Chapter Text
Danny only let himself stare at his phone in apprehension for a few seconds before picking it up; he didn't want to make his mom think he was ignoring her again. (Even if the thought of this conversation made Danny's stomach churn.)
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hey, Danno."
"Dad?" Danny sat up in surprise. Jack chuckled.
"Mads and I decided it'd be best if we switched around. Since, uh..."
Since his conversations with his mom had been seriously impacting his ability to talk to his dad. Right. And Maddie would never intentionally hurt Jack like that, so once she recognized the pattern, they'd switched around.
Jack cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway. How's your week gone, son?"
Danny shook himself and smiled, relaxing against the observatory banister. "Bruce is trying to get me into therapy because of, you know, everything." His dad might not know the full extent of what 'everything' was, but he wasn't so clueless that he wouldn't have some guesses. "I'm not a huge fan of the idea, after the whole mess with Spectra, but he keeps bringing up all these reasons it's necessary. He's probably going to wear me down sooner or later."
"You know I'm all for anything that'll help you," Jack encouraged. Danny groaned theatrically.
"No, not you too!" he whined. Then he worried his dad would take that the wrong way, and continued quickly, "I know, Dad. Like I said, I'll probably give in eventually, I just don't like it. He's got a couple in mind that he knows personally, so he's going to introduce us and see how we get along. I'll tell you how that goes too."
"Great!" Jack said, his cheer unbreakable. "You've got finals coming up soon, right, Danno? Studying hard?"
"I'm still taking online classes," he reminded his dad. "So I'm going at my own pace." He paused for dramatic effect, then smiled. "I already took them. Three A's, two B's." He almost hadn't been able to believe his eyes.
There was a short, shocked pause, and then Jack let out a loud whoop that made Danny both wince and smile. Immediately afterward, Jack apologized sheepishly to someone on the other end, then said in a more hushed tone, "Jiggering jinxes, that's incredible, Danno! You haven't gotten grades like that since middle school! I'm so proud of you!"
Danny beamed, basking in the praise he also hadn't gotten since middle school. "Yeah. Turns out it's a lot easier without ghosts interrupting all the time." Jack went quiet, and Danny almost immediately realized his mistake. "Um, but I'm sure it helps that I've been studying with the other kids! And it's not like I can hang out with my friends all day anymore either."
After a moment, Jack recovered with slightly more forced cheer. "Of course! I'm just glad you're doing better, Danno. You... you sound good."
There was too much sadness for his dad in that sentence, and Danny's chest tightened, with a little twitch from his core as punctuation. "...It's not your fault. A lot was happening in Amity Park."
It was. Every single step of it had been their fault in one way or another, from his malfunctioning powers to the ghost attacks to Vlad. But Danny would never be so cruel as to tell them that. He'd really like it if they never knew just how much they'd hurt him, actually, not now that all it would achieve would be to haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Because it was too late to fix it all.
Jack chuckled again, somehow sad this time. "I've been thinking about a lot of things lately, Danny." He paused for a moment, and Danny held his breath. When Jack spoke again, his voice was stronger. "The important thing is, you're doing great! And that's great! Bruce... Bruce takes good care of you, doesn't he?"
And the cheer wavered again. His dad really wasn't doing well today, was he? Well - it was just a few days until the trial started. And it could be weeks before it was all over with. Bruce told him the current estimate was three weeks for everything, but it could be as many as five or six. Danny wondered if their lawyer had told them the same thing. He squashed the desire to fly back to Amity Park for a day, maybe ask their lawyer about it himself.
"Yeah, he does," Danny said softly, focusing on the present. "He makes sure I have everything I need, food and clothes and stuff, and he's going to take me to see a cardiologist when we have time. He lets me use the workshop and it's safe. And... if I need someone, a couple of his kids are pretty much always around."
"Is he going to..." Jack faltered.
"Yeah. He's got the paperwork ready and everything."
“And you’re sure that’s what you want?” Jack pressed, more anxious than Danny had expected. “You don’t want to go to your Aunt Alicia, or, or Angela and Maurice?”
Danny’s brow furrowed. “I’m sure, Dad.”
Jack exhaled, soft and shaky.
"Good for you, Danno," Jack said after a moment, and it sounded sincere. "I'm glad."
