The days that followed Danny's half reveal were primarily uneventful. The GIW were still swarming the state and with his hiccup at the state border they had begun to search Indiana as well. Since he was so far north it had taken a day to leave. With each stop he was able to test the limits of his parents' invention. If the GIW were near the Greyhound routed stops, he would be able to practice keeping his emotions in check. As his parents had explained, any expression of emotion on a standard level or higher seemed to trigger the tracker.
Anything from frowning, laughing, even going wide eyed seemed to ping on the radar. Thinking about emotions and keeping any thoughts internal didn't seem to have enough strength to activate the device. It wouldn't be long before his parents realized this and figured out a way to upgrade the tech. At the very least it was enough to get him to Gotham without being tailed.
After leaving Indiana things began to quite down. Danny was able to grab a few things during the scheduled stops. Books, crosswords, and the like were the only things keeping boredom at bay. Sleep was a welcomed friend on the drive, allowing him to skip many hours that would've been spent staring out the window. As Gotham approached sleep became harder to hold. He could barely fend off the instinct to bounce his leg.
Blüdhaven soon came into view and each stop felt longer than the last. On the second to last stop in the city, a small group of men made their way onto the bus. Each was dressed similarly, a chorus of jeans and t-shirts, all of them looked to be in their mid to early thirties. They had climbed onto the bus just after everyone had hopped out to stretch and use the restroom. They had squeezed themselves into a single row towards the back with duffel bags at their feet. The oldest of the four was leading the group and had a scar running down the side of his cheek. The youngest picking up the end looking like he'd explode if you tried to talk to him.
They were obviously not part of the group and were up to no good. Part of Danny wanted to at the very least tell someone, to get the authorities to involved to question them. That was the last thing he needed right now, so he turned a blind eye and shuffled back onto the bus with everyone else. Gotham and Blüdhaven had their own heroes that could worry about some sketchy guys sneaking around. So, he kept his head facing forward, he only had a little longer to go.
"Hey, Boss?" He heard one of the men whisper rather loudly. "What do you think happened to Ricky? You know he don't up and leave like that."
"If I'm being honest, he's probably in a cell. That car was stolen, and we hadn't gotten the chance to switch the plates around yet." A gravely voice answered mostly the man with the scar. "So long as he keeps his mouth shut, we can still finish the job. So, let's do the same and just get to Gotham." It hadn't even been five minutes when the sirens went off behind the bus. The driver pulled off to the side of the road. Danny could hear the one of the men's breathing quicken and a zipper being undone.
"What do you think you're doing?" The oldest urged, the zipper quickly closing.
"I'm getting ready! There is no way they just happened to pull of this bus!" Another voice frantically answered, if Danny's guess was right, it was probably the jumpy one from earlier.
"Keep it cool, the driver probably ran a red or something." The leader said trying to calm him down.
"Or Ricky ratted us out to the police. You know he doesn't want to go back to jail and would do anything for a lighter sentence." The young one unzipped the duffel, the clicks of a gun being cocked sounding behind him. The next few seconds happened faster than Danny expected. The leader of the small gang growled in annoyance grabbing a rifle of his own firing it into the ceiling of the bus. The other passengers fell in between the seats trying to garner any cover.
"Drop your weapons!" An officer shouted from the front of the bus as he ran up the steps. Rather than listening to the man's reasonable request the gang leader moved forward and grabbed the closest civilian to him.
Fuck! Danny thought as his shirt was stretched as the older man pulled him from his seat. Holding him close, the leader aimed the gun to his head, eyeing up the officer ahead. When everything settled the men were in a standoff. Danny forced himself to keep a straight face, I haven't gotten this far just to die as a hostage a city away! He caught the stare of the police man who looked confused at his lack of a reaction. Sirens wailed in the distance as more cops were making their way here. Danny searched for anything that could help, he couldn't risk his powers and there were too many people here to chance fighting the men with guns.
Tired of the quiet the man holding him began to shout demands, "What are you doing just standing there! We want a car! And nobody better do anything or we'll start shooting!"
*Crash!* Danny watched as something crashed through the window. It was a small silver canister about the size of Danny's hand. Smoke began to fill the bus causing everyone to cough and blocking his vision. Someone must have entered through the back emergency exit as fighting could be heard behind his captor. Danny took the chance, shoving his elbow into the leader's stomach and grabbing the gun from his hands and throwing it down the aisle. The man roared in rage swiping the air in front of him. Danny dodged easily, even the Box Ghost faster than this guy. Danny could hear the cop behind him trying to get people out, so whoever was in the back of the bus was hopefully on his side. He took advantage of the smoke cover, using its cover to keep the on viewers from seeing him pummel the guy. His previous captor wasn't ready for the quick barrage of jabs coming at him from the teen previously known to him to be weak and scrawny.
