Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny never saw herself leaving Amity Park. She always thought that between her low grades and responsibilities to the Infinite Realms, she was there to stay. Dreams of going to college sizzled out the lower her grades went as her… extracurriculars took up most of her time. Jazz still tried to convince her to apply to nearby colleges or even colleges closer to Jazz in California. Danny didn’t even want to bother. It was clear that her future was heading in a different direction.

In Danny’s opinion, Jazz always had too much faith in the younger Fenton. It led Danny to feel like she was disappointing her older sister. The ginger never had high expectations, but Danny never felt like she could live up to be a person that Jazz would be proud of.

She’d often joke about winding up homeless on the edge of an island in the Realms with a sign reading ‘Will do tricks for $’. Tucker would laugh and suggest she could take up cleaning the barnacles off Youngblood's ship for some spare cash. Sam would shove at her shoulder and remark how Danny would never survive out in the world alone.

Well, Danny thought, she wasn’t wrong.

She had no choice but to leave Amity Park, and now, she was alone, she had no money, she was cold, she was starving, and she was in so, so much pain.

She had been flying for so long so had lost track of where she was. She could only pray and hope that she was going in the right direction.

Towards answers.

Gravity had finally won the battle, and she fell through the sky. When her body had finally healed just enough for her to regain consciousness, she realized she was in a dumpster covered in her own blood. There was so much blood she couldn’t figure out where any of it was coming from, and she really didn’t want to think about the hole in the center of her chest.

Once Danny was able to heave herself out of the dumpster, she made a mission plan for herself. Something to focus on. 

She’d deal with the trauma of it all later.

First, she would find out where she is. Wait, no, first, she should find something to stop the bleeding. Maybe find some clothes that aren’t torn to shreds? Okay, yeah, that’s first.

Second, she would find out where she is.

Third, maybe find some food and water.

Fourth- Well, she’d see if she made it to step three before she made another plan.

Luckily, Danny’s near-death-dumpster was just a block away from a used clothing store that just so happened to have a donation bin around the back. It was easy enough to sneak over and take what she could get her hands on.

She lucked out with an oversized hoodie and a couple of worn-out t-shirts. One of the shirts would be great for makeshift tourniquets. She also managed to grab a pair of jeans. They were too big, but some rolling at the waist and the ankle would do the trick.

After a bit of tearing and tying, Danny was sure the bleeding would stop. At least, for the time being.

The next order of business was finding out where she was.

She didn’t want to draw attention to herself by asking where she was and having people look at her like she had two heads.

So she did some wandering.

Eventually, she found herself in front of a large building with extravagant pillars and a marble staircase leading to two large doors. Large letters decorated the pediment above the doors, reading ‘GOTHAM CITY LIBRARY’.

Well, it's as good a place as any to find answers.

A drop of water lands right in Danny’s eye.

Then another on top of her head.

And by the time she lifted her head to the sky, it was as if a lake had been dumped on top of her.

Danny wasn’t sure what otherworldly being was laughing at her right now, but she’d like to blast them in the face with an ecto-blast.

The inside of the library was grand, to say the least. High vaulted ceilings with large windows overhead, which showed the heavy rain outside. Large six-globed chandeliers hung from long chains from the support arches that separated the sections of windows. The second floor looked like a maze that Danny would never get out of. Wall sconces were placed between each pillar, helping maintain the warm light. 

The first floor had far fewer bookshelves. In the center of the room were several rectangular tables, some of which had a few people reading books. At the far end were two tables dedicated to public computers.

Bingo.

Danny started to make her way there when a voice stopped her.

“Is there something I can help you find?” 

Danny looked over to her right and met the gaze of a red-headed woman in a wheelchair. If it weren’t for her green eyes, Danny might just think Jazz had a doppelganger. 

Jazz.

Danny tried to swallow the knot in her throat.

“Um, no, uh, I was just wondering if I could use one of the computers. For uh- Homework.” She attempted a smile, but it must have seemed unconvincing because the woman gave her a quizzical look. 

“Homework? The school year hasn’t started yet.”

The knot came right back.

So it was still summer then.

“I’m in summer school?” That had come out more as a question than Danny had intended. She spotted the name tag on the woman’s shirt. Barbara. Librarian.

Not Jazz , Danny reminded herself. 

“Uh-huh. What’s your name, kid? I have to add it to the log for the computer use.”

“Danny.”

Barbara typed something into her laptop on her lap, only pausing briefly to look at Danny with a suspicious eye once over. 

“Right then, right this way, Danny.”

She wheels off in the direction of the computers and Danny sluggishly follows, trying her best to hide her limp. She was hoping that is was only a sprain and that she hadn’t broken her ankle in her unceramonious fall. 

Danny almost missed Barbara’s glance at her left foot. She pretended not to have noticed.

They reach the computers, and Barbara jots something down on a sticky note. “Here is the password. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” She turns to leave, but stops and gives Danny a much softer look. “I mean that.” 

Danny nodded and watched Barbara the librarian roll back up to the front desk. Her heart ached. She misses Jazz.

Danny sniffs and wipes at her eyes. Right, she's got things to do. She sits down in the creaky old chair and looks at the sticky note. 

GCPL06!

Danny punches in the password, then looks at the computer’s time and date. Then all the remaining color in her face fades.

[5:37 PM, August 13, 2016]

Last Danny remembered before… before she was taken was that it was two days after school had ended for the year which was…

Two months ago.

Danny suddenly felt sick. She swallowed down bile, then opened the search engine. The cursor hangs over the search box as her mind races with nothingness. Theres so much she needs to know. Before her summer from hell had begun, she had found something that had flipped her whole world off kilter. 

A file in her parents’ lab.

Her file. Except, it wasn’t hers. It was under a different name but in it was everything about Danielle Jane Fenton.

Danielle Jane Fenton, who was adopted under a fake name.

Danielle Jane Fenton who was raised thinking her parents were hers. Who grew up thinking she had a big sister.

Danielle Jane Fenton was born in Gotham, New Jersey, on October 31st, 1999.

Danielle Jane Fenton, who was lied to.

There wasn’t much that Danny could read on the oldest papers in the file. Just small bits of information that painted a picture. She had done a mental catalogue of what she did know.

1. Whoever had made the file had gone to great lengths to make sure that none of the information could be helpful.
2. There was a birth certificate. The date and place of birth and the first and middle names of the mother and child were all that could be seen. The child: Elizabeth Marie, and the mother: Eliana Jordan. Born in Gotham, New Jersey on October 31, 1999, at 2:23 AM. The father’s name was completely blacked out.
3. There was a death certificate for the child. Elizabeth Marie (Last name blacked out) died at 6:16 AM on October 31, 1999. Only alive for 3 hours and 53 minutes. Cause of death: Heart failure as a result of a congenital heart defect.
4. This child was Danny. 

Danny had no idea how to deal with her reality. She had no idea how she was born to one family, died, and then ended up with the Fentons. But it was all there. 

She didn’t realize she was crying until she sniffled.

Danny shook her head and typed in her birthday.

A few articles came up.

‘STORM OF THE CENTURY: Power Outages Surge Across Gotham’

‘BATMAN AND ROBIN: Dynamic Duo Put Two-Face behind Bars’

‘GORDON RECOVERY: Commissioner’s Daughter Seen in Public for First Time Since Joker Attack’

‘WAYNE FUNDRAISING GALA: Date Finally Set! Guide on How to Donate’

There were even a few things about recent happens with the Justice League. But nothing seemed to connect to Danny. She wasn’t sure what she was hoping for. The death of a single child wasn’t going to show up in the news. She tried searching her birth name. The top result?

‘Common Names for Girls and Boys’

Nada.

She searches for her birth mother’s name. The top result is someone’s LinkedIn page from the UK.

So, Danny decided to take a different route. Get to know her surroundings. She knew that Batman was the local hero so she started there. A few sources were speculating his identity while some opposed that he had an identity at all, believing him to be an ancient bat god of vengeance. Some sources stated that Batman hated metahumans and for anyone of the like to steer clear of Gotham, else they would be chased out.

Danny wasn’t sure if she fell under the metahuman umbrella, but she supposed she was close. She’d keep that in mind while in the city.

She learned that he had several sidekicks. An ongoing debate on Twitter almost made her chuckle.

@Dickiebird Nightwing is absolutely not a sidekick. He’s an equal. And a million times more handsome than Batman thankyouverymuch

@PurplePeopleEater Bruh you can’t even see half of Batman’s face 👁️👄👁️

@NotaZombie Need I remind everyone that Nightwing fell on his ass AND THEN his face last week?

@DickieBird Ok, in his defense the ground was covered in ice

@TiredandTrying Do you guys smell that? Smells like excuses to me

@PurplePeopleEater Yup, definitely smells like scuses to me

@TinyStabbyNinja I agree with @TiredandTrying I smell excuses

@TinyStabbyNinja Who changed my username? I demand it be changed back this instant.

@BabstheBoss I vote Spoiler and Black Bat as the best

@deadlydancer Ditto

@DickieBird Well, at least we can agree on one thing… Batman sucks

@TiredandTrying Batman sucks

@NotaZombie Batman sucks!!

@deadlydancer Batman sucks

@TinyStabbyNinja This is a statement I can agree with.

@TheDukeOfGotham Batman sucks

And then several others agreed. Danny stopped scrolling on the thread when one active member on the thread started talking about Nightwing’s ass. She really didn’t want to read about that.

A recent article went over how Red Robin had interrupted a supplies drop for Scarecrow and said villain, and the supplies had managed to get away before he could stop them. It seemed to be a big concern, and a lot of people were worried about an attack. Under the article was a procedure form for large-scale attacks, reminding people how to make sure gas masks are secured properly, where shelters are, what to avoid, etc.

She read about the rivalry between Red Hood and Batman, theories on how Joker had escaped Arkham two months ago, and then about how people were feeling safe with the Justice League watching out for them.

It all gave her a headache.

A growl interrupted Danny’s doom scroll on another Twitter thread. This one was about who was the worst Gotham villain. The consensus was Condiment King, and Killer Croc won in the category of most terrifying. 

She looked down at her stomach with pursed lips. Food. When was the last time she had any?

Maybe that should be her next order of business. Danny looked up soup kitchens and found one in the East End of the city. It was about a 30-minute walk.

Thunder rumbled overhead. 

Make that 40 minutes.

Danny heaved a sigh and stood up. She tested out her bad ankle and cringed when it resisted with pain. Less than likely a sprain now. The front of her fleshly stolen sweatshirt was suddenly feeling wet. Danny reached up to touch it and blanched. Blood. She needed to get out of here.

As Danny passed Barbara the Librarian, she pulled her hood over her head, wanting to feel a lot less visible. 

The rain outside hadn’t gotten any less heavy, but she had no choice; she couldn’t stay here. So, off she went. Hopefully, the soup kitchen would still be open when she got there

Once the doors to the library had closed after Danny, Barbara pulled her phone up to her ear. “Hey Dick, you’re working the kitchen tonight, right? Great, I need you to do me a favor.”

Chapter Text

Gotham didn’t pass the vibe check.

Danny knew that everywhere on the planet, there were traces of ectoplasm. Amity Park was known to be up to its ears with the pure stuff , as Danny liked to call it.

