For the record, let it be known that Damien was not what people of average standing would call a 'sour-puss' or at least, he was not one all the time. It is not like he did not want to come here, to the newly opened art gallery and stare at paintings. He was one to very much appreciate the arts but he would rather work on one of the many unsolved cases left for them, rotting away on the bat computer than stay here and endure the feeling of unnaturality he got from this gallery.. Drake would certainly spend all his time solving the most useless cases back home but there was one in particular that Damien was far too interested in solving. However, he was stuck here with Grayson who had dragged him here, unwillingly and at night time.
"Come on Dami, at least look less stabby while we look at the paintings. It's newly opened and they say that most of the paintings here have never been viewed to the public before," Grayson said with so much enthusiasm, Damien thought he would turn into the sun and destroy his retinas if he looked at him too long. His annoying older brother wore a light blue cashmere turtleneck sweater, a match to Damien's black one and he paired it with light brown pants. The sight of his small backpack he called the 'batpack' made Damien sigh tiredly. The gallery walls were painted with dusty green and the picture frames for most of the paintings were abnormally bright orange.
"Richard," Damien began as he looked around at the various paintings he could clearly see. They were mostly random pictures but had a common theme in them. They had an eerie presence mostly brought about by the strange colors used to paint the surroundings. Sometimes the sky would be painted purple and others would be painted with a strange bright green coat. "These paintings could have been stolen from some random street painter with a weird obsession with the abnormal," he said as his eyes were caught on one that appeared to be a cow levitating towards the moon which was green as the sky itself was a deep purple. He scoffed at the painting.
"Damien," Grayson scolded but it barely had any heat to it. Damien sniffed in response and finally his attention was caught by a duo of black haired kids who were gesturing animatedly at a painting in front of them. There was a supernatural feeling coming off those two just like the dozens of artworks in this room and Damien couldn't help but move a bit closer to the pair.
"It's literally all over it…. grab them all and go" could be heard in bits from the younger girl. She looked to be about eleven or twelve years old. It was hard to tell because her back was facing towards Damien. The older boy, who looked to be about his own age, sixteen, gave her an unimpressed look. At least, that was what Damien gathered by the side profile of the boy.
"Ellie, we can't just take something that…. get in trouble….not like….," the older boy said with a hand on his hip.
"What are we looking at?" Grayson whispered from behind Damien and was promptly squashed by the younger boy. A huff could be heard from behind him so Damien turned and said "Those two look suspicious. It appears to me that they may want to rob the place," once he finished he turned his attention back to the duo who were now wildly gesticulating at each other with their hands. People started walking around the pair in avoidance while a staff member could be seen from the corner, slowly inching her way closer to the pair as the two were locked into their loud-whisper-argument.
Once the staff member finally walked up to the two, the tall middle aged woman tapped the older boy on the shoulder and the strange duo focused their full attention on her. Damien inched closer to the group without alarming anyone and Grayson followed him quietly from close behind.
"Excuse me. Is there a problem I can help with?" the lady asked with a smile meant for disarming the most agitated of people.
"No, you can not," the younger girl, Ellie, said with so much sass, Dick could be heard from behind trying to contain a chuckle. The older lady did not look startled by this at all and still kept her smile on. Damien would admit, he was impressed.
"Ellie!" the older boy nearly screamed before he held up his hand in apology to the lady and said "I'm so sorry. She's just a bit agitated to see such … weird pieces of art. We will be fine. You can leave us be and we'll behave. Right Ellie?" he gave Ellie a pointed glare. The girl huffed in response and turned to face her side.
With her full face in view, Damien felt an odd sense of familiarity as he examined her looks. Her frown, eye color and all her facial features looked familiar to him and he could hear Grayson gasp at the sight of her.
"I see. Are you here with a guardian?" the older lady said with a tilt to her head.
"Uh.. no. Is that a problem?" the older boy said before giving a nervous chuckle.
"Oh! Not at all but you do have a ticket or an invitation with you right?" the lady said as she tilted her head the other way.
"Um… about that…" the boy said and began to rub his elbow in an anxious manner. This only further proved Damien's point that the duo was here for nefarious reasons, whatever they may be. The lady finally kept her head up straight and her smile dropped completely.
"Oh no. Don't tell me you two snuck in here. If so, I would have to kindly escort you off the premises," the woman said with a monotone voice and by the way the boy's shoulders rose up, Damien could tell it reached its maximum effectiveness.
