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"Step one, get to Gotham," Sam repeated to herself, knuckles white from her grip on the steering wheel. It was all she could do, it's what she had to do. Danny had finally told his parents and everything seemed to be going well… until they stuffed him in the Fenton Ghost Weasel and handed him over to the GIW because they "couldn't bear watching their baby boy's body get puppetted by that lying spook." Now none of them knew where he was or what was being done to him, but it was pretty clear that Danny couldn't escape on his own.
So here Sam was, enacting the Last Resort plan. Tucker and Jazz were staying behind trying to find a way to find where Danny was being kept and mount a rescue if they could. Sam, as the one with access to a car, money for gas, and a sparkly new driver's license, was the one sent to go get help.
"Who knows?" Tucker had asked with a strained smile, "Maybe Danny already escaped and has gone ahead to Gotham. He said it was his last resort too."
"Maybe," Sam agreed with the memory of Tucker's wobbling smile. "Maybe." She kept her eyes glued to the road signs pointing the way towards New Jersey and tried not to scream as more construction signs popped up.
…
It was dark, the sun having finally set and the stars… well they aren't out. There's thick cloud cover, a faint light spot that might or might not be the moon half hidden behind a towering skyscraper. Sam isn't paying it any attention as she scales a fire escape. Every hero has different ways to get their attention, for Batman apparently the best way is to sneak onto the GCPD headquarters roof and turn on the Bat Signal™, but if you're not confident you can pull that off the second best way is to just get up on a roof, any roof, and hope Batman (or one of the many other Gotham vigilantes) finds you. Sam figures she can increase her odds by waving around a leftover glow stick she had found in her center console.
There's a thump behind her, "Are you- whoa! Easy now."
Sam's hand had automatically gone to the wrist ray she never takes off, though she eased when she caught sight of bright colors, muted as they were by the dim light. "Don't sneak up on people like that! Are you trying to get yourself shot?"
"I'm not the one obviously trying to get a vigilante's attention," Robin, Batman's sidekick, snarked back.
Sam let her arms relax, then squared her shoulders. "We need Batman's help, I have a message for him."
"Alright, what is it?"
"You're not Batman," Sam said with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not, but I can make sure he gets it."
Sam clenched her teeth, she didn't have time for this kind of run around! Danny had been missing for 2 weeks, even Vlad was getting worried. "Ih-bin al choo-fah-shi needs Batman's help." She tried not to think about Danny walking them through the phrase, laughing at how thick their American accents were but saying it was better that way.
Robin stared at her, or she thought he did, hard to tell with how the mask covered his eyes. "I'm sorry, say that again?"
Sam clenched her fists as she repeated the phrase, ready to start kicking Robin's ass if he kept stalling her.
"Ibn al Xu'ffasch?" Robin asked.
"Yes! That's how Danny said it!" Sam was so relieved she might cry. "You know what it means?"
"Do you?"
"Kinda?" Sam laughed and sniffled, "He said it's his title, that Batman knows who his bio dad is and will… do something. Help or get in contact or… I don't know. He didn't say what to do next."
"We help," Robin replied, like it was the easiest thing. "What happened, why does er… you said his name's Danny?"
Sam nodded, then frowned. "I'm supposed to tell Batman."
Robin tipped his head just a little, "He's listening."
"Alright." And Sam tells. It's like the floodgates are open and suddenly she's telling them everything, just spewing out everything that had happened in the last two years in no particular order. The GIW, Danny's parents, the accident, his powers, the ghost fights, his adoption, the Ghost Zone, him going missing, everything. This was the last resort, after all. Somewhere in the middle of it there was the roar of a loud engine that abruptly cut off, followed by Batman appearing on the roof in a swirl of shadows and dramatics that Sam was a little jealous of. By the time she wound down Sam's mouth had gone dry and she felt… tired. Just so tired.
"We're tracking him down now," Batman reassured. "But to help find him, we need to know what he looks like."
Sam blinked. Ah, that made sense. She hadn't described Danny at all, it hadn't even crossed her mind. "Right, okay, that should be easy." She dug her phone out and went to her gallery. She had plenty of pictures of Danny, especially embarrassing ones. She had made the picture of him and Tucker cuddling in their sleep her lock screen for over a month when she first took it. "Here, my most recent pic of him." She held her phone up.
Batman gently took her phone, Robin practically climbed over the tall man to get a look himself. Robin gasped, "Oh, ibn al xu'ffasch alright."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.
"The resemblance is striking," Batman said gruffly.
"I'll say."
"Robin."
Robin sighed, "Shutting up."
Batman gave Sam her phone back, which she tucked back into her pocket. "Now what?"
