Duke was having a really nice day today.

Really, he was. Classes ended early. He'd finished all his semester projects earlier than others. His favorite snack shop had finally reopened after a previous rogue attack so he grabbed a snack on his way to the subway station. Bruce gave him the option to skip patrol that day so he took the opportunity to visit some friends close by. The sun was out, shining and bearable. No rogue attacks, noticeable crimes or suspicious activities to investigate or distract him.

It was really a good day.

That was until he had made his way into the subway station, just about to get on his sub when a glowing light caught his attention. He made the mistake to turn to his side and immediately met the brightest flash of green in his life to have ever hit his optic organs. He let out a (confessingly, embarrassing) yelp, took a couple steps back from the now filling up train and immediately squatted to shield his eyes.

He could hear several voices above him. Some worried while others were annoyed while he tried to rub his eyes in an attempt to soothe the fresh pain. The sound of people. A hand was placed on his shoulder and he tried not to flinch at the touch.

"Son, are you ok? What's wrong?" a familiar voice spoke to him. Looking up, he couldn't see the person through his now blurry vision. The blurred lights hurt his eyes so he had to shut them again but resist the urge to rub at them. The pain had dulled a bit so he was trying to reduce the risk of irritation once more. The sounds of surrounding people reduced leading Duke to believe most of the onlookers and moved on while a few stayed behind to further assess the situation. Whether it was to help or video record, Duke could not tell with his current predicament at the moment.

"It's my eyes," he replied to the elderly man who was now aiding him to stand. The man was Mr Swanson. An old black man who rode the bus with Duke this particular day, every week on this bus route. They'd seen each other almost every time they rode and got to know more about themselves as they updated each other each time they met. Mr Swanson knew he was a student while Duke knew the man was a retired vet who had to retire due to a severe hip injury. He also knew the ex vet had two middle aged daughters who were also working in Gotham. One was a doctor at the Gotham General Hospital and the other was a teacher at Manson Prep High.

"Oh my. We've got to get you checked out in a hospital, son," Mr Swanson said as he laid a hand on Duke's back and led him to somewhere quieter. He heard lighter footsteps behind them and wondered if they were being followed and if so, who it could be.

"Is he alright?" another familiar but female voice asked once she got closer. It was Donna Mark. A fellow student at Gotham U who had worked on a group project with before. They share a similar stop and would mostly see each other whenever they ended classes at the same time. He was always glad to have remained on friendly terms with her. She'd been to the manor before and was friendly with some of his family. Mostly Steph and Tim.

"Oh sweetheart. Thank you. He does need some medical attention," he heard Mr Swanson say before the man seemed to be rustling with something. "This is the young Miss's handkerchief. I'm just going to use it to wipe the sweat on your forehead. You're starting to look grey and pale," and with Duke's nod, the older man proceeded to dab the younger boy's head carefully.

"Do you mind if I call your family and tell them we are taking you to the hospital?" Donna asked from somewhere at his side.

"It's fine. Go ahead," Duke responded in a barely contained painful voice.

Soon, the ambulance came and took him to the hospital. Donna and Mr Swanson stayed with him till they got there. Eventually, Mr Swanson broke off from them to go see his daughter but not before giving the younger man a reassuring shoulder pat before he split.

"Don't worry. I'll stay till one of your family members comes around," Donna said. Duke assumed that she had taken a seat beside him in the emergency room while they waited for an available doctor to come see him. After a few minutes, one came over, asked some questions and then began examining his eyes with what Duke assumed was an ocular device.

"Hmm. I'm not sure what's causing this but your retinas seemed to have sustained some kind of damage. We do have an eye specialist with us right now who came to examine one of our other patients. They can do a more thorough exam right now if you're up for it?" the doctor asked Duke, expectantly.

Before he could answer, he was interrupted by a voice that called out to him as their rushed steps became closer.

"Duke!" Dick's worried voice called out to him and he turned to face the direction of the voice. He felt a palm grasp his shoulder carefully while the owner of said hand began fretting all over him.

