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flamingpudding · 7 months

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Fictober23 Prompt: 13 - "Come with me, hurry."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

Duke didn't know what was happening anymore right now. All he knew was that it had started with simply wanting to help someone. Or rather even sooner, with having been forcefully paired up with the new transfer student that everyone for some reason avoided.

The new transfer student, Danny Nightingale, had joined his class around mid semester, he wore a lot of apparently customized -as he later learned- ghost themed accessories. Somehow he got away with it without constantly getting sent to the principal for violating school uniform guidelines. Partially Duke believes that the teachers just gave up after the first week.

Aside from that the first time Duke had even seen the guy, for a short moment he thought that he had looked directly into the sun but then a second later his vision was back to normal like nothing happened but the transfer was staring at him with an eyebrow raised. They had stared at each other for a long time and Duke was sure that right then and there they both had noticed each other's possible Meta status.

But nothing strange had happened after that for a little while, well major really. Minor things kept happing and Duke was convinced that the guy had to be a Meta. The strange little incidence of things going missing but reappearing the next day, utilize or tool appear in the others hand like out of nowhere, the guy suddenly leaving class without explanation, well sometimes at least asking to get excused but still leaving even if their teacher said no or the bouts of green light Duke occasionally caught around the guy.

This transfer student had to be a Meta. Duke had no problem with it, in fact he was kind of happy to find that one of his classmates was a Meta. He just didn't know how to bring it up to him. Considering that most Metas in Gotham lived in hiding and fear, he knew he couldn't just go, walk up to the guy and bluntly ask if he was a fellow Meta.

So after a little discussion with his siblings, Duke decided he would just keep an eye out for his classmate. Trying to complete the friendship route first before and hoping that this way Danny would open up to him. So for now he was making sure the other stayed safe and all that, Duke had even asked his siblings if he should tell Bruce about his Meta classmate just in case but they had told him that as long as nothing major happens to the kid it should be enough for them to keep an eye out.

The friendship route was going great in Duke opinion. Well that was until he got partnered up with him for a group project. Duke really wanted to say that working together with Danny on the project was making it so much easier to connect with the other aside from just joining him during lunch break or trying to strike up a conversation before classes. But the or their group was not making it easier, in fact, Duke got the feeling they tried to actively exclude Danny if it weren't from him.

The day when they all met in the library made it even more obvious. Danny hadn't even known they were meeting up to work on it until Duke texted him asking where he was. He gave the other the best Damian Glare impression he could muster up when he found out and then a Jason death glare impression when they found excuses to leave once he called Danny over when he saw him walking through the library doors.

"Duke, it's fine real. I always have been one of the odd ones out." Duke had definitely not been fine with it when Danny had played it off, especially when he offhandedly mentioned that he got bullied before. Well at least Danny was enjoying his time with Duke, plus Danny was a genius, especially in all the science and engineering subjects. If their idiot group mates wanted to pass up on an A+ with extra credits then it was solely their fault for being judgmental.

Duke had gotten to the point that Danny had even agreed to come with him to the Manor to hang out once, all he now needed to do was clear it with Bruce and make sure that his noisy siblings weren't going to freak Danny out.

He was just about to call Bruce up to see if it was fine when the doors of the library were kicked in by people dressed completely in white carrying deceives that looked like scanners. He was just about to comment to Danny what weird people they seemed to be when he noticed Danny had pulled up the hood of his jacket over his head and for the lack of better words looked frightened.

Duke had only locked once between Danny, and these weird guys before deciding what he needed to do. He shot a quick look towards Babs who was working the library counter and looked about ready to have them kicked out. Duke signaled her, while also shooting off a message into the group chat with the others.

"Danny." His newly made friend had his back turned to the door and looked like he was trying to find an escape route. Duke frowned at the way Danny flinched when he placed a hand on the other's shoulder. Whoever these guys were, Danny was afraid of them or had some sort of trauma and Duke would bet his entire comic collection on the fact that it has something to do with Danny being a Meta. "It's okay, trust me. They won't get you."

"What?" Glowing green eyes peeked at him from under Danny's hood, he clearly remembers them to be blue.

"They won't get you. I promise." Duke repeated, ignoring the color change for now. By now Barbara was trying to get these people out of her library but these people continued to yell something about ecto-entities and those some papers at her. They were advancing into the building and Duke could see that Danny's flight reflex was going to break out soon.