"Now we do whatever it takes to find Danny," Batman replied. "In the mean time you need to rest, there's a safe house nearby you can use."
"You're going to include me in the rescue, right?"
"Hn."
"Right?" Sam looked to Robin.
"B, it'd be better for him to have a familiar face while being rescued."
"We'll discuss this after Danny's been located, for now let's get you someplace safe."
Robin gave Sam a thumbs up behind Batman's back, she returned it with a shaky smile.
Bruce sighed as he pulled the cowl off, he was tired. So tired. He would have simply collapsed in the batcomputer's chair, but it was currently occupied by Tim. On the screen, or at least part of it, Tim was furiously typing out something (presumably tonight's report) while the other part of the screen seemed to be under Barbara's control judging from the rapid fire pictures and documents being opened over each other. Notably several of them were photos from Sam's gallery, courtesy of the snapshot he'd taken of her phone when she let him hold it.
"This has to be a ploy," Bruce said as he walked up behind Tim and leaned on the chair. "The boy is too old, I hadn't even met Talia when he was born."
"He could be aged up," Barbara suggested.
"Time travel," Tim counter-suggested.
Bruce hummed darkly, he didn't want to admit he'd also considered those options.
"Though we don't know it's Talia," Tim added, "or anything to do with League of Shadows."
"Well, nothing confirmed," Barbara hedged. The screen was taken up by a photo of a young boy, Danny, glaring up at the camera while wearing a Shadow uniform, the top half torn and stained. Clearly tailored for the boy, something one wouldn't normally bother with on a child that was still growing. "No armor, weapons, or insignia, but that uniform."
"Hn." It did seem the most likely.
"I suppose we'll find out for sure after we rescue him and do a DNA test," Tim said airily.
"Hn."
"A quick look into Amity Park confirms Miss Manson's story," Barbara bluntly changed the topic. "News reports of ghost attacks, a bounty on Phantom, research the Doctors Fenton have… published. Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't been on the JL's radar."
"The moment ghosts were mentioned it would've been handed over to the JLD, I'll ask Diana about it once this crisis is over. Do we have his location yet?"
"Not quite, the GIW are proving difficult to hack. You should get some sleep, I have a feeling it's going to be a long mission once we're ready to go."
Bruce doubted he'd be able to sleep with all these unknowns running wild in his mind. Still, she was right that he needed to be at his best for this. "Alright. Come along, Tim."
"I'm helping Babs break through the government's cyber security."
"You need sleep too, you have school in the morning."
Tim froze and slowly looked up at Bruce in shock, "You're not taking tomorrow off from work?"
"Of course I am-" Bruce started.
"Family emergency for your excuse, right? Wouldn't it be suspicious if you take a few days off but I still go to school? I'm sure the paparazzi would be all over you abandoning me after having just adopted me."
"He's got a point," Barbara said with a laugh.
"Fine, I'll call you out of school in the morning. But if I'm going to bed you're going to bed, or should we get Alfred to weigh in on this."
Tim grumbled, but closed out of his program and stood from the computer. The grumbling continued as he began changing out of his costume.
Jazz almost can't believe it when Batman descends on Amity Park. It had worked? Danny's plan had worked?
"Whether or not Danny is who he claims to be is yet to be seen, but his identity won't change our decision to rescue him," Batman had said gruffly when Jazz asked.
"Of course not!" Nightwing had added earnestly, "Any of you could've asked for help at any time, it's what we do."
"You never helped when we called before," Jazz had said softly.
And none of them had had an answer for that.
But Jazz didn't want to think about that right now. That was then, there was no changing the past (Danny had told her what happened when he'd tried). Batman and a whole host of heroes (many of whom she'd never heard of) were here now, they were rescuing Danny now. And they'd chosen Jazz to be the one to go on the rescue mission.
Well, trail behind in the aftermath with Robin as her babysitter. But still, better than being stuck hanging out in the bat themed airplane parked near the facility Robin was currently slowly leading Jazz through. It was white. Too white. So white that the white suits of the agents lying groaning and ziptied on the floor blended into the background. Jazz wasn't sure if the smell of bleach was really in the air or just psychosomatic.
Robin held an arm out, stopping Jazz from rounding the corner he was peering around. Jazz could hear the sounds of fighting. She gripped the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick harder. She wondered if she should just pull the peeler from the bag hanging over her shoulder and turn it on already. The sounds of fighting trailed off, replaced by faint groaning.
"Robin, we haven't finished clearing the way yet," Nightwing's voice came.
"That was the last of them, wasn't it?" Robin asked.
"We don't know what's beyond the doors, there could be more agents inside."
Robin huffed, "Fine, we'll wait here while you clear the room." He let his arm down.