"I'm alright Dick. The doctor was just about to say something important," Duke said while gesturing in the direction of the doctor.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Richard Grayson," Dick said sheepishly as an introduction.

"I'm Dr Richard Chavez. Nice to meet a namesake once in a while," the doctor said in an upbeat tone, thereby reducing the tension that had risen due to Dick's worry.

"I'll leave now. Hope to see you soon Duke. Get well," Donna said then kissed his cheek lightly and left. He touched his cheek while Dick could be heard chuckling beside him.

"So, as I was saying. Our boy here, Duke, seems to be suffering from some form of retinal damage. Whether it is permanent or temporary, I'm not sure which one it is as we are not sure of the cause of the injury. We do have a specialist with us today. They came for one of our patients and have agreed to look over some that may require their assistance while they are around. Do you think it would be ok for you to meet them in another examination room?" Dr Chavez said.

After both brothers agreed, they were taken to another room where Duke was greeted by a doctor who was funnily named Dr Samuel Richards. Dr Chavez let them be while the other doctor began his own examination.

"Good news. It appears to be temporary damage to your retinas, young man," the doctor said with a cheery tone.

"Ok. So what's the bad news?" Dick asked, hastily.

"Well, you haven't been staring at the sun have you?" the doctor asked. Duke knew he was speaking to him so he shook his head in response. "And I'm going to guess that you also didn't stare at some arc welding without any proper equipment during any of your daily activities. So, since we have no idea how this happened and this is Gotham, I can only prescribe some medical grade sunglasses and also some painkillers to help with your pain. We will have to do another test in a week to see your progress until the blindness is gone and the pain is bearable," the doctor concluded.

"Thank you so much, sir," Dick said with so much enthusiasm, Duke faced him to give a look that hopefully expressed that the older brother should tone it down.

"No. You should be thanking your father

He's the reason I was able to fly in here and even work here efficiently," the man said as Duke heard him write something down on some paper. A tearing sound was heard before the man continued to speak. "Here is the prescription. You can get the sunglasses and medication from out in house pharmacy or get the medication on its own at any approved pharmacy on our hospital website,"

"Thank you," Duke said with a small smile

He was still a bit shaken up by the day's events but hoped more of that came through in his voice.

"Again. No need to thank me. Make sure to take your meds and get well soon," the doctor said and patted his shoulder before he left the room, shutting the door silently.

"Let's get you home Duke," Dick said with a sad tone, making Duke's shoulders slump a bit. He really didn't want to worry the older man or anyone in his family and prayed that he got better sooner than later. He nodded and they both made their way out of the hospital and into Dick's car before driving away.

During the ride, Duke was getting comfortable in the front passenger seat, Dick mentioned he was calling Bruce. The man was supposed to be at a board meeting with Tim so Duke hoped he wouldn't pick up. He didn't want any bat-terogation or worried dad voice passing through his ears anymore. Dick was already doing all the worrying for everyone. Unfortunately, Bruce picked up and yes, his worried dad voice came through just as Duke predicted.

"Duke, are you alright? I heard what happened and received the medical report from Barbara. Are you alright?" Bruce's voice came through the call. Duke clutched the medicine packet he had a little harder but not hard enough to crush the pills.

"I'm fine. I'm feeling a bit better than before," he stated in what he hoped would calm the man down. It was true. He was feeling better. In fact, his sight was less blurry than it was before and the pain was way more bearable. He hadn't even taken any of the prescribed medicine yet, he only wore the sunglasses because Dick told him they were cool.

"I'm glad. Look, I'm heading back home right now. I'll meet you both there and try to get to the bottom of it. Hope you feel even better once I get back chum," Bruce said after he had let out a sigh of relief. Duke also let out his own sigh because he was glad the man wasn't as panicked as he imagined he would be. That left the bat-terrogation but Duke was sure he could handle that better than the worried dad.

"Bye B. See you when we get back!" Dick said. He tried to hide the strain in his voice but Duke could hear it and that made him cringe slightly.

"Bye Dick. Stop fussing. You're gonna stress Duke out more than he already is. By Duke," Bruce said in a softer tone. Dick let out a huff but Duke could tell there was no heat to it.

