funniest scam I've ever seen. earning money through followers on tumblr. the place where the only thing you earn from a post going viral is idiots in your replies and hate anons
Keep thinking of Gardener!Danny working for the Wayne's.
Alfred could really use the help around the manor but because of the bat stuff, they're hesitant to hire even one housekeeper, instead, they hire someone to take care of the outside[grass, bushes, flowers, they even set up a little greenhouse with produce for the gardener to tend to so that Alfred doesn't have to go shopping as often to get regular groceries[stuff they keep almost constantly], a catnip/cat friendly plants patch so that Damian can have a supply for stressed out strays and Alfred(the cat), and another small patch of medical herbs.]. While it doesn't sound like much at first, having someone to tackle the outside chores has been a huge help to Alfred, who can focus more on the inside of the house, and of course everyone agrees to do a better job of picking up after themselves.
Anyway, back to the gardener. They found Danny at a cemetery, hes a night watchman, but he also grew flowers on the property so he could honor the graves, mostly of people who didn't have anyone else to mourn/honor them. He peaked their interest because he seemed so unbothered by everything, and didn't ask questions[and the gentleness and respect of which he treated the graves, regardless of who that person was alive may have played a part]. Alfred was the one who offered the job, of course, and Danny agreed as long as he could keep his night job.
As the gardener Danny doesn't need to step foot in the house, the furthest hes gone in was the sitting room when first meeting the family, and the back patio where Alfred would offer him iced tea, and lemonade after a hard day of work when its particularly hot. Honestly Danny doesn't even interact with most of the Wayne's regularly, Alfred mostly, sometimes Bruce, and rarely Damian, and Jason, and hes fine and happy with that(though he does feel constantly watch, but he just figures that its a security system, which given the Wayne's wealth, is fair).
Idk what to do with this going forward, I just like this general idea.
I do think a cool story idea is someone trying(and mostly failing) to breed Blood Blossoms because it works against XYZ JL member for some reason, and since Danny has shown a lot of knowledge about plants(thank you Sam and Frostbite), he decides to ask Danny about them from the point of view of Brucie finding these rare flowers and wanting to know what they're called so he can have Danny plant some. Now, whoever was trying to breed them was only mostly failing, the flowers they got were in no way as potent as blood blossoms because they are already extinct, super fragile/touchy, and notoriously difficult to breed(there's a reason they went extinct in the first place), but they still effect ghosts to some extent, causing a severe rash that, while not fatal if briefly touched, prolonged contact can lead to a severe allergic reaction. Due to the breeding and dimmed effects, Danny can't recognize them at first, and takes the flowers from Bruce to get a better look, only to immediately have a rash spread up his arm and for him to drop it while cradling his now itchy and burning arm while Bruce looks so freaking confused, his mind going a mile a minute.
Due to being a ghost, Danny has picked up a myriad of languages; common and dead. Sure there's ghost speak, which is instinctual, and Latain, which isn't institutional but a necessity, but Danny has had to talk with a lot of ghosts, and many of those ghosts don't speak American English, so Danny has learned multiple languages from multiple countries, time lines, and even planets! Not just spoken languages either, but sign, written, and body languages too!
Through his time learning, Danny fell in love with being able to help people by interpreting for them, and sometimes even being a language tutor if someone asked. From foreign tourists just trying to order food, to a deaf child trying to make friends, it fulfills his urge to help others, and he gets to express his love for all the different languages he's learned over the years.
Being a ghost, and thus sensitive with emotion, helps a lot to dispell miscommunication. Danny can sense when someone misunderstands, the subtle shift in their emotions, and is thus able to gently guide conversations so people can understand eachother better too! Not exactly a therapist, but he can at least stop miscommunication.
Now to the DC x DP part:
Danny is well know in interpreter circles, and some tutoring circles, but not really outside of that. Sure hes been highered for some governmental interpreter jobs, and has worked with foreign communications, but he much more enjoys being the interpreter for people in court cases who need help understanding their lawyers, and special needs kids, to him its just more fulfilling. So no, hes not a big shot outside of those specific circles.
The way he gets on anyone's radar is because of Clark. One of Clark's coworkers is running a story about a little meta(alien) girl who won the state wide spelling bee for her year, just a cute little fluff peice. The girl actually spoke very little English, but she was learning fast. Danny acted as her interpreter for the interview, able to understand his first language with ease, and was also her English tutor, something she was very happy to brag about, much to Danny's embarrassment. It wasn't a long peice, just a short, congratulatory article about a little girl trying her best and succeeding while bragging about her tutor/interpreter once, but for some reason that grabbed Clark's attention. Something in his gut told Clark that this guy, Danny, was important somehow.
