Curate, connect, and discover
For Danny, gravity is a suggestion, but when he's human he prefers to feel ground under his feet while he's thinking. This leads to him often not realising he's started walking on the wall or ceiling when he's lost in thought or otherwise distracted.
Tim's definitely normal human friend Danny, pacing on the ceiling during his third visit at Wayne manor: [ranting about something, probably defending his love of weird flavour combo milkshakes]
The Batfam, silently debating how they're gonna break it to Danny that he's a meta: ........
Tim's eyes follow Danny as he starts pacing around the table, his homework abandoned on the table. His voice is becoming sharper, and his words are strung together more as he continues. He noticed that he became less aware of his surroundings when his friend started going on his rants.
Watching Danny's body language become slightly less human was fascinating. It started with his eyes—if Danny felt angry, they would glow green. Tim always knew when to cut back on his teasing whenever he saw the flash of green, no matter how brief the green was.
When Danny rants about something that upsets or makes him sad, his voice gains a particular echo. It is almost as if he is slowly walking into a cave.
There were times when Danny got excited or happy; his hair would start to puff up slightly. This reminded Tim of when he would rub a balloon on his hair to study the positive and negative charges.
Danny's hair didn't flout straight up, but it was electric enough to be noticeable if you paid enough attention.
It was as if his emotions affected his physical form like a mood ring. Tim could always tell what Danny felt by watching for the little effects.
All these little things were easy to hide. Most people noticed less than Tim did, but there was one little quirk Danny did that was rather hard to miss.
"What if we talked about the effect of well-lit street lights on crime rates?" Danny asked, striding up to a wall and casually pacing on it. He continued to think out loud, with his eyes closed, as he made loops on the ceiling. Tim needed to pay more attention to the subject of their presentation, but he was somewhat distracted by how Danny's hair and shirt defied gravity.
They stayed perfectly in place as if his friend were still on the ground and not upside down. Tim wondered if his powers were less flying and more gravity-shifting.
It would also explain his lower degree of super strength if he could manipulate gravity. (Tim didn't care what Danny claimed in gym class. No regular human could lift two punching bags like nothing, especially for something as casual as cleaning up)
Or maybe he was able to move in a fifth direction. From his perspective, while Tim was stuck in 3D, Danny could move in the fourth and walk on the ground. It would explain why he didn't notice he had stepped on the walls or ceiling. To Danny, he never left the floor.
"No, that wouldn't work," Danny mutters, making loops around the chandelier. "What if we...but then that would mean...."
Tim couldn't make out most of his words, but that was fine. Danny also tended to mutter under his breath when he was deep in thought.
He cranks his neck back, eyes tracing the way Danny seemed to strut around as if he was out for a walk on a nice sunny day in the park. Carefully, making sure Danny was too distracted by his thoughts, Tim aimed his camera phone at him.
He takes a few photos and then opens the family group chat.
Tim: I need advice on gently telling a friend something that may change our friendship. I've tried to say it to him before but he doesn't seem to get it.
Jason: buy him some flowers and write him a poem. He'll love it.
Steph: That's terrible advice, Jay. No one does that anymore
Jason: No one has class anymore, you mean. Besides, boys deserve to be romanced, too.
Dick: Just tell him how you feel, Tim! Be direct and make sure you use the words "I like you romanticly." Sometimes people don't understand you're asking them out.
Damian: Do not bother me with your failed courtships.
Duke: Maybe don't go as far as Jay said, but Dick's right. You have to say, "Go on a date with me" or something.
Steph: Try the bend and snap! It's Elle Woods-approved!
Tim: No, that's not what this is about. I need help telling Danny he might be a metahuman with Superman-level Power.
There is a long pause before his phone vibrates again.
Damian: I beg your finest pardon?
Bruce is typing.....
Tim: He's friendly! He just has yet to notice that what he does isn't regular.
Jason: Wait, isn't Danny that kid we saw you at the ice ring with? The one that snuck up on Cass by accident?
Tim: Yes
Multiple people are typing.....
Tim briefly glances up to see what Danny is up to, and he is surprised that Frost has started developing in his footsteps. That's certainly new. He attached the photos to the chat, sending them off as Danny slowly floated back down.
He watches as his friend flips horizontally in mid-air so that he's standing upright when he lands. His hair is starting to puff up again, so he is not surprised when Danny's eyes snap open with a gleeful glint in them.
"I figured it out, Tim!"
"That's great," Tim tells him with a smile as Danny eagerly returns to his seat. He is babbling about the solution to their government class and how he knows he can get their proposed bill passed with the correct narrative.
Tim watches frost develop around his pencil and chair. Fascinating. Does that mean excitement? He almost forgets about the family group chat while attempting to figure out what emotion Danny is experiencing to connect to frost that he missed a few messages.
Bruce: Tim, where are you?
Bruce: he made Cass jump because she didn't hear or see him coming. That's worrisome.
Bruce: He could be dangerous
Bruce: Where are you
Bruce: Tim, answer me
Bruce: Timothy Jackson Drake, answer the phone right now
Dick: Oooooohhhh middle name
Damian: They are in the left-wing dining room, Father. I already have a visual on them.
Damian sent a photo of two teenage boys sitting at a table, bending over to look at a book together. Papers and pencils are scattered around the stranger while Tim's trusted laptop is in front of his part.
Bruce: Good. Keep them in sight at all times and report any suspicious behavior.
Damian: Naturally.
Steph: No DNA test is needed
Duke: Literally.
Cass: I am confused. I thought we all knew Tim's boyfriend was not human?
Jason: We did not, in fact, know that Cass.
Cass: It is obvious by the way he moves that Danny is not a meta-human. He is close to one, but he moves like a different being. He reminds me of Captain Marvel.
Multiple people are typing......