Heya! welcome to my tumblr! I'm an accountant by day, and nobody by night LOL. This is where I'll post random stuff, SOMETIMES. Iām back from the dead yāall. Welcome to the family!
Clark horrified and slightly scared Ma will sense what the boys were doing: Worse!?
Bruce: They keep trying to date them! I had to chase Superboy - both of them- out of my boys' windows! Robin and Red Robin are too young to date!
Clark: ....really?
Barry: *laughing* Who would have thought the big bat was such a scary father in law?
Bruce: You talk a big game for man who just lost his nephew
Barry: What?
Bruce: Kid Flash isnt fast at all. Especially when I hunted him down after finding him in my eldest's bed.
Barry: WHAT?! *takes out phone to call Wally* Kid?! Kid,call me back as soon as you hear this voicemail so I know you're safe.
Bruce: *Glaring at the remaining Justice League Seven members* And don't think any of you are in the clear. Phantom has had to beat their own sidekicks back with a stick, and I will make them all disappear if you can't get them under control
Oliver: My Roy would never-
Bruce through grit teeth: The only reason he made it home two weeks ago was because my second eldest pushed him out of the way. I won't miss again
J'onn: Please calm yourself, Batman. You remember what it was like to be young. Ms. Martian is just infatuated with Phantom, and she will move on quickly-
Bruce: I will set the last of your kind on fire to make smores over the burning corpses.
J'onn: Well damn.
Diana: Phantom is a welcomed guest of Themyscira. My girls know better then to ruin such a political-
Bruce: Don't make me hurt you
Diana: Don't assume you can.
Bruce: Maybe not physically. But mentally? *slide over folder*
Diana: *opens folder. Stares. Closes folder* I shall talk to my girls. They will ensure their relationship with Phantom stays completely professional.
Hal: Oh come on! You can't just scare us into stopping your kids from getting dates! Phantom is a global heartthrob. He's going to get a boyfriend or girlfriend eventually. You need to-
Bruce: You lost ring privileges
Hal: What!? When did you take my ring!? I'm clear across the room! Flash, why didnt you stop him!?
Barry in a horrified whisper: I didn't see him move.
Clark in a equally as horrified whisper : Neither did
Bruce: Let it be known that none of you will see me coming if I decide to come for you.
my partner and i have become fixated on this stupid comment left by a conspiracy theorist on instagram and we can't stop saying it and i just know i'm gonna slip up and say it to a normal person
(i have zero idea whether I'm asking the right account but if you find the time and inspo then supervillain danny?)
Danny found joy in disturbing the peace. His crimes were never violent, and the only reason police even attempted to arrest him was that Danny hurt the pride of some high-ranked politician or rich guy. Especially since Danny's greatest crimes were mostly just exaggerated pranks.
Batman didn't even bother with him. He knew that Danny would never harm anyone. Once he lost Batman's attention, Danny's reputation as a villain was forever smeared. If criminals had a community event where they gathered in one place, Danny would be the laughing stock. He would be invited just so they can make fun of him.
He knew that.
They knew that.
Batman knew that.
Hell, even Metropolis knew that, and those people made eye contact with strangers in the subways. You know, like the insane aldrinline junkies they were.
The thing was, Danny's original threat level faded into obscurity after so many of his silly antics. No one remembered that back when Batman first showed up, and everyone whispered about his existence like a boogie man come to life, it had been Danny who gave him the hardest chase.
It had been Danny who invaded any captured. It had been Danny who had never once seen the inside of a cell, despite everyone knowing he was the cause of the disturbances.
No one remembers that, despite all his silliness and his non-violent offenses, Danny wasn't Phantom. A being that frequently had dinner with the concept of time, spars with Fear every October, beta reads for a reality warping author, and has more than once appeared throughout history as a trickster god.
Phantom's legends and tales weren't as well-known as, say, the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales, but they were touched on in nearly every school program from 10th grade and up in the country. He knows because he had to write a report on one of his adventures back in high school- got a C, and was so offended that his teacher claimed he didn't study enough when he lived through it that he contacted seven colleges and universities that provided academic support in order to force her to change it to a A+.
It was a bit offensive that no one in the stories knew Phantom was the same Phantom flying through Gotham's streets, dropping water balloons onto the various open umbrellas. Yes, none of them knew Danny had access to time travel, but logically, they should have just assumed that Danny was a very old and powerful being.
But they didn't.
In fact, they regarded Danny in the same way he once regarded Box Ghost.
That was until he went into the future, and Box Ghost was nothing like how he remembered him. Box Ghost was actually the scariest one that had survived Dan. Not only that, it was because of Box Ghost that the ghost resistance even existed, as its founder and leader, his once weakest enemy, had been the last thing standing between Dan and the complete control of the ghost zone.
Reading what Joker had done to Robin in the news, and hearing that clown loudly boast about it, left a very nasty taste in his mouth. More than Dan did. Crumbling the newspaper in his hands, Danny turned his blazing green eyes across the city in the direction Joker was last spotted, uttering one single word, cold and low, without any emotion besides loathing.
"Beware."
Gotham needed a healthy reminder of just who Phantom truly was.
Bruce doesn't know what day it was. Couldn't care. Ever since he lost Jason, nothing mattered. The only thing that did was the Mission, because if it didn't, then Bruce lost is son for nothing.
Day in and Day out, Batman was all that he did. He forced himself to focus on the crimes, on stopping the criminals, but rage now controlled his actions. He hated them. Hated that they did crimes because if they just didn't, Bruce would never have lost Jason, or his parents, or Dick or-
"Sir," Alfred calls, a touch of worry in his otherwise professional tone. "The Joker was spotted back in the city. For the first time since his political immunity."
Are we going to kill him for he has done?
Alfred doesn't say this, of course, but Bruce knew him long enough to know what the older man wanted to know. Unlike Bruce, Alfred had never shied away from the tasks his blood-soaked hands ad commited in the line of duty. He didn't like to do it, but the bulter would take a life if it meant protecting those near him.
Jason had died, and no amount of killing would bring him back, but Alfred saw ending the Joker as a way to protect Bruce from his own pain. That's why he gave Bruce the choice to make the call.
It was his way of asking, "Do you want me to do it if you can't pull the trigger?"
And Bruce, more than anything, to say yes. But if he did, then everything he had trained for, every moral lecture he gave Jason that drove his son to run away, would be in vain. Batman was meant to be justice above vengeance.
He was-
The entire cave shook as a loud boom was heard miles above them. He instinctively grabbed onto the Batcomputer's console, using it to steady his feet as the trembles past.
"I say, what in the world was that?" Alfred gasped from where he was leaning on the railing. Bruce is grateful for the timely excuse to escape the previous conversation as he sits down and starts typing, searching for the cause of the explosion.
"Something just hit the middle of downtown Gotham. Something big. Bruce's eyes narrow as a flurry of reports starts rolling in from panicked citizens all over the city. He switches screens, quickly hacking into the city's street cameras, only to come to an utter shock when locating the source.
"It's Phantom."
"What?"
"Phantom did this." Bruce couldn't believe his eyes, and yet there displayed in real time was the glowing nucience holding the limp, broken body of Joker, shaking it by the neck until every internal organ spilled from the Joker's split stomach. Phantom hadn't just killed the clown. He had ripped him apart.
Behind the pair was the large stone Phantom had thrown in the middle of the road, nearly as big as the five-floor building surrounding them. It had likely caused the minor earthquake earlier.
There were other people there, too, many involved in Jason's death, including the officials who gave Joker his political immunity. Bruce recognized them from the hours he poured into glaring at their names and images. They all seemed to have already suffered the same fate as Joker, and their bodies lingered on the cold, unforgiving floor of Gotham.
What was the most devastating aspect about all this, whoever was what Phantom had carved into the stone?
It was Jason, posing as Robin, hands on his hips, cape flowing in invisible wind, and the words "May you rest in peace, young hero, for someone has avenged you."
At the bottom of the stone, in a glass coffin pressed upright into the stone, was his son, eyes closed and hands clasped against flowers. He was wearing the suit Bruce buried him in, but a mask was covering his eyes.
Bruce's hands shook as he tapped into the camera he placed around Jason's grave, wanting to keep it safe even when he could go towards it, and found with utter horror, that it had been dug up.
Phantom had his son's body and was displaying it in the middle of a revenge scheme.
How dare he.
How dare he.
How dare he.
"Sir-" Bruce ignored Alfred's call, throwing himself into the Batmobile. He was getting his son back. He drove out of the cave, uncaring about any safety driving skills, the law, or his instructors ever poured into his mind
Alfred stared after his charge helplessly, unsure and unable to stop him. When he turned back to the computer screen, he felt nothing but satisfaction to see Phantom wiggle the corpse like a dirty rag, a crazed grin on his face, and think to himself that the villain looked lovely covered in that monster's blood. Like an archangel finally bestowing due justice.
Did that make him a terrible person? Probably. But Alfred had long ago accepted the monster within during his days of service.
Alfred was so busy engraving the Joker's public execution into his brain, he nearly missed the impossible.
Master Jason had moved into his coffin. Alfred's eyes snapped to his grandson's body, only to collapse onto the floor when Jason's eyes snapped open.
Was this.....Phantom's doing? Alfred knew of the tales, of course, he did, but he had never realized just how powerful the Ghost King was. To undo death?
Was that possible?
"People of Gotham," the Phantom said, addressing the horrified crowds surrounding. "I believe it's time to remind you all why your ancestors cowered during nightfall."
Good lord, has Gotham gained a new monster to replace the Joker? And merciful heaven forgive him, but Alfred didn't care who this new monster killed if it meant Master Jason returned to him.
Bruce looked at his reflection in the bathroom's mirror, wet hair hanging loosely in front of his face and light blue eyes pinched in pain.
He passed a hand through the freshly applied bandages on his side with a hiss.
"Fuck"
He had returned two hours ago from a nasty patrol where Harley and Poison Ivy had deemed his ribs the perfect punchbag for their nightly stress relieve, and despite his numerous attemps, he had failed to dodge some of them.
His eyes trailed up and down instinctively, analyzing what other injuries he may have sustained. On his way he took note of the litter of scars that marred his chest, the burns that covered half of his shoulder, the bites and scratches on his back and legs, the plates screwed along the curve of his spine.
He looked like a war zone.
He aches like one too.
With a body that no longer holds like before, he feels like he's falling apart after each patrol, each intergalactic conflict.
He feels old.
And isn't that a bitter truth? That Bruce had never thought about his own mortality that way.
Always training, always making contingency plans, always making sure that the world wouldn't burn from the inside out due to its own faults.
He had forgotten along the way that unlike the Gods and metas he liked to call friends, his time was running short.
There's no point in thinking about the inevitable, Bruce finally thought, shaking his head and going downstairs.
The Manor was silent at that hour, all his kids having returned to their respective homes or gone out with their friends, taking advantage of the rare free night they had in their usually busy schedules.
"Master Bruce"
Bruce turned towards the kitchen, where Alfred was standing perfectly still and wiping the inside of a glass with a cloth.
"Alfred" was the only thing he could muster.
"You seem troubled"
Bruce scoffed at Alfred's nonchalance, "you could say that again" he walked to the island and plopped over one of the high chairs, taking with a soft 'thanks' the glass of water that was offered to him.
Seconds passed in complete silence. Alfred wouldn't ask, wouldn't press, and Bruce needed some time to organize the thoughts that had been disrupting his mind.
A familiar dynamic that had settled between the two men since that fateful night.
"Do I look old to you Alfie?" The nickname came out of his mouth almosy involuntarily, something that he had long since stopped calling the man after his travels.
Alfred let go of the glass, "well Master Bruce, if you consider yourself old I don't know how you'll be seeing this old man here"
That earned a weak chuckle from Bruce "no Alfred, I was not calling you old"
"You better not" both men smiled under the dim lights of the kitchen.
Alfred turned to take a wet plate sitting in the sink.
And Bruce took a deep breath.
"I think I'm ready to put down the cowl Alfie"
Like a movie in slow motion the plate on Alfred's hands slipped out, falling over the edge of the counter and crashing against the floor with a loud bam.
"Alfred?! Are you okay?" Bruce scrambled out of his seat at the sight of Alfred's trembling hands.
"Oh dear" was the only thing the older said, voice soft and casual.
"Did you cut yourself? I will get the broom-"
A hand on his cheek stopped him; the feeling of cotton brushing against his cheekbones and jaw calming him unconsciously.
"My boy" Alfred's eyes were shiny and bright, "what in God's name has made you decide that?"
Alfred didn't sound disappointed or angry. Just confused.
Bruce gulped down the nervousness.
"I'm tired" he whispered, like he was confessing a sin, "so tired Alfred, I gave my whole life and body to this mission, to this city, to this world" he fell into Alfred's embrace, "and I'm no longer enough to save them all Alfie, I don't think I will live if I continue like this, get to see them"
A hand came up to his hair, brushing it tenderly.
"Master Bruce, are you sure?"
"No, I'm not. It's pretty selfish from my part"
"There's nothing selfish in you Master Bruce, and less in your love" Alfred brushed off.
After some seconds of silence he spoke again.
"The kids will have wanted to know of this conversation" Alfred hummed, "that their father is willing to let go of his mission for them"
Bruce lifted his face to smile at Alfred, jagged and stripped bare "then they would have tried to stop me; they're kids, it what I should do as their father Alfie".
Recently, many people have reached out to me because blogs have been reposting my work without credit. In fact, most of it read like it was run through an AI to reword a few bits.
It's very disheartening to see, since I have stated before that my blog has blanket permission to use the stories and prompts as long as I am credited as the original.
"My blog has blanket permission on all prompts/chats/requests as long as I'm credited for the original. If you want to reblog and add more, you can. If you're going to write an extended fic on another website, you can. If you're going to draw based on something I wrote, you can. If you want to post it on TikTok with a voice reader, you can. If you would link me so I can geek out about it, please do so."
Most TikTok videos had people in the comments giving me credit, so I wasn't bothered by it. I have reached out to some of the blogs that were brought to my attention, but most just ignore me. I don't want to start a wave of reporting people because, well, in all fairness, my work is fanfiction-based and is also from another source material, and really, reporting blogs on Tumblr is just a hassle in half. I had chosen to block them and move on with my life.
The only thing is that most of the blogs that have stolen my work are adding links that take people to other websites.
DO NOT CLICK ON THEM.
These websites are either locked behind a paywall āwhich is illegal for fanfiction āor lead to a sketchy page that may just be a virus or malware (software designed to disrupt or steal information from systems it infects). My antivirus caught it before it sat in, and I took it to my cousin, whose entire job is cybersecurity. He cleared it, so nothing happened, but I wanted to bring this to attention for those unaware.
Please be wary if you see anything suspicious and pass the message to other fandoms just in case. I would hate for people to get viruses or something because of this. Fandom spaces deserve to be safe for everyone.
Danny had kept his secret as Phantom from everyone, but it cost him his "best" friends. They left him when he kept trying to convince them that all ghosts weren't bad.
And then when he thought his family would accept him as Phantom, he revealed his identity to them. But he was attacked, at first, but then he was sent away to be with his dad's brother, Gomez Addams, in Gotham.
Danny... doesn't know what to think of the Addams. They accept had welcomed him warmly when they were told that he was a Ghost. Though he corrected them that he was a Halfa when they asked why he didn't look Ghostly.
Danny's still feeling pretty hurt by being rejected by his family, so he's not really wanting to interact much with the Addams or try ti make friends in Gotham right now.
Given that Danny still needs to complete his schooling, he was enrolled at Gotham Academy. Wednesday is going with him to keep him company. And she likes that Danny is shunning society. She'll try to get to know her cousin over the course of their time in Gotham Academy.
Damian Wayne is going to have two new classmates this year in Gotham Academy.
Can we use the version of wednesday that loves gloomy and dreadful things (keep her legit allergic to color though, that honestly fun ti play with for varied dye allergies) but with the enthusiasm of standard teenager about their interests?