Duke made a brief eye contact with Barbara. She nodded.

"Come with me, hurry." Was the only warning he gave Danny before he grabbed the other's hand and dragged him to the back of the building, towards the hidden doors.

"What are you doing?!" Danny sounded so confused and Duke looked over his shoulder hoping he was giving the other a reassuring smile.

"Helping you!"

"But I am not-"

"These guys are after you right? Let's get away from them first and then talk!" Duke cut him off pushing Danny through a hidden way into an underground path.

"You don't even know me and-"

"I don't need to know you, to see when someone needs help."

He could see that Danny clearly wanted to say something, there was still fear in these still glowing green eyes and Duke wondered once more what these people must have done to Danny for the other Meta to be scared like this. Danny needed to know that they wouldn't get to him as long as Duke and his family were around. He was going to be protected and be able to live normally without fear of these people showing up to hunt him for his powers.

"Meta's gotta stick together. Don't worry I will make sure you're safe!" This wasn't how he had hoped to open up this topic with Danny. He had wanted Danny to bring it up naturally once they had gotten to be really good friends. So that Duke could let him know he wasn't alone.

#fictober23 #danny fenton #danny phantom #dp x dc #dpxdc #crossover #dcxdp #duke thomas #barbara gordon #duke believes Danny is a Meta #He is determined to make sure Danny is safe #Metas gotta stick together #The Guys in White will have one hell of a time trying to get to Danny #They definitely won't get to him on Signals watch

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maniacwatchestheworld · 3 months

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About Metahuman Bigotry in the DC Universe

So as I keep browsing things within the DPxDC space, I continue to find it... Off... How people portray bigotry against metahumans within the DC universe. Because like... No. The Justice League would not see ghosts as so much of a threat that they would try to hunt down and exterminate them. They would not discriminate against Danny for being half ghost and deny him entry into the Justice League on those grounds alone. And I think that a lot of this is just kinda a misunderstanding of how bigotry against metahumans is typically portrayed within the DC universe.

As always, what I am about to discuss is highly subjective and is purely based around my own understanding from what DC media I have been consuming within the past year or so of being in this fandom space and my own experiences within minority communities. I have no doubts that media offering examples of the contrary exist out there, and I could easily be missing something HUGE from past comic runs. I'm not an expert, but these are some general trends that I myself have noticed. Proceed under the cut for more discussion. (This post got LONG very quickly!) And of course, trigger/content warning for discussions of bigotry of all kinds under the cut. (Not a lot of specifics are mentioned, but it's still worth saying.)

(Also as a brief aside, I am a person of color (mostly a Filipino/Caucasian (Irish/Scottish) mix), I am asexual (panromantic) and nonbinary, and am neurodivergent, but also come from a privileged middle class background and am often white-passing, so I do very much have my own blind spots and personal biases when discussing this kind of stuff. In any case, here we gooooo!)

Now, first off, what do I mean by metahuman? I know that there is a specific metahuman condition within the DC universe that has to do with Nth metal and genes or something, but that's not what I'm using it for here in this context. Because truth be told, within my last year of gorging myself on DC comics and related media, I have barely heard that term used at all. And where I have heard it used, it is not in that context! "Metahuman" as a descriptor in my experience is more generally used to refer to anyone who is basically a person, but isn't necessarily a human or humans with powers and abilities that are beyond what a typical person may have that can change their appearance or biology to be non-human within the DC universe. Big example? Superman. If you do an image search of "metahuman dc" on Google or anything like that, what will likely come up is a bunch of images of Superman first and foremost! Superman is strictly speaking, not a human being. Because he is a Kryptonian. But for all intents and purposes, he is a person and ought to be treated as a human. Hence, metahuman. He is human in a more overarchingly general or meta sense than as a biological fact. So aliens like Superman, Starfire, or Martian Manhunter? Metahumans. People with supernatural conditions that can make them look or biologically be non-human like Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Beast Boy, Ebon, or Plastic Man? Metahumans. Species born on Earth with intelligence and abilities comparable to humans like King Shark, Aquaman, Gorilla Grodd, or Red Tornado? Metahumans. Demons, gods, Amazonians, Antlanteans, aliens, androids, science experiments gone wrong, bang babies, people born with strange abilities, and yes. Even ghosts and half-ghosts would all be counted under the umbrella term of "metahuman"! So very VERY clearly the Justice League wouldn't discriminate against ghosts... NOT WHEN THEY ACTUALLY HAVE GHOSTS LIKE BOSTON BRAND ON THEIR TEAM! And not when the majority of the Justice League consists of people that could fall under the metahuman umbrella!

