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Sam sat on her bed, staring down at her phone while Jazz and Tucker argued nearby.
"Look, Jazz, I've tried," Tucker exclaimed in frustration. He was staring down at his tricked out PDA from his spot in Sam's desk chair, Jazz leaning over the back.
"But you've hacked them before."
"I hacked Skulker and Technus," Tucker corrected. "The ectoplasm I had Danny incorporate is what allowed me to interface at all, but the GIW have anti-ghost firewalls installed that automatically block anything ecto-infused."
"So use something that's not ecto-infused," Jazz said in irritation.
"I have been, it's still a government facility," Tucker replied with just as much irritation.
With a deep breath, Sam finally pushed the confirmation button her thumb had been hovering over. Then she got up and quickly started packing. She already had the perfect bag to use for a carry-on, obviously she would need some clothes, comb, toothbrush, some make-up, could she get away with some knives? Maybe it should be a checked bag…
Jazz and Tucker continued to argue, having switched over to using Sam's laptop since it was the least ecto-contaminated (nothing in Amity wasn't at least a little contaminated). Once she was finished packing she moved to her purse, double checking nothing inside would set off security. She had to move all her purse knives to her bag, which she decided was definitely going to be checked and not a carry on. She also added some tools, though she didn't think she could get away with any of the ray weapons.
"Uh… Sam?" Tucker asked carefully. "What are you doing?"
She zipped up her bag and purse, then slung both over her shoulders, "Leaving."
"Where are you going?" Jazz asked hopefully.
"Gotham."
"What's in Gotham?"
Sam sighed deeply, "My bio-family."
"WHAT?!"
Sam was already on her way out the door, she had a plane to catch.
Sam stood on a roof, holding a road flare she just bought over her head. There were plenty of ways to get a Bat's attention, but most of them would lead to violence and Sam didn't have time for that.
There was a soft thump behind her, Sam turned around to find a woman with firetruck red hair in a black and red Batman costume having just landed on the roof. "Were you trying-"
"Finally!" Sam interrupted. "I need to talk to Damian."
Batwoman looked surprised, "What?"
"Damian, I need to talk to him," Sam said slowly. "You all have comms, right? Tell him," here she switched over to her mother language, "his older sister, Athanasia, wishes to speak with him immediately."
"I… you… what?"
Sam rolled her eyes, then repeated the phrase again more slowly, still in the League dialect.
"Oh I am not paid enough for this," Batwoman groaned, holding a hand up to her head. "And will you all shut up? So many of you screaming in my ear at once."
"Oh good, so you do have comms."
"Do you have any idea what you've done? The whole damn clan is on their way here now."
"So long as Damian's in there that's all that matters." Sam's shoulders fell, "Though I suppose now I have to actually meet al Xu'ffasch."
Batwoman snorted, "Most people would be excited about that."
"If I wanted to meet him I'd've come here when I faked my death and ran away from home."
"Well that answers one question. How about another, who are you and why are you here?"
"That's two questions."
"And we have plenty more," an unfamiliar voice said as a new person landed on the roof. This one was also wearing red and black, though he had a gold insignia in the middle of his chest.
Sam couldn't help smirking, the competition. Or at least she assumed that's how Damian viewed him.
"We have so many questions!" A blond girl dressed in purple climbed up onto the roof. "Hi! I'm Spoiler, who are you?"
Sam didn't know this one, just that she wasn't legally part of the family. "Not related to you."
"Oh, but you're related to the others," Spoiler said gleefully.
"Somewhat, the legality of it is shaky."
A dark shadow landed on the roof, silhouetted against the bright moonlight as he went from a crouch to his full height. "Explain."
Sam wasn't going to be cowed even by the king of goths, no self respecting goth would. She stuck her chin up, "I explain to Damian only."
"Then explain." A smaller shadow stepped out from behind Batman, resolving into bright colors under the moonlight. Sam took a defensive stance, though she didn't move a weapon to her hand yet despite Damian pulling his sword from his sheath and pointing it at her. "My sister died, Mother said so."
"And does she really believe it?"
The other bats had all taken defensive stances, but Sam mostly ignored them. The only one she needed to convince was Damian.
