The morning had begun uneasily enough. Everything inside was twisting and twisting in tight knots because of the nerves, and his legs were shaking in anticipation of his big sister Fenton's imminent arrival. Danny really didn't want to meet his parents before the trial. The picture he'd seen only a short time ago still stood before his eyes: jars of green liquid and bits of ectoplasmic black shiny cloth…
Goosebumps ran down his skin, and there was a nasty, itchy feeling in his nose, as if something had hit his mucous membranes and pepper-spiked him, burning all his airways. Right now, he needed to be strong. Not to think about it, not the time. The most exciting events would be ahead. After talking a bit with his friends and with his sister on the phone, the decision was made not to go home and see the Fentons for the time being, at least not until the social workers had investigated the house. After all, if you think about it this way, coming home, the boys will report that they just snitched on their folks to services, are going to sue them, and then stay with them in the same house afterward? That's the same as going into a cage with a tiger and telling him you're going to put him in an electric collar and chain him up while he sleeps. They're gonna get eaten! And not literally. Who knows what Maddie and Jack will think? That their kids are being overshadowed by spirits? That they're possessed? That they're not their children at all? And who knows what they might do. While they wait for the judgment to come, by then they might as well join those green banks with....
Danny sighed heavily:
– Oh.. What a mess we're in. -
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When his sister arrived, they met again with the elder Wayne. Richard gave them clear instructions on how to act and behave. In good news, right now CPS officers have already shown up at the senior's house to investigate. But the officers will also need to speak to Jazz and Danny themselves later to give their statements. In court, however, they will also have to stand up for their rights. The main rule Danny has memorized is don't lie. Tell it like it is. And the only thing worth withholding, and later rephrasing, is his abilities. Since acts, unfortunately, exist, are recognized and valid, it is not safe to talk about the true origin. So thanks to some machinations, it will be possible to pass them off as meta-abilities. And ask for anonymity, because if Danny ends up in Gotham, knowledge of his possible abilities by others is a very unsafe idea.
Naturally and inevitably, by nearing the afternoon, Danny and Jazz's phones were already ringing off the hook with calls from their parents (they'd never gotten so many calls from them in their entire lives). And no one was going to answer. The messages weren't being read either, and when Danny was about to snap out of it and read them after all, Jaz was there to talk him out of the idea. The boy was floundering. Talking to his parents was like playing a bomb squad in his mind; if he made one wrong move, it would blow up in his face.
Jazz understood exactly how her brother felt. They'd been in a house full of danger all their lives since they were young, which was why they thought what was happening was the norm. But unlike her brother, she was a social kid. She liked to understand psychology, social interactions and connections, and so it was easy to understand, their removal from their parents, leaving home, was a matter of time, not to mention the fact that their ancestors were slowly, but still surely, going more and more insane. Do you think Vlad was this crazy from the start? No. As much as the Fenton children love him, you don't just become this crazy. First their parents' ridiculous behavior ruined his life, then gave him his powers. And the impunity for his actions gave him a free hand. He clearly wanted to override everything that his years in the hospital had taken away from him, that the incident had taken away. But, of course, that didn't happen. And in his attempts to gain more, he slowly rolled and rolled more and more into the abysses of his madness and despair. Jack and Maddie are actually on the same path. After spending a bunch of years creating a portal, experimenting, putting their own children's lives at risk - they've created a truly terrifying machine that maintains a link between two worlds, blows a hole into another world full of a different ecosystem and the inhabitants of that system, with the species themselves determined to be unintelligent and literally intent on their genocide.
Jazmine didn't like the prospect of leaving Danny with strangers. But if it would protect him and give him the life he dreamed of, she'd be willing to do anything. Right now she couldn't protect him and take care of him, but she would do anything to be able to do that someday.
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Some time had passed. The parents didn't even get a phone call from Child Protective Services until the child welfare people came to their home, but each of the Fentons' children was spoken to by the commissioners. To say that each of the children's stories gave them a lot of gray hair is an understatement. Sure, they had seen things: abuse, drugs, alcohol, violence.
