Jack and Maddie Fenton are hot af and are okay with a bit of polyamory. They've shared a few people here and there. (This is why Vlad is obsessed with them. They wouldn't sleep with him because Maddie thought it would be a bad idea.)
Including Bruce Wayne.
A bit after that, Maddie realizes she's pregnant. Obviously, they're smart enough to realize that there's a slight chance the baby might not be Jack's.
So out comes Danny and they do a DNA test.
Jack Fenton, you are NOT the father.
They start trying to get into contact with any of the people who could be Danny's dad to get them to do a test.
Test after test comes back negative.
It's down to the last one. The one that won't return their calls. They've tried everything they can think of, short of going to the press.
All the dates were a disaster, but neither Danny nor Damian realized it. It was a pretty good date for them, even if it ended with them sitting in the police station waiting for guardians because they had beaten up someone who had attacked them.
Batfam still does not understand where Damian found this man, and why he was not a resident of Gotham, not only was he in Gotham, so did not react to any crimes.
Jason had even shot him in the shoulder once, but the kid hadn’t even noticed until Damian dragged him to the infirmary.
Tim says Danny's Damian's soul mate because there's no other way.
Even if Damian had paid him, the Devil’s spawn wouldn’t have met him above the minimum.
Only a couple of times a month, and that was more than enough.
But no. This Danny was on speed dial, and their meetings were fairly regular, according to Batfam.
Damian even introduced them! Imagine! Of course it was a disaster, but they were introduced!
They have almost opened a pool of bets with how long this relationship will last.
I got inspired, so have a little blurb as a treat:)
Danny's day started with a phone call from his new boss (because no, Sam he wasn't a sugar baby, ok this was a part-time job).
"Daniel. If it is convenient, I request you meet me at the aquarium at 1030 hours eastern time zone," came the voice from the receiver.
Still half-asleep, Danny sat up as he stifled a yawn. "Today? For like, a date?"
"Yes, I will buy the tickets."
The teen got a look at the time on the clock on his bedside and had to fight the urge to groan. It was too early for his poor sleep-deprived brain. "Ok, great." Danny stretched. "See you then."
"Goodbye," Damian said before the line cut off.
Seemed like the job wasn't going to be as easy as he thought if it involved actual dates. Well, his parents hadn't raised a slacker (ok, except for school-work but he had a good excuse for that), and Danny was determined to be the best fake-relationship partner ever.
First order of business: research.
Damian was waiting at the entrance of the Gotham aquarium when he got a call.
"Damian?" He could hear Daniel's voice say. "I just got here but I don't see you."
"I am beside the dolphin statue."
"Nevermind, just saw you."
Damian could make out a teenager waving from a distance. Awkwardly, he waved back. Luckily there wasn't much of a crowd and Daniel reached him easily.
"Good morning Damian!" Daniel then followed through with a whispered. "Can I call you Damian?"
In a similar low tone, he answered. "It would be suspicious to do otherwise. I believe I should call you Daniel as well to allay suspicions."
The teen grimaced a little bit. "I really would rather you call me Danny."
It was unfortunate that he had to resort to nicknames, but Damian had gotten the lecture about calling people by the name they gave from Brown enough times to understand it would be rude and possibly hurtful to deny the other boy's request. Of course, his siblings were a different story.
"Of course, Danny."
That got him a smile in return which secured Damian in the knowledge he'd made the right choice.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind I looked you up," Danny said. Damian started to frown. Being a public figure had many downsides, truly. Hopefully this wouldn't turn into a renegotiation for the salary, especially since they were in such a public space. Before he had the chance to suggest they change location to somewhere more private, Danny got something out of his bag and handed it to him.
"One of my friends is vegan and she loves this brand of chocolate. I figured flowers would just be cumbersome, so I didn't bring any."
That was unexpected. And quite considerate.
Damian took the box of chocolate. The packaging was simple with a little logo of a plant with a speech-bubble saying: "All-natural flavours without additive!"
"Thank you," Damian said not quite knowing how to respond. "I apologize, I did not think to bring you anything."
"You really didn't need to! And anyways you bought both the tickets," Danny answered.
While the reasoning made sense, Damian didn't feel that was a fair exchange. He couldn't quite puzzle out why, so he just dropped it for now.
They walked into the building and easily got through the admission process, as there were only a few families here and there.
"I've heard you have pets," Danny said.
"Yes I do," Damian answered.
