AN: Pandemi thanks for the ramble about Stargirl, she seems like an interesting character but yes my guilty pleasure it Batfamily and YJ. I am a huge fan of Batman and I will fight someone on the fact that he isn't a bad dad, yes he isn't perfect and he has made mistakes but he tries and I love him. However I am really glad that you understood why I wanted BC to be his mentor. Danny has control of his powers what he doesn't have is actual training, no real type of form or discipline. I was thinking of Wonder Woman at first but she eventually has a protégé Wondergirl A.K.A Cassie, I don't want to change canon too much which is why I am not letting him join the League or the team. I'm still taking suggestions for Danny though so far all I got to work with is Thea Queen.

Chapter 3

When Batman first came back from his meeting with the League Dick hadn't expected anything to actually happen. Those meetings went on for hours sometimes and he knew that Bruce got frustrated sometimes and came back cranky however this time he shut him out of the cave, told him to do his homework and no patrol tonight, when he tried to refuse and remind Batman that Robin was his partner Bruce actually told him that Batman wasn't going out tonight so Robin could stay home and rest and catch up with school but he had been suspicious. It usually took something big for him not to patrol which meant that something must have happened with the League and he knew that he wouldn't tell him.

Bruce always said that League business was his business and he never budged on that one but he knew that Wally was wearing down Barry and he was working on Bruce. They were also sure that Roy was bothering Oliver about letting them take the first steps towards the League, they had proven themselves and they all really wanted to be taken seriously to no longer be viewed as just sidekicks and they were getting there but whatever happened, was suspicious and caused him to act kind of strange.

A couple days later, when B was surprisingly around even less he had been basically sworn into secrecy and taken to the Watchtower. Dick sometimes still shivered from the seriousness from his mentor, he couldn't tell Wally or Roy that this place existed, not until their mentors were ready to tell them and the League had deemed it alright. He only knew because of the boy that was on the Watchtower, the one that was fighting for his life and they all believed that having someone close to his age would help. The boy was only a year older than him and he had been torn from his entire universe by his mentor, trying to give him a chance to live, to survive the destruction of their entire universe and the boy was half-ghost of all things, now Dick had seen some pretty impossible things but seriously half ghost? How does someone half die?

Dick wasn't so sure what to think about the whole half ghost thing but then he saw his eyes turn from blue to green and he spoke basically in riddles until the first week was over. Dick thought Alfred was bad about sleeping and eating and being healthy and not getting hurt, Danny was on a whole new level entirely. Danny wasn't in the best shape when he arrived so the League was keeping him well fed and almost always snacking, he had taken to sharing all his food with Dick and ensuring that he slept for at least four hours every night. It was also hilarious when he got B to sleep and eat as well.

He was also very tactile and for a person who grew up in the circus and missed cuddles, Danny gave him a whole lot cuddles. One day when he commented about it Danny blushed and stammered, "It's a ghost thing, we have the ability to kind of scent people and places with our ecto energy. Every ghost has a different ecto signature, like a fingerprint and when we claim something it becomes ours so we spread our energy over it. Sam said it was like an animal marking their territory. It doesn't really do anything, I get the vague sense of when you're danger but nothing else."

Dick was very interested in understanding Danny, "So ghosts have their own like rules and traditions?"

Danny nodded, "You could think of us as a different species I guess, many could mimic humans and their emotions, they could also understand humanity's traditions or at the very least respect it even if they didn't understand it some were so old that they believed themselves to be Gods. Some didn't look human, most didn't actually, I had a friend that looked like a 7' tall wolf complete with claws and fangs but he could speak, well he spoke an old dead language but he was sentient and very kind."

Dick had been amazed by some of his stories about the ghosts that he had met, beings that had total control on plants, he told Danny about Poison Ivy, a ghost of weather and dreams, he told Danny about the Joker and Harley and others as he told stories, sometimes he got sad so Dick told him about some of his fights and villains but he was really interested in knowing more about Danny and how his ghost side affected him. He learned that Danny could more or less scent people and areas and he knew if they were in danger sometimes.