"I don't know what Mother believes."
"And what about you? Do you believe it?"
Damian started to circle her, "I can only believe what I'm told. Mother told me Athanasia died, you tell me you're Athanasia, what proof do you have?"
Sam began to mirror him, carefully moving so she wouldn't have her back to Batman. "When you were five you found a bird that had fallen from its nest, and rather than put it back as I told you to, you took it home and hid it in your room to nurse it back to health. Fortunately it was a fledgling that was already learning how to fly and flew away but two days later."
Damian's cheeks grew rosy and he opened his mouth, then stopped and lowered his sword slightly. "I never told anyone about that, not even Mother."
"Oh Mother knew, she just didn't say anything. Thought it was a good lesson about getting attached."
"TT, of course."
"And then there was the time when you were six, threw a hissy fit and ran out to the training area while it was raining…"
"Enough, I believe you," Damian cut in, sheathing his blade. There were titters from the surrounding bats. "Now, if you've been alive and well this whole time, why seek me out now?"
"I need help." Sam sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It's my best friend, Danny, he's been kidnapped. We've tried but we can't find him."
"Best friend," Spoiler whispered loudly, followed by titters.
"Who took him?" Batman asked, stepping closer.
"The U.S. government."
Spoiler burst out laughing, "Oh my god! It's genetic! It's gotta be, you didn't even raise this one!"
"I was raised by Talia al Ghul, I think five years of living a normal life was more than I could have hoped for."
Damian tilted his head slightly, "You faked your death seven years ago."
"And you think the government just randomly kidnapped Danny for no reason?"
"Come with us, you can explain the situation on the way." Batman motioned for Damian and Sam to follow him. "Spoiler, Red Robin, return to patrol."
Spoiler spluttered, "You're not telling Batwoman to go back to patrol."
"Because I know better, and so does he," Batwoman replied.
Spoiler briefly pulled down her mask to stick her tongue out at Batwoman, then pulled it back up and went to jump from the building. The others quickly vacated as well, Sam followed Batman and Damian to the edge of the building. While they pulled out their grapple guns, Sam reached into the bag she had slung across her body and pulled out her grapple rope.
Damian snorted, "You're still using that?"
"Yes, despite fighting beings that can fly I haven't needed one of your little toys yet." She motioned to the grapple gun Damian had pulled out, then jumped over the side of the building, already readying her grapple to catch and slow her fall. Below them a huge, black, muscle car rumbled as it pulled up to the curb. Sam could feel her eyebrow twitch, "Really? How much gas does that monstrosity guzzle?"
"TT It's a hybrid."
"What?"
"Hybrid electric and gas," Damian said in a condescending voice, "it only uses the gas when it needs the extra power. The sounds are artificial, pumped through speakers as an intimidation tactic. That also means the batmobile can be nearly silent with just the flip of a single switch."
"Huh." Sam hadn't expected that. Then again, despite how backwards and ancient Grandfather was he wasn't wrong about humans poisoning the very world they depended on to live. It made sense Damian would take that same concern with him when he went to live with their Father, and for the man who Mother called great to also agree.
They got into the car, Damian slipping into a backseat. Then Batman shifted gears and the car took off, Sam was viscerally reminded of Danny's dad's driving. "Tell us, where have you been and why did the government kidnap your friend?" Batman stated darkly.
Sam sighed deeply, Danny wasn't going to like this, but it was a dire situation. "Amity Park, Illinois. It started a bit under two years ago, my friend, Daniel James Fenton, was in a lab accident. It killed him, but it also brought him back… mostly."
"Powers?" Damian more said than asked.
"Powers," Sam confirmed.
"His powers were why he was kidnapped," Batman said.
"Basically." Sam sighed again, "They're called the Ghost Investigation Ward, bunch of weirdos who wear white suits and have egos the size of Grandfather's. Honestly most of the time they act more like a bunch of wannabe special ops LARPing as a government organization."
"Are you sure they aren't?" Damian asked.
"Unfortunately the laws they cite are real, and so far as we can tell their badges are legit."
