Everything seemed to be going relatively well the next day. The IV was still incredibly annoying but Danny managed to stay entertained enough as Frostbite educated Bruce on all things ghost. Watching the man create a whole file system was the most interesting tech thing he had witnessed since Tucker and his beloved secret copies of the Fenton's blueprints.
Somehow the topic had drifted over to how Danny managed to rework the inhibitor collars to function on ecto. Frostbite had not liked that bit of information, immediately demanding to see one of them. Danny had begrudgingly shown the one he was still wearing around his neck as he honestly couldn't remember what they did to the other ones. Frostbite was anything but happy. With the concerns about Danny's core health, he wanted it removed before Danny started going on missions.
"Okay, hold up now. I never even agreed to any of this! This whole time you have been talking about me, and what would be best for me, without asking me what I wanted!" He yelled out defensively, pulling away and covering the collar again. Though it wasn't working to its full potential anymore, Danny could feel the inhibitor was still doing its job pulling away at Danny's excess energy.
Frostbite blinked slowly, brows contorting in confusion as he stared at Danny. "You…have not consented to this agreement?"
"No!" Danny threw up his hands in frustration, mindful to limit it at least a bit so his IV wouldn't get messed up. His outburst caught the attention of the rest as well, who migrated closer to witness the unfolding argument. "It's barely even been a day since I found out about the plans and apparent arguments about sending me out with the team. The entire time you lot have been deciding shit for me when I never said I wanted to step back into the hero life!" Danny's frustration burned bright enough it illuminated his eyes.
For the first time since the yeti arrived, he backed down from being on Danny's ass. "My apologies, young one. I had been of the understanding you had already agreed to return to your former glory and stature." Though he was sincere, Danny couldn't help but feel his eye twitch. There was never any glory in being Phantom. All he was, was a child who did not understand his own powers and failed to protect those he cared for. Foretold to be destined for greatness by the elders of the yeti's tribe, failing every single step of the way.
If that was considered his former glory, he sure as hell didn't want to return to that.
Sensing Danny's frustrations and distain flow off of him, Frostbite turned to Bruce. "I am sorry, knight of the dark. I fear I will have to retract my previous statements regarding his health. I cannot, in good conscious, recommend him on these missions if he does not wish to be a part of them."
"I told you." Selina halfheartedly gloated as she walked up to Danny. He still seemed very upset and tensed but seemed to relax at least a little bit now that people were finally listening to him. "You can't force him onto the team, doctor's orders. He isn't a mini you."
Now it was Danny's turn to slowly blink in confusion. "What?" Sure, they had both lost their parents at the same age, in the same general way too. Taking up heroics and their general human appearances aside as well, exactly what made him, and apparently not Dick, a mini Bruce?
Bruce didn't seem to want to answer, entering in yet another staring match with Selina. Their battles of will over Dick and Danny were funny at first but now it was starting to concern him just how much had to be forced out of the man. It didn't seem like either was going to budge until Selina asked Danny one single question that blew it all to kingdom come.
"Do you know why the Justice League was formed?"
Danny looked lost, he felt lost too. What kind of question was that? There was some kind of big bad that needed more than one hero and that was it, right? He looked over to Dick for help but only got more confused. Dick, as it turned out, seemed to have that bit of information Danny was missing to make sense of it all. Information he didn't seem keen on supplying himself as he came to stand next to Selina to glare at Bruce.
Bruce sighed again, starting to dislike how much they kept ganging up on him. Though it was inevitable, it was still a conversation he'd rather avoid. The small glance at Alfred proved the Englishman would be of no help either. "The Justice League formed as a collective of heroes to defend Earth against any kind of threat." At least, that was the public cover story.
Bruce trudged over to the Batcomputer, pulling up the single most classified file out of his entire catalogue. "That included if one of us were to go rogue and become a problem to the people. Contingencies were needed to make sure any one of the League could and would be taken down." He pulled up a few of them.
Superman's Kryptonite and red sun radiation therapy.
Wonder Woman's nanite based eternal battle.
A modified freeze ray to slow down Flash's metabolism to that of a normal human's.
An EMP for Red Tornado, one they had accidentally already figured out on their own it seemed.
The list went on. For every Leaguer and known hero there was at least one plan at the ready. Danny stared in awe at the dedication to these plans. Some of the files had been edited rather recently too, still being updated to this day to reflect current information. Even members of the team had their own files, he noted. Though it felt odd to see there be a file for Robin, he was the last person to complain about that.
A silence fell over them again as Bruce was clearly reluctant to get to whatever part Dick and Selina were waiting for. Not even Alfred spared him from silent scrutiny as they pressured him into exposing the part usually left unsaid.
"What did you do?" Dick growled accusatory, his added pressure continued breaking the man's resilience. "Say it, Bruce. What, did. You. Do."