Jazz stepped up and peeked around the corner. There were agents pushed against the walls, spots of red the only color to them as they lay heaped over each other. At the end of a short hall was a pair of steel doors, Batman already crouched in front of what must be a lock while Nightwing stood in front of the doors, ready and waiting for them to open.
"We're staying here," Robin said, as if Jazz hadn't already figured that out.
"I heard Nightwing, I'm just watching." Her white knuckled grip on her weapon of choice belied that statement, but Robin wisely didn't say anything.
The doors opened slowly, the way all mechanical things do to make them safe and easy to dodge. The first thing she saw was green, a glowing green force field she could see the wall behind it through. "Anti-ghost shield," Jazz whispered hopefully. It might be to keep ghosts out of whatever was in the room, but she knew the whole facility was shielded, most likely it was to keep ghosts in. Someone was in there.
It had to be Danny, it had to.
Nightwing was already slipping into the room, Batman not far behind as the doors kept slowly, ponderously opening.
Jazz stepped out from behind the corner.
Robin grabbed onto her, "The room hasn't been cleared yet."
"There's a ghost inside!" There's Danny inside.
"Yes, but we don't know if there are guards in there too."
"They only have anti-ghost weapons, I'm not a ghost."
"You really think energy weapons that break bricks and leave behind scorch marks aren't going to hurt you?"
"Clear!" Nightwing called into the hallway.
Jazz was already running down the hall and through the doors.
Inside was what looked like an operating room, a table with restraints and a whole platoon of lights floating above, thankfully off. The table and floor under it were clean, sterile. Jazz hoped it was because it hadn't been used she knew it had been cleaned recently. Beyond it was a heavy looking steel door with a hefty looking lever handle. A walk-in refrigerator.
Jazz turned her head and looked towards the other end of the room, where a corner was portioned off by green-ish glass walls, and laying in the actual corner was Danny. In a puddle of green.
There was so much green.
There shouldn't be, the only green thing about Danny in this form was his eyes. The green was supposed to stay inside. He needed it. She needed to put the green back inside.
"Danny!" Jazz ran up to the glass and barely slowed to slam against it. "Danny!" She banged on the glass, trying to get his attention. "Danny! I'm here, Danny! Wake up, we're rescuing you!"
Danny didn't move.
Jazz looked over to where Batman was crouched in front of what must be the lock. She hefted her anti-creep stick, "Out of the way."
"No," Batman said forcefully.
"I'm getting him out of there!"
"It could fail safe closed," Batman said quickly.
"What?" Jazz wasn't sure what that meant, but she had a sinking feeling it wasn't good.
"Doors have a fail safe they default to when their controls break. For most it's open, so people can escape to safety, but this one might fail safe closed, to keep prisoners in. Let me finish hacking the lock and we'll get him out."
Jazz whined, something high from the back of her throat she couldn't stop if she tried, but she let the anti-creep stick fall to her side. While Batman went back to whatever he was doing she looked around. Nightwing was standing over Robin as he fiddled with something, probably the shield. That was good, Danny would have to transform to get out otherwise, and they knew his wounds would simply transfer forms. They had no idea what his human limits were anymore.
There was a click from beside her. Jazz's head snapped back to look over at Batman, who was already yanking the glass open. Jazz had to jump out of the way, the whole thing swinging wide.
In a blink Jazz was through the door herself, right next to Batman as they both crouched down next to Danny to look him over.
He wasn't in his suit anymore, not even his underwear, not a stitch of clothing on him. How had she not noticed how much skin she could see earlier? And how bad his poor skin was, scorch marks and several long, straight, surgical slices sluggishly bleeding. And a square of missing skin. As Batman gently rolled Danny onto his back his chest came into view where another two squares of missing skin became visible.
Samples.
Samples kept in the kitchen fridge because they ran out of storage space in the basement. Ectoplasm does better when kept cold. A walk-in fridge right next to an operating theater.
A dotted line on Danny's chest.
It makes a great big Y, starting just inside his shoulders, meeting at his sternum, and going down to his navel. The upper right end of the Y has the beginnings of a cut, but thankfully that's all. They hadn't had a chance yet, likely interrupted.
"Jasmine, med kit," Batman said loudly, like he'd been trying to get her attention.
"Right!" Jazz dropped the anti-creep stick and tore open the bag, falling to her knees as she started digging through.
"Just field triage, enough to get him stable for transport."
"Y-yes," Jazz agreed.
Danny twitched, then a bright ring made of light appeared at his hips and started to split before shuddering. Up, down, up, down again until they met and winked out of existence.
"Talk to him," Batman said, taking the med kit from Jazz's shaking hands.