Batman grunted, before Sam could ask him what that meant he shifted gears and spun the wheel, causing the car they were in to drift. She braced herself, fully expecting the car to barrel through a wall the way the GAV often did. The car slid to a stop against the sidewalk, snug between two other parked cars as if it had parallel parked. Before it had fully come to a stop the top opened up, Batman and Damian were both already leaping out.
Sam sighed, when in Rome. She leapt out of the car, then followed the dynamic duo as they stood before the side of a building, a rusting fire escape winding up it. Batman held his hand out, a grapple gun in the other. "This'll be faster."
Sam briefly considered: trust her bio father, a complete stranger, or insist her little brother she hasn't seen in seven years carry her up the side of a building. Neither option seemed good, but bio father at least looked strong enough to actually hold her. "Fine." Sam stepped forward and let Batman wrap an arm around her. She kept her best "bored and unimpressed" expression on as he shot his grapple, then zipped the pair of them up to the fourth floor.
Batman set Sam down before turning his attention to the window they were next to. Damian landed next to them on the fire escape, his expression smug even through the mask.
"Jerky," Sam answered the unasked question. "Flying's way better."
Damian scowled. "You have no control when allowing someone with flight to carry you."
"And I had no control letting him carry me either." Sam jabbed a thumb towards Batman as she spoke.
"Inside," Batman ordered them both before slipping through the window. How a man that large could slip through a window as smooth as silk was beyond Sam, and she'd once been Athanasia al Ghul!
Sam followed, Damian right behind her. Inside was a normal looking, if sparsely furnished, apartment. Batman took them into the next room, where he did something that caused the wall to fold open, revealing a computer terminal. Batman stood before the terminal, hunched over to reach the keyboard. "Oracle, what have you got so far?"
A stylized green face with sharp features and a round head appeared on the screen along with a modulated voice through the speakers. "Before we get into that, do you even know how many kids you have, B?"
"It's not Father's fault Mother kept secrets from him," Damian defended, arms crossed.
"And so were you, Robin." The green face's modulated voice gave away no emotions.
"I was told she had died, what was there to tell?"
"How many members of this family have died and come back?"
"One, if you don't count people who were believed to be dead but in fact were not. Athanasia is of the latter group, in case that wasn't blindingly obvious."
"Enough," Batman growled. "Oracle, report."
Oracle tsk'd, a sound that came through the voice modulation oddly. The face disappeared, replaced by a lot of text. "The GIW is a subgroup of the DEO. Less than two years ago the Midwest DEO branch sent a team to investigate suspected ghost activity in Amity Park, the agents were sent under a temporary name to keep the investigation quiet. The branch has since been legitimized as a subsidiary."
"Do you know Daniel Fenton's whereabouts?"
"Good news, his secret ID is still intact."
"Phantom," Sam supplied quickly. "Or ghost boy, that's mostly what they called him."
There was a brief pause, "Well I was about to say since it's such a small branch they only have one facility, but now we also know there is a Phantom listed as being held there."
It took everything in Sam not to slap herself in the forehead, "Just the one facility?"
"There was the risk he had been shipped off to a DEO facility, so it's good we have this confirmation."
"Alright, well let's go. There's no knowing what they're doing to Danny right now."
"We need a plan first," Batman stated, already clicking through all the information Oracle had thrown onto the screen. Building schematics, a schedule, some reports…
Sam sighed as she pulled up a bare kitchen chair, "Alright, what's the guard rotation look like?"
Jazz tried not to feel useless as Tucker tried to track Danny down. She'd already grabbed a bunch of tools and weapons, gathering everything she thought they might need and laying it out on a cleared off work bench, ready for a full on assault once they finally figured out where Danny was. The problem was it was taking far, far too long for them to do that. Jazz wasn't used to playing the waiting game, not like this, and she couldn't even talk to Sam about it because she had up and abandoned them!
Jazz took a deep breath in, counted, let it out slowly, counted. Being angry at Sam was misguided, she was one of Danny's best friends and wouldn't have up and left in the middle of that with no explanation unless she had a good reason. If Sam thought her birth family (and Jazz had no idea Sam was even adopted!) could help, well, it certainly couldn't hurt, right?
