Chapter Text
Danny awoke screaming but warm. As soon as he was conscious he stopped screaming but the damage was already done. Damian was directly on top of Danny like a weighted blanket and the door flew open to Bruce running in to check on the boys. Danny was panting, breathing heavily and crying. He couldn’t remember what the dream was even about once he woke up though, Damian squeezed his brother tighter and Bruce sat right next to the bed leaning over it carefully. Once Danny’s panting calmed down Bruce sat on the edge of the bed.
“Alright now Danny?” Bruce asked. Danny sat up a bit and nodded.
“Sorry, I don’t even remember what it was about.” Danny didn’t remember why he was screaming. He didn’t remember but he had a feeling he had been in pain. A terror that gripped his heart but it was dull and fading as the adrenaline faded. “Sorry Dami, I didn’t mean to wake you up. The sun just started rising.” Danny noted the light lines of sun on the room's floor.
“You don’t need to apologize. Ever. Unlike what the League dictates, dreams are subconscious and not something that can be trained for control.” Damian said with conviction and grabbed Danny in a hug to let him lay back down. Danny hadn’t even remembered him letting go.
“Damian is right. Do you want me to stay here for a while?” Bruce asked, leaving the question open to Danny. He wasn’t sure how comfortable the boy was with him yet but it seemed like Danny did want him to stay.
Danny did want him to stay.
Bruce was thankful that his presence brought the boy some comfort at least.
This son was new but he needed the most support Bruce could provide. He did need to make sure both of the boys had someone to talk to as well. Bruce sat on the edge of the bed as the two twins fell asleep again.
Even after they were asleep Bruce decided he was going to stay for awhile anyway. Bruce could see the similarities between Damian and Danny as well as the differences. His boys were the same in some ways and different in others that were emerging to be different. Damian slept with a slight frown on his face but Danny slept with a more relaxed face that looked more peaceful. Damian was curled around his brother like a protective blanket. Like he could protect him from the world. Danny had one of his hands on his brother's back and the other was resting beside him on the bed. The trust was obvious for Bruce. Even away from each other for so long the twins never lost the trust they developed in their childhood.
Bruce thought about his youngest's childhood often, probably too often but it was one of his many regrets in life. If only he had been there, knew that Damian was alive and there and his child. He had missed the childhood of all of his children. Through a cruel twist of fate all of his children had come to him after they were past those precious baby or toddler stages. Bruce often thought that if he had time travel he would go back and fix it. He would go and adopt his children all before they could come to harm.
They wouldn’t really be his children though, not without the events that made them who they were and the events at the start of their adoption or fostering. These children who he cherished above all else who were broken but beautiful and amazing individuals all in their own right.
He knew they could protect themselves but it didn’t matter how old they were or how old they got he never let them go into anything alone. Even if they didn’t want him there he was determined to be there for them in support at least.
Now there was another little bat who had come back home to roost and he wasn’t going to fail this one too. His past pockmarked with failure after failure that he would spend the rest of his life to mend.
No matter how much trouble they cause, that's one thing he would never ever want changed. They were his kids and he wouldn’t trade a single one of them for the world, flaws and all.
Dick Grayson his first son who came to him a small angry ball of violence and vengeance. A son who created the mantle of Robin based on an image that his parents had created when he was even smaller than when he came to Bruce. Dick had been there when Bruce had made the most mistakes. He didn’t know if he even should have been a father at that point in his life. It felt like everything he did when it came to Dick was the wrong move. Of course with that many mistakes they piled up and sat unattended Dick eventually left to find more fulfillment. Left the role of Robin, left Bruce behind and felt he needed to go protect another city because there was no place in Gotham for him anymore. He felt his place was not next to Bruce and that had hurt both of them.