Jazz moved around Batman to sit by Danny's head, gently cradling his face in her hands. "I'm here, I'm here, we're helping. Stay like that Danny, keep staying a ghost. You're doing such a good job." She babbled like that as Batman worked on Danny. There was a background buzzing Jazz hadn't even noticed until it suddenly stopped, then Nightwing and Robin came over and started assisting. Batman and Nightwing did most of the work while Robin commandeered the med kit, handing over supplies as the other two needed them. Their murmurings turned into background noise, the chorus to Jazz's chant of encouragement.
Danny's ring winked in and out of existence a few more times, but didn't do more than that.
"Shock blanket," Batman ordered.
Robin pulled something from his belt, unfolding a thin, shiny blanket that he draped over Danny.
"I'm going to pick you up now, Danny." Then he did, gently scooping Danny up like he weighed nothing. Jazz fussed a little once the man was standing, arranging Danny's head so he wouldn't loll, tucking in the blanket. Batman nodded.
"I'll take point, keep the way clear," Nightwing said as he went ahead.
Jazz glanced over the room one last time as they headed out. "Wait," she stopped and pointed to the walk-in fridge, "the samples." They shouldn't leave them, they shouldn't leave any of Danny behind.
"I'll get them," Robin offered.
"No," Nightwing grabbed onto Robin, "I'll get them, you take point." Robin stared up at Nightwing for a moment, then Nightwing nudged him along. "We need to get Danny to safety, hurry."
Robin was young, Danny's age at the oldest, he shouldn't see whatever else may be in there. "If you won't I will, let's get going." She picked up the anti-creep stick and headed for the door.
"You are not taking point!" Robin hissed as he rushed to be in front of Batman, bō staff already in hand. Jazz took up the rear.
They weren't out of danger yet, but things were already looking up.
Tucker and Sam sat in the batjet, tense as they listened to the small bursts of chatter while the various Gotham vigilantes all did their thing. Apparently there were more back in Gotham holding the fort while this group was doing their rescue thing. Tucker thought it was wild there were so many. All of that just for one city? It was crazy.
Their whole lives were crazy.
Sam sighed, though her posture stayed tense. "I don't know how I can be so on edge and so bored at the same time."
Tucker gave a little chuckle, "Same."
There was another short burst of talking from the radio, just one of the vigilantes giving an update on how many GIW operatives they'd beaten up. Another long, drawn out silence. Then, "Target secured and stabilized, beginning extraction."
"That was Batman," Sam commented. "That means they got Danny, right?"
Tucker nodded, "I'm pretty sure."
"Right, that's good." Sam stood up, took a few steps this way and that, then collapsed back in her seat. "I still don't understand, who is Danny's real dad that they're going this crazy over him?"
"I dunno," Tucker lied. Because he did know. Sam hadn't been there for Danny's early days, when he still struggled with English and thought violence was the answer to everything. Tucker had stuck by Danny back then, becoming friends out of sheer stubbornness and a mutual hatred for the schoolyard bully. Tucker had asked once and Danny had told him his native language was Arabic. Recently, when Danny had told them the Last Resort, Tucker had been curious and downloaded a translation app.
Son of the bat.
And the Last Resort plan was to go running to Gotham and say "son of the bat needs your help" to Batman. It was pretty obvious who his bio dad was. But since he sent them to Batman and not to whoever his secret identity is, either he's just some guy and would be hard to track down otherwise or Danny just doesn't know. Either way Tucker's not letting on he figured this little bit out. Not yet, anyway.
"Must be someone important," Sam commented, pulling Tucker back to the here and now.
"Nightwing said they would've rescued Danny no matter what."
"Yeah, probably."
Tucker couldn't help but silently agree. Not that Batman wouldn't have gone to the rescue, but that probably would't've made such a big production out of it.
The door to the batjet opened and Batgirl with her creepy stitched on mouth walked in. She gave them a thumbs up, Tucker shakily returned it. Batgirl went towards the back and started fiddling with something. Tucker stopped paying attention. Next the two different women in purple came aboard. They both acknowledged Sam and Tucker briefly before going to join Batgirl in whatever she was doing.
Robin boarded next, followed shortly by Batman carrying a shiny bundle in his arms. A familiar shiny bundle.
"Danny!" Both Sam and Tucker yelled. They hopped up and rushed towards Batman, but the dark haired woman in purple held her arms out.
"Don't crowd, give him a chance to settle the boy."
Jazz joined them in crowding the purple woman. Tucker turned to her, "How is he."
"Bad," Jazz said with a grimace, "but it could be worse. A lot worse."
Tucker winced, that didn't sound good.
