October 16

Danny only barely managed to get Cujo calmed down enough to not attempt to phase through his grip. Though he had long since walked out of frame, they both knew Batman was on his way there. Holding firm on his grip, Danny braced himself when the door to Dick's room slid open.

Cujo barked loudly, not really trying to push forward but not backing down either. At least, not until Batman removed his utility belt and cowl. Now face to face with Bruce Wayne, the man they had been collectively avoiding, and the door closed behind him, Cujo snarled a huff in annoyance. Circling back around Danny, he hopped back onto the bed and got comfortable again.

Silence filled the air as none of the others moved. Both boys were fixated on their own random thing in the room, not even trying to hide that they were avoiding making eye contact.

In a smooth move, Bruce casually crossed his arms and leaned back slightly against the door. "That's quite the guard dog you have there." He commented, purposely keeping his tone light as he watched them twitch identically when he finally spoke.

"Thank you, I think. He's more a friend, though. Ah. Sir. Batman. Sir Batman." Danny quickly added, trying hard to not literally sink through the floor as he fought against the urge to disappear. Maybe underneath Mount Justice would be a nice place to claim as his final grave. No hero would be insane enough to blow this place up and the villains didn't know they were still here.

Bruce chuckled slightly. Oh how similar the boy was to when Dick was 10 and thought he was in trouble. Well, looking at him now, nearly 14 year old Dick wasn't fairing any better himself. "Just Bruce is fine, Danny." In tandem, both boys' heads flew up in shock.

"Wait, you know who I am?"

Bruce cracked a smile, raising a quizzing eyebrow at the shocked boy.

"Right," Danny grumbled to himself. "Greatest detective and all that." He let himself fall back slightly, softly bouncing on the edge of the bed. Of course he knew, what kind of question was that.

Bruce looked them over, thoroughly enjoying their misery at the moment. Was it bad he was taking joy in this? Maybe, but it had been quite some time coming. Like waiting to catch a child with their hand stuck in an empty cookie jar. It probably also helped to keep the mood light after everything they just went through. "That, and the fact that Dick said your name." As if only remembering now that they had all watched that happen, Dick flopped backwards onto the bed. His head landing on Cujo's side, not like the hound minded at all.

Grabbing the pillow Cujo oh so conveniently provided, Dick chucked it straight at Bruce's head. Barely needing to move a muscle, the man simply tilted his head to the side to avoid being hit. "You knew already, didn't you?!" He accused, growing frustrated at the man's smug and amused grin. "I saw the planning schedule. It was supposed to be only you, J'onn, Tornado and Marvel. Yet it got moved to today with all the mentors present. You knew. How?! We were careful!" He glared, somewhat hoping Cujo would give him another pillow to throw. Or something harder, sharper was also an option if need be.

"Not careful enough to remember every mask has a tracker in it."

Now it was Danny's turn to groan exasperatedly, falling onto his back. He didn't even care when his head fell between Cujo's front legs, prompting the hound to try and smother him by laying down directly on his face. Conveniently enough, it provided Danny with something to scream into. The sharp pain shot back through his chest, forcing him to curl up in weak attempt to get rid of the severely uncomfortable feeling.

All of that sneaking, all the hiding and stress about Bruce finding out. All of it was for nothing because the man knew from day fucking one.

Two weeks. 16 fucking days since he broke out and it was already over. Just when he thought he had a chance at starting over again. Poof. Up in smoke, just like Amity all over. Why did he ever believe he was able to start over? Worthy of a second chance after what he did, or rather, failed to do? What a joke, just like his attempt at redemption.

Dick groaned, pulling at his hair as he tried to make sense of it all. "If you knew, why did you let it keep going on? Why let us think we were getting away with it?" Was knowing going to frustrate him more? Probably, most certainly, but it just didn't make any sense.

"I wanted to know how you would handle it, what steps you would take to avoid being noticed." Oh now he was just asking to get a batarang to the face. "And because it was the first time in a long time I've seen you actually smile and not just fake one to get through the day." The utter sincerity in his voice paused all calls to violence in Dick's head.