But radioactive waste in a lab? Dangerous machinery and weapons unattended with open access? A building that is retrofitted as if it will collapse at any moment? Not to mention the upkeep of a real shuttle and a rover tank. But the wildest part was the gaping mesmerizing and frightening hole in the basement leading to some kind of nothingness.
Jazz and Danny realized that their case was definitely not going to end in their parents' favor when they heard one of the agents whisper softly: "I've never seen such a wild thing in all my time on the job. And I hope I don't. It's crazy."
Danny was... Ashamed. In a way. He was now just taking and betraying his parents. Maybe he should have talked to them...? (But a very large part inside him was shuddering with fear of being in Danny's shoes in those green cans).
He turned to his sister, hoping for advice:
"Hey. Jazz. Do you think we did the right thing?"
The girl was silent for a while. Then she looked at her little brother seriously and hugged him:
"Don't even doubt it. Danny... Do you remember the first day of the ghost attack? My parents went crazy then and thought I was a ghost?"
The boy thought for a moment and nodded. At that time, because of the fear of his own abilities, he didn't even think about his sister's situation...
"So.. I tried my best to deny it, but... I've been thinking. Why the first question they prioritized that day was "Let's catch Jazz's ghost" and not "Where's our Jazz?". If I really was some kind of ghost shifter, why didn't they think about where their real daughter was?"
Danny pulled away from his sister. He looked at her, opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he couldn't find the words. Then he had a realization:
"They were already putting work before us, weren't they?"
The older girl nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes were filled with disappointment and contempt:
"I guess they have. Besides... They didn't even think about whether I was a ghost of Jazz or just some kind of ghost. So... I think if I was a ghost of myself. They wouldn't care who they were chasing. They tried, right? They only cared because I was human. But even if I was me and I was a ghost, they obviously wouldn't care."
Danny didn't say anything. He was having a hard time having this conversation. His parents often put their beliefs on top of their own desires. Remember that endless argument about Santa? Danny had forgotten when he'd actually enjoyed the holidays. Even Halloween, which he loved, his parents managed to ruin it with their patrols looking for evil spirits.
When the whole Freakshow thing happened, his parents accepted him. But was that really the case? What if they had only pretended to believe him then? Danny doesn't deny that his parents love him and Jazz. He knows they do. But the ghosts. Do they love their kids more than they hate ghosts?
"Hey. Jazz. They love us, don't they?"
His sister sighed heavily again and rubbed her temples as if that would help her formulate the right answer. Then her expression took on a really disappointed look:
"Yes...they do. But that doesn't mean they're good parents or good people. Their beliefs are on the verge of insane, and their responsibility died before you and I were even born. Honestly, my opinion, people like them really shouldn't have had kids. I don't understand what they were counting on when they put our safety ahead of their careers. I mean. They never knew how to separate work from personal and domestic matters. How many times have I had to convince them to try family nights like normal families? The Fentons. Mom and dad. Loved us. But they never knew how to weigh the value of work and family."
Danny noticed how his older sister was on the verge of tears. He knows his sister had it just as hard as he did. When she was little, she often took on the responsibility of taking care of him. Still, she was a child, just like him. Girls her age had to think about very different things than what Jazz had to think about.
The girl quickly wiped her eyes and her expression took on a grim and rather menacing look again:
"Still, this was too much. They've gone too far to just take it and forgive it. I can't leave you with them, knowing that at any moment the thought of hurting you could pop into their heads. And no matter what their intentions are, my goal is to secure a safe future for you, so that you can live a peaceful life without worrying about being shot in the night."
Even if they can't live together now. Danny would never give up on his sister, she's the closest thing he has to a sister. One way or another, they're gonna have to meet in court soon. It's not gonna be easy. I guess. To be honest, Danny's never been to court. At least not a human one.
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After the trial. (and several hours of agony)
Jazmine pressed her back against the brick wall of the building as she left it. Her eye twitched and her hair stood on end. It was as if someone had tied her to a death ride and launched it at full speed, then admitted it was all some kind of bad joke. Following her out came Danny, who looked nervous but more calm than his sister. The boy looked at some extracts that he was able to make and digest, to read and analyze again later in his head.
