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How To Balance Your Daytime And Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have ...
Ao3 Part 1 - New Legal Guardian Part 2 - Rescheduling Part 3 - How He Got Where He Is Today Part 4 - Death Is A Legal Barrier Part 5 - Bachelor Pad Part 6 - How Does One Take Care Of A Whole Other Person? Part 7 - Breakfast Part 8 - The Goblin Duo Meet Part 9 - Phantom Part 10 - Routine Part 11 - Road Trip Part 12 - Wayne Manor Part 13 - Dinner at Wayne Manor (No Murder Mystery) Part 14 - Don't Pick Fights With Your Host Part 15 - Pre-Patrol Thoughts Part 16 - We'll Get To Patrol Eventually Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 Part 20
Shenanigans One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty
Tim Drake wakes up one day in a room he doesn't recognize with bandages wrapped around his throbbing head. He takes stock of his surroundings and realizes he's in bed with a man he doesn't recognize. He freaks out internally and lifts the covers find them both clothed in pajamas. Relieved, he tries to roll the other man off of him to escape, which was much harder than he first assumed it to be due to him just snuggling closer into Tim's shoulder and chest.
Tim eventually manages to escape the cuddle trap and investigates the house they were in. He finds his own wallet and is shocked when his id says he's 39 years old! His reflection in the mirror didn't look a day over 27! The last thing he remembered was fighting some of Riddlers goons and then nothing. No win, no loss no hit to the head, nothing. The memory just fades out. Did he have amnesia?
He found the other man's wallet near his own and opened it up. Oh boy, if he was shocked at his own id then he was absolutely floored by the id of one Daniel James Drake, not to mention the little marriage license tucked in behind it.
Tim was nearly 40 and married. Wth happened?!
Once Daniel wakes he shows to be very loving and affectionate. Also he makes the best coffee Tim has ever had (possibly why he married him) and gives him some pain medicine after checking his bandages. Daniel, or Danny as he preferred to be called, kissed his forehead and informed him of Bruce potentially coming over for dinner tonight to check in on him.
Tim is a little caught up staring at thier wedding photos. Dick was crying into a handkerchief in the background of a few and Bruce was even caught dabbing his eye in one while a young redhead he didn't know, probly Dannys relative, patted his arm.
Tim is pretty shook and isn't even sure if any of this is real. It seemed too good to be true.
Masterpost | PART 1
A few months ago Tim Drake-Wayne, past Robin and current Red Robin, one of the best detectives and a spiteful fuck, met one Danny Nightingale. Who was a complete mystery.
Danny Nightingale moved to Gotham and started attending Gotham University and that is all Tim knows. He can't find where he came from, why he moved here, nothing. It's driving Tim, the FUCKING DETECTIVE, mad. Not to mention, Danny was kind when they first met. Amicable. That, for some reason, didn't last. He was mean, uncouth, and honestly a fucking asshole to Tim most days now. Tim needed to know why.
Then the Bats started meeting Danny. Started talking about a robbery or a stick-up or any number of instances all about a boy that fit into 'adoption bait' territory. Tim didn't have to guess who. Danny was a blue-eyed, black-haired boy of concerning food habits and questionable social habits. But it was another thing on the list of questions, questions, questions about this strange guy.
So, reasonably, the only option was to meet him as Red Robin so that Tim could see what Danny acted like with someone he didn't hate and get answers. On the first reported sight of him, Red Robin went running. And running.... and running... Okay, what the FUCK!
Whenever Red Robin showed up, Danny was nowhere to be seen. Even the others had shown confusion, turning in their spots trying to find the boy that was just right there, I swear! And sometimes, he just took off running! So Red Robin would chase, for hours, as Danny ran and ran and eventually some-fucking-how loses the vigilante.
Okay. Fine. Different approach. Danny didn't run from Tim Drake, just became an intolerable person. Tim would... make friends.
