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Today was Saturday. A day off from school, when you didn't have to go to school, when you could relax and unwind after a long night of costume adventures. Danny lazily rolled over in bed, stretching a little. The bed felt so soft, cool and... wet to him? Wait, why did it feel wet? The teen stood up a little and rubbed his eyes with his hands to remove the shroud of sleep. When his gaze fell on the spot where he had been lying before, his hands immediately clamped over his own mouth to suppress a cry of horror. There was a bloody stain spread across the snow-white fabrics, as if someone had laid a dying, bleeding man on the bed. Danny didn't remember being injured last night on patrol. Glancing around himself, he noticed that his pajamas were also soaked with red marks. The boy hurried to the bathroom, a boon that could be accessed from the comfort of his own room. Staring at himself in the mirror, the halfling couldn't believe his eyes. His body looked dead . No, it didn't. He looked like a ghost . Not in his phantom form, no... It was his body, but the appearance..... Like a living corpse . There was a slight glow emanating from his body, barely noticeable, as if the ghost had lost all its powers and was seriously weakened, his limbs were slightly transparent, as Danny himself had been during ghost mode. His eyes were blue, cold, empty... dead . Blood dripped slightly from his head, his hair fluttered as if it had forgotten what gravity was, moreover, the ends of his hair were charred and burned . If you paid attention to his arms, you could see an entire scar running through one arm straight to his own heart. His skin was scarred as if he had just been roasted in a microwave oven. The boy felt sick. Danny couldn't take the sight and threw up in the sink. And even there was his own blood. Fear gripped his body, his legs and arms were completely numb, his stomach twisted completely. Just then, the boy feels tears begin to flow down his cheeks. Still the same red, maroon color:
- W-what...what is it...? - Can't understand the halfa, sliding down to the floor. He wraps his arms around his knees and starts thinking hysterically about what to do and how to be. Should he call for help? Is he dying? Did something terrible really happen yesterday that he forgot about and now it's the aftermath of his adventures?
As he crawls toward the wall, Danny accidentally passes through a laundry basket and is startled out of his wits. Suddenly, he feels uncomfortable being inside the foreign object, as if the space itself is trying to push him out. This was wrong! Intangibility wasn't supposed to work this way..... Danny squeezes his eyes shut and feels his body tearing apart and reassembling itself. But he doesn't feel any pain. When he opens his eyes, he realizes he's back in his room. Did he just teleport?
- My powers are messed up? What's going on? -
His eyes happened to catch the calendar that hung above the dresser. The date was marked on it with a green ectoplasmic-colored marker, the outline of the drawing resembling a portal. The moment when his friends from Amity had given him that calendar immediately came to mind. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz had marked on it all the days that were special only to them: birthdays, days they'd met, the first ghost they'd defeated, the first....
Wait a minute. Today's the day.
- Today's the day I stepped through the portal! - the gears in my head began to turn and piece together a puzzle. Strange events happening today. The opening of the portal. His death .
- Frostbite talked about it. The DeathDay... -
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“Great, have you ever heard of Ghost DeathDay?” - asked a big furry yeti one day when Danny had been to him for a checkup and some counseling on some issues.
The boy tilted his head questioningly, not sure what Frostbite was getting at. Apparently it was some special tradition that the Halfa was unaware of, as usual. But he was always willing to listen to stories and learn new things.
The boy's look reflected his intentions, one didn't have to guess to realize this was new information to him. Big Yeti stepped aside to pull out some icy scrolls to show them to Phantom:
“The Day of Death is a special day for every spirit. Those who once died tragically, on this day they can remember what they were. Their form takes on the form as they were preserved moments before their passing. This is called the true form of the spirit. When a ghost is in this state, their emotions are out of control. Abilities are altered, even one's own character and thoughts can become confused throughout the day. Anyone who dares to attack a ghost in this state will be sentenced to imprisonment for many thousands of years. This is the law.” -
On the scrolls were images of a ghost with its core inside. There was a ghost next to it, but it looked different. Something was missing.