Clark looked into Danny a bit, more curiosity than anything, and he was impressed by just how much Danny did, how many differnet languages he was able to interpret for, from French to Japanese, to alien languages like Tamaranean and Martian. Clark didn't think it was suspicious, the guy obviously just had a knack for languages. And that wasn't counting how kind the guy seemed to be, having taken on quite a few clients who were poor and unable to pay him at the time, if they couldn't pay he seemed more than happy to accept other forms of payment, like homemade dinners or cookies, even crochet lessons from one lady who's landlord was trying to scam her out of her deposit when she was being moved to a care facility. If they could pay his rates, they would, but if they couldn't, it seemed like he was happy to work out alternatives.
Considering how much the JL needed to interact with multiple countries, and planets, Clark decided to bring it up at the next JL meeting. Almost everyone was on bored, well, except Bruce who was of course suspicious, but agreed to offer him a interview, at least so Bruce could run a background check and see what the guys deal was.
What was fascinating, was that when Danny came in for the interview, which honestly turned out more like an interrogation, he didn't once seem nervous, or upset with how Bruce, Batman, was treating him. Even Bruce's grunts and hums Danny seemed to understand perfectly.[Danny could feel how much Bruce was suspicious, how worried and anxious he was about how much of an unknown Danny was, wondering what kind of threat Danny could be, to his kids, and well, Danny can't hate a guy who just worried about his kids, overbearing and misguided as he is].
Danny gets offered a job, he doesn't want to work full time for the JL, he has so many other clients around the country who need his help after all, but hes more or less on call for when the JL need and Interpreter.
Due to being a ghost, Danny has picked up a myriad of languages; common and dead. Sure there's ghost speak, which is instinctual, and Latain, which isn't instinctual l but a necessity, but Danny has had to talk with a lot of ghosts, and many of those ghosts don't speak American English, so Danny has learned multiple languages from multiple countries, time lines, and even planets! Not just spoken languages either, but sign, written, and body languages too!
Through his time learning, Danny fell in love with being able to help people by interpreting for them, and sometimes even being a language tutor if someone asked. From foreign tourists just trying to order food, to a deaf child trying to make friends, it fulfills his urge to help others, and he gets to express his love for all the different languages he's learned over the years.
Being a ghost, and thus sensitive with emotion, helps a lot to dispell miscommunication. Danny can sense when someone misunderstands, the subtle shift in their emotions, and is thus able to gently guide conversations so people can understand eachother better too! Not exactly a therapist, but he can at least stop miscommunication.
Now to the DC x DP part:
Danny is well know in interpreter circles, and some tutoring circles, but not really outside of that. Sure hes been highered for some governmental interpreter jobs, and has worked with foreign communications, but he much more enjoys being the interpreter for people in court cases who need help understanding their lawyers, and special needs kids, to him its just more fulfilling. So no, hes not a big shot outside of those specific circles.
The way he gets on anyone's radar is because of Clark. One of Clark's coworkers is running a story about a little meta(alien) girl who won the state wide spelling bee for her year, just a cute little fluff peice. The girl actually spoke very little English, but she was learning fast. Danny acted as her interpreter for the interview, able to understand his first language with ease, and was also her English tutor, something she was very happy to brag about, much to Danny's embarrassment. It wasn't a long peice, just a short, congratulatory article about a little girl trying her best and succeeding while bragging about her tutor/interpreter once, but for some reason that grabbed Clark's attention. Something in his gut told Clark that this guy, Danny, was important somehow.
Clark looked into Danny a bit, more curiosity than anything, and he was impressed by just how much Danny did, how many differnet languages he was able to interpret for, from French to Japanese, to alien languages like Tamaranean and Martian. Clark didn't think it was suspicious, the guy obviously just had a knack for languages. And that wasn't counting how kind the guy seemed to be, having taken on quite a few clients who were poor and unable to pay him at the time, if they couldn't pay he seemed more than happy to accept other forms of payment, like homemade dinners or cookies, even crochet lessons from one lady who's landlord was trying to scam her out of her deposit when she was being moved to a care facility. If they could pay his rates, they would, but if they couldn't, it seemed like he was happy to work out alternatives.
