So, let's look on the bright side: it hasn't been a year.

Chapter Ten

Cops and Robbers

Danny watched Dick scan a card in the elevator instead of pushing the floor button. It gave a confirmative ding, before lifting them to their floor.

"Once you get settled in, we'll order some food. I'm not in the mood to cook right now." Dick said casually.

Danny adjusted the duffle bag on his shoulder. "You can cook?"

His brother winced, but maintained his easy going smile. "Well, no. I mean, I can and sometimes I do, but let's just say ordering out is generally a better option."

"Jazz doesn't let me cook when she's there to stop me. She says I'm worse than mom." He huffed, "but I've never made food that moved on its own."

The elevator opened and Dick stepped out without taking his eyes off Danny.

"And she has?" He asked, excited for the potential story.

The strolled through an ornate hall, with an exit to a stairwell on the other end. Dick used his card to unlock the his front door.

Danny nodded. "Uh huh- oh woah! Your view is amazing!"

Danny darted across the room to the window. His head snapped back to his brother. "Wait, is the whole floor yours?"

"Half of it," Dick corrected, nodding towards the elevator. "There's another apartment across the hallway. I'm pretty sure it's empty."

"Awesome." Danny scanned the immaculate living room and kitchen.

The stools at the island counter sat perfectly symmetrical. Not a speck of dust was to be found, nor any clutter other than the three magazines on the coffee table.

"Do you actually live here? Do you have a maid or something?" The questions slipped out before he could process the appropriateness of them.

Putting his jacket in the closet, Dick smiled at him, amused. "Yeah, I do live here. But I don't usually spend much time here. I sleep, eat, bathe, then leave."

Danny nodded in understanding, not really understanding at all. His room always seemed to get messier when he got busy.

"Let me show you your room." With a smile and a beckoning nod of the head, Dick picked up the duffle bag Danny had dropped to the floor, and sauntered off towards a hallway on the East wall.

Danny only stared at his brother's back, marveling at how perfectly smooth and awesome that nod had been. A pang of jealousy made a half hearted scowl to slip onto his face. It was beginning to bogle Danny's mind on how much they looked alike, but how much cooler Dick was in comparison. Shaking his head, Danny lightly ran to catch up with him.

"Alright, kiddo, that door there is the bathroom. It'll be yours while you're here; I have my own bathroom in my room, which is on the other side of the living room. There are two guest bedrooms down this hall, but I'd prefer that you use this room," Dick opened the second door to the right, "the other room has windows and access to the balcony, but I've been having problems with the balcony doors. So your stuck with this room." He set the bag down on the queen sized bed. "So, what do you think?"

The room may have been windowless, but it was spacious and bright with it's cream colored walls and matching shag carpet with primarily black furniture.

Danny smiled excitedly, nodding. "It's cool."

Ruffling his hair, Dick stepped back into the hall. "I have a couple of phone calls to make, so take your time unpacking and washing up, and I'll let you know when the food is here. Oh right!" Dick snapped his fingers. "What do you want for dinner? Take out? Pizza? Anything you want."

"Pizza is good. Pepperoni with extra cheese."

"You got it."

And with that, Dick disappeared down the hall. Danny looked at his bag on the bed, not really wanting to unpack or wash up. But he wasn't sure if he was expected to or not. Dick's muffled voice drifted down in from the other room. With a sigh, he dug in his backpack for his phone to text Tucker and Sam. As soon as his hand found the glossy surface of the phone, it started playing a jarring tune. He made a mental note to change the ringtone and set it to vibrate, and scrambled to get it out of the bag. Looking at the screen, he hesitated in answering it.

"…Hey, Jazz."

"Well, hello to you too. You could at least try to sound like you're happy to hear from me." Jazz said, and Danny could almost hear her rolling her eyes.

"I will when I am," he answered with a smirk.

"Whatever, you brat. How was your flight? How's Dick? Did you get there okay? Are you settled in? Are you guys getting along? Did you-"

"Jazz! Calm yourself! Jeez. I'm fine, everything is cool. Alright?" Danny walked about the room, inspecting the decorative items on the dresser. "I'm just hanging in my room while Dick makes a few calls and orders food."

"Okay, that's good. You haven't seen any ghosts?"

Danny set down a blue polished stone bird, and rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't. But I have a thermos and a few other gadgets, I'll be fine if one shows up."

"Right," she paused a second. "Danny, I wanted to talk about you being in another city."

"Ugh, Jazz, I'll be fine." He flopped down onto the bed.

"I was going to talk to you before I left, but someone was avoiding me." She said accusingly.

"And I could just hang up on you now to avoid you more."

"Then I'd call Dick." She threatened.

"You wouldn't tell him anything."

"No, Danny. I wouldn't anything about you being… you know. But I would tell him that there's something we need to discuss and you won't listen."

The words 'I don't care' halted in his throat as he imagined how embarrassing it would be to have Dick asking him why he wouldn't talk to his sister, and maybe even try to convince him to listen to her. He sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"

"For you to follow some ground rules while you're in another city. I-"

"Ja-azz! Not you too! I don't need ground rules! I'll be fine."

