This one turned out long.

CHAPTER FOUR

HIS ONLY FRIENDS

Danny kept his footsteps purposely steady and rhythmic. His hands gripped the straps of his purple backpack. Amity's mall slowly came up on his right and began to pass. But Danny didn't really seem to notice as he was staring intently at the sidewalk. The information Nancy had found on his brother dominated his thoughts as he trecked forward.

The over-glorified-Google search, as Sam later called it, came up with the basic information: age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and so on, along with news articles and police reports that painted a picture of a rather exciting life. Turns out his brother was born and raised, and preformed in a circus, Hailey's Circus. At first, this had put an uneasy feeling in Danny's gut. His only experience with any circus had been more than unpleasant. After his run in with the gothic circus, Danny had made himself a mental note to never ever set foot in a circus again. But after watching some old footage of the Flying Graysons and a serious reprimanding from his gothic friend on stereotyping and being bias or something like that, he was willing to reconsider his standing on the matter.

Danny shivered and pulled up the hood of his red hoodie. He scowled at the sun for not doing it's job properly in keeping the earth warm. The shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

After the circus, Dick was adopted by the billionaire, Bruce Wayne, and lived in a mansion that rivaled Vlad's. He had been kidnapped a number of times, he did have several sick rides, and has dated a lot of "smoking hot babes" as Tucker put it. They also found out that their parents had died a year after Danny had been adopted. Which stung a little... or a lot. Danny hadn't realized that he had felt relieved when found out that he had a brother that had been adopted as well, that it wasn't just him, but he had. But now he realized they weren't separated from their biological parents for the same reason. Anyway, it turns out his parents didn't just die, but were murdered. Sam had gotten really interested in investigating that. At first the newspapers said that it had been faulty equipment that malfunctioned during a performance, but then several months later the case was reopened and the murderer was brought to justice. But that wasn't the most exciting part; According to a small newspaper article, the Batman had allegedly been apart of the investigation. Batman, the world's most mysterious hero and greatest detective, may have investigated his parents murder. And Dick had been in Gotham at the time. Tucker had said that if Batman had been the one to catch the murder, that it was more than likely that he had talked to Dick as a witness. So, his brother might have met the Batman. That was so ridiculously awesome.

Turns out that Dick is currently a part of the Bludhaven police department. Sam's opinion of Dick had done a three-sixty as it had been steadily lowering as they read about his various girlfriends, parties, and not so eco-friendly boat and car choices. She had reluctantly agreed that he probably shared Danny's hero complex if he took a job as a cop in a city that rivaled Gotham's crime rates. Especially when he clearly still had access to his adoptive fathers funds with the condo he was living in and the motorcycle he drove. Danny silently admitted to himself that they may have taken their search little far. But all in all, Dick Grayson was cool. Something that he, Danny, was definitely not. Well, without his alter ego. Without his alter ego, he was just a nerd with horrible grades. Seriously, weren't nerds supposed to get good grades and rule the world when they graduated? But no, Danny didn't even have that.

Danny kicked an innocent bystanding rock across the sidewalk, with a frustrated huff. Dick was the definition of cool. He was like everything everybody at school aspired to be: athletic, rich, good looking, a honor student, and had hot girlfriends (according to some gossip magazines: the list was extensive.) Danny really didn't compare to Dick at all. The rhythm to Danny's foot steps slowed. Dick probably won't like him at all, a loser with bad grades and crazy parents.

A small wisp of unusually cold air escaping from his mouth interrupted his thoughts. He was used to this cold sensation, but this time it had been abnormally cold. Danny quickly forgot the anomaly when an inhuman roar came from the mall, immediately followed by the screams of panicked mall shoppers. Danny smirked, turned heel, and dashed towards the sound of chaos.

Dick leaned on the side of the rental car. He had gotten to the Nasty Burger embarrassingly early, in his opinion. He took in a deep breath and let it out in a content sigh, relishing the relatively clear air. It definitely wasn't the cleanest air that he has had the luxury of breathing, but it was cleaner than Bludhaven air. Clean air was something that Bludhaven did not have in the slightest. Along with the fresh air, the sun that refuses to show it's face in Bludhaven, shone happily in Amity Park. Dick let the clear air, the sunlight on his eyelids, and the growing warmth of his black shirt steady his mind into a peaceful serenity. Last night he had been unable to sleep, seeing as he was a knotted bundle of nerves and to distract himself he researched Amity Park. Which hadn't helped in the slightest.

