Chapter 46: Charity Event (3)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Danny stared at Dick for a few seconds before looking back down at his plate. He poked at his food in silence before finally muttering, "Just… know you can depend on me too."

"What?" Dick asked, glancing at Danny in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Danny pursed his lips for a moment, then said, "It just feels weird how you're always looking out for me. I just want you to know I can be dependable too. If you ever need anything, you can always count on me."

"Phttt." Dick stifled a laugh, which only made Danny grow more embarrassed as Dick broke out into his trademark shrill laughter.

"I wasn't trying to make a joke…" Danny muttered, stuffing his mouth and angrily chewing.

"Haha," Dick chuckled, shaking his head as a smile tugged at his lips. "I know. I'm not laughing at what you said—just how awkward you are about it. I couldn't help it."

He gave Danny a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm counting on you to watch my back. I'll come to you if I ever need help."

Danny just nodded silently and resumed eating, quietly accepting Dick's words.

"Does that mean you're feeling better?" Dick asked after a beat.

"A bit, yeah… After I'm done, let's go search for something. We can't just sit here doing nothing," Danny suggested.

"Oh that's a good idea," Dick agreed, speeding up his eating to match Danny's pace.

Once they finished their meals, they left their table and began casually wandering around the large venue together. People in fancy suits mingled with exaggerated smiles, glasses of champagne and wine in hand. Danny and Dick moved side by side through the crowd before briefly exchanging a glance and splitting off, heading in different directions.

They wandered independently to avoid drawing attention. Dick was the first to leave the main hall, and a few minutes later, Danny followed.

Danny found himself in a long corridor decorated in blue, with paintings, console tables topped with expensive vases, and the occasional door. As he turned a corner, he was suddenly grabbed from the left. He froze—then sighed in relief when he realized it was just Dick.

"This way," Dick said, motioning with a tilt of his head.

Danny nodded and followed. "You already got the floor plans?"

"I wouldn't say 'floor plans' exactly," Dick replied, pulling out his phone. "I hacked the security system. I was checking the feeds while I waited for you. Look."

He swiped through footage, and Danny leaned in to see guards posted at a large, elaborate-looking door.

"This is the only interior door with a guard detail. Other rooms are being ignored. This one's likely where they're keeping the valuables," Dick explained, already leading the way down the corridor at a jog.

"Wait—if there are cameras, aren't we already being watched?" Danny asked.

Dick rolled his eyes. "What part of 'I hacked the system' didn't register? I looped the feeds, but we've only got a few minutes before someone realizes something's off."

Just as Danny nodded in understanding, Dick pressed himself against the wall and extended an arm, stopping Danny with a hand to his chest.

Peeking over Dick's shoulder, Danny spotted two guards standing firmly in front of the target door.

"We need a distraction or a takedown to get through," Dick whispered. "Here's what I have in mind—"

"Or… hear me out," Danny interrupted, matching his whisper. Before Dick could respond, Danny placed a hand on his shoulder—and suddenly, a pulse of transparency washed over them, turning them invisible.

"…Right," Dick muttered, sheepishly. "I forgot you can do that. I even forgot you don't need to go full on ghost to use most of your abilities"

Danny chuckled and took the lead, confidently walking toward the guards. They didn't react, their faces calm and focused, completely unaware that two invisible intruders had just passed right by them.

With Dick still in tow, Danny phased them both through the door. Inside, they were greeted by a room filled with high-value items—paintings, statues, vases, and other priceless antiques.

In a low voice, Dick glanced at Danny and said, "Have I ever mentioned how ridiculously useful you are?"

"No, but I'm all ears," Danny grinned, proud and playful.

Dick rolled his eyes, an amused smirk tugging at his lips. He motioned with his hands for him and Danny to split up and start searching.

They moved in opposite directions, quietly combing through the room for anything that might be important. Silently, they sifted through various items—lifting lids, opening drawers, and rummaging through boxes.

Every now and then, they'd hold up necklaces or amulets to show the other, silently asking if they might be what they were looking for. Each time, with a shake of the head, the item would be carefully put back.

"Psst!"

Dick glanced up from inspecting the inside of a vase—only to slap a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Danny was decked out in every piece of jewelry he could find. Necklaces layered down his chest, rings on nearly every finger, bangles clinking on both wrists, and what looked suspiciously like a crown perched atop his head. He struck a pose, throwing up devil horns and sticking out his tongue, mouthing, "Take a picture."

"Stop it, you idiot!" Dick hissed, his voice sharp but his lips twitching into a barely-contained smile. "We've got a job to do!"

"C'mon, just one picture won't hurt," Danny mouthed back with a cocky grin.

With a dramatic sigh, Dick raised his phone and snapped a photo. He showed it to Danny with an exaggerated motion, like saying, "Happy now?"

Danny nodded proudly, then reluctantly started taking off the jewelry, clearly feeling way too dripped out to let it go so easily.

With that bit of chaos behind them, they got back to work. They opened containers, flipped through boxes, and eventually started pulling canvases away from the walls, checking every nook and cranny.

But the longer they searched, the more disappointed they looked—until Danny's expression suddenly shifted into a confident smirk.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "What's with the look?"

Danny pointed toward the last canvas in the room, one leaning against the wall with its back facing out. "You see that? That's our winner."

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that?"

"Because it's always the last one," Danny said matter-of-factly, chin lifted high. "Everyone knows you find what you're looking for at the end. It's basically law. I guarantee the artifact we're searching for is hidden behind here"

Dick rolled his eyes. "Another one of your cliché theories."

"Just behold!" Danny declared dramatically, grabbing the canvas and pulling it away from where it sat—only to reveal a completely blank wall behind it.

"..."

"Pfttt." Dick bit down hard on a laugh as Danny stared, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Damn," Danny muttered, flipping the painting the right way and leaning it back against the wall. "Really thought that was gonna be it."

But as he stepped back, both he and Dick froze.

The painting, now properly displayed, was beautifully done—deep green branches stretching elegantly into a sky-like background. But what hung from those branches turned their stomachs.

Corpses. Strung up like twisted Christmas ornaments. Their faces were hollow, stretched in grotesque expressions, swaying ever so slightly like caught in a phantom breeze.

And at the tips of the branches bloomed blood-red roses… dripping. Not nectar. Something more visceral—something that looked unmistakably like blood.

"Okay... that is messed up. Who the hell wants to buy something like this?" Dick muttered, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

Before Danny could respond, a bluish wisp of mist escaped his mouth as he felt a shiver run down his spin. Both he and Dick stiffened.

They stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Then the painting twisted.

The image warped, colors bleeding like wet ink—and from the center, blood-red hands shot out and seized their shirts.

Both boys were yanked off their feet, dragged into the canvas before they could scream, vanishing into the churning mess of paint and shadow.

The room fell still. The painting stilled, returning back to it's 'normal' appearance. 

Two new closed rosebuds bloomed on a once-empty branch.

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