"Wait, who tried giving you ground rules?" Jazz asked.

"Sam."

"I like Sam. But just hear me out, okay? To put my mind at ease? Please, Danny."

Danny rubbed his eye, with a slight scowl. "Fine, fine."

"Thank you, Danny. First, no crime fighting."

"I-"

"No, Danny, just listen. Heroes are notoriously territorial. They generally don't take too kindly to other supers crime fighting in their territory unless they've already established a partnership. I read a whole paper behind the psychology-"

"Hold up. Does Bludhaven have a superhero?" Danny sat up.

"Yes. At least they think he's super-powered. Not much is known about him, just that he goes by Nightwing and wears black, and that he's registered with the Justice League."

"Huh. I didn't know that."

"Yeah, so there's that. And the fact that you haven't actually done any crime fighting before that didn't involve ghosts."

"I totally have! I've stopped a purse snatching, a store robbery, and I helped out in a police chase!"

Jazz sighed. "Okay, yes. But did any of those involve guns? Do you even know what would happen if you got shot by a gun? Bludhaven is a dangerous city. It's crime rates are currently worse than Gotham. So just don't try to fight crime there, okay?" She waited for a reply. "Okay?"

"Alright! Okay, jeez. I won't fight crime, no matter how cool it'd be."

"Thank you. Second: don't play around with your powers," She said tiredly. "Even when you think no one's around. You are not as sneaky as you think you are, and someone is going to catch you with your luck."

Danny hummed unhappily.

"If you feel the need to use your powers, just go for a invisible flight or something. Third: keep a thermos and a few weapons on you, just in case something happens and you can't change."

"Jazz, I'm not stupid. I'll be carrying equipment with me." He stood, moving around the room again.

"Good. Last thing, I think you should tell Dick."

Danny halted mid step. "Jazz, no."

"Danny, listen-"

"No! Jazz, just butt out! I don't need you to lecture me about this again."

"Alright! I know why you don't want to tell Mom and Dad, I get it. Even though I don't agree. But with Dick it's different, right? He seems completely trustworthy to me."

"I said to drop it!" Danny growled as loudly as he dared, shooting a glance at the door. "I don't need you nagging me, okay?"

"Just tell me why not."

Danny ran a hand down his face and sighed, "Jazz…"

"Humor me and I'll leave you alone. So, why not?"

Danny sighed heavily. He sat down on the floor and begun picking at the carpet.

"Vlad made it pretty clear that he doesn't want-"

"Screw Vlad. You never listen to adults anyways, why start now?"

Danny knew Jazz has dealt with Vlad before, but her words sounded careless and ignorant to his ears, just like Sam's did. He didn't want to argue it with her though, so he moved on.

"He might already know," Danny said, biting his lip.

"What? Who? Dick? How?"

"Uh, yesterday I overheard him and Mom talking and he was asking questions about the lab and stuff. Like if I've gotten hurt down there and stuff."

Jazz paused a bit before saying, "I don't think that…"

"I know, I know, but the look on his face. He knew something was up."

"Okay," her tone told Danny she didn't quite believe him, "that's all the more reason to approach him about it, right?"

"Jazz, I'm half dead.…What if he freaks? No, he will freak. You know what? I know he doesn't know that I'm… this, because he hasn't freaked. But what if- what if I tell him and he just tells Mom and Dad? They'd be so pissed, Jazz. They would think it's their fault and they would try and fix it even though I don't need fixing. They'd be so mad. They would never let me see Tucker and Sam ever again! We've been lying to them for so long. And I'm- I'm… you know, part ghost now. I don't think they'll… He'll definitely freak and tell them, or worse, he'd tell the police and they'd tell the Justice League and they would lock me up for breaking Amity. Again."

"I don't think any of that's true. Mom and Dad might be a little mad, yes. But they would still love you. Dick seems super level headed to me, I don't think he'd freak-"

"He doesn't even believe ghosts exist."

"It's your choice, but I don't think he'll freak. Maybe at first, but he'll get his head around it and be fine. It's up to you."

Danny grunted disbelievingly.

"I have to go now. Follow the rules, and consider telling Dick, please."

Danny only grunted again, pulling a bit of the carpet out.

"I love you, Danny."

"Love you, too," he mumbled back.

"Oh, and Danny? If you ever need to talk about what happened the other day, I'm here."

"Alright, Jazz."

"Bye, Danny."

"See ya, Jazz."

He dropped his hand to his lap, looking at his phone. A wrinkle creased his forehead as he got lost, deep in thought. With a shake of his head, he got up to go see if Dick was still busy.

Harley poked the green creature inside the cage with a stick. It garbled and hissed at her, morphing and twisting in on itself to avoid the probing. She sighed.

"Another dud." She kicked the cage, and the blob let out another animalistic hiss. "Where's the ghost boy? He had enough of brain matter to work with," she asked the non sentient ghost.

A deep scowl twisted her face as she studied the city around her. She thought about the encounter she had with the cat beast and the boy. He'd been fairly adamant on catching the other ghost. She looked back down at the useless blob and quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully.