"Bye B," Duke replied before he could hear the call cut and it was just him and Dick again.

"So… what exactly happened out there? Was it something related to your powers or do you really have no idea what happened?" Dick asked after they sat in silence for a while. Duke let out a sigh. He wasn't all too sure himself but he still chose to answer.

"Yes. I mean… I think it has to do with my powers. I noticed this bright green glow from the corner of my eye and made the mistake of looking at it head on. As for what it was, I'm not too sure what it was I saw but it was like someone was wrapped around some sort of bright glowing light and the moment my eyes landed on them, my eyes were blinded. I think they were about to take the same bus as me before the… well before I got flash banged," Duke explained, unassuredly. "I'm honestly not sure if it was even a person. All i know is that it was moving like one,"

Dick hummed like he was mulling over the information Duke had given to him.

"The subway has cameras right?" Dick asked as Duke could hear a finger being tapped on something. Duke assumed it was the steering wheel.

"Yeah. You think we could find out what happened through those? Do you think the cameras could pick up what I saw or even tell what exactly or who I was looking at?" Duke asked, hopefully.

"For the first question, no. I don't think the camera would be able to see what you saw through your special vision. And as for the second, yes. With multiple camera angles, Barbara can translate your line of sight and we can pinpoint where or who you were looking at during the incident. I've seen her and Tim do that before. It's pretty neat work," Dick replied before the car stopped. Duke guessed they'd stopped at a red light.

"That's great. So much for my day going so well," Duke said, tiredly. He really was astonished at how the day went from pleasant to bright to now blurry.

"Cheer up Middle D. We'll get to the bottom of this," Dick said in a more upbeat tone. Duke imagined he had a smile on his face and couldn't help but give a little smile in kind. From then on, they had little chats as they continued their drive home.

By mid afternoon, they had arrived home to Alfred who had already prepared a room downstairs for Duke for easy access to.

"My my, Master Richard. Let the boy relax. He cannot do such while you are fussing all over him," Alfred said as he tried to detach Dick from Duke's side. He succeeded and he could hear Dick whine in protest.

"But he needs someone by his side as he gets ready and changes," Dick protested.

"Yes, indeed. That is why I have recruited Master Damian into assisting Duke while you go and rest before you worry yourself to exhaustion, Master Dick," Alfred replied calmly in a way that said no more arguing about the matter with him. Dick sighed and went to give Duke a small hug.

"I'll be back," Dick said and left the room with dragging feet. Duke chuckled at the interaction.

"Master Damian shall be here soon," Alfred said before a knock could be heard from the door. "And I believe that is him,"

"Come in," Duke said from the bed. The sound of the door opening and super light footsteps could be heard as the youngest Wayne made his way into the room.

"I have come to your aid Thomas. I would like you to know that we will get to the bottom of this matter and I will assist to the best of my ability for the time being," Damian's voice said as he stepped closer to Duke's bedside. Duke couldn't help but crack a small smile at the statement. Damian had come a long way from the little haughty kid he'd met in the mansion a few years ago. For him, this was expressing way more worry than anyone could ever expect.

"Is Bruce back?" Duke asked.

"No. I'm afraid not. I was supposed to pick him up but I did not see him at the company building while I was there, waiting. I was about to go see if anyone else could reach him as I have not been able to do so at the moment," Alfred replied.

"I too have tried to contact father but I have also not been able to do so," Damian added. He was now standing right at Duke's bedside.

"That's weird. He said he'd be here soon when we called him in the car on the way here. W.E isn't too far from here as compared to the hospital," Duke said while he imagined the routes home.

"Let me worry about that. I'll ask Barbara to track him if need be. Now if you excuse me young masters. I have dinner and a bat to look after," Alfred said with a hint of amusement before he left the room.

"Exactly as Pennyworth said, Thomas. Worry not. Now tell me what kind of shirt would you like to wear this afternoon," Damian asked while he pranced around Duke's room.

Duke gulped, this was gonna be a really long day.

