Come on vamos everybody ~lets go~

" Is this really necessary," asks Damien as Dick leads all of us to the car.

" Of course it is!" says Dick with a blinding smile, " there's no better way to build memories than to go on an adventure."

Tim opens one of the back doors and flops down onto the seat, " maybe if you told us where we're going–"

Dick cuts him off, "It's a surprise."

I raise an eyebrow at him, " this better not be one of those ' the adventure is the friends we make along the way' crap."

His smile wilters a bit, " you'll see when we get there," he ruffles my hair, " okay, baby D," and gets behind the wheel.

"Who else are we waiting for?" asks Tim.

Dick adjusts some of the mirrors, " just Jason and B. Alfred doesn't want to come."

"Does that mean they get to know where we're going, and we don't?" I ask

"It's better to give up, Danyal; if Richard does not want us to know, he wouldn't have told the others," says Damien.

Jason and Father don't take long to meet us at the car. Apparently, the trip will take a while, so Gramps was busy making us a snack. He would only let the others come out once he was done. "I don't get why you're going to let Dickface drive," complains Jason, " you never let any of us do it, so why can he?"

"Hm," says Father ( Because this is a civilian car, not the batmobile).

It's been two weeks since I've shown up in Gotham. None of them push, even though I can tell they want to. They have let me adjust at my own pace, but I can tell some questions are starting to eat at them. Especially those about my abilities. I've tried not to do much, but it can be hard sometimes; some things have become natural for me to do. Though, Dick really needs to get used to the thought of intangibility. I don't know how many times that man can tackle-hug me and be surprised that he falls to the floor . It's just a matter of time before Father turns into the Man-Bat and the rest turn into the flying furry Brigade and start to demand answers.

I'll do my best to appreciate it while it lasts.

Speaking of quiet, it's not just them; it also seems to be the city. In the past two weeks, there have been no major breakouts from either Blackgate or Arkham. Which is abnormal according to Tim. they've all gone on regular patrols, but one of them would always stay behind with Gramps and I and keep us company. I've offered to help a couple times, but they won't let me stay in the cave unattended. Though since someone always stays behind, Father's argument sounds counterproductive.

I wonder what they're hiding.

Not that I can truly blame them for lack of trust. I haven't told them much either, and phasing into the floor until I found it didn't help. Although in my defense, what did they expect when they told me finding my way in is " a Rite of Passage." Just because I didn't do it in a human way doesn't make my way wrong, but what can you do.

" How much longer," asks Tim in a fake whiney voice once we hit the thirty-minute mark.

Dick glances at the GPS, "hum, maybe 45 minutes, maybe a little less."

Damian huffs and crosses his arms, "Richard, where exactly are we going? We've already left Gotham–"

" I wouldn't be surprised if you left Jersey at this point," Jason cuts in.

The two of them glare at each other while Father says to Dick, " chum, this has gotten out of hand."

"The whole point of this is for us to get to do something fun with Danny," says Dick.

" Which we could have done back in Gotham," says Damien

Tim sighs, " I get why you wanted to leave Gotham for this, but why Jersey?"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Jason turns towards me, " you know how the family is famous, right?"

" I mean, I know the name Wayne has a lot of meaning but isn't that only an upper-class kind of thing?" I ask, " Why is it a problem?"

Father answers, " it's more than that. Think of…"

Tim takes over, " the Wayne name is kind of like the Kardashians. Anything attached to it will get attention, including you. Especially right now. They haven't gotten to see you before; whenever we go out, it'll be your ' first public appearance.'"

" And the farther we go outside Gotham, the fewer chances that any of us will be recognized," says Dick which placated everyone.

Driving into Maryland may be worth it. Not being recognized sounds like a dream come true for them. I don't understand how they can live like that, having everyone know your name, people on the lookout for just the sight of you.

It sounds nerve-racking.

But inevitably, my future.

Politically wise, I'm known throughout the infinite realms. You kinda have to be when you're king, but with so many ghosts haunting about, I've only met a few common ghosts outside my rogues. It wouldn't surprise me if the change in regency has yet to spread far from the area of the Fenton portal. So currently, I still have a level of anonymity, but for how long it will last is anyone's guess.

It doesn't feel like it's been another 45 minutes when we pull up to a large lot. It's filled with row upon row of cars. "Come on," says Dick excitedly as he forces us to the parking lot towards the entrance. An action that the rest of them seem used to by now, but it still throws me off. I don't think I will ever get used to the human embodiment of a puppy as an elder brother. We walk at a fast pace and shortly come across a sign that says :

Welcome, all Ghouls and Ghosts, to Circus Gothica!

Making Nightmares a reality since 1803.

My eyes widen, and I freeze as I feel my blood/ectoplasm drain towards my feet, " Oh fuck."

" Danyal lang–" Father starts to chastise me before he gets a look at my face. The others continued towards the entrance " Boys, stop," he called out to them in a tone that left no room for arguments. All four turn around with questioning looks but come back toward us nonetheless.