Finally, Bruce opened his own file. "I made the Justice League, to be my own contingency. On their own they wouldn't stand a chance, but collectively, the League has what it takes to take down Batman should it ever come to that." He pushed himself off from the computer to fully turn back to face Danny. "The Justice League agreed to not take any action against you escaping from Belle Rêve considering your help against the Injustice League and in the rescue of Red Tornado."
Danny was genuinely growing concerned the longer the man talked. He had promised they weren't in trouble, so why was it sounding like he was in fact in trouble? Bruce wouldn't even look him in the eye as he rattled of the information clearly against his will. Is this when he revealed Danny did have some form of punishment?
"For keeping Danny's presence a secret and certain collective decisions taken during and outside of the exercise, there were some who voted to remove Robin from the team as a whole." Dick's breath hitched. "The vote lost but not by a lot." He knew Bruce was deliberately leaving out who voted against him. Just the fact alone hurt enough, he didn't need the added pain of knowing who wanted to get rid of him for something that insignificant compared to all the good he's done not just for the team but the League as a whole.
Danny felt like he could throw up. All the fears he had, all the times he questioned if locking himself up and hiding was the right thing, all of it confirmed in that one breath. After everything, Danny really did nearly cost him his new life. Dick nearly lost their family legacy all because of him.
"Bruce, god damn it get on with it already." Selina loudly complained, having had enough of this man and his dramatic tendencies when he had to do something against his will.
Before Danny could spiral any more, Bruce started talking again, a single glance at Dick before he pointed his gaze to the display cases with their old suits. "Red Tornado and J'onn spoke in favor of letting Danny join the team, speaking quite highly of your actions and character as they personally perceived them." Danny expected him to look up, to at least glance his way at a praise like that, but Bruce's gaze remained steeled to the ground.
"The Justice League started a new vote, to let you on the team so they may serve as your contingency. Having Robin on the team increased the chances of the contingency working. Considering your blood relation, even with it as vague as they were lead to believe, it was deemed enough of a weakness that it would theoretically work."
Finally, Bruce looked up again. Gaze still distant but failing to hide the grief at not being able do have done better for them. For not fighting harder against the mob mentality of his colleagues. "Danny being added to the team passed the majority vote, under the condition of Robin being stripped from his co-leader role until and only when the entire team chooses to reinstate him."
Silence filled the Cave. Not even the bats on the ceiling made a noise as they all processed exactly what it had cost them.
Now he knew why Bruce was avoiding eye contact.
They all knew
No matter how hard they tried, the League was out to send a message to them.
The League had power over team missions, no longer Batman's, suspending missions until they decided Danny was trustworthy.
The team had power over their own most senior member, stripping him of his well-deserved authority until they decided Dick was trustworthy again.
No matter their affiliation with Batman, they weren't above the rule of majority. The League may not be able to do much against Batman himself, not only due to his status as a founding member but also as a co-leader of the League. His kids, however? Clearly neither Dick nor Danny had the same privileges. Even going as far as to try and use his own brother as a weakness. Thinking he would never attack his own blood.
Except
Danny already did. In that damned and dark hellscape of a future timeline, Dick was gone. He wouldn't be sure without asking the bastard himself, but Danny was almost entirely sure that version of himself killed Dick. And the worst part was that it was nigh impossible to know if whatever allowed that version to do something so horrific was from Danny's ghost half, or Vlad's.
So much for being a weakness they thought they could exploit.
"You…you can't be serious." Dick uttered out in disbelief. "Please say this is just a sick attempt at a joke." They knew it wasn't though. Not with how long it had taken Bruce to come back. Not with the lack of contact from any of the people they were close with. People they had trusted with their secret identities no less.
Danny was grateful he was already in a chair because he doubted his legs would have been able to hold him. His eyes flickered between the floor and his brother. Immense guilt over everything overwhelmed him as tears pricked in his eyes. "Dick, I'm-"
"Who do they even think they are?"
Danny sat in shock, completely taken aback by the sudden burst of anger. "Dick-" He tried again, voice caught in the back of his throat as tears threatened to spill, but was immediately cut off.
"Ni, tayeul." Danny did as told, snapping his mouth shut as Dick brushed past him, fists balled as he made a beeline for Bruce. "We made the League into what it is today. Without us, they wouldn't be all cozy up in literal space. We gave them everything and this is what they chose to do? Who the fuck do they thing they are?"
Bruce watched his little bird stomp his way over. Though he agreed with every word the boy said, he couldn't particularly voice that without making it worse. "If this is about your co-"
"I don't give a shit about losing the stupid coleader position." Dick cut off immediately, not even noticing Alfred was letting them both get away with so much swearing, he might start thinking the man went senile. "Kaldur was our sole leader 90% of the time anyway. The only time my opinion was needed was for plans that weren't followed anyway, when Kal physically could not take the lead or when he conveniently needed somebody to talk to you."