– But where's the ghost's core? - Danny immediately realizes, pointing to the image.
“And you take a closer look, oh Great One” - Frostbite smirks slightly as he watches his little ward study the scroll images..... His emotions on his face change, from disbelief and disbelief to shock:
– Their shell... The true form is the core?
“That is correct. After a long study of the phenomenon, we have come to the conclusion that such a phenomenon occurs out of an urge to recall the reason for which the ghost was formed. To reinforce its obsession, to renew the ectoplasm within itself and become stronger.” -
The half-ghost looked very enthusiastic and delighted. His eyes burned with interest. So he began to ask more questions:
– What about those who were born in the zone? After all, not all ghosts were formed as a result of death..... -
“That's an excellent question, Great One. On the day a ghost is formed, changes occur. Its appearance may change a detail, a new detail may be added, it may even change its shape completely and become something completely new. Its abilities may become stronger or modified. In all other respects, it's similar to the processes of Death Day.” -
Danny thought about it for a while. On that day, the ghost becomes very vulnerable, but also uncontrollable in a way:
– But isn't that dangerous for the ghost itself? I mean. If the ghost is in such a vulnerable state, not just physically, but emotionally. He could be dangerous to himself in a way, couldn't he? -
“Good point. On this day, the ghost tries to stick to loved ones or those he can trust with his afterlife. Being near his family will make his condition the most stable.” -
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Memories of the traditions and the dialog with Frostbyte hit Danny in the head. Of course, how could he have forgotten! But, to be fair, he hadn't at all expected to see himself dead this morning. Right. His family!
– Oh, no. I've got to hide all this stuff right away. Alfred certainly shouldn't see me like this, his old heart can't take it. Neither should my father. Bruce, actually. Yes.. He'll be shocked, that's for sure. And Dick too, he'll faint. Tim won't be able to sleep, Damian will tear up the gym, Cassie will shut down, and Jason will go crazy. Sometimes I envy the fact that he's a revenant and not a ghost. -
Halfa immediately jumped up and began hysterically wiping up the blood behind him. All the soiled cloths were immediately shoved into the washing machine with lots of powder and bleach. Unfortunately, it was impossible to completely wash the blood off himself, it immediately returned to its place. Thankfully, it didn't run off when he was moving around. Danny wrapped a bandage around his head to cover his forehead, with a liner inside to absorb the blood and keep it from penetrating the outer layers. I had to put gloves on my hands, put a hoodie on top to hide most of the blemishes. Pull up the hood. Now looking in the mirror, it felt like he was in a crazy bad way.
“Yeah... it's not the best option, but it's the best I can do in this situation.”
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Meanwhile it was getting close to breakfast time. Danny always showed up for breakfast on time, there would be questions if he was late, someone from his family would definitely go check on him. Quickly making his way down the stairs, the boy walked over to the table, Dick was already sitting at it, chatting about something with a still awake Tim, who was just trying to make a connection with the world. By the sounds of it, Alfred was already cooking in the kitchen. Danny usually tried to help him with it, he liked to be in the company of his grandfather. But today he just sat quietly at the table, with a pretend yawn with the words:
– Good morning, everyone...
Dick immediately brightened up:
– Danny-Bird! Alfred's making toast today. I'm sure you haven't tasted them yet, they're terrific! -
But somehow Danny didn't seem as enthusiastic. He just kept quiet and stared at the table in front of him, unresponsive to what was going on. The older Wayne immediately went a little quiet, scrutinizing his youngest. Something was clearly wrong. Unusual clothes and... is that bandages on his head?
“You okay? You don't look so good, buddy” - Grayson showed concern for Danny, but he only looked away and answered quietly:
– It's okay. It's just a headache. -
Okay. (sighs) That explained the bandages on his head, probably Danny had put some ice under the makeshift bandana to help with the pain. But the boy looked paler than usual. And Danny didn't usually wear anything that completely concealed him, at least at home for sure. It was as if he wanted to hide, but there was no way he could. Dick gently nudged Tim, who only gave a sleepy, disgruntled look at the older man, who indicated Danny with a slight nod of his head. Drake yawned weakly, wiped his eyes, and looked at Danny. And seemed to wake up immediately. Tim began to scrutinize his youngest, who in turn didn't like the attention. Not understanding the reason for his own behavior, the halfling became abruptly agitated and snapped at his brother:
– Stop staring, am I an exhibit in a museum? - His voice sounded a little strange, as if Danny was in his ghost form.