The trio waited and watched as Batman settled Danny on some kind of cot attached to the wall, Batgirl handed over a blanket that was added to the shiny one already wrapped around Danny, more people entered the batjet and things got really crowded. Eventually things settled down, everyone got everything tucked away and themselves settled down while Nightwing was prepping for take off. Batman beckoned them over and all three of them practically collapsed at Danny's side.
"It'll be a long flight back to Gotham," Batman said seriously.
"Shorter than commercial, I'm sure," Tucker joked back.
"It really is," Jazz agreed with a wet laugh.
Batman put a hand on Jazz's shoulder, "He'll recover."
Jazz nodded, but didn't say anything.
…
Batman hadn't been joking about how long the flight was. Half of them ended up near the front, where the actual seats were. Nightwing, the purple woman, and some lady dressed in a leather jacket and leotard were talking while Robin, Batgirl, and the purple girl were in their own corner having their own conversation. Batman was with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, all crowded in next to Danny as he lay limply on his cot. He wasn't really doing much, aside from the occasional twitch that meant he was about to fight de-transforming again.
Tucker was getting stiff and sore from sitting on a hard metal floor, but he couldn't bring himself to move when Danny was right there. So there he stayed, along with the others. He couldn't even think of anything to talk about, just more of the same tense boredom. His eyes trailed back to the front of the batjet, he kinda wished one of the others would come and start a conversation for them.
Danny spoke.
Tucker's head whipped back to Danny. Everyone held their breath, waiting. Danny spoke again, a murmur really. Not that any of them knew what he said, it was in Arabic. Tucker listened anyway, mostly because he just couldn't focus on anything else. Danny started murmuring the same thing again, stumbling over words as his voice faded in and out.
Batman gently put a hand over Danny's blanketed form and smoothly spoke what Tucker's pretty sure was the same thing Danny had just been trying to say.
Danny's eyes flew open and he tried to sit up before hissing in pain.
"Easy, easy," Jazz said in a rush. "It's okay, you're safe, you're out of there. We rescued you."
"We're all here," Tucker added.
"Yeah, we're all here," Sam said gently.
Danny looked around, a small smile on his face as he relaxed. Then his eyes fell on Batman and he stiffened up again.
Batman held up what looked like a juice pouch and offered it to Danny.
Danny shook his head, "Won' 'elp," he murmured, looking like he was already falling back asleep despite being so tense.
"Rest, we'll wake you when we get there," Jazz soothed.
Danny did rest, going lax as he fell back asleep. Tucker felt himself relax too, for the first time in two weeks he let himself truly rest.
Tim was torn, he could sneak off upstairs, get changed, eat, actually relax a little, but it felt wrong. Bruce and Dick were both still down in the cave along with Danny's friends and sister while they waited for him to wake up, everyone else had already left. Bruce, of course, was too paranoid about their identities to let any of them change out of uniform. Tim was sure it wouldn't matter, Danny was clearly here to stay.
Tim still didn't know how to feel about that.
Bruce had adopted him, even after everything, even after "Uncle Eddie." Now Bruce had a real son the same age as him. Would Tim keep Robin? Danny already had his own hero identity, he didn't need to be Robin, but would he want to?
Danny hadn't come to Bruce in the last 8 years, it took being in a situation he couldn't get out of to reach out. And like Tim had already said, he had his own identity already.
An identity that was already compromised. An identity that would only draw unwanted attention. An identity Danny may need to abandon for his own safety.
Well, even if Danny does take Robin it won't be until he recovers, Tim can find a new identity during that time. Dick has Nightwing, Jason has Red Hood, Tim can think of something.
He hovered in the doorway, staring as everyone stared down at their cups of tea while gathered around Danny on the med bay bed.
"Danny!" Jazz hastily set her cup aside and reached for Danny's hand.
Danny groaned and looked towards his sister.
"It's okay, you're out, you're safe. We're in Gotham, the Last Resort worked." Jazz's voice hitched.
Danny blinked blearily, his head lolled to the other side to stare blankly at Bruce. "Oh."
Dick stood up and pushed himself into Danny's vision. "Do you think you can de-transform? You're all stitched up already, but we can better keep track of your vitals if you're alive, and we have a bag of saline ready to go, give your body more material to heal with."
Danny's head lolled back over to glare at Jazz, "You told them?"
"I did," Sam cut in, crowding next to Jazz.
"Why?!" Danny's voice cracked on the word.
"It's the Last Resort plan, Danny! What else was I supposed to tell them?"
"Get out," Danny rasped coldly.
Sam gasped, "What?!"
"I said. Get. Out."
Tucker stood and put a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Sam, maybe you should-"
"We just rescued you!"
"I'm here at all because I told may parents, and you told some random guy? Get out!"