"You noticed that?" He thought he could hide it. He grew up in a circus for crying out loud! Putting on a show is what he was born to do! He had been out in the public since before they were even out of diapers! Had he always been that bad or was it just because he could barely remember the last time he actually just had fun on the trapeze. When was the last time he just had fun before Danny came back? Not to train but to just feel free again? Was it really that obvious? Had others noticed too? It's not like he could really ask Selina or Alfred, they already knew about Danny.

"Dick, I've known you for almost 6 years." Bruce pushed himself off of the wall, walking over to sit at the foot of the bed. "Of course I would notice, chum. That's my job."

Dick pulled his knees to his chest, looking away as he felt Cujo shift slightly to lean closer to the upset boy. "How much did you see? Earlier, I mean?" His voice came out barely above a whisper. A lot was said in what he thought was a private moment, even more went unsaid but was still understood.

"Everything." Came the damning answer, making him curl up even more. "I knew the risk, especially with Danny floating around. It's why I scheduled for the others to be there instead of Tornado and Marvel. I knew the risk of certain information coming up was there."

"Then why did you make us do it?"

Bruce sighed softly, reaching out a hand. Dick only responded by offering a foot instead of a hand. Not one to push when Dick was closing himself off, he placed his hand on the boy's ankle. Some physical touch was still better than none as it had always helped Dick feel more comfortable. "None of us could have expected he would get pulled in as well, nor that it would get out of hand like it did in the first place. Had we known about that, it would have been postponed indefinitely or until a solution was found."

Dick slightly lifted his head, puffy eyes peeking out from behind his arm while focused on the empty desk. "She didn't do it on purpose. I don't think M'gann can tell us apart mentally. It's not the first time he got included in a link without anybody noticing. Probably won't be the last either." If Dick had told them sooner, come clean about bringing Danny along, could it have been avoided? If they warned anybody that there were telepathic issues, would it have happened differently? Was it his fault Danny had to go through all of that? It wasn't an issue in the beginning when J'onn made the link so it must have been something they did to cause it all.

Would Danny even forgive him after this?

Was he worthy of being forgiven? He promised to stick together and he pushed it to the extreme. Dragging his brother into a doomed scenario where he happily lead the way to their deaths. And it was all for nothing. Even in a real scenario, it would have been pointless. If only J'onn and M'gann made it out, it would have been too hard for just the two of them to keep pushing against an invasion of that magnitude.

He killed everybody, for nothing.

"Some of us, don't get our happily ever after, and this isn't that kind of story."

Dick nearly choked back a broken mix between a sob and a laugh. The quote from yesterday playing over and over in his mind. He thought he understood it then, thinking he had already gone through the worst life could bring. Oh how wrong he was.

Wait

A

Fucking

Minute

Dick looked up, frowning. Looking back on yesterday, it all felt too...convenient. How Bruce had left so early and eagerly, not coming back until an hour before they had to leave to prep for the simulation. Just how perfectly fitting those exact movies were, or how they were already preprogrammed to play.

"You set it up." He realized, way too late. "The theater, the movies, you set it all up, didn't you?" Oh how stupid he felt for not noticing it sooner. How could he have missed something so blatantly obvious. It wasn't just movies he mentioned wanting to watch, they were specifically picked for them to watch.

From the overly sarcastic tone, Dick knew Bruce knew he felt stupid for not noticing sooner. "Yes, Dick. I prepared the theater for a movie night, and then conveniently left the grounds at the faintest hint of a rejection. Because that is totally a normal thing to do." As if hearing his silent pleas, Cujo tossed over another pillow. This time, Bruce didn't dodge. With a very satisfying thunk the pillow connected with the man's face.

Sniffing softly, Dick couldn't help but smile a little. "Okay, but in my defense, you did say you were going to Selina's which really isn't out of the ordinary at all." The face Bruce pulled resulted in another satisfying smack with the pillow. And just for the sake of it, he got a third free shot in before putting his fluffy weapon down.

"You're not...Mad?" Danny's voice was barely audible, Cujo still laying down on his face as Danny had somehow managed to curl himself onto the bed and around Cujo's body. Had it not been for his ghostly lack of needing to breathe, it would have raised way more concern than it currently did.

Bruce's face softened again, looking at the inhuman position the boy had contorted himself into in mild wonder. Maybe he should ask Leslie to check if bones were a thing for ghosts, but that were matters for later. "Son, if I was mad I wouldn't have let the two of you sneak around the cave or with the team, while skipping school, without saying anything about it."