Tim immediately recoiled in embarrassment, as if he'd been doused with boiling water. He hadn't expected this. No, of course the younger man had a way of getting annoyed, but this was something else entirely. Looking at Danny Tim wanted to run away and hide, something was causing him fear and overwhelming anxiety inside. This effect was called the uncanny valley, when you look at an image, but something in it scares you, and you can't figure out what's wrong. It's like it's not a person sitting in front of him, it's something else.
“Danny, that was rude. You should apologize to Tim.” - The older man made a weak remark, but then Tim turned to him, with a look on his face that said, Don't, don't say that, stay out of it!
But Danny, surprisingly, just started looking at Tim, not blinking at all. And when Drake met his gaze, he got goosebumps. There was an awkward silence, until their youngest muttered:
– Sorry, Timmy. - And then he continued to stare at him without any emotion, his head tilted slightly to the side. And with every second without answering the question, seemed to start squinting and frowning, as if eagerly waiting for an answer:
– Yeah, it's okay, I'm sorry too, Danny.... - Tim gave him a strained smile, but that answer seemed to satisfy the younger man, who changed his gaze to a casual one and continued to stare at the table.
There's definitely something wrong with him....
Dick and Tim looked at each other worriedly. The other took his phone and quickly created a separate chat room where he added all the brothers except for their new junior:
FuckBatman: What the hell, Substitute? What the hell do we need another chat room for...?
I_Need_Coffee: Listen up, everybody. Something has happened to Danny and we don't understand what's wrong with him.
Cassy: .... :0 ?
Blood_Son: What happened to Danyal? Drake. Answer.
DiscoBall: We're in the dining room with him right now. Danny says he has a headache, he doesn't look good. Is his behavior-- very strange? When I say that, I don't even know what I want to say. I don't understand.
FuckBatman: It'd be amazing if your stupid head understood anything. So, what's wrong with Cool Fire?
I_Need_Coffee: His skin is pale, looks like a stiffened corpse, I feel like the light around him is unnatural. His eyes are just creepy. I felt like I was being looked at by a wild animal that wanted to eat me. Like Danny isn't Danny. Maybe he was abducted by aliens and replaced...?
Blood_Son: This is no time for your silly conspiracy theories, Drake. I'll be right down to see you.
Flashlight: I'll try to arrive at the manor as soon as possible! Just as soon as I've finished my business.
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Damian was concerned. Maybe when he'd first met Danny, he'd had a hard time and recognizing a new member of the family had been difficult. But now he was one of the most trusted faces in this family to him. Damian valued their relationship very much, even against his beliefs he gave him a nickname in his own way and let Danny call him by his own nicknames, he may have pretended in public that he was extremely unhappy about it, but everyone guessed that he actually liked it. Danny was an open book, naive, even acted stupid at times, but he was a man with the biggest heart he had ever met. And after all the hardships, he managed to keep it in him and give similar feelings to others. Now that his brother wasn't feeling well, Damian just had to look into the matter and figure out what had happened.
As he made his way down to the others, he noticed the hunched figure in the sweatshirt and the two older brothers trying to pretend as if nothing was going on.