In fact, his research only added a migraine to his stress and restlessness. The conclusion that he eventually came to was that everyone in Amity is clinically insane.

Ever since Amity Park was founded its people have been incredibly superstitious. The number of reported and "confirmed" hauntings and sightings of the supernatural were ridiculous. And while the city took these reports with complete seriousness, they also seemed to make light of it; the street names were a prime example of this: Spook Street, Spector Avenue, Bedsheet Avenue, Haunted Street. They even advertised themselves as America's most haunted city. But it was almost two years ago, when the attacks started, that things really got crazy. There were claims of ghost invasion, mass kidnappings, and tons of possessions. Then there was the claim that the entire city had been transported to another dimension, which had gotten the attention of the Justice League. Who sent Flash, a scientist familiar with interdimensional travel, and Question, a detective relatively familiar with the supernatural, to investigate.
The investigation had been short as there had been no signs of dimensional hopping. The two leaguers did briefly look into the ectoplasmic ghosts that the city insisted terrorised the streets. But the only solid evidence was the destruction left behind which could easily be explained by attention seeking vandalists. All the "photographic evidence" the people of Amity Park had were blurry, unfocused, and indistinguishable at best. Though Question did make a note saying that the more popular ghost the people described, Phantom, seemed to be loosely based on an old legend that traversed across many cultures. The legend was usually about a spirit of kindness and/or protection of black and white forever locked in a battle against an evil demon or an immortal vampire. But the Leaguers eventually concluded that either someone was fooling the city into believing in such beings or the city itself was trying to fool the League. Which they wouldn't be the first on both accounts.

On top of his fairly inconclusive research he had gotten a call from Alfred.

Dick sat cross legged on the hotel bed, eyes locked on his laptop in front of him, the screen littered with different articles on and by the couple that had adopted his brother. It took Dick exactly ten seconds to realize his phone was ringing and four more seconds to locate and answer it.

"Dick Grayson at your service."

"Good afternoon, master Dick. This is Alfred Pennyworth speaking."

Dick rolled his eyes at the unnecessary introduction as Alfred had more than likely done for Dick's own introduction.

"Hiya, Alfred. What's up?" Dick wasn't sure why, but he always seemed to resort to a more childish vocabulary when speaking with Alfred. Maybe it was to offset Alfred's extensive and stiff vocabulary, but Dick wasn't really sure.

"I'm afraid I've called with some unsettling news."

Dick's eyebrow twitched in irritation. 'Unsettling news' could range from 'Wayne manner was out of window cleaner' to 'there's a gang war and Bruce has literally broken a leg.'

Alfred continued when he received no response, "master Tim as found that someone has electronically done some extensive research on you as Richard Grayson. According to master Tim, whoever conducted the search is quite skilled; master Tim was unable to track them. And I'm afraid that they have the address to your current place of residence and work place. Master Dick, I, and master Bruce, insist that after you are finished in Amity Park that you stay at Wayne manner until this matter is resolved."

Dick slumped against the headboard of the bed. "Aw, c'mon Alfred. I have a lot going on in Bludhaven and I can't just leave work! I can take care myself! I'll just keep an eye open for trouble and be extra careful."

"Master Dick."

Dick winced and slumped further at the tone Alfred used. He had known that wouldn't be able to convince Alfred to let him stay in Bludhaven, but the finality in Alfred's voice solidified that knowledge.

"Alright, alright! I call the precinct tomorrow and tell them I've got a family emergency. Ya happy?"

"Quite," the butler replied dryly. "Now that that's out of our way: how was the meeting with the Fentons?"

A huge grin took over Dick's face and immediately delved into every detail of the day and the plans for tomorrow. Dick checked his watch, yep, still tomorrow.

"That is absolutely marvellous, master Dick. I cannot express how happy I am for you. But there is something I must warn you against."