He started doing everything to make a connection with Danny. He wants to be friends, but Danny is borderline mean and dismissive of Tim no matter what he does. One day, Tim is complaining to the void about one thing or another, and… Danny laughs.
Danny—cold, unresponsive, non-expressive Danny—laughs at Tim’s misfortune and gods. It is the best thing he’s ever heard. It's soft and quiet and quick, but Tim is hanging off of it. Is holding still the way Danny’s face scrunched into it, the way his lips pulled and his nose scrunched around those pretty freckles.
Gods… Gods. Tim is lovestruck, head over heels, and on cloud nine all at once.
The moment passes all too fast when Danny speaks, quietly as if he were shy, “Do I have something on my face..?”
Tim is startled so hard out of the spell that he flinches back, hitting his head on the wall with a dull thunk, and spitting out in a flurry of sound, “What? N-No! No, it’s nothing.” Tim looks away, hiding the red that floods his face. He doesn’t understand why his face is flushed nor why the way Danny had looked had been so… perfect. Tim is hit with the feeling of wanting to run his fingers through the boy’s hair and kiss every freckle on the boy’s face and, fuck, he doesn’t understand why. The only thing that makes sense is...
To Danny’s complete and utter resentment (he’s actually very happy and very grateful that his soulmate isn’t giving up so easily on him), this only further emboldens Tim’s efforts on mission: ‘Make Danny Nightingale Like Me’ double down.
This is just another shitpost, a copy and paste from what I spammed my friend at like 5pm- ish Jason or Red-Hood who's known for having 'information from the dead/graves' but his boyfriend is Danny 'phantom' Fenton and will just yap to his boyfriend over ghost gossip and not even realize that he's sharing new/unheard of information to Jason over crimes and other things happening around Gotham or in crime alley
People gossip but the dead talk, and Danny is all too happy to have someone to listen to all the ghost drama with him that the man will yap to Jason for hours. (Jason has timed it before, it got to hour 5 before he called it a day)
No one can figure out how why or when Jason started becoming two or three steps ahead of every villain/gang/goon/whatever, calling 'anonymous' tips into the batfam/police/whoever tf, days or even weeks before anything happened.
Jason who somehow ends up scaring the shit out of the bad guys because they 'changed their plans three times already to lose Red-hood' but yet, somehow, he's waiting for them by the time they arrive to where ever they were meeting up to do their illegal business with a coffee in hand and the police already called and arriving in 5 minutes.
Jason, kicking down the door to Dick’s apartment: WHERE IS MY NEPHEW?
Dick, in his pajamas, eating a bowl of cereal: …huh?
DC/Marvel Peter Parker in Gotham AU where Dick Grayson is Peter's bio dad, and Jason is Uncle Ben.
Peter finds himself in another world where Ben exists only for him to be dead here too. Peter is lost, alone in a world he knows nothing about and has no one to talk to. Even if he starts making friends he can't tell them the truth about being from another universe. And yeah his bio parents exist here, but what is he supposed to tell them? He would just sound crazy, better to avoid them.
But he needs to talk to someone, so Jason's grave becomes a place where he can vent and reminisce.
Danny was weak. Amity had been destroyed because of his failure to act and it had hit his obsession hard. The other ghosts jumped on him exploiting his moment of weakness and while he was able to defeat them he was left with very little power left.
He was dying.
Again.
Danny had to choke back a sob. He was alone, scared, and in pain in an unfamiliar dimension in an unfamiliar city that had a smell bad enough to make raccoons turn thier noses away. He needed to find a way to feed his obsession and fast.
It was at that moment a very obviously drugged and hurt Red Robin came falling out of the sky and landed with a thud before him and promptly passed out.
Danny could work with this.
Dragging the other teen as far as he could (which wasn't far in the halfas sorry state) he settled down with the supposed hero on the front step of a boarded up store and rested the guys head in Dannys lap. Taking a deep breath he pulled out one of his parents weapons that he had personally modified. A laser gun that if turned up to the highest setting would be a death ray and at the lowest would be powerful enough to blast someone down a few city blocks. Anyone who tries anything would be in for a world of pain.