So with that out of the way, let's get to the actual bigotry!

Now I assume that a lot of how people think about metahumans and how bigotry against them would manifest in a universe like DC's comes from pieces of media like what is seen in the X-Men movies or Captain America: Civil War aka Marvel properties. Mobs of people protesting the existence of metahumans, trying to legislate them. Open, outright, hostile bigotry where people speculate on whether certain groups of people ought to be allowed to live or not. Metahuman characters within the Marvel Universe (like the X-Men specifically) have to face the very real threat of genocide from a world that looks at them with disdain and wants them gone. It's a very real, very pressing issue that does face many people in real life today! Their metahumans are often a metaphor for oppressed minorities. Which is a great way to get people within the hegemony to understand and sympathize with people who exist outside of it and it is wonderful for people within minority groups to see these fictional groups that are facing the same issues as them to be able to fight against, and win in their battles against bigotry!

But this isn't really how DC does things. Because when DC decides to tackle subjects of bigotry, they do not tend to shroud their meaning under the veil of metaphor. They just deal with it outright. When DC wants to talk about white supremacy and why it's terrible, they have Superman battle against the Ku Klux Klan. When they want to show the unfair treatment of black people within our society, they retcon the way that the Big Bang happened and how Static got his powers for it to have been because of police brutality against protestors during a Black Rights Matter protest! There was recently a book in which the Alan Scott Green Lantern went to get and saw firsthand the horrors of conversion therapy. When they want to show how shitty people can be towards trans people, Xanthe visits their parents who deadname and do not respect their pronouns (while Constantine does)! Superhuman abilities and powers are not a metaphor for being a downtrodden minority within the DC universe. These characters are just often and outright already a part of these minority communities! Being a metahuman is just another layer of bullshit that they have to deal with on top of that! And that's intersectionality right there baybee! A character's metahumaness can bleed into how they perceive their race or gender or disability or other status and vice versa! Characters still very much face bigotry and live in an unequal society that may seek to eliminate them within the DC universe. But they are just not necessarily being targeted for their metahumaness specifically.

Of course bigotry still exists in the DC universe, but bigotry against metahumans specifically tends to happen on a different scale than in Marvel. People don't tend to go out en masse and protest Superman's existence, telling him to go home. People generally like Superman being in Metropolis and understand that his home planet was destroyed and that he's a refugee living here on Earth... But there are still people out there who don't think that Superman can be trusted because he's an alien. There are people who think that his kindness is just a front and that he is just the first arrival to prepare the Earth for "his kind" to invade Earth. There are people who would find the idea of him falling in love with and having children with a human being to be absolutely abhorrent! But those people would never say those things about such a kind and friendly Kansas boy like Clark Kent! DC tends to deal with more of the little bigotries that society deems "acceptable," whether they intend to or not. People aren't calling for the genocide of Atlantis or Themyscira... But men will force their way onto Themyscira when they are strictly not allowed, or assume that everyone there MUST be a lesbian, or desperate for some action from a man! People who know about another person's metahumaness will often make assumptions based off of them. No, Gorilla Grodd does not want a banana since you're being an asshole about it and treating him like a mere animal, and no, Manbat does not drink blood- his species is a fruit bat and not a vampire bat, but he would prefer a sandwich regardless to be honest. Also, please stop screaming. He may be a giant bat, but he's actually here to help. Some people can go through most of their lives being seen as entirely "normal" and pass others by invisibly as a metahuman. But others are not so lucky and have a condition that makes people run the moment others see them. Robin, Raven, and Terra could go out and get some pizza without anyone batting an eye. But if Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire did the same thing, people might stare and keep their distance. Clayface can choose to look like an ordinary human to go on a date or go Christmas shopping, but if Killer Croc tried to do the same thing, people would notice, scream and run. But just because Clayface can look human, that doesn't mean that his condition can't be debilitating, or that he is able to find stable employment. People with metahuman abilities face problems because of their abilities and appearances. And these problems can lead to escalation, thus trapping said metahumans in a cycle of pain, not brought on by themselves, but rather by how people choose to discriminate against them. Ritchie and Static may still be able to go to school and pretend to be normal kids, no one being the wiser, but Ebon and Talon? Would people really feel comfortable with them attending classes with how they look and their abilities? They are young. They are poor. They have no support. Who would want to hire them for a job when they look like... THAT!? And so they live on the fringes where people won't bother them. But they still need to eat and dress themselves. So they steal what they need to survive. They now have criminal records. And since they are metahumans, they're dangerous, right? So when the police hunt after them, they shoot to kill. And so they need to avoid the police as much as possible and therefore have to keep moving, hiding, and stealing just to survive. They have no stability. And so they can't improve their lives. They are caught in this cycle and can't escape. And even if they could try to hide what they are to "pass" in "normal" society... Why should they have to? It's not their fault that they ended up like this. This is just part of who they are now.

