CHAPTER TWO

META-HUMAN

Ahem, well." Jazz brightly started. She turned to Dick while tucking a loose hair behind her ear. "How are you related to Danny?"

Guilt had taken hold of Dick as soon as he had realized that Jazz and Danny were unaware of his existence. Jazz's question made the guilt in his stomach turn into lead. He hadn't meant to go behind their parents backs. But it was too late, no turning back now.

"I'm his, um, biological brother." Dick added 'biological' because he felt that calling him a brother would be too assuming on his part and saying biological brother wasn't something he thought he would ever be able to say, so now he said it whenever given the chance.

Jazz nodded, confirming what she had figured out.

"You didn't know." His guilt expressed itself in the statement. He had really messed up.

"Mom and dad told us he was adopted last week. Danny and I had figured it out long before, though. I mean, my parents aren't the best at keeping secrets. But they didn't say anything about Danny having any relatives, let alone actually meeting with one. I'm really sorry, Danny and I weren't supposed to be here, but it was really careless of them to not tell you that we didn't know. They've never been ones to be careful, especially with delicate situations such as this."

"Not at all, Jazz. Your parents have been very careful through this process. It has conveyed to us how much they care for Daniel. Today has just been a series of unfortunate circumstances and it was foolish of us to assume that the two of you knew." Bruce told her earnestly.

Jazz beamed at the praise given to her parents, she knew he was probably just saying it out of courtesy, but he sounded so sincere. While Dick tried not to flinch at the underhand jab directed at him. Dick was sure Bruce had known from the moment Jazz opened the door that they didn't know and he hadn't realized until Danny had said "a meeting with Mr. Wayne." He was really off his game today.

The sound of thunderous foot steps halted any thoughts of continuing the current conversation. Then all of the sudden the basement door burst open with a bang.

Dick had seen photos of Jack Fenton, but, like the house, it was something else to see him in person. He was at least a foot taller than Bruce and twice as broad. The colossal man had a smile brighter than his orange jumpsuit. He grabbed Bruce's hand to shake with both of his own enormous gloved hands.

"Mr. Wayne! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The man boomed in a baritoned excitement, shaking his hand with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Giving Bruce no time to reply, Jack turned his attention to Dick and the man's smile somehow doubled in size. He seized Dick by the shoulders.

"You must be Dick! Haha! Look at you! You look just like our Danny-boy!" Before Dick could do anything to respond he was pulled into a bone crushing hug. "It's so good to meet my son's brother! Haha! That is not a sentence I had ever expected to say!" Jack dropped the young man and took a step back to look him over once more.

All Dick felt was relief with the unexpected and somewhat awkward hug. Danny's parents aren't disturbed by his existence.

"Alright, Dickie, my man, what do you know about ghosts?"

"Um." Dick didn't like the new spark in the man's eyes. Dick had been trying not to judge and label the Fentons as lunatics for excessively studying something that doesn't exist for over twenty years. But the way the man's eyes lit up made Dick rethink his reservation on the label.

"Ja~ack? Do you remember what we talked about?" A red head woman in a teal jumpsuit came up from the basement and stood with her hands on her hips next to her husband.

Jack deflated faster than a balloon. "We're talking about Danny. Not ghosts."

"That's right, honey. Thank you so much." She gently pulled his head down so she could peck him on the cheek.

"Bruce, Dick, it's nice to finally meet you in person." While her smile was genuine, there was an undertoned unease.

Dick ignored his returning nervousness, stepped toward her with an out stretched hand, and greeted her as warmly as he could. "The pleasure is all mine, Maddie. Thank you so much for being willing to meet with us."

"Well of course we'd want to meet you." Maddie's unease didn't completely leave her. But she definitely relaxed with Dick's manners.

It was this moment Maddie noticed Jazz.

"Jazz, I thought you were at the library?" She asked nervously.

"Mom, you asked me to get the door..."

"Oh." The teal clad woman blinked a few times. "I suppose I did. Well, I'm glad you were here to get it. What are you doing with the first aid kit?" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Danny fell down the stairs again and hurt his arm. But he left before I could bandage it."

"HAHA! Danny was here? Did you get to meet him?" Jack asked the guests excitedly, while his wife looked a little mortified.

"Yes, and I introduced myself not realizing he, um, didn't know.. But I don't think he recognized me and he left pretty quickly after that." Dick addressed the distraught mother. "I'm really sorry."

