Danny hurried with all his might toward the park where the explosion had come from. The boy was pretty sure it was a blast of sound sent by Ember toward the crowd. Maybe making Fentonbursts wasn't such a bad idea... At least his friends have Fentonphones so the music wouldn't manage to brainwash them. Perhaps right now the music of a ghost rocker could play to both of their advantage: music can quell panic. Once McLane was defeated, it would be easier to convince the others that it was just an urban action. The downside was that the boy would have to be in his human form, and that meant vulnerability, lack of ability, and fear of his identity being recognized. Yes, the people of Amity Park were indeed shortsighted, they can't put two plus two together and guess to a simple play on words, but hey! Give them a break, no one had ever documented a creature capable of switching between life and death literally at will. But that's not the case right now. Right now he's dressed in a ragtag suit reminiscent of Gotham vigilantes, and the only thing hiding his face is a piece of shitty plastic that's barely holding on with some glue and the power of incredible luck. Besides, Danny needs to restrain his instincts to use his ghostly powers as best he can! Or apply them as discreetly as possible.
Soon, the park showed itself, and there in the main square, a small stage was assembled, where a ghostly group showed up. Apparently, this time Amber had decided to subjugate specific strata rather than specific age groups with her game. Mostly families consisting of parents, children or retirees gathered around, young people were also pulling up. The guitar in the hands of the pop star had a new look, now it seemed acoustic, and the appearance was more restrained. Memories of Youngblood and Amber trying to brainwash adults by running trashy music on the radio came to mind:
"Hey! Kids and their parents! Welcome to our volunteer concert named after Amber! Memorize that name, because you'll have to chant it forever!" - The distorted voice of a girl melodically sounded and echoed from the speakers on the sides of the stage, permeating everything around with a sound wave, recoiling in the very chest right into the heart. The hands struck the strings, playing the initial chord, followed by a gentle strumming. The melody was probably really good. If only the music wasn't being used for brainwashing and taking over the world, maybe Danny could have let the ghost get away with it. But..
"Not this time, Ember. I remember you don't like duets. Then how about you play in the band?" - Danny nimbly jumped on stage, pulling his laser pistols out of his pockets. Thankfully, they were loaded before use, so he would have enough shots to quickly defeat the girl. The best way would be to leave her without the guitar. He'd need to distract the ghost for a while until Tucker could hack the hardware and turn it off.
Ember frowned, but a wickedly satisfied smirk played across McLane's face. The girl adopted a fighting stance, then decided to respond to the cocky boy:
"This is something new, Dipstick. Who picked out that outfit for you, Mommy? Or your creepy goth girlfriend?" - With a quick and deft movement, the girl struck the strings, sending a shockwave of sound in the hunter's direction. However, the boy himself was not going to stand still. What his life has taught him over the years is that you can not stay in one place, you must always move. A few steps towards the impact, a sharp jump and a somersault in the air. The arm follows the movement of the body, due to the weight of the weapon a little faster and... Shot. Missed. Amber jumped away from him almost in time, the charge landing in her blazing blue fire tail. It extinguished for only a second before lighting up again. The ghost's face took on a more menacing look. Danny couldn't help but snicker at her:
"What is it? Isn't it just the cheers of the crowd that's making you burn? You know what I mean? It's burning!" -
The girl quieted down a bit before smiling evilly and lighting up brighter. Her flames abruptly engulfed the stage and trapped the boy in a ring of fire:
"I understand, Baby-pop. Now you understand and feel my fury! It's getting hot, isn't it?" -
Ember turned toward the crowd when suddenly the voices of the people cheered and everyone shouted her name with all their might. The blue flames grew stronger. Some of the plastic on the boy's suit had melted a little, including the mask, which was now burning his face a little. Unpleasant. Sweat immediately appeared on his face. Danny pulled out a hook named Fenton, whose fishing line was capable of withstanding just about anything, including the power of a ghost. Aiming it at the metal structure that held the spotlights on the stage, the hero reached upward, soaring through the air, bursting out of the all-consuming flames. While Ember was distracted, the boy dashed forward, aiming directly at the girl, knocking her to the ground. He managed to temporarily stun the ghost, causing the flaming pop star to drop her guitar, which ended up right in front of the vigilante cosplayer's feet. Without thinking long, with a heavy boot Danny-Hood smashes the instrument with a sad sound that echoes across the stage, after which he exclaims:
"The concert is over, Ember. Now, be a good ghost and go to the ghost zone on your own. It's better this way." -
And just mentally, the boy added: "For you." As much as he was tired of his ghostly enemies, even to them he would not wish the fate that had been bestowed upon...No, no, now was not the time to think about it, not now!
