#keep kids safe online

[james-the-lass]

Get in, loser, we’re learning today.

CW mention of exploitation of minors and CSAM, link to article on same.

Look, I have mixed feelings about AI. It’s inevitable that it will be used unethically. It is also a thing that has the potential to break the shackles of drudge work for millions, if not billions, of human beings. It’s inevitable that the resulting “free time” will be exploited, and that’s a different rant.

I work in the information security, governance, risk, and compliance industry. AI is a Big Fucking Deal to us. I could soapbox about Internet safety in general (especially for kids) and AI specifically. It is revolutionizing every aspect of our lives, and that’s not hyperbole.

I am also a proponent of least privilege (obviously :P) and I apply that view to government involvement in our lives. Regulation should be applied minimally and where needed. Unnecessary legislation is a waste of everyone’s time and serves only the plutocrats in power.

The potential for harm with AI is so beyond the pale that people who don’t have a need to understand how it works might not realize just how fucked up it could get and chalk others’ concerns up to too much science fiction. The potential for good is equally great. You can see why there are mixed feelings.

We desperately need legislation about AI, data privacy, Internet safety, and digital crimes. Forcing a sale of a platform from one company that spies on us to another company that spies on us but happens to be in a different country is patently ridiculous. Banning the creation of Internet platform accounts for people under a certain age is unenforceable. Requiring age verification for the use of certain websites where an account is not required is unenforceable to an absurd degree, especially when revenue for that website is generated from ads served to users without accounts. None of these actions does anything to keep people safe online.

The best way to ensure safety, of any kind, is being informed. Education is the way to combat these problems. Despite what might be the general perception, when we know better, we do do better. A teenager who knows they are more susceptible to scams on Instagram is less likely to fall for scams on Instagram, or any other platform for that matter. A person who knows a call from an unsolicited fundraiser to help kids might actually be a front to fund state-supported hacking activity will be less likely to give a stranger their financial information.

The legislation we need should be providing resources to parents and guardians to first educate themselves, then how to educate their children. Forget the detriments of too much YouTube; focus on the fact that a tragically substantial percentage of CSA material bought and sold on the dark web is scraped from publicly accessible social media profiles. Predators do not have to resort to illegal activity to have access to these media.

Legislation for AI needs to cover all this and so much more. There are limited protections in place (in the US, anyway) for the use of someone’s likeness without permission for commercial gain, but it is not enough. It isn’t clear enough on the legality of using any publicly available material online to train AI systems without due diligence or due care with respect to copyright or content. There is no federal governance on what AI companies can do with the information users put in to AI as prompts. How many people have submitted sensitive or confidential information to ChatGPT? Who is liable if an AI suggests a recipe for chlorine gas, poison bread sandwiches, or mosquito repellent potatoes? Or if a chatbot intended to help small business owners tells them it’s okay for landlords to discriminate by source of income; for bosses to take their workers’ tips; to serve customers cheese already nibbled by rats; or to fire a person for reporting sexual harassment, concealing a pregnancy, or refusing to cut their locs?

I. Could. Go. On. Forever.

Contact your representatives and push for effective data privacy laws. Push for publicly funded and more effectively distributed digital safety education. There are publicly funded resources for Internet safety, but they’re not nearly as well-known as they should be. Push for clear and reasonable restrictions on the development and use of AI technology.

Here are some resources for your consumption:

US DoD Cyber Awareness Challenge

More DoD Cybersecurity Awareness eLearning

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Internet Safety for Kids and Teens

GCFGlobal Free Internet Safety for Kids (they also have a huge library of paid courses)

US FBI Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Internet Challenge

Electronic Frontier Foundation’s library of privacy topics (look at all their information about everything. EFF is a fantastic organization. Some of their material is technically dense, but read as much as you can understand and apply to your own personal situations. They make an effort to lay things out in non-jargon, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.)

Stanford Cyber Policy Center Research, News, Publications Homepage

SCPC Article: AI Trained on CSAM identified in a public data set

/soapbox

Yikes

[tomatoart]

_(>u<)/🩷\(O_ō)_

[queen-anarchy-666]

Okay so apparently kids these days don't know how to be safe online because their parents are fucking stupid and don't know anything about the internet!!!

