The Boy king and The Dark Knights

XVI

DANNY had decided Jon and Damian were his new friends.

Danny had always been quick to decide if he was going to be friends with people or not, and he had instantly clicked with both Jon and Damian, in a way that almost reminded him of when he had first met Sam and Tucker.

Jon was bright and friendly, a good parallel to Damian’s cool and aloof demeanor.

Also Danny was pretty sure he was a meta, but he had no plans on asking his new friend any questions he might be uncomfortable with.

So now Danny was walking out of his new school, waving goodbye to Jon and Damian before scanning his surroundings for a glimpse of familiar black and white hair or leather jacket-

“Yo shorty-“

All of a sudden there’s a pale hand on Danny’s shoulder, lightly pulling at him, and it barely takes a second for him to realize he does not recognize the hand-

-and that the strangers hand needs to be off of him fast before he tries to hurt-

Danny was quick, warning signals immediately flying through his head as there was an enemy behind him and he needed to move.

Danny widened his foot stance and moved let his center of gravity rest on the balls of his feet as he reached to grasp the hand on his shoulder, feeling it stiffen under his own.

“Um kid-“ a voice Danny had never heard before sounded from behind him, but the man was cut off by Danny promptly using the man’s arm as an anchor to spin around and nail a kick right to his side, before quickly letting go and hopping away.

Danny could sense the people looking between him and the man he had just attacked, but he kept his eyes on his new opponent.

The man was bent over clutching his stomach, but Danny could tell he was tall. He had red hair that had probably been covered by the baseball cap at his feet, and it was easier than Danny thought it would be to fight back the instinct telling him to relax because red hair meant Jazz, and Jazz meant home and safety because home was red hair and purple eyes and soft scolding and the smell of cheap perfume that only half hid the smell of chemicals-

-but now home was also black hair with a splash of white and teal eyes and snide comments with laughter hidden underneath and the smell of leather and gunpowder and dried blood-

But this really wasn’t the time to think about that cause the red headed man had l straightened up again and Danny knew that the man’s green eyes had met his own which were a few shades more toxic.

The man lifted his hands in what seemed to be a placating gesture, a bit of a grimace showing through this grin.