"That might work."

Danny pushed around the last bits of lasagna on his plate. With his head in his hand he watched his brother flirt with the waitress boredly. Danny wasn't actually sure if they were flirting or not, the conversations between them were so casual. But the waitress did an awful lot of smiling and seemed to linger at their table more than any other. So Danny guessed that they were.

The restaurant was nice. Getting out of the apartment was nice. Danny had only been in Bludhaven for three days, but he'd spent the majority of the time cooped up because Dick had to work. And the man's schedule didn't make a lick of sense to him. All Danny knew was that he worked a lot and when he'd be home was nearly unpredictable. Meaning Danny couldn't go flying as much as he would like with the worry of Dick popping home to find him missing.

But Dick finally got an evening off and decided to make the most of it. Danny had been word vomiting the entire time, saying everything about nothing and nothing about anything. His brother had listened intently the entire time, even joining the conversation enthusiastically when Danny wasn't talking a mile a minute. All that excitable energy seemed to fade, and now he was contently quiet, if not slightly regretting just how much he talked about certain subjects, like space...

When the waitress finally left, leaving their check on the table, Dick turned his focus back on Danny.

"So," he said casually, "there's something I've been meaning to ask you about."

Danny's fork stopped moving and his eyes flickered up from the plate. He tentatively responded, "yeah?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious," Dick chuckled, seeing the look on his face. "There's just this charity event Bruce, my father, is hosting coming up this weekend. It's fairly fancy and I had been planning on attending, mostly as an excuse to go to Gotham and spend time with my brothers. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in doing?"

Danny blinked. "Hanging out with your brothers?"

Dick wagged his head back and forth, "you'll be meeting them whether you want to or not. I was more asking about the charity event."

Crinkling his nose, Danny asked, "you're inviting me to a rich people party?"

"More or less." Dick's eyes lit up with amusement.

Danny's face soured even more. "I would have to wear a suit?"

Dick nodded, placing the check on the end of the table, waiting expectantly.

"I don't have a suit."

"I can get you one."

Danny frowned. "Do I have to?"

"No, Danny. You don't have to. That's why I'm asking if you want to go. Really, it's up to you if you go or not." Danny started to reply, but Dick continued before he even made a sound. "I did see a Samantha Manson on the guest list, if that helps you decide."

Danny blinked. "Well now I want to go, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Dick sprang up, clapping his hands together, "excellent, now let's go get you that suit!"

"Wait, now?"

"Why not now? We have time now."

Danny sighed in defeat and followed Dick out of the restaurant. Seeing Sam in person again, especially in the middle of the distressing times he's only seen the aftermath for, sounded fun. But shopping for new clothes just sounded boring and painful.

Seeing Danny's slumped posture Dick rolled his eyes, "don't be so dramatic. Getting a new suit isn't that bad."

Danny grunted in response as he got into the car.

His dread of boredom turned into fidgety awkwardness of not knowing what to do with himself when they arrived to their destination, which happened to be a very wealthy looking company building solely dedicated to fancy suits.

Dick strolled right in like he owned the place, keeping a firm hand on Danny's back, forcing him to keep pace.

In a flourish of welcomes and polite inquiries, Danny found himself standing on a sturdy stool, arms stretched out and head up and still, faster than he was able to keep up with what was happening.

"Danny, quit fidgeting and let the gentleman take your measurements," Dick said, barely looking up from his phone.

"I'm not fidgeting," Danny grumbled back, as the man stepped back to write down what he'd measured. Automatically, Danny's arms came down to cross tightly over his chest.

Dick looked like he was about to reply, but his phone gave a buzz and he frowned. "Sorry, Danny. I need to take this call. Put your arms back up. I'll be back in a minute."

Putting his phone to his ear, Dick gave him a warning look before spinning out of the room. "Babs! Baby! Honey! My darling. How are you?... look, I know and I'm sorry. I can explain…"

Danny huffed and did his best to ignore the polite old man, Diggory something or another, that actually did an excellent job at touching him without making it weird and like it was a completely normal thing to do. But Danny felt obligated at this point to be uncomfortable and unhappy. It would be weird if he wasn't, in his mind.

He stuck his arms back up as the man reached around him to measure his chest, again.

"You are fidgeting, Daniel," Vlad's voice slipped out of the old man like a bucket of ice water.

Danny didn't move until the old man looked up at him with bright red eyes that weren't his own. Danny shoved, pushing Vlad away and stepping back. But that only created so much distance because Vlad still had the tape measure wrapped around his chest. He barely got one foot off the stool before he was being pulled back up.

"Now Daniel, don't cause a scene. Wouldn't want to get old Mr. Diggory Leonard fired, would we?"

Before Danny could phase through the tape, Vlad had him buy his shirt. He hesitated in losing his shirt long enough for Vlad's words to sink in.

"What are you talking about? Let go of me, you creepy old man. And get out of him!" Danny hissed as he tried jerking out of his grip.