Considering how much the JL needed to interact with multiple countries, and planets, Clark decided to bring it up at the next JL meeting. Almost everyone was on bored, well, except Bruce who was of course suspicious, but agreed to offer him a interview, at least so Bruce could run a background check and see what the guys deal was.
What was fascinating, was that when Danny came in for the interview, which honestly turned out more like an interrogation, he didn't once seem nervous, or upset with how Bruce, Batman, was treating him. Even Bruce's grunts and hums Danny seemed to understand perfectly.[Danny could feel how much Bruce was suspicious, how worried and anxious he was about how much of an unknown Danny was, wondering what kind of threat Danny could be, to his kids, and well, Danny can't hate a guy who just worried about his kids, overbearing and misguided as he is].
Danny gets offered a job, he doesn't want to work full time for the JL, he has so many other clients around the country who need his help after all, but hes more or less on call for when the JL need and Interpreter.
Hal pulls out his phone and calls Danny on speed dial. Despite the Bat glare.
Danny: Hi, Hal! You need something?
Hal: Yeah, translation, please?
Batman: Hn. Hal.
Danny: Oh. Um, so, Batman wants you to be more careful because you were almost injured this mission. He also doesn't appreciate you stopping a conversation just to call someone.
Due to being a ghost, Danny has picked up a myriad of languages; common and dead. Sure there's ghost speak, which is instinctual, and Latain, which isn't instinctual l but a necessity, but Danny has had to talk with a lot of ghosts, and many of those ghosts don't speak American English, so Danny has learned multiple languages from multiple countries, time lines, and even planets! Not just spoken languages either, but sign, written, and body languages too!
Through his time learning, Danny fell in love with being able to help people by interpreting for them, and sometimes even being a language tutor if someone asked. From foreign tourists just trying to order food, to a deaf child trying to make friends, it fulfills his urge to help others, and he gets to express his love for all the different languages he's learned over the years.
Being a ghost, and thus sensitive with emotion, helps a lot to dispell miscommunication. Danny can sense when someone misunderstands, the subtle shift in their emotions, and is thus able to gently guide conversations so people can understand eachother better too! Not exactly a therapist, but he can at least stop miscommunication.
Now to the DC x DP part:
Danny is well know in interpreter circles, and some tutoring circles, but not really outside of that. Sure hes been highered for some governmental interpreter jobs, and has worked with foreign communications, but he much more enjoys being the interpreter for people in court cases who need help understanding their lawyers, and special needs kids, to him its just more fulfilling. So no, hes not a big shot outside of those specific circles.
The way he gets on anyone's radar is because of Clark. One of Clark's coworkers is running a story about a little meta(alien) girl who won the state wide spelling bee for her year, just a cute little fluff peice. The girl actually spoke very little English, but she was learning fast. Danny acted as her interpreter for the interview, able to understand his first language with ease, and was also her English tutor, something she was very happy to brag about, much to Danny's embarrassment. It wasn't a long peice, just a short, congratulatory article about a little girl trying her best and succeeding while bragging about her tutor/interpreter once, but for some reason that grabbed Clark's attention. Something in his gut told Clark that this guy, Danny, was important somehow.
Clark looked into Danny a bit, more curiosity than anything, and he was impressed by just how much Danny did, how many differnet languages he was able to interpret for, from French to Japanese, to alien languages like Tamaranean and Martian. Clark didn't think it was suspicious, the guy obviously just had a knack for languages. And that wasn't counting how kind the guy seemed to be, having taken on quite a few clients who were poor and unable to pay him at the time, if they couldn't pay he seemed more than happy to accept other forms of payment, like homemade dinners or cookies, even crochet lessons from one lady who's landlord was trying to scam her out of her deposit when she was being moved to a care facility. If they could pay his rates, they would, but if they couldn't, it seemed like he was happy to work out alternatives.
Considering how much the JL needed to interact with multiple countries, and planets, Clark decided to bring it up at the next JL meeting. Almost everyone was on bored, well, except Bruce who was of course suspicious, but agreed to offer him a interview, at least so Bruce could run a background check and see what the guys deal was.
