@bluerosefox so... it's been six months... sorry about that. But on the bright side, I have one part after this and an epilogue planned out now! Hope you enjoy.
Everything went a little too well. True to his predictions Danny didn't sleep a wink, which meant that he was able to get some pancake mix prepped and get out the door before his parents came up from the lab. Dan and Ellie were just waking up when he got to Sam's, coming downstairs right as Danny was phasing through the door.
"Morning, Dad," Dan mumbled, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Morning, Stardust. You sleep okay?" Dan made a grumble of affirmation, walking over and burying his face into Danny's leg. Danny gently ruffled his son's hair while Ellie made her way over to the breakfast counter, climbing into her seat and splaying her top half over the counter in an attempt to get a little more sleep. It was amazing to think that, between his two children, both had at one point not only tried to kill him but that his future self, who had well and truly hated him, was the one who clung to him more.
He chuckled, picking up his son who proceeded to bury his face into Danny's neck, and walking into the kitchen. He used one hand to grab a pan and some cooking spray before setting his son down in his own seat. The six year old whined at the loss of contact, and Danny chuckled.
"I know, Dan, but I need both hands to make pancakes."
"Y're makin' pancakes?" Ellie slurred, lifting her head from the cool counter. Her hair was sticking up every which way, probably from the way she tossed and turned last night.
"Yep. But you two need to be dressed and ready for school if you want to have some." His kids, still half asleep, groaned at that, but dutifully hopped off the chairs to drag themselves upstairs and get dressed for the day. "Remember to wake up Mar'i," he called gently after them.
The pancakes went well. He didn't even burn the first one, which should have tipped him off. The kids came down, Mar'i in tow and dressed in some of Dan's clothes, and they all appeared much more awake than when the first two had come down. Sam followed down soon after, wrapping Danny in a hug and giving him a good morning kiss that the kids all fake gagged at. Even ghostlings and aliens, it seemed, thought shows of affection between parents were odd.
"Tuck had to go home for the night, but he'll take Dan to school," Sam said, picking up a few pancakes for herself.
"Alright. I'll be dropping off Ellie and Mar'i separately at the daycare. Ellie, think you can keep your invisibility up for a bit when we go?"
"I can!" she said through a mouthful of pancake.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sam chided, sitting at the breakfast counter next to Mar'i, who was the picture of well behaved. The kind of well behaved that meant she was planning mischief.
"Mar'i, I'm going to be dropping you off at the daycare with Ellie."
"What? But I'm seven! I don't need to go to daycare!"
"I know, Riri. But my friends and I need to go to school, and we can't bring you with us. We can't take you to school with Dan, because you aren't enrolled. And before you try to say you can stay alone, you are seven. I'm not about to leave a seven year old alone no matter how capable they might be. So, unfortunately, you'll be at the daycare."
Mar'i huffed a bit, crossing her arms and pouting. "Hey, that means we can play together! Together, we can lead the daycare to rebellion! Freedom for Kids!!!" Ellie said, promptly floating up and brandishing her fork in the air.
"Ellie, if you start another revolution at the daycare, you'll be staying with Grandpa Clockwork while we're gone," Sam said.
"What?! But he's sooooo booooooring!"
"Then no revolutions," Danny said, turning to level his best "parenting look" at his youngest. "And no ghost powers while you're eating."
Dan snickered as Ellie floated back to her seat, sticking his tongue out to tease her. Mar'i, thankfully, was a little less pouty than before.
The flight to the daycare was uneventful. Ellie stayed invisible the whole time while Danny told Mar'i that she couldn't use any powers she had at the daycare. She likely already knew, but it was good to remind her.
The attendant was a little skeptical about taking on a seven year old for the day, even with the favor she owed Phantom, but with the explanation that it was for one day and a little extra cash she let Riri stay. He told her that Riri would be getting picked up with Ellie, then went around the block, shifted back to his human form with Ellie, and walked them both to the door to drop her off too.
He got to school the same time as Sam and Tuck did, greeting them both with a hug and a quick kiss before they headed off to class. He texted Tuck the plan for the day, slipping his phone into his pocket right as the bell rang for first period.
As the day went on, things kept going well. He didn't cross paths with Dash. Lancer didn't have a pop quiz. There was even pizza for lunch.
All of those things should have tipped Danny off that something was going to go wrong.