Because Amity was connected to the Fenton Portal, there was a consistent ooze of pure, thick ectoplasm filling the air, the ground, and even the water. It made the perfect environment for regular visits from ghosts from the Infinite Realms. While it wasn’t toxic to humans, it certainly affected the locals, especially their food. 

Danny still gets flashbacks from when her lunch tried to eat her.

But with the portal gone now, Amity was back to normal.

Danny hoped that it was, anyway.

Gotham, on the other hand, was polluted, and not just from your run of the mill human inflicted pollution, but from the dirty ectoplasm that filled the air. 

Danny couldn’t help but cringe when she took a deep breath, and the horrible feeling filled her lungs. 

Maybe not breathing for a while would be for the best.

And then there were the shades. 

Amity didn’t have shades, only core ghosts. And blob ghosts, of course, but those were just the bottom feeders of the ghost food chain. They were everywhere.

Gotham seemed to only have shades. Lots of them, too. Everywhere Danny looked, there they were. Some were clearer than others, some only visible as shadows passing in the corner of Danny’s eye.

But they all had one thing in common.

They were starving.

And to them, Danny was the five-star, full-course meal they’d been craving.

Danny was a pure-core ghost, and they sought her out like a shark hunted for its prey. She had what they lacked. What they wanted.

Hands grabbed and pulled as Danny trudged through Gotham’s dark streets. Silent wails to all but Danny begged and pleaded for more. More. More! MORE!

She cried quietly as they followed her. She felt their hunger. Their grief. 

Emptiness.

It left her feeling hollow and so incredibly weak.

They fed off of her. Not only her ectoplasm, but her misery. It felt like mockery as they poked and prodded. She felt them laugh as they found the part of her that was full of fear from her own parents. The part of that knew she could never go back home. They found the sliver of hope that had formed within her and stomped it out. 

She wanted them to leave her alone. 

To go away.

So, with what little strength she had left, she spoke.

Begged.  

“L̷͖̫͗̑̓̓͜ͅe̸͚̪̺͎̅a̸̡̘͚̞̰̺̍v̸̯͕̱̺͇̍͊̓̍͗e̷̯͂̃͆̐͘ ̴̩̘͔͝m̴̡͎͚̣͍̓͐̽é̶̝̫̱͎̐͠ ̵̼̩̼͗͘a̵̛̖̤̯̤l̵̪̪̾͘o̸̡̠͉͆̊͘̚ň̶̨͓͓̠̰̅̕ė̷̥̜̜͎.”

And they did. They shrank away in fear because Danny scared them.

“Monster.” They hissed.

They were right. Danny was a monster.

This hell she was half-living in was her punishment for what she was.

For what she had done.

Danny hadn’t realized how long she had been walking until she all but body slammed a light post with her face. She rubbed at her forehead and looked up, frowning at the utter rudeness.

How dare that light post be there.

She looked around, glancing at the lingering shades as she took in her surroundings. To her right was a two-story building with a small parking lot next to it. It was gated off, but there was a section of the gate that had been clipped and pulled back to allow someone to slip in.

Above the entrance was a sign. 

‘St. Lawrence’s Shelter’

It was the soup kitchen Danny had looked up! She did make it! Now she could eat and-

Danny’s entire form deflated.

‘CLOSED’

Danny supposed it was never too soon to give up. She could just lie down on the pavement and call it quits. The shades could take what little she had left in her core, and the vultures could take the rest.

She wanted to be 13 again. Maybe if she could go back, she could ruin her life differently. 

Maybe she could convince Clockwork. She's not sure what an immortally undead Ancient of Time could possibly want, but maybe he’d take chocolates as a bribe.

“Hey, Clocky, here's a box of chocolates! Can I back and un-fuck my life, please?” She’d say.

Danny didn’t know if the know-it-all was able to hear her thoughts, but she doubted that even if he could, it wouldn’t do her much good. She knew he was watching. He was always watching.

Danny stuck up a middle finger to the sky with meaning. Instead of satisfaction, all Danny felt was the sting of Clockwork’s knowing smile.

Damn him.

“That's not very nice! You never know, Superman might be flying overhead. Wouldn’t want to give him the bird, would you?”

Danny knew they had been there. Passively anyway.

She put her hand down and tilted her head over her shoulder to see a man standing behind her. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and a cool smile on his face.

“Yeah, well, Superman sucks. Martian Manhunter all the way.” Danny said as she turned to him.

The man hissed through a cringe. “Oof, careful he might hear you. That could hurt his feelings.”

Danny gave him a dull look. 

“Maybe Superman should work on strengthening his fragile feelings, then.”

He was tall. Well, taller than her anyway. Maybe a few inches shy of being 6 feet tall, and his black hair was on the longer side, reaching a bit past his ears. His eyes reminded Danny of something, but she couldn’t quite place it. She recognized that blue.

Looking further, past his eyes and into the glow around him. There were undertones of yellow, orange, and a bit of green, but at the center, it was all blue. Danny was new to seeing souls like this, but this one was familiar. It connected to her own in a way.

Loyalty.

Protection.

The familial connection drew her in, like this soul was important to her somehow. She almost took a step forward when she snapped back, shaking her head, and the colors disappeared. Danny must have been staring for a long time because she realized he was giving her an odd look.

A haunted look. 

“Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. You just look familiar.” She said, rubbing her arm.

The man blinked out of whatever thought spiral he was in and gave her a sheepish smile. 

“It’s alright. You look a bit familiar too.” 

He cleared his throat and stuck his hand out. “My name is Dick Grayson.”

Danny didn’t move an inch; instead just stared at his hand.

He put his hand down.

“I volunteer at the soup kitchen. There are usually a few people who can’t make it in time, so I stick around.” 

Dick walks over to the stairs to the entrance and sits down, pulling out two soup thermoses out of the backpack and hods one out for Danny.

“Looks like no one else is coming, and I’m starving! Care to join me?”

Danny can’t help the suspicious glare she gives, but the man– Dick– Doesn’t seem to notice; or care.

“No worries if not. I’ve got plenty, and I don’t know if all of this would last until I get to Blüdhaven. Even at this hour, the bridge is a nightmare to get across with traffic!”

Danny watches as he puts the two soup thermoses out and sets them on the step next to him, then he pulls two to-go boxes out and a smaller paper bowl along with it.

Dick opens one of the bigger boxes and the smell nearly knocks Danny off her feet. She bites her lip as her stomach begins to beg. Dick also pulls some forks out and begins digging into the enchilada and brown rice.

The next box he opens makes Danny want to cry.

“Is-is that–?”

“Birria? Oh yeah. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat it, though. Between the soup and the enchiladas, it might go to waste.”

He looks at Danny with a small smile. “Unless you’d be willing to eat it for me? I’d hate to have it go to waste.”

Danny narrows her eyes at him and points an accusatory finger his way.

“That's cold, hard manipulation.”

He only shrugs and holds the paper bowl out to her. 

“You can call it that, or you can just enjoy the food.”

Danny gave in and sat down. You can blame her lack of will on the lack of… well, anything within her.

And so, the two of them sat in silence on the stairs of the soup kitchen, just eating their food. Danny felt bad for eating so much, but Dick insisted saying he wasn’t hungry anymore. She couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. She was too hungry to care.

Dick pulled a few napkins out of his backpack and she took one, wiping her hands and mouth. Then, she paused and looked at the empty food containers, and then at Dick.

“This wasn’t all from the soup kitchen, was it?”

He shrugs and leans back on his elbows on the next step. “No, but I had a lot of food and not enough stomach space to enjoy it all.”

Danny pursed her lips and looked at the soup thermos in her hands. It was almost ironic. Eating soup from a soup thermos. She was used to souping other ghosts with one, not eating soup from one.

“Did you get it at a restaurant? I can try to pay you–”

“Don’t worry about it. My brother made it all for me. I can get more.”

That only made Danny feel worse. She was a food thief. A horrible food thief who stole family food from a stranger.

“Are you new to Gotham–?”

Danny stayed silent for a moment before mumbling her name.

“Danny, that's a great name. Is it a nickname for Danielle?”

Danny scowled.

“Okay, definitely not Danielle. It’s okay, though, I hate it when people call me ‘Richard.’” Danny couldn’t help but smile at his tone when he said his name.

“Ha! A smile! I think that earns me a point in some competition somewhere. Well then, Danny, are you new to Gotham? It's a pretty scary place if you don’t know where it's safe. Do you have family here with you?”

Danny’s smile vanished, and she looked at the ground, thinking that maybe lying there wasn’t a bad idea again.

“That’s okay. Do you at least have a safe place to stay tonight?”

Danny nodded.

Danny was a liar.

“Good, that's good. Let me give you this, though, just in case.”

He pulls a business card out of his pocket and hands it to Danny. She takes it and looks at the information on it.

It was from the Blüdhaven Police Department. The front had information on how to make a report and what number to call, but on the back was a phone number, and under it was a little note saying, ‘You aren’t a bird-en, give me a wing!’

Danny tried to fight to smile that formed. 

“Stupid pun.”

“Ah, yes, but didn’t it… quack you up?” 

Danny looked at Dick and finally broke when she saw his face and the stupid smirk he had.

“What can I say? I’m just winging it, one seed at a time.”

Danny shook her head and tried hard to hide her laughter.

“Oh, come on! Laugh! I’m a real hoot–”

Dick’s phone begins ringing. The woodpecker ringtone. He smiles at Danny as he stands up, and all she can do is shake her head with a smile. He looks at the caller ID and frowns.

“I’m so sorry I have to take this.”

He turns away, and Danny frowns at the sudden shift in his mood.

“B, this is a really bad time. Can this wait?” Danny watches as he tilts his head back in annoyance.

“What? Why now? Don’t you have the Hatter case?” Dick sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, save the lecture for someone who cares. What about– What could be so urgent–” Dick growls and lets out another long sigh, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

Danny stands and slowly begins to back away, fading into invisibility as she goes. 

“Okay, fine. I’ll be right there. Just give me a minute.” Dick ends the call and rubs at the headache that had formed at his hairline.

“Sorry about that, my–” Dick turns around, but finds Danny to be gone. He looks around with a frown. How did he not hear her leave?

He sighs and shoots Barbara a text saying Danny had managed to sneak away, then calls Jason as he begins packing up the food.

“What.”

“Ouch. Not even a friendly hello to your brother?” Dick shoves the boxes and thermoses into the backpack. When he doesn’t get a response, Dick pulls a strained smile.

“Alrighty, then. Well, mister grouchy pants, I was wondering if you could make me more of that wonderful food–”

“The fuck? Did you already eat it all? You fat pig. I just gave it to you.”

“Yes, well, I ended up needing to share it so–”

“With who? You don’t have friends.”

Dick stood straight up, hand over his heart and face agast.

“Not true! I have lots of friends!”

Jason grunted. “None that are in Gotham.”

Dick rolled his eyes and swung the bag over his shouler and began walking back to where he had parked his car. “Okay, fine, you got me there. I was doing a favor for Babs, but now I’m invested. Maybe I could tell you about it at the manor while you make dinner?” 

