It wasn't until a few months after that the next odd step in the trail that was Phantom's mysterious life showed up.

The boy had come back, report actually done on time for once, and acted like nothing had happened. Like they hadn't seen a literal female him pop out of who knows where. So much yet so little given. And he simply acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

In a room full of nosy heroes, that was the worst thing ever. But even worse, none of them dared bring it up out of fear it was just a collective hallucination.

Unfortunately, since Phantom was involved, that was a genuine concern.

But a concern that could be overlooked simply for the sheer amount of cookies he brought to the monthly hang out. Really it was meant to be teambuilding, make sure everybody's doing okay and getting to spend some fun time together without the pressure of a mission looming over their interactions. The theme this time around was a simple potluck. Just a bring whatever with little cards for allergens.

It was mostly the younger side, with a few of the mentors staying for fun. It was becoming a rare sight to see the OG's around, let alone Year 0 members all together. But even with just a handful preceding over it, it felt like they had a full house. Of course, given that Bart was there and he wasn't the only one with a heightened metabolism, it was more so a giant buffet than a simple get together.

Not a single one of them had expected Phantom to roll up with an entire table's worth of different flavored cookies. More than enough to satisfy all active speedsters and still have leftovers. The pure insanity of the amount he brought was enough to throw everybody off of what had piqued their interest about him.

It also didn't help that they were some of the best cookies ever.

M'gann seemed extra interested, trying to subtly get her hands on the recipe so she could tweak her own to be better. Phantom had politely dodged the questions as well as he could under the pressure of a senior like M'gann. Poor Conner had even tried stepping in, trying to get at least a few of the flavors onto his plate before Bart got to them. "You know, you could just give her the recipe. She just doesn't want to ask."

Phantom's cheeks pulled into a big yet not quite real smile, one Tim had been noticing here and there. It felt odd, the creeping sense of familiarity in the boy had been growing ever since he actually started paying attention to the enigma that is Phantom.

Out of all of them, Tim was the only one of the witnesses who refused to drop how strange it was that at the very least multiple members of his family had slipped through the extensive Bat background check. Let alone the fact he never even brought them up or talked about them before.

Something was off about this kid and it was a mystery he was willing to solve. Meandering closer to the table, he looked through all the options while trying to be as casual as one could be while eavesdropping.

Phantom's slightly too practiced smile sounded in his voice. "No can do," he singsonged, "they're my dad's recipe. He learned it from his grandpa..." Phantom's voice unexpectedly trailed off, the air of sadness and longing hanging hard at the mention of his dad's grandpa.

At this point, Tim was pretty sure family terms meant fuckall to whatever Phantom had going on behind the scenes. The implications brought by that girl calling the same person Phantom had called dad moments before 'grandpa' left a bitter taste in his mouth. "It's a family recipe, and we'd like to keep it that way." With an oddly distant look in his eyes, Phantom wandered off to mingle with Garfield and Jamie.

Munching on one of the cookies, Tim tracked where Phantom had went. Mind going a mile a minute trying to put pieces together that he barely had a concept of a thought for. That was until whatever cookie he had picked up next sent his mind down a rabbit hole he wasn't expecting.

One moment he was trying to find any sign that he wasn't just imagining the strangeness around Phantom, the next he was bombarded with the memories of waking up to the smell of Alfred's cookies filling up the manor.

Pausing his bite, he turned back to the table. Actually looking at what he had been munching on rather than just trying to keep his cover, he honestly didn't know what he was looking at. The amount of different flavors and ingredients listed on the allergen warnings made his head spin. But there was no denial in what he tasted, what he knew was another sign.

Carefully looking around to make sure nobody was watching him, Tim snuck a chocolate chip cookie into a ziplock baggie and ever so casually tried to wander away. He had almost made it into the clear too, until he ran face first into Dick's chest.

Holding Tim's arm to steady the boy before he tumbled down, Dick looked at him the same way he looked at baby giraffes trying to walk for the first time. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, baby bird?"

Tim looked back at the room of heroes. None of them knew, none of them would believe him either if he tried to explain what he thought he found. Weighing his options, he dragged Dick all the way over to Batman's room before he pulled out his evidence.

"Tim. That's a cookie."

Tim didn't care for Dick's dismissal, daring the man to try a bite as he ran a chemical compound check on the treat. "I'm telling you, Dick. There's something off about this. Why else would it taste so similar to Alfred's? We both know he guards that recipe with his li-" Tim cut himself off, the stiffness in Dick's muscle's making him abort the rest of his argument. It wasn't the time nor place to bring that up, certainly not when Alfred refused to teach anybody his personal recipe's after what happened a few years back.

"They're just cookies, Tim." Dick forced out, already halfway to the door. "It doesn't mean anything."