When the last bell rang, he walked out of school with his partners. They chatted along the way, trying to get his story straight about which clubs he was in, since someone had told his maybe-bio-dad that he was in several. By the time they got to the elementary school to pick up Dan they'd agreed on Danny being in the Robotics and Astronomy clubs, since Danny had at least some idea of what each of them did.
The walk to the daycare was filled with chatter from Dan as he talked about what he'd done that day, the things he'd learned and what activities were most important to him. Apparently they were going to start music lessons soon, and he'd get to bring home a recorder to practice. In his excitement, he didn't notice how his parents all looked at each other in resignation for the terrible screeching that would be Dan practicing for the next few months.
Picking up Ellie and Mar'i went smoothly as well. Fortunately, Ellie had not tried to start a revolution. Unfortunately, Mar'i had somehow found her way into the air ducts and had spent an hour playing a one-sided game of hide and seek with the attendants.
The six of them walked towards the bus stop, Danny checking his phone to see a text from Dick. He was almost to town, and would probably get to the meeting spot before him. It would be another five minutes before the bus got there, so Danny texted back to let him know.
"Hey, good luck with your-" Tuck glanced at Mar'i, happily chatting with Dan and comparing notes about their days as Ellie chimed in with important details. "With your dad."
"Thanks. I'll be home as soon as I can."
"We know, Spooky. We'll all be waiting to hear how it went." Sam wrapped him in a tight hug, Tucker joining not long after, and Danny squeezed them back. He didn't know what he'd done to get lucky enough to have these two in his life and afterlife, but he wasn't about to question it now.
"Right. Kids, say by to Riri," Tuck said once they all pulled away.
"Aw, can't she stay a little longer?" Ellie begged, giving her best puppy eyes.
"Pleeeeeeaaaaase?" Dan joined in with the puppy eyes.
"I know you guys had fun, but Mar'i needs to go back to her parents," Danny chided. "But I can talk to them and see if there's a way that you three can get together and play again. Sound good?"
"Fine," Dan huffed, before enveloping Mar'i in a hug. "Bye Riri."
"Yeah, bye. Don't let ghosts get you." Ellie said, also joining the hug.
"I won't. And if they try, my Mommy and Daddy will be there to keep me safe!" They all pulled away. "I'll see you later!" Mar'i said, taking Danny's hand as Sam and Tuck picked up a child each and started walking to Sam's house.
"Alright, Riri. Ready to see your parents?" Danny asked.
"Mhm!" She nodded with her whole body, and Danny couldn't help but smile.
Dick was bouncing his knee as he waited in the Waffle House next to Kori. He needed to make sure his little girl was alright. He needed to ask Danny how sure he was about the whole "being Dick's kid" thing. He needed to check on his maybe-son's partners and kids and wasn't that a thing to think about? That he might have grandkids? That would make Bruce a great grandfather, and Alfred a great great grandfather. If he hadn't been so stressed about this meeting going well, he would have laughed.
Kori's hand rested on his shoulder. "Richard, you will break the chair at this rate. It will be fine."
"But what if it isn't? What if he isn't my son? Kori, what if he is? What do i do?"
"I do not know. But panicking will not make this easier, you know this." He sighed, reaching up to grab his wife's hand.
The next twenty minutes of waiting was agonizing. He did everything he could to relax, but he still felt anxiety eating away at him. The chatter on the TV in the corner didn't help. What was he supposed to say? He knew he needed a DNA test, but did he just come out and say that? What if the partners were there, what then? What did he say to them? What if Danny brought his kids?
All his worried thoughts were cut off when the door jingled and a familiar shout of "Mommy! Daddy!" rang through the dining area. He was on his feet in a moment, falling to his knees to cradle his daughter in a tight hug.
"Thank god you're safe," he whispered into her hair as Kori collapsed next to him, cradling them both in arms he knew were carefully gentle to not hurt them. Dick pulled back from his daughter slightly, checking her without letting her go.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He didn't really expect an answer, and his mind went blank for a moment when he saw the bandages on her wrists and ankles.
"I'm fine. Mr. Danny and his friends were really nice, but i did have to go to daycare." She huffed out the last word like it was some prison chamber instead of... well, a daycare.
"And I'd have you go again, Riri. I wasn't about to leave you alone." Dick finally took his eyes off his daughter, looking towards the voice he'd only heard over the phone before.