"Yeah?" Dick sent a worried glance at the phone.

"I know that you still miss your parents. And I understand that finding your biological brother may seem like getting a piece of them back. But please, Master Dick, do not put the responsibility of filling that hole on the young boy's shoulders. I can guarantee he will not be able to and you just might drive him away in the process. Life is not replacing something that you've lost, my boy, it's giving you something new. So treat him as such." Alfred finished with a gentle kindness that resonated with the words spoken.

"I..." The words lodged themselves in Dick's throat and he had to blink away a few years that materialized out of nowhere. "I understand, Alfred. And I will." Dick took a deep breath, "thank you, Alfred."

"Of course, my boy."

"I guess I'll see you later then."

"Until then, Master Dick."

The phone call ended and Dick dropped the phone onto the bed. pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, before letting his arms fall from his face and returned to the screen of his laptop.

Dick is pulled out of his reminiscent thoughts by what sounded like an explosion. He pushed off his car, standing alert. He strained to listen for any more signs of danger, he could faintly hear shouts and screams of people in a panic. Seconds later a long line of emergency vehicle flew past the Nasty Burger, sirens blaring. Dick stayed rooted to the pavement in indecision.
This was more than likely another "ghost attack" and Dick might be able to find who really is behind the attacks, if he left now to investigate. But it was already seven past one; Danny could be here any second. Dick couldn't miss this lunch with his brother. They've already had a rough start as it is. Dick didn't want to make things , almost twice as fast as the emergency vehicles what could have been either a tank or an RV that looked like it came out of a children's Sci-Fi skidded around the corner and disappeared down the same street towards the ruckus. Dick had been able to catch a glimpse of the FentonWorks logo on the side of the RV before it disappeared. His gut clenched with panic and dred. Why were the Fentons in a hurry to an emergency site? The first and most obvious explanation he could think of was that a family member was involved. And Danny was late.

But before his panic turned into action, a scrawny, black haired, and disheveled teenager with a purple backpack jogged into view from the direction the RV and emergency vehicles had disappeared. The young vigilante nearly sagged against his car in relief. But he kept himself composed and waved to get the teenager's attention. When Danny spotted him he gave a wave back and a nervous smile as he walked over.

If Dick had been alone and not in public he would have gone a tangent about how incredibly stupid he was. The Fentons were ghost hunters. The emergency was more than likely "ghost related." Of course they would be heading to the emergency site. Damian is right, he is worse than a mother hen.

"Hey," Danny greeted simply with a wheeze.

"Hi Danny, I saw your parents drive by; do you know where they were headed?" Dick wanted to know if his hypothesis was correct.

"To the mall, probably. There was.. an attack. At the mall." Danny rubbed the back of his head.

"An attack?" Dick eyebrows rose as he began to lead the way across the parking lot to the fast-food restaurant.

"Yeah," Danny nodded, following Dick at his side. "They're kind of common in Amity, but it's kind of rare for someone to actually get hurt. Most everyone in Amity thinks it's ghosts, but nobody outside of Amity seems to believe that."

"Huh," was Dick's response. It didn't slip past him that Danny had avoided his own opinion on the matter.

Dick pulled open the door to the Nasty Burger and a waft of grease and sauces assaulted his nose. When they stepped in, Danny groaned at the sight of the line of people waiting to order.
They fell into silence as they got in line. The older of the two did his best to still his ever growing excitement. He had yet to wrap his head around the idea that his parents had had another child. Never mind the fact he was standing in line for fast food with said child. But with Alfred's words of wisdom from last night, he was able to keep from being over excited.
They took a couple of steps forward as the line moved on. Dick took his eyes off of the menu over head and glanced down at his fidgety company. Danny's shoulder were tight and he was looking everywhere but at Dick.

As soon as they had gotten in line Danny had started to lose his confidence. As the silence stretched on for the eternity of three whole minutes, Danny was internally screaming at himself, reminding himself that not ten minutes ago he had kicked giant, man eating, octopus ghost butt. So, why wasn't he brave enough to start a conversation?