"Oh crud. We don't have time for this. Are we doing this Danny, or not?" Ellie said as she dropped her hands and faced the boy completely. Danny's shoulders dropped and he nodded in defeat.
"What other choice do we have?" he said with a subjugated tone.
"Alright. My kind of party," Ellie said with excitement and raised her right hand. The staff member took a few steps back and brought out a walkie talkie, probably trying to get security in. This was Gotham by the way, you could never be too careful even though the opponent in front of you is a kid. Damien can fully attest to that.
With a smile and a snap of the girl's fingers, all the lights in the room went dark which made everyone in the room go into a bit of panic.
"Tch," Damien should have accounted for the fact that both kids or at least one was a meta from the confidence the younger girl had displayed from earlier. Murmuring and yelps could be heard from the crowd inside trying to figure out their way around in the dark. Damien could feel Dick rustling something behind him. Probably his pocket. He was probably looking for some night vision goggles from his little backpack.
Another snap could be heard and just as suddenly, the lights came back on with the voices of the people inside just as quickly died out. Damien looked back at Richard to see him putting back the suspected goggles into the bag while blinking rapidly from the sudden switch to illumination. Damien looked around cautiously and noticed one key thing.
Half of the paintings in the gallery were gone.
"It's not even supposed to be possible," the gallery's owner, Mrs Shiana Hunty exclaimed as her forehead was being dabbed preciously with a handkerchief by her male assistant. When she had enough, she swiped his hand away and readjusted her expensive Italian suit. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
"Yes, from what you told us about your security, this wasn't supposed to be possible but from the other witness statements, it appears that the two suspects were metas," Red Robin said as he put his little notepad back into his utility belt. This was indeed an interesting case. The paintings are specially tagged within their frames and the paintings themselves. So, if anyone tries to steal them and walk out of the building without proper measures, the alarms would go off and the building would go into full lockdown. With the statement from the few witnesses he interviewed, there were no alarms set off. There was more to investigate about the building in general but Tim was willing to wait till he got back to the cave to review the building schematics and figure out what exactly happened during the supposed heist.
His gaze went to Damien and Dick who were still in their civies as they gave their statements to the police. It appeared to be mostly Dick doing the talking and Tim could imagine the number of tsks Damien gave the detectives as they tried getting answers from the little demon. Dick gave him a sign that they would talk later at the cave and Tim nodded that he understood before Dick went back to his interview.
"So, is that all? I have to go to a press conference after this. My reputation is at stake." Mrs Hunty said as she rubbed her temple with a sigh. He pondered a bit before he realized he had one more important question to ask.
"Yes, one more question though. Where did you get the paintings from? I must say they are… eerily unique," Red Robin asked the lady as he pulled his notebook out again, ready for her reply.
"It's ok. You can call it weird. It is an heirloom actually. An estranged uncle of mine left it to me from his will to be in my care. He is the artist. Honestly, I was surprised he left these for me even though we had not spoken in years," she said proudly and with a soft smile on her face like she was remembering someone she was fond of.
"Ah. My condolences. May I ask his name?" Red Robin asked after noting down the information.
"Silas Gregory Hunty. A strange man, that one but he used to be so fun and make me laugh before he outright abandoned the family when I was a teenager," Mrs Hunty said with a slight frown. Tim squinted for a bit as he wrote down the name. He could've sworn he had heard that name before but he was finding it hard to remember where and when. After thanking her, he went over to his last and most important witness of the event, the staff member that was standing close to the suspects before the lights went out. She, covered by a little blue blanket on her shoulders, was gathered around by three other staff members. Two who were trying to get the gist out of her while one other lady was trying to comfort her. Once he was close enough to her, she turned her full attention to him and gave a small smile. That would've reassured him that she was okay but he could see her shivering which told him that she was less than ok.
"To see one of the bats up close. It is truly a pleasure," she said while she rubbed her hands together. The two staff members that were pestering her for details took this as their queue to leave while the last one stayed with her with a hand to her shoulder, serving as her support.
"It is a pleasure to meet you too," Red Robin said politely. "Name please?"
"Felicia Kitcher," she replied with a smooth voice but it was evident that she was trying to keep any shivering sounds out of her voice.
"Ok Felicia. Many others pointed at you being closest in proximity to the suspects. Can you tell me what happened from your perspective?" he asked her with a reassuring smile. She nodded then spoke.
"Yes," she said. "There were two kids who appeared to be having an argument nearby as I was explaining a painting's concept to one of the other guests of the gallery. At first, they were barely making a sound while they stood in front of the 'Dead Morning' painting with their squabble but eventually, their volume got so loud, other guests were stopping by just to look at them and I just had to step in at that moment.