Danny was the spitting image of him when he'd been in the Titans. Same lean build, same black hair, same eyes. There were a few bits that didn't quite look right. Danny was a bit paler than he'd ever been, enough that people would have likely just dismissed it as a tan in a place like Illinois. His cheekbones were a little off, and his chin was a tad more pointed than his own. But Dick could have slapped a domino and some multicolor spandex on the kid and mistaken him as a younger version of himself.
"You must be Danny," he said when he found his voice."
"Yep. That's me. You must be-" the kid snorted a little. "You must be Dick." Dick smiled a little at that, standing and holding out a hand.
"That's me. Thank you for taking care of my daughter." Danny took his hand, keeping the shake short. It didn't keep Dick from noticing that the kid's hands were cold. They would have been clammy, if there'd been any perspiration.
"It's nothing, really. Ancients know I wasn't about to just not help." Danny's eyes drifted to where Kori was still fussing over her daughter, asking about the bandages. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Oh..."
"Apologies, I'm a little frazzled. This is my wife, Kori." She looked up at her name, standing and holding her own hand out to Danny as Mar'i grabbed her other.
"Hello. Thank you for keeping our daughter safe. I do not know what we would do if she were hurt."
"Think nothing of it," Danny said, looking at Kori in awe. "Uh... Mar'i said you were a Tamaranian?"
"Yes. I am. Is there an issue?" Kori had noticed the way the kid was staring, and was doing her best to remain polite.
"What's space like?" And just like that, Danny started spitting questions non-stop. "What's Tamaran like? I found a few articles, but I imagine they only cover the broad strokes of culture. Oh! When was your people's first interstellar mission? When did you discover there was other life in the universe? What galaxy is Tamaran in? What planets can you see from it? Wait, no, which stars? Do you-"
Danny seemed to catch the overwhelmed look on his wife's face and snapped back to himself. "Oh, um... That was probably a lot. Sorry. Space is just... I guess you could call it an Obsession of mine," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to word-vomit like that."
"It is quite alright," Kori said, smile returning. "I did not expect those kinds of questions. I must admit, I am uncertain how long ago we reached space, but it was quite a long time ago."
Danny nodded, the stars not quite gone from his eyes, and the room warmed back up. When had the temperature dropped?
"Anyway, Mar'i, would you like to go and get some ice cream?" Kori said, looking to the young girl.
"Yes please!" Riri turned her green eyes on Danny, and Dick waited to see how he reacted. While most people were generally very accepting of his daughter, it was still common for people to squirm a little under her full gaze and inhuman eyes. Danny did no such thing, just smiled back, eyes almost reflecting hers for the briefest of moments. "Bye Mr. Danny."
"I will! Come on, Mommy, let's go!" Mar'i tugged her mother towards the door, and Kori said a quick goodbye before letting herself be dragged away. Dick had already given her the replacement tracking bracelet for Riri, since her last one had malfunctioned. He turned to Danny, the both of them still standing awkwardly in the middle of a Waffle House.
"You said you wanted to talk," Dick started. Danny nodded, looking as tense as Dick felt.
"Yeah." They both sat at the table he and Kori had occupied. Dick had to right his chair, he'd accidentally tipped it over in his haste earlier. With the both of them seated, Dick started questioning.
"First off, how did you end up finding Mar'i? She was... being held hostage, and then she just fell into a green portal. Was that you?" Danny looked at the table, chewing the inside of his cheek like Dick used to do.
"... yeah. I... I'm a meta." Years of experience had taught him when someone was lying. This kid was. "It's sort of an empath ability? With a little bit of other stuff mixed in. I don't really understand all of it." All a lie.
"What I know is... It felt like my sister- My other sister, the one I grew up with- it felt like she was in danger, but also not? So I just... I made sure whoever it was was safe. It just ended up being Mar'i." Danny locked eyes with Dick then. Nothing about that last bit was a lie. "I know it probably scared you really, really bad. Ancients only know what I would do if Dan or Ellie went missing like that."
"Your kids?" Danny nodded. "Your son's name is Dan?" A fond smile overtook Danny's face.
"Short for Dante, but yeah. It's... a bit of a story."
"How old are they, if I may?"
"Dan's six, and Ellie's four." Danny was 17. That meant he'd had Dan when he was 11. 13 when he had Ellie. Dick felt a pit start to open in his gut.
"And they're yours?" Another nod.
"Yep. I know I'm young, but I've got Sam and Tuck with me. We've been making it work."