Suddenly the girl exclaimed angrily:
- It is best if you pay for it, dipstick! -
Her hands ignited with ghostly energy, causing her to lash out with fury at the little vigilante. Charges of ectoplasm were quickly directed toward Danny, who barely had time to dodge them. To keep himself safe and slow Ember's shots, the boy began firing back. Each of them was not going to relent and tried to hit the exact target.
Danny tensed up, he was starting to get tired so he decided to contact his friend:
"Tucker? Are you there anytime soon? I can still hang on, of course, but hurry up, please!"
The earpiece rattled a bit, followed by a voice:
"Well sorry dude, do you even know what kind of equipment is in here? Sam and I ran a wire through half the park to hook up to this junk! I don't know what they used to assemble this stage out of, but we have to do everything by hand this time."
The battle on the stage was interrupted for a second by a loud, nasty beeping sound, followed by Sam's voice coming out of the speakers:
– Hey, people! Support our hunter-vigilante with your shouts! Put your hands up high! I say Red, you say Hood. Red!" -
– Hood!
– I can't hear you! One more time, Red!
– HOOD!
– RED!
– HOOD!
... The crowd began chanting someone else's name. Each charge Ember let out towards Danny grew weaker and weaker, and her flame faded before her eyes, resembling an extinguished candle. A look of shock, despair, and bitterness filled the performer's eyes. The ghostly girl slowly slid to her knees, the energy in her hands extinguished and the only light that was now on the stage illuminated from the spotlights a vigilante in a red hoodie standing with a loaded thermos in his hands. There was a satisfied smirk on his face. The last words the girl heard, however, were rather unusual:
"Goodbye, Ember. And remember, don't go into Amity Park if you care about the afterlife. It's not safe. And I'm certainly not a threat to be feared." -
Soon the ghost was drawn into the thermos and vanished into the bright light, as did the useless helpers. Then Danny turned toward the people who stood near the stage cheering in honor of his victory. As long as the boy could, he was taking matters into his own hands. Walking over to the microphone, he gently took hold of it and addressed the crowd:
"Thank you very much, Amity Park residents! This was an action in honor of the recent holiday, Halloween. We received a lot of support from you under our past video, so we were destined to meet again. Thank you! Perhaps we will meet again this year. Or maybe as soon as next year, when we have special dates on the calendar. In the meantime." -
The boy threw out a single bomb that bloomed smoke all around him. As it dissolved, the boy himself seemed to dissolve into it. Danny himself was already backstage where his friends were waiting for him. Tucker was flipping through a tape on his PDA, his face expressing both a strange kind of restrained joy and anxiety at the same time. The younger Fenton didn't even have time to ask before his friend began to tell him what was up:
"So... The good news is that we stopped the ghost and we managed to convince the crowd that it was all a demonstration... The bad news is that somehow we started a new trend under the tag #BatFashion and it's managing to break through all sorts of firewalls. And...I'm guessing who exactly did it and why the videos have become so popular. Look..."
Tucker pushed his PDA aside so that everyone could look at the screen. There was a video of the last part of the fight, with most of the people busy cheering for the hunter-cosplayer in the Red Hood costume. Soon, the man who was shooting the video turned around and looked into the camera, filming himself and everything going on behind him at the same time. It was Wayne's oldest child. And Danny's new acquaintance. There was a voice:
– Whoa! The kid's really rocking the stage! You get it, J.J.? He's on fire! -
The voice-over responded:
– Shut up, Dick, your jokes are as bad as this kid's. And he's, like, 15 years old. -
– Don't insult me on camera! Anyway, we were just passing through Amity Park, so we stopped by for some action. Quite a fun theme and shows for such a small town. The rest of the time it's pretty quiet... It's a shame Gotham doesn't have events like this. -
– Don't bullshit me, asshole. If cosplayers in bat costumes walk around Gotham, they'll literally put a target on their backs. -
– Ahem! Like I said, it's a shame there aren't more events like this. But it's great that there are! Let's support the aspiring guys, maybe it will inspire someone else to create new content to create! -
.
