Phantom on the Shore - A Batman X Danny Phantom Crossover fanfic

Lovely Bastard

Slash!

"Al'ama!" Damian cursed as he brought the sword down in the training dummy, cutting it in half in the progress. He panted softly as he slapped his face lightly in an attempt to clear his mind.

That train of thought couldn't possibly be correct. Damian saw the way his father handled Todd's panic attacks.

So then, what was it?

...

It was quiet when Damian entered the upper floors of the manor. He could discern Alfred was in the kitchen, most likely preparing for this night's family dinner. Grayson had probably returned back to Blüdhaven by this time of day—though he may return in time for dinner .. he seemed to have more freedom in missing them—and his father was most likely in a meeting with the league.

For what? He could only assume it was over the most recent invasion on metropolis.

So, that left the rest of the family.

Tsking silently to himself, Damian retreated outside to the barn. Although training may have taken a lot of the edge off, he still felt highly irritated. Perhaps not enough irritation to attack his family members, but enough to snap at them. Intentionally or not.

When he opened the barn door he was met with a familiar, relaxing 'Moo' from Bat-Cow. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed the cow was expecting him. But after placing a hand in her fur, Damian allowed for a small smile to crack in his face.

Bat-Cow always seemed to calm him down.

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

When Dick arrived at the manor, an unusual silence hung in the air. In the days of his tenure as the first Robin, he might not have given it much thought, chalking it up to Bruce being called out early for duty If it was back when Jason was robin, it would still be quiet. He had been busy with the Titans—his titans—and no one other than Alfred might've been home.

(He would never forgive himself for subjecting his brother to the same silent nights he hated.)

But when it came to a family of over 50 people coming in and out of the house. Dick was worried. A quiet manor meant several things. Either A) Several family members couldn't make it, leaving everyone either eating alone or in awkward silence. B) Dinner hadn't been served, though option B hadn't occurred since Dick himself was robin. C) Bruce said something and ruined the entire mood. Or D) Jason didn't show up .. again, with C inevitably following. Whenever D occurs, C always seems to follow.

(Though, why Jason not arriving created such a large impact never made sense to him. Jason was a grown adult, as were he. He could miss out on dinners easily, but Jason couldn't?)

Dick's assumptions were slowly proven true when he noticed no one in the halls. Dick would have—should have—seen at least a couple people in the halls of the manor if the first two options were to be proven true.

But, from the gentle sounds of utensils clinking against a plate as he grew closer and closer to the dinning room, it seems like it may be a mix of C and D. Although he wasn't 100% sure.

As he entered the room itself, it felt like walking through an invisible barrier. The air felt tense. Tense and damp. It was thick enough to cut a blunt knife through it. Thick enough to make it hard to breathe. If Dick wasn't used to this already, he would have gasped slightly from sheer whiplash. Had Dick not lived with Bruce since before he had been an adolescent, he wouldn't have noticed the way the newer member's eye's darted around. As if trying to find a scapegoat.