But Vlad held on steadfastly with a calm smirk. "If you make it out to appear as though Mr. Leonard is attacking you, he will be let go in the lightest of punishments. I mean, who wants to be fitted by a man who attacked the long lost brother of an adopted Wayne?"

Danny stared at him wide eyed and Vlad continued before he could respond properly. "I just have a few things to say to you, then I'll leave you be. So don't make this complicated and put your arms back up and act natural."

He sent a quick glance in the direction Dick disappeared in, and then at the other plasticaly polite and oblivious employees. Danny crossed his arms under Vlads hands holding the tape measure around his chest and glared down at Vlad. Danny was liking the stool.

"I've got a few choice words for you too, Vladdy. Like, 'scram', 'get a better hobby', 'get lost,' and maybe 'get a cat'. I'd ask how you found me, but I already know the answer's 'because you're a fruitloop'." Danny let his power thrum just beneath the surface. He wasn't sure if Vlad could feel it or not, but it's chill calmed his beating heart and made it easier to think.

"Ah, the usual then," Vlad said without actually rolling his eyes. "But I'm afraid there isn't time for all your usual nonsense. You're… brother will be back any moment. If you had just spoken to me on the phone, this could have been avoided." The old man's face frowned at him, reprimand lacing his features. Vlad continued, talking over Danny's half formed retort, "I was fine with your little nobody friends knowing our secret, Daniel. But I would advise against telling Richard Grayson of your half dead status. I-"

Danny cut him off, shoving his hands away. "What I do or do not tell my brother is none of your business."

Vlad folded his hands behind his back, looking unperturbed at Danny's physical retaliation. "You can't be stupid enough to actually believe that, Daniel. There are only so many dots between your secret and mine, reveal yourself and you reveal me. And if it hasn't already sunk into that thick skull of yours, Grayson is a little more connected and influential than Mr. Foley and Ms. Manson."

Danny fumed. "Sam's parents are-"

"Wealthy? Yes, connected? Not to anyone I care about. Do I really need to explain this to you? Outstanding. You're related and you don't know."

"Don't know what, fruitloop?"

"The Batman, Daniel. He flies a jet and has a car fortified enough to take on the military should he choose to. Who do you think funds this?"

Danny could only stare in confusion, his anger sizzling.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Wayne Enterprises, Daniel! They've made numerous donations to the Justice League, it's not too great a stretch to think that they might be funding the local hero under the table. So, if you tell Grayson, are you sure he would keep it from his father? He's not your sister or your little friends; he may decide your too young and foolish to be on your own with this. And who's to say he and his father won't tell the hero in their pocket? And what do you think happens when Batman, a member of the Justice league, learns that there's a boy with catastrophic powers in a small city suffering from regular large scale property damage?"

Danny had taken a step back, off the stool, and now Vlad loomed over him.

"I-I'll just tell them the tru-"

"And you think they'll listen to you? A boy barely responsible enough to keep his grades from failing? A boy that lies to his parents, teachers, and spends more time in detention than any of the other students? A boy who only has a spoiled rebellious gothic teen and a naive nobody willing to do whatever he's told to vouch for him?"

Danny glared, ignoring how his eyes stung. "It's not like that-"

"That's how they'll see it. It doesn't matter 'what it's like'. Don't tell Grayson anything, or you'll regret it."

Danny breathed hard. His chest felt hollowed out, and he wanted nothing more than to scream and pound the man's face in.

Vlad pulled him up roughly by his arm back onto the stool. "Now that I've said what I needed, I'll be leaving. Reign in that temper of yours, and wipe that expression off your face; your eyes are green."

Danny opened his mouth to snap at him, but deflated when the fitter's brown eyes blinked up at him in confusion. The man glanced around, trying to figure something out. He spotted the tape measure on the ground.

"My apologies, Mr. Fenton! I don't know what came over me." He bent down to retrieve the dropped item with a pleasant smile.

"It's fine," Danny replied tersely through clenched teeth. His heart hammered in his chest and he could actually feel blood veins on his forehead pulsing.

The man's smile wavered just a bit, but he continued working like nothing happened.

"Are you alright, Danny?"

Danny startled. Dick was back, staring at him with a puzzled look.

"I'm fine." The words came out much sharper than he intended.

"Perfect timing, Mr. Grayson, we've just finished." The fitter looked from Danny to Dick, giving the older a 'what can you do' expression.

Danny looked away, glaring at the far wall.

"Excellent! Let's go then, Danny."

Danny hopped off the stool, not responding to the fitters well wishes, and followed Dick out. He hadn't really realized he'd been keeping his eyes on the ground until Dick nudged him, making him look up.

"You alright, Danny? What happened?"

A tightness seized his chest. He wanted to tell Dick exactly what happened. But Vlad was right. He couldn't. Jazz didn't understand.

"Nothing!" He snapped, looking away again to hide his face. "I'm fine. Let's just… go."

He just needed to cool off and things would go back to normal.

Dick hummed, considering him.

Danny took a deep breath and looked back up at his brother. The anger lingered, but most of it leaked away into exhaustion. "Sorry, Dick. I'm okay. Honestly. Just… got a text from a… not a friend. I got a text and it pissed me off. I just need to block his number and forget about it."