.
The video's over. And right now, Danny had a few thoughts on it:
"...So the Wayne's are really in town, and they're definitely following us. But there's one thing that's been bugging me. Why are they trying to make it look like we're just having an event? How do they benefit from that? Don't you guys think it's a little.."
Before the boy could finish, he was suddenly interrupted by Sam:
"Weird? Definitely. The rich have their quirks. But I doubt they're really stupid and careless enough to come to a godforsaken town in another state just to see a performance by teenage cosplayers. Besides, It's like they're trying to cover for us."
The goth girl shifted her gaze to Tucker, then the latter nodded, turning his gaze back to either his friends or his PDA:
"Sam right... Right now I'm trying to run the stats. The video and tag curled up before one of Wayne's brood posted the video. But lo and behold! A debate started in the comments about the reality of what was going on. That's when Richard Grayson stepped in and posted the video on his main account and the controversy began to subside. We don't think so, we're really being covered. The video has reduced the number of incredulous comments by as much as 75%!"
Danny rubbed his chin and rested it on his hand, pensive. This whole thing seemed strange to him. First, these people had come here... Then Danny had met one of them and was able to have a friendly chat. And now.
.
.
They're coming after him, right? So he'd been asked about places where teenagers hang out. Either they were messengers from Batman himself, or they were part of the Fruitloop community that would try to adopt him and make him their son. And the scary thing was, if that was really the case, then right now Danny was really ready to go anywhere and with anyone. Except for Vlad. And GiW. And especially... his parents. The realization that he needed to go home and be in a house where a truly horrible event had happened, when just across the wall lived two monsters willing to tear apart a small innocent ghostly child for the sake of research... No, now is not the time to go into a spiral, not now. He has to be strong. At least for now.
Danny clenched his fists before crossing his arms over his chest and frowning. You couldn't see it under the mask, but the boys guessed that the younger Fenton had covered his eyes and withdrew into himself. The boy was clearly going to tell them something and they probably weren't going to like his thought very much:
"We need to talk to the Waynes." -
Tucker nearly dropped his PDA, and Sam immediately flared up no better than Ember had a few minutes ago during the fight:
"Are you out of your mind? We've been doing everything we can to avoid them, and now you're saying we should just give in to them!?" -
Now Danny couldn't take it anymore and raised his voice:
"What are we supposed to do!?" - the boy threw his arms out to his sides, a growing sense of anxiety and despair in his voice:
"My parents have apparently made some sort of unspoken alliance with a government organization. Because of our idiocy, outsiders found out about the ghosts in Amity, the Waynes came here to deal with me personally or to find out more about the ghosts. If they want information, it would be better if they got it from us than from a group of people bent on taking me apart molecule by molecule! And if they are indeed even indirectly connected to Batman, it would be better if one of the League members tried to listen to our position rather than the biased research of amateurs." -
There was an awkward silence among the boys. It seemed as if everyone was about to start talking, but no one dared to begin. Danny's words made a lot of sense, but no one wanted to admit that the moment they had been dreading had arrived. The ground beneath them had never been particularly stable, but they hoped it wouldn't collapse at the worst possible time. But it was crumbling.
Tucker decided to break the silence:
"So... So our plan failed...?"
Danny thought for a moment before answering:
"No. As long as no one knows that me and Phantom are the same person, we're fine. That's the biggest secret we have to keep."
The guys nodded and the tension eased a bit. Things really aren't going too perfectly, but for the moment, right now, they are safe. No, not even that, Danny was safe. Albeit imaginary.
Ghost Boy pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt for a second to scratch the back of his head. But he hadn't expected to run into some strange disturbance that he hadn't noticed earlier... It was something small and seemed to be metallic. Pulling the strange obstruction from his hair, Danny pulled his hood back into place and examined the something that was in the palm of his hand... This...
