Gotham rained a lot more than Amity ever did.
Danny could not help but appreciate the differences. From the way the city itself curled around her inhabitants to the weather, Gotham was far darker than Amity ever managed to be.
Still, there were similarities. The screams, for one. In Amity, it was ghosts, their victims, and whichever ghostbuster of the day rocking up to rock each other’s shit. Another similarity? Danny’s inability to not get himself into troublesome shit, because he could never ignore a cry for help.
That scream was a cry for help if he’s ever heard one.
Danny cursed himself as he slipped through the alleyways, strides becoming smoother and agile than he normally walked like. He stuck to the shadows, the prickling of ghostly senses and honed vigilante instincts guiding him towards the scream. It was a man, getting stabbed by a guy in a red helmet.
Danny maintained that he was new here.
Which is why his foot connected solidly with Red Helmet's... red helmet.
"Motherfuc-" Red Helmet shouted as he was punted several feet away.
"Holy shit dude, are you good?"
Danny helped the guy up.
"Thank fuck! Back up! What took you so long?! Boss is gunna be so pissed if we're late!"
Hold up. Boss?
"Boss?"
“Black Mask, asshole! We gotta go before he decides to cut off our limbs!”
Danny yanked the guy to the side just as a bullet ricocheted off the rusted fire escape.
“Ope!”
“You’re not going anywhere.” A mechanical voice growled behind them.
“Oh fuck, Red Helmet guy.” Danny muttered.
“Shit, ya gotta run, tell boss I got caught.” The injured goon- because it was now apparent to Danny that the guy was working for someone dangerous- said. Danny appreciated the thought, but he only intervened because the guy was getting stabbed.
“Uh,” Danny hesitated. Clearly the guy had the wrong idea.
“Don’t make a move, unless you want your fucking heads blown off,” Red Helmet guy- wait, why does he feel liminal?- raised his guns. “Why don-”
Red Helmet guy was cut off by the thud of the now unconscious goon.
His helmet tilted down and then back up at Danny.
“Guess it’s just you and me,” Helmet guy sneered out. “Better tell me everything you know about Black Mask, or else you’ll get a taste of what he had.”
Danny held up his hands even though he knew he could just let the bullets phase through him. The smart thing would be to absolve himself and not get in the middle of two criminal’s beef as a civilian.
Danny’s full name, however, could have been Danny ‘Dumb Decisions’ Fenton. So, Danny practically interjected himself like an overexcited puppy at a doggy daycare.
“Okay, no need to get bloody. But uh, I have a question.”
Red Helmet cocked his head and mockingly gestured with his gun. “Sure, why not.”
Danny let as much of his midwestern accent into his voice as possible. “Who’s, uh, Black Mask?”
Red Helmet paused. Then he sighed. “You’re not from here, are you?”
“No…? I’m, uh, new in town.”
Red Helmet lowered his guns, and for some reason, Danny could tell that he was exasperated.
“Why would you even get in between a fight, dumbass? I have a gun! I coulda killed ya! He’s a criminal’”
Danny protested. Rude! “In my defense, you were stabbing him! You’re a criminal too, you know!”
“That makes it worse! You-!” Red Helmet paused. “Wait, do you even know who I am?”
Danny let his gaze wander down to the red bat-shaped logo on the guy’s chest. “Uh… Red Helmet… bat-guy?” He hazarded a guess.
“Oh my god, you’re an idiot.”
Danny gaped. “Excuse me?!”
“You heard me,” Red Helmet put his gun back and planted his fists on his hips. “You’re an idiot. Who gets in between a vigilante and the goon of a crime lord.”
Danny crossed his arms, leveling an unimpressed look at Red Helmet. “I’ve never heard of a vigilante killing someone, Red Helmet Bat-Guy.”
“It’s Red Hood.” Red Helmet sighed, walking closer. “And I wasn’t going to kill him.” Danny scoffed.
Danny relaxed, sensing the truth coming from Red Helmet guy’s liminal aspects.
“He’ll die looking at your ugly mug,” Danny sassed. “You’re gonna get him to a hospital, right? I’ll go with you.”
“Are you midwesterners all this trusting? What if I was the goon and this guy was the vigilante?”
Red Hood hiked the goon over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Danny followed after him.
“He’s the one that told me to go running back to his boss, Red Helmet.”
“It’s Red Hood.”
“That doesn’t look like a hood.”
Danny grinned as Red Helmet grumbled. How interesting! Maybe he won’t miss Amity as much as he thought he would!
“Ugh, fine, I guess someone’s gotta watch your dumb ass so you don’t get mugged.”
“I can take care of myself!”
Hood grunted. “I guess that kick wasn’t half bad.”
Danny beamed at him. “Thanks!”
——
Danny chucked a chimichanga at Red Hood.
“Wait a minute, you’re a crime lord! Being a goon was way less illegal than being a vigilante crime lord!”
Red Hood cackled at him.
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Extroverted girlfriends who recharge their introverted girlfriends: Navia, Yelan, Lisa, Amber, Yanfei, Ningguang, Nilou, Keqing, Dehya, Shinobu, Candace, Signora
Introverted girlfriends who need their extroverted girlfriends to recharge: Sucrose, Clorinde, Ei, Ayaka, Shenhe, Mona, Jean, Ganyu, Layla, Sara, Yun Jin
Introverted girlfriends who just need to be left alone: Rosaria, Lynette, Xianyun, Kokomi, Arlecchino, Sandrone, Chiori, Chevreuse, Skirk, The Shogun
Extroverted girlfriends who accidentally drain their introverted girlfriends: Furina, Miko, Yoimiya, Hu Tao, Eula, Beidou, Faruzan, Columbina
Remember: The definition of an introvert is someone who drains energy while hanging out with other people, and an extrovert is the opposite. Extroverts are people who gain energy while hanging out with other people, so they don’t need alone time to recharge their social battery.
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