Unfortunately there were a lot of people who saw the downed bird being protected by a frail kid with what looked like a toy gun and came walking up with crowbars and bats, intending to get revenge only to find out that it was very much not a toy.
The most annoying ones were these wierd people who Just. Would. Not. Give. Up.
The one with a blue bird on his chest had almost convinced him that he was the heros friend, up until he let slip that his brother, Red Hood had tried to murder him. He got blasted away after that.
Red Hood didn't even get down from the rooftop before Danny blasted him. He had so much bad ghost vibes that Danny could feel exactly where he was even five miles away. Hood didn't understand why he couldn't sneak up on this kid.
Batman gets the "on sight" treatment and Danny is convinced he's a supervillian.
The Joker gets vaporized in front of the batfam, whose jaws are on the floor, except for Jason who's cheering. (Jason later throws a party) Everyone who has a bat logo on them gets blasted. No one can get close and nothing they do can get the kid away. Its only when Robin appears before the kid that Danny visibly relaxes. When Robin asks how he knew he was Red Robins ally Danny pointed out the matching colors.
Robin did not understand the logic behind it but was happy to get the civilian that had been giving them so much grief to a hospital and drag RR to the med Bay to see why he hadn't woken up yet. But no, it was not meant to be. Danny revealed he was not human and that his injuries were more severe than they first appeared, which said a lot because his white shirt looked mostly brownish red at this point.
Anyway, Danny was a supernatural entity who protected people and fed off of them, creating a mutually beneficial situation. The people he protected turned on him seeking knowledge about his biology via the "science and a knife" method and he barely escaped. Danny is so weak now that if he let's Red Robin go Danny would quickly die, but if he doesn't let Red Robin go, he won't wake up. So naturally Danny is too terrified of dying to let RR go and as a consequence Tim is getting the best sleep of his life
Halloween prompts no 31 (part 4)
Red Robin sprung to awareness on a rooftop, the world around him frozen in place, "What the...?"
Don't panic a voice said from inside his head. "Oh yeah, nothing to panic about." He answered back.
Yeah, ok. Thats fair. The voice conceded, I guess I should explain?
"I'd prefer that, thanks."
Ok, so I was just traveling through dimensions and exploring space-time-
"You were what?!"
You wouldn't explore space-time if you could?
"Fair. Continue."
So anyway, I came across your dimension which was frozen in time. I kinda freaked out a bit when the time freeze tried to grab me too, but it couldn't and I shook it off.
"It couldn't? Any idea why?"
Okay, this is going to sound pretty strange, but my crazy evil alternate future self came back in time and tried to murder my loved ones but failed and decided placing a medalian that eliminates time shenanigans inside my chest was a great consolation prize. Probably to "ensure he exists in the future" or whatever. I try not to think about it.
RR took a deep breath and decided to unpack that later, "And the reason you crawled inside my head?"
Well, taking out the medalian would cause me to freeze before I could even give it to you so the next best thing was to overshadow you and act as a backseat driver.
"Overshadow?"
I'm a ghost. Think of it like diet possession. I'm in here but you have full control. Sorry about doing this without your consent.
Red blinked, unsure what to make of this situation, "Its fine? Anyway, any idea what we do now?" He asked, hoping the ghost might have a lead.
No clue. Other than trying to find the source of all this and put a stop to it. If you can make physical contact with something I can force my energy into it temporarily. It should allow whatever object you find to be unfrozen so long as you maintain contact.
"This is starting to sound like a video game."
Then let's get on with the tutorial!
He comes to in a strange room, completely alone and absolutely covered in blood and guts from an unknown donor that's lying on a stone slab positioned at the center of the room.
A mirror nearby tells him he’s a kid.