What was fascinating, was that when Danny came in for the interview, which honestly turned out more like an interrogation, he didn't once seem nervous, or upset with how Bruce, Batman, was treating him. Even Bruce's grunts and hums Danny seemed to understand perfectly.[Danny could feel how much Bruce was suspicious, how worried and anxious he was about how much of an unknown Danny was, wondering what kind of threat Danny could be, to his kids, and well, Danny can't hate a guy who just worried about his kids, overbearing and misguided as he is].
Danny gets offered a job, he doesn't want to work full time for the JL, he has so many other clients around the country who need his help after all, but hes more or less on call for when the JL need and Interpreter.
Older Danny, Teacher Danny, no one knows who's Danny (dc) but batman, JL don't know who's batman
Danny is older than Bruce by a few years. Danny, after one of the errands for clockwork, accidentaly became the inspiration for Gray Ghost. Batman right before y1 (in totaly NOT a Tim behaviour) stalks the Phantom, who he knows is inspiration for his childhood idol (and after extensive research of ghost's activity) and ask to be taught. Danny, witnessing the uprising of vigilantes thinks " well, cool guy, but knows jack shit of the streets" and " it would be nice, if i had someone to teach me when i started" actually takes the man as a student, with the condition that should a new vigilante or a hero ask his help, he will lend them some, be it in teaching, establishing themselves, or actually helping in the battle ( for the right cause, of course)
And some time before Dick - Danny goes onthe long mission, after with he stays away. B calls him sometimes, but they did not see each other for a long time.
they look strikingly similar, to the point of someone asking if they were twins
They are not even related, they checked.
Danny is, just by two centimetres, but shorter, he is also bulkier ( again not by much) and Bruce has a leaner waist. Danny is also usually paler, but right now with Danny fresh from vacation they are sharing a skin tone. Danny would be darker if he spend more of his vacation as a human tho.
Superman & Dick are off world, jason & b are suffering from a concussion, there needs to be a bat at the meeting
Tim is undercover
Duke has exams that he can not in good consciousness skip.
God, even damian is busy.
So, all of JL are expecting Batman to not show up, since they were told that all birds and bats are out of order. Maybe batman will be there as a projection, but the man is definitely down, at least if he's as human as he claims to be.
And then someone shows up
They didn't come from the zeta tubes, they weren't in the room before, there is nowhere to hide, it's just-
One moment, there was an empty corner, and the next batman was there, staring.
They wonder if it's actually bat, they are almost always able to catch replacements, if not know who they are, but this feels like the bat.
Thay certainly brood the same
They have the same heartbeat
They frown the same
Theis voice tho- it is undeniable Bat, but- somehow, it sounds more inviting? Not the right word, but it does force itself into the minds of listeners, and it makes you listen and hear what the other has to say.
They think it's the bat
But
Did he always have graying stubble on his chin? Did he not shave as good as he usually did, or did he dye it before?
And, the lines near his mouth are more permanent
Maybe, just maybe they are overthinking.
And everything goes well, with his old teacher - and friend, bringing back the full report and transcription for the meeting to Bruce, as well as going out on patrol this night to cover for him.
All of the siblings think that somehow either B managed to go out, or one of them got to go and just doesn't confess
Danny, who returned from a long travel, is a gremlin at heart
Bruce, too, is a troll to his children
So they come together, and Bruce dyes his hair " to hide his gray hairs, they are a bit recognizable, and to some, it's enough" and so does Danny to actually hide his gray hair, he actually got it in his early thirties due to stress and being genetically rearranged by the portal.
Sometimes, in the dogs hour, Bruce seems lighter despite the tiredness, his smile lines, that he got from the Brucie side of life, seem more prominent, and he seems stronger.
There was a time B, at 4:56 am, after Jason (almost) passed out on him, lifted him with a bit too much ease, too much grace, and Jason felt loke a little kid again, in the arms of his parents.
Jason never mentions this
So does Bruce ( B knows, Danny always fully transcribes everything that went down in the most minor of details, it's actually who B got his ways of keeping track from)
And then, when the world need more that Batman
And he, again, needs help.
Phantom is long retired, and Bat-armour, spesificly modified so that Danny copies Bruce fully, is right here.
So batman goes through the zeta,
"It announces: A-2, Batman." As he walks out.
And then it announces: "A-2, Batman" as he walked out.
Same length of steps, same heartbeat, same smell, same mentality.
Being near each other for so long gave them a really big advantage on top of everyone around them. They are capable of thinking as the same being, the two halves of the same identity, of the same concept.