Danny began the dialog:
"Well... That was weird. But it's the first time I've ever been in court, so I guess it was normal?"
Jazz didn't even look at him. Her eyes were staring into the void in front of her. The girl just put her hand on her brother's shoulder and answered quietly:
"No... No, it's not."
The ghost boy thought for a moment. Yes.. I guess it did look like a mess? His mind was still flashing back to when his parents had pulled out their ghost hunting guns and announced that Inviso-Bill had taken over the court, brainwashed their children, and outshone the judge. They probably realized that the court would sentence the Fentons to termination of parental rights the moment they doused the judge with ectoplasmic goo and blew up his gavel.
There was a pretty scary moment, though. The way his parents looked at him. Their eyes filled with disbelief at first, then scrutinized him intently and interestedly. Him. Not Jazz. And when it came to Danny's safety and abilities (now, thanks to connections, he was registered as a meta, thank you), it was as if the Fentons had gone off the chain. Maddie mockingly declared: "HA! Our son doesn't have the meta gene. We tested it ourselves. This is further proof that this nasty blob of ectoplasm is to blame! He's brainwashed our children! Danny, son, don't worry. As soon as this mess is over, Jack and I will be right on top of you and Jaz. We'll cure your ghostly infection."
And closing with Jack's words: "That's right, Maddikins! Danno, we'll kick those spirits out of you quickly. And then we'll take them apart with you molecule by molecule!"
(By this time, everyone in the room felt as if they had just experienced some kind of real-life nightmare.)
When it was over, they were joined by Dick, who looked insanely tired. He had attended the meeting and admittedly didn't know how to react. He wanted to both laugh and cry. One way or another, Danny would now be under the temporary custody of Bruce Wayne and Jazz would be emancipated. They wanted to offer to help Jaz as well, but the girl refused. If she wanted her and Danny to be able to live together in the future, she needed to accomplish things on her own. That was worthy of respect. But that didn't mean they wouldn't help her in secret.
To distract the boys, Richard entered the conversation:
"Well. Bruce is finalizing some things right now. But I can tell you for a fact that everything will be fine. Here's the truth. The Fentons. There's a couple things that have been bothering various employees and- It's hard to admit, but the Fentons could probably face real time for their crimes. After all, it's not just child neglect on their shoulders. But that's only if they're found sane. Otherwise, they're looking at psychiatric treatment."
Not to say it was very comforting, but at least they'd succeeded. Well, almost. It was still a work in progress. And there was so much to process in my head. For example. Danny's gonna move to Gotham. There's got to be a way to close the portal. Amber had to get the message to the others, if they weren't stupid they wouldn't be venturing into the city anytime soon, so the safety of Amity Park wasn't something to worry about. Plus, they could always contact the Red Huntress and clear things up if things went wrong. What else? We need to take care of some more devices. Bring along some useful ghost stuff. But that's not really what Danny was worried about. His parents were still cooperating with the idiots in white. And that's bad. If they recreate all of his parents' inventions, it could end in disaster. And that creates another problem. Anti-Ecto acts still exist. Maybe the fact that Danny can get out of town now is a chance to change that. If Klockwork still hasn't intervened, then everything's right and it's going the way it should. Except. Danny wouldn't want to be back on the streets like the Phantom. At least not yet. He needs to get used to living with these rich people with a weird sense of justice, and this is his chance to start a new and relatively normal life. He doesn't want to miss that chance.
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When Bruce was done with all the business for the day, he felt for the first time like shutting himself in his office and having a drink. Things were taking a very serious turn and initially the elder Wayne hadn't realized how deep this can of worms was. His kids were right, what they had gotten themselves into was a Justice League scale case. Danny would be of great use to them, as a witness (though he didn't want to get the kid more involved in this mess than it already was). The Fentons were a perfect example of how obsessed fanatics are against these very "ghosts". Of course, he'll first have the Dark League do a detailed study of the ghosts and conduct their own investigation to confirm or deny the research, but it's clear from the get-go that this can't be adequate or accurate at all. The Fentons are clearly so unhinged and confident in their beliefs that they don't notice how they are harming the people around them.