So I'm gonna tell you teenagers how to be safe and not get abused because there is no shortage of predators on the internet. I'm gonna go from super basic things you can do to keep yourself safe to more specific instances where a predator may be trying to groom you that you can recognize. Remember though; if you are abused or have been abused it is not your fault. You deserve protection and you deserve respect as a minor, regardless of how you spend your time on the internet. Victim blaming helps nobody but predators, but there are ways you can protect yourself, even though you shouldn't always have to.

Basic tips:

DO NOT SHARE YOUR REAL NAME

DO NOT SHARE YOUR AGE

DO NOT SHARE WHERE YOU LIVE

DO NOT SHARE PHOTOS OR VIDEOS OF YOURSELF

DO NOT SHARE PHOTOS OF YOUR HOUSE

IT IS OKAY TO BLOCK WHOEVER YOU WANT, WHENEVER YOU WANT, REGARDLESS OF THE REASON.

Don't sacrifice your safety, comfort, or peace of mind just for someone else's feelings! Especially a stranger! Also, if you think something is off, it probably is. You need to trust your gut. SPEAK UP! Tell a trusted friend, sibling, or adult! I'm sure you've heard the phrase "silence is violence" -- this phrase goes for abuse as well! Unsafe people want you to stay quiet so they can continue to harm you or others. It is not inherently problematic to have friends who are adults, in fact it is healthy and helpful to have friends who are older than you, however we live in a world where you cannot trust many adults, so you need to be cautious of adults you encounter at all times, including ones you know well or are well known by others. It is also not inherently problematic to be asked many of the questions above, but it is important to ask yourself whether or not you want to give that information to the person asking. If not, simply tell them that you do not give out that information and redirect the conversation, or block if you feel uncomfortable.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT INSERT YOURSELF INTO ADULT SPACES.

I know it is tempting, especially with the way hormones effect judgement and your emotions, and we all want to be included, but inserting yourself into spaces you know you should not be by lying about your age is incredibly unsafe and leads to horrible situations that aren't always easy to get out of. This includes adult fandom spaces, websites, searching adult topics, NSFW blogs or accounts, and even group chats. Even if your friends invite you to these spaces, it does not mean you should neglect your safety to be accepted. It's okay and encouraged to say no. You will thank yourself when you get older!

More Specific Tips:

YOU SHOULDN'T PUT YOUR MENTAL ILLNESSES OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN YOUR BIOS ON YOUR ACCOUNTS.

Awareness and solidarity for mental illness and disabilities is very important, however predators are more likely to go after people who may have a more difficult time discerning what is normal and what is not in social situations, especially when speaking to an authority figure like an adult. Do not make yourself a target by listing the ways you struggle with social cues, understanding rules and safety, or communication. It is okay to seek solidarity, but there are predators seeking out disabled and mentally ill youths to abuse.

DO NOT OFFER INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL ON THE INTERNET.

It is dangerous to release information about your whereabouts in any capacity on the internet, especially your school where you are doubly putting your peers and classmates in danger as well. If you come into contact or into the orbit of a predator that is bent on finding you or meeting you, your school is a public place where one may feel brazen enough to pretend they know you. Even if other kids are doing it by posting fight videos or even innocent videos, doesn't mean you should.

JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE INSISTS THEY'RE A SAFE PERSON DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE.

People lie on the internet all the time, including in some really bizarre and meaningless ways, but there will always be people who lie to get closer to someone to make them a victim. Just because someone tells you they are against abuse or even if they advocate against it does not mean that they themselves are a safe person. Predators will do anything they can to get you to trust them, and while predators are usually very pushy and want things to go quickly, some will take their time to groom you.

!!!!BIG RED FLAGS!!!!

IF YOU SEE ANY OF THIS BEHAVIOR, RUN! BLOCK AND REPORT PEOPLE WHO DO THESE THINGS FOR YOUR SAFETY! IT'S NEVER WORTH STICKING AROUND THESE KINDS OF PEOPLE!

THEY CONTINUALLY SEND YOU SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL, INCLUDING FANART, FANFIC, AND VIDEOS.

THEY TELL YOU AGE IS JUST A NUMBER, OR LOVE HAS NO AGE.

