"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 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...
Here's a fun twist:
Tim ends up being the only member of the Batfamily Danny will willingly associate with for a while.
Tim makes a better first impression because he doesn't invade Danny's personal space (trying to stay out of stabbing range), talks things out calmly rather than trying to forcefully abduct Danny (trying to figure out how to convince Danny that whatever goals he has can be achieved without stabbing him before he joins the household), and has only very reasonable expectations from him (don't stab him).
Tim, at this point, has become resigned to new brothers viewing him as an obstacle in the way of their place in the family and nothing more than that. He is utterly bewildered when Danny instead connects with Tim while refusing to even meet with the rest of them. Tim has mixed feelings. On the one hand, this feels like a continuation of the assumption that Tim is not really part of the family in his own right. On the other hand, someone chose Tim! Chose him over Damian, chose him over Jason, Chose him over Dick, chose him over Batman, chose him over the Robin Legacy.
Danny ends up hiding out with Tim at the nest.
At first, Danny is just seeking shelter, and Tim is just hoping to remain on good terms without leaving Danny in danger. Over time, they begin to bond. Tim doesn't entirely understand Danny's preference for civilian life, but he doesn't have a problem with it (if the new mini assassin actively wants to be less stabbing, that's fine by him). Danny is even willing to help him out in non-combat ways (Danny will be keeping his big brother/safe haven, thank you very much, even if that means stitching him up, making sure he always has at least one set of body armor that's intact enough to function properly, and occasionally retrieving him from where he got knocked out on patrol).
At some point, Tim ends up defending Danny's choices.
Some other members of the Batfamily may have forgotten that there are other options besides being a vigilante or an assassin, and they might be misinterpreting Tim's support of Danny's choice not to be a vigilante as encouraging him to return to the league of assassins.
Their objections end up being phrased in a way that comes across as implying that Danny doesn't have the right to just be a kid because he was born into the league of assassins.
Tim objects that Danny has nothing to atone for. It's not his fault that he was born into the circumstances he was. Danny is doing his best.
Damian is feeling hurt both because his own blood chose Drake over him and because Drake has never shown that kind of understanding toward him (may not have realized that the difference is how Danny treats Tim). Dick argues that just because Danny was taught wrong in the beginning is no reason to let him keep doing wrong.
Tim is furious on Danny's behalf because he is not in the wrong for choosing not to fight, and hurt on his own behalf because where was that attitude when Tim had to move out of the mansion to be safe from Damian?
The conflict keeps escalating with a series of misunderstandings. Danny's opinion of the other Bats drops further the harder Tim has to fight to protect him from them.
Eventually, Tim sets up legal Identity for Danny as Daniel Drake, a distant cousin who wound up in Tim's custody following a tragic accident. He gets Danny enrolled in some online schooling so he can work on his academics without having to leave the nest and risk getting snatched up by the League of Assassins or the other Bats.
The Bats think this means that Tim is joining the League of Assassins.
This becomes a whole dramatic thing before Cass (who had been on a mission outside of Gotham) comes back from wherever she was, smacks everyone for being stupid, and explains the misunderstanding.
Alfred (who had previously only heard Bruce and Dick's side of things), is thoroughly disappointed. He's disappointed in Bruce, Dick, and Damian for forgetting that civilians exist, and he's disappointed in Tim for not calling him to help stop Bruce from forcing a child into the fight.
Danny likes Cass and Alfred alright but still prefers to avoid Bruce, Dick, and Damian. Dick might be able to make his way into Danny's good graces at some point in the relatively near future, but it's going to take a lot longer for Bruce and Damian to overcome their bad first impressions because of their general gruffness.
THIS.
Just ALL of this is wonderful! I love miscommunication stories and Tim (ngl Tim is my personal favorite, like again I love all the others too, I just really adore Tim)
I love Tim being the one Danny eventually trusts (and I love the fact that the only thing Tim wants from Danny is to NOT stab him please, he's had enough of stabby al Ghul's (and those adjacent with then) just please)
I can just imagine the day Tim realizes it too, that depsite being in the League and being blood related to Damian, Danny is still a kid who wants to leave it behind and live a normal life, go to school, have friends, and wants to become a astronaut.. maybe they're at the nest, it's raining, and Tim and Danny are watching a movie about space stuff and Danny accidentally nodds off to sleep and curls up towards Tim who was half paying attention to the movie and halfway arguing text with the batfam only to pause when he feels Danny cuddling him.
And Tim for the first time see's not an al Ghul, not a baby assassin, but a little kid who really loves space sleeping and cuddling him.