Before Danny could come up with anything to say, Dick asked him, "do you have any recommendations for what I should order?"

"Um, not really." Danny glanced up at the menu, trying to jog his memory. "I usually get the number three combo. But everything here is pretty good. Oh yeah! Don't order the Chilli Burger Supreme. It's delicious, but not really worth the time you end up spending in the bathroom. Tucker insists that it's the cheese they use, but I'm pretty sure it's the chilli."

Dick looked mildly concerned, whether the concern was over that it was still on the menu or that Danny had actually had it, Danny wasn't sure.

"Alright, good to know," Dick replied with a nod.

They lapsed back into silence as Dick looked back at the menu. Again Danny began to desperately search for something to ask Dick. He didn't want to ask about the circus. Well, he did, but that was way to close to the topic of their parents and Danny didn't want to start that yet. He also couldn't ask him about being a cop, because he wasn't sure if he was supposed to know that and he definitely didn't want Dick finding out that he had researched him. But the silence and his own cowardice were driving him crazy. He had to say something.

Just then, a group of what looked to be tourists poured into the restaurant all excitedly discussing what to do after lunch. Danny barely noticed the boisterous group as he was still mentally yelling at himself to get a grip and say something, anything.

Dick, on the other hand, couldn't help but take notice of the obnoxious group. More specifically the two teenagers who strategically entered the restaurant right behind the group, trying so hard to be inconspicuous that it was obvious. One of them had on a gray hoodie and sunglasses, while the other had on a black sweater and a baseball cap and also had on sunglasses. The two slyly slipped away from the tourists and into one of the nearby booths within earshot.

The people in front of them finished ordering and after Danny and Dick had finished ordering two number three combo meals, they stood off to the side and waited for their order.
Dick was about his to ask Danny if he knew the two teens in the sunglasses as the teens were around Danny's age and were trying to stay out of Danny's line of sight as much as possible, but Danny suddenly blurted, "What was it like to be a honours student?"

The female teen with the sunglasses smacked her forehead and groaned as Dick's head snapped towards Danny in surprise. He was sure he hadn't talked about his schooling at all with the Fentons. Danny tried to keep his face innocent and calm, but Dick could see the swelling mortification.

Batman's protege rose an eyebrow and inquired, "how did you know I was an honours student?"

Danny turned a rather impressive shade of red and looked ready to accept his end happily. "I-I, uh," Danny struggled for an explanation, "looked you up, um... after, uh, you know, when I got to my friend's house.. yesterday." It was the truth.

Dick nodded, almost approvingly, as he grabbed the tray with their order. Dick needed to confirm his suspicions. He slyly looked at Danny, who was rooted to the spot. He was kind of enjoying the absolute humiliation and horror on Danny's face.

"Do you know my place of residence?"

Dick couldn't keep himself from laughing out loud when Danny bit his lip and visibly paled.

"Oh wow, you're good!" Dick was sincerely impressed. Not only had Danny appropriately researched him, as any member of the Wayne household would, but the research had been extensive and was good enough to throw Tim off his trail.

"Huh?"

"I'm impressed!" Dick told the dumbfounded teen as he found them a table, which happened to be right next to the two 'inconspicuous' teens, and sat down. Danny followed, slipping into the booth seat across from Dick. "You had to go a little further than a google search to get that kind of information," Dick beamed.

"You're not.. you know.. upset?"

"Of course not! I mean, I had to look you up, right?"

Danny's look of bewilderment melted in to a small smile. "Yeah, I guess you did. I hadn't thought about it like that."

There were a few beats of quiet as they unwrapped their straws and burgers and began to eat.

"So, to answer your question earlier: being an honours student isn't as great as people think it is."

Danny flushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"How's school going for you?"

Danny shrugged, "it's going good, I guess."

A snort from the booth behind Danny caused his face to drop in complete unamused irritation.

"Yeah, schools going great." Danny continued a little bit louder, "but I've got these two really annoying friends that never leave me alone."

"Hey!" Came an indignant protest as the kid in the black sweater poked his head over the booth. The kid took off the sunglasses and his cap and immediately replaced it with a red beret.