Danny mentions his parents rejecting him for being a halfa? Genuine compassion for his situation and tries to up-talk being an Addams and help him find pride in being āa breathing bridge between sides of the veil, how dreadful! Do you want to talk about how it came to be? Oh, perhaps we can go over various forma of torture and combat and catalogue what youāve survived? No, hmā¦ those shades you seem to like? Want to do seance and see what theyād like of the living while you take a break from bridgework? Excellent!ā
Pair this with Danny baffled as he is never sure if its sarcasm or an Addams-ism when she and her family talk.
Add his general confusion with their over-abundance of wealth contrasted with how generous they are and him debating if they are actively running a crime syndicate or just paying people to not commit crimes against them (depending on the Addams, upset they cannot pay people to torture them as it confuses the person doing the crime AND baffles the local vigilantes as to who is the aggressor)
Damian gets a frontrow seat to Addams Family Shenanigans as Robin now and then, but now has the happy goth and her out-of-state cousin at his school and in a few shared electives (let the three be in art class together, danny is good at sketching in cannon, damian loves to do art in cannon and wednesday took it up in place of sewing classes as sheās in a local group for that instead).
Damian, as Robin, is mildly concerned when wednesday calls Danny a ghost and asks if he can teach her how to haunt her familyline when she dies one night. Danny stares at her before saying āif you can find me in the infinite realms, remember this conversation, and want the guy that failed at living and dying, sure. Why not?ā
Wednesday is psyched for this, and decides to ask Danny if he wants to visit the family plot as āyou seem to relax there more, and the ancestors love visitors! We wake them on halloween to catch up andāā
Damian is now wondering if the cute girl in his art class is a necromancer (yep, and a witch apprentice) and how worried he should be for her clear spiral into villainyā¦ and if her cousin counts as her familiar (no, pugsley does though).
Danny is along for the ride and angsting about his life beforehand and grieving what he hoped for with his parents. Meanwhile Addams are going āour cousin nowā and decorating his room with accurate constellations and encouraging his escapades into mad science as his calling. (Petition to the public to Let danny be a mad engineer whoās projects legit help people as his preferred career and the Addams bankroll him as ātoo rich to need to work and support their family who pick a passionā with dannyās other ājobā being fighting Gomez in duels).
Story is slowburn family of choice on Dannyās side, Wednesday and co speedrunning integrating their cousin into the fold and being as supportive as possible, and Damian is trying to prevent two baby rogues (bat-tunnel vision stops them from realizing the Addams are benign until Kate/Batwoman steps in and lets them know Addams are the metas of the supernatural world, and are rarely malevolent. Most are eccentric weirdos helping how they understand.)
If you want to add amity parkers finding Danny with his cousins family, try to call him Fenton only for Pugsley to pipe up āheās an Addams now, if you want to talk to someone, at least know what family theyāre in! Sorry about thar Cousin Dannyādo you want to talk to them or can we go back to baiting the muggers again?ā
Hell, Jack and Maddie even trying to take Danny back later only for Danny to go ānah, iām home already. I dont need a house that doesnāt want all of me.ā Can be fun.
Jazz has visiting rights and is exclusively called āCousin Jazzā or āCousin Jasmineā.
Thing and Lurch are oddly comforting to Danny (fellow undead) and Danny keeps befriending the local undead population in Gotham (somehow excluding Jason as ānot going near the cranky revenantā).
Hell, his rogues may get pissy heās not around and justā¦ follow him to Gotham ans see him āhauntingā the addams on an invitation to and go āoh, babyās new hauntā¦ how do i get the baby ghost to play? Mayhem in the city usually works!ā
Danny is oblivious to these mishaps while Damian and co know its connected to Danny but not how.
Danny: I'm the replacement butler filling in for Mr. Pennyworth. While he's away I shall care for your every need.
Bruce: Alfred didnāt tell me about a replacement.
Danny: Hmm. His emails might have gotten crossed-
Bruce: Where is Alfred?! What have you done to him?!
Danny: Sir, please calm down. You'll wake the children-
Damian: INTRUDER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO PENNYWORTH!
Danny: I-
Damian: ATTACK! IN THE NAME OF PENNYWORTH!
Wayne kids: *Leaping from the shadows like hissing demons*
Danny: WHAT IN DANTE'S INFERNO!?
Bruce: You have nowhere to run. Tell us what you've done to Alfred
Danny: I told you! He hired me as his replacement - AGHHHHH THE LITTLE ONE'S JAW LOCK ON MY LEG! LET GO!
Damian: *Bites harder while hissing*
Hours later with Danny hogtied in a broom closet:
Bruce: So.....Alfred left me a voicemail I missed. That man in the closet is a civilian replacement that was only meant to be here for one weekend. This was his final assignment before graduating butler school.
Tim: Welp, Damian bite off a good chunk of his leg skin for nothing.
Damian:It was not for nothing. Now he knows not to be a butler. I save his career and his future.
Duke: Are we going to let him out now or?
Bruce: Not until the memory wipe machine finishes warming up.
Alfred: Master Bruce. Young Masters. Why did a lawyer deliver a lawsuit from young Daniel Nightingale for āphysical assaultā and āAttempted Murderā as soon as I came home from my trip?
Bruce: ā¦
Damian: ā¦
Duke: ā¦
Dick: ā¦
Tim: ā¦
Steph: ā¦
Tim: I swear the memory wipe worked. We tested it on Jason.
AKA "Danyal al-Ghul is seven minutes younger than Damian. Those seven minutes mean something."
Danny loved his older brother. Even when Talia favored Damian over him, even when Ra's spared no expense for his brother's care, even when Danny was left unprotected against their mentors' brutality without the title of heir. He swallowed the bitterness of jealousy and instead accepted any affection Damian could secretly give him away from Ra's prying eyes.
He knows Damian loved him, too. As much as Ra's and their mother allowed, as much as being in the league allowed. It was the hitch in Damian's breath when Danny was hit a little harder than usual, bread under his pillow when Danny was sent away without food, the twitch of his lips when Danny said an amusing joke. They could never hug, never speak openly, but Damian always had a small, secret space in his heart for his brother. (Danny and Damian learned early on to never show affection. Danny was once gifted a hawk for his birthday, only for Ra's to slaughter it once Danny had grown to love it. He had nightmares for months that Damian was forced to slaughter him. He woke up every morning feeling sick because he couldn't remember if he'd forgiven Damian in his dreams.)
The only thing that tested Danny's love for Damian was when he left. His mother didn't tell him that Damian was gone. He'd carefully crept into Damian bedroom one night, asking if he'd go stargazing with Danny, when he realized Damian was gone. All his clothes, weapons, gone. There was a single bare mattress. It wasn't until weeks after that Danny's mother told him Damian was sent on a mission as the heir to train with the notorious Dark Knight of Gotham, their father.
There was that bitterness but this time, Danny couldn't swallow it. The emotion sat in his throat like acid, burning in his eyes and throat until he could escape to his bedroom that night. Muffled a scream into his pillow and felt sick, agonizing fury. Jealousy, grief, resentment. It didn't subside for weeks, months, until aching loss of Damian's presence replaced it.
And then Danny's first and only mission.
Kill the heir. Murder his own brother. Danny's grandfather had always looked at him with contempt, hatred. But there was something truly terrifying in his voice when he'd gripped the back of Danny's neck, growled do not disappoint me, and released him into his mother's waiting arms. "He was softened by your father. Dulled and weakened. Don't forget, Danyal," Talia said to him. "The more you care for something, the more sway it has over you. The more it ruins you."
Danny hadn't believed her.
Even as he boarded the private plane, Danny wondered if he could join in Damian's life: fantasies of living in an apartment, stargazing, learning who his father is. Finally learning if Damian had started drawing like his hands always yearned to. Wondering he could see the stars in Gotham as well as in the desert. Danny was almost too eager to see his older brother again, practically giddy at the thought of a reunion away from Ra's and their mother.
Except Damian's hair is... longer. Two older boys are on either side of him and one reaches over to ruffle his hair. And Damian turns with a wide, unguarded smile that Danny's never seen. Watches as one of the other boys hands Damian a takeaway cup of coffee and Damian drinks it without any hesitation. Watches as they banter back and forth, Damian's shoulders no longer rigid with immaculate posture or tense with hypervigilance. Danny watches as Damian acts as if he... as if Danny never existed, as if he'd completely forgotten about him.
The all-consuming ache of Damian's absence is crippling. Worse still is the anger, the rage of being left behind and forgotten while he suffered. Danny was forgotten despite how many times he forgave, loved, hurt. This stranger stands in Damian's place.
(And maybe Danny's mother was right. Danny's never loved anything more than Damian, yet mere moments of watching his brother interact with his new family makes him feel... ruined. A forgotten memory to be tucked under Damian's bed like blunted pencils hidden from their grandfather.)
It... doesn't matter. Danyal al-Ghul has a mission to complete.
Damian has been softened. Danyal has been ruined. Damian has been weakened. Danyal has been betrayed.
Danyal continues watching his brother, building an understanding of patrol routes and connections and skills.
He is here for a mission. He is here to kill the disgraced heir.
Danyal tries to get his emotions under control, so he doesn't attack Damian with the rage of an abandoned brother but the coolness of a trained assassin. It's hard, the hardest thing he's ever done, to push down his rage and jealousy and grief and want.
This open, friendly, loving Damian? Danyal doesn't get that.
Danyal doesn't even get acknowledgement of his spying, and there's no way he's good enough Damian doesn't realize he's being watched.
Danyal slowly works through the pain, shoving his heart into a smaller and smaller box as he watches Damian's expand. Is this how Mother feels? Removed from affection so much she believes harsh, personal training is a hug? Is this how Grandfather feels, removed from the world and judging those still connected?
Assassin, assassin, assassin.
That's what Danyal is, more than a brother or child or heir-in-waiting. He has no emotions, just weapons.
It allows him to get the jump on Damian, tired from a long patrol. To slice the deserter heir's cheek. Break a rib. Plant a blade in Damian's torso.
It's not a vital spot. In the end, Danyal loves his brother too much. Loves him so much he'll allow him to live with brothers he obviously prefers.
"Dan-"
Danyal stands and looks down at his brother, bleeding out on the roof. His older brothers will be here soon, and Damian will be the youngester they fuss over.
And Danyal will be the left-behind, unwanted brother. Loved, briefly, as the LoA allowed, but ultimately not enough.
Not enough for Ra's. For Talia. For Damian.
"Keep the sword, Damian," Danyal says. "Proof you knew me."
He leaps off the roof seconds before Nightwing jumps on, leaving his sword in Damian's side.
He's failed his mission. Failed Mother's leason.
Danyal heads west, shedding lessons. Damian had looked so happy with his emotional freedom. Somewhere, there's an adopted sibling of Danyal's own that can make him smile like that.
For months, Damian didn't tell them who it was exactly that attacked him. He changed the story slightly, enough to explain how he's still alive.
"It was someone I used to train with, back when I was a child in the league." He said, "He's always been softer, weaker, grandfather must have sent him to see how prepared I was. There will be others."
Richard mentioned how he was still a child, and Damian protested of course, but he knew it was true. That's why he said it. How else could he say he had always trained with him, that the one who attacked him was his little brother, the brother he abandoned and never told them about? The brother they would have liked better
He couldn't do it. He didn't know how they would react, and the unknown is dangerous.
He'd tell them eventually, after he found and talked to his brother. After he... He explained. To Danyal. He had never meant to abandon him, he must know that.
But weeks past, Danyal hadn't come back, others did, and they did not show weakness like his brother had. So for a time, he simply forgot.
Then so many things happened, with his father being gone, Timothy and Cassandra as well, and then them all coming back after Timothy had found their father- it took longer than it should have for him to remember what he had never told his family, and a while longer until he had gathered up the courage to inform them of his mistake.
It was his 15th birthday when he finally told someone. His team, his Batman and Batgirl.
When he dragged both Richard and Stephanie into his room they were both a little shocked, and even more so when he sat them on his bed, he himself sitting on his chair before them.
"I need to tell you both something, but you must promise not to tell father until I am ready and have found him." He said seriously, maintaining eye contact for as long as he could.
Stephanie just smiled and nodded as she was always okay with keeping a secret from his father, but Richard seemed worried.
"Who are you talking about, baby bat?" He asked too softly
Damian shook his head, "First you must promise, or I shall only tell Stephanie."
While still obviously worried, Richard nodded as well. "But I reserve the right to tell him if this endangers you or someone else in our family and we can't handle it alone."
It was expected, but Damian still frowned. "Well, do you remember the first time an assassin attacked me in Gotham?"
"How could I forget, just my littlest brother getting a sword stuck in him. Is he what this is about? Why do you need to find him?" Richard asked, even more worried now.
"Are you in danger?" Stephanie asked, she too seemed more alarmed now.
"No, I am not. I can handle myself just fine. Now please keep all questions to the end." Damian only answered Stephanie's question, as Richard's first was obvious and the second will be answered soon.
"I did not tell you the full truth of his identity back then. I did not know how you would react and that uncertainty frightened me. After that I am ashamed to say, that I forgot about him. The truth is, that first assassin wasn't just someone I used to train with, he was also my twin brother." He stopped for a few seconds, unable to look at them anymore.
When neither of them said anything, he continued. "He was always more empathetic than me and excelled more in his studies then he did in training. Back then, we were taught to think of that as a weakness. When I was sent here to live with you and father, he was left behind. I never meant to leave him, but after he appeared here in Gotham, he disappeared, and I forgot. I was afraid you tell you all, again, and I am ashamed it took me so long."
Before he could look up at them again, Stephanie pulled him into a hug. Richard stayed back, and when Damian lifted his eyes to look at him he seemed thoughtful.
"Damian, do you know where he is now?'' Richard asked
Damian shook his head. "But I must find him. I need to know he is safe. He must know I never meant to leave him!"
"Do you think he went back to the league?" Stephanie asked, "Or do you have any idea where else he could be?"
Damian shook his head again, then hid it in her hug. "Are you mad?" He asked, voice so small they barely heard him.
Stephanie squished him. "I'm mostly just glad to be one of the people you consider trustworthy enough to tell the truth to first. But sightly upset, apparently we have an even smaller assassin baby!"
"He is not a baby, he is my twin. But he is small. And weak. And we must find him."
Richard finally joined the hug, trapping both of them. "My littlest brother has a little brother and we're going to find him!" He declared, "I'm telling Babs, and you're gonna have to deal with it because we need her help and we can't keep anything from her anyway, but until we know if he's in a situation where we need backup to get him out we can keep this from Bruce. He will be super mad, but I'll deal with that."
And thus the three begin their journey of not finding anything about one Danyal Al-Ghul, involving Barbie and her finding the kid, then not finding anything about where he lives other than that the city claims to be the most haunted town in America, involving Tim to make him split the researching with Barbie, finding a Daniel Fenton living with the "crazy doctors Fenton, experts in ectology" and a Jazz Fenton, and that the city has a resident vigilante\superhero Phantom. And some tiktoks.
Meanwhile Danny is living with his new family, learning martial arts with his mom and everything else with his sister, and infodumping to his two best friends about stars. Oh and being the prince of the infinite realms with Jazz as his regent and temporary queen. She wants him to finish high school.
I was indeed aiming for good parents Fenton, but I don't want them to know he's Phantom yet because their worldview needs to be shattered first and I don't think it happened yet. And no phantom planet.
Danny and Damian are both 15, the whole Pariah Dark thing happened already, Jazz is currently queen and their parents still don't know
I am also aiming for sightly neglectful parents Fenton but Maddie is brilliant and I think they would absolutely win a custody battle if it came to that :)
I kindaā¦I kinda donāt want Danny to forgive Damian. Damian didnāt just leave, he forgot. He forgot his twin brother, and gained multiple brothers of his own. And then forgot him again, and againā¦thatās not love. He knew Ras would have killed Danny for failing to kill the heir. He still ignored him, and forgot.
Please give me a Danny hates Damian and refuses to forgive him after everything. Give me a king of the dead!Danny with enough power to wipe Gotham off the face of the earth, and only NOW does his brother care. Give me broken & betrayed Danny finally healing with his own family.