THEY EXPRESS THE OPINION THAT MINORS CAN CONSENT TO SEXUAL ACTIVITY.

THEY CONSTANTLY MAKE "JOKES" ABOUT MINORS IN A SEXUAL WAY OR ABOUT BEING ATTRACTED TO MINORS.

THEY EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING "LEGAL" AT THE AGE OF 18 OR FIXATE ON AGE OF CONSENT LAWS.

THEY GET ANGRY AT YOU FOR SETTING A BOUNDARY OR IF YOU MENTION TELLING YOUR PARENTS.

THEY ENJOY "LOLI" OR "SHOTA" MATERIAL OR ENTHUSE ABOUT THOSE TYPES OF CHARACTERS.

THEY CALL YOU PET NAMES THAT YOU AREN'T COMFORTABLE WITH, EVEN WHEN YOU TELL THEM NOT TO.

THEY ASK YOU HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT SEXUAL ACTIVITY, YOUR PERIODS, OR MASTURBATION.

THEY TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE MATURE FOR YOUR AGE, OR THAT YOU'RE NOT LIKE OTHER KIDS BECAUSE YOU'RE MORE ADULT THAN THEY ARE.

THEY ASK YOU TO SEND PHOTOS OR VIDEOS OF YOURSELF DOING SEXUALLY CHARGED THINGS, WHICH INCLUDES DANCING OR STRIPPING, OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF YOUR BODY.

THEY KEEP STEERING THE CONVERSATION IN A SEXUAL DIRECTION. THIS INCLUDES ROLEPLAY!

NONE OF THIS BEHAVIOR IS NORMAL. IT IS NOT NORMAL FOR AN ADULT TO ASK HIGHLY PERVASIVE QUESTIONS OR TO BECOME PUSHY OR ANGRY IF YOU EXPRESS DISCOMFORT. BLOCK AND REPORT THESE TYPE OF PEOPLE, THEY EXHIBIT BEHAVIOR CONSISTENT WITH SEXUAL ABUSE PATTERNS.

Adults and Minors alike please feel free to reblog. It is imperative that young people who don't know these things learn them, because the only thing a predator hates more than a jail cell is a minor who cannot be abused.

[massiveladycat]

i think we should care more about how the parents of gen alpha are giving them technology addiction to the point they throw tantrums when its taken away than how annoying skibidi toilet is

[fandomsoda]

Inadvertently making some younger friends in recent days has made me violently aware of just how unsafe the Internet is getting. What do you mean your username is something outwardly graphic and you’re under 15 what the hell

[brain-sturgeon]

asking rq but u said u dont wanna int with minors right? just double checkin

Minors can interact with my posts I just don’t wanna message kids yeah lmao, I’m grown. As a 23 year old I don’t exactly have an interest in talking to high schoolers.

[crplpunkklavier]

putting "i do not make the teenagers who follow me on social media feel the need to be mean to me" on my resume

[we-are-team8s]

When you go online to find some wholesome or funny BFDI fanfiction but most of the stories are rated Mature and Explicit and Violent and have very detailed and unfiltered summaries.

[aetsher]

Bad news. KOSA advanced.

Continue calling your representatives and tell them to vote no on KOSA. It passed the Senate Commerce Committee, not the full Senate, we still have time.

STOP KOSA NOW.

Edit: July 29: The full Senate is voting on KOSA TOMORROW! Please call your representatives and senators to vote no! PLEASE!

Edit: July 30: Senate passed KOSA! The House vote is next. Contact your representatives to vote no now! PLEASE!

Edit: August 1st: KOSA IS DEAD! For now. It may pop up again. Be on the lookout, if it does pop up again, tell your senators and representatives to vote no!

Edit: September 13: KOSA MIGHT RETURN! Follow the instructions on this post PLEASE!

Edit: September 20: KOSA PASSED THE HOUSE COMMITTEE AND ONTO THE HOUSE FLOOR!! This happened on September 18th, I am a bit late and for that I'm sorry. But it’s not over! FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS POST, PLEASE!!

Edit: September 27: THIS ENTIRE POST STILL APPLIES! THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER, WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO FIGHT! PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE NO! PLEASE!!

