AN: Pandemi- I think I'm gonna go with Zatanna, I was leaning towards her in the beginning and I went and researched Rose Wilson and wow does she have a complicated history, I don't want someone who blurred the lines to much for Danny, after the whole Dan thing Danny made sure that he wouldn't cross the line, I don't think I could write the pairing in a way that would show a healthy relationship. Zatanna was in both seasons, wasn't seen much but she was there and they could have done so much more with her character. Secret was in S1 and yes she will make an appearance just not in the big way you're thinking. Her role was technically minor and she helped Artemis and Zatanna bond.

As for Megan I'm gonna leave her alone for S1 but when my timeline reaches S2 I'm not letting them back together. Suberboy just deserves better than that.

I don't know if in YJ there was Batfamily drama with the whole B firing Dick from being Robin and he became Nightwing and then Jason died and they all stopped acting like asses so I'm gonna resolve all that now.

Chapter 4

Bruce Wayne sighed, he was tired and now that Dinah had brought up some pretty important questions he realized that he couldn't lie to himself anymore. He had no idea why he brought Dick here after his parents fell but there was just so much of the boy that he could see in himself and he checked on the conditions he was living in, it was unacceptable and he was already running around trying to find his parents killer. He hoped that he could help him and he would stop but then Dinah came along and he realized that he was being naïve, to believe that Dick would just hang up the cape and the tights and then go to college, find a nice girl and get married. That was the path that once upon a time he had looked towards and one he had turned his back on willingly but Dick was a child, was it really fair for him to dedicate his entire life to this? Was it even fair of him to ask these questions now when he had already come so close to death so many times?

If he was being very honest then he knew that Dick wouldn't be able to give it up, he and his friends they set their sights upon the Justice League and while it was possible that they could still retire, he didn't think Dick would ever give it up and could he really ask a grown man to stand in his shadow? It wasn't right, he would want to make his own name, define himself without Batman and he would have to allow him to do so even though he wished that he would give it up. Dinah was right he was going to have to talk to Dick and it was going to involve emotions and just thinking of it tired him out but it was important so he was going to try.

He knocked on Dicks door at 8am, an hour before Alfred usually woke him up. He wanted to do this in relative privacy and seeing a sleepy eyed teen it melted his heart and made him want to hide him away from the world. He was going to be a heartbreaker and his head throbbed, he was going to end up in some sort of scandal every week when he actually gave in and dated and it would do wonders for his already bad reputation, well at least he would have a good cover and it would maintain his own.

"What's goin' on B?" he yawned and Bruce made him sit at his desk while he sat on the bed.

"We needed to talk about some things that Dinah helped me realize and I wanted to ask you something but Dick I need you to just listen alright? Don't say anything just listen and think about it and later today come see me in my office when you have some answers and even if you need more time then that's okay as well."

Dick was actually getting worried, this seemed really important so he sat down and nodded, "Alright."

"I never wanted you to be Robin." And Dick stood up angrily and cried out, "You're firing me!"

Bruce rolled his eyes, teenagers had tantrums as well, he thought that only happened with toddlers.

"I am not firing you, just calm down and listen."

Dick settled down again and this time he looked even more worried, "Many of the Leaguers Superman and Wonder Woman mostly asked me many times if I was sure about bringing a child into this life, one that is filled with violence and bloodshed, where sometimes you watch as your friends and family sacrifice themselves for you or innocents and I always told them that you could handle it because a part of me hoped that one day you would willingly give up the cape and go to college, be normal again, have a family. That was the path in life that I chose to willingly walk away from but Dinah made me realize that I was being foolish. You don't want to give up this life and if I tried to force you then I would probably lose you. I don't want that to happen but one day you will willingly let go of being Robin, Batman's partner and protégé and take up your own mantle, become your own man and when that happens I don't know if I would be able to handle this myself. Batman needs a Robin now."

Dick stopped him, "Are you saying that when I choose to become someone else you want another Robin?"

Bruce shrugged, "I don't know who but it would be nice, not now Dick but in a couple of years when you are trying to make a name for yourself, becoming your own man I don't want to be left alone in this manor again. Danny is already his own Hero and soon you too will rise. I always wanted to fill this manor with children and when I decided not to get married I thought it would remain a dream but you made me realize that I could still have that, I already think of you as my son and you have been here for years as my ward and I would like to officially adopt you but that is also your choice."

Dick's mind had shut off when Bruce asked to adopt him but he was still talking, "I told you I wouldn't replace your father and I can't but I still think of you as my son and I want you to know that this is your home no matter what happens."