Batman was someone who doesn't like the unknown. But even more than that, he doesn't like relying on other people's research without doing his own investigations. Especially if the cases involved previously unknown species that might be subject to legal genocide. The Green Lanterns are clearly not going to be happy. (good thing Tim is very good at this sort of thing and has already started investigating).
Speaking of species. Danny was about to move to the estate and would be temporarily home-schooled. Judging by the kid's grades, things were not going well. And that was clearly influenced by his situation. (Another child was forced to put on a cape and throw himself into danger in the street). The boy would need to get used to his new surroundings. To learn what Gotham is, how to behave in a city full of danger and crime. He will have to leave his native (albeit insanely dangerous) home, separated from friends. Abrupt change is always detrimental to people, if the younger Fenton has to go to a new school, it will not be good for him. Later he could enroll the boy in Gotham Academy, Damian could keep an eye on him there. Oh... He's already broken his promise to his son and is about to bring a new ward into the house. But give him credit, he's not going to fully adopt another child, Danny will stay with them for a while. (at least that's what Bruce himself tried to believe).
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Sam stood not far from Danny, who was leaning against the wall, staring at the floor as if he were trying to drill a hole in it. The girl tried to get his attention with a slight cough, but he barely reacted. Then Goth kicked the geek in the red beret and pointed at their friend with a nod of her head. Tucker walked over to him and squatted down next to him, not raising his eyes to Danny:
"So...how'd it go?"
Danny shivered a little, sighed, and answered nonetheless:
"Judging by Jazz's expressions, terrible. But the thing that scared me the most was the way they looked at me. As if they saw me as an imposter and another experiment. They weren't like that before!"
Sam's been thinking about all this for a while:
"But they didn't cooperate with the GIV before. They despised the idea of cooperating with them."
Tucker also joined the conversation:
"After Vlad started funding the organization, maybe your parents decided to trust them and made a contract with them in secret from you. But it's still not clear why they didn't say anything about it…"
Danny frowned. He hadn't heard from Vlad lately, and the organization of the boys in white was a pain in the ass for him. He'd hardly have time to plan such things. For Vlad's sake, maybe his father- Jack, could make concessions. But not Maddie. What could these people have to offer that the Fentons would do such a thing? The question remained a mystery for the future.
Sam stretched a little and then sat down next to the guys:
"By the way, what's up with Vlad? Do you think he's going to give you trouble in Gotham?"
Danny shook his head as if in denial:
"I doubt it. He needs me, of course, but he's always put Maddie first. Besides, after I'm gone, he'll obviously have something to do at first... Oh! And just in case, I'll take a couple of ghost deflectors with me, but I'll have to retrofit them for my temporary foster family later... But that problem will bite me in the future."
Tucker rubbed his beret a little, then pulled out his PDA and found Danny's contact:
"So should I rewrite you as Danny Wayne? Just kidding, of course. But I'm really curious as to what will become of your last name."
Danny fell silent for a moment before sighing heavily and dropping his head up:
"I have no idea. For now, I'm gonna keep the last name "Fenton," but then.. Jazz said she wants to change her last name to Nightingale. In the future, when she's a psychologist, it'll be good for her. Like, Dr. Nightingale obviously sounds better than Dr. Fenton. And there won't be any confusion. My parents' last name is obviously going to be a household name in the near future. I don't want this situation to affect Jazz's reputation."
Sam put her hand on Danny's shoulder and gave him a friendly pat:
"I know you're concerned about her well-being. But you need to think about your future too. When this is all over, what do you want to stay with Jazz? Then why don't you share the last name?"
Danny was silent for a moment and then answered:
"I don't know. It's probably the right thing to do. I want something to tie me to my sister. I don't have anyone else besides her. No offense guys, I'm talking about relatives who don't want to kill me or "cure" me. But at the same time, I feel like I'm gonna do something wrong. Anyway, I'll have time to think about it, won't I?"