This night is what cements Tim supporting decision that Danny doesn't need to become a crime fighter much less an assassin. The kid has the right to his own future. He just needs to make the rest of the family understand this.
I hope no one minds I added to this :))))
TIm honestly wasn’t sure how this happened if he was going to be honest with himself. When he had first tried to get to know Danyal, he had been expecting similar reactions to what he got from when Damian had first joined the family but that wasn’t it at all. Danyal was more like a feral cat, in Tim’s mind. He wanted pets and love but he wanted them on his terms and he wanted to trust the person before he let them in.
So, that’s what Tim did. He listened to what the kid had to say, listened to the sorrow in his voice at just wanting to have a normal life. He didn’t want to be an assassin, he couldn’t control what kind of life he was born into and, honestly it blew Tim’s mind that people just expected a small child to be okay with being a murderer. Not only that but it was fascinitating to realize that people just genuinely expected that from Danyal, or as he had told time to call him, Danny. Not only didn he not want to be an assassin, he also didn’t want to be a vigilante.
What Danny wanted was to be an astronaut. He wanted to be out with the stars, to discover and learn more about space, to be a part of it. He just wanted to have a normal life and honestly, if anyone deserved that, it was Danny.
Which was why it was so confusing and confounding to Tim that his family couldn’t seem to wrap their minds around it. Bruce, Damian, and Dick in particular were so insistent that Danny become a Robin, that he become a hero like them but that’s just not what was in the cards for Danny and none of them seemed to be listening to Tim or Danny about what his wishes were.
So Tim took it upon himself to do it. He would make sure that Danny got to live a normal and happy life even if it killed Tim to do it.
At the moment, the two were curled up on the couch in Tim’s nest watching Star Trek. Tim had worried that it would be too much for the boy to handle but from the very first moment he was enraptured, claiming that he wanted to be just like Mr. Spock one day because he was the cool one! He was a scientist.
Tim had just laughed and wrapped his arm around Danny’s little shoulders as the boy leaned forward and stared at the screen intently, his eyes bright with joy and wonder and his jaw hanging open as he watched Spock and Kirk travel the galaxy together on the Enterprise.
The days following were filled with Danny blabbering on and on about his headcanons and theories for the show and what he wanted to see next. Tim listened with total interest as Danny gushed to him about his newest hyperfixation.
Each day he got to watch the boy slowly open up more and more and talk about his interests and desires and each day Tim loved the boy just a little more.
Of course, all good things had to end.
In this case, it happened with the appearance of Damian Wayne barging into Tim’s home and demanding to speak to his little brother.
“I just want to talk to him,” Damian whispered, staring at where Danny hid behind TIm, his little hands clutching Tim’s arm tight. “I just want to know my brother, and understand him.”
“You haven’t listened to me,” Danny grumbled, his face smushed against Tim’s arm that he heldto his chest.
Damian let out a huff. “I know,” he said and sat down on the ground. The teenager gave him a sad smile as he crossed his legs. “I was expecting you to be like me when I left the league, angry and violent and wanting to prove myself. But, despite being my biological brother, we are still two different people and it was wrong of me to ever expect you to behave like me or to want to be like me. And I’m sorry, Danyal, I should have stopped to listen to what you wanted. When I moved in with our father, I experienced the same thing. Father and Richard and everyone kept making choices for me, not letting me give my input and it was frustrating and discouraging and I wanted to just stab them any time they came near me. But I want you to know that I am here for you, and I am listening to you. And if you are willing to give me the chance, I would like to get to know my baby brother,” he said quietly.
Danny stayed quiet for a moment and Tim stared down at the five year old as he watched gears move and rotate in his head as he stared at the sixteen year old boy in front of him before he let go of Tim’s arm, opting instead to simply hold Tim’s hand as he stepped forward.
“Danny,” he said quietly.
Damian gave him a curious look. “I’m sorry?”
“If you’re going to listen to me,” Danny said carefully. “I don’t like Danyal. I want to be called Danny,” he said and wasn’t that the ultimate test for Damian who refused to call anyone by their nickname? To agree to calling Danny that?
A series of emotions flashed through Damian’s face within a second before he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Danny. If you’d like, you can call me Dami,” he said, his green eyes shining bright. Danny smiled and looked at Damian before turning to look back at Tim who simply gave him an encouraging smile and nod. Danny let go of his hand and launched himself in Damian’s arms, hugging the teenager tight.
I... I have no words. This tuggs at my heart ughhhhh. I love it, I love it so much.