Bruce left the room and Dick just stared at nothing until Alfred called for breakfast, afterwards he went looking for Dinah because he had no idea what was going on.

"What did you do to him? Is he being controlled?"

Dinah looked up from the book she was reading with a look of amusement on her face, "What happened?"

When Dick was done talking she laughed, "Well I am glad that he listened."

"What do you mean listened?" asked Dick.

"Dick I know this must be overwhelming but you have to understand that just because he doesn't show it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. He doesn't know how to be a father but he does love you and he doesn't want to hurt you by pushing for something that he doesn't think you would want. You all have said repeatedly that you want more recognition for your acts and towards yourselves, tell me how long do you really think you're going to be able to be alright with being seen as Batman's sidekick?"

Dick clenched his jaw and Dinah pointed it out, "You hate the word and I can understand why. All I did was make him see that Robin wouldn't be the boy wonder for much longer, he would become a man looking to make his own mark on this world independent from his mentor and there is nothing wrong with that but when it happens he needs to consider whether he is going to be able to work alone or not. This is a big house and when you go off to college and Danny figures himself out, you both will leave him here with a butler and lots of empty space. Lonely isn't it?"

Dick nodded, he could picture it actually, packing up for college and B would smile and wave, maybe Danny would get a job as a scientist somewhere and leave and B would be here all alone with Alfred with no one to watch his back on patrol and it nearly broke his heart just thinking of that. As a child when he first saw this place the first thing that had come to his mind was that it probably was an incredibly lonely place to grow up all alone and then he found out about Batman and realized that he had basically no one, the world saw 'Brucie' or Batman but they never saw the person underneath the masks. Dick had filled this place with laughter and colour and he knew that Alfred had been overjoyed to see that Bruce had someone to take care off.

"You think he should get another Robin?" he asked her and Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"I think that's up to you, its your mantle, your name, maybe when you're ready to start making your own name you can help him find someone that you would be willing to give it up too. Its not now Dick but something to think about in the future."

Dick met up with Danny in his lab and even though he seemed tired, he seemed to be really happy and as soon as he saw Dick he smiled and waved him over, "I think I almost got all the bugs worked out of the filter and if this works then we can take it to B and see what will happen next."

Dick looked around at all the clutter in the lab, Danny had a messy system but he did have one even though he had no idea what the system even was, there were half-finished items everywhere, with plans taking up nearly every square inch, Alfred would probably strangle him if he saw it.

"What's with you?" asked Danny and Dick looked up in surprise with a 'huh' and Danny sighed.

"You've sat in the corner quietly for almost an hour while I worked and you never do that so what's with you?"

"B offered to adopt me."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"Its just sudden."

Danny laughed at him until he realized that this really was stressing him out and he sighed, "When I first met Vlad I actually liked him. My parents were busy all the time with either inventing things, hunting ghosts or praising Jazz. Don't get me wrong I know they loved me and they cared but I was a very over looked child. Vlad saw me, he noticed I was just as intelligent as my sister even if I didn't try as hard as she did, he saw my potential and he wanted to be my mentor and I wanted to learn from him. Then I realized that he wanted me to be his son, he wanted me to disown my father to forget him completely and choose him. He was insane, obsessive and it was such a letdown. The only other person in this world with the same powers as me and he was a fruit loop. He wanted to take the place of my father but if he offered to be my teacher, friend or uncle we probably could have developed a bond similar to you and Bruce. If he wanted to actually just help me I could have possibly seen him as a second father but he didn't want that, he wanted to replace my father."

Dick raised an eyebrow, "What does this have to do with me?"

Danny threw a rolled up paper at him, "B isn't demanding to be your father idiot. He told you he would be your mentor and a guide and the two of you created a father-son bond all on your own. It wasn't forced like how Vlad was trying to force me and you were the one who said that he is the only father figure you have left and here he is telling you that he sees you as his son. Accepting him won't change your blood, it won't change everything what you shared with your parents but your dad is gone now and you have someone willing to stand in and be your father, telling you that you always have a place here that you are his son and he loves you."

Dick didn't want to think about all this anymore, it was all a bit too much too soon, he needed more time to process but something that Danny said was nagging at him, "Didn't your parents know about your powers?"

Danny stopped tinkering with his project and sighed, "No, they were ghost hunters Dick. They both had this idea that ghosts didn't feel anything that they were all evil and they should be destroyed. I knew that they would have accepted me eventually but the truth was for a long time I was worried that they wouldn't so I never told them."

