muscle tone that was developing in his physique. She let them continue without interruption, watching and enjoying their motions as they worked through a series of punches, and kicks with rapidly increasing motion and power, until Maddie finally called a halt and turned around, only to find her son's goth best friend waiting by the door.
"Oh, Sam dear, come in, please." The ghost hunter extraordinaire hopped down from the platform and rushed over to give the girl a sweaty hug before dragging her further into the space. Danny and I were just finishing our workout. How have you been?"
"G-Good, Mrs. Fenton. Um, w-what's going on here?"
"Oh this and that." Maddie waved a hand lazily. "I just figured Danny stood less of a chance of getting beaten up by fools like Skulker if he, ya know, actually knew how to fight."
Sam froe in place and terror filled her eyes as looked to her best friend with worry. How? How had his secret gotten out?!
Seeing that look for what it was, the auburn haired woman rushed to ease the girl's fears. "It's alright, Sam. I know about Danny, and I have no intention of telling Jack or anyone else. His secret is best kept when only a few actually know it."
"O-Oh. R-R-Right." Sam let out a shaky breath and tried to bring her adrenaline levels back down.
"Sorry about that, Sam." Danny rubbed the back of his head nervously as he made his way over to them. "Mom wouldn't let me tell you she knew until she…. did some investigating of her own."
At the girl's curious look Maddie explained, "Your parents are very rich and very, very, well connected. I needed to make sure they didn't have any contracts or contact with the Guys in White. If they did it wouldn't be anything against you, but I would need to limit what information made it to your home. Good news is, they don't, so there's no need to worry."
For a second, Sam was full of self righteous fury at this invasion of hers and her family's privacy, but all of that fire went away the moment she realized that Maddie had only been looking after Danny's best interests. She could forgive anyone anything for that. "Good to know." She said, "But why did you ask me to meet you guys here anyway? Was it just to let me know that your mom is in on the secret?" The last was aimed directly at Danny.
"Oh, no." He said easily before gesturing to one of the walls of rifles. "Mom was about to start teaching me to shoot and I thought you might like to learn too."
"That sounds awesome!" Sam beamed before rushing forward to pull her best friend into a hug. "Thank you for including me." 'Was his back always this firm?' she wondered.
Maddie smiled at the sight of the two teenagers' happiness and quickly moved to pull up one of her saved powerpoints. "Okay, well the first thing we're going to cover is gun safety. And the most important thing to know is that you should treat every gun you handle as if it is loaded. That means not needlessly pointing it at things you aren't willing to shoot. The second most important thing to know is-"
What Is
The Phantom was in the same position as before, sat floating cross-legged in the air at the top of the stairs. Bruce and Alfred meanwhile had retreated as far back in the main foyer as they could while still keeping the surprisingly passive murderous ghost in sight.
"Alfred, why did you throw a towel of all things at him?"
The posh butler raised an imperious eyebrow at his employer (and surrogate son) and replied, "Well nothing you two were doing seemed to work so I stepped up. At the very least I wanted to distract him to give you a few seconds to figure something, anything, out. How was I to know the man attacking you had a perfectly respectable appreciation for tea?"
"Alfred, do not humanize our attacker. He literally destroyed our foyer."
"He has good qualities too." The British man's jubilant attitude suddenly dimmed as he added, "And he let me see Kent, Roger, and Barnabus again."
Bruce locked eyes with his friend at those words, "I knew you lost friends in the conflict, but you've never really talked about them."
"They… died early on. My brothers were always charging ahead of me, always three steps beyond my ability to reach. On the day of the first push toward enemy lines, they kept to their habit. The three of them ahead, me racing behind, and when the turret fire turned on us their bodies took the spray as it moved past us to our fellows. Three seconds of fire, three bodies, and the three seconds they provided are the only reason I'm still alive today."
"I'm sorry, Alfred."
"So am I, Bruce. So am I." He stared off toward the floating specter and said, "I see a lot of the pain I've held onto all these years in him. He's lost people too. A great many I'd imagine."
"That doesn't give him an excuse to kill others."