The valet handed Dick his keys, as he frowned worriedly. "Is this something I should be worried about?"

Danny snorted. "You already are, and you will be even I say no."

Dick rolled his eyes and got into the car. Danny followed, shutting the door a little too harshly.

"Seriously, though. Is this something you need help with? Or want help? I'm totally up for helping."

Danny shook his head. "No, it's nothing really. I don't need help."

Danny mashed the keys desperately, as if hitting the buttons harder would make his attacks stronger.

"C'mon, Tuck, hurry up with the blaster already." He grumbled under his breath as his health bar slowly depleted.

The elevator opened with a soft ding, but Danny didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"Hey, Danny. Isn't it a little late to be up?" Dick greeted, the reprimand light.

Danny mashed the space bar. "Don't know what time it is. Can't talk now."

"Uh-huh," Dick replied, unimpressed, from the kitchen, sticking something in the microwave.

"This will be our last try, I swear." Danny still kept his eyes glued to the screen. "Nonononono! Tuck, you idiot! Hurry! NO!" He slumped. "We were so close!"

"Close to..?" Dick smirked at the misery pooling off of Danny.

With a sigh, Danny sat back up and begun typing out a message. "Me and Tuck have been trying to get the Mystopian Key without Sam's help. It's like the hardest key to get and Sam can do it without even trying." He groaned and shut the computer off.

"That bad, eh?"

Danny spun in the chair to look directly at Dick. "Yes."

His brother only chuckled.

Throwing his hands in the air and spinning the chair around, Danny shouted, "you don't understand! Sam has been gloating for weeks!"

"I'm sure she has. But it's after midnight, and you should go to bed." Dick told him seriously, pulling the tupperware out of the microwave before the time actually ended.

"I'm not tired," Danny mumbled with his arms crossed.

Dick sighed, looking over the teen critically. "You slept all day, didn't you?"

"...Maybe."

Dick rolled his eyes, and they fell into a comfortable silence as Dick ate. He watched Danny twist back and forth in the chair, staring longingly out the window. Finishing his bite, Dick cleared his throat. Danny looked over, curious.

"Try to sleep anyway, and we'll do something together tomorrow."

Danny's face scrunched. "Don't you work?"

"No," Dick shook his head, "I've managed to get the next few days off. I'm still on call, but I'm not scheduled to work."

Danny's eyes lit up, but he carefully kept his slouched posture. "What are we gonna do?"

Dick shrugged. "Bowling?"

"Bowling? seriously?"

"Alright, alright, I know. But it's late and I'm tired. We can come up with something in the morning. Just go to bed, I'll be in bed as soon as I finish this." Dick took another bite of half warmed pasta.

Danny rolled his eyes, and hoisted himself out of the chair. Reaching the hallway, he paused, finger tapping the corner of the wall his palm rested on. Dick lifted his eyebrows, waiting for Danny.

Looking over his shoulder, the teen asked with a forced nonchalance, "can we, um, fight again tomorrow?"

"You want to spar?" Dick clarified.

Danny nodded, nervousness leaking through the movement.

"Sure, kid. That sounds fun." Dick smiled.

Danny returned the smile twofold, then darted to his room, throwing a goodnight over his shoulder.

Dick groaned, checking the time as his work phone buzzed loudly on the glass surface of the nightstand.

'5:36 AM'

He answered the call, praying to no one that it would be something he could talk himself out of doing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Grayson, it's Joe." The old cop greeted, sounding just as tired as Dick felt, but also hesitant and nervous.

It gained no sympathy from Dick. "Joe, I haven't been home for six hours yet, please do not tell me you're already calling me in."

"I- I would have just paged you if… if this wasn't…."

Dick sighed rubbing his eyes. He liked Joe, he really did. Joe was one of the very few good cops in Bludhaven. The man just couldn't assert himself. "Joe, why are you calling me?"

"Well, you see, the thing is, I got a kid here in my custody sayin' he's your brother."

Dick groaned, rubbing his face and trying to figure out which brother would be in Bludhaven and dumb enough to get themselves arrested. He suddenly inhaled, eyes widening. He jumped out of bed, silently dashing to Danny's room.

"I only callin' 'cause we can't get ahold of his parents and he does look just like you. He's not cooperating real well. Won't answer any questions, and keeps mouthin' off to Johnson. Johnson's lookin' like he's ready to pull his gun."

Danny's duvet lay in the middle of the floor, and the lamp next to the bed was tumped over. The room was empty.

"-don't know exactly what one of your brother's would be doin' in a-"

"Joe, keep Johnson away from him. I'm on my way."

"Uh, sure thing, Grayson. Does this mean he is-"

Dick hung up, already shoving his pants on, and grabbing his keys.