Dick had to ask, he sounded so sad when he spoke of his parents, "Did they hurt you?"

Danny laughed, "They hunted Phantom, most of their weapons always somehow managed to find me and they almost always didn't work right, they were brilliant scientists but they were also very absent minded and kind of clumsy but no they didn't hurt me. I knew if I told them they would accept me but I was scared and I didn't want to take the chance and another part of me didn't want them to worry about me."

Dick frowned, "How could they have not noticed? You must have been gone or injured or something."

Danny just shrugged, "I got in trouble a lot you know missed curfew, detentions, missing homework, dropping in grades but my friends and sister covered for me a lot. They made excuses, helped patch me up, yeah you could say they weren't around much but they did care. I went fishing with my dad and camping with my mom, I just kept half of my life secret from them."

Dick just stared at him, he couldn't imagine a world where you had to hide half of your life from your parents then again his guardian was the one who trained him to fight crime, and he knew that B worried over him when he got hurt. He did sometimes wonder whether or not he belonged here in Wayne Manor, he was just Bruce Wayne's ward, and he wasn't his blood son or even his adopted son, there were always whispers that one day Bruce would just kick him out or when he turned 18 they didn't expect him to come back. He mostly ignored them, they didn't know all of their secrets but now looking to the future when he would probably give up being Robin and decide to create his own name he wanted to know that he could always come back home to his father. He needed the reassurance that they were a family even if it was just the two of them.

A few days later when the adoption had officially gone through and Dick was officially Richard Grayson-Wayne Dinah once more approached the study this time to talk to Bruce about his other ward.

"You did well." She said and Bruce poured her a drink.

"I wouldn't have made this decision if it hadn't been for you and it has helped. Things are different but a good different."

Dinah sipped her drink and smiled, "Glad I could help but we still need to talk about Danny."

Bruce showed her some plans of his desk, "He managed to finish working out the bugs to the filter and somehow built and entire machine capable of pulling ectoplasm from the air and turning it into energy while the filter system in place keeps it all running smoothly."

Dinah took a moment to be impressed and shocked, she knew he was intelligent but this was a whole new level. She thought the plans he would make would be from memory and basic, that several others would have to work on the machine before being able to get something like this but it was obvious that Danny had a very deep understanding of his parents technology.

"What did you want to talk about Dinah?"

She was snapped out of her wondering thoughts and smiled at him sheepishly, "He needs to go school Bruce. The records you made say that he was home schooled however when this gets out, that he was able to create something like this, they're going to have questions. Maybe you should enroll him into college or something, he is obviously a very gifted 15 year old and he needs more social interaction, a life outside the manor and his patrol schedule."

Bruce agreed with her and the next day Danny saw both of his mentors walk into his lab he fought the urge to turn invisible and flee, this seemed like one of those very important talks that adults want to have to ensure that their charge is alright. Dinah seemed to notice the panicked look on his face and she smiled softly at him, trying to reassure him.

"Calm down, nothing is wrong its just we wanted to know if you would rather go to high school or university."

Danny once more cocked his head, "I don't have any money for all that, isn't that why you guys gave me access to the lab? So I can create something to earn a living?"

Bruce seemed a little thunderstruck at that while Dinah just sighed, she should have known he would feel like they were still doing this out of an obligation because they found the thermos.

"Danny, I got you the lab so you would feel a little more at home, something familiar and so that you have your own space. I already told you I would foster you but that was because I didn't want to push you into adoption. You already had one mentor try to force you to renounce your father and I didn't want you to see me the same way. One day if you're ready I would adopt you but Dinah is your mentor and she would adopt you as well, I just have more resources and more money than I know what to do with so the process is easier for me but we don't have to do that either. You aren't a burden, you're family now. There is more to life than fighting crime and working in here and socializing would be good for you with these plans it will be easy to get you into some science classes at a university or you could go to High School, its your choice."

Danny was shocked he hadn't really thought that they saw him as family until now and then he made a funny face when thinking of school, just no. He did the whole school thing, it was tiring, he would rather take some courses in science and robotics and actually be able to apply the things he was learning to his experiments. He tabled the whole adoption thing and he was glad that neither of them pushed, he wasn't ready for something like that but for now he could just deal with the whole family thing and then he grinned.

"If we're a family then B is the dad, Dick is the little brother so does that make Dinah our mother?"

Bruce's eyes widened and Dinah blushed and before either could respond he phased through the floor and went to find Dick and tell him what happened, glad to be rid of the depressing atmosphere.