Mr Lancer would be considered a hardened war veteran if any member of the government not wearing white stepped foot in Amity Park.
Heād fought off zombies, ghost cops, and sentient meat on more than a few occasions to protect his students.
Heād warned each and every one of his students against misbehaving durin their field trip to Gotham and they all respected him more than enough to listen to his orders.
With Mr Lancers guidance they had made it an entire week in Gotham without any incident despite Poison Ivy taking control of the green house they visited, Scarecrow gassing the art museum mid way through their tour, and even Bane fighting Batman right outside the opera house right as they left for the evening. (Thankfully he had the foresight to put Fentons child leash on to stop him from ājoining the funā)
And now, here they were on their last day of their trip on their way across the Gotham University Campus to attend the lecture that brought them to Gotham in the first place.
Theyād stopped by a lovely little cafe on campus and Mr Lancer was taking a long drawn out sniff of his coffee, just basking in the aroma for a moment when a high pitched laugh broke the peace and suddenly students were frantically running away from an explosion.
Normal this would be when he organizes his student and they all evacuate back to the hotel. All but one of his students had already put on their gas masks and were ready to mobilize at his command.
All but one that stared off towards the explosions with a demented grin on his face that was officially recognized as an omen of doom in no less than 10 occult journals.
Normally he would scold the teen.
Normally heād had his coffee.
Instead Mr Lancer looked mournfully down at his spilled nectar and sighed.
Walking through his class he stopped right next to the smiling teen and reached behind him.
Every single one of his students immediately stepped back when the click of the glowing child leash signaled the boys freedom.
He didnāt even glance towards his teacher.
He had a clown to hunt.
A different laugh was heard throughout the campus that day, one that would haunt the dreams of any that had been unfortunate enough to be there the day the Joker made Mr Lancer spill his coffee.
I want 20 chapters fic of this, and basically, 10 of the chapter is the backstory reason why Mr. Lancer gotten used to the chaos and the reason why the fenton actually built a ghost proof teenage harness leash for Danny. 5 chapter being gotham trip and shenanigans and 5 being the aftermath
So Oracle saw the spilling of the coffee LIVE. And the deliberate act of the teacher to unleash the child. Iām just imagine Danny was vibrating in place like a child on a sugar high dialed to 11 and then thereās a click and vanishes in a blast of speed. Like suddenly going zoom so fast, only the aftershocks of his speed could be seen. (And lancer casually standing there as chairs, trees and his clothes are whipped in a whirlwind. Just holding the empty leash with dead eyes.) Like genuinely, for a moment Oracle wondered if the kid was an unknown flash. At least until he reached Joker and now sheās wondering if he leans more towards the side of demons.
A viral video of a ghostly meta being forcibly trapped, arrested, and contained, all the while these odd men in white uniforms shout penal codes that, shockingly enough, were real and in direct offense to the multitude of metahuman and alien protection laws that should have had this organization dismantled years ago.
Nationwide protests demanding dismantling of the Guys in White have gathered global attention. The white haired ghost boy captured by the GIW has finally been released after months and has multiple interviews scheduled with news outlets to discuss his treatment within their facilities. His first interviewer: Daily Planet duo Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
Ghost king Danny gets summoned by Justice League Dark during finals week. It is the middle of the night, he has a physics exam in 16 hours and is bone tired and beyond done with everything and being summoned by a bunch of very powerful magic users who want to request assistance of the ghost king with some problem Danny didn't even KNOW existed 5 minutes ago is the straw that breaks the camel's back. And to his own mortification, he just starts ugly crying from all the stress.
The JLD are just as mortified when instead of the powerfull and regal king they were expecting to summon there is now a 18ish year old overworked and overburdened kid crying because they asked for his assistance. (The fact that the powerlevels coming off said kid indicate, that he is indeed the ghost king, and the ritual went just as intended, doesn't help.)
a complete 180 from āwe need helpā to all of their parental instincts going fucking haywire
What Iām trying to go for here: the first āokā you hear from Maggie in this video as she lands a plane w/o a right main wheel on her first solo flight. Full video of entire flight here.
It was late. One of the lightbulbs was flickering, there was an unknown buzzing sound. Danny hadnāt been able to shower after seeing that he had run out of body wash. His shirt had a hole in it and the others were dirty.
He stared at his computer, a finals paper so close to being done but the document was glitching out. Then there was the final the next day, he had been studying but could remember If a certain section was included or not.
His head was pounding and he tugged and his dirty hair.
Somehow I managed to write a second part. Itās much longer soo enjoy<3Ā
~
The Justice League Dark didnāt enjoy summons. To summon something was to invite destruction, chaos, and complications that would tinge your soul for lifetimes. Various members had told each other to avoid them at all costs and to be prepared for anything when they had to do one.Ā
Summoning the Ghost King was something they could not mess up. Even going as far as to bar Batman from attending given the number of times that he was less than welcoming, and the Ghost King was a being that they could not offend. They could not afford to offend a being that would reign over your soul once your last breath left your body. A being that could raise an army of the dead or order ghosts to set their sights on the mortal plane and lay it to waste. A being that was said to be able to rip tears in reality and pull whatever they wished into its domain.Ā
The only bat present was Red Hood because they were in his territory for the summoning and the man was more than happy to throw a wrench in Batmanās plans.Ā
Here is part three! @undead-essenceĀ Ā @fisticuffsatapplebees @lady-time-lord-Ā @mayoota-blog1Ā @wolfeyedwitchĀ @stealingyourbones @wolfjackle @assorted-thoughts-and-feelingsĀ Ā I tagged those that asked and a few who seemed like they would want to see another part [ I think tag for @mayoota-blog1 didnāt work tho for some reason :(Ā ]
~
As per usual, they were asked to report what had happened when they summoned the Ghost King.
Part 4 @undead-essence @fisticuffsatapplebees @lady-time-lord- @mayoota-blog1Ā @wolfeyedwitch @stealingyourbones @wolfjackle @assorted-thoughts-and-feelings @moonscat @flamefullmetalĀ @kyrianclawraithĀ @chickenscheesencrackersĀ @mysticsoulgirlĀ (Still not sure if all the tags worked, sorry!)
~
Finals week came and went as if it was a simple breeze and not some overwhelming pressure that settled on Dannyās chest and made it hard to breathe( no matter if he needed to or not ,the practice was soothing).
Assassin Heir? Crime Fighting Furry? NOPE NO THANK YOU!
"Danyal, its time to end this game and return with me."
Danny should had known Clockwork had something in mind when he sent him on this mission. He knew he should had been suspicious of the time keeper when he noticed the little 'this is going to be fun' smile on his face when he sent Danny off into the portal.
"Get back here you demon spawn 2.0!"
But how was he supposed to know that he'd wake up in this world version of himself in a pit full of corrupted (AND NASTY) ectoplasim at the tender age of five or that when he swam up to the surface he'd be meeting face to face with what was apparently a cult.
"-O just spotted him a block away! I'll try to cut itty bitty bridie off!"
An Assassins Cult his, new to him, loving yet a little insane mother was in charge of (though during the few months he stayed in the compound he heard rumors and gossip from maids and others alike that if his grandfather returned from the dead he'll take over once again, no doubt punish Talia for creating another heir after the failure of the last one, most likely was going to kill Danny and that... that was can of worms Danny didn't wanna deal with yet)
"Ten bucks says they try to stab RR when we get the feral thing home"
"...Losers bet...."
Danny had lived with his mother for a while after being brought back from the 'dead' for apparently the first time, it turned out training a five year old with an actual sword and a dumbass hidden revenge seeking teacher was a terrible idea.
"I swear if this one tries to murder me like the others I'm asking Zatanna if there is a curse on me."
He dealt with her high demands of perfection, the endless training, and the constant comparisons to his apparent older brother Damain... Who didn't know Danny, or rather Danyal existed.
Nor did his father (when Danny, using his powers he's kept hidden since 'waking' up in this Realm, he sneaked his way around the base and discovered how he came into the world. And tbh he couldn't blame his mom how she made him, she was an assassin first and foremost, being naturally pregnant would had painted a target on her for to long... but he also felt it was unfair and an asshole move on his unsuspecting father as well)
"As your elder brother I demand you to stop running!"
Now don't get him wrong, he did like his new mother (total badass assassin lady and all that) and he knew she loved him in her own... deadly way. But yeah, she really shouldn't be taking care of kids. He could tell she struggled with wanting to be a normal mother but her first instinct after so many years was to be an assassin first.
Something she was trying to engrave into Danny with as well.
"Ah, hello Beloved. I see you've learned of our Danyal."
"Talia. Back away from him and leave Gotham now."
"I can not do that. The League needs an heir and since Damian refuses to return... I have decided to create a new one and I shall not be leaving until he returns with me."
"Talia."
Hence why when Danny, or rather Danyal al Ghul had gotten decent control over his powers he decided to leave the League. Again nothing wrong with the life his mom leads, to each their own, but he... really, really didnt want to be an assassin. Or an assassin heir.
So here he was, after almost a year on the run, using his powers and training to out smart and out maneuver his mother and her many band of Assassins, in Gotham. One of the last places he ever wanted to run to cause he knew his father and brother lived here.
It was just his luck that his mother had managed to intercept his train ride that passed into Gotham for a few hours and forced him to run into the city...
Add her assassins into the mix and running into Robin, who heard from Oracle his mother had been spotted chasing a young boy across the city, that same night.
After that it became a full on "catch me if you can" chase for not only his mother but for the batclan as well.
And after two whole days of chase, it seemed like the final showdown was about to begin because everyone was on top of this rooftop, his mother and her assassins on one side, his father and the batclan on the other and Danny well... he was right in the middle of all of it.
He just had to hope no one would notice him once the fighting started...
The two sides were glaring at each other. Or at least, that's what Danny assumed. It was hard to tell when people's faces where half covered. Neither side moved watching the other.
"Danyal. Come here," his mother ordered.
Nah. He loved her, just as she loved him. She wasn't exactly the sanest though. Neither was his dad, since he was a surprisingly popular out and proud furry. Danny was waiting. As soon as the two sides went after each other, he was going to make a run for it. His mom stepped forward, and the batclan leapt forward.
Danny dodged and weaved as the two sides clashed, trying to prevent the other from getting to him. Once he was pretty sure they were all distracted, he jumped down onto a fire escape and made himself invisible, running away. He couldn't hold it for long, but it should hold long enough for him to lose his tails for a bit.
***
Danny was pretty sure he wasn't followed. He'd managed to make his way to the observatory. It was easy to sneak inside. He'd decided to use the techniques his mom had shown him. Danny was still tired from using his powers earlier. He paused at the gift shop, looking longingly at some of the posters, toys, and clothes. He could live without it, but it would be nice to have one of those.
Danny shook his head.
He didn't want to steal.
Sighing, Danny moved on. He wanted to check out the movie room. It would be a nice place to sleep for the night, and he could fall asleep listening to the stars. Following the signs, he made it to the theater room. It was easy to find the console. From there, he turned on a video about the Hubble telescope and the James Webb telescope. Those would be fun.
Danny started them up, then meandered down to the rows of chairs. He laid down in the first row, spreading himself out across two of the seats. They were cushioned nicely. He'd been taught how to fall asleep when in uncomfortable situations. Danny drifted off hearing the narrator talk about the galaxies.
***
He woke up hearing two people talking, asking who had been the last to lock up for the night, how could they have left the projector running. Danny scrambled to get up and hide. It was child's play to sneak back out. His stomach grumbled. He'd had to steal food this past year in order to say alive. He didn't like it, but it was necessary. Danny made his way to a fancy looking grocery store that wasn't that far away.
His mouth watered seeing the fruits and vegetables. He'd hated them in his last life, but he appreciated them so much more in this one, where he rarely got enough to eat. Danny went in, looking for an adult to hang around who he could pretend he was with. There. There was an elderly gentleman stocking up his cart, filling it full. Danny made his way to the man and hovered around him, but not too close.
Danny stole an apple and an orange, hiding them in his hoodie. He also snuck a chocolate bar. Life was tough. Some sugar would do him good. Not only that, but chocolate was full of magnesium. That was an important micronutrient. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the elderly man say to the cashier.
"Add an apple, and orange, and a kit kat bar. I'm afraid my grandson has squirreled them away. He refused breakfast, so of course he is hungry now." Danny's head snapped up, assessing the man.
He had white hair and was balding at the top. He looked stern, but there was a kindness to him. Afterall, why else would he have paid for Danny's stuff? He followed the man out of the store.
"Thanks. You didn't have to do that," Danny admitted, scuffing the ground with his toe, ashamed yet grateful.
"No. There is a a small bakery and coffee shop down the street. If you help me put the items in my car, I'm more than happy to get you breakfast," the man explained. Danny nodded. It was a good trade, not only that, but it was easy to help the man. He told Danny his name was Alfred Pennyworth. Danny just said his name was Danny.
At the cafe, Mr. Pennyworth got some tea and scones while Danny got hot chocolate and an egg quiche with vegetables. It was really yummy. Danny tried to savor the drink. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had something so yummy. Definitely not since waking up in this body.
"Some of my grandsons will be here shortly. They were in the area. I do hope you won't mind them joining," Mr. Pennyworth told him calmly.
"Okay," Danny mumbled. Maybe he should try to leave before that... he was kinda gross and stinky.
He didn't really have a chance to leave though, as it felt like just seconds later, three men entered the store. The oldest, silver just starting to enter his hair, sat down next to Danny. He shifted uncomfortably. It was going to be harder to leave now. He didn't want to act suspicious and attract attention though.
"Bruce! What a surprise. I'd thought it was just going to be Tim and Damian."
"I was the one who drove them out here! Tim wanted to check out the observatory," Bruce said joyfully before turning to look at Danny. It kinda unnerved him. It reminded him of his mother's gaze, picking him apart, looking for Danny's flaws. He hated it. He needed to get out of here!
"Hello there! I'm Bruce Wayne! Nice to meet you! Where did Alfred pick you up at?" Was this something Mr. Pennyworth did often? Danny thankfully didn't have to answer as the boys sat down. One was older, probably sixteen or seventeen while the other looked to be twelve.
"Here's yours," the elder one said sliding a cup to Bruce. He then sat next to Alfred, the twelve year old sitting at the end of the table.
"Thank you Tim." He was turning to ask Danny something again, something Danny didn't want. So he decided to jump in.
"Tim! You wanted to go to the observatory. What did you want to see there?" Tim blinked.
"Uh, they updated the documentary to include new information since the James Webb telescope was launched a little while ago."
Perfect.
Danny has spent all night listening to that on repeat. He could rant about that telescope till he bored them and made them leave him alone! He just needed to be as annoying and know-it-all as possible. Time to channel Jazz.
"Did you know that the James Webb was built to extend the capabilities of the Hubble telescope? It has a whole bunch of infrared equipment, that way it can be an orbiting infrared telescope. It's made with gold coated beryllium that way..."