Jason Todd was the Robin of hope though he would never tell that to the Jason that was here with them now. Jason’s Robin was light and hope and magic. A complete opposite to the Batman of that time. Jason when he first came was weary and hurt by the world and when he realized that Bruce could help him help others that were exactly like him it was like he fell perfectly into the world Batman had made in Gotham. Jason himself grew into his role, as a son and a little brother. At first Dick was mad, he was actually mad all the time but Dick used Jason as an excuse for his anger. Jason’s death brought Bruce’s whole world into darkness. Suddenly punching criminals just wasn’t enough. He wanted to make the whole world pay, not just the Joker who took that bright boy away but every single criminal that turned Jason into what he was before he came to Bruce in the first place. He became violent to the point of it being noticed even by the criminals.
Of course their little friend Tim took notice as well. He had followed them before Jason’s death and that wasn’t about to stop after Jason died. In fact it increased, the boy saw what was happening and tried his hardest to help. Tim, the boy who Bruce hadn’t really raised but a boy who raised Bruce instead. He was everything Bruce was supposed to be, an aristocrat in Gotham who was supposed to go beyond. Tim went beyond his circumstances and his experiences and always pushed himself to be better. Bruce wouldn’t try to stop him if it wasn’t at the detriment of his own health. He hadn’t tried the hardest with Tim and although he was trying now it might never make up for it.
Cass of course his beautiful perfect daughter who moved like the night and was still learning the world like a newborn was the most like Bruce himself. Self sacrificing to a fault when she thought she needed to be and overly supportive when she saw those she loved in distress. He had healed the most with Cass, at least Bruce thought he had.
The last one was Damian. The youngest of his brood that had been told for a very long time that he had a legacy to live up to. The league of assassins put standards on Damian that no child should ever have to endure. The things his youngest son had to endure would push many grown men over the edge. Bruce himself had seen many who wanted to be part of the league fail in his own training with them. He knew what the human body could suffer and had seen Damian push past those limits with only thoughts of blood and honor to accompany him. His son was brave but often reckless, thinking he had to do something to make him worthy when Bruce himself didn’t feel like he was a legacy. That was the problem, Bruce himself thought he was a failure, not someone that people should look up to. He couldn’t understand why Damian would ignore his siblings' biting remarks against Bruce and try to strive and be more when he was already just as good or better than Bruce in many areas. Now he just needed to grow into himself. You can push yourself in many aspects as a human but you cannot make your human body grow faster. At least it wasn’t healthy to do that.
It was a wonder Danny had even made it to them after all. Bruce knew a lot about his children and he was excited to learn more about Danny just as he had with the others. He would learn his hobbies, his past and what made him smile. He would learn what had hurt him and comfort him and make sure that it didn’t trigger him. Bruce would support this child and make sure to focus on not making the mistakes he had made in the past with him.
Danny had been hurt badly. That would never ever happen again. Bruce was already preparing to make sure that he would never be taken again in any circumstances. Gotham itself bent its will to Batman and the prince of Gotham Bruce Wayne himself. Some of the villains may have fallen at Talia’s hand but she hadn’t gotten all of them. It was his responsibility to protect his children. He had noted the men in white suits in the file and had already sent it out to all of the security that worked at Wayne tower and others under his employ.
Oracle herself had been given the report, making sure the camera would alert her immediately if anyone even walked into Gotham in a white dress. It might have been overly cautious but Bruce wasn’t willing to take his chances with this one.
—--------
Danny awoke this time to be much more calm and pleasant. He felt light, like he hadn’t in a long time. He felt warm and safe and comfortable. He could have cried with how much more safe he felt here with his brother and father.
True to his word Bruce has stayed. He had fallen asleep upright sitting next to the twins in their bed. Danny eyed the hulking man with interest. He frowned in his sleep just as Damian did and it did nothing but endear Bruce to Danny himself. It was clear Damian took after the man. He wondered if he took after Bruce too. Danny was comfortable, he tried not to move so as not to wake up his twin or his father but soon they both stirred in the bright morning light. Bruce got a look on his face after waking up in a place he wasn’t aware of and was immediately alert but settled when he locked eyes with Damian and Danny. Damian who had turned his head to check on their father and then checked Danny over like he had earlier. Danny sat up with a slight groan and hugged his twin quickly before everyone got up.
