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Danny was stunned by the man who stood in front of him. He looked mature and handsome beyond belief like a model from a fashion magazine.
"Master Danny, do join the land of the living." Danny glanced at Alfred through the mirror. He still could not believe his eyes. Was that really his reflection? The designer suit highlighted his muscles, and the tie brought out his blue eyes.
"Danny!" Dick barged through the door. He too looked like a model from a fashion magazine in his black suit and blue tie. "Wow. Look at you." Danny couldn't help but match the man's smile, gladly accepting his embrace. "Come on, the boys are waiting."
"Dick....I'm not sure....." Danny was not afraid of a crowd but this crowd was different. This crowd was the bourgeoisie and not only of Gotham. He did not belong there yet this was for him. He clenched his hands. Danny Phantom was afraid of a crowd of humans that he could wipe out with a single wail. He couldn't help but feel pathetic.
"Hey, we'll be by your side." Danny wanted to believe Dick however he knew better. It would be a miracle if he lasted five minutes. Not only was he nervous and overwhelmed by the crowd but the ringing in his ears. He had not even stepped out of his room yet he could hear the murmuring of the guests. Dick patted his head before opening the door for him. Danny sighed before taking a step outside. Bruce, Tim, Damian and even Jason stood by the stairs. All of them looked no less than Gucci models. Their suits were the same black style, the only difference were the ties. Jason with red, Tim with yellow, Damian with green, Bruce with black, Dick with the baby blue matching his eyes and Danny with his sky blue.
"Took you long enough," Jason grumbled. Danny's smile faded as quickly as it appeared. He knew Jason didn't mean for him to hear but how could he not?
"Ja-"
"Glad we could all make it. Now put on those smiles and make your way down," Bruce pulled on his playboy smile before beginning to step down the stairs. The boys copied his actions without one look back.
"Master Danny." Danny nodded at Alfred before pulling on his best fake smile and making way to the boys. He didn't want this. All he wanted to do was silently live his two years in the manor before disappearing but Bruce would have anything but that. No, he would arrange a gala to introduce him to the whole world. It hurt Danny to see the same people who stood up to their own father for him, treat him like he was the issue. Damian, he could understand even Tim but why Jason? Danny wasn't blind. He noticed how Dick's smile never reached his eyes. He hadn't seen the two ever since ...... but now that he did, they acted distant. He thought he had passed the first wall only to learn he wasn't even in a hundred kilometer radius.
"Danny? Danny?" Bruce's voice laced with fake kindness, broke him out of his thoughts. "I want to introduce you to a few important figures and a couple of my friends." Danny gave a small nod, using all his energy to focus on Bruce's voice. His head was filled with chatter but Danny focused on Bruce. Or he tried. He shook and smiled at whoever Bruce introduced, not caring who they were. He despised the gala and it had only been two minutes. His head felt heavy. Dick stood beside Danny, allowing him to lean on him for support. Danny was sure he must have been swaying awfully well for Dick to have noticed. He could see the panic and worry in the man's eyes as he whispered something to him but there was simply too much noise for him to hear. Danny felt someone guide him to the garden, seating him on the fountain edge. Couple of seconds later, the boy was able to sit without having to worry about falling back.
"You alright kid?" Danny didn't reply to Jason, staring at the ground. "Be thankful b-"
"Shut up!" He grinded his teeth, tightly holding his hands together. "So no-"
"DANNY!" He was engulfed in a hug, quickly catching himself before falling into the fountain. "I was worried. Why didn't you call?" Danny wrapped his arms around her figure, tears threatening to be free.
"Sam, I missed you so much. I can't believe you're here." Jason cleared his throat but the two refused to break their embrace forcing him to pull them apart. Sam glared at him but Danny held her hand, stopping the fight he knew was coming. "Sam meet Jason, my ..... Adopted brother-ish figure?" Danny ignored Jason's frown. "Jason meet Sam, my ....... Long distance girlfriend?" He chose to ignore both their glares. He wasn't sure what his relationship to anyone was at this point in his life. Everything was a question yet nothing had an answer.
"I'm his girlfriend of a year and half now."
"Brother of almost a month now." The two shook hands.
"Did I miss something?" Dick joined them in the garden with a group of redhead strangers behind him. They were all natural redheads-
"Dickie, good news; It runs in the genes. Hopefully the kid's not a boy toy," Jason mocked. Dick had the funniest look of disbelief on his face. He quickly masked it with a friendly smile. Danny didn't take a liking to Jason's words but remained silent.