Edit: October 6: @the-vampire-fish-queen said, “Do want to point out Congress is not in session right now but come back around 11/12/24. Also, the Republican leadership is fighting over the bill.” WHICH IS VERY TRUE!

FOR REPUBLICAN REPS:

FOR DEMOCRAT REPS:

Edit: October 25: The Heritage Foundation KNOWS that Kosa will REMOVE Pro-Abortion and Trans content IF Trump wins. It has also come to my attention, that from what people have heard from the House of Representatives, Kosa will MOST LIKELY not move on. The keywords there are most likely, keep fighting!

[rowanwolf]

I grew up in the '90s. I just posted in the wee hours of this morning about learning to use a computer that ran DOS because Windows didn't exist yet. YouTube didn't even exist until I was already in high school and Facebook didn't go public until I was nearly to the point of having a .edu email anyway. Broad(ish) access to the internet was new when I first got on it. By 4th grade, only a little under 25% of my class had internet access at home. About half didn't even have a computer to have internet access on. That was normal then.

I remember having drilled into my head how to be safe online. When my elementary school got internet (on the whole 4 computers the school had available only to the oldest grade), we had a whole seminar-type thing before we were allowed to use it. If I remember correctly, there were several videos shown that featured McGruff the crime dog talking about the dangers of the internet. Point is, that is the sort of safety concious attitude around internet usage that was pushed when I was a kid. I was online fairly young, but you bet your ass I didn't tell anybody shit about where I lived or my name or anything. I couldn't have posted pictures of myself online even if I had wanted to because in those days that required a scanner and we didn't have one. But I wouldn't have done that anyway. Not after listening to McGruff and virtually every adult I ever spoke to about the internet telling me all the ways people could use stuff like that to find me and kidnap me. That was always in the back of my head.

So it does terrify me how blasé kids these days are about the internet. How blasé they're taught to be about it. The internet is ubiquitous. It's just accepted as part of life. But the internet is dangerous. Hell, I'm in my 30s and I still don't ever tell anyone online my real name or my birthday or where I live. I don't post pictures of me anywhere but Facebook (which I rarely use anymore) unless I'm in full-face horror makeup that obscures my features. I've gotten a little more lax about saying which state I'm in, or even which city once I've gotten to know someone, I'll admit. But it's also a city with a bigger population than some states, so I feel less easy to find.

I'm also an adult at this point. I have already gone through all the growing up I needed to do to understand things like consequences and not believing everything you're told. I have learned behavioral red flags that can help me spot dangerous people. I am old enough to have learned to be skeptical and to reason things out before taking any action. Children do not have these skills yet. And to any minor reading this, I don't care if you're "mature for your age" or whatever, you don't. You have not yet learned in its entirety how the world works and, more importantly, how adults work. And adults are usually the ones you need to be wary of.

So I agree wholeheartedly with OP. I don't want minors to feel safe on the internet. Because when they feel safe, they leave themselves open to grevious harm. I want them to feel like the internet is a dangerous place - just as I was taught to - because it is. And this facade of sanitization and "child-friendliness" put on by those pushing for laws and measures to restrict the internet "for the sake of the children" is really only helping the adults who want to do those children harm.

My thoughts on the whole “make the internet child friendly” thing is that no one under the age of 18 should feel comfortable on the internet

If you are not a legal adult there are so many ways for you to be harmed through the internet, and the more comfortable minors feel the more at risk they are of being taken advantage of

When I was growing up at the beginning of the internet age I was constantly shown informational videos on how people could get my name and address from just a screen name, To Catch A Predator was on and showing all the ways adults posed as minors to trick them into being abducted, and even shows like Catfish on MTV were always there to remind you that if you did not already know someone in person you couldn’t be sure who they were online

For years I only went into sites geared towards kids and even then with strict rules on how to keep any identifying information out of my screen name and to never answer personal questions online. While YouTube existed, a large chunk of the videos didn’t involve peoples faces like almost all do now

When I got a tumblr at 16 I knew porn could come up at any time and I was cautious of how I used it because of that. People regularly scoffed at the idea of clicking a link you were sent in a message and who could be so dumb as to click one

I don’t want kids to feel safe on the internet because they aren’t, and people looking to take advantage of kids want them to feel comfortable. They want minors using their legal name, posting videos of their school, showing their face as they wear school sweatshirts. I’ve seen so many recent stalking cases that happened because the person used the Snapchat map feature that allowed people to see where they went and for how long every day

