A safe place to stay

This chapter is dedicated to Gowther98 , a person who made my day so much better with his/hers supportive comment. 🤗


Thanks


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"Where am I?" Danny asked and he surprised himself. He wasn't trapped in Dan's head now, he was free. A pure smile appeared on his face but it soon fell when he realized he wasn't alone.


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Danny looked at his captor with eyes full of fear. The man in front of him wanted to finish him off only few hours ago. The young halfa started sobbing for an unknown reason and he couldn't stop it, like he couldn't stop Dan.


Red hood was a bit skeptical about this young boy. There were many valid reasons for him to be, for example he was a mass murderer only few hours earlier and Red hood couldn't know if all of this wasn't just a game. When the boy didn't stop crying for a long time, he decided to try and approach him. Red hood took off his helmet, revealing black hair with white streaks and eyes covered by a red domino mask.


"What's your name?" Jason asked the boy while he moved his chair a little closer. The kid looked at him, he himself not being 100% sure about the man sitting next to him. After a while of staring, Danny gave in.


"My name is Danny Fenton." Danny said to the man next to him but he didn't look at him, he leveled his gaze on his tied hands.


"Where are your parents?" Red hood kept asking questions. Suddenly, he recognized the name, Fenton was the last name of those scientists who died under the ruins of the mansion.


"Dead." The boy answered but his words were full of anger and at the same time, grief. The masked vigilante made a mental note that parents were a delicate topic. He wanted to get as much information on the boy as he could before he would turn back into the adult and fly away.


"Why did you kill those people?" The question surprised the young boy. He lifted his head and stared into the masked eyes.


"Do you think I wanted to kill those people?" Danny cried, making the vigilante flinch. He didn't expect a criminal with a kill count like him to question his actions. The boy started crying again but now fully, not holding back tears. The hot tears were dripping down his face, soaking the cover. When Danny was out of tears and got himself somehow together, he opened him mouth like he was about to say something but then he closed it.


"You can tell me." Red hood encouraged. Danny hasn't shown a sign of struggle yet, so there was no reason to play the bad cop.


"I... well he... we..." Danny started but didn't know how to form the sentence. "Well... it wasn't exactly me." Was all he could get out. There was a long silence, no one knew what to say. Red hood had many questions but he didn't want to press.


"You know who I am." The statement shocked Red hood. This was kind of a slow going interrogation but he didn't expect to be the one answering questions here.


"Yes, I know."


"Then you know that my parents used to be ghost hunters and inventors..." Danny pauses for a moment, reconsidering if he should tell his story or be quiet. He went with the first option because Red hood was the first person in this world who talked to him like to a normal human without looking at his dark side.


"One day, they built a portal to another dimension, to the Ghost zone. It is a dimension where all the ghosts live. At first, the portal didn't work so I took a look inside. I accidentally touched a button and it turned on, rewriting my DNA, making me a halfa. Half human, half ghost." Danny was about to continue when Red hood suddenly started talking.


"So that's how you got your powers, but why do you kill?"


"You tell him and you are dead..." the ghost side threatened, finally waking up from his light come caused by the pain and presence of ectoranium.


"You can't tell me what to do!" Danny shouted, making the vigilante raise an eyebrow. Danny continued, but now talking only in his head. "I have the right to tell him and you can't stop me. Maybe he's the only person who can help me with you." Dan was about to have a full argument with his human side, when Danny started talking again, ignoring Dan.


"During my hero days as Danny Phantom, I came across a new ghost. I found out that the ghost was basically my evil future self but during our fight, my two friends died. After that, my parents found out that I was a halfa and started working on a cure. My enemy, Vlad Masters was a halfa too but nobody knew except me and my sister. We came to his house where the treatment should have been launched but the things went wrong. My ghost half, after the long time of being suppressed got out of control. He ripped out the ghost half of Vlad too and the two ghosts merged together, creating the evil adult ghost. There was an incident and I merged back with the ghost since it used to be me. It wouldn't be that bad but the ghost form came with its owner. His name is Dan and he was the one you fought, not me. He killed my parents and my sister... that's why I don't like talking about them."


"How do I know he's not controlling you?" Jason asked suspiciously, eyeing the kid in the bed.


"These days, Dan's the stronger personality so he's in control over the body, not me. That's what I meant when I said I didn't kill those people."


"Who's in control now?"


"When I'm in my human form, I'm the one in control, he can't take over without the world noticing. He is in control in the ghost form and then I'm only an observant of my own life. We can also talk to each other telepathically as you could see..."


Red hood stayed quiet for a long time, processing all the new information. He could tell that he was telling the truth because he has never met a villain who would come up with a complex story like this one. His story was also based on the many facts they had on the Fenton family.


Back in his mind settled a feeling, a need to protect the boy but he didn't know why. He didn't want to have Danny strapped to the table all the time so he went to untie the cuffs.


"I will let you go if you promise not to kill anybody." Red hood informed the boy and started with untying his hands.


"As if I wanted to." Danny scoffed. "And even if he goes rogue, at least there's a way to stop him now."


Jason looked at the boy weirdly. He just said that if things went wrong, he had a permission to kill him. Those words could only come out from a person who was at the rock bottom or was really afraid of himself. As soon as he was free, Danny stood up and headed for the exit. He really appreciated Red hood's help but since he was healed, there was no reason to stay longer. Danny headed for the direction where Red hood came from for the first time and he found the main door.


"Thank you... for everything." The boy managed to say before he opened the door.


Jason just stood in the kitchen door which were close to the main ones, watching the boy leave. He was having an internal struggle with himself weather to offer him a place to stay or let him go.


"Is there a place for you to stay in Gotham?" Jason asked, wanting to know if he lived somewhere.


"No, I've been living in the streets for a while now." Danny answered, stopping midway out.


He doesn't have a place to stay. Red hood thought, watching him carefully. I could offer him a place to stay and as a bonus, I can keep an eye on him. On the other hand, do I want a killing monster to live under my roof? The brotherly instincts won over the fear, making his final decision.


"Uhm Danny... here is too much space for one, I was wondering if you would like to stay." Those words shocked both of them.


"Are you sure you want to keep him... well me under your roof? You know what he's capable of."


"Yes, I know what you are capable of and yes, I want you to stay here with me."


Danny turned towards the tall man, his eyes unwillingly tearing up again. Red hood didn't know him even for a day and he was already treating him like an old friend who needs help. Jason has done so much for him.


"Thank you, Thank you Jason." The boy sobbed, his eyes filled with tears of joy, replacing the tears of fear and pain.


"Who's Jason?" Red hood asked, playing the same old game when someone found out his identity. He looked at Danny, searching for any clues on how he knew about him. Danny caught his look and a small smile appeared on his face.


"He was the one at the Galla and in the cave, I saw everything." His smile dropped, now waiting for his reaction.


"Glad you didn't spill the secret. Name's Jason Todd." Red hood took off his domino mask, revealing his icy blue eyes. He stretched his hand out and they shook their hands.


"Nice to meet you." Danny replied with a huge smile on his face.


~TheWhiteKnights

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