"It's a bug!..." - All the guys exclaimed, looking over the tracking sensor. This technology was clearly not Vlad's. The Wisconsin Fruitloop preferred to place cameras and bugs in their house rather than on Danny personally, and besides, the old half-ghost had his own strange tastes in the design of such technology. Hence whoever left it on him was probably someone else. None of the agents in white Danny had seen, and his parents, while not exactly idiots, weren't smart enough to guess his identity. So far. The only outsider he's interacted with lately has been- Grayson. Did he suspect something was wrong with him even then? Back in high school? Well, there was probably a reason Richard had been given a job on the police force, perhaps he wasn't as stupid as he looked, and his image of a naive fool in public was nothing more than a mask. It was a new sign to prove that they should have talked. Two parts inside the boy were fighting with each other right now. One of them absolutely did not want to go into the clutches of the pursuers, it was sounding the alarm inside with loud words: THIS IS A PATTERN!
The other side on the contrary was begging for someone to turn to for help. If he missed the chance now, no one would help him later. Who else would he go to? Vlad? Surrender himself to him and be doomed to become his little copy, or turn to his parents, who would tie him up on a metal examination table without a second thought? There's no better alternative to him right now. And Jazz. Even if she wanted to help, right now she's a minor and can't get custody. Moreover, she needs to study, not provide for her loser brother who can't even go to school and do his homework because of his phantom second life. If only someone could ease the responsibilities placed upon him a little, Danny would clearly be a little happier. Would have been able to focus on his studies and get his grades up, maybe get into a good college! Perhaps he would have had a chance to at least appreciate the possibility of a normal life. Just a little bit.
"I'll go home and change, then I'll go to Nasty's and wait there. If anything happens, I'll call you." - Danny stormed off in the direction of his house. Following him were the dissenting voices of his friends, but the boy wouldn't listen to them. They would still agree on this bad, but still a plan.
.
.
.
It was only about half an hour later when the half-ghost sat in the café with a glass of milkshake. His eyes surveyed the people passing through the window, only occasionally glancing at the main entrance and the people going in and out of the room. In one hand he held a bug, which he rolled lazily across the table with his fingers. Waiting is the most disgusting process of all. There is a lump of nerves in your stomach that makes you go crazy and won't let you sit still in your seat. The boy is constantly fidgeting, trying to twist the nearest objects in his hands, including salt and pepper shakers. Once he even managed to knock them over and scatter them, causing the boy to frantically wipe them off with napkins. No one was there. The thought that it could all be a mistake grew, making the teenager even more nervous, causing his panic to increase, and with it the anxious thoughts that were making him crazy. Danny was about to get out of his seat and go home when suddenly the front doorbell rang and three people came in. Two fairly old and a teenager, about Jazz's age or older. One of them he recognized immediately - Richard Grayson. The others were probably the so-called brothers. Well. Either the boy was right about them, or it was all a coincidence and a misunderstanding.
Dick immediately noticed the teenager sitting in the corner, who nervously shifted his gaze away from him and faltered a little. That's what you usually do when you've been staring at someone for a long time and then panic and try to pretend it never happened. But suddenly he sighed, gathered his courage, and glanced at him again. Then Richard smiled at him and waved. When the teen waved back, the older man nodded to his brothers and they headed off in Danny's direction:
"Good evening, Danny! What a coincidence to see you here. These are my brothers I told you about, Jason and Tim." - As Grayson called out the brothers' names, he also pointed them out. Then he pointed to Danny:
"Guys, this is Danny. I met him this morning. He told me about places to visit. Oh! Speaking of which. Can we sit with you?" -
Danny pretended to think about it for a moment, then nodded:
"Yeah, sure...? I don't mind. It's nice to meet all of you…" -
The guys took a seat, after which they each went about their little business. Tim was playing with his smartphone, and Jason was trying to look at the menu, and Dick was getting into it, but his brother was deliberately pulling his face away. It was kind of funny from the outside. You can't tell they're unusual civilians. They look like an ordinary family. A family where one of them is clearly not okay. For some reason, looking at Jason made Danny's core shrink inside, like he was infected with ectoplasm or something. And infected in a bad way. Of course, it was completely none of his business, but the boy felt like he wasn't okay. (Or, Danny made it all up because he was nervous).