Their call went on for a few more minutes until their time was up, and Danny felt pretty good by the end of it. It turned to nerves again once he realized what conversation was incoming, but he took a deep breath and braced himself. It didn't seem so bad now.
His phone rang. The breath went out of him, and he had to take another before he accepted.
"Hi, Mom."
"Danny," Maddie said, with almost tearful relief. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm... okay." His mom wasn't going to pretend nothing had happened, was she?
But sure enough, Maddie hesitated after that, just a few seconds of silence while she put her thoughts together, or called to mind what she'd already decided to say, or... something.
"I'm sorry, Danny," Maddie said at last, soft. "For everything I said last time, but most of all for accusing you of lying about Vlad. I know you better than that, and you would never lie about something that important." Danny winced. "Your father was… very upset with me, for making you feel like we would put you in that situation, and he’s right. I should never have used that against you. Nothing matters more than that you end up in a home where you can be safe and happy.”
"Okay, um... okay." Danny shrugged helplessly, unsure of what to say. "That..." He exhaled shakily. "You're not still mad about..." He trailed off.
"No, sweetie," Maddie sighed. "I was never really mad about you living with Bruce Wayne. I was... still struggling to come to terms with the fact that your father and I were going to prison, and that we would lose custody of you, and you would be living with someone else for the rest of your childhood. My stress got the better of me, and I wasn't thinking clearly. The idea that you were happy with what was happening... started long before I knew who you were staying with."
"You know I'm not, right?" Danny's voice trembled slightly. "This isn't what I wanted."
"I know, Danny." Maddie hesitated, and Danny held his breath. “If I may ask, do you know… why you were placed with him? Batman handled the initial custody arrangements himself, didn’t he? That’s… unusual.”
Danny winced, but luckily he and Bruce had talked about this already. Danny could give one of two answers to this question: one was that Danny had submitted an invention to one of Wayne Enterprise’s competitions, and the other…
“I know a lot about ectoscience, from listening to you and Dad,” Danny said quietly. “Batman said that that’s kind of… dangerous knowledge, to leave unattended.”
It was even sort of true. Bruce had said bluntly that while he might not have taken Danny in for that reason alone, he would have remained a person of interest to the Justice League. Danny wasn’t sure if the idea was reassuring or not, and chose not to examine it too closely.
“Oh,” Maddie said, uncharacteristically soft, nearly meek. “I didn’t realize…” She faltered, and then changed tracks slightly. "It was never really the ghost talk that bothered you, was it? It was the violence and, and the hatred."
Danny's breath hitched. "...Yeah. I mean... ectoplasm is really interesting, and I, I actually like ectoscience. But it's always about how evil they are, or how they're faking everything, and... and what they look like on the inside." It's that we can't talk about them without you reminding me you'd hate me if you knew.
"I'm so sorry," Maddie said, and it sounded sincere. "I never thought about it that way, not until... our lawyer reacted the way she did, to some of the video clips of us. She asked us if we talked that way around our children." Pause. "One of her concerns is that... that child abuse and endangerment will be added to the list of charges."
There was an implied question there, and the answer burned in Danny's throat. He pressed the back of his hand over his eyes as they stung.
"...I asked them not to," he admitted, very quietly. That had been really early on, still in Amity. Danny had been embarrassed and confused by the question, and while he was... starting to understand better, he still didn't want that. (Negligent homicide, Bruce muttered in his ear, and he shut the thought down.)
Maddie's breath hitched, almost a squeak, as she processed the answer and its implications.
"I'm sorry," she said again, miserably. (Both of them knew it wasn't enough, but it was all they had.) "I'm sorry for everything. You were right, Danny. You and Jazz were both right. I'm sorry that it took... all of this, for us to realize that."
Danny nodded mutely, even though his mom couldn't see it. A moment later, he cleared his throat and managed to reply, "I'm sorry too. I, I should have tried harder, spoken up like Jazz did, or gathered evidence in a way you'd listen to, or-"
"It's not your job to be our moral compass," Maddie cut him off gently. Sadly. "You did the best you could, and Jack and I were just too stubborn. You didn't do anything wrong." Danny swallowed. "Are... you and Bruce working on a long-term plan for you?"