"Sam, let's just give him a minute to calm down!" Tucker started pulling Sam away, she turned and stormed out of the room. "Jazz, c'mon."
"I'm not leaving," Jazz stated boldly.
"Jazz, let's just give them a moment." Tucker looked towards Bruce significantly.
Jazz huffed and turned her attention back to her brother, "Danny, do you want us to leave?"
Danny turned his head and wouldn't look at her.
"Danny!" Jazz sounded aghast.
"Jazz," Tucker said tiredly, "he wouldn't tell us what that code phrase meant. He probably wants to talk about that."
"Really Danny? More secrets?"
"It's not just my secret," Danny croaked softly.
Jazz glanced over at the tight lipped vigilantes who hadn't told them anything about the phrase Danny had taught them, or who his father was, or anything. "Alright, we'll be just outside, calming down Sam."
"Thanks," Danny croaked.
Jazz and Tucker filed out of the room. Tim pointed them towards where Sam had stomped off to, then slipped into the med bay and closed the door behind him. Then he just stood there and watched.
Danny hesitantly looked over at Bruce, "Is it true?"
"We won't know until we run a paternity test."
"You haven't yet?"
"Ectoplasm doesn't have DNA."
"And we haven't had a chance to ask your permission yet," Dick cut in.
"Sure, whatever. Not like I have much choice," Danny croaked. "Got all that stuff ready?"
"Yes, just a second!" Dick bustled about getting the IV line, the saline bag, and the sensors all prepped. Bruce got up and helped as well, including getting a sample swab out and putting it in easy reach.
A ring of light washed over Danny, changing his appearance. With dark hair and bright blue eyes he looked even more like Bruce, Tim had no doubt he was related somehow.
Dick and Bruce quickly set Danny up, attaching leads and turning on various machines, pulling off his shirt and making sure his wounds were still patched up. Dick did a pinch test on Danny's hand and grimaced before inserting the IV. "We'll bring you something easy to eat in a little bit."
"It's going to be mush, isn't it?"
"Tasty mush," Dick promised with a bright smile.
Danny sighed, then opened his mouth wide to let Bruce swab his mouth. Bruce quickly left after that, obviously heading right for the lab.
Dick sighed, then finished setting Danny up before sitting next to the bed. "Don't suppose you want to start talking while the big bad Bat is off being paranoid?"
Danny looked at Dick in mild disbelief.
"Yeah, thought not."
Danny shrugged, "So… you're the oldest, right? Nightwing now?"
Dick grinned, "Who else would I be?"
Danny gave Dick a flat look, "I've seen Jason, even if I've never met him."
Dick looked shocked, "What?! When did- the League."
"The Justice League," Danny agreed, nodding solemnly.
Tim choked back a laugh.
"Dick glared at him, "Don't even start, baby bird."
Danny glanced over, seemingly finally noticing him. He looked Tim up and down before going back to focusing on Dick. "Mother doesn't like you."
"Yeah, well, it's mutual."
Danny looked back over at Tim, "You either. I think she only likes Jason because she thought he was useful."
Dick looked grim, "That sounds like her."
Bruce reentered the room, moving to sit next to the bed. "The test is running."
There was an awkward pause, no one quite sure where to start.
Bruce cleared his throat, "Your age doesn't match up, you would've been born before Talia and I even met."
"Time travel," Danny supplied quickly. "When I died the first time."
"The portal accident?" Dick asked in confusion.
"Duel to the death, followed by the Lazarus Pit. Killed by my own twin on my Grandfather's orders."
Tim felt vaguely ill.
"Twin?" Bruce asked with a frown.
"Yes, my twin Damian. He should still be eight. In fact depending on how long the GIW had me, little me might not be dead yet."
"Is that why you stayed in Amity Park?"
"One of the reasons, it's a bit more complicated than that. In the beginning I thought I was where Grandfather had sent me as punishment for losing the duel, until I figured out I'd time traveled. Then I thought it was where the Pits had sent me. That was mostly why I didn't just go straight to Gotham, that and I didn't know it was in New Jersey. Or what your legal name is. And Batman is basically a cryptid in the news even inside Gotham, let alone something I'd see all the way in nowhere Illinois. By the time I figured out who and where you were I'd long realized there was time travel involved and figured I had to wait for time to catch back up before going home."
"Why not just come here as soon as you knew where Batman was?" Dick asked.
"Because I don't know you. I was worried you'd go to 'Eth Alth'eban and kidnap both of us, then there'd be two mees."
"And then before time caught up, the accident happened," Dick supplied.
Danny looked sheepish, "Yeah."
"Is that why you never reached out for help? Because you were worried about changing your own past?"
"I had it under control, I was fine."
Everyone in the room gave Danny A Look™.