A mumbled string of curses escaped Dick's throat as he grabbed onto the pillow once more. This time to slap himself. How could he have forgotten school was a thing? It was only October, of course school was still a thing! Just what excuse had Bruce given that would excuse who even know how long of an absence?! He dreaded figuring out how much remedial work and late homework assignments he'd have to catch up on now.

Danny pulled his head out from underneath Cujo, hair a total mess as he did. Shoving his legs under the hound, he wrapped his arms around Cujo's neck before laying down on the dog's head for a change. "Does that mean I don't have to go back to Belle Rêve?" He didn't look up, face nearly disappearing into Cujo's fur. The need to sink into the ground was still quite strong, but Cujo's comforting calm helped him stay level.

Dick's head snapped back up so fast it felt like he would get whiplash. Right, there was a valid reason they were evading Batman. Technically, Danny was still an escaped convict. Though he wasn't in the actual system files, he was still hidden in there. Just not on the record. If Bruce had known the entire time, or at least for 2 weeks, that meant something good, right? He wouldn't possibly...

Bruce shuffled closer, propping up a leg onto the bed so he could properly face his boys. With one hand still on Dick's knee, he leaned in a bit to reach Danny's shoulder. "If I wanted to do that, you would have known long ago. Waller trusted me with your file and even though it was unintended, you showed up when you were needed and proved where your intentions lie. That alone says enough for me." Danny looked up, bleary eyed as the rings passed over him. Bruce raked his fingers through the boy's wild black locks, taming them ever so slightly before they got stuck like that. "The only thing you need to worry about right now, is what stuff you want for your room and when you would want to go back to school."

Dick launched himself at the man, nearly knocking him off the bed as he attached himself to his side. Danny opted to hold onto Cujo more as his furry friend shrunk down into his puppy size again. Sniffing hard and wiping away some stray tears, Danny picked up his pup and held him close to his chest. "And here I thought we were going to forget about the school thing." He half-laughed, still fighting against the tears from falling. At least he knew humor would never fail him in situations like this.

If anybody, even that damned stopwatch, had told him that THE Batman would be giving him a new home, he would have thrown them in with Walker's lot. Maybe even in the special human cell that old fart was trying to make over there, depending on who it was. Laws of the universe be damned, he would have found a way to lock up the embodiment of time itself.

But now?

Now he still couldn't believe it, if he was being truthful. He couldn't wrap his mind around how Mr. Law and Order would willingly take in an escaped convict, mass murderer in another universe even. Would it be reasonable to request a mental wellness check on the man, just to make sure he was sound of mind? Would he be able to request one for himself as well?

Cujo didn't seem to think it was necessary as he slobbered all over his favorite boy's face. Wiggling free from his grasp, the pup practically bounced over to Dick and drenched his face for the 3rd time in the last hour. "Oh, ew! Cujo!" He fell back giggling, unlatching from Bruce's side as he was attacked with a thousand wet kisses from an overly hyper pup. "Can we go home please?" He asked between dodging licks. "I think I've had quite enough of being soaked in Cujo drool for the next month or two." Which, valid. Danny didn't even want to think what was all soaked into his clothes at this point. Hopefully his hoodie wasn't beyond saving, being quite attached to it.

Danny grabbed Cujo as Dick thrusted the floundering pup back at him. He helped put Dick's shades on Danny as he pulled out a reserve pair for himself. At least he didn't need to bother with even more mask glue for that short trip.

"Can we stop by the med bay before we leave?" Dick asked while climbing off of the bed. Pulling at his own hoodie, the stiff fabric clung to his body where the drool from the previous slob fest had dried.

Bruce pulled his cowl back on, instantly looking a whole lot less friendly. "No need." He reached out to try and fix Danny's hair a bit more. It was still sticking out in places it really shouldn't.

Dick paused in his battle with his own messed up hair, staring blankly at his mentor. "What do you mean? He can't go through the Zeta-"

"We're not going with the Zeta. Danny isn't in the system."

Oh, Danny did not like that tone. That's a you're missing the issue tone, one Jazz had to use on him way too often. Nervously he let the rings pass over himself again and pulled up the hood, nearly dropping Cujo as he did.