Jazz's phone buzzed. She pulled it out to find a text.
Sam: Where r u?
At home.
Sam: W/ tuck?
Yes.
Jazz held her breath as she waited for more, but Sam didn't reply again. Jazz let her breath rush out of her. Still, that was a good sign, right? She decided to let Tucker know. "Sam just texted."
"What'd she say?" Tucker asked absently.
"Wanted to know where we are, guess she's headed to us?" Jazz hoped so.
"Well I hope she has a good reason for running off like that in the middle of an emergency," Tucker said sourly.
"She had better," Jazz agreed. Her phone buzzed. "Another text, she says to come out front."
Jazz and Tucker glanced at each other, then shrugged. They quickly gathered up their gear, Jazz snagged the Danny specific first aid kit they'd put together, just like Sam asked. Then they trudged up the stairs from the basement and out the front door.
There was a black plane sitting in the middle of the street.
The door on the side wide open, Sam was leaning out of it. She was wearing some kind of all black, lightly armored outfit with a yellow bat outlined across the chest and yellow belt. "Get in losers, we're going shopping."
There was a snort and a guy in what looked suspiciously like a superhero costume, red and black with black belts across his chest and a black mask over his whole head, came up behind Sam, "Mean Girls? Really?"
"Uh… Sam?" Jazz asked, "Who's that? What's this?"
Sam motioned them closer, "It's the calvary, obviously. C'mon, we know where Danny is, I'll explain on the way."
That got Jazz and Tucker to scramble onto the suspicious looking plane. Jazz eyed the other heroes in the plane as she climbed in. "How much did you tell them?"
Sam straightened her shoulders, "Everything."
"Everything everything?" Jazz asked incredulously.
"Enough."
"Sam!"
"Hey, we needed to know so we could help," The guy from earlier stated.
"Yeah," a man in a black and blue costume agreed.
"Holy shit, is that Nightwing?!" Tucker asked excitedly.
Nightwing smiled at them, "Hello, we're here to rescue your friend."
Jazz looked around at the others who were on the plane with them. There was the guy in red and black, Nightwing, a girl in mostly black with gold accents, another girl with red hair in a Batman costume, and Robin. "You weren't kidding about Gotham."
"Of course not."
"Does that mean Nightwing is your bio-dad?" Tucker asked excitedly.
Sam made a disgusted face while Nightwing's expression fell and his hands came up, "No. No absolutely not!"
"Gross, Tucker!"
"Well, you did say you were getting your bio family, what am I supposed to think?"
The guy in red and black was laughing. Robin kicked him in the shin, "Focus, we're on a rescue mission."
That got everyone to sober up. "Right!" Tucker said loudly, "What's the plan?"
Nightwing smiled at them, "The plan is the professionals go in and extract Phantom while the rest of you wait here."
Jazz and Tucker burst into protest, "I'm not leaving my baby brother in their hands!" "I'm not sitting by while my best friend is being tortured!"
Nightwing held his hands up, "I know, I know, but there's a very good reason."
A dark shadow Jazz hadn't noticed sitting at the cockpit stood up and turned towards them. "Enough," Batman growled at them. "So far as we can tell, Daniel's identity hasn't been compromised yet, if his family goes in with us it likely will be."
The following silence was heavy.
"Oh my god," Tucker harshly whispered, "is your bio-dad Batman?!?!"
"Not what's important right now," Sam said tersely. She held up a black fabric blob, "Orphan was kind enough to lend me her old costume, so for tonight I'm… Batgirl?"
"Black Bat," the girl in mostly black corrected. "That was my Batgirl uniform, but there is already a Batgirl, so Black Bat."
The red head in the Batman costume waved.
"You guys need to stay here," Sam continued, "Danny's gonna need that first aid kit when we get back."
"What if he needs immediate care when you find him?" Jazz asked.
"I'll take some supplies with me." Sam's face softened, "I know this is hard, but we can't risk you guys accidentally getting in each other's way." Sam motioned between the Amity Parkers and the Gothamites. "Here, help me pick out what I'll take, these belts can hold a surprising amount."