"It gives him more reason than most." He placed his hand on Batman's shoulder, "Bruce, this man is a soldier, I know the look. Much like myself he has been trained to eliminate the threat before him, not simply subdue it as you would. His values are different. Do not judge the soldier for the war he feels he must fight. If you'll notice, he has not yet judged you for yours"
"Hm." Batman grumbled. He wanted to argue that all life was worth defending, but Alfred was right in a way. His crusade was far from a true war, and he could not discount the experiences of a trained veteran. Maybe it was worth interrogating the Phantom a bit more and finding out exactly what his end goal was. If he could perhaps be made to agree to certain ground rules. (If only for the fact that Bruce wasn't entirely sure 'stopping' him was possible with the powers he'd just displayed). He was just about to do that exact thing when a portal opened up on the other side of the giant hole bisecting the floor to the batcave below.
The swirling green vortex rose out of the floor into a miniature twister that slowly dissipated to reveal the forms of Constantine and Zatanna. The former with a fresh cigarette in his mouth and the later in her signature fishnet stockings, tuxedo top, and top hat.
Phantom whistled appreciatively at the sight. "Wow. If all my summoners looked like you I might not get so angry about it."
"Ah, gee, thanks for that." Zatanna glibly shot back. "But flattery won't get you the private show. Only a one way ticket to hell."
"Oh trust me, lady, I'm already a lifetime resident." His legs extended and he lowered completely to the ground. "So, we gonna do this? Cause if so I already promised Alfred to take it outside."
The two magicians stopped dead and looked to the butler, just visible over the railing. "Really?"
"Yes, I've found Mr. Phantom here to be quite reasonable in not increasing my workload to clean up after you all." Alfred acknowledged.
"Well…" Constantine rubbed the back of his head self-consciously, "right-on then." He wheeled around and took off out the door.
Zatanna meanwhile sighed at his retreating form. "Of course he runs out first." She muttered with clear annoyance before turning slightly to the side and clearing the doorway. "Reasonable or not, I'll not be turning my back on you. You first."
Danny let out a fang filled grin and remarked, "This is almost enough to make a specter think you don't trust him."
The female magician didn't even dignify that with a response as she watched him strut past her, long legs swishing and cape hanging unnaturally still. She was quick to follow, and she noted Batman grappling to the next landing above them. No doubt for a better vantage point.
They kept on into the large garden, absolutely covered in hedge clipped animals and squared off in a triangle formation. All parties facing each other equally. For several moments they simply observed each other, a light breeze blowing past them to ruffle their hair as the stalemate carried on.
To the Bat's view up above, there was no obvious trigger that started the fight. One second they were all just facing off, and the next spells were flying. Zatanna sent a blast of fire at the white haired combatant's position, but the conflagration seemed to just pass straight through his suddenly translucent form. John then attempted to hit him with lightning, a surprisingly competent move in Bruce's opinion, but Danny merely caught the blow in his right hand before seeming to suck up the energy into his own body.
Not content to merely stand and get hit again, the specter flew straight at Zatanna, only to get blasted back by a spell that seemed to mimic a three hundred and sixty degree sonic pulse. Phantom was sent careening back across the lawn, but at the moment he would have hit the ground he seemed to sink down into it. Not even disturbing the dandelions that had apparently grown in since the last mowing.
All present, including the onlookers, rapidly searched the grounds for any sign of their missing opponent, only for Constantine to find himself driven to the ground as an unseen force began rapidly pounding into his face and ribs. He tried to buck, to move, but the invisible force had him securely pinned. He felt his nose shatter and four ribs break under the vicious assault before a crimson field passed over him, causing a sinister voice to hiss with annoyance just before the weight removed itself.
When the Brit finally managed to stumble to his feet he saw his friend standing sentinel over him with arms spread wide to support the new barrier. On the other side of it, Phantom was attempting to wipe a clinging red substance off of his face… only his face. The rest of his body was completely invisible!