I think that it’s good to accept that kids exist on the internet and getting rid of some of the more horrific Wild West aspects is good (Chatroulette type situations, easy to stumble on beheading videos) but the amount that social media sites are telling people they’re safe for minors and said minors can let their guard down makes me very nervous. It is not difficult to film your 13 year old nephew for a TikTok, post it like it’s your own, then ask the other 13 year olds who like it where they go to school

And this is not me blaming Gen Z or calling them stupid, as I said the only reason I knew how to be safe was because the culture around me so heavily pushed all the tactics on how to be safe and what the consequences of not being safe were. Gen Z grew up with shows about how great is to be a successful teen vlogger, with child influencers, with teenagers who put their face and identifying information in Vines being tracked down and given prizes by Ellen DeGeneres. The entire culture they’re being brought up in is designed to tell them that being open online as a child isn’t just cool it’s a way to be successful and validated

So yeah I don’t want any site telling parents or their kids that it is a safe place for minors, that their information is being protected, or that none of the content can harm them

[maraune]

Look, smart dean is very personal, precious and dear to me

[potsiefaerie]

Stop blaming parents for everything little kids do/don't do challenge

My kid barely needed us to baby proof when he was toddler because he'd just leave things alone if I said they weren't for him, but that had nothing to do with my parenting style and everything to do with his developing personality.

My cousin's kids were quiet and conscientious as toddlers, and grew up into quiet and conscientious teens. (Go figure!!!)

[dead-loch]

I really do not understand how anyone can say literal genocide is too difficult to understand and therefore I should just keep quiet (and let it continue).

[bitchliteraria1906]

I feel like the reason a lot of people are hostile towards the idea of making fandom spaces (and online spaces in general) safer for kids is because for some reason they interpret it as being forced to interact with and basically "babysit" all the kids who might come across their blog, when that's not what it is at all. Just don't be mean or say anything innapropriate to them and block them if your blog happens to be nsfw. It's not difficult. You don't even have to walk in eggshells when talking to them or anything. It takes very little time and even less effort.

I get that online groomers are a very real and large danger but it's nuts how often adults being friends with kids is turned into pedojacking by adults who're like.ACTIVELY hostile towards minors in fandoms and i mean both the ageist bullying and even just the extremely unnecessarily aggressive 'minors dni' disclaimers they do that may as be monologues.Like in my case the reason i have so many close intergenerational friendships is that i was always taught it's good for people of widely different ages to love eachother as long as it's platonic/familial as it builds a sense of community and helps out in child safety and i'm an eldest sibling so i've been hanging out with younger people like we're best friends my whole life and i'm buds with older people too and the whole reason i'm here is that in elementary school i had a high school friend that taught me english.Again,you need to tell kids what grooming and explotation and other such things are so they can avoid abusers,not that adults shouldn't care about them fullstop.That's VERY cruel and ironically enough opens them up to grooming itself by isolating them!Please,for the love of fuck,just treat kids like kids.If you're friends with them be their caretaker instead of the reverse because that's how it's supposed to be and if you don't want to be near keep that shit to yourself because they ain't doin' nothing to you.Freak-os

[hamadisthings]

HELP US STOP CHAT CONTROL!

If you live in the EU, you absolutely need to pay attention to what's to come. What is Chat Control, you may ask? In a (failed) attempt to combat child abuse online the EU made Chat Control, Chat Control will result in getting your private messages and emails to be scanned by artificial intelligence aka AI to search for CSAM pictures or discussion that might have grooming in there. And on top of having your private conversations handed to AI or the police to snoop in, like your family pictures, selfies, or more sensitive pics, like the medical kind, only meant to be seen by your doctors, or the "flirtatious" kind you send to your partner, you either have to ACCEPT to be scanned...or else you will be forbidden from sending pictures, videos, or even links, as said here.

Kids should absolutely be protected online, without question, but the things that Chat Control gets wrong is that this is a blatant violation of privacy, without even considering the fact that AI WILL create tons of false positives, this is not a theory, this is a fact. And for all the false positives that will be detected, all of them will be sent to the police, which will just flood their system with useless junk instead of efficiently putting resources to actual protect kids from predators.