Jack beamed at Dick. But Maddie chewed on the information before sighing and decided to follow her husband's lead in his optimism. She smiled. "Don't worry about it, Dick. It was our fault, really. But I am glad you got a chance to meet him. Come, let's go sit in the living room"

"Then you can listen to me blather on about ghosts!"

"Jack!"/"Dad!"

"Stupid Box Ghost. Stupid Skulker with his stupid new guns. Now I'm three hours late for stupid studying for the stupid finals. Stupid intangibility tripping me on the stupid stairs and breaking my stupid phone. That's the third one this year and mom said she wasn't getting me another one. AAAARG! I THOUGHT I WAS OVER THOSE KIND OF ACCIDENTS!" Phantom shouted as he flew full speed back to town, looking a little worse for wear. Much to Danny's frustration Skulker had managed to chase him completely out of the city. "But noooo, let's just lose control while we have stupid GUESTS OVER!" His yell nearly turned into a Ghostly Wail in his frustration and Danny halted his flight.

'Wow dude, calm down.' He told himself as he winced and held his side where a particularly nasty burn afflicted him. 'Get a grip, your day hasn't been that bad. Sure, you fell down the stairs in front of two strangers, broke your phone, and got chased out of town. But that's not the worst that could happen, or has happened.' Danny shuddered. 'Definitely not the worst that has happened. That guy was weird though. What was his name? Mr. Wanner?' He resumed his flight, but much slower this time. ' He kept looking at me funny. It kind of reminds me of how Vlad will look at me. But without the pompous arrogance and that creepy smile. Creepy lonely old Fruitloop. But it was like Mr. Wanner was... reading me, I guess. It was much subtler than the fruitloop. Or I could just be paranoid. The other guy looked like he had seen a ghost... Well, he technically did. But he couldn't have known that. Haha, his name is Dick Grayson.' The halfa chuckled at the guy's misfortune, but winced again at the movement. Danny slowed his flight even more now that he was on the outskirts of Amity Park. Immersed in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice the two teen girls, a Hispanic and a blonde, waving at him frantically as he flew by. 'Grayson, why does that name sound so familiar... Oh yeah, mom and dad said my last name used to be Grayson. Haha, that's a funny coincidence.' Phantom froze midair. Even his spectral tail stopped it's constant motion. His eyes grew with each passing second.

"HIS NAME IS GRAYSON!"

With his original speed, he rocketed back towards FentonWorks.

Within minutes Phantom shifted into Danny in an ally across the street from his house. His exertion of the last hour and a half hitting him full force in his human form, leaving him completely out of air. Not letting this deter him, he ran full speed out of the ally, past the parked silver Porsche, across the street without checking for traffic, and up the doorsteps.

Danny practically dove through the front door (not literally), slamming the door behind him in his rush. When Danny spun toward the living room, he found that he had earned everyone's full attention. All of them were slightly red-faced with fading smiles, some of them even had tears in their eyes, like they had just finished a fit of laughter. He stood there for a moment, desperately trying to catch his breath with his backpack awkwardly hanging off of one shoulder. His side throbbed uncomfortably.

"You!" Danny pointed at Dick, who was sitting next to Bruce on the couch at the other end of the room.

"Me?" He raised an eyebrow. A small smile sneaking its way into his lips.

"Your, huff-huff, name, huff, is Grayson," he finally managed.

"Yes, yes it is."

Dick's grin ever so slightly faltered when he saw Bruce from the corner of his eye. All amusement had vanished from the detective's face. Well, all real amusement.

Danny just stared wide eyed at Dick, still pointing. He had no idea what to do or say next, he couldn't even remember how to move. His brain had decided to completely abandon him. Seeing Grayson again and the overwhelming similarities between them was doing nothing to convince his brain to rejoin him.

"That's right, Dann-o! He's your brother! How cool is that?"

Everyone but Danny winced at the boisterous man's lack of tact.

Danny let his arm fall and looked between his parents and his brother, gaping like a goldfish. His anger from earlier slowly trickled its way back anew as he focused solely on his parents.

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME?"

The outburst startled everyone, any signs of their previous laughter gone. Danny shut his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath to calm himself down when he felt his eyes turn green. Everyone waited silently as he took a few long controlled breaths, understanding his frustration.

Danny didn't open his eyes until he was one hundred percent sure they were blue again. He ran his hand through his hair and let out one last breath.

"Sorry Dad, today hasn't been the best and this... this is a lot to take in."

"That's okay, Dan-man."