"Its not very precise, think more of a 6th sense of sorts. I could also track you, if I tried really hard but the connection isn't strong enough not yet. Sam and I had a really strong connection I could find her anywhere and at any time. She said it was an invasion of privacy."

Danny got a faraway look in his eyes when he spoke of Sam and he did so sparingly but it was always with very obvious affection and Dick just had to ask even though he had already told Danny that he didn't have to tell him or answer anything if he didn't want too. Dick could tell that Danny appreciated being able to talk without knowing that the League had put him up to it for more information a lot of the things that he spoke about were personal or connected to his friends and his sister.

He knew that Dick had also lost his parents when he was much younger and it helped Danny open up when Dick spoke about things that he could remember as well. Dick couldn't help it anymore and one day he asked Danny about his relationship to Sam, it would be bad enough if his friends and family were gone but it would probably be even worse if he had lost a girlfriend as well.

"Sam and I tried dating, the two of us we were friends for many years and we always had a connection to each other. We crushed on each other for months maybe even years and I think we both built up our expectations too much."

Dick didn't understand how something like that was even possible but Danny laughed at him, "Its hard to explain but the thing is when you build something up in your mind its possible that it won't always meet your expectations. Sam and I fizzled out, we agreed on everything and when the game that we were playing finally ended the spark snuffed out. We didn't challenge each other, we were just comfortable, never really going forward but she will always be my first love. She was a very special person, beautiful, strong, she stood by her beliefs and she was loyal an amazing friend and I miss her everyday but she wasn't supposed to be mine and we knew that way before I landed here. We were still best friends though, we wouldn't let anything ruin our friendship."

Dick understood kind of so he asked, "You said something about expectations, what did you expect?"

Danny smiled at him but it was a smile that was filled with sadness and maybe even regret, "I thought we would live happily ever after, like in the stories."

Dick liked Danny, he even thought of him kind of like an older brother. Danny was older than him and he was more experienced than him, maybe not in years but in the things that they had faced and then there was the fact that Danny did it all on his own. Dick had been around when Danny first started stretching his powers and it was kind of amazing to see all of the things that he could do, it was also kind of scary, you never really see a lot of meta humans or even aliens with that many powers even Superman who was invincible, super strength, speed, laser vision, cold breath and could fly couldn't match him the number of powers that he had and he didn't really have a weakness unlike Superman and the whole glowing green rock thing.

When Danny heard about that he just look amused and told him, "Electricity, if something happens or B will probably try and make a contingency if I go insane or mind controlled or whatever reason he needs to put me down my weakness is electricity, another reason it was so hard for me to beat Vlad, I built up a resistance but if you hit me with enough of it I'll lose consciousness and you guys just put me back in the thermos, it's the only prison that can hold me or if you need to kill me just keep hitting me with electricity, it can eventually kill me completely."

Dick was kind of horrified how easily Danny gave up that information and he rolled his eyes at him, "I know you will tell B and he won't let it leak but I have seen a version of myself where I went insane and rampaged the world, I need to know that if I ever lose myself someone will put me down. I don't want to live if I become a monster, I promised them I never would and I am keeping my promises."

Dick just nodded desperately wanting to get rid of the bleak atmosphere that was currently in the room and Danny heard him mutter, 'why electricity?'

Danny frowned and said, "Its what killed me. I was electrocuted by the portal and my heart stopped but the ectoplasm was already in my system and it was a lot more than the little bit of goo that covered Vlad. As Phantom was being formed the electricity somehow restarted my heart at the exact moment that my ghost was forming creating a being both half dead and half alive, the perfect balance. It was the latest theory that we had of how I was created and I think it's the right one."

Dick never wanted to think of the portal or of him being a normal 14 year old with no training or even any idea of what was about to happen being electrocuted to death, it was a painful one something that no one should have ever and to experience and here he was still going even though he had already lost so much.