"Yeah," Danny said softly. "I did really well with online school this term, so he's enrolling me in Gotham Academy next semester. We're going to try to get me on track for graduate school, but we'll see how I do in high school and undergraduate first." He tried to smile. "I did great on my online classes this term. Three A's, two B's. Turns out the accident didn't fry my brain after all."
"Oh!" Maddie all but squeaked, startling him. She cleared her throat. "That's wonderful, Danny. You're... really doing better already?"
It was the same poorly concealed heartbreak that he'd heard in his dad's voice. It shouldn't have felt so much like an accusation, but it did. What is Bruce doing that we weren't? Why are you behaving for him when we've spent the last two years trying to reach out to you? What were we doing wrong?
Danny pulled his knees up to hug them. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I still can't tell you.
"Yeah," he said instead. "I'm just... you know. Not under as much stress here. No ghosts, no bullies, no government agents breathing down my neck. Bruce helped me take out a restraining order against Vlad. Nothing explodes or fires at me, all the food is safe to eat. It's... good."
The pause that followed stretched on long enough to become painful.
"We really didn't do right by you, did we, Danny?" Maddie said softly, an audible ache in her voice. Danny swallowed.
"You did your best," he reassured her. "You loved us."
"Danny..." Maddie's voice was thick with unshed tears. "We, we could have done so much better. Jazz told us so often that you were acting out because of the stress you were under. You told us that, even. We should have taken it more seriously, talked to the school about Dash, been more careful with our weapons when you were around, asked why you disliked Vlad so much, we- God, we could have moved. I'm so sorry."
Danny's eyes prickled, and he wiped them impatiently. "Don't be ridiculous. That's a really big thing. I totally get why you didn't even think about it." To move, they'd have had to pack up the whole lab, build a new one wherever they ended up, close the portal and rebuild it from scratch. It would take years to get everything running again.
"We could have done it." Danny wasn't sure whether it was a plea or a promise or what. "For you, we could have done it."
Danny shut his eyes and hiccupped. It wouldn't have worked; it would have left him starving and unable to seek advice, alone and adrift. But the promise alone was enough to make him emotional. That steel certainty that they did love him enough to uproot their whole lives just to help him. "...You didn't know." There's so much you didn't know.
Maddie took a deep breath, and it seemed like she was going to say something, but then was cut off. She sighed in frustration. "I have to go. Remember I love you, okay?"
"Okay," Danny managed, reaching up to wipe his eyes again. "Love you too. Talk to you next week."
Danny took a few more minutes to pull himself together, and then headed down the stairs, thinking of heading to the lab to get his ectoplasm for the day. It was a good pick-me-up after these calls. He was startled when Steph met him at the base, scrolling through her phone and obviously waiting for him.
"Oh, hey. You need something?" He liked Steph a lot, but she was out of the manor more often than she was in it. As she liked to remind them, she did have a life outside of vigilantism, and civilian friends.
Steph flashed him a smile, a spark of mischief in her eyes, and shoved her phone into her pocket. "I thought," she said flippantly, "that I could teach you how to sit around and bitch about your parents."
"What?" Danny asked incredulously, trying to push down the startled laugh that wanted to bubble out. "W- I complain about my parents!" Mostly just about how embarrassing they were, but wasn’t that normal?
"Without falling over yourself trying to explain everything they do?" Steph asked skeptically. Danny spluttered. "That's what I thought. Come on. I roped Jason, Tim, and Damian into it, we're going to play Never Have I Ever with Sour Patch Kids. Rules are, every prompt has to be something your parents didn't do to you, if you respond yes you can't explain why it happened, you can and should complain about how much it sucked, you don't have to explain anything you don't want to, and you get a penalty of three candies if someone calls you out on a lie. Ready for it?"
"I don't think I have a choice?" Danny tried not to smile as Steph grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the living room. "Wait, Jason agreed to this?" Jason avoided coming to the manor for any reason if he could at all worm out of it, and this was pretty frivolous.
"Are you kidding? Jason practically invented this game. Along with me, obviously." Steph flashed him a grin. "He came right over when I brought it up, we've been meaning to play it with you for ages. I think Jason DM'd me about it the moment Bruce confirmed he was bringing you home."