There were two kids. A boy and a younger girl. The younger girl was quite rude while the boy seemed sheepish in my presence. I determined they were both here with no adult supervision, no invitation and no ticket to be here at all. I informed them that they would have to leave the building if so but then the girl got frustrated, got the boy to agree to something which I now know was to steal the painting and finally, she snapped her fingers and the lights went off" Felicia's shoulders shook with a shudder and her coworker rubbed her back in comfort. "It was so weird. The moment the lights were off, I felt the chill in my chest and spine and I haven't been feeling very warm ever since. I heard another snap and then the lights were back on and I was still shivering while practically everyone was looking around just as confused as me" she finished.
"Can you describe the kids to me?" he asked.
"Ah, yes. They both looked similar so I'm guessing they were siblings," she said before giving him a full description of the kids.
"Thank you very much. Before I go, I can assume that that painting they were arguing in front of is one of the missing paintings?" Red Robin asked and got a nod in response. He thanked her once again and headed outside to his bike.
He had a lot to work on now once he made it to the cave.
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the information he gathered from Tim, Dick and Damien.
"Looks like we have a new meta or two in town, Bats," Duke said as he patted Bruce's shoulder before leaving to take a seat on a nearby chair.
"Awww. Don't let it get to you now Brucie. If we manage to find them, maybe you could adopt them in exchange for them to leave their life of crime," Steph chuckled from a chair far behind him.
"Tsk," Damien scowled while he stood to his father's side as he read the compiled data over and over again. Bruce followed suit and looked at the key points he and Tim made.
SUSPECTS:
Teenage boy about 15-16 years old, 5'6", dark hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing a blue jacket with red linings and blue denim jeans. Supposed name: Danny (Possibly short for Danton, Dan, Daniel or Danyal).
Preteen girl about 11-12 years old, 4'11", dark hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing a red jacket with blue linings and blue denim jeans. Supposed name: Ellie (Possibly short for: Elyna, Eleanor, Elizabeth or Danielle (if both suspects are related).
It is highly likely that both children are siblings or are at least related.
Suspects (or at least one) are suspected to have electrical manipulation abilities which aided them with the theft without alarming any systems.
The fact that cameras displayed static images when suspects were on screen adds to the fact of their powers.
It is unknown how they induced slight hypothermia into one of the staff members. Either one of them or both has this particular power.
They were fast, so speed may be another component to their powers. Teleportation should be considered as well.
While the lights were off, their presence could still not be detected by night vision or infra-red.
No traces of DNA were recovered from the scene.
No exit routes seemed to have been used for their get away. It is inconclusive to determine whether the suspects used the front door to escape due to police and other people entering the building after the heist.
The paintings were made by a man named Silas Gregory Hunty, a reclusive millionaire from the Hunty family which specializes in the arts and mostly lived in New York.
He was found dead on his bed in his apartment six months ago in Gotham. Cause of death undetermined.
Bruce cracked his neck in an attempt to relieve the tension in it. He leaned back in his chair and turned to look at the rest of his children and co. All of them were there, except Jason of course. Even Oracle showed up and was typing away at the desk she and Tim shared. Cass was leaning on the wall in a corner observing everyone while Dick stood a few feet behind Bruce.
"Father," Damien said, which grabbed Bruce's attention successfully. He spun his chair to face his youngest.
"Yes. What is it, Damien?" Bruce asked.
"What about the strange energy fluctuation case from a week ago? Do you think this robbery should take much more precedence over it?" Damien asked while crossing his arms. Bruce knew his kid really wanted to work on that particular case but Tim already called dibs on it and had already been working on it before anyone got the details on the case.
A strange influx of energy was detected in Gotham's oldest cemetery from one of their satellites and apparently several others owned by the government and even Lex Luthor. There had not been any progress for a week now so Bruce wasn't sure if he should get himself involved at all in the matter for now. Though, it wouldn't hurt too much to be careful.
"Hnn," Bruce said as he deliberated on what to do about it further. Turning back to the bat computer, he looked at the data again and had a feeling this heist might be a bit more than it appears to be. From Damien's testimony of what he heard, it appears that the paintings might have something else, apart from money, that the two kids really needed. They were most likely to be metas so that should take some precedence.