Jazz didn't like it, but she knew Sam was right. This was Batman, one of the founders of the Justice League. He and his team had been working together for years and could work together well. Though Jazz eyed Robin, he seemed rather young in her opinion. "Fine, got a spot for an ecto-dejecto?"
"And this!" Tucker held up the thermos, "In case Danny is too unstable for transport."
Sam hesitated, then reached out and grabbed it. "This might be the best way to transport him regardless."
"Are we sure?" Jazz asked anxiously.
Sam shrugged, "If he can't move himself."
There was another heavy moment of silence, then Sam was reaching into the kit again. Jazz quickly went back to helping Sam pick out what they would use.
Sam pulled her mask on and checked her weapons load out. Damian had kindly donated some of his personal weapons, which Sam appreciated if only for how familiar they were.
"Only the best to go rescue your beloved," Damian said smugly.
Jazz and Tucker snorted.
Sam made a face under her mask, "Not my beloved."
"No?" Nightwing asked, clearly trying to fight a smile. "Going to a lot of effort just to rescue him."
"As I said, he's our best friend." Sam motioned towards Tucker, who nodded along. "Besides, unlike Mother I'm not foolish enough to call some guy my beloved if he doesn't love me back."
There was an awkward silence that stretched as several people glanced Batman's way, the dominoes not doing much to hide their expressions.
"Let's move," Batman eventually ordered.
"Have fun storming the castle!" Batgirl called cheerily while waving them off. She had taken a seat at the plane's console, settling in to coordinate and be backup if necessary. And probably to play babysitter for the civilians. Sam was lucky they were willing to let her come with.
The rest of the costumes all gathered near the door, doing one last check of their gear.
Batgirl's face was furrowed in concentration as her hands danced over the console, "Drop in three, two…"
The door to the plane opened, Sam and the other costumed vigilantes poured out. There was an exhilarating moment of free fall as the whole group tumbled through the air, literally in Nightwing's case. Then the ones with capes were gliding down. Nightwing spun through the air until he could grab Sam, then used his grapple gun to turn their fall into a swing, landing the pair of them on the roof. The others landed nearby.
"I could've landed on my own," Sam hissed, shoving Nightwing away.
"You aren't wearing the cape, plus you haven't had a chance to practice. You can land on your own next time," Nightwing tried to soothe.
"There isn't going to be a next time," Sam seethed.
There were several snickers and a scoff in response to that.
Sam's cheeks colored. Of course now that she had reached out there was no way her brother's family were going to leave her alone. Especially after she revealed Danny's biggest secret. "Let's just go, we have a rescue mission to be on."
Orphan grabbed Sam's hand and started heading for the edge of the roof.
"Orphan, what are you doing?" Batman asked.
"Birds of Prey!" The pair jumped off the edge of the roof. Orphan let go of Sam's hand, allowing the pair of them to dig their claws into the side of the building and climb down to the third floor. While they did that Nightwing and Red Robin used their grapples to quickly get down to the ground floor.
Once the pair got to their target window, Orphan quickly opened it and the pair slipped inside. It was a fairly normal looking building from the inside, looking like a typical office space under a lab and attached to a warehouse. Well, that's what the building's blueprints and licensing from before it was bought stated. Sam was still surprised to find bland cream walls and boring brown carpet.
The pair started searching through the floor, looking for any sign of Danny. Sam was starting to wish they had started higher up like the boys, Danny was surely being kept in the lab portion. Sure, sticking the bat themed memory sticks in the computers they found were going to be useful, but Sam wanted to find Danny and get him out as quickly as possible.
"Target found, fifth floor," Batman's deep voice declared over comms.
Sam turned to leave the room they were in. Orphan made a slight sound of disappointment, but Sam didn't care. She double checked the dark hallway was still empty before sneaking out into it and heading for the nearest stairway. Orphan quickly caught up, the pair of them double checked the stairway was empty before climbing up onto the railing.
Orphan offered Sam her grapple. Then she pulled out a second grapple and shot it at the railing of the top floor landing, tugging to make sure it was attached before looking at Sam expectantly. Sam aimed for a spot on the railing near Orphan's grapple, then shot it. She managed to hit pretty close to her mark, an experimental tug assured her the line was secure.