Bruce had made out if the building soon after the board meeting had ended, much to his relief. Tim could handle the remaining affairs and Bruce had never been more grateful to have a genius son such as Tim in his life before. The boy was all too happy to take up the tasks the company demanded and only complained when he wanted Bruce to come to board meetings and brow beat the board members into submission. Now he could focus on their current cases without any delay. Recently he tried to suppress information about the suspected meta pair that had made their way into Gotham. Luckily, no one had yet to put the pieces together that those kids were involved in the two most recent major incidence hut sooner or later, someone was going to catch on and an increasingly panicking Gotham was only a magnet for bigger rogues to exert dominate and add fuel to the fire on the city's head.

Alfred had sent a message stating he would be there in ten minutes and Bruce held no qualms waiting outside for his ride to arrive. He had greeted his employees passing by, making sure to keep up his persona and remain as polite, cordial and charming as possible. Most of them had seen him rarely so it was fun to see some squirm away from him with shyness while others smile back with full blushes on their faces. Don't judge him, apart from his kids and Alfred, this was one of his small joys in life.

Before he could wave to an older female employee he knew, who was making her way back into the building, he felt a cold hand grab on to his other hand. He paused and turned slowly to meet a pair of cold blue eyes staring up at him. Eyes… eyes so familiar to him looked at him and had him questioning what or who he was looking at. He blinked several times before he took the time to fully take in the kid in front of him. The kid wore a mostly black outfit with small colors of white accentuating several parts of the outfit like the ribbing of his collar, cuffs and ankles. His black baggy pants had two white stripes that ran vertically to each side of the legs. The kid smiled up at Bruce, so familiar yet Bruce was finding it hard to place it.

"I'm kidnapping you, Mr Wayne," the young kid said with an even bigger grin. Bruce blinked several times in response. That snapped him out of his jumbled thoughts and brought him back to the situation at hand.

Cold hands, dark hair, blue eyes, emo look. The detective was ninety percent sure this was half of the pair of kids they'd been looking for.

"Oh. And do tell me, how much will you be asking for ransom. We can skip the captive part and I could pay you right now. My kids would be worried if I'm not back soon," Bruce said playfully. He was working the Brucie persona to its maximum that minute.

"No no no, Mr Wayne. Someone wants to see you," the kid said then dragged Bruce along with him down the pathway. They were headed down the road where the cars were moving along and Bruce had this instinct to pull the kid and himself into safety as they were about to walk right into an incoming vehicle. However, the kid's grip was strong and his hands were super cold so try as he may, he couldn't escape from the kid's grasp or pull the young boy away if he wanted to.

To Bruce's surprise, the incoming car just… passed through them and in fact, it seemed like no one could see them as they crossed the road to the other side. Now that he was focusing on the boy again, the boy did seem a bit translucent. He looked at his own hand, it was translucent too. It was almost like they were… ghosts. Bruce frowned. Ghosts can't be seen by the human eye without magical aid or some kind of psychic ability. They certainly cannot be touched, felt or heard as easily. They stopped at some street corner where fewer people passed by or through them as the boy seemed to contemplate on something.

"You know what? It'll be easier if I just do it this way," the boy said before they began to levitate off the ground and Bruce could see the ground get away from them as they elevated higher and higher up into the air.

Bruce's mind went into overdrive as he began to think on what kind of being the kid could be. Cold spots, weird interest in the dead and occult objects and strange powers that could be mistaken for that of a ghost. Was this kid even a meta? What were the missing paintings even taken for? Were they dealing with something much more than they could ever comprehend? Did he really need to ask Constantine to come over ASAP if he ever made it through this interaction with the anomaly? It only had been a couple days and yet these kids had already turned Bruce's head upside down. He could feel this cold feeling creeping up his spine that wouldn't go away.

They flew through buildings for almost ten minutes before phasing through what looked like an abandoned apartment complex and finally landing in one of its many unoccupied rooms. There, a small child about the age of seventeen was waiting there and ran over to them once their feet touched the ground and the older boy let go of his hand. The cold feeling in his back intensified.