A bathroom was attached to the bedroom they had slept in. Damian showed Danny the bathroom and then left to get clothes for them both. Bruce left to go get ready for the day as well. Danny remembered the rigid way he used to get ready in the league. He remembered the perfect uniform and the silent shoes he used to wear. He scrubbed his teeth with a tooth brush that Damian gave him with military precision that reminded him he had never broken the habit. Damian hadn’t either, Danny noted as well after Damian had come back with two sets of clothes. The boys got ready and Damian led his twin out trying to help Danny with his nerves. Danny was remembering the league and it was unnerving him but he was trying to push it down. Damian’s face was softer than it ever was in the league. Damian had small wrinkles on the edges of his eyes which only showed on his face when he was happy. To anyone else Damian was frowning at Danny and that allowed Danny to point out the differences between the league and here with his father at the manor. It was helping at least.
“I am sure that our ridiculous siblings have all stayed the night for the chance to meet you. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed. They all have ways in which they help the family and the mission to Gotham. None of them will hurt you and if they dare even look at you wrong I will stab them myself.” Damian said as a stern warning. Danny thought about it.
“Don’t fight your siblings. Is this like the League when we were children? We used to fight all the time in the League. I thought you were mending your relationship with Tim?” Danny said thoughtfully. Damian stopped in the hallway and turned to his brother with a mournful look on his face.
“When I first came here I did try to fight Tim but Richard as well, one of our older siblings as well but no it is not like that here. I had to learn and break out of that. I don’t know how it was for you when you left but weapons are not allowed at the table.” Damian warned. Danny smiled at his brother.
“I did not try to stab my older sister when I first got out so I guess there is something I’m better at.”
“Tch, if that's an area you believe to be better than me you should prove it now.” Damian and Danny walked down the stairs and into a dining room still bantering back and forth. The table was full but Danny didn’t notice until Damian had him sit down. Damian cleared his throat and Danny’s head whipped around to him. It was unlike him to not realize that so many people were around but it was quiet when they walked in. Danny sat next to Bruce who was sitting at the head of the table with the same smile Damian had now. A subtle crinkle at the edge of his eyes.
“Danny, sitting next to me is Richard Grayson, our oldest sibling.” The tall lithe man smiled broadly and waved at Danny who nodded in reply but otherwise didn’t interrupt. “Next to him is our sister Cassandra. Speaking of, I did not ask if you knew sign?” Danny shook his head. He had of course heard of sign language and in the League he had learned basic militaristic hand gestures but he didn’t know sign language as a whole. “No matter, you can probably learn it fairly quickly. For now I will help translate. Cassandra sometimes prefers to use the language instead of talking.” Cassandra waved just as enthusiastically as Richard had at him and Danny waved back this time. “Next to her is Timothy Drake, our third brother just older than us.” Danny appraised the boy Damian had earlier told him he had tried to fight and kill. Thankfully it looked like Tim had gotten over it a bit as he was using a tablet but still managed a short wave at Danny absently. Tim had peaked Danny’s interest. “Next to Tim is Jason.” Jason didn’t get a last name like the rest of them did but offer a curt nod. Bruce responded as they had ended back on him again.
“Staphanie and Barbra decided to take breakfast to go. Not that they aren’t excited to meet you Danny.” Bruce said with that same calm smile. They had gone around the table, some chairs empty to space the siblings out but Danny couldn’t help to see the theme of the family.
“Stephanie and Barbra are not official siblings but they are almost always at the house.” Damian informed.
“Do they also fit the eh- theme?” Danny said with a pinched expression. He was still processing all of the information. Jason started a large belted laughing fit from the other side of Tim. Several others chuckled as well.
“Hey, this one has a sense of humor! I’m Dick by the way. Damian calls me Richard but Dick is my nickname. Cassandra also likes to be called Cass and Tim would go by Tim. We mostly use nicknames.” Dick said with a wave and a chuckle.