Suddenly, Tim tore himself away from his smartphone, then decided to ask Danny a question while the elders argued about the order:
"So... Maybe off topic, but why is this place called like... Nasty Burger? I mean, it's really weird." -
Well, that's a question the boy clearly wasn't expecting. On the other hand, perhaps the Wayne brothers also wanted to tone things down a bit before questioning him? Oh, and this sort of talk would really help take his mind off his worries:
"Actually, I'm not quite sure. As far as I know, it was originally supposed to be called Tasty Burger, but some vandals changed the first letter and the producers decided not to bother with it and left it as is." - A small smile even appeared on the boy's face, then he noticed that Tim also relaxed a bit and smiled back at him. To continue the chain of conversation, Danny decided to clarify about Gotham's local eateries:
"I think it would be legitimate if I asked. Is there really a Batburger in Gotham? And do they really have employees in cosplay working there...?" - When the halfa finished the thought, Tim even grinned, after which he replied:
"Yeah, that's true... I think you've already guessed who we are, so I don't see the point in hiding it." - Drake shifted his gaze to his elders, after which he called out to the two men:
"If you're done ordering, let me see it too! I want my delicious coffee with a criminally high amount of caffeine." - Pulling the menu from Jason's hand, after which he jabbed at it. Then Todd came into play, clearly holding back from lashing out at the bratty younger man. The guy with the white strand of hair exhaled a little before he calmed down and looked at Danny:
"As much as I hate to agree with Substitute, he's right. Let's not do tambourine dancing, kid, do you realize why we're here?" -
He was immediately attempted to be interrupted by Dick when he noticed Danny tense up dramatically:
"Jaybird, be considerate! You can't just take it out on him..."
Jason immediately tsked in displeasure:
"He's not a little kid anymore, Dickface. And I'm not pushing, I'm just putting the question straight." -
Naturally the younger Fenton tensed. So he was damn right he wasn't making this up. There was a tactic to be chosen. How exactly do you start a conversation like this? You can't just say something like, "I'm a superhero cosplayer in trouble, I'm being hunted by the government, and they're trying to kill me for the second time back home."
We had to come at it from a distance...
Danny carefully opened his hand and slid the bug across the table right towards Dick like it was some kind of precious coin:
"Well... I think we should start here. You planted it, didn't you, Mr. Dick?" -
Richard was about to answer when suddenly Jason nearby exploded with laughter. Even Tim seemed to start laughing, though he was trying his best to pretend he wasn't. Danny felt a little silly and awkward, already thinking that he had made a mistake. Jay took a breath then and gestured: "One minute..."
"Ha-ha!... Mr. Dick... I don't think I've ever heard anything funnier in my life. Ha-ha-ha!.. " -
Jason couldn't help but continue laughing, while Grayson frowned like a hurt child. Tim decided to continue the older man's thought:
"Remember this moment, Dick, it's the last respect Danny will show you during the time you've known each other. You won't be the same after this." -
Poor Grayson just leaned on the table on his own hands and snickered:
"You're my brothers, you're supposed to support me, not humiliate me...!"
Jay finally calmed down and replied:
"We're your annoying little brothers, it's our responsibility to piss you off." -
This kind of altercation was embarrassing at first. But now that Jason had said the phrase, Danny felt a little better. It reminded him of when his older sister was around and he would do anything to piss her off at least a little. Naturally they did it lovingly. She loved to get cocky and he loved to bully. But if it was necessary, Jaz would protect him and support him, and Danny would do everything he could to make his sister feel that it wasn't all for nothing and that he was always ready to help her as well. I guess he really missed her.
At last the boys calmed down and Dick was able to continue the conversation:
"First of all... Just call me Dick, okay? Don't need all the formalities. Second of all. Yeah, you're right. I put a bug on you when I helped you outside the school. I'm sorry about that, but I had to test my theory." -
Danny bit his lip slightly, shifting his gaze from Richard to the tabletop. His hands clasped together, nervously, he began to rub them against each other:
"Okay, Mister... Or rather, Dick. Then... What exactly do you want to know? I understand correctly that you realize who is hiding under those masquerade costumes. But I don't think that's what attracted you. What is the real reason?"
The boy needs to find out their intentions. Why are they here? He's sure it's the ghosts. They are interested in ghosts.
But how surprised he was when he heard back:
"Actually, we're here because of you. Tim, can you start the story?" - Dick turned to his brother, who had just set the menu aside and nodded, pulling out his smartphone:
"I was checking the news one morning when I suddenly noticed a video of you and your friends. I wouldn't have paid much attention if a few details hadn't caught my eye... Your skills were too good to be true, but your editing and filming skills were too bad to display something like that. With a little digging, we managed to find out that this city was like cut off from the outside world by a huge censorship. And it was too strange that after an outsider tries to find out more - the information is deleted, and..." -
Just then he was interrupted by Jason:
"Get to the point. What the replacement is trying to say is that we've come to investigate and find out what's going on in the city and why there's a kid fighting dangerous metas, and as it turns out later, 'ghosts'. And a kid who clearly had no mentor training. Don't even think about denying it, Cool Fire, we're well aware that you're doing all this alone with your friends. This kind of thing should be handled by professionals, not kids."