Dick tried not to sound so hopeful but failed miserably.

“I’m not going there while B–”

“Well, you’re in luck. He just left town to deal with some JL business.”

Dick paused walking and crossed his fingers.

“...Fine. But if he shows up, I’m gone.”

Dick pumped his fist in victory. “Yes! Okay, I’ll call the team. Maybe we can finally do that game night we’ve been talking about.”

Chapter Text

Dick Grayson had what many people called “eldest daughter syndrome.”

Being the oldest in the Batfamily meant he had to pick up the slack where Bruce lacked.

Which… was a lot.

Dick always tried his best to keep everyone in the family happy and safe. He tried to split his time between civilian work, vigilante work, and family time, but he wasn’t always able to be there.

He wasn’t there for Damian’s 4th-grade project presentations because Stephanie had been hurt while trying to take down Kite Man, and he had missed Duke’s poetry night because Tim needed help prepping for a last-minute board meeting for Wayne Enterprises.

He felt like he was failing all of them. He didn’t have enough arms to hold them up and not nearly enough time to be there for all of them. 

Dick had two people who he had failed the most and for that, he could never forgive himself.

His first failure was 17 years ago when he wasn’t there when his other half died, and his second was when Jason was murdered.

Two people who needed him.

Two times he wasn’t there.

Three people dead.

The guilt was suffocating at times. It came in horrible waves that wanted to sweep him off his feet. He wanted to let the guilt win, but the thought of even giving in for a moment instead of being there for his family when they needed him… He wouldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let that happen.

Dick knew that Bruce wanted to do better, to be better but actions spoke louder than words and Bruce didn’t talk about anything feelings related. Everyone had grown used to Bruce being distant and unreliable, even Dick. 

If there was one thing you could rely on in the family, it was that you couldn’t rely on Bruce. 

Not for things that really mattered, anyway.

It was a rare evening when everyone in the family (minus Bruce) would be under one roof and not in the cave discussing Bat stuff or training.

So, when Dick saw an opportunity, he took it.

Dick stood back with a smile as he looked at his handiwork. The pillows and blankets were in the perfect position for all his siblings for game night. All the controllers were charged and ready, and the popcorn had only been burned just a little.

He was sure it was still edible.

Sort of.

It would be fine.

Dick frowned.

Right?

“Where is everyone?”

Dick turned to look at Jason. He must have snuck in.

He checks his watch and purses his lips.

“They should be here soon. I said 9:30.”

It was 10:13. Dick sighed, looking utterly defeated.

“I was hoping that baiting them with food would work.”

Dick sat on the couch, head thrown back. Jason lingered in the doorway for a moment, then joined him, staring at the ceiling.

“Tim is in the manor somewhere. Bruce has him on house arrest for not sleeping. Damian… I think he’s still mad that B left without him, so he’s in his room brooding. Everyone else…” Dick shrugged in defeat.

He hated how things were so tense all the time in the family. Even with Bruce gone, it was hard to have the dark cloud he left behind feel a bit brighter. Dick knew he was partly to blame for it too. Not being there all the time is enough to cause some underlying tension. If he could just… split himself, then maybe he could be everywhere he needed to be all at once.

“Stop blaming yourself.”

Dick looked at his little brother who had his eyes directed away from him.

“I’m not-”

“You get this pouty puppy look on your face. It’s obvious and pathetic.” Jason stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket. “‘S not your fault.” He mumbled.

Dick’s jaw twitched as he closed his eyes. He tried hard to believe it.

“Something else happened.” It wasn’t a question. Jason knew. Dick sometimes forgot how observant he was.

Dick leaned forward on the couch, pinching his left thumb. A calming habit he’d formed.

“...Nothing happened, so to speak. I just-” He sighed.

“I saw her face today.”

Jason looked at Dick with creased brows. “You saw her or–”

Dick shook his head. “No, I– I saw someone that looked like her. That kid Babs had me help.” Dick’s face contorted with grief and confusion.

“She just looked so much like her. It was like going back in time.”

The silence was heavy for a moment. Talking about her , about them , was a hard subject for both of them. It still stung, and every year around this time, it only got harder. It was only just the beginning of fall. Summer was still in gear, but you could feel the change in the air. Dick couldn’t enjoy the beauty of fall anymore because of what it used to mean to him. 

What it meant to her. 

Going for walks under the trees of changing leaves only left him feeling broken and empty now. The chill in the air felt cruel. The rain reminded him of the worst night of his life. The smell of pumpkins made him sick. And every Halloween, he’d lock himself away. 

He always felt hollow.

Like a part of him was missing.

“Tell me about the kid.”

Dick looked at Jason who was quick hide his own heavy guilt ridden expression. It only made him feel worse, knowing Jason felt the same.

“Babs said she came into the library looking like she’d been hit by a car. She was bruised, clearly bleeding, and possibly had a broken ankle. Based on her search history, Babs said she’d be heading to the soup kitchen, so I stuck around to see if she’d show up. And sure enough.” 

Dick chuckled. “I walked up to her and she was sticking the bird to the sky. My guess would be at the universe, but she definitely gave Clark a bruised ego. Said he needed to work on his ‘fragile feelings.’”

Jason laughed. “I like her already.”

Dick nodded but his smile quickly faded. “Talking to her, seeing her face… It was like someone put a hot poker to my chest. I was going to try to get her to a shelter and some medical attention, then B interrupted.”

Jason snorts. “That bastard has impeccable timing.”

Dick nodded. 

“When I turned back around, she was gone. Just… poof.” He sighs.

“This was at the soup kitchen near the Eastward Bridge, right?”

Dick hummed, nodding.

“It’s not my usual haunt, but I’ll keep my eye out.”

Dick smiles and ruffles Jason’s hair. “Thanks, Little Wing. I can always count on you.”

Jason smacks his hand away and tries to fix his hair. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, do you want food or not? I’m staying here forever.”

Dick jumps to his feet. “To the kitchen we go!” He parades out of the room, and Jason rolls his eyes fondly, but he stands and moves to follow.

“You're not helping this time. Last time Alfred was fuming, I let you near the stove. And we’re watching Pride and Prejudice while we eat!”

Danny was back at her near-death-dumpster.

The alley it was in wasn’t so bad. If you looked past the black mold in one corner and the horrid smell emanating from it, it was rather homey with a bit of imagination (and maybe a bit of delusion).

You couldn’t really blame her. She was trying to make something good out of something absolutely horrible. 

And right now, everything was horrible.

The food that Dick had given her boosted the healing process and gave her enough energy to use her invisibility to slip away. She did a full assessment of her injuries and concluded that A. She was fucked and B. she looked and felt like absolute shit.

If she wasn’t already dead (or half dead- Full dead? She still doesn’t know), then the extent of her injuries would have done her in.

Unfortunately, she had been correct; her ankle was broken. She was no yeti doctor, but she had a feeling that the way her ankle stuck out at an angle was not normal. One of Danny’s many stupid ideas was to reset it herself. It ended up with her biting her tongue with her sharper-than-normal teeth. Danny whined as the pain shot through her. 

Damn teeth. Since the pointy new ones came in, she has been constantly biting her cheeks and tongue.

Just one more injury to add to the list.

The cuts and bruises on her arms, legs, and torso were slowly working towards healing, but as she took stock of each one, she’d add a layer of frost to help speed up the process. The cut along her spine was the hardest to get to, but she managed somehow.

The worst of it all was the massive open wound in the center of her chest. She didn’t want to look at it. She knew it was horrible, but it needed to be treated. Bile was in her throat as she carefully used her ice to seal it up. It was a messy fix. Danny was never good at giving herself stitches. All her self-patch-up scars were gnarly, but they did the job.

This one, though, she had a feeling would be red and angry for a long time. 

They tried to take her core, after all. 

That will take more than just time to heal. Not all scars are physical, and this one was going to stay with her for a very, very long time.

Once all the open wounds were covered, Danny finally allowed herself to relax in the only semi-clean corner of the alleyway. She formed an ice brick and pressed it to the side of her face that hurt the worst.

If rock bottom had a basement, then she was definitely in hell right now.

Danny wondered what Jazz was up to.

Her junior year of college should start soon, but she might already be well into her first semester now. Danny remembered she was talking about studying over the summer.

Did she wonder about Danny?

What did Sam and Tucker think happened to her?

Were they looking for her?

Danny thought about the file she found and all the lies in it. Was it all fake? Why did they lie to her? If it was all true, then who was her real family? Were they looking for her? Was she missed?

All she had were questions, but Danny couldn’t answer any of them tonight. 

Maybe Nocturne would be merciful and allow her dreamless sleep.

But sleep wasn’t in Danny’s itinerary.

She heard a shout, so she opened her eyes, and just in time to see Red Robin jump from one rooftop to the next, miss, bounce off the bricks, and fall right into her dumpster with a heavy thump.

Danny blinked once.

Then twice.

Then sighed.

“Ow.” Red Robin wheezed

“Hey loser! Get your own dumpster to bleed in! This one’s mine!”

Chapter Text

Tim knew he was going to be in so much trouble. 

Bruce had left Gotham a few hours ago for League business. Something about Constantine needing to report something about something or another. Tim didn’t really care to pay attention to what Bruce had said.

Before he had left, he had set a few simple rules. 

Stay out of the kitchen. 

Do not so much as look at the Batmobile (Tim knew that one was pointed at him).

Don’t leave Damian unsupervised.

And the last rule, which Tim, at the time, had thought ridiculous and unnecessary.

Do not let Tim patrol until he sleeps.

Five hours ago, Tim thought he was more than fine to patrol. His head was on straight, and he could mostly keep his vision focused— if he tried hard enough.

Four hours ago, Tim had caught wind that Scarecrow had been spotted by the docks.

And four hours ago, when Tim was supposed to be sleeping or joining family night, he snuck out of the cave, comm off and all. 

Three and a half hours ago, Tim found the warehouse where Scarecrow was spotted. For the next three hours, Tim waited. And watched. And only occasionally nodded off.

Finally, Scarecrow showed up in a boat, along with several armed goons and nearly two dozen barrels full of unknown substances of unknown origin.

Twenty minutes ago, Tim messed up.

He, in his no sleep for four days mind, had decided to ambush them. Alone. With no backup. And no comm. With no one knowing where he was. Or how stupid he was.

(They definitely knew)

Obviously, that had gone over so well.

Tim heard Michael Scott in his head saying something about turntables as Scarecrow’s goons started shooting at him. As he fled the scene with two goons on his tail, he saw several box trucks take off in different directions with the barrels in their loads.

One more shit storm to add the list.

The chase continued until Tim tried to jump from one rooftop to another, but his timing was off, which resulted in him needing to grab onto the ledge. But he, in fact, did not grab the ledge. He bounced off the brick side of the building and fell.

Right into a dumpster.

The awful wheeze that escaped his mouth as he felt the pain in his ribs sounded like something otherworldly.

“Ow.” He managed, though his ribs screamed as he did so.

Maybe if he lay here, he could die and his ghost would be safe from Bruce’s wrath. 

He doubted it.

He’d be lucky if all Bruce did was bench him from patrol. 

“Hey loser! Get your own dumpster to bleed in! This one’s mine!”