They sync their movements in the way that looks uncanny: one will need a pen, the other will hold it, one speaks - the other draws diagrams, they turn their heads the opposite way to each other when they hear something, when one turns back, the other turns in the way to cover his blind spots. To everyone involved, it looks like the man mitosed
Even clones are not so similar
Even mimics slip up
They, however, don't.
And the league leaves their questions until the threat has passed
And then, they (B&D) decide that it's probably better to tell bats and birds first, and then the league, so they schedule a meeting for both, they think that it might be the time to share Bat's identity with the league, but it's after Bat has some good pictures of despair he caused to his children.
"Bruce you know I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't have to but-"
Bruce just sighed from his side of the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Nobody ever really expects to get a phone call nearing 3 am but exceptions had to be made when you were a legal foster parent and also a part-time secret super hero. If it wasn't one thing calling for him it was the other.
On the other side of the phone, Bruce heard the caseworker, Roni, chuckle.
"It's just for 3 nights and half of the day after, but I need you to be prepared for something before I can pass them off to you."
Bruce sat upright now on his bed, attentively listening to her words. Usually the kids didn't really come with any pre-warnings from the Caseworker themselves, letting anything about each Foster kid be said inside of their personal files that got sent along with them.
But when she gave out this information it was usually important. The last time Bruce had gotten a warning like this it was for Jason which was ages ago it feels at this point.
"What is it?"
"The kids are-" Her voice trailed off, like as if she was still searching for the right words to say. "They've been through what I can honestly only describe as the equivalent to a meta-kid trafficking lab"
Bruce shifted as he heard the driving continue on the other side of the phone.
"They're very guarded because of what they went through and they might display.. unusual behavior. More unusual then a meta-kids behavior after such a situation would be, but don't let it fool you! The kids are really sweet beyond being afraid."
Bruce frowns at the descriptions before replying to her, mentally trying to prepare himself for the idea of these kids and what they might have went through.
"I'll make a note of it then. Thank you, Roni"
"No, thank you, Bruce. I really appreciate this last minute placement. We'll be by really soon"
He was left with a click as he removed himself off his bed and threw the covers to the side of him. Alfred would want to know that they would have 2 new guests in the manor, at the very least to greet them and have rooms prepared even if they didn't need to have them prepared further then what they already were.
It was less then 5 minutes later that Bruce found himself, with Alfred, greeting the temporary fosters at the front door. Roni looked tiredly at them as she pushed the kids front and center.
Bruce could relate heavily.
"Hello Danny, Ellie. It's nice to meet you both, I'm Bruce Wayne."
Danny just stared at the mans outstretched hand for a second before he turned to look up at him, a pinched look on his face. Ellie matched his expression, although being a bit more subtle about it as she looked over Bruce as a whole.
Eerily, Bruce felt like his very soul was being judge the longer the kids stared at him. He also felt a sense of familiarity with these two kids the longer this continued.
They seemed detached rather than afraid like their caseworker had explained earlier, more so viewing the world as if they were outside of it rather then in it in any way.
Danny was quick to glare at him after another moment, "You're a fruit-loop, aren't you?"
Ellie broke from her own scanning almost immediately when she heard Danny's comment, cackling beside him before shoving him off with her arm. The action made Bruce smile as he took his arm back and placed it by his side.
Alfred also looked amused between the pair of siblings before turning attention to the task at hand again. Bruce just smiled at his pseudo-fathers usual fondness over children, knowing he was being reminded of his own grandchildren.
"This is Alfred. He's going to be the one to show you over to your rooms for the next few nights."
Alfred greeted the kids in the same polite way he usually greeted all guests before he leaned down and extended his hands towards their belongings. He didn't grab their belongings just remained leaning over them before questioning the kids if they would like help to take their stuff to their rooms.
Bruce only really saw it faintly and if it were any other moment he might have ignored it as a sleepless hallucination, but for some reason he noticed the change immediately. The twins eyes go from a darker blue to a flashing bright green.
As if alarmed by the sudden movement towards their belongings.
Danny was quick to catch his own staring as well, eyes flashing back to blue for only a second before reverting back to green. Almost as if to give off some kind of warning.
Ellie noticed his staring immediately and shoved Danny again, this time more forceful for his attention before turning to whisper something to him when she had him back.
Bruce felt his skin crawl before turning away to face their caseworker, not really understanding anything they were saying beyond hearing a few words and feeling their eyes look between each other and his back.
