Chapter 4 is live! Finally...
Sorry it took so long, my brain finally released it's stranglehold on this story and I've been catching up on other things. I honestly don't know when the next chapter will be posted but I wouldn't recommend holding your breath lol...
They left Steph’s car in the nearby parking garage, in one of several spots labeled “Wayne” near the entrance. It was pretty late, so it’s not like anyone would care that they used the spot even if they weren’t counted among Bruce’s kids. Which now included Jazz and Danny. It was still a wild thought for the siblings to be considered “Waynes”. The three entered the lobby, which was empty except for the lone receptionist who greeted them with a practiced, customer service smile.
Forgot to link to AO3 lol
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“Hello, Miss Stephanie Brown,” he said. “Two guests?”
“Yup!” Steph chirped. “Sorry I didn’t schedule them ahead of time, Carl, this was kinda last minute.”
“That’s alright,” the receptionist, Carl, shrugged, letting the customer service mask fall as he turned to the computer. “I’ll fit you into my busy schedule somehow. Minors?”
“Yup.”
“Names?”
“Jazz Fenton and Danny Fenton.”
“And should I use Mr. Wayne’s info for the rest?” he glanced up with a knowing smile.
“Eheh, yeah,” Steph chuckled nervously. “Nobody knows yet, though, so I’d appreciate if you could keep this under your hat for now.”
“My lips are sealed,” he smirked, then chuckled. “Dude seriously has a type.”
“Type?” Jazz asked.
“I’ll explain on the way up,” Steph grinned almost apologetically. “It’ll be a long elevator ride.”
“Alright, here are their Visitor Badges,” Carl handed two badges to Steph before winking at the siblings. “If you plan on sticking around, you’ll probably get official badges at some point; all of Mr. Wayne’s kids do, even if they don’t work here.”
After some “thank you”s and “fare wells”s, Steph led the siblings back to an area with half a dozen elevators.
“So, type?” Jazz asked as soon as the doors closed.
“Right, so,” Steph typed 89 on a keypad, since having individual buttons for at least 90 floors would be ridiculous, and scanned her own badge when prompted by a flashing yellow light, which turned green as they started moving. “Just like Bruce himself, the first three kids B adopted, Dick, Jason, and Tim, are all boys with black hair and blue eyes,” Steph pointed at Danny. “And the rest of us have either black hair or blue eyes,” she pointed to her own blue eyes. “And all of us have some kind of tragic backstory, a surprising amount of which is actually public knowledge, so most of Gotham likes to tease that someone with those qualities is ‘adoption-bait’ for ol’ Brucie Wayne. Throwing Batman into the mix, we added being, or wanting to be, a teen vigilante to the list, so you two definitely fit the profile. Honestly, you two look like mini-mes of Dick and Babs!”
Steph laughed with a shrug while Jazz and Danny shared alarmed looks. Could something so shallow have influenced Bruce’s decision to take them in? Were Jazz’s turquoise eyes considered close enough to blue or was she just here because of her connection to Danny? Would he have sent them away if they’d merely looked different? Was their position so tenuous?
“Hey, don’t think about it too much,” Steph backtracked, realizing how uncomfortable they both suddenly were. “It’s just a coincidence, not any kind of rule, ya know? B doesn’t attach to people lightly, so once he claims someone as ‘his’ there’s no going back.”
“That is a pretty weird coincidence, though,” Danny said, trying to ignore his discomfort. “Anyways, we’re picking up Tim, right?”
“Yup,” Steph chirped, hoping the subject change would ease the sudden tension in the elevator. “His office is on the 89th floor, just under B’s on the 90th. On paper, it takes up the entire floor, but~,” she winked as she held up her hand, whispering conspiratorially. “There’s a hidden lab behind it!” Steph giggled as the siblings smiled, Jazz’s slightly more forced than Danny’s. “We all try to sneak up on each other whenever we can, so stay quiet and follow my lead, ‘kay?”
“Quiet as a ghost,” Danny smirked and Jazz rolled her eyes. She knew stealth wasn’t her strong suit, almost as bad as her aim was at first, but if she wanted to be a hero in Gotham she’d have to learn fast. She looked up in surprise when a hand was offered to her; Danny was still smirking but with a softness that made her smile back. “Don’t worry, Jazz, I got you.”
Jazz took the offered hand and Steph cocked her head in clear curiosity.