Danny cringed, "Mostly… for a while. It would've been fine if I hadn't told my parents." Danny started to tear up then, "Th-they… they promised me. When they adopted me they promised to always love me, no matter what. Jazz reminded me of that, and at first they seemed happy about it even." He was interrupted by a loud sniffle.
Dick grabbed a packet of tissues from one of the cabinets and handed them over, then seemed unsure what to do with his hand. After a moment of hovering he seemed to decide Danny's upper arm was the safest place to touch and rested his hand there while Danny blew his nose and mopped up his eyes.
"Now what?" Danny asked.
Bruce was tapping away at his wrist computer, "That is something we need to decide together. Firstly, the results of the test. You are my biological son."
Danny nodded, unsurprised.
Bruce sighed and pulled his cowl off, "You're welcome here, of course. It'll be easy to create a completely new identity for you unrelated to Danny Fenton. I'd also like to bring Damian here."
Danny gave a date.
"That was yesterday," Tim said.
Danny flinched. Then it hit Tim what date he'd just given them.
Was it bad he was relieved it had already passed? That they wouldn't have to sit by and wait for Danny's past self to die half a world away before making their move?
"Don't tell Mother about my powers," Danny said quietly. "Not about Phantom, not about any of it. The time travel is bad enough, I can't imagine what Grandfather or Mother will do if they found out what I can do now."
"We understand," Dick cut in.
"Are you willing to let her know you're here and older?" Bruce asked.
"It's probably the easiest way to get her to bring Damian?" Danny sounded unsure.
Bruce nodded, "It is, and it's likely she would find out eventually if you choose to live here."
Danny seemed to think the matter over for a moment. "Here is where Damian will be, theoretically?"
Bruce nodded.
"What about Jazz? Sam? Tuck?"
Bruce hesitated. "Samantha and Tucker are minors and will need to return to their homes. When they're adults we can arrange for them to move here for university, but until then it's best they return home."
Danny nodded sadly, "And Jazz?"
"She's already an adult and can make her own decisions."
"But will she be welcome here?"
"This family has secrets," Bruce started.
Danny groaned and flopped back, then winced.
"It's best she also return to Amity Park and finish school. We can arrange a temporary living situation, then set her up to go to university here. Dorm life would be expected of a student from out of state."
Danny sighed, but nodded. "So you guys arrange all that and also bring Damian here, and what? Use paternity tests to give us IDs as your kids?"
Bruce nodded.
"And your clone too, if we can get ahold of her," Dick added.
Danny plucked at the blanket draped over him. "I guess that works, so long as going to the Fentons and shutting down the portal to the Ghost Zone they have in their basement is part of the plan."
"The JLD is already working on it," Bruce assured.
"Oh shit, I forgot about that," Dick blurted out at the same time.
"Language!" Alfred's voice came over a speaker, showing he'd been listening in the whole time.
Dick looked sheepish, "Sorry Alfred."
Danny smiled wanly at that. "Who's Alfred?"
"You'll meet him shortly," Dick promised.
"I am currently preparing your 'tasty mush' at the moment. Do you have any food restrictions? Allergies, intolerances, preferences?"
"So long as it's not toast and doesn't fight back I'm good," Danny replied.
"The food I prepare would never dare be so uncouth," Alfred snipped. "I shall be down shortly."
Danny smiled, "I like him."
"Everyone likes Alfred," Dick said. Tim nodded along.
"So, now what?"
Bruce looked grim, "Call your mother."
Danny nodded just as grimly. "Okay."
There was some shuffling then, Bruce pulled out a tablet and angled it towards himself. Tim darted over to crowd in with Dick, straining to watch the screen as Bruce started the call.
Talia eventually answered, looking picture perfect and entirely composed. Tim would never guess she just watched one of her children die the day before.
"Beloved."
"Talia."
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I have someone here who just told me some very interesting things, such as the children you never told me about."
Talia looked disgusted, "And what traitor told you that?"
Bruce swiveled the tablet so Danny came into view.
"Am I traitor now?" Danny asked, looking cooly at the camera.
"You… who…" Talia's brows drew together before her mouth opened in shock. "Daniel?!"
"Hello, Mother."
"Daniel! What happened? How?"
"That's something I don't feel comfortable discussing over the phone."
Tim muffled a laugh, oh that was ice cold!
"Habibi!"
"You'll just have to come here to be told." Danny hesitated a moment, then added softly, "And bring Damian. I miss him."
"I… yes. Yes, of course." Talia quickly dabbed at her eyes as she composed herself. "I shall go make the arrangements now. I'll see you soon, habibi." The call ended.
"That gives us at least ten hours," Bruce said tiredly.
"Can I have Jazz and my friends back, then?"