Why werenāt they getting bored? Why were they all listening as if this was the most interesting thing theyāve ever heard? Danny was running out of information to info dump on them about the telescopes. He had plenty of more facts about space and galaxies and all that good stuff, but the satellites and telescopes? Yeah, he was out. Tim had been surprisingly knowledgeable and had been a good listener. Heād mentioned some a University in Arizona that was known for their optics program and made some of the best and largest lenses in the world. Also how they had a great astronomy and astrophysics program due to the fact that the sky was so often clear there and it was relatively easy to find an open patch of land in the desert that did not suffer from light pollution and view the heavens from there. Danny hadnāt known any of that, happily drinking his hot chocolate while Tim explained. He was brought out of his thoughts when Bruce interrupted.Ā
āWow. You know a lot about the stars. Would you like to come with us to the observatory?ā Bruce was smiling, but it was softer this time and didnāt feel as fake. It still felt weird. Why was this family accepting him? It was really suspicious.Ā
āOh no, I couldnāt. Itās your family that you were going to do with Tim and Damian,ā Danny protested.Ā
He wanted to go. He did. But he shouldnāt. Also, this was Gotham? Heād heard so much about this city, who in the world were these people that they were like: ah, letās take that street urchin in his ratty and stinky clothes to an observatory! Were they trying to kidnap him? Probably. Ah well, he could kick their asses when they revealed their hand and then leave. Danny was still trying to lay low and hide from his mother and his father, the Batman. Mother might suspect him of going to an observatory. She did know him, and knew that he liked stars. Probably? Was he giving her too much credit? She had him on purpose because her other son hadnāt turned out the way she wanted. Mother hasnāt been thrilled to discover his interest in space. No, sheād just wanted the perfect soldier, the perfect heir.Ā
Sheād lost that when sheād killed her son and revived him in the Lazarus Pit.Ā
Older Dannyās memories had meshed with his younger, reincarnated selves ones, but older Danny had so many more memories and a lot more life experience. Little Danny? Not so much. The love he had for his mother had stayed though.Ā
āOh, I insist,ā Bruce said, putting his hand gently on Dannyās shoulder.Ā
Danny bit his lip. He glanced around at the others. Damian hadnāt said a word, just watching Danny. He had the same gaze as his father, Bruce, had initially. As if he was trying to look into Dannyās soul. Alfred looked serene and calm as ever. Danny felt safer if both Tim and Alfred would come with.Ā
āWill you be coming too, Mr. Pennyworth?ā Danny asked, trying to give his best innocent and cute look at the older gentleman. He also subtly pushed off Bruceās hand, not liking it on him.
āIām afraid I must get the groceries home. They would not survive a trip to the observatory,ā Mr. Pennyworth said. Danny frowned. That sucked.Ā
āOh. Well, I wouldnāt want to imposeā¦ā yes, nice and easy, get away from this nice but really weird family.Ā
āYou wouldnāt be imposing! Donāt worry about cost either! I have plenty of money,ā Bruce chuckled.Ā
āYuck,ā Danny blurted, then blushed. Okay, so he kinda hated rich people. He blamed Vlad. Tim let out a surprised laugh, although he tried to stop it as quickly as he could. Damian, however, bristled.
āHow dare you say that! Father is one of the most generous men on the planet and his charities help the people of this city and those all around the world!ā Bruce put his hand on Damianās shoulder.Ā
āItās alright, son. I donāt think Danny knows who we are. Iām Bruce Wayne, does that ring a bell?ā It did, but Danny didnāt want to tell him that.Ā
āNo,ā Danny told the man before finishing off his hot chocolate. It was a little cold at this point, but it was still good. Heād finished the quiche during his discussion with Tim. Decisions though. He really, really wanted to explore the observatory while it was open and not at nightā¦Ā
āIāll go, but you have to answer one question first,ā Danny told Bruce, looking up at him. He was going to have so much fun messing with this trillionaire.Ā
āOf course!ā Danny was going to make him regret that. They would either let him leave or still take him after this question. Probably let him leave.Ā
āYouāre not a pedophile, are you?āĀ
Bruceās eyes widened, and he looked stunned. Damian stood up and started yelling. Mr. Pennyworth looked perturbed. Tim looked like he wasnāt sure if he was going to laugh or cry. What could he say? He was a bit of a chaos gremlin.Ā
***
To Dannyās utter amazement, the Waynes still wanted to take Danny to the observatory.Ā
They had to have some sort of ulterior motive. No one would have taken Danny after he asked Bruce that so bluntly. Were they connected to the Bats? Or his Mother? Either way, Danny was just going to use them a bit, making them go with him to every single exhibit, check out all of the telescopes, and watch as many of the movies in the theater as possible. Tim though, Tim had been the one to surprise Danny by getting him a few items from the gift shop. A little model rocket, a poster of a few different galaxies, and even some astronaut food.Ā
It was really nice of the teen.Ā
Damian had been extremely bored and clearly did not want to be there. He kept trying to tell Danny what to do and how to act, which just made Danny want to do the exact opposite. It was honestly fun to make the other kid mad. When he did, he would hide behind Timās leg and give the older teen the most innocent look he could manage. Bruce looked super tired from dealing with their squabbles.Ā
If he couldnāt handle it, he shouldnāt have invited Danny along!Ā
That led to the interesting conundrum. It was becoming dark, and the observatory was about to close. Bruce and his kids didnāt seem to want Danny to leave. It was super suspicious. They were outside now, Danny holding his little bag of goodies. While he could be subtle when he wanted to be, now really wasnāt the time for subtlety. Walking forward in front of the little family, Danny turned to face them. He was prepared to run if they made any weird moves.Ā
āSo. Whoās side are you on? My momās? Or are you on the side of my dad, the furry?āĀ
āWhat makes you think we have anything to do with your parents? Whoever they are,ā Bruce asked. Danny rolled his eyes.Ā
āPlease. Any normal person would want to get away from me as soon as I asked if they were a pedophile. The fact that you didnāt leave me alone right after that? Super suspicious. I may be five, but Iām not dumb,ā Danny told them, annoyed. Sometimes being so little was helpful, sometimes it really, really sucked!Ā
The three people studied Danny. He fidgeted.Ā
āWell? Are you going to answer my question?ā Danny demanded.Ā
āWeāre withā¦ Batman,ā Bruce reluctantly said.Ā
āYeah, I thought so. None of you really seem like people my mom would associate with.ā Apparently, that was funny, as Tim covered his mouth with a hand to muffle his laughter.Ā
āWhy would you think that?ā Damian questioned, crossing his arms andā¦ pouting? Ancients, was the twelve year old kid really pouting? It was only because Danny had been taught how to read even the most subtle body language by his assassin mom that he could tell the other boy was upset.
āUh, youāre not all stabby and donāt really seem super dangerous,ā Danny explained. That seemed to get Tim even more, as he made a strangled sound and pulled out his phone.Ā
āI need to tell Jason. Heās going to love this so much,ā Tim managed to wheeze out. Danny was not waiting around till Jason showed up. He was getting out of here.Ā
āAnyway, good to know that youāre with the caped furry. I hope to NEVER see you again,ā he told them cheerily.Ā
āWAIT!ā Damian yelled, grabbing Dannyās hand. Danny frowned at the surprisingly strong grip. āDonāt you want to meet your older brother?āĀ
āUh, no,ā Danny told the other boy. Damianās face went stony at the answer. āIāve been compared to my older brother my entire life. Mother said that once I beat my teacher, I could learn his name and once I beat her I could learn my fatherās name. I donāt want to know, though. Mother always said I was slower than him, I didnāt learn as quickly as him. I wanted to yell at her so many times that I wasnāt him! Iām Danyal. Iām Danny. I donāt want to be my brother. I want to be nothing like him! Mother boasted how heād completed his first kill at three. Iāve never killed anyone. I love my mom, but sheās not exactly sane and really shouldnāt be raising a kid.āĀ
āSo I ran away, and thereās no way Iām going to get involved with Batman, because if Mother picked him to be my father, then heās probably not really sane either. I mean, he runs around at night in his fursona!ā Danny argued. He tugged at his arm. āNow let me go!ā
Damian wasnāt letting go though. In fact, his grip just got tighter. Danny tried a few techniques heād learned from his Mother, but none of them worked. Damian had a smug expression on his face as Danny struggled to get away. Bruce and Tim got closer, caging him in.Ā
Well, screw that!Ā
āYeah, no, bye!ā Danny told them, turning intangible to Damianās hand slid off him, his eyes ridiculously wide in shock.Ā
Not bothering to see the otherās reactions, Danny turned and ran, gripping his bag of goodies tightly. He heard them chasing after him. His legs were short, but all he needed to do was get to the shadows, then he could turn invisible and get away. It didnāt matter if they saw he had powers at this point. He just needed to get away.Ā
***
The bad thing about spending the whole day in the observatory was that Danny hadnāt picked a nice, safe spot to sleep for the night. Once he was sure he was far enough away from the Waynes, heād dropped his invisibility then wandered. Heād received so many looks from others. Whatever. Danny could take care of himself. He could tell it was going to rain. He needed to find a place to get some shelter and keep warm for the night.Ā
Danny found a nice little space to hide and keep warm, under the roof of a large building. The overhang was large enough that it kept him dry. The thick stone slabs on theā¦ bank. It was a bank. The outside of the bank was warm. Well, warmer than elsewhere. From up here, Danny could watch the street and everything that was going on. The bag rustling, he pulled out the model rocket, admiring it. It was really, really nice of Tim to buy this for him. It was a model of the Javelin, the type of rocket that was a spaceship and a jet. It was used exclusively by the Justice League.Ā
This type of technology hadnāt existed in his old world. He really wanted to fly in one. Or look at the engine of it. Saw how it worked. The specs on it. Danny wanted to know about the aerodynamics of the plane, the material used to make it both sturdy and heatproof for reentry into the atmosphere. He couldnāt always let his adult side take over, or dominate him. So Danny let his younger side out, making the Javelin fly around above him, making soft zooming noises. He thought about if he went with his dad, with Batman, maybe he could get to fly in one.Ā
Danny shook his head, dispelling that thought.Ā
It was a nice one, but he didnāt want anything to do with the Bat themed vigilante or the bird themed ones that seemed to flock around him. Danny just wanted to be a normal kid. Well, as normal as he could be. It wasnāt worth sacrificing his normalcy or his freedom to fly in a Javelin, as cool as it would be. Danny put the model on his chest and sighed. He tensed as he heard two people land on the ground by the entrance to the bank. It was Nightwing and Red Hood. Nightwing was hiding something behind his back, a smile on his face.
āThat sure was a big sigh! Are you doing alright up there, Danny?ā Nightwing asked kindly, giving him a small wave.Ā
Oh great.Ā
āIām fine. Go away,ā Danny ordered.Ā
āOkay. If you come down though, Iāll give you this!ā Nightwing brought out what looked like a Build a Bear in an astronaut costume. It was tempting, but Danny wasnāt falling for it.Ā
āPass,ā Danny told him. Red Hood snickered. Danny eyed him.Ā
āAre you going to try and convince me to come down too?ā He asked the anti-hero.Ā
āNah,ā came the robotic voice. A voice changer. āIām just here to watch Goldie fail.āĀ
āLittle wing!ā Nightwing complained. Wait a minute.Ā
āLittle wing? Red Hood is bigger and taller than you. How is he little?ā Danny asked.Ā
āWell, heās younger than me,ā Nightwing explained, as if it explained anything!Ā
āSoā¦ Do you call people older than you Big wing?ā Danny questioned. The logic wasnāt really logicing for him. Red Hood started chuckling. It sounded kinda weird with the voice modulator.Ā
āYouāre a riot kid. Iām going to enjoy this.āĀ
Red Hood might be enjoying this, but Danny was not. He glared down at the two men. Nightwing just cooed at him. What was wrong with the man? Why was he all excited about a moody toddler? Red Hood was staying true to his word leaning against one of the bollards in front of the bank. Weirdly, a couple of them were damaged. Were people so bad at driving in Gotham that they kept running into them? Or were there seriously that many attacks from proclaimed villains.Ā
Ancients, this place got weirder and weirder the more he learned about it.Ā
This place wasnāt going to work for the night. He got the feeling that Nightwing was like an overactive golden retriever puppy. Sorry Nightwing, Danny preferred Rottweilers and Doberman. They reminded him of Cujo. He really wanted to sleep. Itād been such a good day at the observatory messing with Damian and hanging out with Tim. Heād liked Mr. Pennyworth too.Ā
Too bad they were all associated with his dad.Ā
If only his mom had told him the names of his dad and older brother. All he knew was that they were Batman and Robin. Sighing to himself, Danny put his toy Javelin back in the bag, holding tight to it. He could climb out from under the overhang and then get on the roof, but with their grapples, theyād get up there before him and would be waiting for him. Danny would be captured, unless he used his intangibility again. That wouldnāt be good. His legs were hurting and he was tired, which meant he wouldnāt be able to told onto any of his powers for long.Ā
āDanny? You okay up there babbiest bat?ā Nightwing asked. Red Hood snorted.Ā
āBabbiest bat? Really?āĀ
āBaby Bat is already taken by Robin! Red Robin is Baby Bird and youāre Little Wing. Iām running out of nicknames!ā Nightwing defended himself, pouting but focusing on Red Hood.Ā
Now.Ā
Now was the time for him to briefly go invisible and phase on to the roof. Hopefully by only using his powers for thirty seconds or less, he could make his escape. Up he went, then running across the roof, holding on to his invisibility for as long as possible. Theyād somehow seen him, probably on the cameras. Danny needed to be undetected getting into his next sleeping spot, otherwise theyād find him. He really, really needed to sleep in order to regain his strength and his powers. He was running on empty, and they were bound to give out on him soon.Ā
This time, even though it meant the vigilantes themselves might spot him easier, as the rooftops kinda made it easy to spot him. It kept him out of the line of sight from the cameras that were around the city. Heād heard of the Oracle person, that was probably how Nightwing and Red Hood had found him. As long as he was invisible, they couldnāt see where he was going, and he needed to get as far away as possible.Ā
Danny stopped on an apartment building that was only a few blocks from Wayne Tower. He crawled into the space between the air conditioner and heater units that were bolted in place. There, he let his invisibility drop. It was cramped, and if it rained, which was likely, he would get drenched. Danny had to try, had to try and sleep for a bit. Shivering, he curled into a ball and tried to sleep.Ā
***
Danny only got to sleep for three hours before the heavens opened above him, the rain soaking him to the bone. His entire body trembled. He was out of power, extremely tired, and cold. The younger part of him wanted to cry. The older part of him knew he had to get up, to go somewhere warm and dry otherwise he would die from hypothermia. Struggling, Danny got up and exited his hiding spot.Ā
He stilled when he saw who was on the roof.
Red Robin was sitting on the edge, looking out at the city. Hearing Danny, he glanced back at the small boy before returning his gaze to the city.Ā
āIām done with patrol for the night,ā the vigilante commented.Ā
Dannyās mind was whirring. How long had Red Robin been there? Why hadnāt he told anyone? How had he found Danny?Ā
āIām about to head home. It would be easy to hide a small kid in my cape as I went to my apartment. The apartment I live alone in. Might even make two mugs of hot chocolate. You know. Just in case.āĀ
Some of the fight drained from Danny, his stiff and tense shoulders dropping. That sounded really good. A dry and safe space to spend the night and hot chocolate. It sounded too good to be true! Yet he couldnāt stay out here. Danny had half died once and died twice now. He didnāt want to die a third time and deal with whatever nonsense was sent his way that time. Slowly, step by shaking step, he approached the unmoving vigilante. Swallowing his pride and taking a leap of faith, he tugged on Red Robinās cape.Ā
āCan youā¦ take me with you to your apartment? I couldā¦ drink that extra hot chocolate,ā Danny whispered. Red Robin looked at him and nodded.Ā
āYeah. Yeah, I can do that.āĀ
It was nice, but still really weird when he was brought under Red Robinās cape and held tight to the manās (teenās?) body. The trek across the city was quick. Danny was able to warm up a little. Red Robinās apartment was high up and had a ton of security. Danny was ushered to the couch, and given some clothes. They were big for Danny, but they werenāt Red Robin sized.Ā
āThose are Robinās,ā Red Robin told him. Danny stiffened, looking at the items. āHe stays over every once in a while, or sometimes he changes here after school. Itās not often, but just enough that Nightwing insisted that I keep some spares here. The bathroom is over there. Iāll be right in the kitchen, starting the hot coco.ā
Danny sat there, watching dumbly as Red Robin took off some of his outfit, but left the domino on. The man clearly didnāt care that Danny saw him in his underwear during this. Once Red Robin was in sweats and a ratty tee shirt, Danny made his way to the bathroom. He stared at the clothes. He didnāt want to be like his older brother, but at the same time, part of him was fascinated by the clothing in front of him.Ā
It was 100% cotton, which indicated wealth. It was a solid green color. There was fur on it. That, Danny hadnāt expected. Most of it was black, but there were some white strands as well. Likely a mostly black animal with some white patches? The cuffs were worn, and there were slight wrinkles in the elbows and lower half of the sleeves. Dannyās older brother liked to roll up his sleeves a lot. The pants had the same type of animal hair and were of hush quality as well, not telling Danny much about his sibling.Ā
Danny heard cursing coming from the kitchen. He exited the bathroom, finding Red Robin trying to mop up an overflowing pot of milk. Milk tended to bubble up quickly once it boiled. Did Red Robin not know that?Ā
āUh. Justā¦ give me a minute. I have this under control!ā Red Robin told him flustered.Ā
The kitchen was actually pretty bare except for a super shiny and well used coffee machine. The rest of it had a small layer of dust. What did the man eat? Take out? Said man was opening a dusty box with round chocolate orbs.Ā
āNightwing gave me these. Said I should be able to boil milk and then just put them in a mug. They should still be good?ā Red Robin questioned. Danny got the feeling he wasnāt supposed to answer that.Ā
After all of that mess, he got a mug that was filled with warm milk and one of the chocolate balls dropped in. Danny was ushered to the couch again. Red Robin gave him a ton of blankets to snuggle under. Then the man left him for his own room. Danny sipped his chocolate, thinking. Danny had taken a risk to trust the vigilante, and the vigilante had taken a risk to trust Danny. Wait, that was the sound of security activating. Okay, maybe not a ton of risk, but it was smart of Red Robin to try and keep a kid trained by the League of Assassins out of his room while he slept.Ā
He yawned.