"And apparently, really bad at looking inconspicuous. I mean, really guys?"

"Hey, it worked until chuckles over here gave us away." Said the second teenager who was now standing at the end of their table with her hands on hips.

"At least I'm not as bad at starting conversations as Danny. I mean 'what's it like to be an honours student?' What was that?" Tucker mocked with a poor imitation of Danny and hopped over the back of the booth and slid in next to Danny, while Sam demanded that they move over and make room and sat on his other side.

"Talk to me when you've successfully talked to a girl, Tucker." Danny retorted with an eye roll, but his ears turned a deep pink.

"Hey! I am very successful with the ladies. I just haven't found Mrs. Right yet."

"AKA any girl that says 'yes.'"

Tucker gasped in horror at his friends retort.

"Anyway. Dick, I'm Sam. This is Tucker. We're Danny's best friends."

"Only friends." Tucker corrected.

"Arg, you guys!" Danny thumped his head onto the table next his burger.

"Right. Only friends. So, you should understand our caution and curiosity when he tells us he now has an older brother." She paused, daring him to state otherwise, before she continued,

"you're Dick Grayson, adoptive son of Bruce Wayne the billionaire, right?" Sam had her hands on the edge of the table and leaned forward, scrutinizing Dick shamelessly. Danny lifted his head and stared at her in exasperation.

Dick couldn't help but grin at the ridiculous introduction. He was happy that they interrupted. Danny had almost completely relaxed when he had realized his friends were with him.

"I am."

"Why'd it take you fourteen years to find Danny?" She asked bluntly, continuing to eye him, searching for something.

"Sam! Knock it off!" Danny grumbled under his breath. But the look he gave Dick pleaded for an answer. The kid wore his emotions on his sleeve in neon.

"It's okay, Danny. It's a fair question." Dick rubbed the side of his neck. "I... it's..." He sighed and let his hand drop and looked Danny in the eye. "This is going to sound weird, but I didn't really know you existed until a while ago. I never actually met you. My-our parents didn't tell me that mom was pregnant with you. And at the time I didn't really know... about that stuff, I just thought mom was sick. But she got better and I forgot about it. But this Spring, I saw a pregnant woman struggling to sit down and complaining about her back pains and I kind of just remembered mom doing the exact same thing.. I honestly don't know why they didn't tell me or why they left you. I've sent a message to Haley, the ring master, but they're doing a tour somewhere in Europe and he hasn't gotten back to me, yet."

Sam didn't seem completely satisfied, but gave a sharp nod and leaned back into her seat. Danny just nodded in acceptance as he let the new information sink in.

"So, you were really raised in a circus?" Tucker asked.

"Yup," Dick answered with a little pride.

"What was that like?" Sam perked up.

Danny's friends looked genuinely curious, while Danny looked... disturbed. Dick chose to ignore it for now and gave them a short summary of his time at the circus. He would have been more than happy to delve more into detail about the circus, but Dick kept it short; he didn't want to talk about himself, he wanted to talk about Danny. But after he had finished describing the circus life and before he could change the conversation topic off of himself, Tucker delightedly stated,

"so, I heard you got to meet the Fentons and spent like, three hours with them alone."

"Um, yeah?" Dick tilted his head in confusion at the teasing tone Tucker used and he wasn't sure he understood what he meant by 'alone.'

"They didn't bring out the picture albums did they?!" Danny gripped the edge of the table, knuckles turning white.

Now Dick understood.

"No, they didn't." He put on a thoughtful expression, "but I'll have to ask about them next time."

Sam and Tucker burst into laughter when Danny's jaw dropped in horror.

"I'll burn them," Danny decided with such determination Dick kind of thought he just might leave to burn them now.

"You wouldn't do that to your mom, would you?" Tucker helpfully asked, rubbing the laughter from his eyes. "You know how much she cherishes those albums."

Danny's determination crumpled and he slumped back into the booth seat.

"Don't worry, Danny. I'll make sure you have a chance to go through them first," Dick reassured the poor kid. "But I'll have you know, there is no way I'm not seeing them now."

Danny just miserably slouched further. Before any arguments could be made, Dick change the subject.