Bruce was rather aware of that fact. The Atlantean had been the elected leader twice over, both times beating Dick even though he had seniority. While co-leaders on paper, Dick's expertise was rarely called upon and treated more as an afterthought. Bringing it up was never an option, not one to interfere with their internal dynamics.
Yet, he had underestimated just how little Dick had actually cared about it after the first week had passed. As immature due to his age as he was, Bruce was sure Dick would grow up to become an even better leader than he ever was. Yet at times like these, it felt like he was the only one who could see his potential.
Potential that was currently being fueled by his anger. "If they want to strip me of something the League doesn't even have a say over, fine." He shrugged with such performative nonchalance, even Danny could feel his anger.
This was the first time Danny had felt emotions from another this strongly without being in physical contact with them. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure what to do here as Dick continued on his frustrated rant. "They can have it their way. Pull the funding, shut down Watchtower servers, remove all coding and patches I did for them for all I care. If they want to play that game, they can have that bull right back. And if they want to cry about it, tant pis."
Bruce was trying to come up with a smart way to diffuse the situation. Clearly his brain wasn't in it for today as Danny beat him to it with what was essentially a nuclear bomb. "Dick, we can't just be petty because they decided to be a more childish than literal children."
"Why not?!" Dick spun around, considerably less venom behind his words but the intent was still there. "They get to be, and for what even?" With every word spoken he stepped closer, nearly challenging any of the actual adults to argue against him. If he had a core, he surely would have directed the infamous 'scary eyes' at anybody who even breathed wrong. "Because neither of us were ready for Robin's secret dead brother to be revealed? Or were we supposed to make a public announcement when we all thought all of our families had been killed?"
Dick's resolve hardened even more when he locked eyes with Frostbite for just a second. Even though the ghost had been a silent spectator throughout, he seemed overjoyed at Dick's willingness to fight. It may just be the ghosts liking to fight thing he had mentioned the day before but honestly, it counted and it counted a lot considering the being's probable age. The Chieftain had certainly seen his fair share of battles so his silent support meant a great deal to the raging bird.
Dick turned back to Bruce, still not feeling satisfied as his rage continued to fester. "If they didn't like choices I made as team leader, acting leader of the Justice League at that, they could have said so to my face." Dick glared at Bruce, not with particular malice but so beyond done with dumb adult politics and Bruce just happened to be the face of those adult politics as the moment. "Or are a bunch of adults too afraid of a 13 year old child?"
Danny figured he had said the wrong thing at first, but if he was being fully honest, it was hard to disagree. What the League did was beyond unfair. They let panic, and probably some heavily biased opinions, cloud their judgement and ended up punishing Dick for something any one of them would have done.
Martian Manhunter was there as well, where was his removal of stature? Where was his disgraceful attempt to have feeble power exerted over him? And what of Red Tornado? The android had known about Danny for a while now yet had said nothing. What of his consequences?
Not that Danny actually wanted any of that to happen to either of them. They had openly defended Danny against the mob, which he would be eternally grateful for. He also had a sneaking suspicion neither Tornado nor J'onn were the ones who called for Dick's deposition.
Bruce probably had multiple good reasons to hide who voted what, especially who brought up the demotion in the first place. If he had to guess, it was some form of compromise, letting Danny have the perceived victory of joining the team while still punishing them both for it all the same.
Danny locked eyes with Bruce for a second and shrugged. Whatever Dick planned, he was down for it. If the League wanted to play dirty, so could they. "Dick?" The boy spun around, an acknowledging hum vibrating through his chest. "What do you think? About the whole joining the team thing? And not what the space-idiots said, what Bruce said before." He added quickly before Dick could build up another rage rant.
Dick looked at him quizzingly as the residual anger slowly drained out of him, not really sure how to answer it without sounding too biased. "I…" He sighed, plopping himself down on the Batcomputer chair while running his hands through his hair. "Nini, he has a point. When push came to telepathic shove, you were right there on the frontlines with the rest of us."
Dick stared at his hands, messing with the skin around his nails as he rambled on. "Sure it may not have been the best first mission and it may not have been real life, but we all thought it was and you did everything to a T."
He paused, a small smile spreading softly across his lips as he recounted their actual first mission. "Just like when we went after Tornado. You came along without much complaint and ended up literally saving the planet. If you weren't there, Tornado wouldn't have been able to get up high enough and funnel the ash cloud." He snorted a little, the memory of coming home after and telling Selina all about it fresh on his mind as if it genuinely happened yesterday. "And we both know how much you love being out on patrols again. You were made for this life, Nini. Quite literally if I understood that whole thing about obsessions right."
That elicited a snort from all three ghosts, not even surprised anymore that Cujo always seemed to perfectly understand everything they said. "See," Danny chuckled halfheartedly, "when you put it that way." He dug around in his leg to find the one thing he didn't think he'd actually have to see ever again.