"You mentioned they weren't Miss Manson's. Who's are they, if I may ask?" Danny froze, then chuckled and looked away. He rubbed the back of his neck, slouching into the chair.
"That's another long story. But I don't know if I'd really change it." The pit that had started to open in his gut widened to a gaping chasm. Had someone-
"Anyway, you're a detective. What's that like?" Danny said, and Dick filed away the subject for later.
"It is what it is. I'm not in a great spot, lots of the people I go to work with are bought out by some crime lord or another. I try to do what I can from the inside, but there's only so much one person can do. It's why I work with Nightwing on a lot of cases."
"He's the vigilante in Bludhaven, right?"
"Mhm. Used to be a Robin before going there. He's a lot of help with the local crime." It was exceedingly strange to talk about his vigilante life like this with someone who didn't have more than passing knowledge of him. "But what about you? I hear there's a vigilante in your town too."
"Yeah, we've got one. Phantom. He's a ghost, so opinion on him is pretty mixed." And there was something he'd been meaning to ask about.
"Hang on, ghost? You mean those touristy sites talking about "The Most Haunted City in America" weren't bullshitting?"
"Nope," Danny said, shaking his head with a tired smile. "Ghosts are very real, and we have the property damage bills and insurance plans to prove it."
"Is that why opinion on Phantom's mixed?"
"Yeah. There's a pretty big camp that isn't happy with the damage his fights cause, or just straight up think ghosts aren't sentient. But there's also a lot of people that he's saved, or that just think he's cool."
"What about you?" Dick asked.
"I mean..." Danny was very hesitant, looking at his hands as he spoke. "I... Ghosts are sentient, to get that out of the way. And yeah, he's caused a lot of damage over the years, but the ghost hunters would have caused a lot more. He's saved ghost hunters from ghosts before, and he pretty regularly has to save ghosts and regular people from ghost hunters so... I think he's just trying his best to protect everyone. Plus... i mean, it's kinda my fault he's here in the first place."
"Well... my parents have a... a lab? In the basement. They're ectobiologists, and they spent most of their lives trying to build a portal to what they call the Ghost Zone. And they did, but it didn't really work at first. So I took a look at it, and... well, there was an accident. The portal turned on with me inside, and it's how I got my meta powers. But it also let Phantom and all the other ghosts through. So it feels kinda wrong to hate the guy when I'm the reason he's here in the first place."
Dick had a hard time parsing out that last part. On the one hand, there was a lot of truth to what Danny was saying. But he was still lying. There was something he was hiding.
"But to actually answer your question, I'm sort of on the fence about him." Danny was pretty clearly uncomfortable, and the Bat in Dick wanted to press for more information, find out all the pieces. The part of Dick that knew this could be his kid decided that a subject change was much needed.
"That's fair. Your boyfriend mentioned you were in a couple clubs. What are they?"
Danny and Dick chatted for another hour before Dick brought up DNA testing. It was a bit of an awkward moment, but it needed to be done.
"It's just a precaution. It wouldn't be the first time someone did something like this for less than genuine reasons."
"No I totally get it. it was the first thing I did when I found Ellie."
"I thought you said she was yours? Did you not know the mother?"
"Ah-" and Danny was shrinking in on himself again. "Well... she doesn't exactly have a mother? Dan either. Like I said, it's a long story involving my fruitloop of a godfather and-" Danny took a deep breath, and Dick did the same, trying to make the blood rushing in his ears quiet.
"Danny... what happened?" Danny took another breath.
"Ellie and Dan are both clones. There's... I know you're worried, but I'd rather not talk about it." Dick was certain Danny could hear the way his heart was thundering, demanding retribution for something the kid so clearly had found violating. Hell, the guy at the register twenty feet away could probably hear it.
"Of course. I'm sorry to have pried." Danny nodded.
"Anyway, yeah. I get the need for a DNA test. No worries."
"Okay. And... if it comes back positive, what would-"
"Breaking News! There's a ghost attack on 50th Street and Olsen Boo-levard. It appears Plasmius is set on destroying an ice cream parlor. Please, steer clear of the area. I repeat, steer clear of the area. Ghost hunters are on the way, so civilians are encouraged to stay off the streets. We will update as-"
"I have to go," Danny said, standing abruptly. "Do you have a way to call your wife? Make sure she's okay?"