"How many times can you play this game with the same set of people?" Danny protested. Never Have I Ever was not a game with replay value. (He would know. He'd only ever played with Sam and Tucker.)
"Not that many," Steph hummed. "But it's a great way to find out how fucked up someone's childhood was. Did you know Duke's parents didn't even spank him? Squeaky clean. He just stared at us like we were insane the whole time."
My parents didn't spank me either, Danny complained mentally, and then immediately resolved to use it in the first round.
He wasn't sure exactly how he felt about this idea. It sounded like fun, and he could at least admit that when you took all the mitigating factors out of it, his parents had definitely done some objectively messed up stuff. He still kind of wanted to dig his heels in and insist that his parents hadn't abused him, but... they weren't really saying that, were they? They were just talking about the stuff they did.
Sitting around to complain about your parents was a thing normal kids did, right? It didn't mean anything.
Sure enough, everyone promised was scattered around the living room, each with a shot glass full of gummies. Damian looked bored, Jason was eating a bag of Sour Patch Kids on the side, and Tim... was working.
"Oh my God, put that away," Stephanie complained. Tim rolled his eyes and closed his laptop.
"I was just waiting for you to get back. Are you okay with that, Steph?"
"One hundo," she said sweetly, swiping up one of the two remaining shot glasses and plopping down on one end of the couch. She held the glass up for Danny to see. "Ten Sour Patch Kids. Last one left wins, obviously."
Danny eyed it dubiously, but picked up the last one and sat on the other end of the couch. "Okay... who's starting?"
"You are, dumbass," Steph said, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table.
Danny shrugged. "Sure." He paused for a moment, then smirked at her. "Never have I ever been spanked."
Steph cussed him out and popped a Sour Patch Kid into her mouth. Tim sighed and did the same, chewing mournfully.
"Congrats, your parents get one single point," Jason deadpanned, then took one from his shot glass and added it to a small handful to munch on. Danny snickered.
"Spanking is undignified," Damian huffed, the only one spared.
"My turn!" Steph sang, eyes bright with mischief. "Never have I ever been killed by a parent."
"That feels targeted," Danny muttered, and then was surprised when Jason and Damian both just sighed in resignation and ate a candy.
"My mom set me up," Jason explained with a sullen scowl that said he definitely had not forgiven her for it.
"There are other ways to come back to life besides the Lazarus Pits," was Damian's only explanation. He also, understandably, looked disinclined to elaborate. "I was surprised that you could not sense it."
"Huh." Was it bad that something seemed to loosen in his chest? Danny popped his first candy into his mouth. "One of my parents, I think my mom, installed a power switch inside the portal." His mom was never hearing about that if Danny had anything to say about it.
"What?" "Excuse me?" "You're joking."
"Oh my God," Tim said, the most obviously offended by this, although they all made various noises of outrage that were... actually kind of fun, in this context. Cutting the angst out of it, the absurdity really was off-the-charts, something he rarely got to appreciate. "I knew they were insane, I didn't realize they were stupid too."
Instinctively, Danny wanted to snap back and defend them. But that wasn't fair, really. It was a stupid thing to do.
Danny shrugged with a wry smile. What could you do? "Put the power switch inside, left it plugged in for days, wires all over the floor, and the lab didn't even have a lock, let alone one that I couldn't get through. Equals: one moderately dead teenager." Tim put his head in his hands, and Jason shook his head in disgust.
"God, they didn't even try," Jason complained.
"No," Danny agreed, softer than he'd sort of meant to. "They really didn't."
It used to be so funny, how bad his parents' lab safety was.
"I knew I'd get you all with that one," Stephanie smirked, pointedly bringing the mood back up with a bounce. Right, this was a game, and they were supposed to be having fun. She nodded at Tim, sat in an armchair to her right.
Tim looked directly at Danny. "This is targeted," he announced. Danny made a face at him. "Never have I ever been poisoned by my parents."
"Oh my God." Danny took another sour candy. Tim was never going to let that go, was he? At least now Danny felt comfortable bitching back. "Yes, thank you, my parents fed me radioactive material. It made my eyes reflect light like a cat's and my footsteps quiet and shadows stick to me. The other kids loved it." Not.
"I thought that was because you were dead," Steph admitted.
