Ghosts Don't Exist

Chapter 11: People Say Time Heals

Hello my tiny peeps and tall peeps, sorry this took so long. I have Covid and it's not fun. I hope that you all with forgive me for the long wait and enjoy the chapter. It's shorter than normal and I'm sorry for that too.
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Vlad had explained everything: what the Ghost Zone was, explained why he left Amity Park, what happened in Amity Park, and everyone thought Danny had died.

He seemed quite happy to see Danny somewhat healthy and happy. "Where... where did you find him? I looked everywhere for him." Vlad asked adjusting his glasses. He looked speechless to see Danny acting as a child, well, more so than he had originally.

Danny had done what every normal kid did, scrap his knee while playing, gossiping with friends, and dealing with a bully here and there. Yet, Danny also fought ghosts constantly causing him to mature faster. Danny was a wonderful child who was exceptionally bright.

But Danny also looked slightly depressed and sleep deprived. He no longer was energized, he stayed out of sports, and his fighting style had lagged. Vlad had healed Danny's wounds against his refusals.

"Well," Bruce breathed out, "he found a grocery store bleeding out and his ankle severely sprained." Bruce stated. Vlad no longer looked happy. "What?" He whispered. He looked scared and confused.

His Danny was hurt? He was on the verge of becoming more than half dead. "What do you mean bleeding out? What happened to him?" He asked almost yelling. He gripped his satchel close to him. He felt scared and unheard. What happened while he was gone? Where had Danny been? What could he had avoided if he'd known?

Something was wrong with the way Bruce Wayne acted. He looked closed off and unwilling to disclose any information, but knew Vlad wasn't leaving without information.

"This is going to be a complicated story so just relax, listen, and hold your questions until the end."

So Bruce explained what the problem was and how he adopted Danny. He told Vlad about the GIW and Vlad literally almost lost it. Apparently they had been trying to capture not only Danny, but Vlad as well. They were both half ghosts so it seemed reasonable why they were both being hunted.

"Vlad, can I ask you a question?" Tim asked. "Why are Danny's powers so spastic?" Vlad sighed and leaned back, he looked like a parent trying to hide his worst secret from his kids. "So you've noticed? Well, Danny's powers are the exact same ones I have, but his powers think he's dead, like completely dead. As a defense mechanism, they can and will normally take control or eradicate when he feels threatened or unsafe. I'm sure you've noticed the flickering in his eyes when he's nervous or his limbs fazing in and out. His powers aren't fit for a child, they are fit for a dead child. They will do this again if his emotions go haywire again."

There is only one way to... at least stabilize them. Keep him happy and healthy. If he's sick they will be dangerous, however, if he's unhappy they will become dangerous enough to kill. A child like Danny is one a million, if you need me at all here's my number." Vlad had explained what he could. Danny was basically a tinier version of him. Everything was the same, but Danny's body thinks it's a ghost every hour of everyday. The human gene has been numbed out by the ghost gene.

"Vlad, have you told him this? He knows, right?" Bruce asked. "No, first off, he'd get confused and that would scare him. He wouldn't understand what's going on. Danny has been one to hang on to a specific number of words instead of the full context." Vlad stated a small smile forming on his face. The memories of such acts made him laugh on the inside.

Bruce knew well that Danny was meant for doing such a thing. He did so at Molly's. What a stupid question he asked. He ran his fingers through his slick hair.

Danny hated being told things he didn't understand because he felt useless if he didn't understand. Bruce bit the inside of his mouth, he realized that when they officially met. Danny was not hang onto to every word as he had wanted, but would hang on to what he knew. That was any child, though. Bruce never had a proper childhood so dealing with Danny was a new project in itself. He knew it that from the start, but old habits die hard.

Vlad noticed Bruce's frustration but said nothing. He knew the feeling well but baring it was different. He cupped the side of his face in his palm. He looked out the ajar door at Danny. His happy expression was not new to him but he would always melt at the sight of it. He had his fathers smile and the twinkle of curiosity that his mother had.

"He doesn't know his family is gone?" Vlad asked quietly. He wanted to skip the question or at least avoid it. Bruce looked out the door and tilted his head slightly, "His actions are unclear. He speaks as if he doesn't remember but his body language isn't clear. It's almost as if he doesn't want to believe it but knows it's true." Bruce explained. The tone he used sounded soft but hurt.

Death was not a unknown thing to him.

"I had planned to stay here for a couple days. I have an apartment rented in Gotham. If you don't mind, I would like to help Danny and catch up with him." He said. Bruce smiled, a smile he'd grown used to wearing, "Of course."

Danny heard the conversation but knew better than to loose himself in it. Gone? His family was gone, no wonder they hadn't come to get him. Jasmine was no longer with him and that hurt more than anything else.

He didn't remember much of them but he did remember her, she was a supportive person who cared very deeply for him. Jasmine was his playmate and a motherly figure when his parents couldn't be there for him. He knew what he needed or wanted with her help and her constant need to bicker about studying. She helped him with smarts and he couldn't hold back the smile he held because of it.

But she was gone now, she wasn't coming back to tell him she made grill cheese because their parents were working late. He could no longer smell the over burnt bread and cheese or the slightly over cooked tomato soup in the kitchen. A glass of orange juice would not be poured for him while she pestered him with the importance of its vitamin. A parental talk would not be spoken about powers at the table as she read a book of mathematics.

No, that would be done here in Wayne Manor, in Gotham, at the kitchen table with his adopted family, and she would not be joining them. The only Jasmine welcomed to attend is the pink lion he'd dubbed his best friend. Not his older role modeled sister he'd loved dearly.