Tim peeled his eyes open to see someone staring at him from the edge of the dumpster.

“Dick?”

The person who looked strangely like Dick scoffed. He could practically hear the hands on the hips.

“Rude. We only just met. At least give me a day before you start throwing names around.”

Tim blinked. And blinked again.

His head hurt. He’ll blame the blood loss.

“Huh?”

He sat up and shifted to look at not-Dick. 

Okay, yeah, definitely not Dick. A girl. Who strangely looks a lot like his brother.

She tilts her head at him. “You’re one of those wannabe furries. The red one. The less murdery red one.”

Tim narrowed his eyes.

“Rude right back at you. I’m way more than less than murdery.”

The girl nodded, seemingly unconvinced. “Sure thing, dude, whatever makes you sleep better at night.”

Tim wasn’t sleeping. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was his ego that was the source of his insomnia.

She looks up at the roof he had fallen from, then back down at him. “I have to say, I’m impressed. I had no idea a human could bounce like that. You should put that on your resume.”

Tim groaned as he reached up to his shoulder and pulled it back to see it covered in blood. 

“Do vigilantes even have resumes? Is there like a forum you guys go to see your skills? Or lack thereof? I’d say rooftop jumping is definitely one of your weaknesses. Human sized cornhole with dumpsters though— that’s definitely one of your strengths— I— Are you writing this down? You know what, never mind. I’ll handle your resume for you. Would you prefer a hard copy or email?”

There was shouting in the distance. Tim tensed, and the girl lazily looked over to the entrance to the alleyway.

“I think I heard something over here!”

The girl looked back down at Tim. “It sounds like your friends are looking for you.”

Tim pressed onto his shoulder. 

“If you consider friends crazy people with guns and intent to kill, then yeah, they’re my friends.”

“That's just pathetic, my guy.”

The shouting was getting closer.

Tim looked at her.

“You should probably hide.”

“And you should get some better friends, but I’m not here to judge. Besides, I’m not getting in there. I have some dignity remaining.”

Tim’s flabbers were gasted.

“I thought you said this was your dumpster to bleed in!”

The girl pursed her lips. “Did I? Or are you just delusional? Like I said, the one with dignity in this situationship.”

Tim was almost tempted to look around for cameras. This couldn’t be real, could it?

“Situation— what?” Tim shook his head in complete shock. “This isn’t a situationship.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Mm, well, we’re in a situation, this is between us, so—“ she twirled her hand. “Situationship.”

“Hey, you! You seen a weirdo in a suit run through here?”

Tim swore. “Don’t tell them I’m here.”

The girl turned to face the two guys with guns and pursed her lips, tapping her chin. “Depends. You got any cash?”

Tim’s jaw dropped. She was going to sell him out for a couple of bucks?

One of the guys grumbled, then handed her two bills. She glanced at Tim.

“Yeah, I’ve seen him.”

Tim flushed with dread.

“He ran off that way.” She pointed out to the street. “Looked absolutely ragged.”

The two guys took off, firing their guns into the air every few feet. 

“What a waste of ammunition and brain cells.” The girl says, shaking her head.

Tim struggled to get to his feet and was met by the girl staring at him. Her deep blue eyes bore into him, no, through him, as if she was looking into his soul. It was unsettling. He was towering over her because of all the trash under him, but if they were both on the ground, he’d guess they were about the same height.

“Some dignity you’ve got, taking money from crooks.”

The girl glared at him, then poked him in the side where his bad ribs were.

“Agh! What the hell!”

She crossed her arms and smirked. “Now we’re even.”

Tim shook his head in disbelief. “Even?! For what?!”

“You called me a dick.”

“That’s not— I didn’t—“ Tim took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, hoping to find his patience.

It must be on vacation.

“Just help me out of here.”

She leaned back on her heels and stuffed the crook cash in her back pocket. “Maybe. If you ask nicely.”

Another deep breath. “Please?”

She pursed her lips, as if it took great thought to decide. “I suppose.”

She took a step closer to the dumpster, and Tim sat on the edge. She smirked at him as she opened her arms. “Come on down, princess. Your Prince Charming awaits.”

Tim grumbled as he all but fell into her arms, which resulted in her holding him bridal style.

She looked at him and grinned. “See? Situationship.”

Tim was not impressed. “Just put me down.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

He sighed. “Please.”

She set him onto his feet, then stepped back, taking in his beaten and bleeding appearance.

“You look like shit.”

Tim unclipped his bo staff from his utility belt and pressed the button to extend it. Per usual, it gave some resistance, but eventually it extended to its full length. He leaned into it for support and gave her a once-over. She wore an oversized hoodie and jeans that were way too big for her. And her face, beyond looking like Dick’s clone, was covered in bruises and cuts. Black hair rested on her shoulder, which was tangled and looked messily cut underneath. She looked like she’d been hit by a truck and tossed into a blender.

“Sounds like projection to me.” He muttered.

The girl stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket. She licked her lip where it was badly split.

“‘Least I’m not actively bleeding from a gunshot wound.”

“How do you know I was shot?” Tim challenged.

The girl gave him the most dull look that he’d ever seen.

“The hole in your shoulder is kind of a dead giveaway.” 

He nearly missed how her lip twitched when she stressed the word dead. She tilts her head, looking at Tim’s staff.

“Who made that POS? It looks ridiculous.” She cringes. “And barely functions.”

Tim scoffed. “Um, I did. And it looks and works perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

It didn’t, but Tim wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of being right.

Then something clicks.

“Wait, you said you were bleeding.”

“I never said that.”

Tim balked at her. “Don’t gaslight me! You literally told me to get my own dumpster to bleed in! You said that one was yours!” He gestured to the dumpster in question.

She leans against the wall opposite him with a cool smirk. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. I fail to see how it’s any of your business where I do and don’t bleed.”

Tim’s legs were getting weaker, so he carefully slid down to sit on the ground.

“I’m a vigilante. It’s my job to know.”

The girl’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, and? Vigilantism is against the law, ya know.”

Tim didn’t have the brain power to make a retort. Everything was getting blurry, and he felt like he was floating.

“Oh shit, um, you’re actually bleeding bad.”

“No shit sherlock.” He whispered.

The girl, not-Dick, crouched next to him and began to press onto his shoulder, making him groan in pain. 

“Why haven’t you called for backup? Evac? Anything?” 

Tim looked at her with half-lidded eyes. She really did look like Dick. The freckles on her face reminded him of constellations. 

“Stars are nice,” Tim muttered.

The girl hummed. “Mm, yes, they are. Now, where is your comm?”

All Tim could manage was a small shake of the head.

“You don’t have one? What in the stupid– Ugh, never mind. At least tell me where your phone is.”

Tim pats his utility belt. The girl opens one compartment and pulls out his phone, shaking her head.

“Okay, so you forget your comm but remember your civilian phone. Congrats, you’re a certified dumbass.”

She takes his hand and pulls off one glove to use for the fingerprint access. 

“Boom, I’m in. Okay, urm, I don’t want to like, find out your identity, but who do I call?”

Tim went through the list of people in his brain who would most definitely put him in an early grave. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone found out, but there was one person who wouldn’t immediately rat him out.

“Jas–” Tim frowned as his words came out slurred.

The girl scratches her head and presumably looks at his contacts. “Uhh, well, looking under J… There's a Jaybird?”

Tim nods.

“Okay, urm, I’ll just–” She dials him.

It rings once, twice, three times–

“Replacement, this better be important. I’m busy–”

The girl cuts him off. “Uh, sorry, I just was told to call you so–”

“Who is this?”

“Jo Mama. Sorry– Not sorry– Whatever– Anyway, I’ve got your,” She glances at Tim and the blood from his shoulder covering her hand. “Uh, coworker here. I’d appreciate it if you’d come and pick him up. He’s bleeding all over me.”

There is a moment of silence, and Tim worries Jason might hang up.

“Where are you?”

The girl looks around and purses her lips.

“Uh, in an alley.” She looks at the dumpster. “There's a dumpster.”

“So incredibly helpful. Give the phone to Red Robin.”

The girl holds Tim’s phone to his face, muttering about how saving lives doesn’t pay enough to be dealing with sarcastic assholes.

Tim’s breathing is becoming uneven. “The docks. Five miles from the docks.”

She takes back the phone. “That better?” 

“Tell him he owes me. Big time.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Stay there until I find you. I’m seven minutes out.” Then the call ends, and Tim is struggling to hold onto consciousness. She puts the phone in Tim’s lap, then smacks him lightly on the cheek. 

“Oi, stay awake. I’m not about to have one of Batman’s birds die on my watch. He’d like, send me to Arkham or something. Or worse, he’d turn me in.”

Tim tilts his head back to rest it against the wall behind him. “‘S someone after you?” 

Why do his words sound blurry?

“Yeah, the IRS. They want the other kidney.”

Tim coughed out a laugh. “I don’t have a spleen.”

The girl chuckled and glanced over her shoulder. “How’d you lose your spleen?”

“The demon took it.”

“Ugh, demons. Hate ‘em. Met one once. Loved whiskey. Had a thing for crossroads.”

Tim was suddenly feeling very cold. Is this death? Is this the end?

“‘S cold.”

The girl hums. “Yup. You’re welcome, by the way. Should stop the bleeding.”

Huh?

Tim looks at his shoulder and finds it covered in a thick layer of ice.

Glowing ice?

“You’re a meta?” He can’t take his eyes off the ice. It feels… weird. 

“Uh, sure, yeah, let's go with that. Just don’t go and rat me out to Batman, yeah? He hates metas.” She sits on the ground across from him, her forearms propped up on her knees. “How’d you even get shot? Friends don’t usually shoot friends.”

Tim sighed and gave the ice another suspicious look. He wasn’t feeling as lightheaded anymore and wondered if the ice was the source.

“They're not my friends.”

“I’d sure hope not.”

“They’re Scarecrow’s goons. I tried to stop a shipment from the docks, but-” He swallows hard. “Didn’t go as planned.” Tim paused. “Why am I even telling you any of this?”

“The near-death-dumpster reveals all.”

Because, yes, that makes total sense. 

Tim runs through everything that happened in his head. How badly he messed up. How much he was gonna be in trouble. The endless teasing he’d receive. The lectures, especially on protecting his identity, because– 

“Shit, you were on my phone.” Tim clutched it in his hand tightly. 

The girl rolled her eyes. 

“Dude bro, relax. I didn’t like go through it. I just saw names in your contact list. All meaningless to me.” She ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair and cringed as she was met with tangles. Tim swore he saw the ends of what looked like fangs.

She couldn’t see it, but Tim narrowed his eyes behind the mask. 

“How do I know you won’t tell anyone? About any of this.”

She smirked at him and nodded her head to the dumpster. “What happens in the dumpster, stays in the dumpster.”

“That's reassuring.” He grumbles.

The rev of a nearby motorcycle approaches. The girl turned around to check around the corner of the alley. “Oh look, it's the more murdery red one.” 

Tim craned his neck to look out the alley to see Red Hood step off his bike and look around. Then the girl coughed, and Tim watched as a puff of icy breath escaped her lips. She gives Red Hood another glance, then frowns deeply.