Orphan pointed at the buttons on the grapple, then mimed tensing her muscles and patted her shoulder and upper arm. Sam nodded, Orphan nodded back. Then she pressed one of the buttons and flew up to the top floor, the momentum throwing her up and over the railing in a graceful arc that ended with a superhero landing. Sam took a deep breath, then followed in Orphan's wake.
Sam's landing left a lot to be desired, she ended up tripping over the railing and barely managed a decent landing that would've had Mother scowling, but had Orphan cheering and clapping quietly. Sam couldn't help giggling, that had been pretty exhilarating.
Orphan put a finger up to her mask, then carefully and silently opened the door out onto the floor. They ghosted through the hallways, the bland office look replaced with smooth white walls and gray laminate floors. Unlike the office area, bright fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, the light reflecting harshly off the sterile walls and floor. The two girls in black stood out like sore thumbs.
They rushed through the halls, finding the already opened doors labeled as Containment Unit 03. Inside they found Batman and Damian huddled over a console attached to a large tube. Large enough to hold Danny, who was pressed against the glass, his glowing eyes staring intensely at the heroes. If he weren't a ghost at the moment his breath would be fogging the glass.
"Danny!" Sam rushed up to the tube.
"Huh?" Danny stopped his one sided staring contest to look at the room's newest occupants in confusion.
"Did they hurt you? With all their threats I thought we'd find you strapped down to an operating table."
"Sa-am?!" Danny's voice cracked on the name. His cheeks lit up like a glow stick as he cleared his throat. "Sam? Is that you?"
Sam sighed and pulled the cowl off, "Yes, can we get back to you? Are you okay?"
"Why are you dressed like that?! Since when are you one of Batman's sidekicks?!"
"I had to get help, we couldn't find you. Now answer my question! Are you hurt?!"
Danny sighed and rolled his eyes, "I'm fine. They just stuck me in here, kept talking about taking readings and comparing me to some mist girl they had a few years ago?"
"That would be Secret," Red Robin said as he walked into the room. "She used to be a ghost."
"Security is all taken care of, first two floors cleared." Nightwing stayed by the door, looking down the hallway.
"Wait, what do you mean she used to be a ghost?" Danny asked.
Red Robin shrugged, "Revived."
Danny opened his mouth, looked confused, then shut his mouth.
The tube clicked, then hissed like an airtight seal being released. Danny dove at the floor, squishing and wriggling through a vent and popping out on their side. Batman and Damian quickly jumped out of the way as Danny landed right where he exited, then he lunged to hug Sam.
"Oh thank ancients! It was so boring being stuck in there!"
Damian scoffed, "Of course these fiends didn't even provide proper enrichment."
"Batgirl, target acquired," Batman said. "Prepare to extract."
"Getting into position now," Batgirl replied into the comms.
"Is Danny safe? Is he hurt?" Jazz asked frantically.
"Phantom is unharmed, we're evac'ing now," Batman said, then motioned for everyone to leave.
Sam quickly pulled her mask back on, then took Danny's hand. The whole group followed Batman as he led them to the roof access. Danny leaned in close and whispered, "Do we have to go with them?"
"Your teammates are on the bat-plane," Damian replied. When Danny blustered Damian scoffed, "You are not as quiet as you believe yourself."
"We all heard you," Red Robin added. Orphan nodded her agreement.
"Well that's not embarrassing," Danny grumbled. "Wait, my teammates?"
"You think I came here alone?" Sam asked snidely.
"Well I sure didn't expect you to bring Batman and friends!" Danny threw his hands in the air.
There were titters from the others.
The group emerged up onto the roof and looked up to find the bat-plane hovering over the building. The door opened and a few ropes began to lower.
"So, that our ride?" Danny asked.
"Yup," Red Robin said cheerfully.
"Cool. Meet you up there." Danny grabbed Sam's hand, her stomach did a flip as gravity's hold slipped away as if they'd gone intangible and slipped through its fingers. She loved flying like this, just floating up into the air without a care in the world.
"No fair!" Nightwing shouted up at them.