Dick helped Bruce create a cover for him, a genius child of two scientists who were looking into renewable energy who went deep into hiding because of people who wanted to steal their research. There was a fire in their lab and his parents and his sister died in the fire. It was very much the truth however there was no Jack and Maddie Fenton in this world, Bruce was able to get the identity of a couple of scientists that were looking into other energy sources who dropped off the grid and changed their names, no connections to anyone so Bruce was going to claim them as his parents. There was no one else around to try and disprove his word and then Dick created a trail of pictures and little Easter eggs for the press or police if or when they looked into him.

Then B brought Danny to the manor and with Danny came Dinah even Alfred looked a little stunned at the fact that Bruce let her come here. Dinah was set up in a room near Danny, down the hall from Dick and Bruce. The first few nights there were nightmares, loss of appetite and he visibly became depressed. Dinah revealed that this place was making him a little home sick, realizing that he was here and this was now his home made it finally sink in that he was never going to see his home ever again.

Bruce cleared out a room near Dick's gym which had been filled with all the equipment needed for him to keep up his acrobatics training and it helped him feel more at home. It was something familiar for him that helped him see the manor as his home. He created a lab for Danny, he had already checked the rough plans he was using to make a filter for ecto energy and then he created a lab for him in here where he could work on whatever he wanted (not related to their night time activities) something familiar and he hoped that it would help him feel more at home.

The nasty look Dinah shot him when they realized that he basically moved into the lab was a different story entirely. The first few nights it was up to her to keep Danny's nightmares at bay because Bruce was out with Robin doing the whole dynamic duo thing and Black Canary was not sighted in Star City. To keep her secret identity she slowly stopped showing in Star City until people realized that Green Arrow and his protégé were taking care of the city now that she was no longer there. The press speculated on her disappearance some going so far as to wondering if she died until over a month after Dinah was seen in Wayne Manor, Black Canary was spotted in Gotham City.

It really was an accident but while Robin was taking care of a bank robbery and Batman was chasing after Black Mask, the Joker broke out of Arkham, caused a riot, stole a car and went on a murdering spree while Dinah was out getting some ice cream. She could have sent Alfred but he was busy in the cave so she took a car and as she was walking back to her car the Joker pealed in, she changed quickly and engaged but it wasn't long before Batman appeared and basically growled at her. He handed her a comm piece and punched the Joker so hard she heard his nose break.

"Stay away from Joker, Black Mask is heading North, you get him and Robin will meet up with you. Meet back at the cave."

The next day the press was wondering why Black Canary was in Gotham, it was well known that Batman didn't like meta humans in his city, he barely let other Leaguers inside it when he had too but she was also seen at three other times within the week, thanks to the riot caused by the Joker nearly all the inmates escaped and Batman needed all the help he could get. It was also the first time that they had seen Danny transform fully into Phantom.

When the light show was over Danny stared at his costume, it was different, he knew that the suit always repaired itself but Clockwork told him as he grew his ghostly side would adapt to any permanent changes to his psych which was why Dan looked the way he did, the suit matched him at the time.

Danny was wearing a pitch black cloak and a hood that covered his head. Everything else about him was the same except for the cloak and the DP symbol seemed to be fainter, the suit was still adapting, as he was not yet done changing from this life changing experience.

Danny watched out for Canary, Batman had Robin he didn't need any more help than him. Danny limited his powers, he flew and hit hard and fast and then turned invisible but they didn't know what powers he was using. The managed to get Gotham back under control in three days when it probably would have taken the two of them at least a week. Dick had been grateful and Danny was different afterwards, in better health, patrolling was something that they realized he would need to do, part of his obsession was to protect and he needed to do so, keeping him locked away wasn't helping him adjust and recover.

Dinah was currently in Bruce Wayne's study at home, it was also a place that she never pictured herself in, when she had met Batman nearly every woman who met him was taken in by the mysterious, strong silent type of vibe that he had going. She was sure that Diana also had a little crush on him but for most of them they got over it in a few weeks when they realized that he was all business. Some of the newer Leaguers thought him cold and they all felt intimidated by him unlike the others like Flash and Superman that they eventually managed to get over the whole star struck moments but with Batman getting close to him was very nearly impossible yet here she was with the man underneath the cowl and she had to admit she liked what she saw.