All of this and the nothing that comes from his head (no explanations, no memories, nothing that could help him explain what’s happened to him and who he is) would have made him panic… if he could feel panic, he thinks? But he feels weirdly disconnected from all these revelations. The only thing that makes him move is this tiny blob that gets on his face and begins to ask HIM questions.
He does not have answers, much to the blob’s disappointment. After that, he discovers that he’s good at following instructions. Tim turns out to be really good at commanding him what to do when all the anxiety and fear goes away.
Then, introductions and explanations. The blob says its name: Tim Drake. Apparently, he’s now inside his body after Tim was abducted by a group of terrorists from his home. When he asks what happened and why some terrorists are capable of placing him inside his body, Tim the Blob wavers for a moment and sheepishly admits that the group is not so much terrorists but a bunch of cultists. After all, they claimed they were summoning something tonight.
By deductive reasoning, they realize that he is that something. That's not as reassuring as they want that to be.
The real whiplash, however, comes to them when a couple comes into the room and introduces themselves by kneeling on the floor and declaring themselves his servants.
As they begin to give their version of the story, Tim whimpers and begins to cry. They don't seem to notice that. In fact, they ignore Tim's existance.
Perhaps they can't perceive him.
It soon becomes apparent that the couple are Tim’s parents and they are extremely pleased to have sacrificed their son.
Directly inspired by @erinwantstowrite 's art!!! post
Request from awesome amazing cool Anon
Over the years, circuses have lost their spark.
Dick would know— he’d literally grown up in one. Back then, the circus was a symphony of effort and artistry. Weeks, sometimes months, were spent perfecting routines. Performances were designed to dazzle, to inspire awe, no matter the country or culture of the audience. The comedy sketches weren’t just filler— they were genuinely funny, capable of drawing laughter even from the most reluctant parent dragged along by an excited child. Every act had a rhythm, a purpose, and above all, passion. The performers took pride in their craft, and the audience responded in kind, feeding off the energy, cheering and clapping until their hands were raw and their throats sore.
Now? Now they were dull. Predictable routines recycled ad nauseam. Costumes that looked like they were bought in bulk from a clearance rack. Tents and stages slapped together with the barest effort to resemble grandeur. The magic, the joy—the soul of it all—had been replaced with a singular, glaring goal: profit. No one cared if the audience laughed, gasped, or even paid attention, so long as they paid their entrance fees.
But recently, whispers of something different had started making waves in Gotham: a circus gaining a reputation for being... well, different.
Dick’s curiosity was piqued. He hadn’t planned to go, at first. But the memories of his youth, of what the circus used to mean, stirred within him. Before he knew it, he’d wrangled (read: blackmailed) together as much of the family as he could to go see it. Which, wasn’t a whole lot considering quite a few were out of state currently, but it was enough to make him smile.
“Why must I come along? I do not see the point,” Damian groused, arms folded tightly across his chest as the group approached the circus grounds. Despite his protests, he made no move to make a stealthy exit.
“You’re coming because it’ll be good for you,” Dick said, ruffling Damian’s hair just to annoy him. Damian promptly swatted his hand away, glaring daggers at his adoptive brother.
“You don’t even know if it’ll be good,” Tim chimed in, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. “What if this thing is as boring as all the other ones you’ve complained about?”
“Then we’ll all get funnel cake and call it a night,” Stephanie said brightly, making it clear where her true excitement lay. “I’m in it for the food, anyway.”
Dick pouted. “You didn’t have to say the quiet part out loud!”
“Don’t underestimate funnel cake,” Duke added with a smirk. “It might be the only thing saving this trip if the show’s a flop.”
Dick rolled his eyes, but his grin didn’t waver. “You’re all so cynical. Just... trust me, okay? I have a feeling about this one.”
Sure, a lot of the decorations seemed cheap thus far, but Dick can’t blame them. They’re clearly low budget, with only two shows a week, versus the seven to ten a week Dick was used to. The difference was the genuine passion and excitement in the eyes of the performers. And they were just doing pre-show stunts on the street to rouse excitement!