Danny frowned after those words. He gathered all his will into a fist so that his eyes wouldn't accidentally glow ectoplasmic green with anger:
"I am a professional. I'm the son of ghost hunters, by the way. And it's Danny, not...what did you call me?" -
Before the boys could start arguing, Dick rejoined the conversation:
"That's not what JJ means... Danny, the point is that battles like this are dangerous enough. And we're not trying to discourage you from this kind of work! No, of course not. But we're worried that you don't have someone you can rely on. Your uniform is literally a bunch of rags. And as stylish as it looks, it clearly can't keep you out of danger." -
"What am I supposed to do? Just... Mm-hmm. It's hard to explain. I'll just tell it like it is. I'm not really into showing up in public and fighting ghosts. Not a lot of people know that I even do that kind of stuff. But in this town, anyone who thinks they're a professional is really just a biased under-scientist trying to destroy another race. Almost all research is bullshit, unless we're talking about chemical or biological composition. And...the problems don't end there... " - The boy pulled up his now long melted and warmed milkshake before continuing his thought:
"The government legitimized research and probably could have increased protection from outside factors. I think they even decided not to test pseudoscience built on theories, so the Anti-Ecto Acts were passed. This city is literally a breeding ground for ectoplasmic entities, and the research of two scientists and self-proclaimed ghost hunters, my parents, is to blame. They managed to tear through the fabric of dimensions and created a portal that leads to the Phantom Zone, home to all ghosts and ecto-entities. And, since some of their theories turned out to be correct, they didn't even bother to test the rest. Ghosts. It's not just that. There's more to it than meets the eye." -
Danny pushed his glass away from him and lowered his head, not looking at his guests. With each sentence, his voice grew more and more uncertain, as if he was afraid they'd just stop listening to him:
"Anyway, soon there were also hunters in the city. And special laboratories and institutions. Except they do more harm than good. And everyone knows it, but they don't do anything about it. The people of the city stopped relying on the government and the Justice League a long time ago, so the agents got away with it. My friends and I have just been trying to keep things quiet, keeping people from ghosts and ghosts from people. But lately, things have been falling apart. If this continues, I'm afraid.. I'm afraid the consequences may be too great for even the true heroes to solve."
.
.
.
There was silence and stillness, punctuated by the extraneous chatter of the few visitors and the general noise of the establishment. The first one to be able to utter something was Jason:
"What the...Fuck...I just heard." -
"Language!" - was immediately heard from two people, surprisingly not only from Dick, but also from Danny, who himself was even startled to correct someone older than himself. To be honest, it even helped a little, since it felt like Jay was ready to explode right now.
Tim was typing something furiously into his phone, and so fast and hard that it felt like it would simply crack:
"I'm texting B.. He needs to know about this and it's urgent. And I hope he finds out as soon as possible..." - Before Tim could send the message, Jason yanked the phone out of his hands:
"Substitute, are you crazy? If the old man finds out about this now, he's going to blow up out of his seat and do something stupid. We need to do this carefully if we don't want to doom this little town to a rabid hell." -
"Raging hell? This town is literally a hot spot. And the only reason it hasn't gone bang yet is because of teenagers in plastic masks!" -
The guys started arguing heavily, which made Danny feel very uncomfortable. He didn't even know how to calm these two down. Did what he had told them really agitate them that much? If you think about it that way, the Waynes are an insanely wealthy family living in Gotham and pushing a bunch of laudable programs to improve various social strata of society. But dealing with something like that...? Shouldn't that be someone else's job? Or was Danny right and do these Fruitloops have a connection to Batman? On the other hand, why should he be surprised? Vlad's no small fry either and he could easily contact government agents and take it to a whole new level. (Thanks, coaxing).
As the boy drifted off into his own thoughts, Dick gently touched his shoulder and nodded toward the exit. He wanted Danny to follow him...? The hint was taken and soon both were out of the diner, leaving the other Wayne brothers to argue with each other. Once out in the fresh air, everyone was able to take a full breath and relax a little.