The swarthy boy beside him smiled significantly and patted his friend on the back:
"You bet! And we'll always be there for each other. Well... at least online for sure. Trying to write. At least letters? We'll be coming to visit you anyway!"
Sam added:
"And we'll always have a Boo-merang to find you. So make sure you don't disappear for too long. Otherwise there's a chance of it hitting you one day."
Ghost Boy didn't even notice how much he was getting better in the company of his friends. It was only now that he was beginning to realize how hard it was going to be in his new place. I don't think he could just make new friends. Enemies? Oh please, he doesn't even expect to be able to blend in quietly and peacefully, his own luck simply won't allow him to stay in the shadows and keep a low profile. But friends. Oh, what about friends? What about his foster family? Is there any chance they'll just ignore him? Don't get me wrong, Danny was very sympathetic to Richard's approach and attitude. But he would clearly have enough to do to come and socialize with him. The others? He barely knows them. There's Jason, also an adult. Tim, who, as far as Danny knows, is always busy with some important project and work. Maybe now is his chance to have his quiet peaceful life, to get his grades up, to finally think about his own future. To finally go to college! To be a normal...normal kid, even if normalcy wasn't a character trait.
After some more time (and paperwork) it was time to pack up. Danny had been assured that taking a large amount of clothing and household items was unnecessary as he would be provided everything he needed in his new home, so he used that to his advantage to accumulate useful ghost-type items. He might not really need all that junk, but it's best to overdo it. Most useful items: Thermos, wristbands, lipstick, spectrum deflector, fishing line from Fenton Fisher, some ectoplasm and ecto-dejecto. And maybe a formula for making it. What else? If a ghost shows up, Danny can catch it, but not send it to the zone. Keeping them in a thermos would be sheer sacrilege, and the space inside would run out sooner or later if the ghost problem waited. He could get a cannon that sends ghosts into the zone after firing at them. But it's too bulky to lug around. Perhaps he could take a blueprint of it so he could retrofit it later and make his own small version? That's probably the best solution.
It was a little pathetic to leave his room without taking his personal belongings. From his computer, Danny took the ghost files on a flash drive, and he decided to just destroy the hard drive. On the shelves were the model ships he had once collected. Now, alas, they were buried under a layer of dust. It was sad to leave them behind, but on the other hand... they carried too many memories of home. My parents. And no, of course, all the inventions also carried memories of his parents. But these particular model airplanes. They carried good memories. The more he thought about it, the more guilt ate away at him. But no. What's done is done. Jazz is right, maybe his parents do love them. But that doesn't make them good. Being in a house where he'd already died once... By the way, the portal. I should have closed it.
Quiet, barely audible footsteps echoed through the lab. The only illumination was an attractive, mesmerizing green vortex. Before closing the door to the other world, Danny sat against the portal for a while. As if that was his way of paying homage to the ghostly zone itself, the little ghost was saying goodbye and telling him that it was time for him to move on. That he would have to be away from the afterlife for a while. The more he looked out into the green wasteland, the more he felt the cold hands of the invisible world stroking his head, as if blessing him for the long journey ahead. It was time to close the portal. The phantom does so. Closes the door permanently and messes with the wiring. Pulls out the components inside and decides to take all the research his parents ever had on their hands. He can only hope that the Fentons kept the life's work a secret and didn't pass it on to someone else...
The last thing Danny wanted to do. Go to the crime scene and take something that shouldn't belong to anyone. From the samples of the green liquid, the boy only got small shards of the core that had lost any power and would never come together again. As well as a small piece of the jumpsuit. By now, it may have been too late to give peace, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve it. Certainly not here. No. Phantom wasn't going to bury her in a place that had brought her so much pain and suffering. He'll take her parts with him and find a decent place to lay her to rest. After all, Dani was a traveler. He will send her on her final journey to another city, away from the cursed house that has taken a second life already.