"Brucie!" the kid said as he hopped into Bruce's arms. Bruce, reflexively let the kid into his arms without resistance but stared at the pale glowing white child while doing so. The kid pulled back with a big smile, his hazel eyes meeting Bruce's blue ones.

"You remember me, don't you?" the kid asked, expectantly. He was still smiling at Bruce but the man could tell that the kid was anxious for his answer from the crease of his round eyes. He studied the kid more. The boy did look familiar. Dark brown curly hair, hazel eyes… a name came to him immediately.

"Billie?" Bruce asked in a croaked voice. It was William Pace. An old friend that had gone missing almost forty years ago when Bruce was a child. He remembered the kid being so nice to everyone in school but then one day, he didn't show up to school anymore and he had not heard of the kid ever since. Later, Bruce had learnt the child's parents had split due to the ache of losing their child and their company had been divided, shared and absorbed by whatever buyer each player had decided to sell it to. God, it was such a long time ago. He remembered them being close enough to visit each other's houses for playdates and that the kid was super friendly but not much else. Almost everything that happened to him that did not include his parents felt more like a blur to him nowadays. He wondered how he was able to recognize his old friend at the moment.

"Bru! I knew you would remember once you see me!" William said and hugged Bruce again. The kid felt cold to the touch, Bruce had noticed this once his thinking faculties had finally gone back to working.

"Billie. You look the same as I last saw you," Bruce stated. That was true. The kid wore a cream collared shirt, light brown shorts held up by suspenders and a pair of classic loafers. Apart from the white glow that was emanating from the boy at this moment, this was exactly how William came to school. Of course there were variations in color but the combination of clothing was always the same each time Bruce saw him.

"Uh huh. So do you Bru," the kid said, his smile growing even wider. Bruce looked at his own hands and realized they were smaller than before. In fact, he was just as small as William now, no longer looking down at the little kid. Their eyes were at the same level. Looked down and saw he was wearing the clothes Alfred used to dress him in each time he went to school. He looked to the side where the other boy who had brought him here stood. The kid was leaning against the wall, a slight grin appeared on his lips as he watched the other two interact.

"What is this?" Bruce asked lowly and maybe a little threateningly to the other boy (he didn't have time to be shocked that his voice was now several octaves higher, like that of a little kid). This was noticed by William though and wasn't appreciated because the glowing kid smacked Bruce on the arm and was met with Bruce's gaping face.

"Be nice to the King, Brucie! I'll tell Alfred you were being so rude if you keep up the attitude," William reprimanded him with a huff, his hands were now on his hips in a cute attempt to look very serious.

"I'm sorry Billie," Bruce said in a placating manner, his thoughts though, had wondered about what the kid had just said. 'The King'. Who was he referring to though? The boy in the corner? King of what? And why was William glowing like that? Why was he still young? Was this some sort of strange ability William had? Maybe that's why Bruce was now triple decades younger but what was the other boy's play in all this.

"It's fine, William," his kidnapper said as he walked over to them. Once he was a few feet closer to them, he stood still then continued talking. "I know this is confusing Bruce but this is how William still sees you, so you've been changed to fit his image of you. I think it's one of his abilities,"

Abilities? He squinted at William who returned the gesture in jest. What was William? Not a meta. Some kind of supernatural being? What was his tie to the strange raven haired boy? What the hell was happening in his city.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a poke to his nose.

"Bruce. Are you ok?" William asked with his head tilted to the side. He had an adorable but quizzical look on his face that made Bruce just want to pinch his cheek. He resisted, of course. He wasn't going to make a fool of himself in front of these kids.

"I'm sorry," Bruce said with a reassuring smile. "I'm just confused. King of what?"

"Oh that!" William said with a laugh. "He's the King of Ghosts. If I'm remembering correctly," William said that last part in more of a murmur.

Bruce's brain froze.

King of… Ghosts?

