The rumors had spread like wildfire through Gotham’s underworld.
Whispers of a Ghost King, a Vampire Princess, and a Demon Prince—a trio of supernatural nightmares that struck fear in even the most fearless. Hardened criminals spoke of eerie green lights, shifting shadows that swallowed men whole, and a pair of glowing eyes that burned with an inhuman hunger.
The Batfamily had, of course, taken notice.
“What do you mean supernatural?” Tim asked, rubbing his temples as he skimmed through a case report. “Gotham already has enough normal crazy to deal with.”
“Nothing about this city is normal,” Jason muttered, kicking his feet up onto the Batcomputer desk.
Bruce crossed his arms, face unreadable. “The reports are inconsistent, but the pattern is there. We need to investigate.”
“They’re not just any criminals talking,” Barbara said, flicking through security footage. “The League of Shadows is on edge too.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“Even the League?” Dick asked, frowning. “That doesn’t make sense. The only people who could rattle them that bad are—”
A beat of silence.
All eyes turned toward Damian’s empty chair.
“—are family,” Stephanie finished, deadpan.
Bruce let out a long sigh. “Where is he?”
Alfred cleared his throat. “In the living room, sir. With the others.”
Bruce glanced at the footage of terrified criminals. Then back to Alfred.
“…The others?”
In the Wayne Manor living room, chaos reigned.
Danny was currently floating upside down, phasing objects in and out of reality while cackling like a gremlin. Peter and MJ were arguing over which Lord of the Rings movie was the best (MJ was right—it was Two Towers). Loki was casually shape-shifting into different Batfamily members to freak out Cassie, who, instead of being impressed, was chucking popcorn at them. Jon was levitating Ned’s phone just out of reach while he threw pillows at him.
And Damian? Damian was sitting cross-legged on the couch, reading a book, completely unfazed by the chaos around him.
Cassie, sprawled across Damian’s lap, snorted. “You know, if people really saw us like this, I don’t think we’d be that scary.”
Danny tapped his chin. “Mmm, debatable. I mean, I did turn some guy’s gun into a fish last night. That’s gotta be nightmare fuel.”
“You what?” Peter turned away from MJ to stare.
Danny grinned. “It was funny.”
Damian didn’t look up from his book. “You are an imbecile.”
Danny nudged him with his knee. “You’re just mad I beat you to it.”
Damian merely turned the page. “Tt. Hardly.”
Before Danny could retort, the doors to the living room slammed open.
The Batfamily stood in the doorway, looking exceptionally unimpressed.
Cassie, Danny, and Damian exchanged a glance.
Then Danny grinned. “Hey, Bats. You, uh… need something?”
Bruce took a deep breath. “Do I even want to know why half the city thinks you’re eldritch horrors?”
Cassie smirked. “Nope.”
Bruce sighed. “That’s what I thought.”