Dick was already pulling out his phone, rushing outside. Kori had a panic button, as did Mar'i. Both were inactive as he looked, and he wanted to sigh in relief. Then both went active, almost in unison, at the intersection of 50th and Olsen.
"Danny, wait!" Dick said, striding to catch up with the boy. "Please, please tell me you drove here."
"No? I took the bus, and then we walked." Dick cursed.
"Okay. Okay, this is fine."
"Kori and Mar'i are there," Dick said, heart squeezing. Danny went pale as... well, pale as a ghost. it almost looked like he wasn't breathing.
"Don't arrest me." Danny walked out the door, Dick following close behind. He watched Danny break the window of a nearby car, slipping in and hotwiring it in seconds.
"Do you know how to drive?" he asked, face an echo of what Dick's used to be when he was Robin.
"Good, because I drive like my dad, and he believes in road safety as much as he does lab safety. get in, I'll nav." Dick didn't need to be told twice, though he did want to ask what exactly Danny meant by that.
Dick peeled the car out of the parking lot like a Bat out of Hell. Which, he reflected, might have been something that actually happened and no one mentioned to him.
Danny guided them through the city, having them stop in sight of the destruction. Kori was fighting off several green glowing vultures, the blasts she fired from her hands barely singeing the things. There was distant cackling, and Kori tried to dart further in, away from where Dick and Danny were exiting the car. The vultures knocked her off course, harrying her and preventing her from getting to where she was going.
Dick checked the locations of the panic buttons. Kori was right in front of him, but Mar'i...
"She's still in there," he breathed out. Danny turned to him.
"Mar'i's still in there. I-"
"I'm going to find her." The kid wasted no time, running towards the conflict.
"Danny, wait!" Kori was a member of the Justice League, and she couldn't do anything to the creatures that were clearly just stalling her. Danny was a civilian, he was going to get hurt.
But he ran on, dodging the lone vulture that dove at him with what looked like practiced ease, continuing his sprint until he was out of sight. Dick cursed, following what might have been his son.
He saw Danny duck into an alley, just before a bright flash of light poured into the street. He turned the corner and...
There was Danny. But he was... wrong. Black hair had turned white. Casual clothes had been swapped for a black hazmat suit with white gloves and boots. He couldn't see the boy's face, his back turned, but he watched the boy take off out of the alley, phasing through buildings as he gained height and flew towards what was likely the epicenter of the destruction.
Dick shoved his confusion and dawning realization down, continuing in the direction Danny, no, Phantom had flown.
Danny should have known better. Today was going too well, so of course, of course, everything had to go wrong. He flew towards where his core tugged, where Mar'i was.
He found her, cowering against a destroyed wall as Vlad towered over her. "You know, I didn't think my little badger could have a heart for anything not his own flesh and blood. Perhaps, however, he could be persuaded to change his mind with a little... incentive."
He leaned closer, and Danny felt a flash of pride as Mar'i fired a small green bolt at his mortal enemy. Vlad, for his part, did nothing more than hiss. "You little brat!" He snatched Mar'i by one wrist before Danny could intervene, flying up, no doubt to try and find him.
"Ah, Daniel. What a lovely surprise." Vlad said, dangling Mar'i by a still injured wrist. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I must admit, I have a few questions for you."
"Sure, Vladdy," Danny said, savoring how the man snarled a little at the nickname Danny's dad had given him long ago. "Just set her down first and then we can talk all you want."
"Somehow, I doubt your sincerity," Vlad said, squeezing Mar'i's wrist until she whimpered. Danny's core ached at the sound, but he stayed where he was.
"What do you want?" he ground out.
"The answer to a simple question."
"Why her?" Vlad spit, shaking Mar'i a little. "Why spend your time caring for some random girl you've never met? What is so special about her that you would let someone who shares no similarities to you whatsoever into your core, but you won't even consider letting me, your same species, mentor you?"
"Maybe because she isn't trying to kill my dad and fu- marry my mom, fruitloop!"
"I simply don't understand it, Daniel." Vlad said, the hand not holding Mar'i lighting up in fire. "But, that does not mean I am foolish enough not to take advantage of a situation such as this.
"You may either come with me, bring my children with you, and accept me as your mentor and rightful father, or-" he held the flame up by Mar'i face, her green eyes reflecting the pink flames. "She dies."
Danny froze. Everything around him froze too. The air dropped until frost formed on the rooftops above him, cement creaking at the sudden and drastic change. Mar'i's breaths came out in clouds of white as her breath condensed in the chill and she started to shiver.