“Huh.”

She stands up and glances between Tim and Red Hood. “That's my cue to leave.” 

“I’ll get you your resume eventually! And next time, we’ll talk about finding you some real friends. See ya!”

She slips around the corner, leaving Tim groaning and slamming his head back in defeat, only to wince in pain. He didn’t even know where to begin to describe what just happened, let alone write it all in a report. Tim scoots over to the entrance of the alley, mindful of the glowing ice on his shoulder. He waves down Jason, who begins walking over.

“I thought you were on house arrest.” He says, once standing in front of Tim, then crosses his arms.

“You’re an idiot.” 

Tim sighs in defeat. “I’m aware.”

Jason looks around. “Where's the kid who called me?” 

Tim nods his head in the direction she left. “She walked off. I’m surprised you didn’t see her.”

Jason glances down the street and shrugs. “No one was here when I got here.”

“She was literally right–”

Tim was cut off by a flash of light.

Jason laughs. “Ha! That’s a keeper!”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too.” Jason pockets his phone, crouches down, then pokes at the ice on his shoulder. It sends an odd shiver down Jason’s spine and leaves a pit in his stomach.

“Mr. Freeze?” 

“No, the girl who was here did this. It stopped the bleeding.” 

Jason grabs Tim’s arm and heaves him to his feet. Tim holds his bad ribs with a scowl.

“What are you even doing out here?”

“Looking for someone.”

“Who?”

Jason smirked. “Jo Mama.”

Tim hung his head. “Not you, too.”

Jason crosses his arms when they reach his bike. “I’m gonna leave the lecturing for B, but let me stress how much of an idiot you are.”

Tim hangs his head and mumbles something about leaving the planet for a few years. Jason chuckles, then throws his arm around Tim, causing the teen to groan in pain. 

“Let’s get your dumbass back to the cave. Oh, also, I called Dick.”

“Traitor!”

Chapter Text

Stephanie had a long night.

Actually, make that a long week.

It all started when her Dad had somehow managed to find where she was staying and sent her a letter. In it were claims of great escape plan and getting revenge against Batman. Oh, and his promises to take her away somewhere Batman couldn’t “poison her mind” and where they could do “father daughter bonding.”

Barf.

She knew that his knowing where she was living was risky, though, so she spent a few days at a nearby safe house. She kept an eye on her apartment from a distance, and every six hours, like clockwork, someone would drop a letter at her door. It was always someone new. Some random kids looking for some easy cash. None of them could exactly tell her who told them to drop the letters. 

It was exhausting dealing with him.

Like, can’t a guy take a hint?

No, Dad, I don’t want “bonding time.” I want you in prison. Where you belong, and where you can’t hurt me anymore.

It wasn’t always like that, though.

She remembers a time when her father was just that.

A father.

He taught her how to play baseball and how to defend herself. She remembered how proud her father had been when she punched Johnny Becker in the face after he called her pigtails dumb.

She remembers when they’d take long drives out in the country. He’d put her in his lap and together they’d drive as fast as they could. It was thrilling and fun and crazy and downright dangerous, but it was with him.

He taught her to love the danger. 

To become dangerous.

He taught her how to shoot a gun, how to hunt, and how to survive in the wild alone.

Even at seven.

He taught her hard lessons.

To never rely on anyone but herself.

To never trust.

She wasn’t surprised when he turned bad, but it didn’t stop it from hurting. There wasn’t a single day she could point to when it all went south, it just became more and more frequent when he’d leave for days at a time. Then, finally, he never came back.

Her mother turned to drinking after he was finally arrested. Stephanie learned quickly to never be home when she took to the bottle. She blamed Stephanie for her father’s imprisonment.

She wasn’t wrong.

Being Spoiler made her feel invulnerable. It brought her back to the one thing she could rely on. 

Danger. 

But it also brought her to something more.

Family.

Bruce was a collector of sorts. He brought in strays, as Stephanie liked to call them. People who needed a place, a purpose. People who had nothing and who found everything in each other. Herself being one of them.

It wasn’t perfect, but nothing was.

So when her father was threatening the very thing she cherished most, she became angry. 

And distant. 

Cass had tried to talk to her, but Stephanie pushed her away. 

The letter deliveries eventually stopped, and once Stephanie felt it was safe to go back to her apartment, she packed her essentials and went straight to the Cave, and found chaos when she got there.

Tim had gotten shot while doing something stupid. No surprise there.

Dick was wearing his depression on his face. Which was never a good thing.

Bruce was quiet. He didn’t even give Tim much of a lecture. Something was definitely going on, something bad. He always got quiet when things were getting bad.

Damian was angry, presumably with Bruce.

Alfred, however, was just as welcoming.

“Miss Stephanie, what a pleasant surprise.” He walks up to her, arms out to offer a hug.

Stephanie melts into his arms. “Alfred. I missed you.” 

He pulls back, holding her by her shoulders, checking her over. Then he sees her bag.

“Am I correct to assume that you’ll be staying in the Manor?”

Stephanie nods and rubs her arm. 

“Yeah. Somehow, my dad found my apartment. I was lying low for a few days, and now here I am.”

Alfred smiles. “Here you are, indeed. I will take your bag to your room for you. It’s exactly as you left it.”

Stephanie mutters a thank you as he walks away. She’s just about to head towards the stairs, but stops as something hits the side of her head.

She looks down at the paper cup that had hit her. And then over at Tim in the medbay, who is giving her a pointed stare.

She scoffs and walks over.

Leaning in the doorway, Stephanie smirks. 

“You look like shit.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “So I’ve been told.”

And he did look like shit. He was shirtless, and almost the entire right side of his body was wrapped up. She could see some dried blood caked on his skin, and his suit was on the table to her right, also coated in blood. 

“What even happened?”

Tim looked away from her, red creeping up his neck. 

“I messed up. But I need your help.”

Stephanie’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I just hear Tim ‘I do everything myself’ Drake-Wayne just ask for help?”

Tim, once again, rolled his eyes. “Yes. Now, can you help or not?”

Stephanie was tempted to report or argue, but when she saw how serious he was, she decided she’d save her attitude for another time. Sitting in the chair by his bed, she nods. Tim sighs in relief.

“B banned me from anything to do with cases, especially this one, so I need your help to solve it.”

Stephanie leans back in the chair, crossing her arms with a smirk.

“What's in it for me? If Bruce finds out I’m helping you, he’ll have both of our heads. I can’t say the same for you, but mine’s lookin’ pretty cute right now.”

She sets her chin on her hand, posing at him with a smile.

Tim rolled his eyes and leaned in, as much as his wounds would let him, and gestured for Stephanie to lean in too. She does so.

“If you do this and help me solve this case… I will give you the 1902 Theodore Goldfinch.”

Stephanie can’t help the gasp that escapes her lips.

“But that's… impossible. The last one was destroyed by my dad years ago.” She shakes her head in disbelief. “How do you even know about that?”

Tim shows her a picture on his phone. Stephanie grabs it, holding it closely to her face.

“That's your proof. Do we have a deal?”

Stephanie stares at the picture of the stuffed bear, analyzing every bit of it. It indeed was the 1902 Theodore Goldfinch bear, right down to the red vest and the brown flat cap. She glances between Tim and the picture, then hands it back to him.

“We have a deal. Send me your report and I’ll start working on it next patrol.” She stands and begins walking out of the room.

“But if you’re lying to me,” She points at him, eyes dark. “I will publicly release the blackmail file I have on you.”

Tim gulps.

Stephanie’s smile is sickly sweet as she skips away.

Once she’s gone, Tim lets out a breath. He’d better get to work on actually finding that teddy bear.

To anyone who would ask, no, Danny was not stalking Red Hood.

She was simply observing while conveniently, coincidentally , going wherever he did.

Without him knowing.

Remember: coincidence.

Danny winced as she watched Red Hood elbow a thug hard on their temple, then spun around and kicked another’s kneecap in. One tried to sneak up behind him with a gun, but Red Hood dodged the bullet with ease and grabbed the gunman’s hand with a loud crunch .

It was almost mesmerizing to watch him fight, if you looked past all the blood and screaming. He knew what he was doing, and he moved like he could see his opponents' attacks before they came. Always four steps ahead.

Danny didn’t have to see how he fought to know he was angry. She could feel it looming over him. Part of her wanted to step in and stop him from beating those people to a pulp, but then she remembered why he was doing it, and then part of her wanted in on the action. It was a bunch of thugs who liked to treat women like punching bags.

Yeah, they definitely deserved to have their kneecaps bashed in with a crowbar.

Danny wasn’t stalking him for the past four hours, she just wanted to know what his deal was, that's all. 

He was like her, at least in some way. He didn’t have a core, just the beginnings of one, like it didn’t have something to form around yet. He had died; that much was obvious. The touch of death is unmistakable, and Danny knew it all too well. 

He wasn’t a ghost, though. Not really… But then again, Danny wasn’t a full ghost herself. They were both in the same liminal space between alive and dead, but he seemed to have more of a foot on the living side of things than her. She could hear his heartbeat, could see him breathing.

Things she struggled to do these days.

It sucked being more dead than alive and it was hard to maintain appearances. Exhausting even.

Red Hood also had the same icky stuff in his ectoplasm that filled the air in Gotham. It's like whatever it was clung to his ectoplasm and fed off it, like the shades wanted to feed off Danny’s ectoplasm.

She wondered if he had a fresh dose of ectoplasm that it would fix how wrong his felt.

 Like a system reset.

But she couldn’t exactly go up to him and ask, because that would be weird. 

And Danny wasn’t doing anything weird.

Or creepy.

Technically, she wasn’t even on the same rooftop as Red Hood.

She was invisible– therefore not there– and she was floating– therefore not on the rooftop.

Again– not stalking .

But the gaslighting must have only been effective to her, because Red Hood suddenly spun around, hand twitching over his holstered gun. He felt her there.

He’d left his helmet with his bike a while back, taking his patrol with his eye mask and half-face mask, and a hood over his head. Danny finally understood where the hood part of his name had come from. The front of his hair was visible, and Danny had noticed the white tuft in the front. 

Danny wasn’t breathing before, but she definitely wasn’t now.

She waited and watched as he scanned the rooftop. 

She was starting to wonder if he’d stay like that all night, waiting for whatever was stalking him (which wasn’t Danny) to show itself, but finally he turned around and leaped from the rooftop and onto the fire escape.

Danny let out the non-existent breath she’d been holding in and finally allowed her feet to touch the ground.

Maybe stalking the local anti-heroes was a bad idea, especially if they are ghost-adjacent.

Ghost-adjacent.

Danny pursed her lips.

Technically, Red Hood did fall under the category of Ecto-Entities, which meant that the GIW could take him if they wanted.

Well… Danny doubted they could. Red Hood was badass and willing to kill. He’d put up a fight if they tried to take him, even with their ecto weapons.

But that brought up another question: Why hadn’t the GIW tried to take him? Danny easily sensed him, and she was sure that the scanners the GIW had would have detected him. So why were they not here? Gotham was up to its ears in ectoplasm, even if it was polluted. 

Well… that could be the reason.