– Good morning, Richard, Drake. Danyal. - green eyes fixed on Danny, who pulled his hands out of his pockets and started rubbing his gloves. He was nervous. Or not really? It was as if the gloves were getting very uncomfortable on his hands, as if he was hesitating whether or not to take them off. Out of annoyance, the boy piece by piece began pulling off each thread sticking out of the gloves and curling the tips of the gloves so that they squeaked a little under pressure. Damian tensed a little. This was uncharacteristic of Danyal. When he touched his shoulder, the boy immediately looked him in the eye and tilted his head slightly to the side, not blinking at all, but asking what he wanted. Damian frowned:
– Are you sick? -
Without waiting for an answer, Damian touched his brother's cheek with the back of his hand. And, to be honest, he was inwardly horrified. Danny was as cold as a dead man. The boy frowned suddenly, and his eyes flashed a poisonous green for a moment:
– Don't touch me. - Damian immediately recoiled. But Danny himself was a little surprised, too, and seemed to sober up for a second:
– I'm sorry, Damian, I'm a little out of sorts today.... You shouldn't touch me, I'm not feeling very well. -
– Whatever you say, Danyal. - Damian sat down next to his brothers, across from Danny. The three Waynes were looking at each other now. Something is happening to their brother. And they were determined to find out what it was.
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Right now, there were a lot of feelings struggling inside the halfling. He felt frustration at himself for making his loved ones worry, at that, he feels bad because he's trying to hide something that's bothering him from them. But he doesn't want to burden them with it, at least not even more than usual. However, he realizes that his feelings are mixing with each other. It reminded him of his stressful time when Youngblood was constantly haunting him and no one saw the ghost but himself. Everyone thought he was crazy, even Danny himself was starting to believe it. Now... he's feeling unstable. He wants to run away, but at the same time, he wants to cuddle close to his siblings. But the way he's looking right now. That's the trigger. To a family of vigilantes where everyone worries about each other more than usual, watching your relative walk around in his dead form is a little... over the top.
Alfred's sudden appearance with breakfast puts everyone back in a more uplifted mood. Except Danny can't even lift his arms and just saws the plate of toast with a look. He hated them when he lived with the Fentons. The boy has no doubt that they were wonderful when made by Alfie and better Danny would never have tasted better, but for some reason he's scared to try them.
– Master Danny, is something wrong? I can make something else if the toast isn't to your liking. -
Oh, no, now his grandfather's gonna be upset. Pull yourself together, Danny, pull yourself together!
– No, it's all right, Alfred. Thank you. - the boy swallowed. Carefully he took the toast in his hands and took a bite. There was a crunch. There was a taste of blood in his mouth. The food felt like stone, his tongue was burned and he couldn't taste anything. Except metal. Danny couldn't bring himself to swallow it. He choked and twisted a little, after which the boy spit the food back out. The bread slice absorbed some of the red. Everyone at the table fell silent, looking shocked at their youngest.
Danny stood up abruptly from the table, covering his mouth with his sleeve, then walked through the chair, causing his figure to behave atypically and as if it had glitched like a bug in the program:
– I'm not hungry. I'm sorry. Don't follow me! - Danny hurried out, hiding in the stairwell.
– Danny!
– Stop!
– Master Danny!
The voices of all the family members were heard, but no one went after him. Damian pulled his plate over and felt a little nauseous:
“There's blood here. Danyal is definitely very sick. Pennyworth, can we get a sample for testing? We need to find out what's wrong.” - Jr. seriously pointed out, the others were more than in agreement. Tim started typing something quickly into his phone, then said excitedly:
– I'm on it. I'm in the cave, I'm going to go set up the equipment. I informed Bruce, this is serious. -
– I'll provide samples in the cave, Master Timothy. Master Dick, Master Damian, please see to Master Danny's condition. -
All three nodded and hurried away.
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I_Need_Coffee: added DadBat to the chat room.
I_Need_Coffee: Attention, code red. Danny is coughing up blood. I run into the cave to see what the problem is. Try to monitor Danny's condition so he doesn't get worse.
DadBat: I'll be at the estate right away. Tim, stay in touch. The rest of you, give me a status report.
BloodSon: Danyal is showing signs of increased anxiety. He's wearing gloves, as if trying to hide his own body. His skin is cold. I also noticed that he wasn't breathing during the entire time we were in the kitchen. Not at all.
Cassy: Protect. I'm on my way.
Flashlight: I'm not far from the pharmacy. Do you need to grab any medical supplies? I should be there in about 15 minutes.
