Touch Of The Past

Chapter 28

Bruce and I have one of our rare breakfasts together. Granted, he's scribbling on a paper beside him, but he can do that and hold a conversation with me, so I'm good.

We talk mostly about me, because I carry the conversation, but he sometimes offers something mildly interesting about himself every once and a while.

I'm giving him a vivid description about our mission last night and about Phantom's powers, and he listens with interest, occasionally interrupting for more detail. He knows Phantom's powers based off of what Jazz and Tucker told him, but I don't think he really believed him. I list off as many as I remember Danny actually using, and he looks mildly impressed.

"Let me guess. You already have a contingency plan for when he goes rogue?" I ask, using his response as an opportunity to eat more of Alfred's heavenly crepes.

He's silent for a moment, before, "Tucker gave me a containment device," he responds, distantly.

"Why are you so against Danny?" I demand suddenly. "I mean, I know you're mister paranoia, but seriously."

"He had an alternate timeline. He's been controlled before. And we still don't know who he was before he died. His powers are extensive and could easily become a problem for the League, and he doesn't remember anything. That he's telling us."

That is quite the list to examine. But he's so... genuine. "I think his memories are the key to everything," I mutter. "The ectoplasm, the Guys in White, how ghost tech is getting over to light facilities. But I don't think he's going to betray us or anything like that. He's... he's lost. You know how good I am at reading people."

"Red Arrow was a mole, but there was no conscious betrayal," Bruce counters.

"So... we could always test him." He gives an interested look. "Well we can't watch him. He already expressed he hates that. But if we give him a vital piece of information, and it gets out, we know he's a mole."

"Like?"

I think for a moment. "Maybe the location of the Justice League HQ."

He narrows his eyes.

"Not the real one, obviously. A fake one."

He nods, approving. "But that still doesn't help with any other missing factors."

"Like who he was," I muse. "Jazz and Tucker usually shut down about that. Redirect the questions. Do they know, then?"

"Tucker was with him when he died," he contemplates. "Which means he knows who he was."

"Why does it matter?"

"Why would it matter, unless they were hiding it from us?"

Huh. That's a good point. I just hum an "I don't know" before continuing my breakfast. "I really do like them, though," I mention. "All three of them."

I catch a hint of smile. "It's refreshing to have them. They fight very different from the rest of the team."

"And act," I mumble around a mouth of food. Alfred catches this and chastises me. "Sorry, Alfred."

Bruce's phone wails his Batman signal, and he sighs, withdrawing it. His gaze remains stoic, before, "This is a mission for your team, Dick. It's in Amity Park."

"Amity Park? Why did you get an alert from them? Is it huge?"

He shakes his head. "A city-wide disaster alert went out, but hasn't spread to the other cities. I'm guessing this is a ghost related problem. Once I realized how big these problems could get after Phantom couldn't stop them, I wired all alerts directly to the Bat signal."