Jazz looked at her brother with concern. But there was also a hint of pride from seeing him control his anger in a stressful situation where he had every right to be upset.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. We only found out ourselves last week and we were going to wait to tell you after your finals this week so you could focus on studying." His mom explained.

His face soured at the mention of school. It had been the cause of a lot of grief this year and this was just one more item to add to the ever growing pile. But he nodded, letting his mom know he understood.

"Danny? Why didn't you bandage your arm?" His mom had noticed it when he had ran his hand through his hair.

"Heh? What?" The question had thrown him off at first, but then he thanked the high heavens that his human side didn't heal nearly as fast as his ghost side. "Oh yeah. Ummm, I forgot to."

'That's a lie.' Three of the rooms occupants thought simultaneously.

"Oh Danny. Come with me and we'll get it cleaned up." His mom stood up, completely buying the obvious lie.

"I'll do it mom." Jazz intervened quickly. She jumped up, grabbed Danny and steered him into the kitchen, leaving the adults behind in the living room.

Jazz got the first aid kit out again, only to have Danny snatch it as he slung his backpack off and begin working on it himself. His sister crossed her arms and huffed indignantly, but otherwise let it go. She had more pressing matters to attend to. She let him clean his elbow in silence. He worked much slower and more meticulously than necessary.

There was a muffled conversation coming from the living room. Jazz pulled out her cellphone and began to text.

"What are you doing?"

"Letting Sam and Tucker know you're not dead, well, not completely dead. They texted me a while ago saying you hadn't showed up and your phone was going straight to voicemail."

She only got a grunt in response and they lapsed back into silence. She watched him as he finished his thorough cleaning.

Finally, Jazz decided to gently prod, starting with something other than what caused him to explode earlier.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I fell down the stairs remember?" He gave her a look.

"Danny, I meant after you left. Why was your phone off?"

Danny tossed the dirty cotton swabs into the trashcan, then grabbed the biggest band-aid in the box and ripped it open.

"My phone broke when I fell down the stairs and Skulker chased me clear out of town, guns a blazing." He slapped on the band aid and pulled the Fenton Thermos out of his backpack. He gave it a good shake before none to gently putting it on the counter.

"Ghost-X is in there?"

"Yup! Along with the Box Ghost and a weird slug thing I found under the RV." He smiled triumphantly with a sinister gleam in his eye. "And I don't plan on letting them out anytime soon."

His sister frowned at him. She saw right through his tough and humorous facade and saw the frustration and confusion still bubbling beneath the surface.

"Are you okay, Danny?"

Danny's smile faded and turned into a scowl.

"I'm still really mad at Mom and Dad. I get why they didn't tell me. My grades suck and I don't need anymore distractions, but that kind of makes it worse." He knew if he didn't answer her that she would eventually weasel it out of him. Besides, she sometimes had good advice.

"That isn't the only reason they were waiting to tell you. They also wanted to make sure he wasn't an unsavory character."

"Oh, so if he was 'unsavory' they would have never told me? I can take care of myself!"

Jazz was sure the adults in the other room had heard his exclamation, but didn't worry about it, because it was easily misinterpreted. "I don't believe that was their intent, Danny. I think they would have just tried to proceed with more caution. But that doesn't really matter, because that hasn't happened at all. Mom and dad are actually quite taken with Bruce and Dick."

Danny didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway. His face slowly fell into a worried expression. His sister could see a question making its way to the surface. He turned his gaze to stare intently at the lid of the thermos. Jazz would have given him all the time in the world.

"Do... do you know if he believes in ghosts?" His face displayed determination, but his eyes remained locked on the lid.

"No, I don't think they do. But they knew mom and dad's profession before they entered the house and they're not mocking or judging them. Bruce even looked curious when dad mentioned the Fenton Wrist Rays. So that's something."

Danny looked up."Wow. That is something."

"You know Danny, Bruce is planning to go back to Gotham tonight, but Dick is willing to catch a flight home tomorrow if you wanted to hang out for lunch or something. But if you wanted, you could slip out the back door and I'll cover for you and give them your answer."

Danny smiled at his sister gratefully. She had effectively defused some of his frustration and provided him with an escape. "What's the cover you plan on using?"

"The truth. You ditched your friends without explanation and your phone is dead. So, you left to let them know your alright."

"That's a pretty weak excuse."

"Like you could do better. Besides, we don't need a strong excuse. Dick and Bruce are very sensible and perceptive people. I'm sure they will understand you needing time and space."