DiscoBall: Get some detox meds, maybe some inhaler solutions and a heating pad. All sorts of things.
FuckBatman: What if it's ghost shit? I'll grab my ectoplasmic supplies from his weird yeti doctor. I'll be there in ten minutes.
Barbie: I'll try to call Jaz, maybe she knows what's going on.
DiscoBall: Oh, my God.
I_Need_Coffee: *replying to DiscoBall's message* ??? ?
I_Need_Coffee: I've run the analysis. I'm waiting for the results.
I_Need_Coffee: Dick, what happened?
I_Need_Coffee: Answer me!
Blood_son: He's gone. Blood stains on the bed, on the door. The bedding is in the wash, but it's completely soaked in blood.
DadBat: Use ghost technology to find him.
I_Need_Coffee: The analysis is giving an error. He doesn't want to read it...
I_Need_Coffee: I don't get it.
Flashlight: I'm in position.
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Duke met Danny very suddenly. To be honest, at first they were awkward to talk to each other, but eventually they got better. Especially when the little guy joined his patrols. Before Bat and the others found out that Danny was the Phantom, he and Junior as a company of meta-heroes of the day guarded Gotham from harm. Together, they managed to work well together. He remembers the first time Batburger launched a figure with the new daytime hero. It seemed the little guy was so enthusiastic at the time that he was ready to cry. Even though the figurine was crooked and a little scary. For the first time, the people were actually grateful to him for saving people. Duke himself seemed to have learned to rejoice in that feeling again. It seemed strange to him now if his partner and friend wasn't with him on missions in the light of day.
Once inside the manor, he ran into Grayson and Damian, who were walking everywhere with a strange device that was supposed to track ghosts. In Duke's hands were shopping bags from the drugstore, he literally grabbed everything he could:
– Is there anything I can do to help? -
Richard nodded warily and beckoned Duke closer:
– Danny's somewhere on the estate, but the device is malfunctioning, like he can't always see him. We need someone who can spot our little ghost right away. -
Thomas immediately nodded, and then began to literally scan the manor with his eyes. When he looked closely, he saw that there was someone in the library. Or rather, something. Something that looked like a glitch in the program. Suddenly, the glitch disappeared and abruptly he was somewhere else. It was Danny's special room that had been set up just for him. Of course, his own bedroom was also up to all standards and preferences, but this was something special. When the boy talked about his love of space, they had set up a workshop for him with a large telescope right in the manor. The coolest thing about this room was the spotlight. There were soft bags on the floor where you could sit in a circle and stare at the ceiling to enjoy watching documentaries about space. Now this place was also used by all the kids to spend time together and relax in the evening, especially after a marathon of games.
The glitchy dot lingered in the room and didn't go anywhere:
– Danny is in the astronomy room. He'd been in the library and I think he'd been moving around the estate in a panic, but he'd calmed down now. -
Just then Jason flew into the manor, almost slipping on the mat as he walked in, pulling off his motorcycle helmet:
– Where's Cool Fire, is he okay?! -
The revenant had a bag hanging from his arm, presumably containing mixtures of various ectoplasm. They had plenty of the regular stuff right in the cave, but there were special mixtures for Jason that the ghostly Dr. Danny had developed to flush the corrupted Lazarus Pits out of Jay's system.
“Tt... Danyal is bleeding profusely. I doubt it's poisoning. There's too much blood.” - Damian frowned and looked away.
– Shit. We need to find him and then kick Ghost's ass for hiding his wounds from us. Let's go! -
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All four of them hurried toward the astronomy room as suddenly, a sweating Tim, who was clearly rushing straight out of the cave with all his legs, stood in front of them with a barely restrained shout:
– Halt! On the spot... - After a bit of breathing, Drake straightened up, ready to explain what was going on:
– Don't barge in on him.. Hold on.. Whew..!.