Richard turned to Danny:
"You'll have to forgive them. They often disagree with each other and they need time to calm down. "The facts you've told me. They're really unnerving. And we'll definitely report it. But we'll do the right thing to make as little fuss as possible. Would you like to walk for a while?" - The suggestion was a bit sudden, but the boy agreed. The two headed somewhere towards the park area, more like even towards the suburbs. It had already gotten dark in the meantime and the first stars were showing in the sky. Unlike in Gotham, they were clearly visible in Amity Park.
"It's quite beautiful here. And quiet. But even a peaceful place like this can't just exist quietly. Danny, you're doing a great job. You manage to fulfill a lot of duties and carry a lot of responsibility. But this is worrying. Just tell me. Do you feel safe? Is there anyone you can rely on?" -
Danny was obviously thinking. His look was becoming rather grim as what exactly the older man was telling him. (Why does this kid get sad when you start praising him? It's like he thinks he doesn't deserve it).
"Used to... I used to always have my older sister by my side. But this year she left for college. Her grades had a very big indicator, as did her intellectual skills. Jazz... That's my older sister's name. She was able to get into college a year early and left. She's pretty far away now and we manage to keep in touch with occasional phone calls. Right now I still have my best friends Sam and Tucker with me. If they weren't here, I don't know how I'd cope. But in terms of adults. No. No one. I don't trust anyone enough to tell me anything. You're all the first people to know anything at all. And you know why? Because you're the first one who actually helped me. Just because you saw that I needed help. And that's hard for me to understand. Just to realize that the only adult who's actually willing to help is a complete stranger. Not someone close to me. Not a father, not a mom. Just a stranger." -
Dick noticed how the child's shoulders shook, as if he was about to cry. Moving closer to the boy in the white, slightly tattered T-shirt, the older man gently put his hand on his shoulder and led him toward a small concrete outbuilding. Carefully he sat him down and was beside him, leaving his hand on his shoulder. The child looked up at him with crystal clear blue eyes, reminiscent of the eternal ice of Antarctica with their cold gentle hue:
"Why? Dick, you said you came because of me. Not because of the ghosts in the first place, but because of me. Why...?" -
Before answering the question, the older man sighed a little and gathered his thoughts. He smiled weakly, shifting his gaze from Danny to the vast expanse of sky:
"Because it's the right thing to do... But to me personally? You remind me of my siblings. Everyone knows that practically all of the Wayne children are adopted. And it's not all about some style. Our father, Bruce, saw us as children in need. He wanted to help us as much as he could. As I got older, I began to understand him better. I care about all my family very much. And I know they still have problems. But we try to cope. We are still around and have each other. A family, even though it may not be the most perfect. But the important thing is that we're together. When I saw you in the video, you reminded me of everyone. And even myself. I want to help you." - After being quiet for a bit, Richard continued. His heavy sigh made it clear that what he was about to say was clearly hard to voice:
"Danny. Tell me honestly... Are you safe at home? When I asked about who you trust, you only mentioned your older sister. I take it she's even more of a parental figure in your mind than your own parents, right?" -
And the boy fell silent. Then he tried to say something, but he couldn't string words together. It was as if he didn't know where to begin. This conversation he tried to have with his close friends, but no one was able to answer the questions: "What to do and where to go, what's right and what's wrong." Talking to his sister helped him a little bit. And these people ... here for the sake of helping .