Death Touched was an especially new description, and one that stuck in his head the second he heard it.
Bruce waited until the kids were guided away by Alfred before talking to their caseworker officially and waking her up from her half delirious tired drop-off.
"Hey Roni? Is there any chance we can extend the Fenton kids stay?"
There was something going on here with these kids and he was going to get to the bottom of it. One way or another.
She had been on “Wayne Duty” as her coworkers teasingly called it, ever since Bruce had taken Richard in.
She could still remember the panicked look on her superiors faces when they found out Bruce Wayne decided to be a foster parent.
Everyone was so afraid something would happen, not that the beloved Prince of Gotham would do anything to purposefully harm the children, but, well, let’s just say his reputation didn’t exactly scream responsible caregiver.
When she had been placed on “Wayne Duty” Roni had expected something would go wrong, Bruce not having time with his WE work, that the man who killed Richard’s parents would go after him or most likely, the Bruce wouldn’t be able to handle a freshly traumatized child.
Bruce Wayne went way above, and beyond, her expectations. Richard thrived under Bruce’s guidance and grew into a wonderful young man.
Roni had still been hesitant in the beginning. Her hesitation did not go away even after she got her first “Bat Case”. “Bat Case’s” were not something she and her colleagues really talked about, it was more of an open secret than anything else.
Shortly after she placed Richard, “Bat Cases” started appearing. “Bat Cases” came in two distinct flavors, warnings and recommendations. If a file suddenly had a bat symbol sticker on it, it meant that the children involved were in danger and the Bat had an eye on the situation. If the case had a robin symbol, it meant the foster was Bat approved.
And guess whose file was covered in the symbols of every single bird that graced the Gotham skies?
Bruce Wayne was definitely Bat approved and it wasn’t unusual for Roni’s colleagues and superiors to give her the harder cases, the cases where the kids were in active danger, those involved in police investigations, those they couldn’t place anywhere else and those that just mysteriously appeared on her desk, all ended up on her caseload, all ended up in Wayne Manor.
Out of all of his fosters, Bruce had only adopted four and a half (if the Thomas boy didn’t end up with a hyphenated surname, she’d eat her metaphorical hat). Most fosters only stayed a week at most, but even after they left Bruce would take care of them. She knew for a fact that every foster who left Wayne manor was going to a family who would suddenly be blessed with WE job offers and a nice little college fund set up.
A part of Roni was jealous of the kids she placed with Bruce, mostly because she wished there was someone like him in her life when she was a child.
Despite how Bruce had proved himself over the years, and how many meta’s in particular she had sent to him, she was worried about the Phantom children
Phantom.
That was the name they had given GCPD.
Who would have guessed a routine traffic stop would have led to the discovery of a meta trafficking ring masquerading as a government agency.
Why a meta trafficking ring masquerading as a government agency thought they could drive through Gotham with Metropolis plates and expected to not get pulled over was a mystery to her.
Either way, she now had two traumatized meta’s who refused to tell anyone who they were (never a good sign), could become invisible and intangible and worst yet, they were certifiable “Wayne Bait”.
Roni wondered if she would get double the money for winning the “who will Bruce adopt next” betting pool for giving him twins.
I love the concept of "Bat Cases" so much! The Bats are some of the few superheroes/vigilantes who recognize the importance of and work towards addressing the societal issues that result in the crimes that they have to face, so it would make sense for them to provide information towards to relevant uncorrupt organizations and departments to actually aid in their attempts to address said issues.
If Bruce's file is "covered in the symbols of every single bird that graced the Gotham skies," does that mean Jason's is on there?
At some point after putting the Bat on his suit, did Jason find himself disgruntledly breaking into the CPP offices to stick a shiny new Red Bat on Bruce's file like; "We have our issues, but fuck if he isn't a good foster. At least as long as they put on a cape."
If kids are particularly suspicious, as one might expect for those tough cases Roni often gets saddled with, does she ever pull the physical file out just to show them the cover like, "Look, even your favorite heroes have all vetted him. He's one of the good ones, promise."
This was supposed to be a one-off thing but these reblogs inspired more so...
Also to answer ur question Roni would absolutely be petty enough to pull out a file to shut up her less than savory and judgmental co-workers. The kids are always put first regardless of background.
Roni got her answer on the bet about two weeks later. After her initial home visit to see how the twins were doing in Wayne Manor.