Jason growled unhappily at Timothy:
– What's the matter, Substitute? Why shouldn't we barge into a room with a kid who's bleeding profusely!? Give me one reason. -
– We got it all wrong. Barbara just got through to Jazmin, she told us what's going on. We need to wait for Bruce. -
Now Damian was looking at Tim like he wanted to throw a knife at him (he really did):
– That's not the reason, Drake. Why do we have to wait for Father? -
Tim pointed in the direction not far from the room where Danny was now to discuss the situation. Reluctantly, the group of guys followed him to hear what was going on. That's also where they ran into Cass, who was already waiting for the guys there. She had probably walked into the manor right behind Jason, but no one had noticed it in time.
– So, uh. - Tim started and everyone paid attention:
– When Barbara contacted Jazz, she seemed to know what was going on right away. Today. Today is the day that Danny went through the portal. -
A few sighs were heard. The subject had always been too sensitive to touch. The first time they'd learned exactly what kind of accident had happened to their little brother, something inside each of them had twisted inside Wayne. Despite the fact that there was no way any of them could have fixed or changed it all, still somewhere in the back of their minds they felt guilty to some degree, even though it was in no way their fault.
Tim took a deep breath and continued:
– And... on this day, ghosts have a tradition. On D-Day. On the Day of Death, a ghost regains the form in which they left the world of the living. Their emotions and abilities become unstable and they need loved ones to be near them. -
Everyone was quiet for a moment, but then Dick asked a question:
– But then why did he run away from us...? We're his family, we need to be close to him. -
Cass looked up and made a sign:
Fear. Experience. We are.
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Suddenly, Bruce appeared beside them:
– Cassandra's right. Danny is afraid for us. - a large, stern figure appeared in the hallway, with Alfred standing behind him, already holding several blankets they might need in the astronomy room. Before entering the child's room, they themselves needed to calm down so as not to push the already unstable state of the ghost boy.
After a little silence, Bruce continued:
– Danny is worried that his appearance might provoke us. The topic that worries us all is a very personal one. Not only him, but we must be prepared to properly support him. -
All the guys looked amongst themselves before someone would break the silence. Damian was the first to handle it:
– Tz... Danyal is a fool. It's about time he realized that we accept him for who he is and that we are strong enough to share his heavy burden. -
Jason grinned a little, his expression changing from annoyed to resigned:
– That's our ghost boy. How could it be otherwise? -
Now, the whole group slowly began to move toward the room. But piling in all together wasn't the best idea. We had to start from a distance. Cassandra was the first to speak. She went to the door and knocked gently. There were rustles and whispers on the other side. Then the older girl pounded a light beat on the door. A tune she and her new little brother could share. There was silence. And an answering tune from the other side of the door, also being tapped with her fingers. Cassie tugged gently on the doorknob and slowly began to open the door: Danny was already sitting against the wall, on his favorite bag of stars. His gaze met the girl's eyes. And she only smiled at him and showed him their favorite sign in the form of ears on the top of her head. Danny cautiously showed the sign in return. Cassie moved closer and sat next to him in one of the pouches. Somehow there always seemed to be an intuitive connection between them. It was as if communication was somehow superfluous and even sometimes signs weren't needed at all. Cass gingerly touched Danny's pouch with her fingertips, and it rustled faintly under the pressure. The boy looked up at her and said quietly:
– I'm okay... I'm sorry to make you nervous. -
The girl shook her head and smiled. After pointing to the hood on the child's head, which he pulled over himself and laced up:
– I don't think that's a good idea-. -
Immediately, his sister's gaze became a frown and she folded her arms across her chest. The boy felt embarrassed and yet, he couldn't dare to take off the armor he had erected:
– It's not a pretty sight out there. -
The girl hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, she carefully pulled down a small section of clothing to expose a patch of skin. There was a small scar that was quite visible. Danny realized what she was trying to say:
–.. It's different, Cass. But thank you. Okay, okay, okay. I'll take it off? But I warned you. -
The boy carefully pulled off his hood. Underneath were bandages that were already completely soaked in red. After a moment's thought, Danny decided to take them off, too. But he couldn't look at Cass. He was getting scared and uncomfortable. His eyes squeezed shut, and he tried to pull his face away, but suddenly he was faced with Cass's palm. The girl was already squatting in front of him, hunched over as much as possible. There was an affectionate smile on her face... It reminded him of Jazz. But it was still different. It was Cass. And she greeted him by stroking the top of his head. The black charred, weightless hair. Just like she always did during their time together. Danny put his hands on hers and pressed his palm to the top of her head. She didn't bother to remove it.