“Hi, I’m Danny by the way.” Danny tried to introduce himself. These were Damian’s siblings and he wanted to make a good impression.
“How did you get Damian to call you by your nickname?” Dick asked. Damian huffed and crossed his arms.
“I have been calling Danny by his name since we were very young just as he has called me by mine. We never used them in front of others.” Damian sounded like he was scolding his siblings on common knowledge but Danny knew this was just ingrained League training talking. Danny smiled at his brother and tried to help out.
“Everyone called me Danyal in the league or tried to but when I came to America not a single person got it right. I prefer Danny now, it’s easier and I don’t have to fight over pronunciation every time.”
“Not that it was any better in the league.” Damian grimaced slightly realizing he had said it out loud.
“Yea, you would think you would mind your pronunciation when training the grandchildren of the demon's head.” Danny scoffed. He was determined to never have that conversation with another person again. Vlad was the worst at it, pronouncing it like that on purpose to get a rise out of Danny.
“And with that breakfast is served.” Alfred said as he came out of the door from behind Danny. Danny got a whiff of the food and couldn’t help but melt some. It must have showed on his face because Damian grunted at his brother.
“Remember your training. You ate last night but that was your last meal in a while. You must pace yourself.” Damian warned him.
“Urg fine but, I can already smell how good this is going to taste.” Danny whined as Alfred set a plate of bacon scrambled eggs and lightly browned and buttered toast in front of Danny. There was only one slice of bacon, probably to keep him from gorging himself on something so greasy but it smelled like heaven. Everyone around the table got their plates and began light conversation as Danny tried to eat slowly. It tasted heavenly on his tongue as he ate slowly. Alfred walked in to take his plate too soon and it was over. Breakfast just made him look forward to lunch.
“Remember Young Master Danny. You may feel fine but I want you to take it easy and pace yourself. You may have some stiffness even if you feel alright. Please make sure to stretch and not push yourself.” Danny nodded at Alfred's warning. He was right Danny felt fine but if Alfred was telling him he should take it easy he would. Granted he wasn’t all human anymore and healed faster than he did before his accident but there was no reason to push it if he didn’t need to. Damian trusted Alfred's judgment and nodded at the man as he got up.
On the end of the table Jason and Tim were having some sort of loud debate about whatever was on the tablet in front of Tim and Dick and Cass were watching with pinched expressions.
“You can’t just come into the alley with so little evidence. This isn’t the rest of Gotham, those girls aren’t going to give you the time of day.” Jason huffed at the smaller boy.
“That’s why it will have to be a stake out. They are family and he will definitely be back to that apartment even though she said she didn’t want him there!” Tim bit back.
“They are hold up in the apartment, she has a whole support group in the building. The whole building is looking out for her and I had her change the locks. He won’t come back if he knows what’s good for him.” Danny was standing watching the two and waiting for something to happen. He was following the conversation pretty well. He just wasn’t clear on what the guy did, obviously something bad though.
“They didn’t get any evidence from the warehouse where they caught him, it’s gotta be in his girlfriend's apartment. It’s the perfect place to hide it and in the alley. The cops know if they go to search it they are just going to get run off.”
“The bats get run off too, that's the alley. I wouldn’t be welcome either if I tried to snoop.” Jason grumbled.
“Um, so you have to get in and out of an apartment without being seen with the occupant inside the apartment?” Danny clarified. Everyone looked at him and he shied away slightly.
“Yea kid, I know you trained with the league too but there's no way to do it without getting caught. If the girl knew where the evidence was I would have it already but if it’s in her apartment she doesn’t know where it is.” Danny noticed Bruce was giving Jason a look but Danny had no idea what kind of look it was.
“Well it’s not just league training. While I was away I got some powers that could help.” Danny supplied. Damian was looking hard at Danny. Damian hadn’t told the rest of the family but Danny could tell they probably knew somehow as none of them looked confused.
“Could you bring someone with you inside?” Tim asked with clear interest.