It also does not help that politicians, police officers, soldiers etc will be exempt from Chat Control if it passes. If it's for the sake of protection, shouldn't everyone get the same treatment? Which further prove that Chat Control would NOT keep your data of private life safe. Plus, bad actors will simply stop using messenger apps as soon as they know they're being tracked, using more obscure means, meanwhile innocent people will be punished by using those services On top of this, the EU also plans on reintroducing Data retention called "EU Going Dark". Both Chat Control and EU Going Dark are clear violation of the GDPR, and even if they shouldn't stand a chance in court, its not going to prevent politicians from trying to ram these through as an excuse to mass surveil European citizens, using kids as a shield. Even teenagers sending pictures to each other won't be exempt, which entirely goes against the purpose of protecting kids by retaining their private photos instead. Furthermore, once messaging apps are forced to comply with Chat Control, the president of Signal, a secured messaging app with encryption, have confirmed that they will be forced to leave the EU if this is enforced against them.

If Chat Control also ends up targeting any websites with the option of private messages, you better expect Europe to be geo-blocked by any websites offering such function. I would also like to add that EU citizens were very vocal in the fight against KOSA, an equally bad internet bill from the US-- and it showed! Which is why we heavily need the help of our fellow US peers to fight against Chat Control too, so please, because we all know if it passes, the US government will take a look at this and conclude "Ooh, a way to force mass surveillance on citizens even more than before? don't mind if I do!" It's always a snowball effect.

KEEP IN MIND THE EUROPE COUNCIL WILL LIKELY VOTE ON CHAT CONTROL THIS 19 JUNE OF NEXT WEEK TO SEE IF IT WILL ENTER TRILOGIES OR NOT. Even if it does enter Trilogues, the fight will only be beginning. Absentees may not count as a no, so it is crucial that you contact your MEPs HERE, as well as HERE, and you can also show your support for Edri's campaign against Chat Control HERE.

You can read more on Chat Control here as well, and you can find useful information as to which arguments to use when politely contacting your MEP (calling is better than email) here, and beneath you will find graphics you can use to spread the word!

YOU CAN ALSO JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER (linked here) TO HELP ORGANIZE AGAINST CHAT CONTROL NON EU PEOPLE ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO JOIN TOO!

https://discord.gg/FPDJYkUujM

PLEASE REBLOG ! NON EU PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO REBLOG AS WELL CONTACT YOUTUBERS, CONTENT CREATORS, ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT MAY HELP GET THE WORD OUT ! Let's fight for our Internet and actually keep kids safe online! Because Chat Control and EU Going Dark will only endanger kids.

PLEASE REBLOG! NON EU PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO REBLOG AS WELL CONTACT YOUTUBERS, CONTENT CREATORS, ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT MAY HELP GET THE WORD OUT !

Let's fight for our Internet and actually keep kids safe online! Because Chat Control and EU Going Dark will only endanger kids.

[clockwayswrites]

Birds and Mice and Tea Parties 20

Masterpost

AN: B really was trying his best to protect Danny last time, he just was missing too much information. Poor Danny...

No reading over. We suffer and post at 2am.

-

It had been two weeks since the last rogue Wayne visit.

Danny hadn’t intended to keep track. There was no reason to. One visit from Cass and one from Tim did not a pattern make.

He tried to dismiss the observation. He had plenty to do; it wasn’t like he didn’t have friends. The bi-weekly trivia group would start meeting again soon. He also had a TTRGP session that did its best to meet around all that life threw at them. Tucker and him played online games when they could make schedules match and he and Sam talked when she was stateside. He even had regular lunches with coworkers!

Still, there had been something different about spending time with the family.

So no, Danny hadn’t meant to keep track, but he still knew it had been two weeks and a day. But of course he wouldn’t see the Waynes that often. Bruce was a very busy man and most of the children would have no reason to come to W.E. They had their own lives with work and school and being kids or young adults. The other visits had simply been flukes, as nice as the visits had been.

The subtle feeling of melancholy that had settled over him was ridiculous and he wasn’t having it. His mood was simply off because of the whole Ancient thing. The way it was affecting his health didn’t make feeling better any easier either.