Danny was about to try a knock the leader out when he saw the man convulse and fall to the floor. Standing where the old guy stood was a man dressed in black and blue wearing a domino mask and holding two black sticks the length of his fore arms. It was definitely a superhero, but not Batman though there was a bird on his chest. He spun the sticks around before storing them away.
"Hey, kid, are you okay? Let's get you off this bus." He asked, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Yea, I'm fine but I need my stuff." Danny explained, keeping his tone even, he walked over to his seat and grabbed the backpack. Nothing seemed to be amiss and aside from the bullet holes in the ceiling it didn't seem anyone had gotten hurt. The hero followed him off the bus making sure he went to the police and ambulance rather than sneaking off. A woman stood near; she was dressed nicer than the other cops with a bulletproof vest over her uniform her brown hair in a low ponytail.
"Nightwing, good to know you're back in town." The woman said exasperated. So, this guy is called Nightwing. Okay, that's an actually a good hero name, also the first hero I've met outside Amity. Danny thought excitedly watching the two speak.
"It's just a visit, Chief Rohrbach. I just got back from helping the League and the Bat wanted me to stop by Gotham. I was just passing through and thought I could help." Nightwing seemed more relaxed now, his hands on his hips despite the fight moments before.
"None the less we appreciate it when a hero has their eyes on helping our city. So, who's the kid?" The chief's attention on him. Both adults' gazes were focused on him now.
"Uh, I'm Danny. I was on the bus to visit some family in Gotham?" He lied, hoping that was enough for them to just pat him on the back and let him continue his merry way.
"Okay, Danny and is there a last name to go with that? You were just in a shooting we should probably give your family a call." Ms. Rohrbach asked pulling out a notepad.
"I plead the fifth?" Danny retorted sheepishly.
"Kid, that's not how that works and you're not under oath." Nightwing laughed, "Listen if your home life isn't safe or you're worried about being in trouble we can help. Just give the officer your name and we can help."
Danny looked between the two of them, before sighing. "Nope, can't do it. Just Danny for me, thanks."
"Okay then Danny, you can join me in the back of my car and we'll take a trip down to the station." The chief rolled her eyes grabbing his arm and leading him to the car. Once he was inside sat on the leather seats, she locked the doors and turned to Nightwing. The stepped away just far enough that Danny couldn't make out what they were saying. He strained to hear anything, but they kept their voices at a whisper. Eventually the cop came back, sliding into the driver's seat before pulling away from the bystanders and scared bus riders.
"So… Am I being arrested?" Danny questioned; she gave him a strange look in the rear-view mirror.
"No, but we can't just let a kid go back on the streets after being held hostage. Without your last name or the names of your guardians, we're going to have to find somewhere for you to stay till things get sorted out." She lamented; eyes glued to the road ahead. "Fortunately for you, I had just been helping one of our local CPS agents safely place a kid into one of the few foster homes we have. So, I know that everything in Blüdhaven is full at the moment. You get your wish kid; you're going to Gotham."
"Really? You have that few homes willing to take on new kids in Blüdhaven?" He inquired, leaning his head against the window.
"Oh, we have plenty of homes, but it'll never be enough due to how many kids are in the system. Not to mention the ones willing to take in metahuman youths." She went on, pulling on to the highway connecting the two cities.
"I'm not a metahuman." Danny stated. Not a lie, but also not the whole truth.
"I never said you were it doesn't change the fact we need a place for you to stay safe. For yourself and for whatever courts might need you to testify down the line. I had someone give the Gotham police department a heads up on our arrival, so we'll have somewhere to stay very soon." She smiled.
"Oh, joy." Sarcasm almost bleeding through as he watched the highway race by.
When Danny arrived in Gotham, he was not given the courtesy of tour. Or an explanation as the once sunny skies of Blüdhaven were replaced with the dark, grimy overcast of Gotham.
Sam would both love and hate this city, he thought looking at the old gothic architecture and gargoyles sitting among the buildings. The lack of plants would've been a large downside for her. They had briefly stopped by the GPD to grab photos of him and to get the address of the home he'd be staying in. The home was a simple town house with raw brick walls and dark red door, located just outside the business district. The couple who owned the home reminded Danny of Tucker's parents. They were dressed for suburbia; the interior of the house kept simple with dark brown tables and cream shag carpet.