Tim hummed thoughtfully. “This place has been gaining rapid popularity,” he said, the subtle edge in his tone making it clear he was already analyzing every detail. Dick saw his fingers twitch as if to take a picture.
Dick glanced over at him but didn’t comment. He recognized that tone— Tim was in detective mode, quietly piecing together threads no one else could see yet. He did, however, take the opportunity at his siblings' distraction to subtly herd them in the direction of the tents, eager to get a good front-row seat. Damian noticed, but he didn’t do much more than roll his eyes.
Steph, however, rolled her eyes dramatically. At Tim, not Dick. “Can you just enjoy one thing without looking for a criminal conspiracy, Tim?”
Tim matched her with a roll of his own eyes, the two slipping into a bickering match that’d put an old married couple to shame if they weren’t so aggressively gay. Meanwhile, Dick let his attention wander to the stage, studying the equipment with the practiced eye of someone who’d lived this life.
Suspended high above was the trapeze rig, its bars wrapped in worn leather, the steel cables taut and secured to thick iron frames. The safety net below, while a little faded, looked sturdy enough to do its job. Not brand-new, but serviceable.
To one side, a highwire stretched across a dizzying height, its slim cable shimmering faintly under the tent lights. The rigging showed some signs of age— slightly dulled bolts and scuffed counterweights—but nothing that made Dick worry. It would hold, even if the daredevil walking it would need nerves of steel.
A teeterboard sat center stage on the ground, its spring mechanism ready to launch performers into flips and vaults. Nearby, a stack of brightly painted crates and barrels hinted at comedic skits. Clowns would probably tumble over them with exaggerated flair, while a sturdy seesaw-like prop suggested slapstick gags involving plenty of unintentional (and intentional) falls.
The whole setup had a charming scrappiness to it. The equipment could use a little TLC, sure, but Dick had no doubt it would hold up under pressure. He could tell the performers had put their trust in it, and that meant something.
For a moment, Dick felt a flicker of nostalgia. The way the crew moved, the crisp efficiency with which they handled the gear— it reminded him of home, of the way his parents had always treated the stage with reverence, as though it were sacred ground.
“Do you see how high that wire is?” Duke muttered, his voice tinged with a mix of awe and apprehension as he followed Dick’s gaze.
“I see it,” Dick replied softly, his heart tightening. He couldn’t help but wonder who had the guts to walk that cable, let alone pull off any stunts on it. He’d definitely have to stick around and chat them up, maybe have a little friendly competition.
“Awe, man,” Duke sighed, visibly disappointed. “Guess we weren’t excited enough.”
Turns out “early” wasn’t early enough because the seating area was packed. The whole first three rows were aggressively claimed, forcing the group to settle for seats in the middle of the fourth row.
Steph and Duke promptly excused themselves to grab popcorn—or, more accurately, for Steph to scout for funnel cake. Dick had to respect the consistency.
Damian glanced at Dick, then at Tim with a withering look. “Drake, cease your ramblings. They sour my mood.”
Tim blinked, clearly taken aback. “Wait, just me? Steph was talking way more!”
Steph, who had been halfway out of earshot, whirled around with mock offense. “Excuse me? I wasn’t the one turning this into an episode of ‘True Crime: Circus Edition.’”
“Yeah, because you’re too busy planning how to steal funnel cake from children,” Tim shot back, crossing his arms. Damian’s eyebrow twitched. Dick wondered why peace was but a mere illusion.
“Oh, please,” Steph quipped. “You’d be the kid I steal it from, Drake.”
Before Tim could come up with a retort, and Damian became a convicted felon, the lights dimmed, cutting their bickering short. A hush fell over the crowd as the familiar low hum of a drumroll began to build.