The half-ghost worked at it for a solid ten seconds before finally sighing, going intangible, and making his entire body visible to all once more after. The red substance was gone, but he'd learned invisibility was no longer a viable option if the woman could coat his body as before. From his vantage point, Batman clearly heard the specter demand, "What kind of holy water based barrier includes red food dye?"
The black haired woman shrugged with feigned nonchalance, "Some vampires can turn invisible. Hunters need some tricks up their sleeves for that."
"Whyever would you use a vampire hunting tool on me?" Danny joked. "Is it the fangs? I swear everyone just 'assumes' Creature Of The Night when they see them, but I'm really just a stand up guy, ya know."
"Yeah, stand-up guy who throws cheap shots." Constantine groaned out as he made to stand up, only to fall to the ground once more, clutching his private bits. The pain from his other wounds had masked the agony of the vicious crotch shot he'd apparently gotten in his scuffle until he'd tried to move it. The sudden agony acted as a livewire, shorting out all higher brain function for the man as a result.
Phantom burst out with laughter at that reaction and pointed squarely at the fallen magician. "Is he really supposed to be a master of the mystical arts? Even I've heard of Constantine, the Bane of Hell, and this is the shit he brings to the table?"
Zatanna cast a truly sympathetic look down on her friend's misery and replied, "To be fair, he's a lot better with preparation time. He's more of a ritual master, less a front line fighter."
"Too bad for him then. Look, there's no reason you have to die here with him. How about you lower that shield, let me shish kabob the fool, and the two of us can go get a beer somewhere in Gotham where nobody's died. There's got to be at least one place like that."
"Sorry, I kind of like my friends to keep breathing. Fools or not." The magician squared her stance and poured more power into her shield. She had a spell in mind but she needed time to prepare it. Just a few more seconds-"
Phantom's eyes flashed arctic blue in the afternoon light and a second later Zatanna found herself forced to dodge out of the way of a spike of crystal clear ice that shot out of the ground where she'd just been standing. Acting on impulse she latched onto Constantine's hand and warped them both across the lawn before a second spike followed the pattern of the first.
"No one said anything about elemental powers!"
"What kind of idiot would I be if I advertised everything I can do. How about this!" His eyes flashed red this time and his jaws opened wide before a raging torrent of emerald flame came blazing across the lawn to their position.
Contrary to the belief of both the Phantom and Batman however, Zatanna was ready for the attack, and only smiled at the sight. Her spell was ready. With a rapid jumble of reverse pronounced words her body lifted into the air, consumed in an aura of pure white light. She waved a hand and the flames stopped mere feet from her location before rising into the air around her and condensing, solidifying, and finally clanging into place as a giant blade of black steel (Batman really didn't want to think about how many laws of physics and transmutation that spell was destroying). A second jumble of words and Danny staggered in place, forced onto one knee and using a hand to keep his spine supported enough to keep his eyes on the lone standing magician. Who knew she had a spell for enhanced gravity?
Zatanna gripped the massive hilt (easily longer than her body was tall) and swung with zero effort on the ghost. Shouting all the while with perceived victory. And why should she not? Her weapon was over two tons in weight, and the fact that it was imbued with her own aura meant going intangible wouldn't protect her foe from the magical weapon's damage. It would take the strength of Superman to stop such a deadly instrument in time, let alone stand to avoid the strike, and even then he'd require the speed of the Flash to avoid it entirely.
Bruce was just planning out how he'd explain a new trench in his yard to his landscapers when an unexpectedly loud clang reverberated throughout the estate, stopping him, and Zatanna, both in place. They stared as one at the point of impact and when the dust cleared beheld the impossible sight of Phantom, standing tall against the massive force of gravity and holding the exorbitantly large weapon steady a mere inch from his face with both hands flat on the blade. He'd caught it!
The half-ghost smiled darkly, opened his mouth once more, and a visible shockwave of sound shattered the weapon completely, sending the new shards of shrapnel flying hard toward Zatanna who merely transfigured them into daggers and sent them back once more. Only to get sent right back on another wave of sound. On and on this increasingly ridiculous game of metal give-and-take continued until finally a crash of thunder sounded and a new voice intoned, "Enough!"
