Chapter Text
Robin rarely agrees to secret missions given to him by Batman. Ever since their falling out several years ago, he made a point to demonstrate that he no longer worked for his former mentor, though most of their tensions have gone away. As much as they can for the brooding heroes anyway.
However, this mission was very different, and it had been some time since Dick Grayson visited his home, so he decided to hear out his former mentor. Standing in the Batcave for the first time in years, Bruce filled him in.
Batman had scouted a new superpowered teenager, which was an asset that Robin could not resist going to find. There was a superhero based in the midwest, in a city called Amity Park. He rarely is known to leave the area, which is why he had flown under the radar of the Justice League. That is, until recently.
“For the past year, the League has been getting conflicting reports of a teenager with ghost-like abilities. While known by the locals as Inviso-Bill, it has more recently come to our attention that he goes by the alias Danny Phantom,” Batman said. As he spoke, he pulled up different news coverage of the teenager.
“Has he caused any trouble?” Robin asked.
“Yes and no. At first, many people were troubled by his sudden appearance, believing him to be some kind of ghost haunting the city. However, as time passed, more information came out showing the boy fighting other ghosts and saving civilians.”
“Okay, so he’s a friendly neighborhood ghost kid. Why are you involving me?”
“Last week, Amity Park fell off of the Justice League’s radar completely. The whole town went dark. Literally. The only thing we could see was a large green dome and no communications could get through for several days. Then, it was suddenly gone, and Danny Phantom was deemed a hero.”
Robin considered this for a moment. “Am I going in for a threat level assessment or for recruitment?”
“Both. We don’t like how little we know about this Phantom. Is he a ghost or does he just have ghost powers? Where do his allegiances lie?”
Robin nodded grimly. “What’s my cover story?”
“You are going as Dick Grayson.”
“What? Why?”
“Fortunately for you, I have a cousin on my mother’s side who would love to have my adopted son come visit for a couple of weeks. Dick will be transferring to a boarding school in the area, but you first need to wrap up the semester at the local public school, Casper High.”
“And I am transferring because?”
“You have a lousy temper.”
“Bit on the nose there, but believable I suppose.”
“You better go pack. I already called for the Wayne jet to take us there. It will be nice to see Maddie after all this time.”
xxx
Dick Grayson has spent most of his life on two very different sides of the country. Growing up in gloomy Gotham, where the sun rarely shines, was one extreme while the sunny Jump City was his current home. Flying over the midwest felt very plain in comparison to both, which was almost relaxing.
It was very strange having his mask off for a long period of time. For the past several years, he only ever really took the mask off to sleep. Jump City was so used to heroes walking around, there really was no need for secret identities. That, and most of his team did not blend very well, so there was no point in making himself blend in either.
It was also strange being on the Wayne Enterprises private jet for the first time in years. Normally, transportation was either taken care of by the T-Ship or with assistance from the League for his missions. But this undercover mission required a different level of decorum with Bruce Wayne involved.
“Who are these people that you are making me stay with, again?” Dick asked, starting to play the part of the grumpy, recently expelled teenager.
“My cousin Maddie and her family. Her husband’s name is Jack Fenton. They met when they were in college studying engineering, though I am not sure what their focuses are. They have two children. Jasmine is about your age, and Danny is a few years younger. You will be attending Casper High with both of them until the end of the semester when you can transfer to your new school,” Bruce explained casually.
Dick narrowed his eyes. There was something Bruce wasn’t telling him about this family because there is no way he does not know what they do for a living. But he had a part to play, and Bruce Wayne does not care.
“You should be thankful they are letting you stay with them. They are good people who have agreed to let you live in their home while you are relocating, despite the fact that you have never met them.”
“You could have put me up in a hotel.”
“But where would the lesson be? And they are family. It will be nice.”
Dick let the conversation end there. Surely, that would be enough to appease the ever listening ears of Wayne Enterprises staff members aboard the jet.
As they landed at the airport, Dick took in Amity Park. It was a larger city with a downtown area and suburbs surrounding it. There was a beautiful park, which made him think of the park in Jump City and of his friends.
He felt a pang of guilt. All he told his team was that he was on a mission for Batman and not to contact him until he reached out first. They were likely worried, but he would make sure to give them a call once he was settled.
It was hard to leave the team so soon after getting back from Tokyo, especially Starfire. This would definitely be putting a strain on their newly formed relationship, but he had no doubt that his Tamaranean princess understood. And once he called and explained what was going on, things would be okay. Hopefully.
Dick and Bruce got off of the plane and right into a private car that was waiting for them, and they were off. He watched the streets go by, attempting to orient himself in the new city and wishing he had his motorcycle to explore the streets and get to know his way around. That was going to be a big weakness for this mission; he had never been here before and was unfamiliar with the city.
They eventually stopped in front of what seemed to be a normal-looking building, until Dick looked up and saw the large sign that read “Fentonworks” and the even larger metal contraption on top.
He looked at Bruce with wide eyes. “What is this place?”
“Welcome to your home for the next few weeks. Let’s go meet the Fentons.”
xxx
Whatever Dick was expecting from this family, it definitely was not what he walked into. A perky looking woman in a blue jumpsuit opened the door and immediately welcomed them in.
“Bruce! So good to see you! It’s been too long,” she exclaimed, embracing Bruce in the doorway. “And you must be Dick, it is so good to meet you!”
“You as well, ma’am,” he responded as he took in the home. It looked normal enough on the inside despite the flashy exterior.
“Oh, you can call me Maddie. Come on to the kitchen, I have some snacks for us. The rest of my family should be around here somewhere. Jack! Kids!” she called as she ushered Dick and Bruce into the kitchen.
Jack stumbled up from the basement first. He was a tall, burly man wearing an orange jumpsuit.
“Bruce Wayne, it is so nice to meet you!” he exclaimed, quickly moving to shake Bruce’s hand. “You know, we have some technology down in the lab that you may be interested in investing in-”
“Jack, not now,” Maddie quickly cut him off. “Sorry about that.”
Bruce smiled, “Oh don’t be sorry. You are family, after all. We can schedule something with some other officials from the company when I come back to move Dick into his new school. Thank you so much again for taking him in during this transition.”
“Of course! Our Danny has definitely had his fair share of difficulty in school. I’m sorry you had to leave your last one, but now you get the authentic public school experience and to meet your cousins. They should be down here soon.” Maddie stuck her head out of the kitchen and yelled, “Danny! Jazz! Bruce and Dick are here!”
A teenage girl about Dick’s age soon stuck her head into the kitchen. “Hi! I’m Jazz! We are in the same class at school, so you are gonna be stuck with me here and there.” She laughed uncomfortably and Dick cracked a smile.
“Jazz, where is your brother?” Maddie asked.
Jazz noticeably cringed, which caused Dick to narrow his eyes and pay more attention to her subtle cues. She was fidgeting with her hands and shifting her weight on her feet.
“He’s, ah, on his way. He was, um, doing homework! With… Sam and Tucker, yeah,” Jazz stammered.
Despite the obvious lie that Dick knew both he and Bruce noticed, Maddie seemed to accept that answer. Dick was going to just attribute it to Danny obviously doing something that he shouldn’t be and dismiss it, but then there was a loud crash in the living room.
Everyone jumped up and ran to the next room. Dick quickly scanned the environment, but only found a dark-haired teenage boy laying on top of a clearly broken coffee table.
The boy looked up, made eye contact with Dick, and smiled, “Hi, I’m Danny. You must be Dick.”