These are systemic issues. Microaggressions and discrimination based around ignorance and fear alike. Sure, a lot of these bits of discrimination are not as obvious or loud as genocide, but they are no less real, and they come with their own host of harmful behaviors. DC doesn't usually tend to handle the big bigotries with their metahumans in the ways that are as loud as with how Marvel handles them. Because you know what? There is enough of that in the real world based around real minorities and real people. They don't have to make up fictional movements against fictional bigotries for fictional people when there are real issues to be tackled and discussed! Why make up something fictional for these characters to have to face discrimination against when you can just make those characters be members of groups that are ACTUALLY being discriminated against right now in our real world!??? That doesn't mean that bigotry against metahumans isn't a thing in DC, but rather that the bigotries that metahumans face in their universe are the exact same as the bigotries that real people face in the real world. People being judged for how they look. People being judged for who they love. People being judged for how their anatomy works. People being judged for the accommodations they need. It's all the same. The prejudice faced by metahumans is the same racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, classism, and all the other little prejudices that real people face in real life, but with a bit of a fantastical flair! They are interconnected, just as these problems are interconnected in real life! And not until all of these groups work together to solve all of their collective problems and make life better for everyone because all of these problems overlap, can they all be free!

Neither of these ways of portraying bigotry is inherently better than the other. Both have their strengths, both have their place, and both are needed by different sorts of people! But what fits in the Marvel Universe feels off when seen in the DC Universe and vice versa. So seeing the Marvel-esque in your face, life or death bigotry against matahumans in what is supposed to be the DC universe just feels... Off.

Something very important to keep in mind when thinking about how things within the DC Universe operate relative to the Marvel Universe is this. The Marvel Universe tries to be Inspirational, and the DC Universe tries to be Aspirational. Both have their uses and place, and both can be very good, but for very different reasons! Just look at the biggest heroes within each company. Spiderman is supposed to be like you. And with enough intelligence, guile, hard work, and a bit of good luck, you can become someone like Spiderman. A hero. Marvel is good at creating heroes like you and showing you how you can be better and help out the lives of everyone around you. DC prefers to do something else. You probably weren't born as a multi-billionaire, nor will you likely be adopted by one. You are probably not an alien refugee from an exploded planet or raised on an island in a female only society and are a nigh immortal demi-goddess made out of clay. You aren't supposed to relate to these characters one to one. But DC likes to take these extraordinary people and show those people choosing to use their extraordinary abilities for good and to help others. It takes these incredible beings and tries to show us how, for all of their differences to us, they are still people who struggle and also love and care just as much as any of us. DC's universe is largely inhabited by larger than life people for you to aspire to be like, and shows them choosing to be good. They are characters for you to look up to, and if you were to be in a position like them where you had the ability and power to help... Wouldn't you want to be like them...? And I think that the worlds that these stories take place in reflect that. If you are someone who has seen people protest your existence and attack you just for being alive, then you will probably see yourself in the X-Men, and seeing them rise above it and prove those people wrong is going to be very inspiring! But there is also the need to see a world where that kind of bigotry is rare and unusual. It's good to sometimes see a world where stuff like that largely doesn't happen because people have collectively decided to be better for the sake of everyone! But just because the outright and obvious bigotry doesn't usually happen in this ideal world, that doesn't mean that bigotry is gone entirely either. But it is a better world than the one we have now and something to aspire to. I don't doubt that DC has stories which really tackle the big bigotries like that of which Marvel's mutants so often have to face. And I don't doubt that Marvel's characters have to face the interconnected little bigotries that DC characters sometimes have to face. But one thing that's nice about reading DC stories is just... Because they examine the smaller problems... We also get to see the small victories as well! We have yet to defeat the forces that lead to genocide of the oppressed. But when we don't wallow in that, we get to see what kind of world we might have without that. And in that world. It's okay to just be who you are, and to be just... Happy! Victor Stone is disabled and black and is able to grow up. Alan Scott is gay and survived conversion therapy and is able to grow old. Harley Quinn is able to escape her abusive situation, get into a more healthy place for her mentally, and find genuine, mutual love with Poison Ivy. Yes, people still have their biases and bigotries. Yes, problems still happen. But problems can be overcome. And in spite of these problems, you can still live and be happy. And the DC universe is one in which no matter what you are, you can be happy for who you are without compromises. The DC Universe is one that celebrates our differences in all of our myriad, uncategorical, and incalculable ways!