All motion ceased, all fighting came to an end, and as every eye raised to the heavens of all things a giant golden ankh was springing into being. Out of its center fell the figure of a man clad in blue and gold with a sleek helmet covering all of his facial features. Doctor Fate had miraculously arrived at Wayne Manor.
Bruce quickly glided his way down to meet him, coincidentally bumping into Zatanna who was doing the same. Danny, however, merely watched from off to the side. He could afford to wait a few minutes to continue his battle, but he certainly couldn't afford to piss off Doctor Fate. That guy was practically a god in terms of magical ability, and magic was one of the few ways that Danny knew for certain he could actually be harmed. In contrast, physical damage didn't really amount to much when you were half dead to begin with.
"Doctor Fate," Zatanna bowed her head with respect as Bruce reached her side, his cape settling lightly from the force of his landing, "have you come to help us contain Danny Phantom? I fear he is beyond our abilities to stop on our own."
"No." The regal Lord of Order declared. "I am here to stop you from making a great mistake. The being known as Danny Phantom is known to me and has my endorsement for his actions. He is not to be challenged when carrying out his duties."
Batman was aghast at what he was hearing. "Surely you cannot be serious. He is literally murdering people in my city by the hundreds."
"Shirley is not my name, Batman, as you well know. And yes, he is killing people. But those people are themselves already murderers who escaped true punishment for their crimes. Phantom balances the scales for the fallen, brings justice where it is needed, and in that way he is also defending Order in this dimension. I vouch for him. This should be enough."
The full weight of his glare fell on the cowled man, and it was all Bruce could do not to cringe as the very air around him seemed to grow heavy. Finally he said, "A friend told me something similar. If you will vouch for him as you say, and he promises to stay his hands from any innocents… I will not raise a fuss about his presence in Gotham any further."
"Very good." The helmeted man acknowledged the agreement before turning to face Zatanna, "You too will cease this brawl?"
"He threatened to kill John!" She exclaimed while pointing to his still downed form. (honestly she thought he should have been over a blow like that by now.)
"We have all threatened to kill John Constantine at one point or another." Fate remarked. "But I will speak to him."
The doctor levitated himself over to the ghost, and what exactly was said they were not sure, but he returned a few minutes later saying, "Danny has agreed to cease hunting Constantine in return for one more non-lethal blow. Is this agreeable?"
Zatnna was not thrilled with any more harm being done to her friend, but she recognized this as the out it was and nodded at last. "It is agreeable."
"Very well." Fate snapped his fingers and Constantine found himself floating in front of Phantom again, only to find a super powered heel flashing forth to stomp once more into his crotch with the power of a cannon blast. The impact literally shook the air, and a keening wail of absolute misery escaped the Brit's mouth before he fell to the floor, still alive as promised, but dead to the world.
Danny hummed a happy tune as he flew over to the assembled crew, his legs unconsciously flowing into his ghostly tail as he came to a hovering stop next to them all. "Well, that's good and done. All good Bats? Beautiful?" The two nodded and he turned to the Lord of Order. "Doctor Fate, how have you been?"
"Very well. Your work has done much to balance Order in this dimension. Enough so for my host to take a holiday last month. He says the beaches of Spain are a sight to die for."
"I'm sure. Thanks again for your help in Clearwater."
"It was not a problem, but I must be off again. I am needed elsewhere." Fate shook all of their hands in farewell and hovered back into his glowing ankh. A flash of light later and he was gone.
"I'll… just… grab John and go…." the black haired magician awkwardly muttered and took off running. No way was she sticking around to mess with someone Fate was actively friendly with.
"Damn it, I wanted to get her number. Well," Danny hedged, seeing the still face of the dark knight staring at him, "guess there's no need for this form anymore." He descended to the ground completely and twin bands of light encased his body before his ghostly visage faded from sight once more, leaving him unequivocally human, albeit still hidden feature-wise behind his hood. "I'll be heading out, Bats." He waved and turned to go, but Batman stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.
"What is your address and phone number? If you are going to stay in my city I'd like to be able to contact you. Just in case your expertise could be of use in a future case."