Danny could feel Officer Johnson's glare from across the room. Everyone else in the precinct was either too busy or too lazy to pay too much attention to him in his chair against the wall. He sat in his PJs on the the opposite side of the desk of the officer who everyone seemed content in just calling Joe, rather than Officer Morgan. For a while he watched the bustle of cops and detectives shoving thugs around, yelling into phones, and barking orders that no one seemed to listen to. But eventually Officer Johnson's, the scruffy cop with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas, consistent sneering had Danny's hope of getting out of this unscathed dwindling fast. So he took to staring blankly at his cuffed hands in his lap, angrily twisting at the hem of his shirt.

Joe shuffled papers on his desk, signing things and breathily mumbling to himself. When the old fat cop stopped mid mumble and stood, Danny looked up. Dick had arrived, and the angry frown on his face made Danny shrink into the chair.

"Stay here," Officer Joe ordered, lumbering over to his brother.

Joe met Dick out of earshot with his thumbs tucked in the waistband of his pants. As they talked Joe made nodding gestures at Danny and at Officer Johnson, who was now glaring at Dick like he was the cause of world hunger, and Dick's frown continued to deepen.

Danny had thought he'd been clever giving them his parents phone line number, which happened to nonfunctional at the moment. But now the reality of being in trouble with his brother was so much worse than he thought. When Dick finally looked over in his direction, Danny dipped his head back down.

His brother was a cop, and Danny had just gotten arrested because Young Blood followed him all the way from Amity to play Cops and Robbers. There was no way he'd be able to convince them that he wasn't guilty of breaking into a toy store without sounding like a lunatic. His brother would think he was one, just like Mr. Lancer and his parents always did. The injustice of it burned in Danny's chest. He sent a scathing glare to the thermos on Officer Joe's desk.

Dick walked up, arms folded, and eyes serious. Joe followed a few steps behind, looking lost, but too tired to really care.

"Danny." Dick's tone was firm, like a nail in a coffin.

"What?" Danny snapped, not looking up.

"What happened?"

Danny met his eyes, jaw tight. "I got arrested. What's it look like?"

Officer Johnson seemed to materialize next to Dick, puffing out his chest like a rooster preparing for a fight. "Caught him breaking into the toy store on 5th. Tried to steal a big ol' teddy bear." The man crossed his arms smuggly.

"If you had eyes," Danny growled, gaining a sharp sneer from the cop, "you would have seen that I was tossing the bear into the store, Officer. You might find stealing from a baby's toy store is a reasonable crime, but I-"

"Danny," Dick snapped, "shut the hell up."

Danny stared at Dick in a hurt shock. Feeling like he just got punched in the gut, Danny looked away, glaring at his hands. Dick's hard look faltered, but he moved on.

Dick turned to Johnson. "What exactly did you see?"

"I already told ya, Grayson. You ain't getting your baby brother outta this one."

"Did you have your dash cam on?"

"Are you questioning my compatance, Grayson?" Johnson stepped into Dick's space, as if he were a boxer before a match.

Dick didn't back down. "I want to see it myself."

"You're not on duty, boy."

A long heavy pause set between them. Danny couldn't help but to glance up. Joe was shuffling awkwardly, not knowing what to do, while some of the other overtired cops stopped what they were doing to watch.

"Three, nine, foxtrot, bravo, two, nine, eight, one." Dick spoke calmly, confusing everyone listening except Officer Johnson.

The man paled, blinking rapidly, before going red in the face. "Conference room. Now."

Dick only nodded and lead the way into the room. Johnson followed, slamming the door behind them. Officer Joe let out a tired breath, then lumbered back to his desk without sparing Danny even a glance.

It didn't bother Danny in the slightest as he kept his eyes locked on the conference room door, uncertainty wriggling in his stomach. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cop from a few desks down glancing between him and the door. After a longer calculating stare at the door, the man pushed away from his desk. He rolled his chair right up to Danny.

Lounging on his elbow on Joe's desk, he asked, "are you really related to Grayson?"

"Burkly," Officer Joe pleaded, sounding like that was the only resistance Burkly was going to get.

Burkly completely ignored him, watching Danny expectantly. The teen frowned and gave a short nod.

"By blood?"

Danny nodded again, not liking the hungry gleam in the cop's eyes.

"I believe you, because you look identical. But I didn't know Grayson had any relatives. I mean, didn't his parents die a long time ago?" He looked over at Joe for confirmation, but Joe just frowned unhappily. Burkly suddenly tapped the desk, faking an epiphany. "That's right! They fell from a trapeze! Murdered right in front of him."

Danny had already read about his birth parents, but hearing the words and the faint smile on the man's face made Danny sick to his stomach.

"Man, Wayne's boy toy must be pretty protective of you, huh? I mean none of us even knew he had a biological brother until you got arrested, and the way he came prancing in here not five minutes after he was called…"

Danny scowled. "Don't you have, like, parking tickets to print out or something?"

Smiling and unbothered Barkly chuckled. He shook his finger at Danny. "You, that was a good one. You're quick. Here."

He rolled closer, pulling out a set of keys and motioning for Danny to hold out his hands. Hesitantly, Danny complied.

As he took his time unlocking the cuffs, Barkly spoke in a lower tone, all friendliness gone. "One lesson your brother hasn't learned yet is that money and his connection to Wayne can't protect him from everything."

