Chapter 63: Leaving Star City

[Third Person's PoV] 

Date: March 7th

Location: The Quiver 

Time: 4: 19 Am 

"Thank you," Danny said in his ghost form, bowing his head respectfully toward Dinah. They stood in the center of the rebranded Arrow Cave—now called The Quiver.

Across the room, Batman was deep in conversation with Green Arrow, while Robin and Speedy chatted a short distance away.

"I've learned a lot from you," Danny continued, his tone sincere. "More than I ever could have on my own. I really appreciate your tutelage."

Dinah smiled warmly, reaching up to ruffle his snow-white hair. "I should be the one thanking you. If it weren't for you, I might've remained a monster on a rampage and many more people would have faced the consequences because of it." Her smile softened into something serious, something maternal. "Don't listen to what the media says. I believe in you. You are a hero. So don't let their nonsense get in your head."

Danny looked down, smiling faintly at her words.

She gave him a playful grin and added, "Besides, it's always a pleasure training someone talented. You picked things up so fast—only someone with raw, natural skill could have done that. Don't waste it. You've got amazing potential. That wail of yours… I swear I still hear it echoing in my dreams."

Danny smirked and tilted his head. "Keep talking to me like that and I might just fall in love~"

"Bats, control that kid before I do something about it," Green Arrow grumbled as he approached with Batman.

Dinah shot Danny a flat look. "Don't be weird."

Danny shrugged innocently. "I am a ghost. It's kinda hard not to at this point, don't you think?"

"Haha. Touché," Dinah chuckled.

Then Oliver stepped behind her, draping an arm over her shoulders in a possessive gesture as he shot Danny a pointed glare.

Dinah rolled her eyes. "Grow up, will you? Why are you acting jealous?"

"Clearly he's intimidated," Danny said with mock sympathy. "Poor guy. Can't imagine what that must feel like."

"Baaaats," Oliver growled, dragging out the name in a warning tone.

Just then, Dick and Roy approached. Roy snorted in amusement, catching the tail end of Danny's banter.

"Well, would you look at that," Danny said with a grin. "The boy in red can laugh after all."

Roy rolled his eyes. "You were just very unfunny before."

Danny scoffed and held out a hand. "Unlikely."

Roy gave a crooked grin and shook it. 

"It's a shame we didn't get to know each other better. Perhaps in the future," Danny said, his smile faltering just slightly. 

"Perhaps," Roy echoed with a nod.

With farewells said, Danny joined Batman and Robin. The trio moved into the darkness, in perfect sync, faded into the shadows—so smoothly that it was as if they had dissolved into the darkness itself.

Team Arrow blinked in disbelief, rubbing their eyes. Even Dinah had to do a double take.

Meanwhile, high above Star City, an invisible Batman and Robin soared through the air—carried between them by Danny, who phased them along effortlessly.

Above them hovered a sleek, nearly-invisible jet cloaked in shadow. Danny flew upward and phased them through the underside of the aircraft, setting Batman in the pilot seat and Robin in the co-pilot's. He held onto the back of their seats as the three strapped in.

Dick flipped a few switches, disengaging autopilot. The Bat-plane thrummed to life.

The engines flared, narrow jets of blue flame bursting from the thrusters as the aircraft roared forward, slicing through the clouds.

And just like that, they were headed back to Gotham.

…

Date: March 7th 

Location: Gotham - The Batcave

Time: 5: 01 Am 

The Bat-plane touched down on the landing pad with a hiss of hydraulics and a final roar from its thrusters. The heat still shimmered in the air as the engines powered down. As Batman, Robin, and Danny stepped off the pad, a mechanical clunk echoed through the Batcave.

With a smooth whir, the landing pad began to rotate, withdrawing into the floor. In its place, the Batmobile rose from below, gleaming under the cave's dim lighting.

Dick yawned, removing his mask as he stretched. "I don't know about you two, but I'm going to sleep."

Danny shifted back into his human form with a soft flash of light, now back in jeans and a black T-shirt. "I've got something to do, so I won't be joining you."

Dick scoffed as he started taking off his costume completely "Wasn't an invitation." Without another word, he ascended the staircase, disappearing into the manor above.

Bruce silently removed his cowl and walked off in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later, Danny returned. He now wore a gray sleeveless sweater, small padded gloves already secured beneath his arms, and his hands carefully wrapped in bandages. He tugged on his blue fingerless gloves, securing them over the wraps as he made his way toward the wooden rotation dummy.

Bruce was at a display case, setting down the Dragon Amulet inside a secure glass chamber. He glanced at Danny, raising an eyebrow.

"Isn't it a bit early for training? And you're not fully recovered. That was the whole point of coming back a day early."

Danny rolled his shoulders and flexed his wrapped hands. "First, I got plenty of sleep back at the hotel. Second, I already spent a full day doing nothing and 'recovering.' I'm getting stir-crazy. I need to do something."

Bruce didn't reply immediately. He recognized the tone. He'd used it himself, long ago. That quiet desperation to feel useful. To feel stronger after a failure.

"Fine," Bruce said, voice neutral. "Just be careful."

Danny didn't answer. He simply stepped into position in front of the rotation dummy. With a quick breath, he began. His fists struck the wooden arms in rapid succession—thump, smack, crack—each hit followed by a pivot or duck, narrowly avoiding the swinging counterattacks. He was relentless, even as sweat started to gather at his brow and his breathing became more labored.

A few feet away, Bruce sat down at the Batcomputer. The large screens glowed to life as he pulled up schematics and magical databases, beginning his analysis of the amulet.

"Can you teach me more about my parents' inventions?" Danny asked mid-session, stepping back briefly before re-engaging with the dummy.

Bruce turned his head slightly, puzzled. "What?"

"My parents' tech. Or how to make new stuff of my own. I know you've started teaching me already, but I want to go deeper."

Bruce raised a brow. "Why the sudden urgency?"

Danny didn't stop. His fists continued their rhythm, occasionally breaking into knees and kicks. "Those inventions… they could've made a difference against the dragon. I'm not saying I'm weak—far from it—but they would've given me more options. More ways to get the situation under control. I don't want to be caught off guard again. I want to be prepared next time."

Bruce sat in silence for a few moments, watching as Danny ducked and spun, sweat now flinging from his hair with each movement.

Finally, he nodded. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. But it's going to involve a lot of studying on your end."

Danny groaned mid-strike. "Yeah, yeah… as much as I hate it, I'll give it a go."

He didn't let up. Not for fatigue, not for sweat, not even for the ache in his muscles. The rhythmic thud of fists on wood echoed throughout the Batcave.