Then the oldest crept cautiously into the room. Dick, unlike Cass, was the complete opposite. But now he was as quiet and calm as possible. Just as he had been when they first met. Richard settled into the pouch next to Danny, as close as he could get, and waited. The boy let go of Cass's hand and let his sister sit next to him as well. A little while later, leaned over and leaned on Dick, who accepted the gesture and hugged the younger one with a big smile on his face, with the face of a contented puppy. Danny finally began to relax and allowed himself a weak smile. The others that had been quietly watching from behind the door began to slowly pull up. Tim came in next, bringing with him a Nintendo console that he and Danny had rebuilt for themselves. In addition, they had agreed to decorate it together. But the condition of the agreement was 1 decoration after each win. Danny's last win hadn't been marked with a new drawing yet:
– Hey. I just looked at the meter and counted the number of pieces. You have to put a new design on it. Or, uh, we can rematch later--
Danny took the console in his hands. Then he thought about it and took off his gloves to touch it. Danny's drawings outnumbered Tim's:
– The Rematch. I want more of your drawings on it. -
Tim smirked at him, then sat down in one of the still-unoccupied sacks and snickered:
– Okay, but then don't get upset when you lose, I'm not going to give in!
Danny smirked back:
– You haven't succumbed before. -
– Hey, it doesn't matter! -
A slight chuckle came from Danny's side.
Jason came into the room, bringing a book with him. On the cover was an old fairy tale with pictures inside: The Little Prince. It was the first book he and Danny had ever analyzed together. English had always been hard for him and the boy needed proper guidance. But starting with difficult works was too extreme. Despite all the bickering, when they delved into the study of the story, they were even surprised at their own discovery, because as it turned out, the fairy tale revealed the theme of death. To some extent, it was possible to let the character through and even rethink more complicated things. Somehow, the silly picture book became something personal to them:
– Look what I found. I think I heard you got a B recently. Should we schedule a couple more extra classes? -
Danny took the book in his hands and then showed Jason his tongue. Todd wasn't going to lie, his youngest didn't look so good, and there was a real storm brewing inside him. If it hadn't been for the treatment of his pit madness, he'd have been blown away by the sight.
But a piece of his mind allows him to remain calm. And he feels that right now the halfa opposite felt calm, and that was the most important thing for all of them at this moment.
Damian appeared in the room next, along with Titus. Danny had never hidden his delight at the sight of this old dog. They had cared for him together and tried to make sure he had the best last years of his canine life. In fact, they had once seen a movie that was called exactly the same thing. Damian had been touched to the core by the movie, but Danyal had sobbed for half an hour during the movie and even afterward. And he only calmed down after they played together with Titus.
– People interacting with their pets makes them happier. Titus is here to support you. -
The dog lay down at Danny's feet and rested his muzzle on his lap, relaxed and covered his eyes. It seemed that even the dog could sense his master's condition. But it wasn't just the dog that had come to support him. Damian himself also unceremoniously sat down in one of the bags nearby. The ghost boy understood Dami's intentions perfectly well, and therefore gave him one of the brightest smiles of the day.
Duke joined in next. Unlike the others, he spoke almost immediately, holding out a fist to his partner in anticipation of a punch back. Danny struck, then the meth felt his cold skin:
– Hey, little bro... The day didn't exactly start off on the wrong foot, did it? Don't worry just too much. We're partners for a reason. We're gonna make this day better with you. And this time, we won't be alone. What do you say? -
Danny thought for a moment, then nodded silently. Even his ghostly glow seemed to be a little brighter and more stable than before. That was probably the case.