“It takes more energy to hold someone else, especially in human form, but I can reduce our noise by flying and being intangible,” Danny shrugged at her unasked question.
“Oh yeah, those powers would make sense for a ghost, wouldn’t they?” Steph nodded as the elevator slowed to a stop. “We’ll have to talk about it later, though, we’re here.”
The elevator doors opened with a quiet chime sound and Steph’s entire energy shifted; still playful, but with an edge to it. Focused. Precise. Despite the lack of costume, Batgirl took in the reception area at a glance, smirked that it was empty, and held a finger to her lips for silence before moving as quiet as any ghost. Danny glanced at Jazz, confirming she was ready before extending his weightlessness to her, his own legs dissolving into a ghostly tail as they followed Batgirl into the lobby.
Instead of taking the obvious route past the secretary desk to the office doors, Batgirl veered left, past a small waiting area, and opened a mostly disguised door to what looked like a janitor’s closet, climbed the side of a deceptively sturdy storage rack, and scanned her badge again next to the air vent. Neither sibling had even seen the scanner. The grate slid aside and Batgirl nimbly pulled herself up into a sort of crawlspace while Danny followed by pulling Jazz up through the ceiling floor? And they both had to stifle gasps as soft light illuminated the neatly organized treasure trove of crime-fighting equipment, from Batarangs to smoke pellets to spare domino masks and so much more.
The space was just tall enough that Batman might be able to sit up straight on the floor without hitting his head, and not quite wide enough for Danny to spread his arms out fully; just enough room for a bat to arm themself in an emergency. Steph couldn’t quite suppress a snicker at their expressions, but inspecting the stockpile would have to wait as Batgirl put a finger to her lips again, reminding them to be quiet before heading off in a crouch. She somehow made the awkward movement look graceful and was only slightly less silent now, though that was probably due to the enclosed space, and Danny pulled Jazz behind her, both siblings careful to keep all of their still-intangible limbs inside the small, corridor-like saferoom, trying to not be distracted by the very cool, tightly packed gadgets that lined one wall. They both had a million questions but the mission came first, even if it was as simple as scaring a teammate.
The thought continued to be wild that the Bats were now considered teammates, even if they hadn’t met them all yet.
Shaking his head to return to the task at hand, Danny stopped behind Batgirl as she climbed back down another fake air vent and into another closet, though this one had more lab-type equipment rather than cleaning supplies. They floated down through the floor ceiling? to hoover behind Batgirl as she very carefully opened the door a crack, peaking out into the room, and Steph’s playful glee flared before being squashed by Batgirl’s training. With one last glance at her two shadows, Batgirl opened the door quietly, still crouched, and entered the room to hide behind a chair. Danny turned himself and Jazz invisible as well as intangible, pulling his sister through the wall and up to the ceiling to have a good vantage point.
Instead of pristine white walls, like they’d seen in movies and on TV, the “lab” looked more like a mechanic’s garage, with grey, concrete walls barely visible behind the plethora of mounted power tools, and two sturdy, but messy, work benches in the middle of the room with plenty of walking space all around. A young man with black hair, presumably Tim, was typing away at a computer on the far wall before walking between the two work benches to examine some kind of gadget and Batgirl took her opportunity. Springing over the work bench Tim had his back to, Batgirl attempted to tackle him, only for Tim to whip around and jab the gadget at her, making her yelp in surprise and pain. Stumbling to the floor but managing to stay on her feet, Steph burst out laughing.
“Jeeze, Tim, what is that?!” she grinned. “It packed a punch for a joy buzzer!”
“Technically, it’s a taser,” Tim shrugged, holding up a metal cylinder, about as long and thick as a marker, with two little prongs on one end.
“But it’s so small!”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to get it small enough to fit in a gauntlet,” Tim said, opening a side panel on the taser. “But this is as small as I’ve gotten it so far without compromising the battery capacity so it’ll have enough charge for more than just one strike at full power. I hit you with about half. But seriously, Steph, did you really think I wouldn’t put sensors everywhere after last time? I knew you were here the second you stepped off the elevator! I don’t see the new kids, though,” Tim glanced around. “You didn’t just leave them in the lobby, did you?”
“No, they’re here,” Steph glanced around, too. “They were right behind me.”
“So-”
“JESUS!” Tim cried at the whisper far too close to his ear, whipping around with the tiny taser and Danny giggled from somewhere above the two bats.