Bruce pulled his cowl back on.
"I'll go get them," Tim volunteered. He quickly left the room, passing Alfred pushing one of his little trolleys with a cover, presumably Danny's tasty mush under it.
Danny's friends and sister were gathered in a small cluster next to the batcomputer, which was currently off. Sam was sitting in the chair, spinning idly while Tucker and Jazz were looking down at what appeared to be a modified piece of ancient tech.
"I mean, I agree, I just can't wrap my head around it," Jazz was saying.
"It explains so much," Sam said while staring up at the ceiling.
"It would, but Danny?!" Jazz stopped and looked over. "Oh, Robin."
Drat, Tim had been caught. "Danny's mother was contacted, it'll be about ten hours before she gets here."
"I thought the message Danny gave us was for getting in contact with his father?" Sam challenged.
"It was, and he has been, but the only way to get his eight year younger twin here is to get his mother to bring him."
"I'm sorry, his wHAT?!" Jazz yelled.
"When he appeared in Amity Park he'd been thrown eight years back in time," Tim said casually.
"Danny was eight back then," Jazz said. "Wait, no, oh my god! He told us his birthday is October 3rd, that's when he randomly appeared! We always thought he was lying about his birthday for some reason, did he really get thrown through time to his own literal birth day?"
Tim shrugged, he had no idea.
Tucker was laughing, "Oh man, this has Clockwork's fingerprints all over it."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Sam snarked.
"Anyway, the point I was trying to get to is that you guys have less than ten hours to hang out with Danny before we have to escort you back to the safe house so his mother never sees your faces, for your own protection."
That got them moving, the trio hustled back to the med bay. "Is Danny's mom really so scary we have to be protected from her?"
"Danny ended up getting thrown through time because he was murdered by his own family," Tim deadpanned. "I'd tell you more, but that's his story."
"Yikes!" Tucker said. "Seems Danny can't get away from murder attempts. His future self tried to murder him too."
"No, he tried to murder us to make Danny miserable," Jazz corrected.
"Little Dani tried to murder him too," Sam reminded her.
"No, she turned Danny over to Vlad, expecting him to cure her. She didn't know Vlad was just trying to replace them both. Honestly, the people who actually tried to kill him are Vlad and Valerie."
"Bad luck with V names," Tim said.
They arrived at the medbay then, the trio eagerly crowding in and already teasing Danny about being time displaced. Danny looked annoyed, but also relieved. Tim decided that was his cue to finally head upstairs, shower, and get some sleep. He was exhausted.
Danny was waiting, bundled up in warm clothes and a thick blanket in the batcave. He'd said goodbye to his friends and sister, watching as they reluctantly got on the batplane, including Sam's car, along with the blond girl in a purple costume. Now him and the rest of the Gotham vigilantes were all waiting around, watching the batcomputer track his mother's journey through the city. It was nice that he was allowed out of bed and had even had the IV removed, apparently one night of peaceful sleep had been enough for him to recover that much. That and Team Phnatom helping slap the stolen squares of skin back into place. The ecto they'd been stored in had been a nice boost.
But now here he was, waiting for his mother's arrival. And Damian's. Hopefully. Mother had said she would bring him.
"Did Talia tell you my name?" Batman asked randomly.
"No, just that you're Batman."
Batman took his cowl off, leaving it hanging down his back like an empty hood. Danny looked into his birth father's full face, it was nice he guessed.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Bruce Wayne."
"Oh, that's… cool?" Danny was honestly confused on just what was going on here.
Nightwing started laughing, hard, leaning against a nearby console. Robin had his hands over his mouth before he blurted out, "You don't know who that is?!"
"Should I?" Danny asked. "Are you famous?" Danny squinted up at his father, he kinda looked familiar.
"He's a billionaire," Robin supplied.
Danny waited a moment, "Wait, is that all?"
Nightwing just laughed harder.
"Is that all?" Robin asked incredulously, "How many billionaires do you know?!"
"You mean besides Vlad Masters, Sam's parents, my grandfather, and my grandfather's business associates?" Honestly, that seemed like more than enough billionaires to Danny.
"Talia has arrived at one of the entrances," Batman, or Danny guesses he's Bruce Wayne now, said firmly.
Danny's eyes shot to the screen, a blinking red dot was moving along a map. Danny sat up a little straighter, suddenly extra anxious about this. For him it's been 8 years! For them it's been a day. That's already weird enough without getting into everything else. Assassins, immortals, superheroes, ghosts…
A big black car pulled in next to the batmobile and someone wearing a League uniform stepped out. As they're reaching for the back door it opened on its own, a small figure rocketing out and heading right for him. Danny smiles and opens his arms.