Polluted ectoplasm, while still ectoplasm, could theoretically scramble their scanners. If that were true, then maybe Danny would be safe here even with a strong ecto signature like hers. Maybe she could even become Phantom here.

That wasn’t a risk she wanted to take, especially if it could put Red Hood at risk of being found. She wasn’t going to allow anyone else to get hurt because of her.

Just to be safe, she’d keep an eye on him.

Just check on him from time to time.

A kindness.

Not stalking.

Chapter Text

Bruce Wayne didn’t know how to be a better parent.

It was days like these that he wished he could ask his parents what to do. They would know how to make it better. They’d know what to say.

But they weren’t here, and Bruce had no one he could turn to for advice. He was supposed to be the person his family turned to for advice, and now he seemed to be the reason they were distant.

And now, his children were hurting, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Jason refused to speak to him, let alone be in the same room as him. 

Dick was beginning his anual spiral. It happens every Fall. 

Tim was injured. Bruce knew he was trying to prove himself. He wished he didn’t feel he needed to.

Stephanie’s father was harassing her again, despite his efforts to cut contact between Arthur and the outside world.

Cass was struggling in silence. Anytime she was asked what was wrong, she’d smile and brush it off. She wasn’t fine. He didn’t know how to help her.

Duke was overworking himself. Bruce tried to tell him he has help if he wants it. The boy was too stubborn to take it.

And Damian?

Bruce knew he had hurt him the most.

He had a son for so many years and didn’t know it. He wasn’t there to watch him grow, and now that he was here, all Bruce did was push him away.

He never wanted any of his children to follow in his footsteps. The life of a vigilante is lonely and cruel. He blamed himself for a lot of their struggles. 

If Batman never existed, would any of them have had such hard lives?

Bruce had put Damian on house arrest after Tim had been injured, but clearly it didn’t do any good.

“Robin. You’re not supposed to be here.”

Robin stepped out from the shadows, arms crossed.

“Yet here I am. And I am not leaving.” 

Batman turned around to face him.

“Robin–”

“I know about the Infinite Realms.”

Batman was taken aback for a moment.

“How–” Then he realized. “Raven told you.”

Robin’s cheeks flared red as he sneered at him. “So what if she did. I shouldn’t have had to go to her. A threat of this level should have been debriefed–”

“I don’t need you telling me how to run this team,” Batman stated loudly and firmly.

Robin’s nostrils flared, yet he didn’t raise his voice to meet Batman’s.

“Tt– That is not what I am doing, and you know it. I am merely making a point.” His features soften. “You should have told us.”

Batman’s shoulder deflated, suddenly feeling guilty.

“We can’t be a team if you don’t involve us,” Robin continues. “Nightwing is right, there is no ‘I’ in team, and trust goes both ways.”

They stare at each other for a moment. Robin’s face is twisted with something Bruce hadn’t seen on him before.

Hurt.

Batman’s jaw twitches as he thinks. This is an opportunity, so why is he hesitating so much to take it? To protect them? 

They aren’t protected if they don’t know. They are vulnerable. 

Batman sighs.

“What do you know?”

Robin’s lip almost twitches into a smile.

“Not much. Raven told me something about ripples. Something big has happened, and many people attuned to magic felt it. She heard about a place called the Infinite Realms and that it's where the ripples originated from.” He paused. “I assume Constantine told you more.”

Batman nodded.

“He felt the ripples, too. After some digging, he discovered that the ruler of the Infinite Realms has been injured by someone in our world. And that it is means for war.”

Robin swallows hard.

“What are the Infinite Realms?”

Batman turned to face the city, and Robin stepped up to stand by him. Small drops of rain begin to fall.

“Constantine called it the glue. That is the in between and what makes all of reality, reality. That nothing exists without it.”

“And the ruler? What do we know about them?”

“Next to nothing, besides them having the power to wipe out worlds and realities with a snap of their fingers.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Hn. Constantine is looking into who could have injured this entity and where they are hiding.”

Robin’s brow furrows. “Hiding?”

“Hn. Constantine senses they are still on the planet, injured.”

Robin looks back out at the city, tapping his knuckle to his chin.

“This could be disastrous. We need to spread the word and have our people keep their feelers out. I’ll inform the team. I trust you’ll be informing the Justice League?”

Batman looks down at his son, a small smile of pride on his face.

“Yes, I will handle that.”

Robin nods. “Very well. I will get started.” He hops away from the building’s edge, then pauses.

“And father?”

Batman turns to him.

“Thank you,” Robin turns away, pulling out his grapple gun. “For trusting me.”

In an instant, Batman is left alone on the rooftop. 

Bruce is unable to stop the smile that forms on his lips and the relief that shows in his body.

Maybe being a father won’t be so hard after all.

But he still wonders…

What kind of entity has the power to wipe out worlds?

And where are they hiding?

Danny was back at her dumpster.

Or rather, the rooftop above it.

The very same rooftop that Red Robin bounced off of.

It was raining again– Danny learned quickly that it rained a lot in Gotham.

She tried to remain intangible, but as a human, her energy runs out quickly when using her ghost abilities. Add to the mix that she was injured, well, it was a recipe for disaster. 

So, she set out to find shelter. 

Which led her to the roof.

Because what better place to find shelter than a rooftop?

There wasn’t much up there with her, besides a water tower barrel. 

And bird poop.

Danny sighed and looked up at the rain clouds.

A particularly large raindrop hits her in the eye. 

“You’re sure this is it?”

Danny’s head snaps to the alley below so fast that she hears a small pop.

Below her is a figure with a hood and purple cape, holding a hand to their ear. Danny tilts her head, birdlike, as she watches.

The figure throws a hand out, exasperated.

“Dude, you literally gave the most vague directions. An alley with a dumpster. Like WTF?... What do you mean that's all you had to go off of? Jo Ma– Bruh– you did not just Jo Mama me.”

Danny bites her lip to stop herself from laughing, but a snort still slips out.

The figure in the alley snaps their head up to Danny, who goes invisible with a yelp.

“...Lemme call you back, Hood.”

Danny stepped back but tripped over her own feet and landed on her butt with a grunt. Then the figure pulled themself onto the roof, standing directly in front of Danny.

She realizes that the person is Spoiler, another one of the local vigilantes. Her blonde hair is braided, resting over her left shoulder, and her eyes scan over the rooftop with a glint of danger. Danny doesn’t move an inch.

Spoiler’s eyes narrow, and Danny notices she's holding her breath, waiting to hear anything.

Danny begins to panic as her invisibility begins to slip. Her faint heartbeat begins to pick up as she looks around for an escape. There weren’t many options besides–

Tilting her head backward, Danny looked at the water tower.

Her head tilts.

Death 2.0 by drowning seemed a lot better than being discovered.

So, by some miracle, Danny flies across the rooftop and straight into the water tower. 

Ugh, so much for staying dry.

But– 

Wait.

Danny rubbed her head where it had hit the inside of the water tower and peeked her eyes open. There wasn’t any water in it. It was damp and cold and incredibly rusted inside, but because of a sizeable hole in the bottom, it held no water.

Okay, no death by drowning after all.

But now there was a risk of death by tetanus.

Way to spice things up, Danny.

Footsteps approach the water tower, and Danny freezes. She looks down at the hole and sees two purple-clad feet.

“I swear I saw… Ugh, never mind. Must’ve been the lack of sleep. Ew– Am I turning into Tim? This girly isn’t about to give up her peace of mind for a boy. He owes me a spa day.” 

Spoiler twist on her feet, and Danny hears a snap of fingers, and once again, she's struggling to hide her laughter.

She’s decided she likes Spoiler.

Another pair of feet lands on the rooftop. Danny tenses again.

Spoiler turns and runs at the other pair of feet, presumably hugging them based on the thump Danny hears.

“Orphan. Oh god. I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you away. I just– I didn’t know what to do! He found me and I didn’t want him to hurt you– Er– or anyone of the family– you included– cause you’re family, duh, I mean, not to say you’re anything else– or more. Ugh, I’m so sorry! Please–”

“Shh.”

Danny sniggers as Spoiler stops her rambling.

“But–”

“No. Shush. No apology. Not needed.”

“But–”

A brief pause.

“Right. Sorry. Ah– I mean– sorry. Sorry!”

Danny twists herself so she can see out of the hole in the bottom of the water tower.

She sees Spoiler and another hero, Orphan, in a tight embrace. Spoiler seems to be smooshed into Orphan’s shoulder as the darker-themed hero squeezes her, eyes turned up with a smile.

“Uh, Cass, Sweetie, you can let me go now.”

The two heroes pull apart, and Danny watches with glee as Orphan kisses Spoiler’s forehead. The purple hero turns bright red.

“Missed you.” She says as she pats Spoiler’s head

Spoiler nods stiffly. “Missed you, too.” She squeaks out.

Danny chuckles and slinks back into the water tower, shifting to get comfy.

“I ship it.” 

The heavy rain then slowly lulls Danny into a deep sleep.

Peaceful at last.

“Why did we have to meet here? You know I hate this stuff.”

Tim sat down in the booth with a scowl clearly on his face.

Stephanie seemed to be smiling at his discomfort.

“Because I enjoy watching you suffer. Plus, you’ve never even actually tried it, you wimp.”

Tim looked around the boba cafe and absentmindedly rubbed his bad arm. It was throbbing slightly, but he refused to take the pain meds Alfred offered. He was beginning to regret that.

“Give me your card. I’ll go order for us.” Stephanie stuck her hand out, opening and closing her fingers. 

 “Cass and Duke are on their way BTdubs.” 

Tim rolled his eyes as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket, but before he could get his credit card out, Stephanie took his wallet from him. She blows a bubble with her gum, and it pops loudly as she pulls the shiny black card out.

She stands and ruffles his hair. “Thanks, boo.”

“‘M not your boo.” He grumbles as he tries to fix his hair. 

Tim shrugs his backpack off his good shoulder and digs through the mess. He pulls his notebook out and a pen, tapping it against the cover. Spending the past week on bed rest in the manor left him stir crazy. Only so much reality TV and books could keep him entertained for so long. The boredom allowed him to get some sleep, though. He wasn’t allowed to use his laptop, and his phone use was monitored by Babs. Bruce was really determined to make sure Tim didn’t do anything with the case he screwed up.

Which is why he and Stephanie decided to meet off-site. It wasn’t suspicious for four friends to get boba at all. Just normal teenager things.

“Boom.”

Stephanie dropped a drink in front of Tim as she sat down, along with three others. He picked it up and cringed at the brown liquid.

“What the hell is this?”

Stephanie took a hearty sip from her own drink. It was milky pink with green and brown chunks at the bottom and a green foamy top.

“I got you a boring one. It's a brown sugar espresso boba. Drink it.” She throws a straw, and it hits him in the face, right between the eyes.

Tim pokes the straw through the lid and hesitantly takes a sip. It didn’t taste terrible… It definitely could do with more espresso, and he wasn’t fond of the texture of the boba, but he could deal with it.

He looked at hers. “What did you get?”

Stephanie pushes her drink across to him. 

“OMG, you have to try it, it's so good.”

Tim swirls her straw and takes a sip.

And suddenly he's coughing and gagging.

“What the shit is that?!” He shouted through a cough.