"So, what do you guys do in your spare time?"

Tucker choked on a fry he had stolen from Danny's meal, while Danny tensed up. Awkwardly straightening from his slouched position, Danny answered with a fake smile, "well, we definitely don't hunt-" Sam cut Danny off, resisting the urge to roll her eyes,

"we usually play Doom together, it's a MMO, or just we hang out. When we're not together, Tucker makes out with his PDAs-"

"Hey! Programming! I do programming!"

"I don't think your face has to be touching the PDA to be programming, Tuck." Danny pointed out with a sly grin that had a little leftover nervousness.

"That was one time you guys! One time!" Protested Tucker, angrily grabbed another fist full of fries, while Danny attempted to stop him, telling him to get his own fries.

"-and I," Sam continued, completely ignoring the boys, "like to garden. While Danny will read anything and everything on space and do any NASA stimulations he can get his hands on."

"You like space, Danny?"

"Yes!" Danny's head excitedly snapped in Dick's direction, while he still held Tucker's wrists. With a sudden yank, Tucker got his hands free and stole a fry from his newly distracted friend. "At first I just liked astronomy. But after that alien invasion a few years ago, the one where the Justice League totally kicked their butts back into space, I got into space travel and intergalactic exploration."

The look of interest Dick gave Danny was all the encouragement he needed to animatedly launch into the wonders and the many known and unknowns of space. Dick listened intently every so often asking questions or offering information, while the other two kind of zoned out as if they had already heard all this before. It surprised Dick how much Danny knew. Dick had been in space himself and personally knew several aliens and was still learning things from Danny's rambling.

"Okay!" Tucker clapped his hands together. "Not that all this isn't extremely exciting and not totally going over my head or that I don't support your astronaut dreams, but it's been like forty minutes and you're out of fries. Can we move on?"

"Oh, sorry guys." Danny smiled sheepishly.

"Tucker! Don't be rude!" Sam had spoken over Danny.

Tucker rolled his eyes and asked with a fake politeness, "can we talk about something else now, please?"

There was a thump under the table then Danny jumped and cried out, "aah! Sam! That hurt!"

"Oops, sorry Danny that was ment for Tucker. Move over so I can reach him."

"No, I'd rather not have our walking pace slowed down because of you giving Tucker a permanent limp. Besides I was getting a little carried away."

"Thanks man," Tucker whispered as he clutched Danny's arm and tucked his feet up.

Sam rolled her eyes and huffed out an easygoing, "whatever," and Tucker let go of Danny's arm and eased his feet back onto the floor.

"Okay then, new topic... what's your guys' favorite Justice League member?" Dick new asking this may be a little coincided, but he loved asking his civilian friends this question.

"Black Canary or Cyborg," Tucker answered instantly. He opened his mouth to continue, probably to explain his choices, but Danny caught his attention by nudging him. Danny then sent a nervous sideways glance at Sam, who was red in the face.

"Oh yes, who is our favorite members of the self righteous club of closed-minded adults that flaunt their abilities like big egotistical pigs that only fight for the fame and glory! With their stupid press conferences where everyone blindly believes every word that comes out of their pompous mouths."

Dick blinked a couple of times at the animosity Sam's voice held; she sounded just like an angry campaigner.

"Sam.." Danny tried to appease the fuming girl, but she wouldn't have it and she turned on him.

"No Danny! It's not right or fair how people worship them! It makes me sick." She threw her hands in the air.

Danny sent Dick an apologetic glance and silently shook his head when Dick opened his mouth to say something, telling him to just ride it out.

"Just because they are so thick headed and don't believe in the supernatural, everyone doesn't believe in the supernatural. And the city and you're parents have been made a laughing stalk to the entire world! And left... the city to deal with the ghost attacks on our own! There were a couple of times the city could have really used their help! But no! Ghosts don't exist! Because the thought of an after life is too deep for those shallow, tight wearing, cowards! So the attacks must be our imagination!"

She slammed her hands down on the table and an empty soda cup fell over and rolled off the

table. The hollow bouncing of the paper cup on the tile floor seemed to resonate across the silent restaurant.