The ringmaster strode into the center of the stage, clad in a dazzling coat of crimson and gold that shimmered under the spotlight. If you looked any closer than that, you’d see how tacky and cheap it was. His booming voice carried effortlessly across the tent.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Welcome to a night of wonder, daring, and delight!” the ringmaster announced, his voice ringing through the tent as the steady drumroll built the tension. “Prepare yourselves for the extraordinary, the astonishing, the absolutely unbelievable! The show begins... now!”
The drumroll reached its peak, and with a dramatic flourish, the spotlight swept upward to reveal the first performer perched high above the stage. A man in a sparkling gold costume waved grandly to the crowd before swinging onto the trapeze. The audience clapped politely as he performed a few rudimentary tricks— basic flips and graceful swings that showcased control but lacked flair.
Two more performers joined him, each clad in similar glittering costumes. They moved with confidence, transitioning through formations and passing between trapezes, but the moves were predictable and lacked the edge Dick was hoping to see. Certainly, nothing that would make this rinky-dink circus as popular as it got so quickly.
Tim leaned toward Dick, his tone flat. “You dragged us here for this?”
“Underwhelming,” Damian muttered, his expression neutral but his tone sharp.
Dick didn’t respond immediately, though he couldn’t disagree. The tricks were technically fine— safe, practiced, polished— but there was no spark, no passion. No magic. He resigned to going home disappointed and also to the inevitable flaming via siblings.
But then, just as one of the performers finished an awkward landing on the platform, the ringmaster’s voice boomed again.
“And now, prepare yourselves for the prodigy of the skies, the one and only Amazing Arach-Kid!”
The spotlight shifted upward again, revealing a much smaller figure poised on a separate platform, high above the others. It was a boy— young and wiry, dressed in sleek crimson and black, his face obscured by a half-mask (not dissimilar to their domino masks, actually) that glimmered faintly in the light. For a moment, the crowd was silent, uncertain what to expect.
Without warning, the boy leaped.
The gasp from the audience was audible as the kid— Arach-Kid?— launched himself into a dramatic triple flip, his body twisting gracefully through the air before he caught the trapeze with flawless precision. The crowd erupted into applause, the energy in the tent shifting instantly.
He didn’t stop there. Swinging with a force that sent his trapeze soaring higher than any of the others had dared, he released at the peak of his arc and spun into a double somersault. Instead of catching the next trapeze, he landed neatly in the arms of one of the adult performers, who looked genuinely startled by the boy’s precision. He grinned, waving excitedly at the audience as they roared with applause.
From there, the routine transformed. Arach-Kid became the centerpiece of the act, seamlessly incorporating daring flips, twists, and transitions between trapezes. He was passed between the adults with perfect timing, their previous mediocrity eclipsed by his sheer skill and energy.
“Whoa,” Duke murmured, leaning forward in his seat. “He’s... good.”
“Who is that kid?” Tim asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
“Better than the rest of them combined,” Damian said bluntly, though his tone carried the faintest hint of approval.
The boy ended his routine with a jaw-dropping quadruple somersault, catching the final trapeze one-handed and hanging upside down with effortless control. Gasps and cheers erupted from the audience, their applause thunderous as he let himself swing for a moment, letting the crowd bask in his daring. Then, with a fluid motion, he swung back, releasing the trapeze bar for one final flourish.
Dick leaned forward, his breath catching as the kid’s body twisted into the unmistakable maneuver— the signature move of the Flying Graysons.
The crowd roared as he executed the technique perfectly, his form flawless, his timing impeccable. He landed with a clean dismount, arms raised triumphantly, and offered the crowd a playful bow before darting off to the wings. Even with the stage empty, shouts and applause echoed for a long time after the boy left.
For a moment, Dick couldn’t move. His stomach churned as memories of his parents on that same trapeze flooded his mind. No one else knew that move. No one could. His parents had created it, and Dick had learned it from them. It was their legacy— his legacy.
So how, in the name of all that made sense, did this random kid just pull it off perfectly?