Dick seemed to be equally weirded out, catching the tonal implication as well. They Zetaed twice without any...technical issues at least. And they proved the meds work so why wouldn't

Oh

Oh no

M'gann wasn't the only one who couldn't tell them apart. Everything happened so fast, so much in such a short time. Neither of them had noticed the Zeta never called out a code for Danny, it called out Robin's twice.

Oooohhhh, they were going to have to add a new clause to the NDA's Bruce would force all the mentors to sign. Had anybody in the team noticed? Or were they the only oblivious ones? Nobody commented on it but by the ancients they barely said anything regarding Phantom at all.

This just had to be a speedrun for worst kept secret in BatHistory at this point.

"The jet's already waiting in the hangar, we'll figure something out for the Zeta later." Batman helped adjust Danny's messy hair, making sure the hood sat straight and looked presentable enough. Deeming it good enough, he helped fix Dick's as well. Though shorter for a good reason, it was still a whole ordeal to tame.

Dick felt ready to slam his head against the wall, just for good measure. "And of course you know we got Alfie's jet. I thought you didn't track his stuff?"

Batman smirked at him, which just looked immensely unnerving with the cowl. "I don't, unless there are two wayward teens controlling it." Which, again, valid. They really should have questioned why things were going so oddly smooth for them. Oh how naïve they were, and still are. If they had to do it over, no doubt would they miss something glaringly obvious again. Maybe they should make a deal on who gets to keep their shared braincell for the day.

"In which hangar?"

"Two."

Oh great. They'd have to walk past the training room again. Now all they needed was an old nun with a bell yelling shame at them every 5 seconds and their spiritual walk of shame was completed.

Dick softly bonked Danny on the head with the spare glove that still laid at the foot of the bed. "What do you mean walk of shame." He mocked, waving the glove around threateningly. " Yes, that was out loud. Do you really think B would purposely walk past them if he wasn't sending a message?"

Danny dodged another bonk from the glove, ducking to run behind Batman as the man in question just let it happen. His circus, his monkeys, no fucks given however. This was a battle fought between siblings. He was not there, he was a wall.

"B would never do something like that, on purpose at least. He's showing you off, not hiding either of us. A public declaration that you're one of us now, Nini. Part of the BatBrand or whatever. That is not something to be ashamed about. I'd like to see them try to give us any shit." Dick halfheartedly glared, peaking behind Batman and slowly chasing Danny around the room with his makeshift weapon. "We are going home, Nini. Together. No. Walk. Of. Shame. Walk with pride, you deserve it." He managed to make the glove point at his brother, shaking it disapprovingly as Danny looked like he wanted to argue.

Danny pouted slightly, feeling like a child that just got scolded. Well, he did, but it always felt different when Dick was the one doing the scolding. Though it still felt like a walk of shame, purely because of the way everything happened, Danny relented. If Dick said it wasn't anything bad, and Batman didn't correct him either, it had to be. Right? He had more experience with how the man handles situations after all. Adjusting Cujo in his arms, he made sure his arm was covered in his sleeve before nodding a go ahead.

With Batman leading the way for his fledglings, they head out towards the hangar. Danny tried hard to not feel too tensed, trying to match his brother's stride once again. It was just one room after all. One room they'd have to cross and then the scary was over. Fake it till you make it, round 2. It worked before. Except, it just so happened that that one room was filled with various heroes that did not even try to hide their stares as they approached. The air felt thick enough it was like he was walking through Jello. They really weren't trying to hide their distain, were they?

Danny really felt like he could feel everybody's eyes on him. Luckily, Superboy and Wolf weren't there anymore, so that was one worry less. Unluckily, that didn't stop Cujo from growling at the obvious tension. No doubt he could also feel Danny's unease react off of that as well.

Danny glanced up slightly, daring a look at the rest. Everybody really was looking at them, a few subtle glares but Danny had been around those looks often enough to know what they were. He looked down again, pressing an agitated Cujo closer to his chest.

Dick seemed to notice the looks as well, purposely falling a step behind so he could walk next to the ghostly duo. He may not have a hand free at the moment, but the gesture felt similar enough. Cujo calmed down to small sneers as well so that was a plus at least. All he wanted now was to just take a long, freezing cold shower and maybe sleep the next century.