"I know we can trust you'll look after Danny for us while we work to locate his family, Mr. and Mrs. Danbury. We'll be in touch within the next few days after we have his case work figured out." Chief Rohrback had decided not to bother the GPD with dropping him off and wanted to personally see he had made it to where they wanted him to be.
"It's no problem, we'll keep an ear out for your call." Mr. Danbury smiled, following her to the door. With a click of the door and the turn of a lock he was stuck in the foster care system. They led him to a room with a twin-sized bed made with a plaid comforter and plain sheets. The room came with a desk for schoolwork and a dresser which he ignored as he didn't have many clothes with him. Not to mention there was no way he was staying.
"Okay, Danny feel free to settle in! We know it's early but we're making some spaghetti for dinner if you feel up to eating. We know it can be hard to adjust but it's easier to sleep with a full belly!" Mrs. Danbury suggested cheerfully. He'd stay for dinner at the very least, who knows when he'd have a chance to eat a real meal again.
He left his bag on the desk and read till the couple called for dinner. They spoke to him freely, careful not to mention his lack of expression. They explained how they'd been fostering for the last ten years and had lived in Gotham their whole lives. Saying how dangerous the city could be and that they felt it was only right to do their part to help families were disrupted by the consistent attacks on the city.
They showed him photos of their past fosters and laid some ground rules for his stay there. No going out past dark, avoid Crime Alley, don't eat any snacks before dinner, and other simple rules. The couple even gave him some extra ones due to him not being a native Gothamite. If a villain attacks, run, or hide and if you can't get away follow what others are doing. If you see a lot of plants, suddenly avoid them. If someone in a clown mask enters a building just leave and a more all related to the villains that seemed to run rampant every other month.
By the time he headed to bed Danny felt like he had a good idea of what to avoid in Gotham. All of which would only help him as he waited for the Danbury's to go to sleep. Sneaking out was a sinch, lifting the window open and moving the screen to the side, Danny was able to make his way onto the fire escape. It was laughable how easy it was to make his way down and start walking down the street. Gotham was certainly different at night; the smog hung low in the sky and if anyone was out, they looked like they were up to no good.
Danny never understood the saying a city never sleeps when in Amity; it was a sleepy city and too oblivious most of the time. Gotham felt alive in comparison, the streets breathed history and walls felt like they had eyes. He had been following his phone's map to the harbor on foot for the last hour before he heard a thump as something landed behind him. He turned expecting a trash bag to be slumped over or a fallen bike. Instead, there was nothing, spinning around to go back to his desired path he came face to face with Nightwing once again.
"Shouldn't you be in a foster home, right now?" The hero smiled.
"Shouldn't you be helping Batman with a crime or something?" Danny returned, keeping his eyes on the phone. He needed to keep moving, he couldn't risk going back or being sidetracked again.
"Touche, but he can handle himself. You however have been in a crime today and still sounding off about it. Where do you think you're going?" He had kept walking, hoping the hero would take the hint, he didn't need saving.
"Anywhere but here! The Danbury's are nice and all, but I need to get going, places I need to be."
"Nice try, kid but I can't just let you leave! Whether you like it or not, you're a runaway and I can't just leave you. Come on, I'm taking you back to the station." Nightwing started grabbing Danny and dragging him a couple blocks before hitting a button. An alley was lit up as the headlights for a really nice car turned on and the engine roared to life. "Good thing I took the car and not the bike."
Danny was placed inside as the hero got in the driver's seat and took him back to GPD. Annoyed, the police called the Danbury's and let them know Danny was going to be rehomed. The next time Danny stayed for two days before getting away. Nightwing found him again and dragged him to the station. They repeated another three times each home getting him to stay longer but unable to keep him there. The last home, the Geller's, had no clue how he got out with security cams and locks on every door and window throughout the home. The foster system was running out of homes that could handle a runaway teen. Finally, the GCPS made a call to a not a foster parent but a successful adoptive parent who would have the means to keep Danny in check. Or at the very least his butler would as Gordon called in a favor to the one, Bruce Wayne.
Hello! Sorry for the tardiness in the delivery of this chapter! But it is here and is my longest chapter so far so it was worth it! It took me a while to figure out how I wanted the scenes to play out and I ended up scrapping a lot of my writing that I wrote during my breaks at work.
Again I want to thank everyone who is enjoying the story so far. Seeing everyone interact with this has been so fun and we've broken over 3k in views across all platforms! Can't wait to see everyone's reactions as the story continues and I will see you all later this week!