The lights shifted again, smoothly transitioning to the next act: a somewhat clumsy but undeniably entertaining tightrope routine. One performer started with a wobbling walk, arms flailing for comedic effect. Another joined, balancing precariously with a broomstick for support. The final performer added a unicycle to the mix, pedaling shakily across the thin wire as the audience laughed and clapped in delight.
It was… objectively funny.
But Dick barely noticed. His good mood had evaporated, replaced by a heavy knot of unease in his chest. At this point, they must have a hive mind with how they immediately filed out of the tent without a single word exchanged.
“That was—” Tim started, breaking the tense silence.
“Dick,” Steph interrupted, her voice low, “did he just—?”
“That was your move,” Tim finished firmly, his eyes locked on Dick’s.
“It’s not possible,” Duke added, glancing at the now-empty trapeze rig. “Right? It’s your family’s thing. There’s no way some random kid from Gotham knows it.”
“I am more concerned with how he knows it,” Damian said, his voice cutting. His eyes darted to Dick. “This is your domain, Richard. You must have answers.”
Dick didn’t respond right away. He couldn’t. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his breathing shallow. In disbelief, he muttered, “I don’t.”
Steph frowned. “Okay, well... what do we do? Do we just ignore the fact that some kid pulled off your impossible secret family move?”
“No,” Dick said sharply, his voice colder than any of them expected. “We don’t ignore it. We find out who he is, how he learned it, and what the hell is going on.”
Tim’s brow furrowed. “Do you think someone’s trying to get your attention? Like, deliberately?”
Dick shook his head, though his face betrayed his uncertainty. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, it’s... it’s possible, but...” He exhaled through his nose, frustrated. “I need answers. This isn’t something you just pick up on YouTube.”
The group left the small but packed circus, their earlier excitement replaced by a shared tension. The cool night air did little to clear their heads as they walked in a tight huddle, glancing over their shoulders as if the boy would materialize out of the crowd.
“Something’s not right,” Tim said, breaking the silence.
“Obviously,” Damian muttered.
“I mean it,” Tim snapped. “Moves like that— you don’t just do them. It takes years to learn without a teacher.” He glanced at Dick. “You’re sure no one outside your family knew it? Like, absolutely sure?”
“Positive,” Dick said firmly. “The only people who knew it are gone. Except me.” His voice dropped as he added, “Or at least, they’re supposed to be.”
The group exchanged uneasy looks, about both the situation and Dick’s reaction to it. It takes quite a bit to rattle him, so to see him, well, rattled was weird. Beyond weird. It was downright wrong.
“Either way,” Duke said cautiously, “we’re going to figure this out. Right?”
“Oh, we will,” Dick said, his voice grim. “We don’t leave things like this unanswered.”
As they disappeared into the Gotham night, paranoia settled over them like a second skin. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to stay a mystery for long.
Then he wakes up, staring at a ceiling dotted with glow in the dark stars, very confused.
There's a redheaded teenager who calls herself Jazz, who seems suspicious of him. He had parents, ghost hunters who are definitely breaking many, many laws, who love him dearly.
He has a pair of very close friends, Tucker and Sam, who also do not trust him.
There was a funeral for Dick Grayson, he looked it up. There was a corpse and everything, cremated exactly as he had demanded after learning what had happened to Jason.
Just in case it's a fluke, and he's about to be thrown out of a body that isn't his, he doesn't reach out to anyone in the hero community just yet. Instead, he decides to look into who, exactly, is Daniel Fenton, and why do his friends and sister keep looking at him like he's a spy?
Or; Danny, growing more and more powerful as a halfa, was starting to have his ghostlyness leak through to his human form. He asked Clockwork if there was a future where Jack and Maddie would ever accept him being half ghost, and Clockwork informed him that no, there was not. So Danny worked with the Yetis in the Far Frozen to make a lifeless clone of himself, with the intent to fake his death and live on in the Realms. So when Jazz came into his room, fully expecting a lifeless clone, only to find the clone not only alive but fully functional, she's suspicious.