"Now it's because I'm dead," Danny corrected. "When I was ten it was because of the ectocontamination."
Jason and Damian both ate too.
"My least favorite part of the week," Damian grumbled. Was he implying he got poisoned every week? That was nuts. "I would rather train all day and night than allow myself to be so poisoned again."
"Only good thing your mom ever did was get you out of there," Jason snorted. Damian shot him a halfhearted glower. "I know what you're thinking, don't fucking say it."
Damian apparently opted not to say what he was thinking.
"Xanax and ketamine," Jason added. "Don't keep drugs around your fucking kids. Eight-year-olds are not meant to trip like that."
Oh, that was a bad one. Danny's parents had gone through a phase where they'd thought his new problems were due to drugs, and they'd sat down and walked him through the effects, statistics, and withdrawals of every street drug ever in much more detail than his school had. (He was pretty sure his reactions had convinced them that wasn't the problem, and they'd dropped it quickly.) Feeding ketamine to a legit kid? They were lucky the psychosis wasn't permanent.
"Amen," Tim hummed, and then nodded to Damian, who considered for only a moment before announcing,
"Never have I ever been verbally degraded by my parents."
"I hate you guys," Jason complained, eating his fourth candy in a row. Danny sighed and mournfully ate his third, and Stephanie and Tim both followed.
"A clean sweep, as I expected," Damian said, with a hint of smugness that amused Danny more than anything. Of all of them, he was actually most surprised Damian had agreed to this; it seemed too juvenile for him. But maybe he liked the competition. Jason made a face at him.
"I have to admit, your parents got creative with it," Steph said to Danny. "Everything my dad said was so generic." Danny filled in the blanks on his own. A young girl with a submissive mom and a dad who wasn't fit to raise a kid? Yeah, he could guess.
"I could practically mouth along to my mom when she was in a mood," Jason admitted, looking more annoyed than anything by the memory. Danny wasn't as sure about him, and he wondered briefly before setting the thought aside.
"So could I," Danny deadpanned, since they knew the details pretty well, and Jason snorted.
"My turn," Jason announced. "Never have I ever been hit by a parent." Danny must have made some kind of face, because Jason scowled. "Why does that always surprise people?"
"It's the violence," Steph informed him cheerfully. Tim tilted his head toward her, silently agreeing, and Jason rolled his eyes. Danny shrugged. It was kind of true. He turned his thoughts back to his own answer and frowned.
Danny thumbed the edge of his shot glass. "I... need some clarification?"
"Your ghost form does count," Tim informed him. Danny repressed the urge to roll his eyes too.
"Okay, but they don't hit me," he pointed out. "They shoot me with guns."
The others exchanged looks and furrowed brows.
"...Fuck, I don't think that does count," Jason muttered, looking genuinely disgruntled. Danny grinned.
"That's a technicality," Steph objected.
"It's a big technicality, though," Jason said. "I'm calling it. I didn't say assault, I didn't say physical abuse, I said hit." Danny fist-pumped silently. "This is the opposite of a point for them, for the record. They lose the point they got for not spanking you."
Danny didn't care. This wasn't about them, and the fluttering urge to defend them was almost silent.
Steph was the only one to eat a candy.
"Fuck," Jason said again. Steph flipped him off with both hands.
It was Danny's turn, and he realized he didn't know most of what he'd need to make the sort of targeted points that the others were. Was it weird to be touched that they were letting him?
"Never have I ever had my parents withhold food intentionally," Danny decided, glancing curiously across the others for their reactions. He was guessing Steph for this one - she was really protective of her food, and... huh. Should he make it more clear that he was counting forced dieting in that? Nah, Steph could decide for herself.
Jason squinted at him. "Did your parents do it unintentionally?"
"Hey, this isn't about me," Danny complained, but answered anyway. "Yeah, they went through a phase of lacing all the food with anti-ecto compounds so ghosts wouldn't steal it. Jazz had to watch them cook to see if they added anything so I could eat with Sam instead." Her parents didn't like it, but he thought she'd made something of the situation clear to them; if nothing else, the Fentons' weird food was famous in Amity.
"Anti-ecto compounds are worse than radiation, why?" Tim questioned skeptically. Danny made a face at him.