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Danny stood not far from the Wayne's private jet and their family, who were talking furiously to each other about something. He had a small amount of luggage packed, with his sister and friends standing beside him, eager to see him off and wish him a happy journey. Jazz hugged her brother goodbye:
- I'll call you every day. Or a week! I want to know that you are perfectly safe, little brother. Is that clear to you? -
Danny only grinned and carefully climbed out of his sister's embrace:
"Clear as day. I'll try to write you every day."
His friends also put in a few words of their own. Tucker was the first to volunteer:
"Amity will be hard to contact, but we'll do our best to get to you, man. We'll also keep you posted if we notice anything weird on the radar."
Sam nodded at his words, and afterward threw some sort of bag at Danny. The boy caught it in time, but there was a look of bewilderment in his eyes. He unzipped it and saw a few costumes in there that they hadn't had a chance to try out yet. The goth girl immediately decided to explain:
"Don't think you'll get away from our scheme so easily. If you think you can wear Gotham Feathered Boys costumes exclusively, you're sorely mistaken. I look forward to seeing videos or pictures of you in these costumes."
Danny laughed, but nodded:
"I'll do my best, Sam."
Jazz frowned and put her hands to her sides, giving him a disgruntled look:
"You don't think it's a good idea to wander around Gotham in vigilante cosplay?"
The three teens only looked at each other and laughed. Danny objected:
"It's not the craziest thing we've ever done, is it?"
Sam added:
"Definitely not."
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Soon they had to say goodbye when Danny had to get on the plane with the others. The boy thought he was going to sit next to the younger Waynes, but in fact he was seated next to Bruce, which made him feel awkward. Anyway, the older man coughed and decided to hold a conversation with his new ward, incorporating an image similar to a concerned parent than a public Brucie or Batman:
"I apologize for such a sudden change. But the boys have been pushing hard to get you away from the city. How are you feeling?"
Danny was a little surprised to be worried about him. After all, he was the one who'd made these people uncomfortable and included them in his family proceedings:
"To be honest, I'm a little disbelieving and concerned. The parents. are still out there, but I'm scared to see them. I'm also worried about leaving everything behind. It's like I chickened out of responsibility and dumped it on others. I've dragged you into it."
The older Wayne put his large palm on the teenager's shoulder (at this point he thought a kid his age shouldn't be so small) in a comforting gesture. The boy didn't flinch, on the contrary, he relaxed under the gesture. Jack's hands, his father's, were just as large, if not larger, but the last time he had touched Danny, the boy had felt danger from this man and his instincts screamed for him to run as far away as possible.
"I know this is hard. But it's not your fault what happened. You dealt with things that adults should deal with and put yourself in danger every day. The fact that your parents didn't see it just proves that you did the right thing."
Bruce thought for a moment before continuing:
"By the way, Danny, I have a question that really concerns me. As far as I know, after dealing with your parents, it appears that they have a trusted adult to whom custody could be given. The Fentons attempted to contact him, however my attorneys prevented them from doing so. To be honest, we did a little...investigation. Vladimir Masters. Am I to understand that this man is the last person you'd choose to contact?"
The boy in front of him immediately turned pale and seemed to want to vanish into thin air right now. Bruce was damn right he'd hit the bull's-eye. He really had. If Danny had such major ties to this man and could have gone to him at any time, there was an obvious reason why the kid didn't: something was wrong with this man.
Danny tugged gently on Bruce's sleeve, as if he wanted to whisper something to him. As if he was afraid of being overheard by someone else. Bruce played along and leaned closer to listen to the child's quiet voice:
"Vlad is our named godfather. He's...not a good man. Let's just say that if I was completely out of options, maybe I'd go to him. But that's like making a deal with the devil. He's not a man to be messed with, and it's not even about his dirty money. If one day he contacts you to talk, please, please, please tell me before you meet with him. Better yet, find any reason to turn him down and avoid him like the plague."