“- does this mean I win?” Danny finished his question, grinning as he let the invisibility drop, “laying” in midair with his chin propped on his hands, floating down to eye level. He’d even managed to get his legs to reform so they could be casually kicking behind him; the classic pose of a giggly schoolgirl on her bed. He’d been careful to keep out of the likely strike zone of the taser, knowing how badly electricity affected him, but he couldn’t help his ghostly need to spook.
Steph doubled over with laughter, leaning heavily on the workbench, as Jazz stood up from the corner Danny had dropped her off in and couldn’t help but smile at her brother’s antics. Even Tim chuckled as he recovered from the sudden adrenaline rush.
“Yeah, ok, you win this round, newbie,” Tim conceded with a grin of his own. “But it won’t be happening again! So, I take it you two are Jazz and Danny, huh?”
“And you’re Tim, right?” Danny nodded as he returned to the floor and held out his hand.
“That’s me,” Tim confirmed, taking Danny’s hand as Jazz came up behind him. He held out his hand to her, too. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
“Likewise,” Jazz said, giving Tim’s hand a firm shake. “So, are you the brains behind a lot of Batman’s gadgets?”
“Some,” Tim chuckled. “A lot of what I do is just proof of concept, though. Lucious makes it all come to life.”
“Head of R n D, right?” Jazz confirmed. “Bruce mentioned him as someone we could trust.”
“The man’s a genius,” Tim nodded sagely, before he grinned at them. “As for you two, you get to help me beta test my brand new WE phones! If they can survive everything the Waynes put tech through, not to mention the bats, then it’s good enough for general consumption!” Tim explained as he headed back to the computer. “I was putting the finishing touches on the programming when you all showed up, but they should be good to go.”
“You have been going on about this project for months,” Steph said. “Finally got some working models?”
“I still need to think of a name,” Tim confirmed with a gleeful grin as he held out two phones like nothing the siblings had seen before. “The whole front is a touch screen and it’s just as powerful as a laptop, but small enough to fit in your pocket! Obviously, I’m going to integrate it into our tech, but there’s still some bugs to work out. Which is where you two come in!”
Jazz and Danny gingerly took the devices while Tim continued to gush excitedly about it, and Steph started herding them all to a door.
“The button on the right side turns it on,” Tim continued as they entered a fairly normal, if spacious and fancy, office. “And there’s a bunch of programs I can show you later, but the most important ones are the normal phone functions, like calls, text messages, and contact info; it wouldn’t be much of a phone without them! I’ve already entered a lot of important information in them, like all of the Gotham Vigilantes’ civilian phone numbers and emails; I was in the middle of entering addresses when you all got here, though I guess it might be better to let them trust you with that themselves anyways. There’s also a few ‘emergency contacts’ the average civilian wouldn’t have access to, and a built in panic button that won’t be in the base model, at least. A lot of the data I’m looking for is figuring out what shortcuts I can get away with for the public version before they start breaking too often, so don’t worry about being gentle with them since stress testing is the whole point, to see what fails first and most often.”
“You promised I’d get to help beta test them,” Steph pouted dramatically, then cried, “I thought what we had was special!” as she held the back of her hand to her forehead. Then she grinned and shrugged. “But I guess I can’t be too mad,” she returned to normal as she ruffled Danny’s hair and put a hand on Jazz’s shoulder. “We needed to get these little fledglings connected and these happened to be available. You are gonna have to make this up to me though, Timmy~”
“Sorry, Steph,” Tim shrugged, not sounding very sorry. “But I have already started putting together the next upgrade, so once I get some data from these two, it’ll be all yours, I promise.”
“Good!” Steph chirped, all smiles again. “So, you goin’ to the Cave or the Nest?”
“May as well go to the Cave, since you have to go there anyways,” Tim said. “More efficient. You two haven’t seen it yet, right?”
“Not yet, we haven’t had time,” Jazz confirmed. Danny lit up at the idea of seeing the infamous hideout, but Jazz would never admit just how excited she was, too.
“Even if you have field experience, there’s no way B will let you on the streets of Gotham until he’s trained you a bit himself,” Tim smiled, amused. “But somehow I doubt we’d be able to keep you two out of the Cave if we tried.”
“So~,” Danny sang as soon as the elevator doors closed. “Which hero are you~?”