Crossings her arms she grumpily sat back down. A light blush rose in her cheeks in embarrassment.

"New topic." She demanded, looking away from the group.

"I'm sorry for offending you, Sam," Dick sincerely apologized, "I should have known the Justice League would be a sensitive topic for those who live in Amity Park."

The apology only set her off again, "oh, it's not a 'sensitive' topic, it's a-"

Danny interrupted her with a nudge of his elbow and a meaningful, imploring look. Dick watched as they stared each other down in a silent conversation. Then Sam's fury completely deflated when Danny gave her a coaxing nod in Dick's direction.

"No, I'm sorry, Dick. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It's just that-"

Danny raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's just that I personally don't like the Justice League." She finished in a resigned tone. Her coach gave an approving nod.

Dick couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. "I forgive you, Sam. I'm actually glad you expressed yourself. It's good to know your opinion."

Sam's face soured at the word 'opinion', but ultimately sighed and let it go with a, "thanks."

Then Tucker piped up, "hey Danny, have you asked him yet?"

"What? Oh." Danny shifted awkwardly in his seat. "No I haven't."

"Ask me what?" Folding his arms and resting them on the table, Dick leaned forward, putting some of his weight on them.

"Have you met the Batman?" Tucker asked immediately, leaning in with anticipation.

"Oh, that's it!" Sam stood up, "I'm getting myself a salad. I'll be back when you shallow bandwagoners are done oodling over pretend heroes. You guys want anything?" She asked with her fists firmly planted on her hips.

Wide eyed, all three of them shook their heads. She pivoted and stormed to the front counter.

"Oh, oh! Sam! Get me a Dr. Pepper!" Tucker called out to her. She didn't even look as she gave him a dismissive wave of her hand.

Tucker plumped back down into his seat. "Does that mean I'm getting a soda or not?"
With a shrug of his shoulders, Danny hummed an 'I don't know' and turned his attention back to Dick.

"My favorite leaguer is the Green Lantern. He's basically a space cop. It's, like, the coolest thing ever."

"Okay," Dick furrowed his eyebrows together, "but why don't you guys share Sam's opinion? I mean, your parents were discredited by the League, weren't they?"

"They were... Sort of." Danny scratched the back of his head, "I mean it's not like a whole lot of people believed them anyways and the people that do, kind of think the Justice League are wrong about it. And I don't really blame the League for saying ghosts don't exist; it's kind of hard to believe, especially coming from my parents," he gave a small shrug, not making eye contact. Then he looked back up, "you did see them kicking alien butt, right? They're completely awesome! I mean, the bullying did get a little worse, because everyone at school thought that it was my parents fault that the League thought that the ghosts were a hoax. But I can't really blame them for that right?"

"Wait, you're being bullied?"

The fury in Dick's eyes caused both the boys to shrink back a little.

"Well, um, not really anymore... I mean, it's gotten a lot better sense, um.. recently." Danny's voice chose this moment to crack.

"It's gotten better?" Dick asked, his tone flat, completely unconvinced.

"Yeah," Tucker answered for Danny, "it used to be like everyone, but now it's just this one guy and even he has seriously layed off, recently."

"Really, Dick it's fine," Danny tried to appease his angry brother, feeling slightly guilty for upsetting him. "I've got it pretty much handled. You'll probably mess things up again if you get involved. Honestly, things are a lot better."

Dick let out a defeated sigh, "if you say so, Danny."

But the he sat up a little straighter and looked Danny in the eye. "But Danny, if the bullying ever starts again, or if 'this one guy' messes with you, you will give me a call, right?"

Danny nodded, though he wasn't really sure what his brother could do all the way from Bludhaven.

Dick nodded once, content with Danny's answer.

"So Dick, have you met the Batman?" Tucker reiterated.

"Why would you think I've met him?" His eyebrow went up, "Gotham's a big city."

"Well, when we where, um..." he sent a glance at Danny, "looking you up.. we found this old newspaper that said the Batman had been a part of your parents'... um, case. So, we thought that maybe you had met him during... that."

"Ah," Dick nodded understandingly, the leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. He contemplated his answer for a moment, then he looked back down at the expectant boys, who were leaning forward in their seats.