"Makes sense. But the thing is…." He rubbed the back of his head, "I don't really have a phone… or a home as it were. I've mainly just been going where I'm needed. The spirits in this city are thankful for my aid and I've been using their hidden money to pay for food and supplies. You can't take your wealth with you when you go but you'd be surprised how many people try."
Internally Bruce began to groan at this news. Alfred would absolutely eviscerate him if he just sent this man off into the city again knowing that. "You can stay here then, until we find something better for you."
"What, really?" Now that was something Danny had definitely not been expecting. Especially after all of this destruction and fighting.
"Really. Fate says you're a hero I can trust and we heroes need to look out for each other. It helps as well that you already know who I am under this cowl. That being said, I do expect you to help pick up your mess in the foyer."
"Done."
"Good. Now come on in. Alfred should have more tea waiting for us by now."
"Lovely."
And so the two returned to the manor where indeed tea was waiting at the perfect temperature, as was a pile of stone that was in desperate need of transport.
One Week Later
"Father, we have returned from South America." Damien reported as he, Dick, and Barbara descended the stairs to the cave floor. In the latter's case, she was lowered on a rig specially installed for her wheelchair. Bruce, as every time they came to see him, was seated in front of his giant batcomputer's monitor. "There was indeed a League of Shadows presence on the island in question, but surprisingly enough, Bane proved quite amenable to helping us evict them from the location."
"That is not surprising at all." Batman steepled his fingers together beneath his chin.
From across the room came the sound of racking plates and a new voice intoned, "I've met Bane before. He's a very spiritual man, as well as practical, and not to mention a tactical genius. I'd say he saw an opportunity through you to reclaim control of the territory the League stole from him."
The three vigilantes spun around with hidden weapons now in hand, each worrying about the fact that they were in the cave, and unmasked, in the presence of a stranger. Out of a shadowed section of the cave that held all of their world-class exercise equipment strolled a well built, shirtless man with long dark hair, glowing green eyes, and a pointed goatee.
"You didn't tell me to expect guests, Bruce."
The three former sidekicks jumped at the use of Batman's real name, and slowly lowered their weapons as a result. They couldn't see someone using such casual use of that name, clearly exercising in the cave, and being a threat all at the same time.
"That's because I didn't expect them back this soon. Damien, Dick, Barbara, this is Danny. Danny Phantom. He's a new vigilante in Gotham and will be staying with us for the foreseeable future."
"More strays, father?" The youngest sneered at the guest. "I thought you'd be done after you took in that idiot, Drake. Where is he anyway?"
"College." Bruce answered simply. "And Danny is not a 'stray' as you so callously put it. He's here on Doctor Fate's recommendation."
Throughout this entire conversation Danny had been looking Barbara up and down, and it was clear to all that he really seemed to like what he was seeing. Deciding to call him on it, the former batgirl inquired, "See something interesting?"
"Only an incredibly beautiful specimen of the female species." He stepped forward and held out his hand grandly to shake with what seemed to be an attempt at a gentlemanly bow, an act far removed in the execution due to his complete lack of a shirt. None present could help noticing all the visible scar tissue on his torso as he did. Had the man been put through a mulcher? "Danny, at your service."
"Barbara." The redhead chuckled lightly and accepted his hand into her own. She'd never admit it outright, but it was nice to be found desirable by this stranger. Ever since the incident with the Joker that had left her paralyzed and stuck in the chair, she'd not exactly had a lot of suitors calling at her door. It was enough to rock anyone's confidence.
"If you don't mind me asking, why is one as superb as yourself confined to a wheelchair? I've read all sorts of articles about scientific miracle cures, alien remedies, and even ingestible medical nanobot technology. Surely with Bruce's resources there was a way to help you?"
The woman known by many as Oracle probably should have felt annoyed at this question, but something about the way this Danny person was looking at her, not with pity, but clear understanding and curiosity, made her answer as if it were a question about something as simple as the weather.
"I was shot, several times, by the Joker. One of his bullets lodged close enough to my spine to paralyze my legs. The doctors said trying to remove it in any of the ways you mentioned could press it in even deeper, and that would certainly remove any and all chance of full recovery in the future."