Even if it was never outright said aloud, just watching the way the family interacted with Ellie and Danny told her enough. Though the solo interviews with each kid did solidify it.
"So Danny," Roni watched as Danny nervously taped the side of his knee, half interested in what Roni had to say and half interested in the doorway that Ellie and the Wayne siblings had just exited through. "Before we start, I just have to make you aware that nobody is allowed to listen into this conversation and that whatever you say is completely protected between you and me."
Danny just nodded along to Roni's word, eyes still on the doorway before breaking off to look at her fully.
"Got it. Hit me with the questions, Roni."
Roni let out a small smile, shaking her head at him before flipping through her notebook to an empty page.
"How has it been living in the Wayne manor so far? Has Bruce been treating you nicely?"
Danny only shrugs as if that was his final answer. "He and Alfred have been kind. A little too Richie Rich if you ask me but other than that they treat Ellie nicely and that's all I care about honestly"
Roni feels her sympathy for the boy (and her own hesitance) return as she writes his answer within her notes but it escapes out of her like an amused snort.
"They tend to come off that way most times. Between you and me though?" She leaned a bit more to whisper. "I think Bruce just likes to spoil his kids with his riches to impress them and it just rubbed off with each one he adopted afterwards."
Danny snorted at that, eyes twinkling in his own amusement as he nodded along with her theory.
"Anyways, How about the Wayne Kids? Have they come around to introduce themselves to you two yet?"
"Some of them have, like Damian. He came home from summer camp earlier in the week. He's pretty cool, sarcastic to all hell, but cool."
Roni hums and bites her cheek at the mention of the smallest Wayne. When she had first placed Duke into the Wayne's care, she had her doubts on how Damian would react since Gotham knew he had a short-temper with most things.
But now the two were packed together like a pack of sardines any time she saw them, so she wasn't too surprised Damian got along with the twins. It was probably the feral behavior the twins displayed that made them click.
"I also got to meet Cass, Dick, and Jason yesterday. Dick kept teasing us 4 for being like double twins. Calling us the quadruplets or something, Jason just smacked the back of his head and called him an asshole."
She couldn't help but smile at the mention of her past foster cases. Roni tended to try and remember every single kid that went through her care and office, so it wasn't hard to picture the three doing something like that around new company.
Although she would have to remind Bruce about excessive language amongst the kids, even if they were 13 respectively the law didn't really see it as appropriate behavior to show around fosters.
From there, the interviews went smoothly with them both and Roni honestly had nothing new to report for their files except for excellent care as it usual was. And, just as she guessed, a request towards looking into possible adoption within the Wayne household for both Phantoms.
Bruce had been quick to pull her side before she left to make the request, eyes looking fondly towards the twins play fighting with Jason, Tim and Stephanie (from what Roni remembered for the last one). Ellie sassing them as Jason cackled on the sidelines and Danny snorting in amusement, arms crossed.
When Roni looked back into Bruce Wayne's pleading eyes, begging her to look into starting the adoption process she just sighed fondly and nodded. Who was she to deny the richest man in Gotham's adoption addiction?
She called it 3 weeks ago anyways when she dropped them off. And heaven knows that twice the amount for the bet would do nicely towards a new car battery.
-------------
As Roni got back into her office that night later than she had even planned to be, she was pleasantly surprised to find a few things inside that hadn't been there before she'd left to check in on each of her fosters.
One of them was Red Hood, who was awkwardly standing there staring at her through his red helmet with a handful of familiar looking stickers in hand. Both of them were silent for a moment before Roni decided to save him the embarrassment and simply back out of the office room to allow him a graceful escape.
She did not get paid enough to deal with that situation. Not in Gotham anyways.
When she re-entered the room, Red Hood having disappeared silently, Danny and Ellie's files sat right at the top of her desk first and foremost.
A few different stickers greeted her this time.
Robin and Co. stickers, Red-Hoods stuck out like a sore thumb as it covered over Nightwing's at least half way as some sort of petty move, and one largely placed Batman one were now on the outside of both files, to let her know they were now watching over the kids and were Robin approved.
That alone put her at ease.
To know that the Bat was taking some time to look into the sketchy meta-trafficking ring the twins were found at was like getting an early Christmas present.
They would be even safer now beyond being in Bruce's care and she knew that even if Bruce never did end up adopting the twins (which she doubted heavily) they were at the very least a good influence on them from what she'd seen today.