And so in these stories that are obstensively supposed to be in the DC universe, when people react to Danny being half ghost and it's met with disgust, derision, and fear by everyone including the Justice League...? When that's not what the story is about or criticizing or commenting on, but is rather done as a matter of course...? It just feels... Off. It feels wrong. For the Batfamily to look at Danny turn into a ghost with confusion or assurances that this isn't possible in the way Danny says it does, it's just odd. It feels off in a similar way as Batman making a joke about dead babies. Is it something that he could do and might have done in the past at some point? Sure. But that's not what Batman and his family should be! Because they SHOULD be reacting to Danny being half ghost with curiosity, excitement, acceptance, and assertions that they KNEW IT! And the Justice League shouldn't automatically see this new population of ghosts as invaders that need to be destroyed, but rather as a people who need to be understood. Sure, if they are looking to invade, that's one thing, but very few ghosts would be looking to do that. They are just more refugees looking to make a life on Earth. They are more possible friends and allies that might fight with them in their quest to protect everyone! And hey! If nothing else, they're more people for Boston Brand to be able to talk to and hang out with! The DC universe celebrates diversity! And this includes in terms of powers and abilities! The DC universe largely does not humor ideas of metahuman genocide on Earth because there is enough of that in the real world. And so they would not do that in a DPxDC universe either. At least I don't think that they would. But that's just my view on this subject and these ideas. I have no doubts that works saying the contrary are out there. You can certainly still play with these ideas in your works. But I want to see more diversity of ideas and more loving acceptance of ghosts and half-ghosts in these works too! Because that feels so much more DC!

#dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dc #dc x dp #dcu #dc comics #dc universe #metahuman #bigotry #discrimination #prejudice #long post

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flamingpudding · 6 months

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Fictober23 Prompt: 27 - "I don't know if they will accept this."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

A/N: Started writing this yesterday and finished it during lunch break today. So I decided to take a break tomorrow and post this early :D

Danny nervously poked his scrambled eggs as he sunk just a little lower in his chair. His eyes flicked back and forth between all of his new siblings that were currently in a heated discussion not noticing his slow withdrawal from the discussion and acting like he really didn't want to get noticed by them.

"Have you seen Mister Freeze's new sidekick? The white haired one that's probably a Meta with ice powers?"

"You mean Wraith?"

"Wait, I thought the kid was Ivy's sidekick? He helped blow up a facility last week!"

"No, no, no, no! Isn't he with Scarecrow?! I am sure he accidentally screwed up with the Fear Gas ten days ago so no one go harmed! But Scarecrow screamed at him that being new to the job wasn't an excuse."

"Didn't he help Catwoman steal two artifacts a couple days ago? One of them wasn't cat themed though I am pretty sure he was with her that time…"

"Wasn't he also the kid that was with Joker the last time he broke out? You know the white haired kid that was forced to assist him and tripped him right into his own trap and made the whole arrest a lot easier and quicker than usually?"

"It's like the kid switches who's sidekick he is every week…"

"Maybe he is interning with villains before breaking off to do his own thing? We better keep an eye on him."