"Thanks Jazz. But I think can at least say 'hi' and give them the excuse myself before I ditch." He gave her a loose smile.

"Alright, little brother." She returned the smile.

They moved back into the living room. Jazz returned to her spot, while Danny awkwardly stood near the threshold.

"Are you alright, Danny?" Dick asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine. It's really not as bad as it looks." He knew Dick hadn't been talking about his elbow. But he sucked at lying, so he played dumb instead.

"That's a relief." He wasn't fooled for a second, but went with it anyway.

Danny's eyes darted over to Bruce. He had thought he had seen the man looking at him with that look again. But it was gone so fast, Danny wasn't sure he had actually seen right. He kept his eyes from narrowing in suspicion and tried to keep his face neutral.

"Hey, um, Bruce and I actually have to go soon. But I was wondering if... if you would want to hang out tomorrow for lunch or something." Dick tried desperately not to ring his hands together. They didn't actually have to leave. They had plenty of time before Bruce's flight. But Danny looked uncomfortable and ready to bolt.

Danny didn't have to make a lame excuse and bail. He blinked a couple of times. Was Dick nervous?

"Yeah, lunch sounds cool. You good with fast food?"

Dick lit up like Christmas had come early. "Yes! Fast food is great!"

"Um, okay..." Danny's eyebrows were at his hairline. 'Does he really like fast food that much?' "My favorite place is the Nasty Burger. We could meet there."

"Yeah, we drove past that place. How about I come and pick you up? Let's say, eleven?"

"That would be great!" Jack answered.

"Um, actually, can we meet at the Nasty Burger at one? I've got a lot of studying to do tonight and I'll probably be coming from a friends house." Danny mentally pat himself on the back for thinking ahead.

"That works for me." Dick knew the wait was going to kill him.

Bruce stood, seeing a good opportunity to take their leave. "We should probably leave now, if we want to catch my flight."

As soon as both of the car doors were closed Dick turned to Bruce.

"Alright Bruce, what did you see?"

"Just a hunch." He dismissed as he started the car.

"Your 'just a hunch's turn out to be spot on seventy-five percent of the time and the other twenty-five percent of the time you're still right,"

There was a pause before Bruce responded with, "I think your brother is a meta-human."

Dick turned his focus to the street in front of them.

"You noticed."

"His hair look the way Wally's does after a light run. I was hoping that there was a reasonable explanation."

Bruce gave Dick a disapproving look.

"What?"

"That's all you noticed?"

"I was a little busy with meeting my long lost, biological brother and his crazy family!"

Bruce didn't look any less disapproving.

"Okay, what did you notice?"

"His clumsiness started two years ago as did his failing grades. When his parents talked about his clumsiness Jasmine knew something her parents didn't, but kept quiet. His lip was nearly healed and his arms scratch looked a day old."

"This is more than 'just a hunch'."

"I think he lied about forgetting to bandage his arm because he never made it to his friends house. But he hadn't been lying when he told us that's were he was going. Something prevented him from reaching his destination."

"Amity park doesn't have any vigilantes."

"None that we're aware of."

"So you're thinking he's having a hard time controlling his powers?"

The detective nodded. "That would explain things, like to his sudden habit of being late for or skipping classes and his clumsiness. Also, his eyes changed color, from blue to green, when he lost his temper. Dick, he could be dangerous. Him not having control over his powers could explain the destruction the city suffers."

"Now you're just jumping to conclusions. Danny isn't the Hulk."

"The Hulk?"

"Comic book character. But that's not the point. The file said the League already investigated the mysterious destruction and concluded it was a group of persistent, desperate people looking for tourists and the League's attention."

"You're right. But I wasn't apart of that investigation. We can't rule it out as a possibility."

"He is a good kid and he's a horrible liar. I don't think he's causing all the destruction."

"You may be right. But we can't rule it out. He and his sister were hiding something. I'm going to trust you judgment with this one though. Since he is your brother."

"Wait. Usually that is the very reason you don't trust people with certain cases."

"You have extensive experience with meta-human teenagers. I'm busy with the Poison Ivy and Penguin case. You're the best option for this case. I'm going to trust you with this one, Dick."

Dick heard the 'so don't screw up' that was implied.

"You're not going tell the League are you? It's going to be hard to earn his trust if we've already outed his secret."

"Like I said, it's just a hunch."

"Thank you, Bruce."

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Date posted: 7-7-16