“Yea, I can pass intangibility and invisibility with touch but we can still be heard.” Danny explained. He remembered bringing his friends around Amity during ghost attacks. Idly as the batfam around him communicated silently Danny thought about his friends. He had no desire to go back to Amity Park now but he wondered what they were doing. Did they think he was dead? Did they know?
—--
Tucker Foley was pissed. Not in the way a normal teenager got angry but in a way only a teenager that was growing up too soon could be angry. His best friend Danny Fenton had been declared dead by the losers in the Amity Park PD after the Fenton parents were also declared dead.
Of course Tucker knew something the police didn’t. Danny was Phantom and it was harder than that to kill a ghost superhero. Tucker had seen what his friend had gone through fighting ghosts and a regular murder was not going to take him down.
Tucker had been looking for Danny for almost two weeks before the news broke. He had ended a long night of ghost hunting with his two best friends Sam and Danny and slept long into the afternoon the next day. When he got up though Danny wasn’t answering his phone and no one seemed to be at his house. He knocked and rang the bell and no one came to answer the door. Tucker had tried to see into the basement but was unsuccessful.
Next he had gotten into contact with Sam who was actually being pulled by her parents out of the country on some sort of rich people retreat. Sam bit them before finally being forced to go. It was glorious and of course she sent pictures of her parents' traumatized faces. She was also worried about Danny but nothing would make her parents back down from this trip. She believed they were trying to send her to finishing school camp again but had yet gotten back to Tucker which meant she was either trapped somewhere or without her phone. Usually Danny would have helped her break out of wherever she was but Tucker still couldn’t get into contact with him.
Tucker was devastated looking for his friend. He tried to get into the Fenton house but with no luck. The Fentons used a closed loop system which prevented him from getting in without being in the house so he couldn’t even check the camera.
Finally Tucker used his trump card, he called Jazz. It had already been a week, he should have called her earlier. Jazz had called and called and neither of the Fenton parents answered. Finally with her meager part time job money she booked the cheapest flight she could find which had still been over a week out. By then her parents had already been declared dead along with her little brother and Tucker's best friend.
His parents tried so hard to comfort him but thought he was in denial. Danny Fenton wasn't dead and Tucker would know. Sure Phantom hadn’t shone up but he could have been in the zone. He could have been anywhere else and while the police had the bodies of Jack and Maddie Fenton they didn’t have a body for one Danny Fenton. He has gone into their system to check.
With Jazz on her way home Tucker decided to look into something he had promised Danny he never would. Tucker had been Danny’s best friend since they were very little. Tucker and Danny had been a duo long before Sam Manson came into the picture. They had grown together. Danny had come into the Fenton house and was obviously different from the other kids in Amity. Tucker had taken an interest. Danny had spoken a foreign language, English wasn’t his first language but the Fentons seemed to not notice that Danny even could speak another language. Danny was jumpy at first, it took Tucker a long time to get Danny to start talking to him. When they first became friends Danny was very serious and refused to break that serious character. Sometimes though when someone did something particularly stupid around them Danny would smirk and turn to his right side like it was a reflex to make fun of that action with someone who was always there. Tucker had caught on even though he had been young still. The Fentons never did but after over a year of Tucker being Danny’s best friend he finally broke and told him to someone he admitted he hadn’t told Jazz yet.
Danny was a twin. His twin was dead and his family was really messed up. Danny was broken, grieving and hollow for the first few months in Amity Park. Tucker supported him through everything. It was the least Tucker could do for someone who was his best friend.
It was actually one of the things that got Tucker more into tech. Danny had recognized Tucker’s talent with technology and had asked him not to look into his birth family. He told Tucker they were dangerous and he didn’t want Tucker getting involved. Tucker had made a promise but now Danny was dead and there were no leads on who murdered the doctors Fenton. It was time for Tucker to break that promise.
Jazz was on her way, Sam would make her way back soon and Tucker was going to have all of the answers before they got back. He had to have answers and some hope that their best friend and little brother was alive. It was the least he could do for his best friend.