Danny sank just a little bit lower in his chair and avoided looking at Alfred. Of course Danny knew about his new family's night time jobs, well day time in Duke's case, but when they had asked him if he wanted to take part in it he had declined. They didn't know about his second form, they only thought of him as a Meta with ghost powers that just escaped a horrible situation and now wanted a quiet and somewhat normal life. So they had accepted his decline in going into hero work, especially Alfred and Bruce appeared to be most relieved and happy about that decision at first.

But what Danny hadn't told them was that he might have declined going back into hero work, that didn't mean he would stay completely out of that side of his new family's life. The half ghost hadn't planned on it but it had all started with him accidentally coming across Poison Ivy. She reminded him of Sam in her values, so before his brain was able to catch up Danny asked if she wanted help blowing a facility that was pumping toxic waste into the water. Years of helping Sam with organizing activist protests did that to his brain.

One thing led to another and somehow Danny found himself more often than he liked in his phantom form acting as a sidekick or assistant to the rogues this family was fighting. In a way Danny felt like he was now more of an anti-hero than a hero, still fulfilling his obsession of protecting by finding creative ways to foil the rogues' plans if they get too dangerous or murderous but not really doing the whole righteous hero stick either.

Plus by working with Mister Freeze and Scarecrow at times he also gets to fully live out the mad scientist side of his brain. With them especially he gets to create whatever his weird wired brain could come up with, though, he did 'accidentally' leave behind USBs or papers with his inventions for Tim to find at the crime scenes.

What his new brother did with them was none of his business. If the Bats and Birds suddenly had new equipment in their arsenal that looked eerily similar to his inventions than that was that.

The problem was… his new family probably wouldn't like or accept that kind of turn of events. They were righteous and defenders of justice with moral codes and standards, Danny wasn't sure he could fulfill at the moment. Watching his new siblings arguing back and forth about Wraith, his new anti-hero alias Selina, Harley and Ivy had come up with, made his stomach sink every morning. In fact Danny was getting more and more scared with the passing days that his new family would kick him out the moment they learned about it just like his former parents had done.

He wished he had Jazz's contact to talk this over with her, but because of his situation Bruce found it better to wait a little longer before he could safely reach out to her. Maybe he could ask if Harley could talk with him instead.

A cup of tea was placed before him and Danny's head snapped up (when had he started to look down?) to find Alfred smiling calmly at him. "Master Daniel, I believe a nice cup of tea will help calm down your nerves."

"Thanks." Danny mumbled his hands cupping the cup and letting the warmth of it seep over his hands into his arms to comfort his nerves. He took a sip, eyes going wide for a moment before he looked over to Alfred who was currently taking away Tim's third cup of unfinished coffee while the other was distracted with the ongoing discussion. The old man gave him a knowing smile and Danny couldn't help the small grateful one that formed on its own, though he also couldn't help the slight feeling that Alfred knew what was frazzling Danny's nerves so much.

"Jason, maybe you can get into contact with Wraith?"

"Why the fuck should I?"

"You have a different reputation than us as Red Hood. He might be more willing to talk with you, to figure out his motives and such."

Danny choked on his tea, hurriedly placing the cup back on the table before pounding his own chest in a desperate attempt to get any tea that went down the airpipe out.

"Danny! Are you okay?" Dick was instantly on him, worried older brother vibes and all that.

He wheezed before breathing in relief once he stopped coughing, giving the oldest a barely hearable "I'm fine."

"<tt> Try not to die stupidly like this, Fenton." Damian clicked his tongue and Danny gave him a toothy grin.

"I am already half dead." He heard Jason snort. While the family thought Danny was just a Meta with ghost-like powers. Danny had explained his accident to them and how he died and revived with powers through it when they asked him why he was insisting through jokes that he was half dead. Jason and Dick were the only ones who really enjoyed his death related jokes and puns, the others were more worried about his mental state.

"Leave the death jokes to Todd, Fenton."

"Oh come on, don't ghost me like that! My jokes are just as much to die for then his are!"

"Fenton."

Danny just laughed, while the previous discussion made him fear for the future, he still loved the family he had gotten added into by sheer luck. He had come to quickly love them all and felt like his own weirdness fit perfectly into theirs. It truly made him hope that he could stay with them for a long time and maybe even add Jazz into the picture as well once his whole situation was more secured and Bruce would allow him to contact her and his friends.