Bruce kept a serious but stoic expression on his face, but inwardly he was wrenching. He had been right in his assumption, and he was glad he had decided to be reassured. The man would probably now find out what had happened to the Fentons. But now they would have time to take security measures and ward off Masters if he wanted to step in. Jazmine would be invisibly monitored, the girl would be looked after and checked on, and Danny would be safe around them. Something about this whole story was strange. Come to think of it, everything in this town in general was strange. There was a lot of work to be done, but the first thing was to make sure Danny was comfortable after the stress he'd been through.
Bruce decided to change the subject to distract the kid from his bad thoughts:
"We'll be arriving in Gotham soon. I want to warn you that we are often busy with work at the mansion and, probably, for the first time you will see only Alfred and my youngest son, Damian. By the way, Alfred is our butler, will insist on it, but really he is a full member of our family. If anything bothers you, feel free to talk to him about it."
Danny nodded, thinking it over, and then decided to elaborate:
"I'm still enrolled at my school in Amity, right? I'll be homeschooled for now, but I'll need to go to school and...what will that look like?"
The man answered immediately:
"If everything goes smoothly, we'll put you in Gotham Academy. My youngest son is studying there now, so it will be a little easier for you. Damian is younger than you, but he'll be able to look after you and help you adjust."
The boy in front of him cringed a little at those words. What was wrong with that? That someone younger would be watching him or that there was something wrong with the Academy? Perhaps it would be hard for a child to get used to an elite institution that followed many rules. Or was there something else he was worried about?
"Danny? Is everything okay?"
The boy thought for a moment, then exhaled heavily and shook his head:
"No, I'm fine. I'm just worried about hurting your family's reputation or something. Let's just say I'm not the best student, and I've also always been at the bottom of the social ladder. I don't want your kid to get in trouble because of me. I'm used to bullies and shoving in lockers and stuff, but I wouldn't want anyone else to go through that because of me."
Oh. So that's what was bothering him. Bruce couldn't help but feel his heart clench at those words. He was definitely both proud and worried about the kid at the same time. (He was abused by his peers and no one tried to fix it, did they?)
"Don't worry about little things like that. On the contrary, if something suddenly happens and someone tries to hurt you, make sure you speak up. We'll deal with it together if something happens. Okay?"
The boy blinks shockedly a couple times before quietly answering:
"Okay"
And after that, the flight passed in relative peace and quiet. Only a few of the older of the Wayne children, who had overheard all the dialog, made a little joke about the situation. Jason was the first to chuckle:
"Look at that, an old man learning to express emotion. Is it old age, or is it a temporary blur?"
Dick laughed a little:
"Who knows. But if it's a blur, it's definitely in time."
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The chat room, meanwhile, was in total chaos:
DiscoBall: We're flying home with a new brother!
Supremacy: Expect to hear all the details soon. Damn, it's a shame I won't be able to meet him anytime soon. On the other hand, Cass is already out of her seat and rushing towards the estate. She can't wait :-)
Cassy:
I_Need_Coffee: Stop joking about it or B will adopt it with the ends. He already showed more emotion and affection today than usual. Just a little more and he'll start getting empty nest syndrome.
Blood_Son: Tt. I told my father not to bring anyone with me. He promised he wouldn't.
FuckBatman: I'd like to make a joke too, but the situation is really shit. There's League level creepiness going on here, and a kid whose parents are really nuts was on the verge of keeping the peace. Dickie came out of court white as a ghost. B looked like someone desecrated his parents' grave as he walked out of court.
Barbie: Is it that bad?
DiscoBall: These people claimed our minds were controlled by ghosts, splattered half the people with green slime, and then blew up the judge's gavel with a plasma cannon. I haven't seen that kind of insanity in a long time.
Lantern: That sounds bad. And sounds like a surreal horror movie.
DiscoBall: Anyway. Tim and Babs are going to look into this whole ghost situation and prepare a report for B. Afterward, he'll go to the League with it. The rest of us will be pretty busy too, and the kid will need support right now. Keep an eye on him Oh, and Damian, please don't attack him. Despite his skills, he's still a civilian kid who's been through hell.
Blood_Son: I know what to do without you, Grayson.
Supremacy: Ooooh, on a first name basis...
DiscoBall:
Cassy: Keep an eye out. Copy that! ! !