Danny stuck his tongue out while Sam laughed. Then the pair of them gently landed inside the plane. Danny was immediately tackled by Tucker and Jazz, the three of them landing in a heap dangerously close to the open door.
"Clear the door," Batgirl called, sounding amused. "The others need to get in somehow.
Danny, Tucker, and Jazz all stumbled over each other trying to get up, Sam helped them scramble in a heap to get out of the way, then shrugged and joined the cuddle pile.
"Ancients, I missed you guys!" Danny held them all closer, content to be at the bottom of the pile. He'd be fine, he didn't need to breathe.
"Are you hurt? Did they cut you open? Tear your molecules apart?" Jazz sniffled as she held Danny's face in her hands.
"No, mostly it was a lot of sensors and passive readings. There were talks of more testing, but they were just holding me until they were ready."
"I'm so glad you're good, dude!" Tucker sniffled.
"Yeah, thanks for the rescue." Danny squeezed them all a little tighter.
"You're welcome," Batman said.
"Alright, all aboard," Batgirl called. "Closing the door and getting out of here, everyone grab something."
Danny let go to grab the floor, fingers intangibly sinking into it. Sam and the others all held onto him tighter. The various Bats all grabbed onto the grab bars that ran along the tops of the doors. The plane lurched higher before switching to going forward. Fast. The jet engine having kicked in. Then the plane banked, turning around.
Once the plane leveled off Team Phantom all reluctantly sat up, though everyone kept a hand on some part of Danny. Danny nervously scratched the back of his head, "So… now what?"
"How did the DEO capture you?" Batman asked.
"D… E… O…?"
"He means the GIW," Sam corrected. "Turns out they're part of a larger group called the DEO."
Danny rolled his eyes, "Of course they are. Ugh!" Then he sighed, "Well uh… there's these scientists…"
"I told them who you are."
Danny gave Sam a flat look, "Really?"
"That's all I told them, just your name and that there was an accident that gave you powers."
"To be fair, it wasn't hard to look up a bunch of stuff ourselves once she told us you were from Amity Park, Illinois," Batgirl called from the pilot's seat.
"Sam," Danny said tiredly.
"How else were we going to pick up Jazz and Tucker?" Sam defended herself.
"How'd you even get Batman to help you? Huh? How about answering some of my questions?"
Sam sighed and pulled her mask off, then motioned for Damian to come over. "Akhi, take your mask off. It'll be easier to just show them."
Damian scowled, but obligingly walked over while pulling off his mask.
"Robin!" Batman said sharply.
"It's fine, I'm pretty sure they won't recognize him," Sam said flippantly. She stood up and pulled Damian close, putting her face next to his. With their faces bare of even make up the resemblance would be obvious.
Sam's friends' eyes grew wide as they stared at the siblings. Sam watched as the full realization sank in, told by when their eyes flicked over to Batman. Danny was, of course, the last one to make that connection.
"Okay, so now that that's out of the way," Sam pushed Damian away, "how did the idiots in white capture you?"
Danny looked away from Sam, his hand on the back of his neck. "My parents got me."
"What?!" Jazz shrieked.
Danny cringed, his shoulders up to his ears, "They uh… happened to have the weasel with them. I stopped by to make sure they were okay before leaving and well… they got me. Then some agents that were right there came running and confiscated me."
"I doubt your parents handed you over easily," Tucker said doubtfully.
"The agents promised to share their findings."
Jazz sighed, "That explains why they didn't know you were gone. They were convinced you had been kidnapped by Phantom when I pointed out you'd gone missing, they were running all over town trying to find where you'd been hidden."
"Are you saying your parents don't know you're you?" Nightwing asked incredulously.
Danny shrugged, then triggered his transformation.
"Ah, built in stealth mode."
Danny made finger guns, "You get it."
"This situation is unsustainable," Batman said darkly. "I can't in good conscience let you return to parents who are actively hunting your alter ego."
"B, no!" Nightwing said loudly. "You can't adopt him."
"I never intended to."
"B, he's your daughter's boyfriend. You can't adopt him."
"I'm what's what?!" Danny blustered, face shining brighter than a glow stick.
Sam groaned and slapped her forehead while her new siblings all laughed.