"Tim, Steph, both of you go find out more information about Silas Hunty from his niece before she leaves for New York. Damien, Dick and Cass, I want you two on lookout for the kids. Duke you too during your morning patrol. Call us in, if you spot any kids of such description. Barbara, please keep us updated on any static camera glitches you noticed and keep an eye out for any kids matching the description given," Bruce said finally after much deliberation.
"Already on it boss. Tim and I tracked some static-y activity from the cameras outside the gallery all the way to Crime Alley but since there are barely any working cameras there, I'm having difficulties finding more," Barbara said as she adjusted her glasses.
"It seems we would have to contact Jason about a potential meta threat in his territory," Tim said with an amused smile. "I wonder what he's going to do about it," he took a sip of his drink beside him and continued clacking away at his keyboard.
"I'll contact him. I was planning on visiting him soon so I guess I could expedite the visit," Dick said.
"Good. And since we barely have any information on the energy influx case, let's put it on hold for now. Our satellites will inform us if there are any more we should be worried about," Bruce said with a look to Damien whose scowl settled a bit from his father's scrutiny.
"Fine. Let us begin our search, Cassandra," Damien said before brisk walking out of the cave with a silently chuckling Cass behind him.
"Don't worry B. He's just in his teenage moodiness but Bruce, you and I should have a private talk when I get back. I have a suspicion about something you're not gonna like," Dick said with a weak smile and Bruce frowned.
"What is it, Dick? Can't you tell me now?" Bruce asked anxiously. Dick shook his head.
"No. I'll tell you tomorrow and after I go see Jason," Dick replied, causing the older man to sigh.
"Fine but be sure to tell me tomorrow. We don't want any data, no matter how insignificant, to go unnoticed," Bruce said with finality and was answered with Dick's nod.
"Alright, I'm heading out. Sayonara, folks," Dick said with a wink and left the cave. Steph took this as her queue to jump off her seat and run over to Tim and grab him by the elbow. Oracle closed her laptop, put it in her bag and smiled at the two kids squabbling beside her.
"I'll be going now Bruce. See you soon," Oracle said and took her leave.
"Get up, doodoo head. We've got work to do," Steph said. Tim scoffed and followed Steph to change back into costume and they both promptly left the cave.
"I'm heading to bed, B. Goodnight," Duke said and made his way back into the manor.
Bruce slumped into his chair and wiped his face. He faced the bat computer once again and checked for satellite readings at the gallery this evening. There, he noticed there was a slight temperature fluctuation. It was quick for a human to detect but his satellites could detect a temperature drop duration in seconds. This could be related to why the staff member, Felicia, felt a chill. The question that came up, however, was why was she the only one that felt it and not others in the gallery?
"So, you're saying you want me to join your ecto-friendly club?" Jason said as he rest his shoulder on the door frame. The two kids in front of him nodded in unison. The younger one had an eerily looking, bright green card stretched out to him with a big smile on her face.
"I truly believe we can help each other, even though you have a smaller concentration of the substance," the little girl said without dropping her smile.
It was the middle of the night, Jason was watching the news about a newly opened gallery which was robbed of half its paintings before he had gotten a weird vibe from these two the moment his door was knocked on furiously. He didn't know there were two kids right at his door waiting for him and so he had grabbed his gun in case he really needed it. It was Crime Alley after all, you could never be too careful. Once he determined the two Bruce-Wayne-adoption-bait weren't a threat and there was no one nearby, he'd placed his gun on a table closeby and turned his full attention to them before he was bombarded with a recruitment speech about ghost, undead, liminals and ecto-contaminated allies.
"How the fuck did you find me?" Jason asked before uncrossing his hands, standing up right and placing his hand on his hip.
"We could feel your presence sir. You're practically haunting the place. Wait, is this your haunt? Sorry, we didn't bring gifts to greet you. Hehe," the boy devolved into a shy demeanor. Jason didn't know what to think about that.
"Honestly, we weren't expecting such a handsome specimen such as yourself," the little girl said with a blush, however, she still held eye contact and still had her hand held out with the card. Taking pity on her, he took it and she finally dropped her hands not before giving out a relieved sigh. He looked at the fluorescent green card with no inscription on it and frowned. There was again that weird feeling that he got from it just like the one he got from these two.
"Uh huh," Jason looked at the icy blue eyed pair again and sighed. "Wanna come inside?" he gestured inside his house.
"Um… we won't be able to stay long and…." the boy was about to say but the girl interrupted him with a hand to the poor boy's face.
"Yes!" the girl answered enthusiastically. After smacking her hand away, the boy pinched the bridge of his nose and agreed loudly with a murmured 'sure'. Jason could tell this was a whole thing between them causing him to shake his head a little with amusement.