Stephanie takes her drink back, looking incredibly offended.

“Uh, FYI, it's a strawberry milk tea with green apple and coffee popping boba and avocado foam. You just don’t have good taste.”

Tim runs and grabs a water cup from the front and sits back down, chugging the water to help get rid of the taste. He runs back to refill it. Stephanie giggles and pulls her phone out to take a selfie with her drink. 

“So, I took a look at the warehouse. Found this.”

She pulled a vial out of her pocket and tossed it at Tim. He barely caught it and frowned as the liquid in it swirled up and down. It was red with a green sheen that caught the light.

“What is it?”

“I dunno,” She shrugged. “I thought you might. You said your friends took off with barrels. Maybe this stuff was what was in them.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Don’t call them my friends.”

Stephanie smirked. “Oh, right, you have a meeting to get that sorted out, huh?”

Tim wanted to bash his head on the table. 

Stephanie had called Jason, who was more than willing to share the details of his dumpster disaster.

“You’re horrible,” Tim grumbles.

“Mm, but I’m cute, though.”

“You are,” Cass says as she sits down, placing a kiss on Stephanie’s cheek.

Tim glances between them, and a small smirk tugs at his lips when he sees how red in the face Stephanie is.

“Thanks.” Stephanie squeaks.

“I’m still so sorry.”

“We are sisters. All okay.” She assures with a smile and turns toward the table. She takes the drink with her name on it and sips it.

“Right. Sisters.” Stephanie mutters into her drink. She looks away as the blush on her cheeks burns.

Duke slams into the seat next to Tim, out of breath and sweaty, knocking Tim’s drink over in the process.

Tim looks at him in disbelief.

“Dude.”

Duke takes Tim’s water and chugs it.

“Sorry, dude. Had to run here. Missed my bus. Hey Steph, hey Cass.”

The two girls wave at him, Stephanie still stiff as a board.

“‘Kay, awesome, you’re all here. Now, can we get this over with?”

Stephanie sticks her tongue out at him.

“Right, well, we need to get this vial tested. The sooner we find out what's in it, the better.”

Cass takes it from him and twirls the vial up and down. 

“Strange color.”

Tim takes it again. “I swear I’ve seen it before, or something similar. I just can’t quite place it.” 

Duke takes the vial. “It looks so freaky.”

Stehpanie, Cass, and Tim share a look.

“Like normal freaky, freaky, or you freaky, freaky?”

Duke gave Stephanie a dull glare.

“Me freaky.”

“That's what she said.”

Duke sighed.

“It's… glowing. Green.” He blinks and rubs at skin between his eyebrows.

“Hurts to look at. I can take it to Luke. I’m sure he’d do some testing under the table if I asked.”

Tim nods. 

“Thanks. Steph, Cass, do you guys think you can take the box trucks? They had to have been caught on camera at some point.”

Cass gives Tim a cheery thumbs up and Stephanie copies her action, although much more flustered and red in the face.

"Dream team!" Cass chirps, holding out her hand for a fist bump to Stephanie.

Stephanie, who was no longer a girl, but a puddle on the floor.

Cass looks at Duke and Tim, both of who look away from her quizzical expression.

"Dream team~" Stephanie garbles from the floor, reaching up to fist bump Cass.

Duke and Tim share a look.

"Totally hopeless."

Chapter Text

Danny knew she was dreaming when she opened her eyes.

She wasn’t sure where exactly she was. In front of her was a window, and around her, the walls were white. The smell of antiseptic made her feel sick, and the storm beyond the window left a heavy feeling of unease in her belly. The storm was violent and dangerous, but its movement was slow and somber, like an echo. 

The ground beneath her was cold and unwelcoming, yet she felt glued to the spot. 

Danny tracked the raindrops with her eyes as they slid down the glass, and a tear of her own, mirrored in the glass, slid down her cheek. She found her reflection and quickly looked away. Seeing herself, especially in this form, felt bittersweet. What once brought her so much joy and freedom was now something she couldn’t even face.

Shame couldn’t begin to describe how she felt.

As Danny, she felt a little more human, because in that skin she could hide what she truly was, but as Phantom?

The monster was on full display.

The blood on her hands could never be washed away.

Or forgiven.

Danny always feared the day someone discovered what she was. Speculations and fears would fill her mind every night before she slept. Dread flushed through her anytime there was a close call. 

Guilt ate at her most of all. For not telling her friends. Her family.

Family was something Danny never really got to have, though. Growing up with the Fentons, Danny felt just as invisible as she became after she died. Jack and Maddie Fenton were too obsessed with their work to look at their children. The countless school events and awards in Danny’s name went ignored. Meals were often made for three instead of four. Birthdays passed without acknowledgment. At some point, she had lost her ambition for a future, and a dream of becoming an astronaut died when she did.

Jazz tried her best to be supportive, but it could only go so far, and Danny wasn’t about to let her sister give up her life for her. She deserved to be happy.

Tucker and Sam didn’t understand.

Couldn’t understand.

No one knew Danny died that night in the lab, not for a long time. She began to become distant. Her friends thought it was because of the stress of being the daughter of ghost hunters in a ghost-infested town. Or that she was depressed.

Neither theory was entirely wrong.

Danny sometimes wondered what it would have been like if she had stayed dead that day in the lab. 

Would the portal ever have been opened? Would she have met any of her friends on the other side? Would certain enemies have come into play without her there?

Would she have been missed?

Was she now?

Was she ever?

Lightning branched across the stormy sky, and as the thunder rumbled in her chest, a breeze carried something past her ears.

“Danny.”

Danny spun around, searching for the source of the whisper, but the hall behind her was dark and empty.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m here to save you.”

“Sorry, pal, but it looks to me like you’re the one who needs saving.”

Two voices echoed and twisted together. Danny frowns, part of her recognizing them.

“I’m totally winging it with love for you! Marry me!”

“Whoa, slow down, gorgeous. We haven’t even finished our first date!”

A woman’s laugh echoes off the walls as the hall spins, throwing Danny onto her back.

“I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

“Do you promise?”

“I pinky promise.”

Two different laughs twist together and shift and contort into a guttural creaking sound that sends Danny to her knees, only to once again be thrown as the hall spins.

“Don’t do that. Don’t quit because of me.”

“I’m quitting for you. For both of you. For us!”

Danny begins making her way down the hall, grabbing onto whatever she can as everything shifts. The creaking morphs into a horrible groan.

“El, please, I want to help you.”

“You can’t. No one can.”

The shifts in the hall become more violent.

“She’s gone into labor. We need to take her to a delivery room now.”

“No! Not yet! He needs to be here. I– we need him!”

 Then Danny sees it. At the end of the twisted and mangled hall, stood a woman. Blood dripped from her hospital gown, pooling at her feet, and her eyes, dead and void of color, stared straight into Danny’s.

She slowly turned and walked through a door. Danny jumped onto her feet, and as she took one step forward, a head-splitting scream shook the walls, the floor, and deep within her core. Panting, Danny continued on, bracing herself on the wall. The screams continued to ripple through her, becoming more and more desperate.

The grief and fear within them grew the closer Danny got to the door.

When she stepped through, it was like her head had been pulled underwater. The room was empty except for a bed in the middle, but the echoes of cries filled the empty space. Danny finally knew where she was.

A hospital.

“I’m scared.”

Danny gripped her chest.

“Please, please, I need him. I can’t do this alone.”

Tears prickled in Danny’s eyes as she turned around, trying to find the source of the voice. 

“She’s bleeding out. We need to get her to the OR–”

A cry from a baby makes Danny sob.

“No! Please. Please let me hold her, please...”

Blood drips from the hospital bed. A song joined the echo. A song Danny didn’t know she knew until she heard it. She whimpered as it resonated in her core. The woman’s singing is quiet, but full of love and so much grief. So many feelings went through her, and so few words to describe them. Safe. devastation. Home.

But the song soon ended, and the silence that followed was cold and hollow.

The lights flicker in and out as a clear flatline fills her ears.

“Time of death, 2:42 AM.”

Danny fell to her knees as a woman appeared in the bed, dead, tears still in her eyes.

Unfallen.

“Where is she?! Let me through!”

The door burst open, and footsteps hurriedly entered the room. Danny turned to see a wispy figure standing behind her. His blue eyes vibrant despite his faint image.

“No. NO!”

He rushed to the woman’s side, holding her face in his hands. His sobs wrack his body, knees going weak and failing him. His cries hit Danny like a hammer, the grief holding her down.

Two more figures enter the room. They linger in the doorway for a moment, they slowly approach the bed. 

“Chum, you have to let her go.” The larger man places a hand on the grieving man’s shoulder. The younger man fights it, hitting the larger man in the face, who doesn’t seem phased. 

“Son, I’m sorry. She’s gone.”

He finally manages to pry the younger man away from the woman, holding his weak body in a tight embrace.

The larger man nods at the younger boy, who moves to take the crying baby from the woman’s arms. He bounces as he shushes the baby, tears falling down his cheeks.

“Hey, Ellie. I’m you’re uncle. I promise, I’m never gonna let anything hurt you. You’re safe.”

Everything shifts suddenly. The room changes, no longer a delivery room, but a hospital room for an infant. The storm still surges outside, the power is out, and the room is only lit by two candles. In the chair, faced away from Danny, sits a man. The same one from before and still barely visible. He shushes the baby as it fusses. His quiet cries can be heard.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t there. I broke my promise. And now…”

He presses his lips to the baby’s forehead, and Danny crawls to her feet and steps forward. She looks down at them, eyes blurry from tears.

The room shifts once again, but it settles into chaos. Doctor and nurses surround the infant bed, the man watches from the corner of the room, arms clutching his chest in desperation

“Charging. Clear!”

A zap of electricity. Flatline.

“Again!”

Zap. Flatline.

“C’mon! Again!”

Zap. Flatline.

No one moves. The father jumps to his feet.

“Please! Please, don’t stop. Save her!”

The doctor looks at him sadly. 

“I’m sorry, sir. Time of death, 6:16 AM.”

The father falls to his knees, and the room around him fades away, leaving only him and Danny in an expanse of white and linoleum floor. Then, slowly, he too fades away.

The cold linoleum floor is all that remains. Danny stares at it blankly as tears freely flow.

“What was that?” She asks.

“I think you know.”

Danny looks up at Clockwork, lips pressed into a thin line and tears in her eyes. She’d felt him there, watching distantly.

“Why?” Danny choked.

Clockwork looked out at the vast landscape of linoleum with contempt.

“You wanted answers. Your subconscious found them.”

Danny floated to her feet, body surging with anger.

“What? That my– my mother is dead? That– That I’m–” She can’t finish, the words unable to be spoken. 

Danny shakes her head, turning away and shoving her wrists to her eyes. “This isn’t fair. This isn’t fair! I came to Gotham to find family, and instead I found death!”

Danny punches the ground, a crater forming. A sob racks her body.

“Everywhere I go, there is death.” She sinks into a pile on the floor. “I don’t understand. Someone– someone help me understand.” She whispers.

Clockwork’s jaw twitches as his eyes remain forward, refusing to look at her.

“I once met a man who told me that our hardships aren’t sent to destroy us, but are sent to show us how strong we are.”

