Dan's Future Flash's Panic
Danny Fenton had lived a life far too strange for someone who wasnât even twenty.
Heâd died at fourteen, come back with ghost powers, fought his own evil future self, and somehow survived high school. By nineteen, he thought the universe had finally decided to leave him alone.
Then Clockwork showed up holding a tiny, furious, three-year-old version of Dan.
A toddler with glowing red eyes. A toddler who could melt doorknobs with a tantrum. A toddler who refused to be put to bed unless Danny lay beside him and hummed off-key lullabies.
Clockwork placed Dan into Dannyâs arms like handing someone a baby tiger and announced,
âRehabilitation is most effective with early intervention. Congratulations, Daniel. Youâre a father now.â
Danny stood there, a nineteen-year-old ex-ghost hero, cradling a three-year-old whoâat full powerâcould disintegrate continents.
Then the toddler nuzzled into his shirt and drooled on him.
Flash arrived in a timeline of smoldering ash, the sky split and warped like reality had been pulled apart by giant claws. The ruins of cities stretched for miles, scorched down to the bones.
The only name whispered by the trembling survivors:
A great evil. A monster in a fake human form.
Flash barely escaped with his life. Glowing red eyes haunted him. He sprinted back to the present, heart pounding, mind racing.
The Justice League Meeting
Flash burst into the Watchtower, panting.
âGUYSâWORLDâENDINGâDANâEVILâHELP!â
Batman narrowed his eyes. âSlow down.â
Superman gently placed a hand on Flashâs shoulder. âTake a breath.â
âSome guy named Dan destroys the entire planet in the future! I donât know who he isâI donât know what he looks likeâall I know is that heâs powerful enough to wipe out the League, several times over!â
âCause?â Batman asked immediately.
Flash hesitated. âNo idea. But⊠It sounded personal. Emotional. Like something broke him.â
That got everyoneâs attention.
A being strong enough to unmake the world⊠driven by heartbreak?
The League spread out their intel teams.
They dug through databases.
They searched for the name Dan.
But if there was going to be an apocalypse child, they swore theyâd find him.
Protection Detail: Beginning Unknowingly
Danny, meanwhile, was living his best low-budget college life.
He was taking night classes, working part-time at a ghost-free cafĂ©, and raising a toddler who called him âDadaâ in a surprisingly demonic tone when cranky.
Dan clung to him constantlyâshirt, leg, armâlike Danny was a portable emotional support human.
One day Danny stopped at a park so Dan could feed ducks without accidentally overshadowing them. Dan's control over his powers was a bit wonky with the de-ageing.
Flash spotted them first.
And immediately froze when he heard the older black haired man call the toddler Dan. and he saw the todllers eyes flash that terrifying Red.
Thatâs Dan! Thatâs the world-ender! And thatâsâwho is that holding him?
Then Dan stretched his arms out toward Danny and chirped,
âDadaaa!â
And Danny scooped him up with the kind of fond exasperation usually reserved for parents of clingy toddlers.
Flashâs brain did a barrel roll.
Oh god. Oh no. Itâs his father. Something happens to his fatherâthatâs what makes future Dan snap!
Flash vanished in a streak of lightning to warn the League.
Screw finding Danâheâd already found the key.
They needed to protect⊠the dad.
âSuperman began casually âflying byâ Dannyâs route to class.
âWonder Woman âcoincidentallyâ started getting coffee from the shop where Danny worked.
âBatman installed surveillance drones around Dannyâs apartment building. (Tim removed the ones Batman missed because they were too obvious, but left the rest. Just in case.)
âGreen Lantern offered Danny free rides whenever his car wouldnât start.
âMartian Manhunter shapeshifted into an elderly neighbor âwho needed help carrying groceries,â just so Danny wouldnât go anywhere alone.
Danny thought Gotham had been weird.
People were so nice here.
He told Dan, âWow, buddy. Metropolis is so friendly!â
Dan, perched on his hip and eating Cheerios out of a plastic container, nodded seriously. âFwiendwy.â
Sure, he still sometimes hissed at Superman (instinct?), but Superman didnât take it personally.
He learned to carry candy.
Batman presented the new tactical plan:
Operation Keep-Danny-Alive-So-His-Son-Doesnât-End-the-World
Superman raised a hand. âShouldnât we also⊠help him? Parent?â
Batman glared. âI am helping.â
âBy installing laser grids in his kitchen?â
âHe leaves the stove on.â
Flash nodded vigorously. âHe DOES.â
Green Lantern sighed. âGuys, we arenât co-parenting. Weâre literally the Justice League.â
Cyborg raised a brow. âBro, we already are.â
Danny Notices Something Weird
One morning Danny opened his apartment door to find a basket full of:
and a note that read:
âYouâre doing great.â â A Friend
Dan climbed into the basket like a cat and declared, âMINE.â
The League formed rotating shifts.
Superman covered mornings.
Batman nights (and early mornings⊠and midday⊠honestly he never left).
Wonder Woman took weekends and taught Danny self-defense âfor fun.â
Danny remained convinced heâd just become very popular.
Dan adored the attention.
His favorite was Superman, because Superman lifted him high into the air and didnât even cry when Dan bit him the first time.
But the League kept their distance from Danâs future identity.
Never reveal what he becomes.
Flash repeated to himself: Heâs just a toddler. Just a toddler. Just aâplease stop melting your spoonâjust a toddler.
One afternoon Danny crouched down, fixing Danâs little red hoodie.
Dan nodded, arms already raised to be picked up. Danny lifted him, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
Three tiny ghostly giggles escaped the kid.
A crackle of lightning. a Boom of thunder and a downpour of rain that had Danny giggling.
Batman stepped in front of them instinctively.
Superman hovered, ready to intercept anything.
Because Danâs eyes glowed red for just a moment.
Dan looked around at the superheroes who were now half-circling them.
ââŠHi,â he said shyly, burrowing into Dannyâs shoulder.
Danny waved cheerfully at the crowd of extremely tense heroes. âOh! Hey guys! Great day for a walk, right?â
Flashâs soul left his body.
Heâs so⊠so⊠wholesome.
This is the guy weâre protecting? THIS CINNAMON ROLL?
Oh my god Future Dan definitely snapped because this sweet man died horriblyâhow do we PREVENT THATâ
Superman nodded solemnly. âBeautiful weather.â
Wonder Woman stepped forward. âDanny, weâd be honored to⊠escort you home.â
Danny beamed. âWow, you guys donât have to be so nice!â
The Leagueâs unified internal screaming reached the heavens.
Danny remained blissfully unaware of the global protection detail guarding him 24/7.
Dan remained clingy, chaotic, and weirdly polite to superheroes so long as he had snacks.
The League remained terrified of upsetting a toddler.
Flash prayed daily that whatever the cause of Danâs future rampage that took his dad from him never happenedâŠ
They would never, EVER let anything happen to the cinnamon roll dad who somehow held the worldâs fate in his soft, unsuspecting hands.