Danny really needed to sleep.Ā
First though, he opened the bag, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes seeing how the posters were ruined from the rain. The Javelin was fine, as it was made out of plastic. It was fine. Not all of his gifts from Tim had been ruined. Danny sniffled a bit, then sneezed. Setting his mug down on the coffee table, Danny wrapped himself in blankets and made himself comfortable on the couch, falling asleep almost immediately.Ā
He was shivering and cold, his head was pounding, and snot was dripping from his nose. Heād caught a cold. Danny coughed weakly. His immune system was pretty good, and it had always been good as a halfa. Not eating enough, not getting enough sleep, and being soaked for a while had taken their toll and how he was sick.Ā
Weakly, Danny stumbled off of the couch, clinging to the blankets around him. They dragged behind him like a little cape. He made his way to the door that had to be Red Robinās bedroom. Danny knocked. It was faint, way too faint. Gritting his teeth, Danny knocked harder so it could actually be heard. He waited, swaying slightly. Oh, there was movement from inside the bedroom. The door opened, and Danny was looking up at Tim. What was Tim doing - oh. Tim = Red Robin. If his brain was currently trying to boil itself to make him feel better, Danny would think that over a bit more.Ā
āI donāt feel good,ā he announced sadly. Tim frowned, reaching out to feel his forehead. Alarm flashed across his face.Ā
āYeah, youāre definitely sick. Um, letās get you back on the couch. Iāllā¦ call back up and get you some kids motrin or something. Chicken soup, thatāllā¦ yeah.ā
Danny went back to the couch, cocooning himself inside his blankets, not before he grabbed the Javelin. It was his only toy, and he was going to hold on to it and cuddle it, even if it was a bit pokey. Maybe he should have taken the time to swipe the bear from Nightwing. It had been bought just for him. No. Danny shook his head. He could not be bribed! Not with gifts or toys! That was what Vlad did! It was scummy! The only reason heād accepted the stuff from Tim was because heād spent the whole day with Danny talking about space and the stars. Heād earned some of Dannyās trust.Ā
Tim came back, on the phone with someone, sitting down on the couch next to Danny. Danny wanted hugs. He wanted cuddles. He felt bad and icky and just wanted someone to hold him and tell him it would all be better. He couldnāt remember that happening at all in this life, and it happening rarely in his other one. Danny sniffed, trying to hold back tears. Why were his lives always so crazy and bad?
ā-heās got a bit of a fever. Can you bring a fever reducer? Can I also bother you to make some chicken soup? I um. I have no vegetables or food in my fridge. I have milk and coffee creamer, but thatās about it.āĀ
Tim was distracted. Maybe he wouldnāt notice Danny shuffling closer. Okay, that was a lie. He was a vigilante, heād totally know. Tim had taken Danny in last night and given him shelter. That had to mean something, didnāt it? Tim ran his free hand through his hair, looking admonished. Whoever was on the phone was giving him a good scolding.Ā
āI eat! I promise! You know I canāt cook Alfred. Not like you and Jason can. Coffee is about the best I can do. I over boiled the milk last night. It was supposed to be easy, just warm the milk and then drop the hot chocolate bombs in there. Yeah they were good. See you soon Alfred. Thanks for everything.ā
āAlfredās coming?ā Danny asked, his throat all scratchy from the nasal drip.Ā
āYeah. Heās on his way with food and medicine. Um. Do you want to watch cartoons?ā Tim asked. āI can make you some tea. Pretty sure I have peppermint. Alfred says itās good for when youāre sick.āĀ
āYeah. Sounds good.āĀ
Tim left, and Danny slumped in his pile of blankets.Ā
He could hear the sounds of an electric water kettle and the sound of the coffee machine starting up. Tim came back to grab Dannyās hot chocolate mug from last night, puttering around the living room. Tim was in a pair of boxers and an oversized sweater. Since the domino was off, Danny could see the deep circles under the teenās eyes. Tim had to be a teen, right? Ages were hard to figure out with his brain a mix of old Danny and young Danny. Everyone was older than him, so it didnāt really matter that much. It was just how much older than him they were.Ā
The TV lit up, his companion using the remote to go to a streaming service. A show called Bluey was selected. He wasnāt a baby! He didnāt need to watch a show about dogs and their life! Itā¦ wasnāt that bad though. It was much better than Paw Patrol, which heād seen glimpses of while he was fleeing Nanda Parbat. It made his chest ache though. Heād never had a family like that. Not in his past life, and not in this one.Ā
It wasnāt fair.Ā
Heād been reincarnated here, why was he given such a crappy hand again? Wasnāt the whole thing about karma that you would reincarnate into a better life? Hadnāt Danny been good in his last one? Heād been a hero, heād helped others! None of this was fair!Ā
Danny was brought out of his thoughts when Tim set down two mugs. One was clearly coffee, and the other was the tea. Both were steaming. Tim left and came back with a damp cloth.Ā
āCome on, we need to put this on your forehead to try and cool you down a bit. I donāt have a thermometer, but it seemed pretty high to me. Are you okay? You lookedā¦. Sad.ā Tim said softly, folding the cloth and placing it on Dannyās forehead.Ā
āItās not fair.āĀ
āWhatās not fair?ā
āThis. All of this. I just wanted a better life. I just wanted to be free.ā He wasnāt sure if he was making sense or not. He didnāt care.Ā
āIs that why you ran?ā
āYeah. Mom wants me to kill. Dad makes people fight. Neither was good. I just wanted to be normal. I want to be an astronaut. I didnāt ask for this,ā Danny complained. Oh, he was a little dizzy now. The cloth felt nice, but he was still having the chills. So he still had a bad fever.Ā
There was a sound elsewhere in the apartment. He should care, but all he could focus on was how miserable he felt. There were footsteps. Two people came in, but they were blurry.Ā
āDid Talia give you the powers?ā Danny shuddered. Weakly, he put his palm over Timās mouth.Ā
āSHHH. Mom doesnāt know. She was dumb. Hired this - this guy who didnāt like her. He killed me. So I got a bath in the green pool. Thatās where the powers come from. But thatās where the - the voice, the other me is from. Older me. He saidā¦. He said mom wouldnāt ever love me the way I wanted her to. She wasnāt capable.ā Danny hiccuped, the tears heād been holding back starting to fall. There was a crash from the blurry people. Oh, Tim was looking blurry too.Ā
āSaid mom would never let me go if she found out what I could do now. So I practiced in secret. She canāt know,ā Danny insisted.Ā
āWe wonāt tell her. What does thisā¦ other voice say about me? About your dad?ā Tim asked. His voice was nice and calm. Soothing even. Ugh, he was getting tired of all the stuff about his dad though.Ā Ā
āHe doesnāt mind you. You like to talk about space with us. So youāre cool. My dadā¦ he thinks heās weird. Who runs around dressed like a bat? People who arenāt all there. But this whole place is weird. I donāt understand a lot. Um. Tim?āĀ
āYeah Danny?āĀ
āEverything is spinning.āĀ
That was all Danny got out before everything went dark and he felt himself pitch forward.
When he woke up, he felt a lot cooler. He was in a bathtub filled with cold water. Danny saw a few pieces of ice floating in the water. There was a man with black hair and a white tuft of hair in the front reading a novel. Not just any novel, it was Pride and Prejudice. He was big and muscular. It would have been more intimidating, if he wasnāt sitting clothed on top of the toilet.Ā
āWhoāre you?ā Thatās what Danny tried to say, but it came out really mumbled. The black and white haired guy looked up. There were so many nicknames that were flitting through his head at this point. Magpie. Skunk. Cow. Panda. Penguin. Sebra. There were so many animals that were black and white.Ā
āIām Jason. Howāre you feeling?ā Jason got off of the toilet, kneeling down beside the bathtub to feel Dannyās forehead. He had to move a damp washcloth to do so.Ā
āI feel yucky. But not as bad as before,ā Danny reported. Jason nodded, removing his hand.
āSeems like your fever has gone down a bit.ā That was good. āYou up to taking some Motrin? It will help even more. Your choice.āĀ
It was nice of them to give him the option. Little Danny had never gotten to choose what happened to him. Mom and Grandfather had always decided for him. Was giving him a choice a reverse psychology thing? Heād be more likely to take it if he had a choice? Also, Jason was new. Danny didnāt know this guy, didnāt trust him.Ā
āIāll pick after I talk to Tim.ā Tim hadnāt lied or done anything to make Danny mistrust him. He also hadnāt pressured Danny. Jason nodded.Ā
āOkay. Iāll get him. We took shifts watching you.āĀ
With that, Jason got up and left the bathroom. Danny sat up a bit, the washcloth on his head falling off into the tub. Heād been propped up on some stacked towels. He was still in his underwear, thank goodness. The bathroom was sea themed, the walls a pale blue. The soap holder was shaped like a seashell and the toothbrush holder looked like red coral. There was a painting with palm trees and the beach on it. The shower curtain, which had been pulled back, was covered in fish. It was a cute little bathroom. He hadnāt really focused on it last night when heād changed clothes, more intrigued by what he could learn about his brother. Assuming it hadnāt been that long since heād passed out.
Danny brought up his knees, bringing them to his chest. Here, in the bathtub, he felt so small and alone. It didnāt last long, as the door opened. Standing in the open doorway was Tim. Behind him, Danny could see Alfred and Jason. Tim left the door open and walked in. Like Jason had, he knelt next to the bathtub, leaning against the porcelain tub.Ā
āJason said you wanted to see me.ā Timās tone was neutral.Ā
āYeah. He mentioned Motrin, and that I didnāt have to take it,ā Danny explained. Tim nodded.Ā
āYes. You can take some Motrin, if you want. It will help get rid of your fever and some of your symptoms. If you donāt want to take it, you would need to get back in the ice bath the next time it spikes. We have a new bottle, unopened. I can open it in front of you, if that makes you feel better.ā Relief flooded his body. Yes, that would make him feel a lot better. Never could be too safe after having grown up with assassins. Plus heād been unconscious for a while. They would have had plenty of time to tamper with things. That did include the Motrin bottle, but it would be harder to hide that.Ā
āThat. Can you open it in front of me and let me read the bottle before I have any?ā Danny turned to the side, turning closer to the edge of the tub. It was faint, but he could hear Jason and Alfred whispering in the hallway.Ā
āItās ironic how he likes Tim. Demon Brat hated Timās guts and loved Dick,ā Jason mused.Ā
āI would prefer if you did not refer to Master Damian as that around me,ā Alfred scolded.Ā
āSorry. Habit.ā Alfred merely tutted in response.Ā
Danny did not want to focus on that. Yet his mind was already whirring. Demon Brat. That could only be his older brother. Alfred had called him Master Damian. Which meant the Damian Danny had met the other day. Danny had met his older brother. He feltā¦ conflicted. Older Danny lamented, as his older sister, Jazz, had been incredible, one of the best siblings someone could ask for. Danny hadnāt like Damian. At all. Butā¦ Tim had been Damianās older brother. So that meant he was Dannyās brother too. Tim wouldnāt replace Jazz, no one could. But Danny was looking forward to an older sibling, one that he wasnāt being compared to.Ā
This didnāt mean that he was living with Batman!
Wait, this meant Batman was Bruce!
āDanny? Are you still with me?ā Tim asked worriedly. He was holding the unopened Motrin bottle. One of the others must have brought it to him. Heād missed that.Ā
āHuh? Yeah. Can I see it?āĀ
Tim didnāt answer, handing it over. Danny skimmed the ingredients on the back. He also turned it over, checking the seal. It all looked good, so he let Tim pour himself some. Danny tipped his head back and took it like a shot of alcohol. That came from older Danny. Tim kept a calm, expressionless face, but Jason had clearly seen Danny throw back that little cup of Motrin, and he didnāt look thrilled.Ā
Danny got out of the tub on shaky legs. Alfred brought him a towel, and he reluctantly let the elderly gentleman help dry him. Danny made his way back to the couch, where he was basically swaddled in blankets. Danny refused to let someone feed him, insisting he could do it himself. Tim sat on the loveseat that was diagonal from the couch. He was resting his legs on the coffee table. After finishing the soup, which heād thanked Alfred for, Danny sneakily made his way over to the loveseat. He wanted to sit next to Tim, snuggle into his side.Ā
Being sick made it harder than normal. He was so weak right now. Danny could tell Tim was keeping an eye on him. It would be okay, as long as he wasnāt rejected. Pulling himself and his mess of blankets onto the seat was the hardest part. Tim didnāt react as Danny slowly leaned against him, restingĀ his head on Timās left arm. He wasnāt pushed off, so he counted that as a success. Tim kept working, fingers flying across the screen. Not that Danny could see it, as the brightness was lowered when he came closer. There also seemed to be a privacy screen on the laptop.Ā
Tim probably had a lot of sensitive stuff on there, as Red Robin.Ā
Jason stretched out on the couch, returning to reading Pride and Prejudice. Not before snapping a picture of Danny and Tim on the couch. Danny glared at the man, but he wasnāt cowed by his best one. Darn. Thankfully Tim wasnāt having it.Ā
āIf you send that to Dick and he comes here disrupting what trust Iāve built so far, there will be glitter in all of your safe houses and you wonāt be safe for months,ā Tim threatened, not even bothering to look up from his laptop. Danny couldnāt help but laugh a little. It came out raspy and ended in a cough.Ā
āFine, Baby Bird. Iāll wait. I just want to rub it in Dickieās face.ā Jason didnāt sound that put out.Ā
Danny sighed and snuggled a little closer to Tim. He had a lot to think about. This was all good for now, but did he really want to give in and live with his dad? Tim was nice. How long would that last? How long would any of this peace and care last? It never had in his previous life or this one. Little Danny wanted to give in and have a family. Older Danny was skeptical. He was paranoid.
