āFenton residence, whoās calling?ā
āUh, itās Danny,ā Danny said over the phone Nightwing handed him; it was on speaker so everyone could hear. They were all watching him so intently it was unnerving. Except Batman. Heād sat down in the computer chair and put his head in his hands like he was nursing a headache. It was weird seeing Batman act so human.
āOh hi sweetie!! Are you enjoying Gotham?ā
He, Sam, and Tucker had planned this trip a while ago. It was supposed to be a fun weekend road trip to Gotham and back. Friday was a public tour of Wayne Tech R&D for Tucker, Saturday they visited the planetarium for Danny, and Sunday was spent taking pics of the gothic architecture and gargoyles for Sam, then an all night drive home to sleep in on Monday. This was supposed to be the start of summer vacation.
The three friends had split up just for an hour to see who could find the best gargoyle - whoever got the best pic got to choose dinner. But then Danny had run into this brawl that⦠well honestly it looked kinda fun and he missed fighting his own Rogues so he jumped in. Then things kinda went to shit and Batman showed up and started yelling and who would even want to argue with an irate Batman? Dude gave commands like a general and Danny got bundled up into the Batmobile with everyone else and didnāt really know how to react.
āYeah, uh, about thatā¦ā he said to his mom, āI kinda got caught up in a fight and got grounded by Batman.ā
āOh Danny-dear, you know weāve told you to stop fighting.ā
Little clink clink noises could be heard over the phone and it was obvious sheād only heard half his words. Of course she was tinkering in the lab, hyperfocused on some new project. Heād have to be careful when he got back until he figured out what this new tool or weapon did.
āYes Mom,ā he sighed into the phone. āOnly, this means I wonāt be getting home tonight so -ā
āThatās okay sweetie, have fun with your friends! Love you bye!ā
The phone went silent as she hung up.
āSoā¦. Can I also call my friends to let them know Iām fine? Sam wonāt mind renting our hotel room for another night, but theyāll be looking for me now and since my cell doesnāt get service this deep undergroundā¦ā
āYes fine,ā the hero bit out.
He dialed quickly, rubbing the back of his neck to alleviate some stress.
āHey itās me,ā he said after the call picked up on the second ring.
āDanny! Where did you go?! We were supposed to meet up fifteen minutes ago!ā
āYeah man!ā Tucker cut in, āAnd this isnāt your number! Donāt tell me you broke another phone, I just built that one for you!ā
āNo no, itās fine, I swear! It could just use some extra reach cuz Iām like 60 feet underground.ā
Tucker snorted, āWhat, six feet wasnāt enough?ā
That made Danny laugh too, but it died in his throat when every vigilanteās head snapped in his direction. Oh that wasnāt a good look from any of them.
āOkay donāt get mad but I kinda jumped into a fight -ā
āLike always,ā Sam mumbled.
āAnd then things went sideways and the local heroes lost some important informant and Batman showed up and started yelling and shoved the whole pile of us into the Batmobile and grounded me.ā
There was silence for three seconds.
Danny rolled his eyes as his best friends wheezed and cackled at his expense.
āOnly you, Danny, only you,ā Sam choked out. It sounded like Tucker was pounding his fist on a table.
āYeah yeah,ā he huffed, but couldnāt help a little grin. It was kinda funny. āLook, just stay another night and Iāll get back to you tomorrow, ākay?ā
āSure sure, donāt give them too much trouble,ā Sam chuckled and hung up.
Danny tossed the phone to Nightwing, who caught it with ease, but no one said anything. Did these guys only ever stare?
āSoooooā¦. What part of the Batcave am I cleaning up? My parents usually have me do the dishes for a week when Iām grounded. If itās real bad I have to deep clean the fridge and thatās a legitimate biohazard so any chores youāve got for me I can do. I donāt really get squeamish. Will I be shoveling bat guano, or scrubbing blood off your armor? Just give me some gloves and a mask and I can do just about anything. I mean, like a PPE face mask, not one of your domino masks, that wouldnāt help with the -ā
All the vigilantes interrupted at once, their voices overlapping and echoing around the cave:
āHow often do you get in fights?ā
āIs your mother always that nonchalant?ā
āLegitimate biohazard?!ā
āWhat did he mean six feet wasnāt enough?!ā
Ohhhhh no, this was gonna be a rough night. Danny should really learn when to mind his own business.
ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..nah, that was never gonna happen.