The frost melted and then his brain went into overdrive. He stared at the kid skeptically and analyzed his appearance again. Although the kid was relatively pale for the average healthy person, he looked pretty close to normal to be considered a ghost. Was this a Deadman like situation where the ghost possessed someone to be able to interact with the physical plane? If so, this could be a poor boy who had little to no hand in the scheme some otherworldly being has planned. And what of the little goal that was usually with him? From the reports gathered, they state that the kids look so much alike and that they claim to be siblings. Maybe she's a meta helping out this supernatural force gather occultic items but under duress to keep her brother safe. So where was she now?

Wait, wait, wait. He needed to dial it back a bit. A king of Ghosts, right? That means the William he's looking right at right now, in front of him, is… dead?

"Ah. Just Danny would be fine. I don't really like being called that. Especially when I got the title on a technicality," the older boy said while scratching the back of his head in an anxious manner. Bruce would've said something to ease the boy but he did not appreciate being kidnapped, like usual, so the kid would just have to bear with it.

"Ok Danny! Lady Gotham just said I should be respectful to you. You should call me Billie then. That's what all my friends call me. Isn't that right, Brucie?" William said while holding one of Bruce's hands. It was also cold to the touch. Bruce nodded and William shuffled on his feet in an excited manner. Still, Bruce wondered who Lady Gotham was? A rogue he didn't know about?

"But why am I here, Billie? You said you've been trying to talk to me for a while now? How come you can do so now?" Bruce asked. He tried to sound more childish to get more engagement with William but he wasn't sure if he could. The kid, for his part, looked like he was just happy he was finally able to talk to Bruce, so he counted it as a win.

"It's because of the King's… ecto…phasm?" William said, looking to Danny for confirmation.

"Ectoplasm," Danny corrected with a ruffle to the boy's hair. William giggled in reply.

"I've been trying to talk to you for… I don't know how long. Lady Gotham keeps count for me," William said with less enthusiasm he had had from the beginning.

"Oh. Why?" Bruce couldn't help but ask. William's excited energy wavered a bit more. "It's ok. You don't have to tell me," Bruce stated in an attempt to comfort but was met with the other boy's shaking head.

"No. I'm good. It's because… I wanted to tell you about… who killed me," William said in a low tone. His smile, completely gone now. His hand was now slack in Bruce's. Bruce took the time to let that information soak in.

"You were killed?" Bruce asked, finally.

"Yes. Me and the others," William replied after a beat. Yes, Bruce remembered there were other kid's missing around the time William was. They were never found, so as any clues to their disappearance and the case went cold for decades.

"But why me? How would I be able to help you?" Bruce asked, staring at the glowing kid. William stared back into his eyes for a little while.

"I know who you are Bruce," William said and Bruce couldn't help but flinch. What did he know?

"Of course you do. We're friends," Bruce replied with a strained smile. He hoped he was wrong with what William was assuming. William shook his head with a smile of his own then moved forward and leaned into Bruce's right ear.

"I know you're Batman," he said in a whisper.

To whoever was observing Charlie's life right now, please forgive her for her cowardice in these trying times.

To cut the long story short, she did not get the book back from the club president the other day. She'd tried though but once the President's attention was fully on her. She panicked and then got sidetracked and then got nothing to show for it.

"Charlie Ramirez, was it?" Florence had asked. Full attention on Charlie.

At first, her mind went blank but then she, embarrassingly, let out a small squeal that sounded like a rat caught in a rat trap.

"Are you okay?" Florence asked, her brows were now furrowed with concern.

"Umm. Yeah. I just…." Charlie couldn't gather her thoughts properly so she eventually blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "I just wanted to personally tell you about… umm… the research! Yes! The research paper we were supposed to write about the curses on Gotham. I was having so much trouble and since you're so.. uh.. knowledgeable about these things, I want to ask you on where I can get more sources on …it? I was hoping to make it perfect, you know? It's going on the front page of the school's paper and this will be our club's first publication. I wanted it to be perfect," she sputtered before holding her breath for Florence's response.

The other girl just giggled at the performance and pat Charlie's shoulder before dropping it.