Later that day Danny was in the library reading a book on Molecular Structure of the human biology and how it can mutate depending on external influence, as a preparation for his next endeavor as Wraith with Killer Croc, when he felt tapping on his shoulder.

Turning his head slightly Danny startled finding Cassandra in his personal space sitting next to him with a mirthful smile. She gave him a small wave as a greeting before sitting back a little, apparently satisfied with the fact that she sort of scared him there a little.

"Hey Cass." He smiled, putting one of the many bookmarks, Jason had distributed and stored away everywhere in an effort to stop his siblings from creating dog ears in books, on the page he was on before closing the book in his hands.

"You worry too much, relax." She signed with a reassuring smile once Danny had turned his full attention on her. Confused, the half ghost on the other hand tilted his head, puzzled about what Cass was going on about. He did feel rather relaxed right now.

"You being Wraith." Wide eyed Danny hurried to cover Cassandra's hands, like one would cover another's mouth if they blurred out a secret. His eyes hurriedly darted around in their surroundings but aside from the shelves filled with books Danny couldn't see nor sense anyone that might listen in on them.

Cass was shaking in silent laughter as Danny nervously turned back to look at her. "How…"

Slowly she freed her hands from his and patted them comfortingly before beginning to sign again, smiling knowingly. "I saw. Your body language is the same."

"I…" How was he going to explain this? He had gotten found out, was Cass going to tell him to leave now? Was this the end of his new found family life? It came sooner than he anticipated. Blankly he stared at his hands that uselessly lay in his lap on the book cover, one hand slowly moving to nervously trace unseen patterns on the books spine.

Danny did not see how Cass frowned at that action, all mirth gone from her smiles. She did not like her brother was drawing into himself, doubt and fear started to radiate from his body language and Cassander didn't like that even more. She moved a little closer, so that she would have an easier time to reach Danny and poked his cheek mercilessly until her little brother looked back up at her.

"No need to explain." She actually spoke instead of sign just to show Danny how serious she was. "It's fine. Funny even. Like Selina."

"But…" A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed, trying to find the right words. Cass waited patiently for him. "Mom and Dad… my former parents… they didn't accept me as a ghost hero…"

Cassandra nodded but didn't sign nor say anything, seeing that there was more her newest little brother wanted to say but still trying to find the right words for. It was something she could relate to. Unable to find the right words, hadn't she been through that before too. She lay a comforting hand down on Danny's shoulder, once more waiting patiently.

"I… I don't know if they will accept this… this turn of events. Especially in this family. You all are taking the Hero route and I…" Danny swallowed once more. "I can stop, I can change. I just don't… I don't want to lose another family…"

Before Danny knew what was happening he was enveloped in a warm hug, he blinked several times before realizing that Cass was hugging him tightly. He was held like this for a while before she drew back from him, poking him once more to make him look at her once more.

"No need. Don't stop." She spoke her voice, soft and smoothing while smiling at him brightly.

"But…" She shook her head, silencing whatever Danny wanted to say before giving him a mischievous smile, her hands letting go of his shoulder so sign her next words. "You are not hurting anyone, you keep them from killing, from being too dangerous to civilians, not really breaking any big laws. You help us in your own law breaking way. Like Jason does."

"I am not as good as him…" Danny mumbled still unsure but Cass only smiled fondly ruffling her little brother's hair.

"You started to smile more since you became Wraith." She flat out told him, causing Danny to look up at her stunned and she laughed silently. "Keep going. If you go too far, I will be there to pull you back."

"You're like Jazz…" Danny mumbled, finally with a little smile on his face and Cass returned it with a satisfying one of her own before pulling him in for another hug, he returned this time.

That night, Orphan watched happily how her little brother laughed carefree and freer than he had in a month sitting on Killer Croc shoulders, testing out his newest invention while the rogue was trying to get him off, unsuccessfully so far. Her other brothers surrounded the two and tried to figure out what was going on since Wraith was supposed to be their rogues gallery sidekick and not challenge them like that.

She laughed even when suddenly out of nowhere a USB-Stick hit Red Robin in the face. Obviously she had caught Wraith flinging it in his direction, but she was not about to tell them that. Orphan would let them figure that out on their own, meanwhile she was going to enjoy watching her newest little brother smile and laugh while being the chaos gremlin she had seen in him from day one as he was messing with the rogues as well as vigilantes / heroes of Gotham.

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