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Danny took a step into the void and hoped for salvation. He decided to tell everything that had been bothering him all this time. What had been building up for so long and there was no way it was going anywhere:
"I didn't notice their relationship before. I thought it was normal for parents to spend their time working and not notice their children. When Jazz was home, it wasn't even like that. We were given time. Our grades. Mom still cooked for us, even though she kept the food next to the lab samples. But they cared? When I was away for a long time, when I got bad grades. And then Jazz left, and I guess that's when it hit them? Or just, uh, loosened their grip. They became obsessed with research. And I justified it. I justified it and tried not to notice. Like if I pretended something was wrong, things would get better. But it got worse. Besides... Something else happened. That something, I think, was the beginning of everything. The starting point. The portal. This invention didn't work at first. My parents were very depressed and I decided to take my friends to see it. It didn't take them long to convince me to try and see it. I thought and even hoped that I could look it over and fix it. To earn their attention. And in the end, I foolishly almost died there. That accident changed me. And gave me abilities. And who was there to support me? Friends. Later, my sister. Even ghosts! But not my parents. They didn't even know I caused the portal to open. And the worst part is that my powers are ghostly in origin. That's why I'm afraid. I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up and my parents won't look at me as their son, but as a fucking experiment! " -
When Danny finished speaking, tears flowed from his eyes that he had been holding back for so long. Today had been the most disgusting day of his life. He'd had a bad headache earlier in the morning, his world had crumbled later, and now he was desperate to tell a stranger practically his entire background just so that someone could comfort him and assure him that everything would be okay. Even if it wasn't. He just wanted an adult to support him for once in his life. So that he wouldn't have to shoulder all the responsibility, so that someone would actually help him. Not so they could charge him later. But to just help.
Richard gently put his arms around the teenager and pulled him into his embrace. Right now, Danny couldn't see his face and, believe me, Dick was holding back as hard as he could to keep it as neutral as possible. To anger him of all the members of the Batsamily was the hardest thing to do. And one desperate child's tale managed to do it. The Fentons' irresponsibility was astounding. At first Dick had been surprised, then alarmed. But now he was furious. Their child had had an accident in their home laboratory, and they hadn't even noticed. What's more, the boy is sure that if his parents found out, they'd stop looking at him as their own child. Screw this. Right now he needs to calm Danny down, and then find his brothers and call Bruce. They're all going down for going AWOL, but right now Dick doesn't care about that. He cares about the kid who's shaking in his arms and who trusted him!
"Shh, Danny... It's going to be okay. We're going to get through this. I promise we're gonna help you. You hear me? You won't have to be afraid anymore. We won't let you get hurt, you have the Wayne word of honor! But to do that, we're gonna have to make a plan. Believe me, after what I've heard, you're definitely not staying in the same house with these people."-
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At least about ten minutes passed. All this time the two figures sat in silence, breathing slowly and occasionally wiping some tears from their faces. Finally, Danny brushed off the last of them and was able to say a few words:
"Y-yeah. I didn't expect to cry this much in a day. My eyes are swollen and sore and I think they're just about to fall out..." -
Dick chuckled weakly before replying:
"Oh, that's really bad. But I'm glad you're feeling better...! You've had a rough day." -
The boy even smiled weakly, lazily replying:
"You can't even imagine..." -
"I'm sure I do." -
After sitting for a little longer, Danny raised his hand. It lit up with an extraordinary blue, slightly bluish light, and then a rose began to appear right in his palm. The icy creation was so skillfully crafted that it looked as if it had been grown beforehand, molded, and only then sculpted. The flower glowed, illuminating them both with its light. Dick noticed that the child's eyes also glowed a magical shade of blue. The boy sighed sadly, holding himself up slightly with his other hand:
"My abilities are those of ice. It is made of ectoplasm and will not melt unless a special kind of ectoplasm is applied to it, or unless I myself want it to melt. I and I have experimented extensively on this ice, not even a bullet can take it. However, because of their nature, I can't be categorized as a group of people who fall under the laws of meta-protection. So. It's my gift and my curse. It's creepy, isn't it? -
Dick looked over the boy sympathetically:
"I think it's wonderful. And not creepy in the slightest. I know a lot of people who have unusual abilities, believe me. And as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't make anyone better or worse. It's your specialness. And you're perfect just the way you are. We'll find a way to help you and make sure you don't have to hide your nature in the future. It's going to be a hard road, but we'll get there. We will." -
Suddenly, Dick's cell phone rang. The older man immediately picked up the phone without even looking at the phone screen. Tim's voice came out:
"Dick?...I have to warn you. You know, uh. We've got a problem here."
Dick frowned:
"Trouble? What do you mean...? Tim?"
Suddenly, Richard heard a very familiar voice from the same tube. And he was totally not expecting it:
"Dick. You and your brothers are in big trouble. Once you are in Gotham, expect me to take action. For now, we'll wait for you at the hotel. We have much to discuss, and I want a full report of the information..."
There were three unhappy sighs.
– Yes, Bruce.
– And I told you the old man was going to blow a gasket! - was the last thing Richard heard before he hung up. Well, Jason was right.