Danny leaned against the wall of the elevator as he tried to catch his breath. He really shouldn’t be walking right then to get lunch, not with the way that he felt, but he hadn’t had anything at his place to make lunch with. He hadn’t had the energy to go shopping. He’d just go somewhere close instead of walking to anything on the other side of the park.

The natural reverb of the lobby assaulted Danny as he stepped out of the elevator.

He just had to get through the lobby, the street, the restaurant, back through the street, and through the lobby again. Then he could hide in his office and eat. Or he could hide in there and eat as long as Lucius didn’t find him. Maybe even Lucius would give him a break today though.

“Dr. Fenton…?”

Danny looked up from rubbing his neck.

It was Tim. Damian was at Tim’s side, flanking him like a little guard dog and scowling. Tim was frowning too. Danny immediately wanted to fix whatever was wrong.

“Look at that, a pair of Waynes. How are you two?”

“That is unimportant,” Damian said with a little sniff. “You are clearly unwell. I assume you are returning to your apartment to rest?”

“Oh, no, I’m just going to go grab lunch. I’m alright, really,” Danny said and put on the best smile he could muster.

Tim and Damian looked at each other in some sort of silence conversation. Danny started to edge away from them, thinking he could escape before they came to some sort of end. He really needed out of the lobby and its echoing sounds.

A startled shriek from the entry way cut off that plan.

Danny twisted to face the sound as he stepped in front of the kids.

Of course it was a rogue, what else would it be in Gotham? It was a rogue, but at least it was the Mad Hatter and his squad of likely mind controlled goons. He usually wasn’t prone to death and destruction like some of the others were. But still, Danny felt his metaphorical hackles rising. The kids were here.

The kids were here and sure to draw the Mad Hatter’s attention if he saw them. Danny stepped slowly backwards, herding the kids away from the scene. At least they weren’t far into the lobby.

“Back up to the stairwell,” Danny said lowly, trying to cast his voice behind him.

“Tch. We can—”

“The elevator, the back left one,” Tim said quietly but firmly over his brother’s protest. “I have a code to take it to a safe room in the basement.”

“If he kills the power,” Danny started.

“The elevators have emergency back up.”

“That’s not very good behavior for a tea party, is it?” the Matter Hatter shouted at someone.

Danny bit back a rising noise of anger in his throat. His fingers twitched to act. But he couldn’t. The best plan was to get the kids out of there away from any action.

“Yes I see, Damian,” Tim hissed. “We’re almost to the elevator.”

“Call it as soon as you can,” Danny said. Was there a reverb to his voice? It felt like there was a reverb to his voice. No, no, he couldn’t, he had to…

“That’s better! See? This is how you behave when someone invites you to a tea party! Now where is that little dormouse?” the Mad Hatter called. “I know I saw him come in here! With an even littler one too.”

He wanted Tim.

“Calling the elevator.”

“Another mouse? A rat? A cat?"

The Mad Hatter wanted Tim and Damian.

“Here mousy mouse mice… where are you?"

Danny would not let that happen.

“Oh there you are! Hiding back by the doors, of course he is!” The Mad Hatter said. The crowed parted in fear. His wide, manic eyes looked right past Danny and he grinned. “Get them. We have a tea party we’re late for.”

“Over my dead body,” Danny growled.

The Mad Hatter blinked at Danny like he just noticed him for the first time. His goons rushed past him and through the crowd. “Oh, who are you? Never mind, if death is what you want, we can make that happen.”

Danny couldn’t hold back the chortling laughter. “See, that’s where you have a problem you don’t even know you could have.”

“And what is that?”

“You couldn’t handle my dead body,” Danny said just as the first goon reached them.

Danny stepped forward. He ducked under the swing of the punch and used the momentum to spin the goon around. With a push of his ghostly power, he sent the attacking goon careening into the next one and they both went tumbling.

“Danny, it’s here!” Tim shouted.

Not turning his back to the attackers, Danny stepped backwards into the elevator. Tim slammed a button and the doors basically snapped closed, much faster than they should. Danny was left staring at the polished metal surface of the elevator. Luminous green stared back at him. Soft black feathers dotted his temples. His fingers ended in talons. And he could feel it.

He could feel the skin on his back started to split.

Wings.