—--
“Damian ran down the corridor and almost got caught! I managed to pull him up into the rafters and we managed to fool grandfather! It was the first time we ever managed to pull one over on him!” Danny was just getting done telling the bats a story about how the twins were so sneaky in their youth that they had fooled the demon's head as Damian had gone to go get his suit on. Dick was sitting next to Danny at the batcomputer with rapt attention.
“Oh my god. I need more of these stories stat! Damian had us all thinking that he was never a child but look at the shenanigans he got up to!” Jason was leaning against a nearby wall listening enraptured to the story. This was the third one since dinner. Damian was not happy about it but didn’t lash out at Danny. Secretly Danny believed he was happy that Danny was remembering the good times they had as kids.
Robin materialized behind Danny and Dick at the Batcompter in full costume.
“I still don’t think we actually fooled him. We were very young at the time and he might have just thought that it would be better served for our confidence to think we had escaped.” Damian said promptly.
“No he didn’t know. He would have told mother and I asked her about it once. Are you ready to go?” Danny asked his twin.
“Hold up Robin. You can’t hog the new kid all to yourself and it’s my case so I’m going.” Red Robin came out in full costume. He must have started before Damian as Danny didn’t remember him leaving the conversation.
“You think I am letting my twin who is still recovering from starvation out without me beside him?” Robin said more surely than Danny usually saw him. Danny understood he didn’t really want to be away from Damian either. This mission however wouldn’t be a difficult one for Danny. As Phantom he was made for this type of mission. With the league training and the ghost powers any surveillance or sneaking around he had to do was much easier. He could be practically silent because of his training and he didn’t even need to really hide anymore. There was no need for shadows, he could sit completely in the light and invisible.
“I know how you feel Dami but this mission honestly shouldn’t take that long. You could just stay close. As I’m still recovering I don’t want to bring more than one person along. It should be easy on my powers to bring one person but I don’t think I should be pushing myself and bringing more than one of you guys.” Danny said rationally.
“If you are not in top form, should you be going out into the field?” Damian countered. Bruce materialized behind them just as Damian did. It was really uncanny to Danny how much father and son resembled each other. In contrast Danny stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Damian, I realize you want to keep Danny close and I understand but he has been cleared by Alfred himself for this short mission.” Bruce reminded.
“Quite right Master Bruce. As long as this mission lasts under an hour and there is no fighting it will be fine for Master Danny to get out and stretch his legs.” Alfred came up behind Bruce and the man seemed to jump in surprise, well his eyes widened which was the same thing.
Robin seemed to be contemplating but sighed instead.
“Fine.” Damian acquiesced but Danny could tell he wasn’t happy about it. Red Robin approached with a small smile on his face.
“Alright new kid. Your call sign is Phantom?” Red Robin asked with a hand out. Danny shook it with a light nod. This is the brother that Damian was trying to mend his relationship with. Maybe he could get a read for the boy. He hoped the relationship between Damian and Tim could be mended. Danny transformed, the white light running around his body. Becoming Phantom felt like breathing easier. Being more free and breathing easier was how Danny always saw Phantom. There were a lot of problems when he was Phantom but he could deal with it when he was Phantom. He felt stronger and more confident when he put on the familiar freezing cloak of Phantom. He even felt like he stood straighter even if it was mostly subconscious.
Red Robin led him to a red bike that sat aside several others of different colors and a black car that Danny knew as the Batmobile. It looked like it was a one person cycle.
“Can we both fit in?” Phantom asked.
“Of course.” Red Robin smiled as he led Danny onto the bike behind him. He was handed a new com device from Bruce before they left the safety of the cave. It worked fine even with Danny’s waves of small interference of course it was bat tech afterall. They had gone on missions through dimensions and in space. They knew how to filter out that interference.
Red Robin on the front, Phantom clinging to him in the back they sped out the tunnels to the cave and over to the other side of Gotham, to Crime Alley.