“Until recently,” Tim spat bitterly. “I was Robin, the third to hold the title. Now Damian’s decided it’s his birthright, and as soon as B was gone getting you two, Damian made a power play and Dick didn’t back me up at all while he was subbing as Batman. Kid’s not even supposed to be on the street yet, he hasn’t been cleared for active duty. For now, I’m going by Owl Light,” Tim smirked wickedly. “Just ‘cause Dick hates the old Court of Owls so much.”
“Wow,” Steph grinned. “You’re still super salty over that, huh?”
“Can you blame me?!” Tim asked, indignant. “I worked hard for that title! Then Dick just gives it to that brat to shut him up! Fuck both of them,” Tim pouted, arms crossed. “And B, too, for not being more firm about it.”
Jazz frowned at the swear word but didn’t bother correcting Tim. Now was not the time; she’d rather not get her head bitten off, thank you very much. Danny glanced at her when she said nothing and barely contained his snicker at her sour disapproval, earning him a glare in return. Danny covered his mouth to muffle the escaping laugh.
“And if all of that happened while Bruce was in Amity, he probably only just heard about it,” Jazz subtly led the conversation in a different direction. “That explains his slip-up earlier. He said you and Oracle would have to set up a secure communication between us and the rest of Team Phantom before we can really talk to them again. Has he said anything to you about it yet?”
“No, but he’d probably ask Oracle first anyways,” Tim shrugged, letting the topic go for now. “Communication is definitely her forte and she’ll ask for help if she needs it.”
Danny suddenly snickered again.
“Bruce mentioned the possibility of taking a trip back there if you need to set up something physical,” he grinned widely. “I have to introduce you to Tucker, he will freak out! He’s Team Phantom’s tech whiz, and not only are Oracle and the third Robin his favorite heroes ever, but Tim Drake is his techie idol.” Danny turned to Jazz. “Can you imagine his face when he finds out that two of his favorite famous people the same person?!”
“Not that you have to tell him right away or anything!” Jazz was quick to assure. “Bruce said he wanted to keep identities separate for now, but yes, Danny, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to meet Tim,” she smiled warmly at the thought. “As a hero or a civilian doing Gotham’s heroes a favor, whichever story would make more sense.”
The elevator doors opened and hero talk was put on hold as they wished Carl a good night and returned the visitor badges. Back in Steph’s car, Tim had claimed shotgun and the siblings took the back seat.
“By the way, what do I win for scaring you?” Danny asked, smirking at the memory.
“Bragging rights, mostly,” Steph shrugged as she pulled out onto the street.
“It started off as just pranks but B actually encourages it, to a degree,” Tim said. “He knew we weren’t going to stop, so he turned it into a training game instead. It works as both stealth training and situational awareness, not to mention practice prepping for both scarer and victim, with low stakes besides teasing from the winners and embarrassment for failure.”
“And honestly? Embarrassment is a surprisingly good motivator,” Steph chuckled, then grinned. “Remember that time Dick actually managed to sneak up on B? He jumped through the roof!”
“Yeah,” Tim snickered and turned back to the siblings to elaborate. “That is the only time any of us have managed to sneak up on him. He’d been up for almost a week straight on a case and none of us could convince him to rest, but the fact someone actually got him finally made him realize how bad it was. He was out for almost 24 hours after that.”
“You’re hardly one to talk, though,” Steph teased. “Mister I’ll-Sleep-On-The-Weekends!”
“I said that one time!”
Steph just laughed, turning her attention back to the road.
“Anyways, B’s been a lot better about remembering his limits since then,” Tim continued. “He’d always gotten on us kids about work-life-balance stuff, going on and on about how ‘fatigue will wreck your reaction time’, or we ‘might miss something if we’re too tired’, or whatever, but he’d never really taken his own advice before that. At least now he’s less of a hypocrite when he lectures us.”
“It sounds like he has his own, unique way of showing he cares,” Jazz said with a bittersweet smile, turning to Danny who had one to match. It had been a long time since their parents had cared about how much sleep they got.
Then Danny smirked, leaned over the middle seat, hooked his arm around Jazz’s, and pulled her close so they were leaning against each other.
“And we wouldn’t know anything about odd ways to show we care, now would we, Jazz!” Danny fluttered his eyes at his sister, who barked a laugh before covering her mouth and laughing more normally.
“Nope, wouldn’t know a thing, little brother,” she smirked, twisting to plant a kiss on Danny’s head. He beamed for a second before pushing her away with a dramatically affronted look.
“Eww! Sister cooties!”