"I haven't really told anyone this, so don't go spreading it around, all right?"

The two nodded and leaned in even more.

"I did meet him."-Tucker took in a sharp breath-"I was being an idiot and I tried to go after our parents killer myself, by myself. Got into a tight spot and Batman showed up, saved my butt, and drove me back to Wayne Manner."

Danny and Tucker gaped in awe.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Tucker put his hands up in a stopping motion, "time out. Hold the phone. You," he pointed at Dick, "are you saying you have ridden in the Batmobile?!"

Dick smiled and nodded affirmative. He's actually driven it before, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

"No way..."

"Dude, what was he like?" Danny asked, face still slack with awe.

"Quite. He only spoke, like, nine words in total to me the whole time. And damn, he was intimidating; his facial expression never changed."

"You rode in the Batmobile with the Batman?" Tucker asked again.

And again, Dick just nodded and affirmative.

"What did he say to you?" Danny wondered.

"Um, 'are you hurt', 'get up', and 'what were you thinking'. If I remember correctly." Dick informed casually.

"Alright, I'm back." Sam announced as she handed Tucker his soda, who gave a cheer of pleasure when he spotted the drink. "You guys had better change the subject now, unless you want me to bring out my soap-box."

"But Sam, he's met the Batman!" Tucker wave his arms for emphasis.

Sam looked at Dick, finished chewing her mouthful of salad, then asked, "Did you punch him in the face?"

"Uh, no?" Not then anyway, he has actually landed one on the jaw of justice before, but again, he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Then I'm not really interested." She took another bite of salad.

"But Sam-"

"Not. Interested." She sent a warning glare at Tucker, who shrunk back.

After a few seconds of no one coming up with a new topic of conversation, Sam slammed her hands down on the table, making the two next to her jump. She pointed accusingly at Dick.

"Your dad's galas are the bane of my existence." She stated with such conviction that it caused Dick to blink, a little stunned, before he threw his head back laughing.

"S-sorry," Dick chuckled. "You-u just reminded me of someone else with the same opinion. You've been to one of Bruce's galas?"

"Yes, two of them. The first one was a nightmare. There was this kid that kept trying to talk to me. He even complemented the dress I was forced to wear, while eating Bluefin tuna. The second one wasn't so bad." She flashed a devilish smile. "I was able to get my parents to leave early."

Danny and Tucker's mouths hung open in horror.

"What did you do to the kid?" Tucker asked tentatively.

"Nothing! I just told him that I wasn't into rich pansys that devour the innocent."

"That was you!?" Dick lit up, "that was my brother, Tim! Hahaha! He didn't get over that for months! I mean, it didn't help when Jason, my other brother, kept bringing it up." He giggled,

"Jason thinks very highly of you, Sam."

"Wait, how many brothers do you have?" Danny asked, scrunching up his face.

"Three." Three voices told him.

Dick blinked and Sam and Tucker blushed.

"We looked this up remember, Danny?" Tucker tried reminding him.

"No..."

"Space cadet," Sam exclaimed under her breath, earning her a scowl.

Dick smiled, "well, I have three brothers: Jason, Tim, and Damian. I was actually thinking that, maybe, this summer you could come over to Gotham and meet them, Danny. If you wanted to."

Danny immediately looked uncomfortable, "um, I don't know..."

Dick felt a small stab in his chest.

"I mean, I've only been out of the state, like, three times and don't like to travel-"
Tucker and Sam simultaneously smacked Danny over the head.

"OW! Hey!" Danny rubbed the side of his head that Sam had struck. Again, Dick watched as they had a silent conversation with only their eyes and facial expressions. Danny looked worried and Tucker and Sam looked completely serious and unmoving in their quiet argument. Danny looked back and forth between them and sighed.

"That would actually be really cool, Dick."

"Awesome," Dick smiled, not really convinced Danny wanted to come to Gotham.

From here they jumped from topic to topic for another hour. Until Dick had to leave to catch his flight home. They exchanged numbers and parted.

P.S. totally thought this chapter would be short and painstakingly hard to write... welp