Danny looked up at him as Clockwork met her eyes, a small smile appearing on his aged face. She sniffled and looked away.

“Any other infinite wisdom you have to offer, Mr. Know-it-all?”

Clockwork’s smile softened as he shifted into a child.

Danny and Clockwork look up as several birds and bats fly overhead. A black and blue one swoops down as Danny holds her hand out. It lands on her finger, tilting its head at her.

She copies the action, then it takes off again. Clockwork turns to Danny.

“Follow the birds, Danny. They will lead you home.”

The linoleum floor faded away as dark clouds filled the space. Raindrops fell onto Danny’s face as she closed her eyes, and soon it was pouring and she was alone.

Again.

Chapter Text

It had been nearly three weeks since Danny had started observing Red Hood.

It had been a week since she’d started helping him, invisibly, of course.

Therefore, technically, not there.

It was purely a coincidence that there were a few times when a thug might’ve accidentally tripped on air, providing Red Hood with an advantage. One time, by some miracle, a gunman’s bullets simply… fell out of the magazine. 

Red Hood painfully noticed. He freaking thanked the air around him for Ancients sake!

Since that moment, he’d talk to her while on patrol. He started calling his invisible helper his ghost.

Oh boy, the irony tasted bitter.

Even with his outer monologuing, it proved difficult to suss out what Red Hood was thinking. His underdeveloped core didn’t send out the signals that Danny could understand. They were too covered in muck for her to make sense of them.

Danny still wondered what fresh ectoplasm would do for him.

She added that to her list of ‘Vigilante Mess’ to take care of, alongside getting Red Robin a resume and making her OTP between Spoiler and Orphan a solid, canon ship.

Tonight wasn’t unlike any other. 

It was raining.

Red Hood was itching for a fight. 

Danny was anxious.

The warehouse he and Danny sat across from was quiet. Any passerby would see it and think it was some old, rusty, unsuspecting mill that would give you tetanus if you even breathed within its walls.

But Red Hood knew better. 

And Danny knew too much.

The air around the building was heavy with agony. The humidity it gave off left both Danny and Red Hood in a cold sweat, making breathing difficult.

Red Hood hadn’t moved an inch since he settled on the rooftop across from the warehouse. He made no noise, except for the consistent click of his gun’s safety. 

On and off.

On and off.

On and–

Danny suddenly gets an overwhelming sense of recognition. It sends her reeling, stumbling back, silently, unseen. She whines as a burning settles in her chest, fear filling her up, and nausea slowly making its way up her throat. 

Her eyes find the warehouse as the world spins.

The walls the floor everything spinning spinning–

Rationality forgotten, Danny runs, leaping off the rooftop and half-flying down to the ground in front of the warehouse. She runs in, mind blank except for the desperate cries to protect– protect– protect! PROTECT!!

It needed to be saved. She needed to save it. Someone needed to save her it.

It's cold. And Dark.

She can see her breath. Can hear her heart in her ears. Can feel the tears on her cheeks.

Sharp metal and lights–

The clouds shift, allowing a sliver of moonlight to light up the warehouse. Her eyes find barrels in the corner of the space. She takes one, heavy step forward.

Begging and screaming and–

Danny swallows down bile. It comes right back up, burning her throat.

Jars lined up in a neat row, organs in each one–

She reaches the barrels, placing one shaking hand on the lid.

Blood on the floor, the walls, the ceiling–

She pulls, but it resists. A whimper fills the space. She tries again.

A mirror. They put up a mirror so she can watch–

It opens. A puff of freezing air hits her, frost forming on her face.

Ribs. She can see them. She can see everything–

Danny shakes her head in disbelief. This– This can’t be true. It can’t. 

She counts. Seven barrels. She didn’t need to look to know what was in them. She could sense it. The one before his has layer upon layer of vials filled with the same, angry, sickening green substance.

It can’t be true.

It can’t–

“Freeze. Or I’ll freeze you.”

Danny turns, and two glowing red eyes watch from the shadows. It shifts, stepping forward, a gun raised directly at Danny. Mr. Freeze reveals himself, a scowl on his face. Danny blanches as his gun surges with power.

“Those don’t belong to you.” He sized her up and glowered. “You’re with Batman, aren’t you? One of his little spies.”

Danny desperately searches for an exit, but the only one is the way she came in. The door behind Mr. Freeze.

“Chill out!” He says cooly, gun raised higher. “I’ll send Batman your regards.”

The gun goes off, ice filling her vision.

“Get down!”

Danny screams as she's thrown to the ground. Gun shots ring out, and when she opens her eyes, she finds Red Hood in front of her, sending a barrage of bullets at the pillar that Mr. Freeze hid behind. He looks over his shoulder at her, pausing only for a split second before turning back to the fight. 

“Get behind cover! I’m about to run out of rounds, and the moment I do, he’s going to hit hard. Brace yourself!”

Danny looks around, deciding that the best cover is behind the stack of barrels. Red Hood swears as his guns run empty. Mr. Freeze steps out, firing a line of ice, but Red Hood manages to get behind the barrels in time. Red Hood huffs as he reloads and peeks over the barrels.

“Ha! Smart. He won’t want to damage whatever he’s got in these.”

Danny goes stiff as Red Hood looks at her. “Nice to finally meet you, Casper. Been waiting for you to show your face.” 

Danny doesn’t have time to process before Red Hood hops up again, sending a barrage of bullets, forcing Mr. Freeze to back away.

“Casper.” Danny looks at Red Hood. “I’m a little busy, so I can’t find us a way out. Think you can handle that?” He glances down at her.

Danny gapes for a moment, then sets her head straight and begins to search for an exit route.

Behind them is a reinforced wall, next to them, more barrels. On the other side is another concrete wall. Below them, wood flooring. Danny looks between the cracks. There's a space under there.

Danny bites her lip, eyes darting between the barrels, Red Hood, and the floor. She doesn’t want to leave the barrels here, but Red Hood could die if he doesn’t get out of here, and it would be her fault.

She has to protect him.

“I found a way.”

Red Hood drops down by her side, reloading and tossing the empty mags away.

“Where?”

Danny doesn’t have time to answer. Mr. Freeze jumps on top of the barrels.

“Got you now!”

“No!”

Danny throws herself over Red Hood as the freeze gun goes off. She pulls on her intangibility, and together, they fall through the floor.

Jason sat down at his dinky kitchen table with a sigh. With a pop, he opened a beer and leaned back, rubbing his face. He took a hearty swig, then looked into his bedroom across the room. The door was open, and on his bed was a girl.

A girl who looked too much like his brother, and eerily similar to someone he used to know.

Jason took a swig of his drink and pulled out his phone. His finger hovered over a name, twitching as he struggled to decide. Should he call him? 

The girl stirred in her sleep, a quiet whimper that subsided as she settled.

He should.

Right?

This girl had been following him around for almost three weeks and didn’t even question it. It was stupid and a massive risk, but all he knew was that whatever invisible force stuck by his side during patrol calmed him. It made the pits shrink, and it washed away the anger. He didn’t want to say anything and ruin it, but now, more than anything, he wished it had never happened.

He was okay with not knowing who was helping him. He was okay with them following him into danger.

He was okay with the fact that, somehow, his invisible friend had died too.

He wasn’t okay with it now.

Fuck , he hated it now.

Jason sighed and downed the rest of his drink.

He needs something stronger.

The moment he saw her, the world stopped spinning.

Everything from her black hair, the freckles across her nose and cheek, to the piercing blue of her eyes screamed echoes of them. That determination spark in her eyes, despite being full of fear, reminded him so much of her , but that unmistakable flare of Lazarus green in them reminded him too much of himself.

The self-sacrificing predisposition seemed to be genetic, too.

He should have been faster. Maybe if he had seen it coming, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Maybe if, all those years ago, they had all been there sooner…

Jason squeezed his eyes shut; the memories still burned there, haunting him.

The guilt gnawed at him every day and terrorized him every night.

He should call him.

His eyes find the girl again. He shouldn’t stare. 

But how could he dare to look away? What if she disappeared again? Would he ever find her again?

Everything about her was impossible. She was here and alive. 

She was alive. 

Alive.

She had found Jason. She had abilities, and somehow, she wasn’t in critical condition after taking such a hard hit from Mr. Freeze’s gun.

He wanted to take her to a hospital, but the fear and desperation in her eyes when he suggested it made him hesitate.

But it was the screams for mercy, for them to stop don’t touch me please I’m sorry please don’t do this I’m good I swear I’m good–

That's what solidified the decision to keep her by his side.

Jason shook his head, swallowing the bile that had built up in his throat.

He should call him.

Why can’t he bring himself to do it?

Jason stands, pacing twice before pulling out his phone and–

He turns, swiftly and silently shutting his bedroom door.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Jason turns to face Batman, not even attempting to hide his disgust.

Batman grunted.

“It’s been six hours, and you have failed to report on the incident at the old mill.”

Jason scoffs, striding across the room to grab the bottle of the good stuff, as he liked to call it.

“I don’t answer to you.” He took a long swig, then pointed at Batman. “I called Babs to send someone–”

“Hood, need I remind you that we only use code names–”

“Oh, fuck that!” Jason slams the empty bottle down on the table. He glowers at Batman, jabbing him in the chest with a finger. “And fuck you.”

Jason turns, taking another beer. It was times like these he wished alcohol affected him.

“Hood, you need to debrief.”

“The fuck I do. I–”

“Someone is here.” 

Jason halts, eyes darting between Batman and his bedroom door, which had slowly crept open. He quickly stood between him and the door, shutting it and making sure it clicked shut this time.

“Hood–”

“You need to leave. Now.” Jason could tell his eyes flared that sickening green by the way Batman’s jaw tightened.

“This isn’t up for debate–”

“You’re right, it’s not. Leave. Now. I will debrief with Dick later. Now leave, before I make you.” This time, Jason can see the flare reflect off the lenses of Batman’s cowl.

“Hn.” Batman’s gaze lingered for a moment, then he turned, leaving out the same window he came in.

Jason waited until he was sure he was gone, then rushed to the window, slamming it shut and closing the blinds.

He sighed, dropping into his couch with a heave.

The ceiling taunts him as he thinks, then, finally, he makes the call.

“What do you mean it's gone ?!”

“I dunno man! Luke said the moment he opened that vial, whatever was inside corroded into nothingness. Just gone!”

Tim was going to have an aneurysm. 

It was the middle of the night. He was just a hair away from falling asleep when Duke called on the phone Tim had hidden from Alfred. He’d argue this was a valid reason not to sleep.

“Things don’t just become nothingness , Duke.”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. If you’ve got a problem with it, you can call Luke.”

Tim rubbed at the migraine that had formed on his head. He set his phone down and dug in his sock drawer to find his hidden stash of Excedrin. He pops two pills, praying that the caffeine kicks in fast.

“Is there any good news?”

“Uh… Oh! Steph and Cass went to a warehouse that Jason called in. There were more of those vials. I guess Mr. Freeze had some of those barrels, and that's what's in them. He must’ve missed some when he packed up shop.”

Tim’s eye twitched.

“Why the hell didn’t you lead with that?!”