"I barely tasted the ectocontamination. The one time I ate food seasoned with Fenton Anti-Ghost Spice Mix, I vomited so much that Mom almost took me to the hospital." He could practically see the 'and then they kept doing it?' that wanted to come out of Tim's mouth, and he did his best to head it off. "And that falls under poison, anyway, not this. Don't change the subject. I said intentionally."
Tim lifted his hands in surrender, also indicating no intention of eating candy, but Steph and Damian both resignedly took a piece. That left them all tied at three, Danny noted, except Jason, who was still at four.
"Mom was always trying to make me diet," Steph scowled. "Not that it stuck. I had other ways of getting food, and I didn't care if I looked fat in the tiny clothes she bought me." Danny suspected that wasn't true from her tone alone. There was too much spite in there for something that must've happened over a decade ago now.
Damian just shrugged. "Apparently it's a dignified alternative to corporal punishment," he deadpanned, and then, with clear bitterness, "Although it certainly did not feel dignified." Yeah, Danny would bet. It probably felt a lot like eating at your friend's house because your parents were trying to poison you again.
"My turn," Steph announced. "Never have I ever hurt myself because my parents left me alone with dangerous objects."
Danny gave her a look. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Steph smirked at him and gestured to the rest of the room. To Danny's surprise, and hesitant amusement, everyone else looked as disgruntled as he felt, and one by one, Tim, Damian, and Jason all took a candy. Another clean sweep.
"Huh. Is it weird that I feel better?" It felt mean, maybe. Danny took his fourth candy and popped it in his mouth.
"Nah, that's the point." Jason scowled down at his now half-empty candy glass. "My mom was always leaving needles out and shit. It's a fucking miracle that I'm still HIV-negative. B had me tested for every bloodborne disease in the world when I mentioned it to him." It was one of the few positive things he'd said about Bruce unprompted.
"You know what happened to me," Danny shrugged. "Although one time they also left hydrochloric acid on the kitchen table, and I almost drank it because I thought it was water. But the smell startled me so I dropped it and just burned myself instead."
"That's... not much better," Tim noted, glancing down like he expected burn scars to suddenly manifest on Danny's arms.
"Nope," Danny agreed readily. "Looking back, it must've been diluted or I'd've been burned a lot worse, but they still had to take me to the hospital." He'd been pretty young, maybe six or seven, so he didn't remember much more than that. "Dad stopped drinking water out of beakers after that."
"I'm starting to think the hazard was your parents," Tim said, and Danny surprised himself by laughing.
"Yeah, kinda," he said, with unreasonable fondness.
"Well, I didn't do that," Tim said, dry and rueful, "but I did start leaving the house whenever I wanted to stalk vigilantes at night, and in hindsight? That's probably not much better." Danny shook his head fervently. "And you?"
"Stop smirking at me, Drake," Damian scowled. "I was encouraged to play with knives as a toddler. Obviously I hurt myself." Quieter, "Mother told me that is how you learn the edges are sharp."
"Not to question her parenting techniques, but I think I learned that knives are sharp because my mother told me before she let me touch them," Tim deadpanned, and Damian actually snorted. "Never have my parents ever been arrested."
Steph snorted. "Well, fuck you too." She popped a candy into her mouth, followed by Jason, then Danny. "Damian, what gives?"
Damian scoffed. "Mother has never been arrested, thank you."
Jason smirked. "No, she's right. Bruce has been arrested, and that's a three point penalty."
Damian muttered something in Arabic, probably a curse, and ate three sour candies with bad grace, putting him at seven, with three left. "I agree with Todd. I hate you all." Steph laughed.
Honestly? The whole thing was a lot easier and a lot more fun than Danny had expected, and by the end of it, the weekly phone call was all but out of his mind. (Tim won, on account of how his parents were never around to commit most of the atrocities the rest of them did. Danny went out second and didn't even feel bad about it.)
Bruce had to admit, this was... unexpected.
He stared at the email that Babs had forwarded to him, long and lingering. It was obvious that the Fenton parents had not been certain of how to contact him, and were aware that his public email was not personally monitored by him. But they had sent this anyway.