Blinking seemed to be the only thing Danny was capable of doing that second, and Barkly smiled.

"Detective Barkly."

Danny jumped, having not noticed Dick approach.

"Easy Grayson," Barkly put his hands up, displaying the cuffs. "I was just getting these off him."

Dick ignored the detective, looking at Danny instead, who wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Let's go, Danny."

Danny inwardly cringed at his flat, rock hard tone. But he quickly snatched the thermos off the desk and followed after Dick, right on his heels. It took him a few seconds to realize Dick wasn't headed for an exit. Instead, Danny found himself shifting from foot to foot awkwardly in a locker room as Dick silently opened his locker and dug through it. Hands fidgeting on the thermos, Danny wished Dick would just scold him and get it over with. At the same time, he wished to stall the scolding for as long as possible. Despite the conflicting wants, he knew for sure that the silent tension was going to kill him if it lasted any longer.

"What did-" Danny tried. "What did you say to Officer Johnson?"

Dick pulled out a large pair of boots and a jacket, handing them to Danny. "It was code for something I shouldn't know about. He's going to work himself crazy trying to figure out how I know. Put the jacket on and try the shoes."

Danny stepped into the shoes, and Dick knelt, synching up the laces as tight as they would go. It didn't help much. Danny still felt like a clown, but they wouldn't fall off of his feet from just walking.

"Um, your workplace is pretty cut throat." The teen tried again, slipping on the jacket as Dick stood, and shut his locker and looked at him. "Detective Burkly, he, uh, I think he threatened you- er, me… Us."

Dick considered him for a second, before nodding, turning to leave and Danny followed. "You're right. More than half of these cops are crooked, and I've been causing them a bit of trouble. He's probably planning to kill you. Johnson is probably planning something similar. Don't worry about them though. They're more predictable than a cartoon villain, like half the people here. They'll both be behind bars soon, and you won't be in Bludhaven for much longer."

He hadn't even been facing Danny when he delivered that punch to the gut. The walk to the parking lot was silent and tense. Dick had smiled and waved politely at a few people. But when Dick handed a helmet from the motorcycle's saddlebags that hid his entire face, Danny quickly shoved it on.

They made it all the way to the apartment without a word. Danny glared hard at the elevator doors as they slipped open. Wanting nothing more than another round with Youngblood just to pound the snot out of him, Danny marched for his room as soon as they got inside.

"Danny, wait. We need to talk." Dick's voice was softer, sympathetic.

Danny sighed. Knowing what was coming, he robotically turned back around. Dick gestured towards the couches and Danny followed, lips tight, and eyes on the ground.

They sat opposite of each other in silence for a minute. Danny refused to speak first. He'd been through this countless times with Mr. Lancer, the principle, his parents. None of them listened, or would even believe him if he told them the truth. He noticed his grip on the thermos was turning his knuckles white, and he forced himself to loosen it.

"What happened tonight, Danny?" Again, his tone was soft, but Danny missed it.

"I got arrested," he snapped, not looking away from his hands, "broke into a toy store. He got it on camera. So just go ahead and call my parents, and let's skip the lecture-"

"No, you didn't."

Danny looked up. "Huh?"

"You didn't break into that store. In fact," Dick leaned back on the couch with his arms resting on the back, and look out the window in thought, "I'm willing to bet quite a lot that you didn't even leave the apartment voluntarily. At least not completely, anyway. But what I'm unsure of is how you," Dick met Danny's wide eyes, "a barefooted teenager who is unfamiliar with the city, managed to get from here to David's Toy Store on fifth street in the middle of the night. That's a three hour walk."

Danny's mouth worked, trying to form words without the brain supplying any.

"I would also like to know what that thermos has to do with all this. It played a part in what happened with the Justice League a few days ago too."

"I took a taxi," Danny breathed, still not over his shock.

A faint, amused, and almost sad smirk flickered across Dick's face.

"Danny…" Dick leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and Danny pressed back into the couch. "You didn't take a taxi, or a bus, or the subway. I know something is going on. The night I spent at your house, you left and more than hour later you came back through the front door. I know that wasn't a bathroom trip. I also know the explanation is beyond reason. I know there is something going on, but I don't know what. I want to help you, Danny. As much as I can."

Danny stared, limbs slack. "I… You… It's…" he tried. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to reboot it. Then looked as his brother again. "You're not mad?"

Dick blinked. "No, Danny. I'm not mad." He seemed to think for a second before continuing. "I was fairly upset at the precinct, but that wasn't directed at you… it just got under my skin, thinkinging about you being there, and if Joe hadn't…" He took a deep breath. "...never mind. I'm not mad at you. It's going to take more than getting arrested to get me upset with you."

"The bar is, like, ridiculously low, then," Danny snorted, the tension easing.

Dick chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, "yeah, it has been set pretty low, huh?" He sighed, then locked eyes with Danny, and held it. "What happened Danny? What's going on?"

Just like that, all the tension returned. Danny let out a breath, looking out the window, away from his brother's soul searching gaze, and ran his hand through his hair.