"Sam meet my biological brother Di- Richard 'Dick' Grayson." Dick offered his hand which Sam suspiciously took. "Dick meet Sam, my girlfriend."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Danny never told me about you, granted that we only ever had one real conversation for less than five minutes-"
"Aren't you going to introduce your friends?" Danny cut him off. He knew Sam would never let him hear the end of it. Plus, he had a lot to explain.
"Oh yah." Dick pointed at a boy with red - they all had red hair. "Wally. Roy -"
"Barbara," the girl in the wheelchair introduced herself. Danny returned her smile with one of his own.
"Kory. It is nice to meet you, blood brother of Nig-"
"Kory!" Roy cut her off. He didn't need to; Danny already knew Dick was Nightwing. Her outbreak however did confirm that these strangers were no mere humans. Sam eyed Kory, nudging Danny.
"Her eyes," Sam whispered. Danny agreed, Kory had weird green eyes but they were pretty.
"He's got a thing for redheads," Jason whispered, smirking at Danny. "Super hearing? Am I right Kid?" Danny rolled his eyes at him. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Jason may know Danny is the ghost boy but he knew next to nothing of his powers. If he did, he would see Danny as nothing less the ghost he was. He was more than capable of destroying all of Gotham before any of them could be wiser. His dark future self, Dan, was the proof of that. Danny involuntarily shivered at the thought of him. Dan could never hurt him or his family ever again. He was gone. Danny would never turn into his evil self.
"So he's already trained in the art of Bat talk?" Barbara looked between Jason and him. Roy's mouth hung open.
"He knows?"
"You guys are so slow! Can't we hurry this up. I'm bored and hungry." Wally didn't waste another second, he was gone in a flash.
"Dan-"
"HAHHHAAA Brucie! Uncle J's here to see his new nephew! Where are you little birdy?" Jason, Dick and his friends were gone in less than a second. Alfred appeared from who knows where, directing Danny into the manor.
"Do not worry Master Danny. The crazy clown is the regular entertainment at the Wayne galas." Danny and Sam followed after the man. Though Danny didn't know how he felt about the clown, he was happy the gala was cut short. Alfred left the two teens in Danny's room.
"Explain."
"Well uh - Welcome to Gotham." Sam glared at him. "Long story." After hours of explaining, Danny finally finished. Sam, surprisingly took everything well other than Bruce. After much persuasion, she agreed not to kick Bruce between the legs but made him promise to Ghost prank the man. Did she forget he was Batman? Probably. But he too forgot he was Danny Phantom. "How's everything at home?" Sam fiddled with her hands, not meeting Danny's gaze. "Sam?"
"Everything's fine. We miss you." He saw through her fake smile. He knew nothing was alright. Was he so useless that she didn't even trust he could help her? Sam held his face between her hands. "There's so much on your plate right no-"
"Not enough to stop me from helping my friends and family. Please Sam." She sighed, releasing his face.
"It's Dani." Danny's eyes turned neon green. Dani may have been his clone but she was now his younger sister and he would do anything to protect her.
"Where is she?" Sam looked at his eyes, trying to calm him but he would not calm down until his little sister was standing safe and sound in front of him.
"She's safe but Vlad's after her-"
"That fruitloop! Where's Dani?" Danny could overlook many of Vlad's mistakes however if he ever hurt his baby sister again, he would make sure the older halfa would become a full ghost. His obsession for power had destroyed Danny's life but he would never let the same happen to Dani.
"She's in Gotham." Danny turned ghost, picking up Sam and flying through the roof of the manor. He hated to admit but there was no place safer than Wayne Manor. Not only would he be able to protect her but there was no way Vlad Masters could touch her. No matter how rich he was, Bruce was obviously more capable.
"I'm bringing her to the manor." Finally, there was a good use for Bruce.
"You can't-"
"I'll take care of it."
How har- Nope. It was going to be hard but not impossible. (A/N: Our boy's learning)
Bruce loved adopting kids with tragic backstories, raven hair, and green/ blue eyes. Dick, Jason, Tim, Danny and even Damian were proof. Dani would fit right in. He chuckled at the memory of his first day at the manor. Now they could add the 'Cloned' and 'Ghost' option to the list of tragic backstories.
A/N: Like and comment!
Hey guys! How are you? I hope well.
Last week I was asking for tips to be productive; well I found one that works for me!
A check list Of things I have to do. Checking a task off feels like I actually accomplished something and motivates me to check off more tasks. It's nice as I also have a tendency to forget stuff so it works as organization, reminder and motivation. It also allows me to break things into smaller parts; I panic when there's too much.
Time management is another topic - I'm best friends with procrastination so obviously I'm not gonna be friend my best friends arch-enemy ;)
Anyways,
☠👻☠
Sending you all virtual hugs 🤗 for Valentines day🤍.
Stay Safe and positive!
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