That and the twins would probably never be able to really get rid of the Wayne's. Not really, anyways.
Most Robin approved files didn't really leave the Manor without getting adopted into it first.
"Bruce you know I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't have to but-"
Bruce just sighed from his side of the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Nobody ever really expects to get a phone call nearing 3 am but exceptions had to be made when you were a legal foster parent and also a part-time secret super hero. If it wasn't one thing calling for him it was the other.
On the other side of the phone, Bruce heard the caseworker, Roni, chuckle.
"It's just for 3 nights and half of the day after, but I need you to be prepared for something before I can pass them off to you."
Bruce sat upright now on his bed, attentively listening to her words. Usually the kids didn't really come with any pre-warnings from the Caseworker themselves, letting anything about each Foster kid be said inside of their personal files that got sent along with them.
But when she gave out this information it was usually important. The last time Bruce had gotten a warning like this it was for Jason which was ages ago it feels at this point.
"What is it?"
"The kids are-" Her voice trailed off, like as if she was still searching for the right words to say. "They've been through what I can honestly only describe as the equivalent to a meta-kid trafficking lab"
Bruce shifted as he heard the driving continue on the other side of the phone.
"They're very guarded because of what they went through and they might display.. unusual behavior. More unusual then a meta-kids behavior after such a situation would be, but don't let it fool you! The kids are really sweet beyond being afraid."
Bruce frowns at the descriptions before replying to her, mentally trying to prepare himself for the idea of these kids and what they might have went through.
"I'll make a note of it then. Thank you, Roni"
"No, thank you, Bruce. I really appreciate this last minute placement. We'll be by really soon"
He was left with a click as he removed himself off his bed and threw the covers to the side of him. Alfred would want to know that they would have 2 new guests in the manor, at the very least to greet them and have rooms prepared even if they didn't need to have them prepared further then what they already were.
It was less then 5 minutes later that Bruce found himself, with Alfred, greeting the temporary fosters at the front door. Roni looked tiredly at them as she pushed the kids front and center.
Bruce could relate heavily.
"Hello Danny, Ellie. It's nice to meet you both, I'm Bruce Wayne."
Danny just stared at the mans outstretched hand for a second before he turned to look up at him, a pinched look on his face. Ellie matched his expression, although being a bit more subtle about it as she looked over Bruce as a whole.
Eerily, Bruce felt like his very soul was being judge the longer the kids stared at him. He also felt a sense of familiarity with these two kids the longer this continued.
They seemed detached rather than afraid like their caseworker had explained earlier, more so viewing the world as if they were outside of it rather then in it in any way.
Danny was quick to glare at him after another moment, "You're a fruit-loop, aren't you?"
Ellie broke from her own scanning almost immediately when she heard Danny's comment, cackling beside him before shoving him off with her arm. The action made Bruce smile as he took his arm back and placed it by his side.
Alfred also looked amused between the pair of siblings before turning attention to the task at hand again. Bruce just smiled at his pseudo-fathers usual fondness over children, knowing he was being reminded of his own grandchildren.
"This is Alfred. He's going to be the one to show you over to your rooms for the next few nights."
Alfred greeted the kids in the same polite way he usually greeted all guests before he leaned down and extended his hands towards their belongings. He didn't grab their belongings just remained leaning over them before questioning the kids if they would like help to take their stuff to their rooms.
Bruce only really saw it faintly and if it were any other moment he might have ignored it as a sleepless hallucination, but for some reason he noticed the change immediately. The twins eyes go from a darker blue to a flashing bright green.
As if alarmed by the sudden movement towards their belongings.
Danny was quick to catch his own staring as well, eyes flashing back to blue for only a second before reverting back to green. Almost as if to give off some kind of warning.
Ellie noticed his staring immediately and shoved Danny again, this time more forceful for his attention before turning to whisper something to him when she had him back.
Bruce felt his skin crawl before turning away to face their caseworker, not really understanding anything they were saying beyond hearing a few words and feeling their eyes look between each other and his back.
Death Touched was an especially new description, and one that stuck in his head the second he heard it.
Bruce waited until the kids were guided away by Alfred before talking to their caseworker officially and waking her up from her half delirious tired drop-off.
"Hey Roni? Is there any chance we can extend the Fenton kids stay?"
There was something going on here with these kids and he was going to get to the bottom of it. One way or another.
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