"How about you start with what's in the thermos," Dick suggested gently.

Danny's hands tightened around it. "A… a ghost." He licked his lips, and glanced back at his brother. Interested, concerned, confused, patient were a few words that Danny would use to describe the look on Dick's face. Not at all what he was expecting, but there was no telling if those things would remain for the entirety of the conversation to come. "He, uh, followed me from Amity. The ghost, that is. I had to catch him before he caused too much trouble. So I chased after him after he woke me up…"

"So…" Dick shifted, deciding on what exactly to unpack first. "There's a ghost in your thermos?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded. "My dad built it as a containment device for ghosts."

"Can I see it?" Dick asked and Danny's face fell.

"Well, um, no. One, that would mean releasing him, and he's kind of a pain in the butt to catch. And two… Well… it's Youngblood. He's a ghost of a kid, and only kids can see him- I know that sounds like I'm lying to get out of trouble! but it's the truth, you can call Jazz or Tucker or Sam. They all know him. Adults can't see him though…"

Dick nodded slowly, processing. "Okay, so Youngblood was the one to break into the store, not you."

"Uh, yeah. That's where I caught him. I pretended to be knocked out when he threw the tricycle at me and he fell for it and like an idiot I thought I'd stay to clean up some of the mess we- he made." Danny spoke fast, fidgeting.

"Okay," Dick said again. "That doesn't explain how you ended up on 5th."

Danny's breath caught, and he looked down at the floor.

"Danny, can I tell you a secret you absolutely cannot tell anyone?"

His eyes snapped back up in confusion. He nodded, eyebrows scrunched.

"I have a friend who is… who has abilities. The kind you only see on the news on tv. The kind that science tries to explain, but usually can't. This friend keeps their abilities a secret, partially to keep their life as normal as possible, and partially to keep people from… seeing them as anything other than human…" Dick ended there, but Danny heard the rest. "...is this what's going on for you?"

Danny stared wide eyed at the imploring kindness in Dick's eyes, mind fuzzy with a clawing panic.

Who was his friend? Batman? Another League member?

He couldn't tell him. Vlad's threat and warning rang in his head, overpowering Jazz's voice telling him Dick would understand. Realizing he had been too quiet for too long he opened his mouth, only to snap it shut again.

He couldn't not answer, but he didn't know how to answer.

What would Vlad do if he told? What would Dick do? He clearly suspected something, but what would he do if he knew the full truth? Would Dick tell his parents? Tell Mr. Wayne? Would the Justice League decide he was too irresponsible for his powers and lock him up? Or take his powers away? Could they do that? Would they listen to Vlad again and not him?

"Hey, Danny, it's okay." Dick's voice shattered his overwhelming thoughts, he knelt in front of Danny. "It's okay, you're safe here."

"I don't…" The splintered thoughts mended themselves rapidly. "I can't…"

"It's okay, you're safe. Listen, I backed you into a corner, and I'm sorry. You don't have to answer me tonight, or at all, okay? I'll stop prying. I don't have to know anything."

Danny stared at him like he'd grown a second head, breathing rapidly.

"Hey, I mean it." Dick put up his hands in a show of innocence. "I don't know anything, and I don't have to. All that happened tonight was a ghost attacked you, and carried you to a toy store to play a game and you captured it."

Danny blinked, breath settling. "Are you… did you just… come up with a really good lie for me to… lie to you with?"

Dick lifted an eyebrow, as if to say, 'did I?' Or maybe more of a, 'what of it?'.

"I, uh, okay." Danny sucked in a breath and let it out. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"...okay."

"Okay!" Dick clapped his hands. "Pesky ghost robbed us of much needed sleep. But I'm waking you up at nine and we're ditching this stuffy apartment for the day."

"That's it?" Danny squeaked.

"Yeah," Dick rubbed his eye. "That was enough for me for one night. Dontchya think? Get to bed, get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Well, later morning."

Dick stood up suddenly, headed for his room.

"But!" Danny stood as well, reaching out.

"But…?" Dick looked back at him.

"Just- just like that?"

"Just like that."

"You're for real not mad?"

"Not mad that you got kidnapped by a ghost, and arrested for trying to help, and got your life targeted and threatened twice tonight by cops, and then grilled by your brother you've known for… not that long? Yeah, I'm pretty mad. But for you, not at you. It's been a night for you."

"Oh… but I thought… you said at the precinct that I wasn't staying here…"

Dick's face softened and fell. "Oh, Danny. You're not staying in Bludhaven because we are going to Gotham."

"Oh." Danny felt his ears heat up with embarrassment. "Sorry. I thought- it sounded like-"

Dick walked back over to Danny and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry it came across that way. I'm also sorry for being short with you. You just… gotta know when to hold your tongue, Danny." He reprimanded, but smiled almost proudly. "Now get to bed, Squirt. I want to see you bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning."

"R-right. Okay. Goodnight, Dick."

"Goodnight, kiddo."

I'll just leave this here.

Love you all!

Rosy out

Date Posted: 05-16-19