He starts to walk away, but I can't help it as I grab his sleeve, " get back to the car," I say, no order them. Dick gapes like a fish trying to find his words, but I don't care, as I drag Father back towards the car and occasionally throw a glare back at them as if saying hurry up. Finally, we all pile back up in the car, and their eyes were on me.

" What's going on?" asks Tim

I pinch at my eyes and say with a hint of static, " that's what I would like to know."

"Is it because it's the circus," asks Jason, " I know you haven't been in Gotham long, but damn, I didn't realize coulrophobia could catch on this fast."

" Coul– what?" I ask, confused at the change in subject.

" You know the fear of clowns? Everybody in Gotham loathes the fuckers."

My eyes snap towards Father for him to reprimand Jason as he tried to with me, but he just looked resigned. "No, it has nothing to do with clowns, at least not specifically. Thanks for the information, though. My problem has more to do with the circus itself."

"What's wrong with the circus?" Dick asks, offended.

"The better question is, what's not wrong with this circus."

"Explain," demands Damien.

" They went through Amity the first time around two years ago. A friend of mine, Sam, she really wanted to go because she's never seen a gothic circus. She dragged me and another friend of ours, Tucker, with her, and everything went downhill from there. A string of robberies was going around the city, break-ins, you name it, pretty much everything short of murder. One night when I was out on patrol, I ran into a couple of them. I was originally going to take them to the police, but I noticed something was off about them, so I followed them back." I stop, trying to figure out how to word this.

" What happened," asks Tim.

I sigh and rub the back of my neck, " They went back to Circus Gothica. The ringmaster, known by the alias Freakshow, real na me Frederich Isak Showenhower, had a glowing red staff. I didn't know he noticed me until it was too late. With the staff, he ordered members of the circus to hold me down," I got a couple of questionable glances, so I threw in, " somehow I was unable to escape intangibly," for clarity.

" Were you hurt?" Father asks.

" Yes, but not in the way you might think. After that, whenever I would go on patrol, parts of my memory started going missing. I'd only been active as a vigilante for a few months, so the public was still unsure about me. I thought it was the lack of sleep, but then Sam showed me an article. I had been seen doing robberies around the city. Something I had no knowledge of ever doing," I throw in hastily.

But it was unneeded as I see growing looks of understanding on their faces. " They brainwashed you," Damien says, horrified.

"Not just me, but everyone in the circus. The Showenhowers' come from a long line of occultists, with Frederich being the head of the current generation. At every stop he would go to, he would pick up more stray ghosts along the way. His second command, a ghost named Lydia, would help him keep them under. An ectoplasmic-heavy place like Amity caused the number of spirits under their control to skyrocket."

"Did his control have lasting effects," asks the God-Damn- Bat-Man masquerading in Father's skin.

" It shouldn't; if anything, it adds a layer of resistance. I've had other brainwashing attempts over the past couple of years, but each time there's been an attempt, the harder it's been for others to do so. After the first time, there hasn't been a brainwashing that held fully. If anything at all got through, it was subliminal."

" So what you're saying is we should go in there and pop some kneecaps," says Jason with a hint of excitement.

" That's the thing I don't know," I say, looking in his direction, " once he lost control over me, I made sure that Showenhower got locked up. Last I heard, he was in federal prison. After that, they disbanded the circus; this shouldn't even be up and running."

"Could it just be a coincidence?" asks Dick.

I shake my head, " no, I don't think so. I don't think you all can feel it, but there's a vibe coming from the entrance. Something is at play here; this isn't just a coincidence or a similar name; it's most likely the original or possibly a copycat."

I watch as everyone's eyes leave me and go toward Father. He lets out a heavy sigh, " We don't know what we're walking into, reconnaissance only," he turns and looks at me, " Danyal, you wait in the car. This shouldn't take long."

Um, no.

"You're not going in there without me."

" It's too dangerous. You've been affected beforehand; it could happen again," he says as if it's final.

" yeah, no, that's not going to work,"

His eyes narrow, " what do you mean no?" as if it's the first time he's heard it directed at him.

" You don't know what Showenhower looks like, and don't even start that you can hack into a federal database on your phone; we both know you don't have the time for it." He crosses his arms at me, unwilling to back down, but I continue, " you want to help. Great fine. But not without me. If I'm right, whoever's the ringmaster or working for this circus is connected to Showenhower, which means they're taking advantage of ghosts." My eyes start to glow, unknowingly reacting to my emotions, " My people . You do not get to decide how to better them. That's my job, and I decided long ago I won't allow humans to take advantage of us ."

A look I'm not familiar with passes through his eyes. " Fine," he says at last, " but you're not allowed to go off alone."

" Wouldn't dream of it," I glance at Jason, " the same could be said for you."

He points at his chest, " Me?"

I nod, " you're ecto contaminated from the pits. I've seen them take over low-level spirits before. There is no telling if they could brainwash you too."