Tim turned Bluey back on, and Danny watched it listlessly. He was still half out of it. Alfred came by, checking Dannyās forehead and talking to Tim and Jason. The rest of the day was spent mostly resting and eating the warm soup that Jason and Alfred had made. Eventually both of them had to go. After they left, Danny felt good enough to take a shower. Heād had to promise not to lock the door, so Tim could get in if he got too dizzy or anything.Ā
It was worth it though, to be able to stand under the warm spray. It had been a long time since heād been able to shower. A few months? It was good to wash the grime from his skin and watch it go down the drain. Some of it had come off when theyād put him in the ice bath, but not all of it. Danny probably needed a haircut, as the wet hair was getting into his eyes a little.Ā
After he got out, Danny investigated the cabinets. There were a lot of interesting products in the bathroom. Timās lotion wasnāt as thick as the one theyād used in Nada Panbarat. Heā¦ might have put too much on. There was a surprising amount of makeup in here. And perfume. Well, technically cologne because Tim was a man. It all smelled horrible though. Danny ignored the cleaning supplies. There was shaving equipment, but nothing else that was very interesting. It was only after his investigation that he realized he didnāt have any clean clothes to wear.Ā
Looks like heād have to ask Tim for some.Ā
Danny exited the bathroom in a towel, padding over to where Tim was still on the couch.Ā
āUm. Do you have any more clothes for me?ā Tim looked up.Ā
āOh. Yeah, Jason brought some. Itās in that box over there. Hopefully it all fits. We had to guess your size.āĀ
Looking through the box, Danny found some nice blue pjs with stars all over them. His heart clenched. Theseā¦ had been bought for him. Bought because they knew he liked the stars. He went back to the bathroom to change into them. Once that was done, Tim seemed surprised that Danny crawled back on the couch next to him, snuggling back into his spot. Really, why wouldnāt he? Tim checked his temperature and made him take a bit more Motrin. Tim was hesitating. There was something he was worried about. Older Danny advised him to wait.Ā
āDo youā¦ do you want to sleep in the bed with me? It will be more comfortable than the couch,ā Tim offered. Ah. Thatās what he was nervous about. Little Danny was practically screaming in happiness and excitement. Older Danny was trying to keep their cool and not potentially screw everything up.Ā
āYeah. If my fever gets worse, youāll be right there,ā Danny agreed.Ā
He could pretend, just for the night, that Tim was his family, his big brother and he was Timās beloved baby brother. Ancients, that fever was making him a bit delusional. One night would be okay.Ā
***
Heād been with Tim for a full day now.Ā
Danny needed to make a decision. Was he going to stay or was he going to go? He was in limbo here. He couldnāt really just stay here with Tim, could he? Was Tim even an adult? He looked like he was on the edge between being a teenager and an adult. Tim did have his own apartment though, so probably adult? If he did leave, where would he go? Metropolis? Central City? Star City? Those all had heroes though. Heroes who were friends with Batman. That would surely get his dad to come and try to catch him.Ā
If he stayed here, with Tim, his dad might leave him alone? But heād also have to see him. Was that a bad thing, little Danny wondered. Older Danny didnāt know. They had judged Batman based on how he looked. Bruceā¦ had been weird and a bit awkward, but older Danny had been so, so awkward when heād been a teenager in their previous life. Maybe Bruce had never grown out of that? It would explain how he had no shame when it came to running around in his fursuit. It wasnāt even that great of a fursuit, older Danny snarked. Their friend Tucker had made much better ones.Ā
Danny sighed.Ā
He was so comfy in the bed. He didnāt want to get up, but he was getting hungry. Tim was still out, the covers wrapped around him, drooling on the pillow. Danny sat up, alert, when he heard the security system beep, allowing someone in.Ā
āTimmy! Baby Bird! Are you sick and hiding? Alfred doesnāt go and make soup for just anyone. Tim?ā called out a masculine voice. Danny didnāt recognize it. Worried, Danny crawled closer to Tim and started shaking him.Ā
āWha?ā Tim sleepily asked. It was too late though, as the door to the bedroom opened.Ā
āGood morning Sunshine! Itās -ā the man halted in the door frame, his mouth open in shock. Timās eyes widened.Ā
āDonāt!ā The man didnāt listen, running forward and leaping onto the bed. He was going to touch them! He was going to touch Tim and Danny! Panicking, Danny held onto Timās arm, turning them both intangible and invisible.Ā
āTim? Danny?ā The man sounded surprised and shocked when he landed on the bed, the springs creaking.Ā
āThis feelsā¦ weird.ā Tim said. Danny could see his faint outline turn towards him. āItās okay Danny. Heās not going to hurt us. Dickās just super physically affectionate.ā Danny thought that over. He didnāt want to turn off his powers, not yet.Ā
āHeās the one that you told Jason not to text yesterday?ā Tim sighed. Dick sat up, looking to where the sigh had come from.Ā
āYeah. Dickās over affectionate. I didnāt think that youādā¦ want to be smothered in his hugs and attention. Not yet. Weāre still building trust here.āĀ
Feeling better with the answer, Danny let go of his powers before crawling behind Tim, peeking out at Dick. Oh boy. He could practically see Dick vibrating with the urge to hug Danny. No thank you! Older Danny didnāt trust it and little Danny wasnāt used to hugs. So it was a no go for now. Tim accepted a hug though.Ā
āI brought breakfast. Itās only for two, but I can go out and grab some more,ā Dick offered.Ā
āThanks,ā Tim sounded relieved. Dick laughed.Ā
āNo sweat. I canāt cook either. Iāll see you two again in aboutā¦ oh, thirty minutes or so? Thatāll be enough time for me to grab the food and for you two to get ready for the day.ā Dick ruffled Timās hair. His hand reached for Danny, but pulled back after Danny leaned away. He left the bedroom. Shortly after the security system beeped.Ā
Danny crawled out from behind Tim.Ā
Heād made his decision.Ā
Danny would stay with Tim, even if it meant having to deal with Batman. Tim understood him and didnāt push for him to do anything and gave him choices. He was also totally aware of where they stood, that Danny didnāt fully trust him yet. It also meant Danny would be warm, fed, and taken care of. Yes, Tim was the best choice.
Tim and Danny changed into clothes. He allowed his older brother Tim to check his temperature. The coffee maker got turned on and he got a glass of water. While Dick had left the two portions of food behind, it wasnāt nice to eat it without him also being there. Whatever was in there smelled greasy and good. Dannyās stomach growled. He climbed up onto the barstool to take a peek in the bag. Hash browns, sausages, eggs, pancakes, and more. All carby and delicious.Ā
āYou can start eating. Dick wonāt mind,ā Tim said, sipping on his coffee.Ā
Well. He had permission? Hesitantly, Danny pulled out one of the hash browns. It crunched so satisfyingly, with a nice, warm mushy middle. Greasy food was something older Danny had all the time in the other world. Little Danny hadnāt tasted it yet. This was his first time. He hadnāt been desperate enough to dumpster dive for food yet behind a McDonalds. Danny finished the first one, then grabbed the second one savoring it. The security system beeped. Dick was back.Ā
āBoys! I have noms!ā Dick cheered. He was grinning as he walked into the open concept kitchen and living room. He was carrying three bags of food.Ā
āDick, how much food do you think we can eat?!?ā Tim protested.Ā
āNot a lot. But I texted Jason, and heāll be here soon. Oh! Here! I got them to give me all of the Happy Meal toys! I have a few things in the car that I need to bring up, so Iāll be back in a sec. Feel free to dig in!ā Dick placed two of the bags on the counter and handed the third to Danny.Ā
āWait a minute. You canāt just invite people over to my apartment! Dick!āĀ
āSorry Tim! Canāt hear you!ā Dick sang as he walked back out. Tim huffed.Ā
āDid you get anything good?ā he asked, looking at the bag Dick had handed Danny.Ā
Honestly, he didnāt know. Reaching in, he pulled out the first one. It was Wonder Woman, her lasso up in the air. Okay, that was kinda cool. Flash, Green Lantern, Hawgirl, Martian Manhunter, Superman, andā¦. Batman. Annoyed, he passed Batman to Tim.Ā
āCan you put this in the trash please?ā Tim took the Batman toy, looking at it and biting his lip.Ā
āHow about I hold on to it? For now?ā Danny didnāt have a chance to answer as Dick came back into the apartment.Ā
āAlright! Food time!āĀ
The three of them ate. Danny didnāt talk much, listening to the two brothers talk. He tried to squash some of his jealousy. It was soā¦ normal and mundane. How was work? How were their friends? How was Timās boyfriend? When would Danny have a nice life like that? Heād really like some friends please. Honestly, some friends, a home, three square meals a day, and a nice normal kindergarten werenāt much to ask for.Ā
Oh, he needed to ask Tim if he could live with him. Permanently. That was a lot to ask though. Maybe he should do the long con. Ask Tim if he could stay for a bit. Then just just never leave. Yeah, that might work. Danny sipped from the chocolate milk that Dick had gotten him. Halfway through breakfast, Jason came. He slotted right in with the others. He feltā¦ ignored. Unseen. Left out. Ancient' emotions were so much stronger when you were little. Danny tried so hard not to cry. Not to show how sad he was.Ā
He slid down off of the barstool, ignoring the looks he got from the others. They didnāt stop talking though. Danny went back into Timās bedroom and climbed onto his bed. He spent a few minutes dragging all of the blankets into the corner, where the mattress was pressed against the wall. His little nest of blankets. Maybe he could pretend for a little bit that he was being held and snuggled by his older brother Tim. He was being stupid though. Getting so attached to some guy who had shown him kindness. Expecting to fit right in, when theyād all been brothers for years.Ā
It still hurt though.Ā
He wished he could fast forward. To where Tim and the others trusted him and he trusted them. Then he could get the physical affection he craved safely. Danny was pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle knock on the open door. Tim entered, but stayed by the doorway.Ā
āDanny? Are you feeling okay?ā It was nice that Tim was checking on him. It was probably because heād been sick.Ā
āMāfine,ā he mumbled. Tim clearly didnāt believe him, crawling in bed to feel his forehead. Danny let him.Ā
āYouāre not warm.ā Tim looked into Dannyās eyes. He squirmed. It felt like Tim was analyzing him, staring into his very soul.Ā
Seeing something in there, Tim justā¦ picked him up. Danny didnāt protest. He wrapped his arms around his brotherās Timās neck, burying his face into the manās T-shirt. Tim let out a short, surprised laugh. Danny got carried back out to the group. He turned to pout and glare a little at Jason and Dick. He wanted some alone time with his brother Tim! Dick in particular looked smug.Ā
āTold you,ā he said with a blinding grin.Ā
āYeah. Yeah you did. I didnāt fully believe it, but you were totally right,ā Tim responded.Ā
āYouāre the chosen one, Timbo,ā Jason teased.Ā
āOh, shut up.āĀ
Danny didnāt mind anymore, that the brothers were talking. He was snuggled against Tim. His brother person.Ā
***
The rest of the day wasnāt bad. It also wasnāt great. Danny played a bit with the toys except for Batman. He had the Justice League fly around in the Javelin. While Tim hadnāt been willing to throw Batman, Jason had. Heād done it pretty gleefully too. Dick had rescued the stupid toy from the trash though. Whatever. It was pretty clear Dick was Nightwing and Jason was the Red Hood. He was smart. Also, Dick had brought out the astronaut Build a Bear toy. Overall, the day hadnāt been bad. Dick had left, but Jason was lingering. Heād made a really nice sage and apple chicken dinner with peas and mashed potatoes. It had been really good.Ā
Danny put down the toy Javelin.Ā
Something felt off, felt wrong.Ā
Little Danny had gotten it beat into him to always follow his instincts. He got up and went over to Tim, tugging on his pants.Ā
āSomethingās wrong. I donāt know what,ā he alerted his brother Tim. Immediately, Timās hand went to his forehead. Danny batted it away.Ā
āNo, Iām not sick again. Itās something else, I donāt -āĀ
Danny didnāt get a chance to finish his sentence as the security system went off. Next thing he knew, there was the sound of an explosion outside, and the living room wall became dented and discolored.Ā
āFuck!ā Jason cursed. āTim!ā Danny yelped as he was lifted into the air.Ā
āIāve got Danny! Iām going to set off the emergency beacon! B, Nightwing, and Robin are on patrol tonight. My gearās in the bedroom and in the hall. You think you can hold āem off?ā Tim yelled over the sound of another explosion. The wall was buckling. It wasnāt going to withstand another hit.Ā
āYou got it. My gearās downstairs on my bike. Thereās plenty of kitchen knives though,ā Jason responded with a vicious grin.Ā
Danny felt like a football as he was carried into the bedroom. He was lightly tossed onto the bed, bouncing on the mattress. Tim hurriedly stripped and opened a panel in the wall, frantically changing into his outfit. Once he was dressed, Tim looked back at him.Ā
āStay.ā
Danny huffed. Yeah, no. Danny wandered out, behind Tim. The wall was broken, and there were ninjas. Specifically members of the League of Assassins. His mother was there too, looking as calm and poised as ever.Ā
āTimothy. My father would be disappointed if you were to be harmed. Do step aside. I merely wish to collect my son,ā Mother said.Ā
āYeah, thatās not happening. He doesnāt exactly want to go with you. He wants to stay with Timmy,ā Jason laughed. āGuess he takes after Raās that way.āĀ
āReally Jason?ā Tim complained, his bo staff at the ready, body tense and ready to leap forward. Danny approached, standing next to his brother Tim. āDanny! Get back in the bedroom!ā Tim hissed at him.Ā
Nah.Ā
Danny was going to help in this fight. If needed. The fighting started. Tim and Jason were holding their own. For now. Mother hadnāt joined the fight. She looked Danny in the eye. Little Danny wavered. This was his MOTHER. Sheād raised him. Sheād taught him everything he knew. Older Danny rebelled. Just because she was his mom didnāt mean that she was good! Talia had been cruel to them! Sheād gotten them killed! It was her fault, her fault that they remembered who they were before, that their conscience was split in two. Hadnāt Tim been kinder to him? Heād taken care of Danny when he was sick. Heād tried his best to give him space and go at his pace. Heād gotten him food and let Danny snuggle him as much as he was comfortable with.Ā
Tim and Jason were losing. They were outnumbered. Mother was walking towards him. Tim growled, doing his best to keep all of the assailants away from Danny, uncaring of the wound he received. Seeing how Tim was fighting for himā¦ they were in agreement.Ā
āGoing ghost,ā Danny whispered to himself, letting the transformation wash over him.
All heads turned to look at Danny as light engulfed his body. He wasnāt going to have much time, so he needed to make every bit count. Gathering the ectoplasm Lazarus magic in his hands, he sent it towards all of the attackers. It pinned them to the walls and the rubble around them, acting like a sticky glue. Danny stepped out from behind Tim, trying to look as confident as possible. He was going to need everything heād learned in this life and the previous one to confront her and talk this through peacefully.Ā
Shoulder back.Ā
Head held high.Ā
āMother.ā She was looking at him in awe. He figured he still looked like he had in human form, just inverted. He also had no idea what clothes he was in. Danny wasā¦ taller than his mother. It dawned on him that his ghost form was the age of her older aspect of him. That both made sense and did not. It was older Danny at the forefront at this moment in time.Ā
āDanyal,ā she breathed. āYou have been blessed.ā Oh boy. Right, the League of Assassins was basically an ectoplasm Lazarus Pit cult.Ā
āBlessing. Curse. It depends on your perspective,ā he told her, doing his best to sound mature and like an adult.Ā
āBeing revived in the waters of the Lazarus Pit has given me clarity. They have given me a maturity I donāt want and one that has shown me the path you had placed me on. Mother. I love you. I know you love me. It is not enough. I desire companionship. Friends. Siblings. To feel safe and carefree. To be able to play. That is something I will never have while living with you.ā Danny saw a muscle in her jaw twitch at his words. He kept speaking, injecting some of his power, making his words stronger and resonate with power.Ā
āChildhood is precious. The innocence that you seek to rip away from me can never be restored once it has been lost. The League claims to be for a better world and to rid it from corruption. Yet you would sacrifice a child? Your own flesh and blood to do so? Not only that, your desire for me to be strong caused you to have me train with a man who sought vengeance on our family; who ran his sword through my heart.ā Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Nightwing, Batman, and Robin arrive. They were cautious, yet confused as to what was happening. Nightwing stopped to help Jason patch some of his wounds.Ā
āYou are the cause of my creation. Yet you are also the reason I died. You are the reason I was blessed. The reason I have been cursed. You have soured the relationship between my biological brother by constantly comparing us. It will likely take years, potentially decades, for me to unpack and unwind the hate that I feel for him. There is a chance our relationship has been permanently destroyed. While I love you, thisā¦ power that I have been given warns me away from you. It speaks to me, telling me how toxic you are and how I will never be happy or at peace with you. Being with you will only make me miserable.ā
āI love you, Mother.ā Danny took a shaky breath.Ā
āBut not enough to doom myself to a life of pain and suffering.ā
āIt draws you towards your father?ā she asked quietly. Ancients, he hated this. Talia was hiding it as best she could, but Danny could see her hurt and pain.Ā
āNo. Someone who would willingly have children be vigilantes is not a healthy parent either.ā Danny heard the muffled gasps and intakes of breaths from around him. None of them mattered at this point in time besides his mother and Tim. He stepped forward and cupped her face.Ā
āMother. This does not mean we cannot ever see each other again. Nor does it mean that I hold less affection for you. Nothing will ever change the fact that I am of your blood. I beseech you to reconsider your path. It is never too late to take a different one.ā Danny rested his forehead against hers.Ā
He hated that he had to be this cruel and to hurt her with his words. He had to do it so she would let him go. Mother had loved his brother enough to let him so, so it only made sense that she would love Danny enough to separate from him too. Talia stepped back from him.Ā
āGoodbye Danyal. I will stop my pursuit of you. Till we meet again, my little star.ā She turned and walked away from him, jumping off the edge of the broken and ruined wall into the dark night.Ā
OH.Ā
She did know him well enough to know he loved the stars.