"Honestly, little badger, enough of the temper tantru-"
Danny crashed into Vlad, pulling his flaming hand from Mar'i fast enough he thought he heard something in Vlad's arm pop. He let his legs dissolve into a shadowy tail that curled around her waist as his other hand began to squeeze down on the wrist Vlad was using to hold Mar'i.
"Get your filthy hands off my sister." There was a snap and Vlad cried out in pain. Danny knew from experience that the break would heal in moments, thanks to the ectoplasm, but it was enough time to grab Mar'i and bolt.
He searched for Dick with his core, startling when he found the man nearly directly beneath Vlad. She whipped down, depositing Mar'i in his arms with a quick "Get her to safety," before taking back off, intercepting Vlad halfway.
It had been a long time since Danny had felt the need to truly go all out against Vlad. The last time he had, it had been all he could do to keep the upper hand in the fight. This time, it was clear just how outmatched Vlad had become.
Danny did what he could to keep the fight in the air, but collateral damage was inevitable when Vlad used every chance he got to try and take pot-shots at Dick and Mar'i. It was his only bet if he wanted to get Danny to do what he wanted, since overpowering him was so clearly out of the question.
He even called his vultures in to try and help, though Danny made short work of them, souping them quickly and going back to Vlad before he had been able to get out of Danny's range.
When Danny could finally think straight again, he was standing over an unconscious Plasmius, thermos gripped tightly in his hand. He let out a breath, pointing the thermos at Vlad and letting the device pull him in. With the threat gone, he phased the thermos into his chest.
That had been... intense. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so furious without wearing the Ring of Rage. Then again, he was a protector spirit, and Vlad had been directly threatening his sister. It only made sense he'd-
Something hit him, burning into his back, and he cried out in pain, collapsing where Vlad had just been a moment prior. "Yes! Finally, we've got you, Spook!" Danny heard the voice of his Dad, turning to see both his parents, fully suited up, standing over him. Before he had the presence of mind to try and move, His mother held out another thermos with a sickeningly sweet smile and sucked him inside of it.
There were a lot of things going through Dick's mind as the fight wound down. First, the kid who may or may not have been his son was a vigilante. Which brought up all kinds of questions about whether or not the kid was alive or not, since the town vigilante was commonly considered a ghost.
Second, the person- ghost? Whatever. The entity that had cloned his maybe-son without his consent was not only the kid's godfather, but also likely did so in an attempt to convince Danny to be his son. Which was creepy, even by bat standards. Like, Ra's al Ghul trying to convince Tim to become his protégé, creepy.
Third, Danny's parents didn't know. At the very least, they didn't know about their son being maybe a ghost, since they'd pretty blatantly shot him in the back right after he'd captured the actual threat.
Which Dick had seen because he was coming back after leaving Mar'i with Kori to see if he could try and help, or maybe get some clarification from Danny about what the hell had just happened. He'd seen the confusion on the boy's face, followed by terror, and then he'd been sucked into some weird looking thermos thing.
"We did it, Maddikins!" Mr. Fenton said, whirling to look at his wife as she removed the hood and goggles of her hazmat suit.
"That we did, Jack! Oh, I can't wait to see what's inside of it! Just think of all the tissue samples we'll be able to collect! We can finally see what really makes a ghost tick!" The two turned back towards the amalgamation of parts and tech that could only loosely be called a car.
"I know! I'm just so excited! Last time the blasted thing got away, but not this time! We've beefed up our security, so there's no way it'll be able to get out! Oh! We'll need to remember the muzzle, so there's absolutely no risk of it manipulating us to let it go."
"Of course, dear. I've had it ready and waiting on the table since the last time it escaped."
Dick was almost glad the two piled into the car when they did. The doors slammed shut, cutting off his ability to hear their conversation and what a relief that was. Danny had mentioned some people thought ghosts weren't sentient. He had failed to mention that those people included his parents.
Dick pulled out his phone, calling a private number that only the rest of the family had. When the line clicked on, he didn't wait for the voice on the other side to speak.
"Tim, I need you to find out everything about the Drs. Fenton," he growled into the receiver, striding towards where he'd left Mar'i and Kori. "I'm opening a case."
He hung up without letting his brother speak a word. Right now, he needed answers and a safe place for his daughter. Lucky for him, the Manson household had both.
