Day 10

Cross Over

A Sudden Change

Background Info:
This is a few months after TUE and basically, Danny has forced himself to grow from the experience rather than deteriorate and has been facing each day with a want to live for himself, not those who've passed away. Vlad chose to continue living in the past and Danny had to get away, Vlad did not approve but didn't want to force Danny to do anything he didn't want to after his family died so he let the boy do whatever he wanted, but without his support. He winds up in Gotham and gets taken in by Bruce Wayne because Danny stopped a mugging in front of the bat and bird and wound up getting taunted and willingly beaten for being homeless in front of Richard (Dick) Grayson. They know nothing about Phantom at this point and Danny doesn't know about their nighttime activities. Bruce has been captured and Richard is going to save him and won't let a civilian like Danny help. Let's just say that Danny isn't very happy about that.

I also kind of cheated because I legit want to write a full story between these characters and have a lot written down already. Please consider this a preview with a few tweaks.

"Let me help." Danny asked in an unexpectedly reserved manner despite the underlying intensity.

"No!" Came the automatic reply.

"I can help Dick. Just trust me."

Dick glared at the boy before him. Danny was still a civilian and despite the target that he'd painted on himself in his latest encounters, he was still just a normal kid. He didn't even understand death properly, he believed in ghosts for crying out loud. Ghosts! He relied on the false existence of ghosts to cope with the death of his family. He was too fragile to face death head on. Dick doubted that Danny even believed that death was a real thing. "You wouldn't even care if Bruce dies!"

With a tightened jaw and clenched fist, "What?" was the only word Danny could choke out somewhat politely.

"You don't take death seriously and I don't think you ever will." It was a diplomatic attempt but crossed way too many lines.

Danny's eyes grew shadowed, his eyebrows furrowed and his nose scrunched up as he turned away from Dick, willing his voice to be steady. "I'm not ignorant Dick. Death is the end. People don't come back. I won't let Bruce or you or anyone else in this forsaken city die. I don't have some edgy backstory, dark past or some form of deep depression but I've never needed it before and I most definitely don't need it now."

"You can't and I won't let you! You'll just let him die like your family!"

Within milliseconds, Danny had Dick pinned to the wall, a good foot and a half above the floor. The cool facade was completely shattered now. "Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare sat that I just let them die!" Dick couldn't get away. "They were my family. They supported me in every possible way. It didn't matter who I was or chose to be. They supported me when I thought no one would. I didn't just stand in fear as they died like everyone says. I ran and I fought and I pushed every fiber of my being beyond its limits and I still couldn't save them. Maybe, if had taken things more seriously in the beginning or simply studied a little bit more, been a bit more honest, a little less clumsy, then maybe, maybe they'd still be alive. Maybe I could've saved them. But I didn't. Instead, everyone who had ever supported me was killed. Even my teacher! So, for the sake of every human, ghost, aliens, and whatever else decides to make itself known to the universe, never say that I don't care. Don't say I don't care just because I chose to live instead."

Dick finally looked Danny in the eyes and was startled by what he saw. Danny had tears streaming down his face, illuminated by a pair of very green and very glowing eyes. Danny took a deep breath as he set the boy back down on the ground, trying to collect himself. He hadn't meant to do that. "I'm going to go help Bruce whether you like it or not. I'm not gonna wait for the bat and bird to swoop in and save the day."

Dick watched as Danny, the goofy boy he'd grown to both love and hate, walked out with purpose. In Dick's eyes, Danny was acting very out of character. Danny was supposed to be a always smiling goofball, an oddity, ignorant in the face of death and danger. Danny was supposed to be oblivious to the darker side of humanity, honest to a fault and a trusting cluster of every trait an innocent child should have. For the love of all things good in Gotham, the boy had come to Gotham believing it to be a nice change of pace. Never mind the fact Danny had apparently been stolen from on his first day, but the city's crime rate was still the highest in the country, and that was after Batman struck the fear of the batglare into the criminals. Despite all of this Danny chose to stay in Gotham and went on saying that life was good.

Granted, Bruce and he both lived here but they had their reasons, mostly founded in revenge and justice, but they chose to stay to make it a better place. Sorta. But that's besides the point. Danny should still be angry at his family's murderer. Danny had every right to hate the world, he had his entire support system ripped out underneath him.

Danny just didn't make sense. The smiles, he stupid jokes, and the even more idiotic puns. Danny just showed that he understood so much more than he let on and Dick finally asked the question.

Who was Danny?