"Calm down. You don't have to worry about that work too much. We are still a month away from the deadline. Plus I've seen your updated essay on the google doc. It's already so good," the president responded but then a contemplative look came over her face as she looked at Charlie. "Say, you're the one who donated that cool spellbook to the club right?"

Charlie's eyes widened. Maybe this was her chance.

"Yup. That's me. Lil ol' me," she said before slapping her hand to her mouth to keep it from embarrassing her any further. Florence just chuckled again and shook her head.

"Ok. I'm going to tell you something but make sure not to tell anyone else who isn't among the club officials," Florence said but this time her voice was lower like she was trying to keep the conversation hush hush. Once Charlie nodded, Florence gave a small smile and continued. "So, there's a plan to use that spellbook to summon at least one of the creatures stated in the book. Yours truly is the main caster of course but I was thinking… your grandmother gave you that book right?"

"Yes. You remembered," Charlie said, surprised.

"Yes and I also remember that in your club interview, you said you got that necklace from your grandmother too," Florence said. Charlie smiled at that. It was always nice to be remembered.

"Correct,"

"Good. So I was thinking, maybe you could join us. We've yet to pick a date but I was hoping that someone like you would be willing to join us for the summoning," Florence stated.

"Someone like me?" Charlie asked and Florence nodded. "What do you mean?"

"Have you heard of homo magi?" Florence asked expectantly. She had stepped even further into Charlie's personal space and was now looking into the girl's eyes even more intently.

"Yes. I've heard of them. My grandma told me about such people," Charlie replied while trying to keep her composure at its maximum.

"I suspect your grandmother was actually one of them and I believe you are one too," Florence said with a nod.

"Me? But I've never cast a spell before?" Charlie said with some skepticism. She really hadn't. Wouldn't she know if she could do so by now? The only magical thing that had happened due to her was her necklace glowing and somehow keeping her from being affected by the weird illusion spell that affected everyone at the museum. And that wasn't even her doing.

"Ramirez, trust me. I can tell with these things. I'm also from a long line of Homo Magi. We can sense these things from others. So trust me when I tell you, you definitely have the spark," Florence said with another pat to Charlie's shoulder.

"Oh," Charlie said. Her grandmother did take every chance to drop some expository dump on her when it came to the mystic but her total knowledge on the whole matter was wholly limited. She really didn't know how to react to this but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to join a summoning ritual.

"So what do I do to sign up?" Charlie asked with crossed arms.

"Great!" Florence said, raising her voice and now taking a few steps back. "There is a little thing you have to do though," she smiled nervously once she saw one of Charlie's eyebrows rise.

"Don't tell me I need some kind of sacrifice or some shit," Charlie asked worriedly. She wanted to see some magic not summon Cthullu or something worse.

"Oh no. No. The location of the summoning has been identified to be Aaron Manson's house. I've been there. It has the magical properties we need to increase the rate of our success. We plan to use his basement during his recently upcoming party in a couple days. If you are able to get an invite or even come, you can find me there and I'll let you join in," Florence explained cheerily. Charlie squinted at that. Well, she could get that invite from Aaron as an answer from the question he asked her before the whole museum debacle. She really was planning to avoid him because and to be honest, she had never been in a relationship before and didn't know how she felt about it. However, if she could get to see a real life summoning, she was willing to do almost anything to see it. Sorry Aaron.

"Don't worry about that. I got it handled," Charlie said with a thumbs up. It was Florence's turn to raise a brow.

"Great! See you there then. And don't worry too much about the article. I can just get someone else to finish up the remaining work for you. It'll still be under your name though. Take it as a little treat from me," Florence said before tapping her shoulder one last time before heading for the door.

Before she left, she turned to Charlie with a smile and spoke again.

"Don't forget to bring your ceremonial robe, okay?" Florence said. Once Charlie nodded, Florence waved her goodbye then left the room. Charlie finally began to breathe normally and decided to leave after a few minutes once she calmed down.

Not surprisingly, once she made it outside, so she could wait for her mom to pick her up, the girl with glowing green eyes and dark hair was waiting for her right in front of the school with a smirk. Her eyes were now a cold blue but Charlie couldn't forget the bioluminescent monstrosity she had seen the day before. It seemed like no one except Charlie could see the girl just like the museum incident. She looked down to see her necklace was glowing like before but this time, the shine was way lower than the previous times.