Dannyās core throbbed and he released his hold on his ghost form, shrinking back to that of a child. The bonds holding the assassins faded, and they sprinted away, following his mother. Danny sniffed, tears falling down his cheeks. That had sucked. He hadnāt wanted to do that. It was necessary. Older Danny had done a good job. He wiped his eyes. Tim gently touched his arm. Danny turned and flung himself at his brother the older boy, sobbing. He felt bad. Timās apartment had gotten destroyed because of Danny.Ā
Danny clung to Tim. He didnāt let anyone else take him. Tim grappled them to the Batcave. His Javelin toy had been destroyed. Danny decided to ignore the fact that there was a smaller tracker in the body of the plane. It was obvious that was how Tim had found him a few days ago when heād hid between the air conditioner units. The astronaut bear had survived though. Dick - Nightwing - wanted to take him, but Danny refused to let go of Tim. He even turned intangible a bit so Dickās hands would go right through him. Danny didnāt want to leave his older brother person.Ā
There was a lot of arguing. None of them knew what to make of Dannyās affliction. Thatās what they called his ghost form. Theyād apparently dealt with ectoplasm Lazarus Pit water before. Jason especially. They hadnāt become half ghosts like Danny though. It sounded like they didnāt even know what that was. Tim tried to convince Danny to talk, to speak up and explain what he knew. He just grumbled and told them not now. He was still hurting. He didnāt want to sleep yet. But Nocturne was calling for him, dragging him under. He let himself succumb.Ā
***
He had nightmares. Could they be called that, if they were just repeats of what had happened that day? His harsh words to his mother and her walking away. Danny woke up a few times that night, tears falling down his cheeks and a whimper stuck in his throat. Each time he was encouraged to fall back asleep by a large, warm hand that would stroke his hair and tucked a soft blanket around him. After the fitful night, he woke up.Ā
Danny was still in the cave. He was on a cot, surrounded with soft blankets. During the night, someone must have given him the bear, as he was cuddling it. It was soothing, to cling to it. To bury his face in its soft fur. He ignored the man in the chair next to the cot. His father.Ā
āHow are you feeling?ā His father, Batman, asked. He wasnāt in his Batman gear anymore. Just a dark turtleneck and slacks. He looked tired. Danny shrugged, not wanting to talk. He looked around. Where was Tim? He wanted Tim.Ā
Danny didnāt answer his dad. He really didnāt know what to make of the man. Bruce had been okay, if a bit overbearing at the observatory. Heād spent a lot of the time watching Danny and Damian and keeping Damian from exploding when Danny pressed his buttons. Batman had chased and chased after him. Just wanting to catch him and keep him. What did he want with Danny? He just wanted Tim. Tim was safe and nice and would explain things. He would give Danny a choice instead of just forcing him to do what he wanted.Ā
That was why Danny liked Tim.Ā
āDanny?ā Batman asked, watching him carefully.Ā
āWhereās Tim?ā Danny asked softly. He had regained some of his strength. He could turn invisible and intangible for a bit. Probably. The problem was that he didnāt know where Tim was.Ā
āTim is upstairs in his room sleeping. Did you want to see him?ā Danny blinked in surprise and nodded. āFollow me.āĀ
He hadnāt been expecting that. Grabbing the astronaut bear, Danny followed Batman/Bruce through the cave and to an elevator. He stood on the opposite end during the ride up, glancing at his father often. They exited through a clock? It was a cool secret door. He followed Bruce down some halls and up a set of stairs. He knocked on a door.Ā
āTim? Are you awake? Thereās someone who wants to see you.ā There was a groan from within.Ā
Danny perked up. That was totally Tim! Turning intangible, he ran through the closed door and into the dark room. He jumped on the bed. Sure enough, eyes barely open, that was Tim. Danny crawled up towards his brotherās personās face. He laid down in the crook of the other manās arms, nuzzling into Timās chest. Danny felt better here. Safer. The door opened and a triangle of light fell onto the bed. Tim groaned, and hand flying up to protect his eyes.Ā
āItās way too early for this,ā Tim complained. There was a light chuckle from the door.Ā
āChum, itās nearly noon.āĀ
āLies,ā Tim said with a sigh. He sad up a bit, jostling Danny. Tim looked down, seeming to realize Danny was there. āCoffee. I need so much coffee.ā
Right. Heād only been with Tim for a day or two, but he already knew that his brother didnāt function very well without his caffeine. Tim staggered out of bed, fumbling to get into his slippers. Danny slid down to follow him. Should he go for Timās hand? Yes, he wanted to hold it. Using a burst of courage, he took Timās hand. Tim stopped in the hallway, looking down at their joined hands. Oh no. Did Tim not want to hold hands?!? Dannyās face burned and he tried to let go. Exceptā¦ he couldnāt. Tim gripped his hand tightly, then resumed walking, Danny following in surprise. There was a hum from behind them. Right. Bruce. He was still there. Danny had kinda forgotten about him.Ā
The dining room was empty, so they went into the kitchen. Tim still held his hand as he began to fill the coffee machine with ground beans and water. It was rather funny watching. Mr. Pennyworth came out from what Danny suspected was a pantry.Ā
āMaster Timothy. Wonderful to see you up and about. Iād feared we wouldnāt see you until supper.ā Oooh. Mr. Pennyworth had some sass and snark to him! Danny giggled.Ā
āMaster Danny. Wonderful to see you. Would you like some hot chocolate? Lunch will be ready in half an hour. Can you boys wait that long?ā Mr. Pennyworth asked this as he confidently strode through the kitchen; checking in the oven, stirring a pot on the stove, and washing lettuce for a salad.Ā
āYes, I would like some hot chocolate. Thank you,ā Danny responded. He liked Mr. Pennyworth, so heād be polite.Ā
āI can wait till lunch is ready. Although I wouldnāt mind a small snackā¦ā Tim said, sitting down at the table.Ā
Danny sat down next to him. Bruce sat across from them. Before he knew it, hot chocolate was placed before him. He sipped on it and Tim drank his coffee. Bruce was just watching them. Danny did his best to ignore his father. He still had his bear. He wished he had his javelin. It was sad that itād gotten broken the other day. Alfred gave them a plate with some crackers, cheese, and little meats. It was basically a charcuterie board. It was yummy and he kept going. He stopped when heād eaten about half of the board. Tim had eaten some along with him.Ā
The silence was awkward.Ā
He wasnāt going to break it though.Ā
When Mr. Pennyworth told them lunch was ready, all three of them walked to the dining room. Danny made sure to grab Timās hand again. Danny wasnāt expecting others to be there. He saw Dick, Jason, Damian, and two women. One had blonde hair, the other black. That could only mean Spoiler and Black Bat. Dick got up as they walked in. He had a large grin on his face. He pulled back the chair Tim had been heading towards. Dick patted it.Ā
āThanks?ā Tim sounded confused. Thatās okay, Danny was confused too. He didnāt see a whoopie cushion or anything on the seat, but that didnāt mean there wasnāt some sort of hidden prank. Tim sat down. Danny let go, as he was going to sit in his own seat. Even if he would have a hard time looking over the edge of the table. Danny was rather small for a five year old. Heād been taller at five in his previous life.Ā
Danny got what Dick was doing when he felt himself get picked up. Except. Danny didnāt want to be touched by Dick. He didnāt want to be picked up by Dick. He only trusted Tim right now. So he unleashed some of his freeze powers to make Dick let him go! He growled, angry at being picked up without his consent. Danny stopped as soon as he was placed in Timās lap.Ā
Oh.
Okay, maybe he could somewhat forgive Dick for that. Danny turned to look at Dick, wincing when he saw the blue and purple hands. There were even little ice crystals on there. The entire room was tense, and there were tears in his eyes as he was trying to hold onto a smile.Ā
āIām sorry. I didnāt know what you were doing,ā Danny explained guiltily. āIāll fix it.āHe reached out, to try and draw the ice and cold back into him. He could do that.Ā
Probably.Ā
Thankfully it worked as Dickās skin returned to normal.Ā
āNote to self. Donāt pick up the baby without getting his consent,ā the blonde woman muttered.Ā
āItās alright, I know you didnāt mean it. Iāll know better for next time,ā Dick said. Danny wasnāt sure if he really was forgiven. He cuddled closer to his brother. Dick pushed the chair in, so Danny and Tim were in the same seat.Ā
***
When Tim had gone to sleep last night, heād acknowledged that Danny, Damianās biological little brother, was attached to him. It was becoming all the more clear how attached to Tim he was. The selfish part of him loved it. Heād always wanted a little brother. When Damian had first arrived, heād been so excited. That feeling had been killed quickly. Danny though. He trusted Tim, and no one else. Tim was the first person he looked to. Danny had tried to protect Tim, when Dick had come in unannounced the other day, using his powers to density shift both of them.Ā
Tim felt sorry for Bruce, that there was another son that wasnāt really accepting him. But he couldnāt help feeling happy that Danny loved him and no one else. Heād been jealous of the closeness between Dick and Damian. Now though. Now he had a chance to have that relationship with Danny.Ā
A close brotherly relationship that heād always wanted but hadnāt really gotten with Dick, Damian, or Jason.
The battle had been brutal. Debris lay scattered across the ruined street, buildings groaning from the damage, smoke rising from the craters left by the fight between the Justice League and the alien war machines that had descended without warning.
From a nearby rooftop, Dani watched with awe, her white hair glowing faintly in the dusk light. She wasn't supposed to be hereāDanny had told her to stay away from trouble. But curiosity had a grip on her soul like gravity. These were the heroes sheād only heard about in stories, seen from the shadows: Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Green Lanternāfighting together in a blur of power and purpose.
Then came the hum. A too-familiar mechanical buzz that made her hair stand on end.
Dani turned. Too late.
Agents in white armor, cold faces under dark visorsāthe Guys in White. They hadnāt come for the alien invaders.
They had come for her.
She bolted, ducking low, turning invisible mid-leap, but they were ready. A glowing ecto-net shot out from a launcher, wrapping around her mid-air, sizzling with power. She screamed as it struck her core, her body flickering between ghost and human, pain tearing through every atom.
āNoāNO! LET ME GO!ā
Her thrashing only made the net constrict tighter, burning her. One of the agents barked an order, and the voltage increased.
āSubject is destabilizing. Contain or terminate!ā
A sickening jolt surged through her.
Her screams echoed across the battlefield. At first, the Justice League didn't realize what they were hearingāamid the chaos, it was just another sound.
But then Superman paused. His ears twitched. He heard the difference. Fear. Pain. A child.
Batman was ahead of them both, his grappling hook already in the air.
The GIW agents didnāt see them comingānot until a batarang shorted out their generator, sending Dani crashing to the rooftop, gasping and shivering.
The agents turned in surprise, only for a red and blue blur to knock two of them flying into a wall. Wonder Womanās lasso whipped through the air, tangling up another pair. Lantern constructs snapped the rifles from their hands and crushed them under emerald fists.
But it was too late.
Dani was curled on the rooftop, panting, hurt, and bleeding ectoplasm. Her wide eyes glowed bright green, tears cutting down her ash-streaked cheeks.
Then she screamedāa raw, primal cry from the deepest part of her.
āDADDY!!!ā
The world held its breath.
And thenā¦ the sky cracked.
Clouds spiraled unnaturally. Wind howled. The sun dimmed under a sudden pall of swirling green light. Lightning arced across the horizonāgreen lightning.
From the center of the storm, a figure emerged.
A black cloak whipped in the wind, edged with silver chains. A massive glowing crown floated just above his brow, held in place by raw ectoplasmic power. His white hair streamed behind him like a comet. The air warped with his fury.
And his eyesānormally calm and glowing greenāwere now blood-red.
Phantom.
No longer just a boy.
Now, the Ghost King.
āLET. GO. OF. MY. DAUGHTER.ā His voice was not a shout. It was a command from a being who ruled death itself, echoing through time and space.
The GIW agents who were still conscious dropped their weapons instantly, paralyzed by sheer instinctual dread. One tried to runāonly to be caught midair by an invisible hand and slammed into the pavement.
DannyāKing Phantomādescended to the rooftop. He didnāt even touch the ground; power thrummed beneath him like a living storm. The League took a cautious step back, not out of fearābut respect.
He knelt beside Dani, rage turning instantly to anguish. āDaniā¦ Iām here.ā He gathered her up, cradling her close. Her eyes fluttered open, and a weak smile touched her lips.
āYou cameā¦ā
āI always will.ā
Batman stepped forward. āWho are they?ā He gestured to the crumpled agents.
Danny didnāt look up. āGovernment ghost hunters. Illegal operations. Iāve shut them down before.ā
āThey attacked a child,ā Wonder Woman said grimly. āTheyāll answer for it.ā
Danny stood, still holding Dani. āNot to you. To me.ā A portal yawned open behind himāgreen and swirling like a rift into another realm.
One of the agents began to beg. āYou donāt have jurisdiction here!ā
Danny looked back over his shoulder, red eyes gleaming.
āIām the King of the Infinite Realms. Jurisdiction is what I say it is.ā
He stepped through the portal, Dani safe in his arms. The sky rumbled one last timeāand then the clouds dispersed.
The rooftop fell quiet.
Green Lantern let out a low whistle. āWell. That was something.ā
Superman crossed his arms. āWeāll need to talk to him. If theyāre hunting children like her, this isnāt over.ā
Batman was already scanning the data from the agentsā suits.
But all of them, for that one moment, stood in the quiet awe of a simple, terrifying truth.
Mess with a ghost girlā¦ and youāll answer to her father.
Hey guys. DCxDP where Danny is tormenting Damian on social media for literally no reason because itās funny
Danny, Sam and Tucker are scrolling through Bruce Wayneās Twitter account for whatever reason (trying to find an announcement from the company, trying to find a stupid tweet, etc) and accidentally find a picture of Damian.
Cue everyone freaking out, because they look almost (aside from Damian being a bit darker than Danny) identical.
Even better, Danny is wearing a (much cheaper) near identical version of the outfit that Damian is wearing in the picture.
The group stages a quick picture in the same poses as Damianās (Tucker, playing Bruce, is on a step stool) and post it in a reply.
They think nothing of it, find whatever they were looking for, and move on.
Exceptā¦ Danny continues doing it. For months. People start following him on Twitter. The GiW have visited his house twice now because he keeps breaking through the media blackout to post (before being turned away due to lack of warrant).
Damian is not amused (Jon absolutely is, but this isnāt about him). Heās in deep Twitter beef with this random scrawny white boy for responding to every single photo of him with his own poorly done copy. He doesnāt even have an account, but heās still finding ways to argue with Danny. Heās gone viral for blinking threats to Danny in Morse code during an interview.
The worst part is, this canāt possibly be a clone, so Damian isnāt allowed to attack him physically. Danny is fifteen, three years older than Damian. Heās not related in any way to Raās Al Ghul, or anyone who might have cloned Damian before. They just look remarkably alike.