After they both settled themselves on the couch in his living room, he asked them if they would like a drink. They both wanted orange juice so he went and brought it for them. Soon after giving them their drinks in a cup with straws, Jason took a seat on the wooden chair close by before placing his feet, crossed over each other, on the table in front of the kids. He took time to examine the blank card again, even holding it up to the light in an attempt to view any hidden message. It had a bit of a weight to it but it appeared to be mostly paper. The eerie green color most definitely has something to do with the pits, the question was how exactly do these kids fit into the picture.
"It's made with magic. You have to accept our invitation and your name will appear on the invitation. I made it myself," the younger girl said before taking a sip of her drink. Magic? Oh, this was starting to be way more than Jason signed up for. He began to consider handing over to the bats, maybe even the league. Most especially Justice League: Dark.
"It's one of her greater works she's proud of," Danny said in a prideful manner making Ellie croon at the praise, eliciting a chuckle from Jason. Older siblings.
"I don't know your names," Jason asked while placing the card on the table then gave his full attention to the kids.
"I'm Ellie and this is my brother, Danny." Ellie said with a cheer. "What's yours?"
"I'm… Jason," Jason said with a thought that maybe he should have been a little more careful with giving out such information. However, the kids were using nicknames and not their full names so he didn't think it would matter too much between them.
"Just so we're clear. We don't want to force you into anything. We just need help and we figured someone like you might be able to help us and maybe we could even help you in return," Danny said before placing his cup on the table, done with his drink. Jason took the chance to study the kid's face. The boy looked very familiar but Jason couldn't place it. The facial structure, blue eyes and even the eyebrows were trying to tell him something but he couldn't tell what it was. The girl did look like the boy a lot but her face didn't puzzle him as much as the boy's did.
"I see. So, can you tell me a little more about this little club of yours?" Jason asked. "You only told me about ecto-friendlies and liminals but you haven't really explained much. Those terms don't mean much to me,"
"Ah, sorry about that. We didn't consider that this world might not use the same terminology as us," Danny said as he tapped his bottom lip. "So you know what ectoplasm is?"
"Spirit goo?" Jason replied, unassuredly and gained a small wince from the duo.
"Not really. It's like this green gooey stuff made from things death related. Some ghosts are made up of the stuff entirely while things like liminals and undead are contaminated with them. Ghosts mostly ecto-ghosts mostly need it to sustain themselves, however, humans can use it to make devices and ghost detecting gear," Danny explained.
"Ghosts?"
"Yes,"
"Undead?"
"Uh huh,"
"Ghosts are real?"
"Yup,"
"I think I'm high," Jason said as he placed a hand over his eyes.
"No. I'm sure you're sober. At least, I think you are," Ellie said, making Jason drop his hand to glare at her. He pondered on what they said again, green gooey substance and picked up the card to look at it again.
"So, lemme guess. You made this card out of that ectoplasm stuff?" Jason asked as he spun the card between his fingers.
"Yes! I've been studying magic and ectoplasm. Don't lose the card. It's a precious resource," the girl said the last part with a stern voice, causing Jason to raise a brow at her. Danny smacked her arm for that and Ellie smacked him back even harder.
"Ellie!" Danny said with a pout it was meant as a reprimand but everyone in the room could tell it had no heat to it. Ellie just replied with a tongue out.
"So what exactly do you two need ectoplasm for? You're clearly not ghosts or even undead. I'm not sure what a liminal is but you look fine to me," Jason asked cautiously. The kids gave him a strange look. Oh. There was definitely something more going on there.
"Well…," Ellie said as she dragged the last syllable. "We're not actually what you call normal," the girl said then looked at her brother. They both nodded at the same time and stood up together. "Don't get too shocked when you see this," Jason didn't show his anxiety on his face, at least he tried not to but he was definitely panicking inside.
Suddenly, the duo were enveloped in light and their whole appearance was changed. Their colorful matching sweaters were changed to black jackets with white and their bottoms. Their brown shoes were now white boots and their hair was stark white, moving unnaturally in a wispy motion in the air. Stark green eyes greeted him and he was suddenly reminded about the green shine and luminosity of the pits. Jason didn't want to admit it but he was, indeed, a little frightened at the time and startled back in response to the sight before him. His instinct made him want to grab the gun hidden under his chair but he exercised restraint and held himself still on his chair. The kids, seeing that he was shocked about what he just saw, transformed back into their normal forms and raised their hands in a placating manner.