Subject: Concerning the custody of Daniel James Fenton
To Bruce Wayne,
We, Jack and Madeline Fenton, are the parents of Daniel 'Danny' James Fenton and at present still have legal custody of him. This legal document authorizes Bruce Wayne to act as legal guardian of Danny Fenton until his eighteenth birthday, or until our release from incarceration, whichever may occur first.
Because Jack and Madeline Fenton will be incarcerated for an unknown period of time, it is necessary for us to make other arrangements for Danny's care for the foreseeable future. In agreeing to foster Danny, Bruce Wayne has demonstrated interest in and intent to assume guardianship of him, and Danny has expressed both trust and affection for Bruce Wayne, up to and including an explicit statement that he is comfortable with Bruce Wayne taking custody of him. It is for this reason, as well as his extensive parenting experience, that we grant guardianship to Bruce Wayne.
Daniel James Fenton prefers to be called Danny. His date of birth is April 3, 2008, and if he did not bring them to his current residence, his complete set of legal papers (including birth certificate, social security card, and trust documents) can be found in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet in the master bedroom. He does not currently have a passport and Bruce Wayne may obtain one for him if desired.
Danny has been formally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and has received counseling for it in the past. He had a major electrical accident in our home laboratory two years ago, for which he has a standing referral to a cardiologist, and is ectocontaminated, which has resulted in heat intolerance, a slow metabolism, and adverse reactions to some anti-ecto compounds, including rash, nausea and vomiting, and migraine. Jack and Madeline Fenton can be contacted at this email for more information on ectocontamination. Additionally, Jack has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, while his father was an alcoholic. Madeline, her sister Alicia, and her late mother Emily all have diagnosed insomnia, and Emily also suffered from osteoporosis.
Danny can have difficulty asserting himself, especially around strong personalities, and has been bullied at school in the past. He often refuses food when he is stressed or upset, but will usually still accept fruit or meal replacement drinks.
We would like to request that Bruce Wayne continue to encourage Danny's education and interest in science, that he help Danny pursue martial arts if Danny expresses an interest in them, and that he not pressure Danny to appear in public if Danny is uncomfortable with it. We would further request that Danny not be subject to the following punishments: food restriction, loss of privacy, silent treatment, shouting.
We formally grant Bruce Wayne full permission to choose a new doctor for Danny, seek specialist care, attend medical appointments with Danny, and authorize any diagnostic or emergency medical procedures on Danny's behalf. However, non-emergency procedures with lasting effects, including but not limited to non-emergency surgeries, amputations, and the decision to end life support, must still be authorized by Jack and Madeline Fenton.
Finally, we would like to thank Mr. Wayne for taking care of our son during this stressful and tumultuous time. We trust that you will continue to look after his best interests. For more information, about Danny or anything else, we can be contacted at this email for the foreseeable future.
Best wishes,
Jack and Madeline Fenton
It had been notarized by a lawyer - not their defense attorney, but a family lawyer they must have contacted later.
Bruce sighed, leaning on his desk and reaching up to rub his temple as he reread the letter. The worst part was, he thought absently, that they really did sincerely care for Danny. This was a thorough and carefully thought-out legal document, with not one mention of ghosts aside from what directly impacted Danny's health. They... simply wanted to make sure Danny was cared for.
Most of this was not new information, of course; Tim had pulled Danny's health records before they'd even arrived. At the moment, Danny's anxiety was difficult to tell apart from the effects of trauma and his new environment, but Bruce was sure they would differentiate over time. His neurodivergence, while apparent, was subtle by comparison and not a priority.
Bruce had noticed the stress-appetite connection as well, and made a mental note to let Alfred know. They already kept meal replacement drinks stocked, as Bruce and Tim both preferred them during long investigations, but Alfred would appreciate knowing how to handle it if and when Danny outright refused food.
Most of the requests would not be a problem. Bruce did, however, have a tendency to raise his voice during particularly stressful arguments, which would require some discipline to keep under control; still, he agreed that Danny would react poorly. Including them in any long-term medical proceedings was a far more tricky prospect, considering what kind of care Danny would need, but Bruce would do what he could. Certainly, his parents did deserve to be part of the conversation.
He printed out a few copies of the letter - one for himself, for Alfred, and for Danny - and prepared to sign one to scan and send back. Their explicit permission would certainly make the legal proceedings easier.