A New Beginning

Chapter 9

Hi. New chapter!

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Danny was torn.

His unnaturally bright eyes darted from one threat to the other, indecisive of which one to pay closer attention to.

On one hand, dogs were vicious and feral. He's only encountered a few in his short life, but every single one them had a merciless bloodlust. It may have been their owner's twisted ways that made them that way, but then again, it wasn't like he knew this one's owner all that well either. But, dogs were predictable. It's easy to deduce a dog's movements and attacks, regardless of intelligence.

However, on the other hand, this man reminded Danny of the main analyzer from the GI-the lab. New people were unpredictable, and Danny knew first hand just how ruthless and manipulative humans could be, despite all appearances. So Danny's not going to judge the man on the fact that he's older because he's learned that adults of all ages can be bloodthirsty.

He stared down with the two beings in front of him for a bit longer before he was snapped out of it by Batman. Danny mentally scolded himself in forgetting that there were two others in the room, or well, it was more a dark and gloomy cave. Sure, Danny had the instinct to trust Robin, but he was still wary around Batman. Ripping his eyes off the black dog and older man, he turned to the Dark Knight.

"Danny, this is Agent A," Danny tensed and glared at the older man. He growled slightly, lowering to a defensive stance. Batman, seeing this, corrected himself, "Also known as Alfred, he's a close family friend." Danny stopped growling and dropped his defensive stance, but chose to narrow his eyes at the man, still tense. "Alfred, this is Danny, the special guest I informed you about." The Caped Crusader said, gesturing to them as he introduced the boy and the butler.

Danny's eyes shifted over to Robin, looking for any hint of a lie, seeing none he looked back to the older man, scanning his body language for any trace of malicious intent. Deciding the man could be trusted, his eyes snapped to the dog, now the biggest threat. The boy narrowed his eyes at the large gray dog, who tilted its head to the side in consideration of the boy. Danny tensed at the movement, eyes growing brighter in preparation of an attack.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, making him jump and look to the owner of the hand, who turned out to be Batman. The man gently and slowly led Danny closer to the dog. When the boy realized what the Dark Knight was attempting to do, he stopped, causing his back to hit the man's legs, unconsciously Danny grabbed onto part of the man's cape and clutched it tightly as if to keep from moving further. Batman smiled reassuringly at the boy.

"He's not going to hurt you." The Caped Crusader said. Danny's narrowed eyes grew brighter at the statement. The large dog walked carefully forward towards the duo. Alfred and Robin watched curiously from the side. Danny's focus shifted to the other two every once in a while, seemingly to make sure they hadn't moved. When the dog was within reach of the young boy he sat down, dark eyes glancing from the boy's guarded face to his master.

Batman carefully and gently grabbed one of the boy's cold hands and removed it from his cape and placed it on top of the dog's head. Danny didn't resist, but he kept his hand stiff and clasped his eyes tightly shut. When he felt the texture of fur beneath his hand he held his breath. After a moment when nothing happened, he opened his eyes slightly to look at the animal.

The dog simply nuzzled slightly into his hand, causing Danny to open his eyes fully and relax, tilting his head slightly in wonder. The motion was mirrored by the dog. Danny glanced back at Batman, seeing the reassuring smile had turned amused.