"Sorry for the surprise. We just wanted to show you what we were all about. It's easier to show you then explain, you know," the boy said sheepishly but he had shifted slightly in front of Ellie in a posture of protection. Seeing this, Jason waved his hands at them in dismissal and both kids relaxed then sat back down on the couch. Ellie picked up her drink and continued to sip on it.
"So, what exactly was that?" Jason asked while trying to keep any anxiousness from his voice.
"We told you ghosts were real right?" Ellie asked. When Jason nodded, she continued. "Well, we're what you call halfas,"
"Huh?" Jason's eyes widened.
"We're half ghost half human. We're in an in between state of life and death," Danny explained further but this caused Jason's eyes to widen even further.
"How is that even possible?" Jason asked now that his curiosity was piqued. He was really starting to see how this may be related to the Lazarus waters but he wasn't too sure about it at the moment.
"Well…, let's just say someone died in a place while being infused with so much ectoplasm and tada! You have this," Danny explained sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. Jason noted that he didn't really explain himself with the full details but he didn't want to pry too much. He didn't want to pry too much into someone's death after all. He wasn't his adoptive father.
He was learning way more than he expected from these kids. Maybe he really needed to inform the Big Bat about this. He'd been ignoring the man's texts lately, he's sure the guy would be more than enthusiastic to take this case on. However, something inside him, a little thing, told him that he should keep this to himself for now. These kids may not mean any harm for now and from how they were able to find him, it was highly probable that he was also connected to them somehow. With that reasoning, Jason figured he should keep this little situation to himself. After all, he really didn't want the big dad bat sticking his nose in his business right now. The only problem was keeping his minions, most especially Dick out of it - his older brother could always tell when he was hiding something. Although he may be able to avoid his adoptive father's scrutiny for the longest time, his little compatriots may not be as easy to dodge. Talkless of Tim's detective snout that may not be able to let go of a stinky trail once he got a whiff of anything suspicious and these two kids had that stank smeared all over them.
"Ok. I'm not saying I agree to join this little club but if I did agree and my name appears on the card, what next?" Jason asked. Ellie clapped her hands in excitement while her brother shook his head but with a smile plastered on his face while he watched her.
"If you do decide to join us. Hold the card up to your phone, a map or even a piece of paper and it will give you directions to our next meeting place. There, we will meet up with everyone that's agreed to join and there, we will have our first official meeting," Danny said before looking to Ellie for assurance and confirmation. She gave him a thumbs up to indicate what he said was correct then took a sip of her drink. Jason hummed.
"Alright, give me time to think about it. Is there a time limit?" Jason asked as he tucked the card into his pocket.
"Yup. One week. We still have to drop by a few places and get to understand the lay of the land of this city. This place is honestly weirder than I could ever imagine," Danny said while scratching his chin. Jason raised a brow at that.
"So you really are new here, huh?" he asked and the kids nodded. "There's a library you can go to get you started. They got some Gotham starter packets and some computers you can use for free. I have a friend working there, Barbara. She's got red hair and glasses. Tell her Jason sent ya,"
"A red head, huh," Danny said faintly and Ellie gave him a light touch on his arm. Gloominess graced the atmosphere, making Jason narrow his eyes but didn't ask any question on why the boy had a sullen look. He grabbed a nearby paper and pen then wrote down the Gotham Public Library's address on it. He gave it to the pair and the younger boy took it, looked it over then put it in his pocket.
After Ellie finished her drink, both kids made their way to the door while Jason followed them closely from behind. A question popped into his head so he decided to ask the kids before they left.
"So what happens if I reject this offer? What about the card and stuff? I'm assuming you want to keep this meeting on the down low," Ellie turned to him while Danny continued on his path to the door.
"If you reject, the card will find its way back to us after the first meeting's deadline and a memory spell will be activated on those who rejected the offer to reduce the risk of our activities being known," Ellie said with a little smirk.
"Memory spell?"
"Yeah. It'll cause confusion and sometimes forgetfulness to our rejectors," Ellie said as her smirk turned into a grin. They both continued on their way to the door and finally met Danny as his hand was at the door knob.
"Lemme guess, one of your works?" Jason asked her and he was greeted with another cheeky grin. That was enough of an answer for him. He could hear Danny chuckle to himself as he opened the door before they were greeted with a very familiar face causing Jason to curse.
Dick stood in front of them, a hand raised like he was about to knock and with a shocked expression as his eyes landed on the kids.