Danny goes viral when, after a clip of Damian fleeing a rogue is posted to twitter, he responds with his own clip of him fleeing a ghost (probably Vlad). Itās clearly a genuine emergency, but Danny still put in the effort to move in the exact same pattern that Damian did (aside from a few quick dodges to avoid ecto blasts).
Damian is enraged.
Heās got to put an end to this somehow.
And so, he steals one of Bās private jets, and takes a quick flight to bumfuck nowhere, Illinois.
No no no, the video is scooby-doo style where Damian chases Danny off screen, and a second later Danny is chasing Damian the opposite direction (with the same movement pattern)
Youāre so right and smart and funny and cool š
(Within about a week of this the two are becoming āfriendsā enough that Damian is persuaded - by Sam, who he actually respects - to fuck with the bats by making his own set of pictures with Danny where they alternate who is fucking with whom)
It took several hours of negotiations and a few bribe proposals, but they finally convinced the Unconquerable Damian Wayne to do a stupid series of what they were affectionately calling Meme Mimics to mess with literally everyone.
(Damian was secretly thrilled by the prospect of proving the others wrong. He does know how to have fun, Timothy, you just aren't worth the energy)
"First off," Sam call-me-Samantha-at-risk-of-castration Manson said, "A classic."
To make it more fun for all four parties, they separated into two teams of two. Damian and Danny vs. Sam and Tucker. One team shows the other a photo, and they have to do their best to replicate it. Once the photos are all taken, they will be judged by a neutral party before being posted to their socials. The losing team buys the winners any food of their choice.
The picture Sam and Tucker chose for Danny and Damian was in a school hallway. One, Danny, floating like an Eldritch Horror and the other, Damian, running down the hall with a straight back.
Sam and Tucker were up next with a picture in a classroom. In the first frame, Tucker handed Sam a folded note. In the next, Sam was turned around, frowning at Tucker with the note in full, clear view: Steak beats salad.
The third showed Damian and Danny on a completely white background. Danny sat on the floor looking pathetic. Damian stood a few feet to his right looking both bigger and stronger than he should, by all accounts, be able to.
For the fourth picture, Tucker stood with hunched shoulders and a concerned look on his face. Next to him, Sam had her right hand on the small of his back, her left in front of her with her ring and pinky finger bent. She looked off into the middle distance, the same direction Tucker was looking, with a smile. They captioned it: Gotham Be Like: Vigilantes Everywhere
They went on for hours, taking turns mimicking and taking pictures. Eventually, though, they had to call it a day and get their pictures judged. Their final one was one Damian decided not to participate in.
Sam and Danny were walking hand-in-hand, though Sam was turned away from clearly upset Danny, watching Tucker as he walked toward the camera. In the next two frames, she was proposing to Danny with a ring-pop, though she was still looking at where Tucker was, checking out his butt. Danny was freaking out over the ring. Frame four was of Danny glaring at Sam from where he'd leaned in for a kiss. Her head was turned away to watch where Tucker was, once again, walking away from them. The fifth frame was Danny greeting Tucker with a smile like an old friend. Sam was rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Frame six was Tucker and Danny drinking coffee and laughing together with Sam in the background facing away from the camera. The seventh frame was Danny kissing Tucker, who was laughing and grinning like an idiot, on the cheek. Sam wasn't in that one. The last from had Danny and Tucker both wearing table cloths as veils, holding wild flowers, and full-sending it with a kiss on the lips. In the background, Damian and Dani were both holding roses on either side of the two grooms, everyone else in the park were in the background, celebrating.
Jazz was who they chose to be the judge. She said they all looked really fun, but that her favorite was the Distracted Boyfriend Saga.
Damian sent all of the pictures he was in to the family group chat with no elaboration. He then muted the chat and refused to open any messages from any of his family.
The pictures were released to the internet the next morning.
To be honest. DCxDP where the reason Danny meets the bats is Ace the Bat-hound
Like, just think about it for a second. Danny is in Gotham for college, or maybe he just moved out to find a city where having mad scientist parents isnāt actually that unusual.
He can see ghosts.
The ghosts know this.
Now heās getting harassed left and right by spirits trying to get closure. Fine, whatever, most of them are a one-and-done type deal, and the amount of ghosts trying to get his help steadily decreases.
Except for this one very stubborn dog.
It just keeps showing up and leading him to crime scenes! He doesnāt know how many āanonymous tipsā he can call in to the cops before they trace his phone! And this dog, this incredibly good boy, will not stop trying to help the city. Heās never met anyone with such a strong sense of justice, let alone a dog. Can dogs even have a moral compass?
And so Danny just accepts the fact that Ace isnāt going anywhere and becomes his reluctant sidekick/dedicated medium. He leans into the whole thing, dressing up in a mix of traditional magic-user attire and accessories that pay homage to the ghost dog.
He becomes somewhat well known. The psychopomp detective following around the shadowy figure of a German Shepard? Thatās unusual! Thatās weird! I mean, itās not the weirdest thing in Gotham, sure, but heās a new vigilante and heās got a ghost dog that people can only see when itās around him. Someoneās gonna notice.
Damian, as Robin, is the first to reach out to him.
Ace doesnāt know Damian but he does know a Robin, and while this isnāt his Robin, heās still friendlier than usual. Dannyās panicking because oh god the bats are here and also is this kid gonna steal my ghost dog, Damian is absolutely delighted by Ace, and Ace is just happy to see a Robin again.
Damian decides that the psychopomp isnāt a danger to anyone, and thereās no reason to put this encounter into his reports, really, and perhaps Danny can help with some of his cases in the future.
Danny is sweating bullets because Damian basically tells him that heāll keep him secret as long as he gets to play with Ace. Ace is happy that heās finally getting some bat affiliated crime-fighting assistance.
And so, Danny is now both Ace AND Damianās reluctant assistant. At least whenever heās in trouble, he can always call a middle schooler to help him.
(Is Robin even in school? Heās out patrolling damn near every night, and he stays out late as hell. Does he have a bedtime? He should.)
Eventually it gets to the point where Damian is going over to Dannyās house. When he first sees it, he has a damn bitch you live like this moment, to which Danny responds that not everyone has the money to afford a nice place. Damian counters that he could at least take the time to clean up, and Danny replies that heās working, going to school, and being a vigilante assistant to a ghost dog, somethingās got to give.
Danny nearly has a heart attack when he checks his bank account the next day and sees that someone transferred him 10,000 dollars.
And so they get into a routine. Danny and Damian fight crime with Ace at night, and occasionally Damian stops by during the day to play with Ace and have Danny help with his homework.
(Damian is smart enough to do it on his own, but some of the instructions are written incredibly confusingly, and he would never admit to needing help to his family. Danny is just glad that the kid is in school and cares about his education, blissfully unaware that heās basically emotionally adopted him.)
Damian is used to being in Dannyās company.
Eventually, when going over a case with the family, Damian absentmindedly remarks that heāll have to ask Danny about some of the clues that they might be missing. Nightwing asks who he means and Damian makes a face like he just swallowed a lemon.
Cue shitstorm.
Who is āDanny?ā Why is Damian willing to ask for help from anyone, much less someone outside of the family? Does he know who Damian is? Has Damian been compromised? What the hell is going on?
Damian now has to explain that Danny is the psychopomp with the ghost dog who he might have met hunted down while on patrol and conveniently not mentioned, but heās not a bad person, really, and he lets him play with Ace, and heās been quite helpful on certain cases due to his ability to talk to ghosts.
Bruce insists that the family meet Danny. Damian, hoping that he wonāt just skip town the second he hears the news, relents.
Danny is surprisingly eager to meet the bats, considering his earlier fears.
Damian, blissfully unaware of whatās coming, sets a time and place to meet.
Once everyone is there, he gives Bruce the earful of a lifetime.
Robin is in middle school! Danny knows that thereās no way to stop the boy from going on patrol, but you could at least shift his schedule so he gets enough sleep on school nights! Does the Bat even know where he is half the time?! (No) And why isnāt he comfortable asking his family for help with both cases and homework? Did they ever even notice how much time he was spending at Dannyās house? If Danny was a bad person, he could have seriously hurt the poor boy! Shame on you!
Nightwing is mortified that Damian didnāt trust him enough to tell him about any of this. Red Hood is laughing his ass off, because yeah Danny is making good points but heās also chewing out the literal Batman. Tim is recording the whole thing. Steph is delighted by the absolute gall of this Danger Twinkā¢ļø, and already planning to add him to several groupchats. Damian is more embarrassed than heās ever been in his entire life.
You, he points to Nightwing, did your academic life feel supported when you were a Robin? Nightwing is too stunned to speak. Red Hood, eternal shit-stirrer, says that oh, we all prioritized patrol over our education, thatās just how it is. Red Robin actually dropped out of high school to avoid distractions, did you know that?
Danny honest-to-god shrieks at this.
He finishes his angry rant and leaves, everyone too stunned to stop him.
And as it turns out, Tim wasnāt the only person recording the whole thing.
The entire internet is blowing up with Psychopomp The Danger Twinkā¢ļøās rant. People are taking sides. Things are getting messy. Red Hood literally admitting on-camera to previously being a Robin is somehow not the main focus here.
Eventually someone connects some dots from the video, as well as stories circling the internet about the psychopomp. A ghost dog named Ace, who is the literal only reason that the psychopomp is fighting crime at all, which seems incredibly fond of Nightwing and Robin.
A crime-fighting dog who wants constant attention from both the current and original Robin.
Oh my god, Ace the Bat-hound died and became a crime-fighting ghost.
And, somehow, thatās still not the strangest thing going on in Gotham.
Joker gets fed up with this little shit and his ghost dog stopping him from having fun. He hasn't managed a major crime in almost an entire year! He decides that This Is Has To Go. Now.
The next time he breaks out, he immediately goes into hiding in a safe house and doesn't leave at all. The goons that bring him supplies are not allowed to wear any clown paraphernalia or attack anyone within a 1 block radius - he is not taking any chances. He manages to find a website that sells anti-ghost weaponry and gets several guns and a bat express delivered to him.
Once he's fully equipped, he alerts his minions that it's go time. Brucie is having a party tonight, and he's going to be the main entertainment. Luckily for him, Danger Twink is even invited since the Gala has something to do about animals.
Joker gets exactly 1 hit in at the dog before he realises he Fucked Up. Danny was going easy on him this whole time. Mainly, it was out of respect to Bat's rules, as Ace got upset when he got too violent against the rogues, but also because it just wasn't necessary for him to put in much effort.
Mistake number one was bringing VladCo weapons to the party. Mistake number two was targeting the dog.
Joker is lying crumpled on the ground next to a pile of his own bones by the time one of the Bats gets there.
Damian looked between Danny and the Joker in confusion. Batman? Just zoned out.
Damian: Why now?
Danny: Piece of shit got ghost hunting tech and nearly shot Ace. Which would have ended him. I might not kill. But doesn't mean I have to be nice.
Damian:..... Joker is very lucky you have already dealt with him them.
Jason: Holy shit! Is that his spine?!?!? I could kiss you right now!
Damian, who already likes Danny and sees him as family......
Damian: Only if you court him properly! I will not have you mistreating Psychopomp!!!
Dick: Baby Bat, shouldn't that be the other way around?
Damian: No! Psychopomp far kinder than any of you save Black Bat. Therefore he has my defence.
Danny: That's sweet of you Robin. I don't think Hood meant anything by it though. You don't need to worry! Oh, I should probably call for an ambulance huh?
Batman is of course freaking out. Psychopomp could do that all this time?! How did they not know this???? What do you mean "It wasn't relevant till now?" . It was very relevant that he be aware of this?!?!
Danny: Nope! You aren't a good enough Dad to Robin for me to trust you with that information! Bye!
Batman:..... He really doesn't like me. Hm.
Robin:... I believe it is more that he has imprinted on me emotionally and feels protective of me.
Red Hood: Well! Good to know someone is willing to do shit like this to send a message! I approve!
Nightwing: Of course you approve. It was very right heads in a duffel bag of him really.
Red Hood: Nah. This might be worse honestly. I just killed em ya know? Joker is vulnerable now. And that ain't something that can be healed. The other rogues are gonna take advantage. Clown bitch is fucked.
Red Robin: It is certainly effective. I am so glad he's not a rogue. Holy shit.
Reporters eve really track Danny down to ask about why he feels so strongly about the situation. Danny gets to go on a glorious rant.
Danny: When I was 14 I ended up having to be a vigilante for my city. With just my close friends for support. My sleep schedule was destroyed. My education suffered. I was fighting off Justice League level threats by myself. I managed to get shot sorted by my last year of high school. And managed to get my education back on track. But Robin? Has adult heroes. No child should be a hero. I accept that you can't stop them. But Robin should not be able to run as free as he does! Batman hardly ever knows where he even is! His education and future shouldn't be put at risk like this! His safety shouldn't be at risk like this! And if I have to take up the hero mantle again to ensure Ace and Robin are that bit safer? I guess I will. But Batman should be the one doing this. And he isn't!
Reporter:.... Justice league level threats?
Danny: Justice League Dark more specifically. Mad scientists mixing tech with occult. It went badly wrong. Doesn't help that they managed to take over the phone lines so no one could call for outside help.
Reporter: Huh. Any plans to take up your old moniker?
Danny: No way! I'm not risking those idiots finding me if they break out of prison. Anyway! Not important! Aww shoot. Ace heard something. Head to safety please.
Less than a week later, Jason decides to finally take Damien up on that courting Danny idea. He thought about getting them some spooky somewhat, Thematically relevant flowers as a first date gift.
Jason: Do you think ghost lilies would be too on the nose?
Steph: No I think that's really sweet, You're both death adjacent Vigilante. I think a little Spookiness is more than Acceptable, Nay, I encourage it.
Jason: Did you just say nay? Who are you? Shakespeare?
Damian: No, no, no, that's hardly romantic at all. If you want properly, Woo him, you must pick flowers with an appropriate meaning. Personally, I suggest carnations. light red carnations convey admiration and adoration, the dark red carnations articulate the profound feelings of love and affection.
Steph: I think it's a bit too early for something like Adoration, or Profound Feelings Of Love. They haven't even started dating yet.
Dick: How about something that means friendship or hope for a good relationship?
Steph: Google suggests sunflowers, Alstroemeria, chrysanthemums, Zinnia, and Daf...
Damian: Don't just list flower names without Going over the full meaning.
They continued arguing like that for another 3 hours And eventually just decided to get him chocolate.
#I'm honestly surprised Damian never got caught for wiring that $10000 to Danny.#Like you'd think Bruce goes over his expense accounts or something#At least Alfred should have noticed her. Maybe in account or something.#When was the last time the Wayne family got audited by the IRS.#That must have been wild
I mean, Damian probably bounced it around a bit first. Or labelled it as a donation. To be a little shit to Danny.
Jason probably goes and gets artisanal chocolates, shaped likes little ghosts. To be cute. Danny would see them and laugh so hard.
Damian insists on a chaperone being present. He will not let his brother fuck this up. No way, no how. Danny is being married into the family. And if he has to ensure the courtship goes properly by micromanaging the entire process, he will!
Jason is entirely too amused to actually try and stop him. It's cute. Damian has imprinted on someone. And Jason completely understands why. Plus, it gives the whole thing a regency era feel to it. Means he can go full on with the dramatics. Danny is ALSO a dramatic little shit. And finds it so cute that Damian wants to make sure he is ok. So he allows it.
The rest of the family? Are confused, but willing to help. Demon Brat has a person he likes. It's cute. And strange, but a good thing. He has made a friend? Add to that, the sheer drama of the 'courtship' currently happening is fantastic. And then Danny's sisters arrive. And they are also both overprotective menaces. In the BEST way. Jazz immediately clocks Damian as a child to help and goes all in. Ellie clocks the feral and instantly wants to be friends.
Jason: "So would ghost lilies be too on the nose?"
Damian: "That is unreservedly idiotic and you have made me dumber just for hearing it."
Jason: "Fuck you brat-"
Damian: "He will adore them. Good work, Todd."
[realizes what he just said and makes a face]
