Robin's Egg

Anti-Eggto Acts for the Holidays?

"... is this real?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It is." Damian said as both he and his brother were looking at the article that the younger had pulled up on the Batcomputer. Thankfully, no one had been in the cave at the moment so the sneaking around had been worth it. A frown grew on Tim's face the further along he read about the new law: the Anti-Ecto Acts. Without context, the acts looked like another stupid law that the government had passed just because they could. Like the law in Chicago which states that it is illegal to eat inside a building on fire or how it is forbidden in Illinois to fish while sitting on a giraffe's neck. Who would believe that ghosts would actually exist? If Tim hadn't been looking through the GIW files they had stolen, he would have been skeptical to believe it too.

Tim frowned even further when he saw that the law, itself, wasn't that new as he leaned back in the big chair. "No wonder they are being so bold. If they deem someone a ghost then they have full legal rights to apprehend that person and do as they wish. How the hell did this slip by us?" Damian only shrugged in response but he was clenching his hands tightly. His anger was barely restrained. "We need to tell B about this- AHH!" Tim was sent THROUGH the chair he was sitting on by a green puppy jumping through the computer monitor right at him. The older boy crashed to the floor trying to fight off the sloppy kisses that the puppy was attacking him with.

Damian's anger dissipated as he turned to the pup with a smirk. "Good boy, Cujo." He knelt down and pulled the pup off of his brother, who turned his kiss onslaught on Damian instead.

"Cujo? CUJO? What?" Tim scrambled up from the floor wiping his face incessantly. "What... what is that? Why is it green?!"

"And just what are you two doing down here, Master Tim? Master Damian?" Both boys froze and slowly turned towards the stairway to the cave, where Alfred stood in his usual immaculate appearance with an eyebrow raised. "I believe your grounding was supposed to end tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, Pennyworth but this couldn't wait until tomorrow." Damian held his ground and would have come off rather serious if he wasn't being licked to death by a glowing green puppy.

"And what would that be?" The more intimidating form of Bruce stepped out from the armory with some new Batarangs in hand.

The youngest simply pointed at the screen that he had been reading prior to Cujo's sudden entrance. "Read for yourself." Both of the adults did just that with Damian following their example, ignoring Tim who was still staring at the glowing green dog incredulously.

Bruce's eyes narrowed the further along he read. "How did this get passed and over two years ago as well?" He turned his head to his youngest who returned it with a determined expression. "Where did you find this?"

"I was trying to find more outside sources on ectoplasm and it came up after a little digging." Damian lied smoothly while putting Cujo down. The pup yipped excitedly at all of the people in the same room. "As you can see, it states that all beings that create or need ectoplasm are not sentient. Meaning if the GIW deem us as such then they are in their full rights to catch us or others as they see fit. Do these ghosts look non-sentient to you?" Damian pointed to the ghost dog, who once again yipped happily.

"I mean, he looks like the definition of 'no thoughts, head empty' but I see your point," Tim said. His eyes still haven't left the glowing green dog next to his brother.

Damian rolled his eyes and moved Cujo so that he was a few feet away from everyone. "Cujo, big." The pup immediately morphed into his monstrous size making everyone in the room, except Damian, jump back in surprise. "Can a non-sentient being do that?"

"Since when can he do that?" Alfred asks before Bruce could.

"Since I met him. He mainly does it when he wants to be noticed or if he needs to be protective. He has given Jon and myself a few rides around town before. We've been practicing so that he does it on command but he still transforms when he wishes at times."