Soon, Bruce himself was in the room. What was unusual was that he wasn't wearing the usual costumes or variations of classic clothing. It was more like the most casual, meant for home and family gatherings. Honestly, none of the mice present were sure that Bea even had anything like that in his closet. He seemed to have the hardest time starting any kind of conversation. Jason punched him lightly in the shoulder, with some light words like, “Come on, old man, keep your face simple.”
Danny laughed a little at that. At times, it was hard for Bruce to step out of his Batman persona. But after the family ties between family members had mended, it seemed that even he had opened up in his own way to some degree.
– How are you doing, buddy? -
The teenager frowned, lowering his face:
– I don't know. It was bad. It's better now. It's a little crappy. And it's all itchy. -
Bruce hummed weakly, waiting for the boy to continue. And he did:
“I...want to take off the bandages and all the extra stuff. It's getting in the way. But it looks very unpleasant.” -
Everyone in the room looked at each other. Danny needed a little push to help him decide to come clean with them. And it was unanimously agreed that Batman himself should do it. Come on, hero. It's time to take action.
– I'm not gonna lie, Danny. It's not easy seeing you like this. -
The boy was about to reach for his hood, but Bruce continued:
– But seeing you broken is harder for us. Every one of us.. We've always been willing to share your hardships. When we first met, none of us could have suspected the burden you had to carry alone. But now you're not alone. -
It was incredibly satisfying to hear those words. The hood fell out of the boy's hands. Danny looked around and looked at everyone. They were all here for him. His family. And they're ready to protect each other. And Danny.. trying to protect them all, not caring about himself. Again. Jazz will probably kill him a second time when he finds out he's making the same mistake again.
He made a decision. And carefully removed everything from himself, revealing himself in his true form, which he himself should have taken. There was silence, until Danny himself broke it:
– Oh, crap, it still looks like it sucks..... - the boy concluded, then a light wave of laughter swept around.
– That's our Danny-bird! - exclaimed Dick, clasping the younger one in his octopus-like embrace.
– Dick, you're going to get all dirty with ectoplasm! - Danny exhaled a little, squeezing his eyes shut because of the older man's abrupt actions.
– I don't care, brotherly hugs are more important! - Richard replied with a very important and serious look.
Then Tim joined the conversation:
– So that's why I couldn't get the blood analyzed... It wasn't blood! I was stupid, I didn't even think to check it. - Tim gave himself a facepalm, realizing that he hadn't even bothered to check the sample for other properties.
“Tt... Just don't understand why Danyal is losing so much ectoplasm. Isn't that a bad thing?” - Damian crossed his arms over his chest glumly and glared at the ghost boy.
Then Danny himself bothered to answer:
– In fact, I think it's useful, don't you? Frostbyte told me that on the Day of Death there is a renewal of ectoplasm. So I guess it's my way of getting rid of the excess. It's kind of creepy looking, though. -
There was a sharp laugh from Jason, who seemed to be wondering whether or not to make a joke out loud:
– I mean, you have ghost PMS...? -
Danny, surprisingly, froze for a second, as if he had a Windows loading screen in front of his eyes, and then just let out a short but very succinct one:
– It does look like that… -
.
.
.
No one left the room. They decided to devote the day entirely to spending time with Danny as a family. Alfred provided blankets for each member of the family and brought some board games. Pennyworth himself may not have participated in the events, but he watched the fun of the others from the sidelines. He himself was relieved to see all the members of the Wayne family so carefree and happy. Such rare moments were very precious to them. They wanted to capture them. So, a little later, he provided a camera for Master Timothy to preserve the moments as a keepsake. Even though they were a bit blurry due to Danny's strength, they were still the most vivid memories of his first Death Day.
The next morning, everything was back to normal. Danny felt fine, except for a slight tingling in his gums. Still half asleep, he squeezed some toothpaste onto his brush, brushed his teeth, rinsed with the solution, washed his face, and then... stared at the mirror. And suppressed a scream, covering his mouth with his hands, almost as well as he had yesterday. Goddamn it, are his fangs coming out!?
But that was another story.