"Hm. Has the wound itself healed with the exception of the bullet?"
"Yes." Barbara wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going, so she looked to her mentor, who was developing a sudden look of understanding and hope.
"Do you think it would work, Danny?" He asked the stranger. "Can you do it to objects too?"
"Of course. Shouldn't be a problem at all. Where is the bullet?"
"Left side of the L5 vertebrae." Batman intoned, waving off the nervous questions of his kids as the half-ghost moved to stand beside Barbara's wheelchair.
"W-W-What are you doing?" She asked, scared now for reasons she couldn't understand.
"I'm helping you. You said any physical methods of healing would be detrimental. So I'm not going to do anything physical." He raised a hand for her to see clearly, and before her very eyes it turned intangible. She could still view the outline of the limb, but its tone had turned just viscous enough to also see the world through it. A second later he shot it forward into her abdomen and she jumped in place at the cold sensation traveling through her body at the act.
"W-What is this?" She demanded.
"Just give me a second." His arm jiggled back and forth a few seconds more, before he suddenly yanked it free. Two things happened then. First, he dropped the clear casing of a bullet on the stone floor. Second… for the first time in three years she felt something below her waist and actually wiggled her toes!
"I-Is this real?" She whispered. When no one could give her an answer she pulled one leg out of its holder, and then the other, and finally she set the brake on her chair and started to push up off of it.
"Barbara no! Your leg muscles are atrophied!" Dick tried to push forward to help her, but Bruce held him back.
"Let her do this, son. She needs it."
And truer words had never been spoken. The muscle may have gone, but the brunette vigilante set her legs still and used all of her considerable willpower to lock them in place and just balance to stay upright, standing, in position for the first time in so, so, long. She didn't need to walk, that could come later, but at that moment all Barbara wanted to do…. was stand. Stand under her own power.
"Well done, Ms. Barbara." Danny grinned wolfishly at the woman from his place at her side, and a second later he found himself borne to the ground with her weight atop him and her lips pressing repeatedly into every available inch of his face.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She repeated over and over between every kiss as sobs began to build inside her. So many emotions bursting forth at once that she didn't even know which one to pick from. Danny only smiled and held her close to him, the same way his mother had once held him when he'd had a similar emotional outburst. He knew that sometimes words weren't necessary. All that mattered was that someone was there to hold you when things became too much.
Eventually Barbara did calm down, but she didn't move to leave his arms. So Danny just sat up and held her in his lap as the others continued to stare at the spectacle they were creating. "She just needs a minute to get herself in order. You can keep talking about whatever it was you were discussing."
"What are you?" Damien demanded, as tactless as always with his timing.
Danny's eyes glowed bright as he responded, "More than you can imagine."
Bruce, strung out more than a bit from this emotional turn of events, hit a button on his keyboard. "Alfred," he spoke into the computer's microphone, "I think we'll need some tea down here. Danny just did something definitely worthy of it."
The sound crackled for a moment before the posh Brit's voice answered, "Very good, sir. Tell the young master I'll be down presently."
Danny smiled at the interaction and nuzzled Barbara's red hair lightly. "Would you care to share a cup of tea with me?"
Barbara giggled up at him and kissed his jaw lightly. "For this, I'd share a lot more."
"Let's start with the tea then, and go from there." He chuckled. "I know an amazing ramen joint I'd love to take you to."
"Sounds amazing."
Meanwhile Dick and Bruce were struck dumb staring at the two once more. "Bruce… did that guy just give her the gift of walking and ask her out in less than four minutes?"
"Yes, son, I think he just did."
"That's awesome." The younger man breathed, earning a fresh grin from the man.
"Indeed, it truly is."
They both cut off as the door above opened once more, and the clinking of porcelain announced the butler's arrival with the tea. Someday, the Batman swore to himself, he'd find a way to thank this man for the aid he'd given Barbara. He didn't know how, but he'd find one.
Next time:
-Danny and Barbara goodness.
-The official start of the Justice League.