He so obviously cared for both of the boys that he was basically adopting and she knew that she was going to have to broach the subject with him soon. He didn't convey his emotions well and she noticed that sometimes Dick seemed a little unsure, the moments were brief but it was something that she picked up due to her training as a psychologist, being the ward of Bruce Wayne didn't mean the same thing as being his son and sometimes he doubted his place. She was shocked that he had taken so well to Danny but that was probably because he was able to meet him and form a connection. She also knew that he would likely take on other protégés, he was someone who wanted a family and he would probably find another orphan to take in when Dick took flight but she also had a feeling that he wasn't seeing things very clearly so it was time for a little chat about both his wards which was why she was waiting here for him while Danny tinkered in his lab and Dick was at a friends house doing homework, Barbara she believed.

"Dinah what are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "You did invite me to stay Bruce."

He sighed at her sarcasm, "You shouldn't hang around Alfred so much, you're starting to pick up his special type of wit."

"Are you going to adopt Danny?" she asked and Bruce froze, that was something that he might have thought of similar to how he thought of approaching Dick with the same offer but he never actually did it, he could just foster them both and he told her so and then he felt the headache approaching as she frowned at him.

"Leaving Danny out of the equation Bruce, why haven't you done this with Dick?"

Dinah nearly got up and left, he didn't look at her, just kept on going through whatever work was on his desk and she was sure that he wasn't going to answer or tell her that she was poking her nose where it didn't belong but he did answer after nearly 20 minutes.

"When Dick first came here I didn't plan for him to be Robin or any of it. I just saw a boy so similar to myself and I thought I could help I had the space and the money. I promised him I wouldn't try and replace his father, how could I. My own father was gone and I could barely remember him, I didn't have a wife or a family, all I could offer was shelter, training and justice. I told him I would be his teacher, mentor and asking to adopt him, that's me breaking my word."

Dinah understood where he was coming from, she did but he didn't understand that with time things changed, "Bruce, you promised a grieving 8 year old boy that you wouldn't try and replace his father and you have to realize that you didn't do that. You gave him another parent, there is no-where on this world or any other that says that only blood is family or that a child only has two parents. You reassured a scared grieving child that you were not going to steal his fathers place or the love he had in his heart for his father but you have to know that you just made your own place in his heart. You are the only father he has left and being his ward, it means that you can give him away, that he isn't really family and it isn't what he needs. Talk to him, let him now he can refuse but you offer because you want too because he is your son."

"Why is it so important?" asked Bruce and Dinah sighed.

"He is growing Bruce, soon he is going to want to see how far he can fly on his own and if you don't give him space and reassurance then the relationship you two share will crumble. Communication is the only way to avoid misunderstandings and as far as he will go, right now he is just a teenager looking for his place in this world both in the mask and out of it. You need to let him know that this is his home, he is your son and no matter where he goes, how high he climbs or how hard he falls he can always come back here, that you will welcome him home. He can't be Robin forever and maybe you should let him know that. They don't want to be known as sidekicks Bruce, we call them protégés but one day they will take up their own mantles. You need to be prepared for him leaving the nest and you need to support him maybe even think about whether or not the mantle of Robin should be passed or not."

Bruce nodded once sharply and Dinah left him to his thoughts however before she could reach her room, Alfred stopped her and she smiled at him.

"Thank you Miss Dinah."

She frowned, "For what?"

Alfred took both of her hands in his, "Talking to him, helping him understand. I have tried in the past to help him bridge the gap but I was unable to get him to consider it. You have managed to get through to him and I believe he will now take action. He has for too long only looked at the present not really considering the future and now he has no choice but to do so. Thank you."

Dinah watched him leave and she smiled, well at least someone believed she was doing something right and then she bit her lip, she didn't get to talk to Bruce about Danny. She would have to speak to him again tomorrow about his future and what they were going to do.