"Took you long enough. Where's the book?" the younger girl asked curtly. Her hands were on her hips and she looked a few seconds away from smiting Charlie off the face of the earth. She'd seen the girl levitate her bed and smash in her table mirror with a flick of her wrist and then reset the room like a saved video game file. She was not going to try the girl anytime soon.

"I'm sorry. I tried to get it back but our club president invited me to a summoning in which they'd be using the book for a summoning. The moment kind of got away from me but I figured I ... or we could get the book back after the summoning or something…" Charlie said weakly. Luckily, this seemed to interest the younger girl and she smiled at what she'd just been told.

"Tell me everything," the girl commanded and Charlie didn't hesitate to have her all the information she had from her previous interaction with Florence. Of course, she didn't tell her about Aaron's confession. She'd like to keep some things to herself. Thank you very much.

"Aaron Manson, huh. I'll discuss further details of our next steps with you in two days. Make sure to get that invite," the younger girl said before she turned to leave.

"Wait!" Charlie called out to the girl and then the girl stopped, back still facing Charlie. "I didn't get your name," she said in almost a whisper. The girl took a little time to say anything before replying.

"The name's Ellie but I'd prefer if you'd call me boss," she said before chuckling and then disappearing. Once Ellie was gone, the glow on Charlie's necklace faded, indicating the girl's true departure. Eventually, Charlie's mom came at her usual late time and Charlie joined her in the car on the ride home

Now, currently, she stood in front of Aaron during one of their classes at his locker with full intent for her mission.

"So, about that discussion we were having at the museum," Charlie said with one of her best smiles. She could see this was going to be the easiest part from the way Aaron was blushing while staring at her in that moment.

Damian stared at the message sent to him on one of the small disposable communicators his mother had prepared for him in case of emergencies or if there were any serious matters that she had to tell him about and couldn't do so in person. The message was, of course, in code but once he deciphered it with the cipher for this particular code, he got the disturbing message, loud and clear.

League in Gotham. Unknown death entities are targets. Warn the bat.

He furrowed his brows at the message. Why would his mother warn him about League activities? Unless, maybe it's something to do with Grandfather that even she is not sure about. Could this be related to the meta kids collecting occult related items?

'Death entities'

Could the kids be trying to summon something despicable to Gotham? The city already had enough, it didn't need some kind of doomsday supernatural to add to the despair of every single Gothamite than usual. Mother had always said that the city itself is already cursed but if what he suspects is coming rure, then they were in a much more serious problem than they'd already anticipated. Maybe this case wasn't as uninteresting as he had initially thought it would be. He had wanted to work on that power surge case and was annoyed with the Huntress and Question's interference in the matter but now, that case may be the least of their problems for now. Or maybe… this case and that one could somehow be related…

"Dami," Duke's voice interrupted his musings and he turned to face Duke's hand poking out of the bathroom door with a pair of jeans Damian had selected in his hands.

"Is there a problem, Thomas?" Damian asked as he moved closer to the bathroom door.

"I'd forgotten that this pair doesn't fit me anymore, sorry. Can you get me another one similar to this?" Duke asked politely.

"Of course. No need to be sorry about growing up. We do continue to grow until we are around twenty five. You still have a few more years to go," Damian said as he took the pair of jeans and headed I've to the wardrobe of clothes to fetch a similar pair for Duke.

"Thanks Dami," Duke said and he chuckled once he heard the boy respond with a tt.

Once Duke was done with his pants in the bathroom, he'd come out, went to sit on his bed and was assisted with his shirt while engaged in a conversation with his little brother.

"Any updates about Bruce?" Duke asked once the conversation went into a little lull.

Before Damian could answer, his pocket vibrated so he took out his phone to see a message from Barbara.

"What's wrong, lil D?" Duke asked with a bit of caution.

"It seems, Duke, that father has gone missing," Damian stated grimly.