"I have a dog," the boy said. "Well, actually it's more like he has me really. He's an absolute sweetheart until you get him mad"
"Titus may look ferocious but he is one of the most gentle dogs you will meet."
As they got to through the different exhibits, they continued on about their pets before the conversation shifted to space which was apparently a passion of Danny's. They ended up debating jellyfish's supposed immortality which Damian was firmly arguing wasn't true immortality.
"Technically, all the cells are replaced, so it's not that they are reborn-again. That isn't immortality it's just a different and unusual way of reproducing asexually."
"But the individual stays the same, it doesn't make a clone of itself and dies, it literally reverses back to a baby to grow again!"
"But the cells-"
A large noise interrupted Damian as he was about to make his point and both boys turned towards the source which was two masked men armed with guns.
"Everybody against the wall, this is a robbery!"
Danny let out a sound of disbelief. "Are they aware this is an aquarium and not a bank?" he whispered to Damian.
The younger boy had to agree. Even the stupidest of batman's rogue wouldn't be this dumb, which meant there was probably some kind of plot.
The only other people in the room, two teenaged girls and a family of four were already herded to the wall, when one of the guys turned towards them. "I said against the wall. Now!"
Damian scowled but did as was asked and Danny followed suit with some grumbling.
The second goon turned toward the other and even thought they were pretty far, Damian could make out most of the conversation.
"We weren't supposed to go so far inside."
"There was nobody further out, we didn't have a choice."
"It's going to make it harder to get out."
"I'm not the one who wanted to do this at 11am on a Sunday."
"Fuck you, you agreed!"
"Whatever, let's just stick to the plan."
The first goon took out a walkie-talkie he had probably taken from a security guard who was hopefully just knocked out and walked out of the room as the second one kept his gun ready and pointed at the floor.
Minutes ticked by, and Damian was starting to get bored. "How long do you think it's gonna take," he heard Danny whisper to him.
Unfortunately, the goon heard it too, and he raised his gun. "Hey! No talking!" he yelled.
The loud noise must've startled the family's younger kid because she started crying. Which had the goon swivelling towards her and the family
"Make her stop," he ordered.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the dad was saying, as the mom was desperately trying to shush her.
"Didn't you hear me, I said make her fucking stop!"
The situation was getting out of control, and Damian was about to step in when he was beaten to the punch.
"Hey, man calm down, ok?" Danny said, as he stepped forward with his hands open and raised.
"Stay out of this dipshit," the man growled, still pointing his gun at the family.
The child started crying even louder despite her parents frantic attempts at getting her to calm down
"Shut her up, or I will!" He barked. And then he raised his hand in preparation for a hit, but Danny was faster as he jumped forward, pulled the guy back and landed a solid punch to his face.
The guy went down like a bag of bricks. A very loud bag of bricks. Damian took off in a sprint towards the entrance of the room, just in time to body-slam the second goon as he ran back in to investigate.
As soon as they landed, Damian punched the guy twice, making sure his head hit the floor hard enough to make him unconscious.
If a civilian like Danny could take out someone with one punc, that meant Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's out feral child, would absolutely be able to take out someone with two. Satisfied, Damian rose back to his feet and flattened out the crease he'd made on his shirt.
"Does anybody have some zip-ties?" Danny asked.
All in all, Damian would say this had been a successful first date.
This isn't quite a fic, but I hope you don't mind if I tag (please tell me if this is bad Tumblr etiquette): @u-a-wizard-jamie @akikkobara @michealawithana @littlefeather345 @all-eyes-no-dragon @the-legal-shipper @confusionchaos @spectralstardustandphantomnights @mothman-the-mothman87 @crystalice067 @heartsong18 @skulld3mort-1fan @skulld3mort-1fan @emeraudesfateandfandoms @illusionwolfwriter24r8 @jaggedheart11
So I lied @akikkobara.
Here's more! Hope you guys like it
It turned out nobody had zip-ties but the guard outside (who was mercifully only knocked out) had had some handcuffs on him. The two girls had offered their bag’s straps for the second goon and by the time the police had arrived, everything had been well in hand. Both Danny and Damian had been taken in to make a statement along with the rest of the victims.
They had allowed Damian and Danny to give their statement together, and Danny took the lead in describing what had happened.
"You boys were very brave," said the middle-age officer after Danny finished. "But next time, you ought to leave it to the police. We wouldn’t want any of you to get hurt."
Damian bristled at the implication he would have ever been harmed by goons like those two, but Danny bowed his head and just uttered a sheepish "Yes, sir."
"Alright then, I’ll have to call your legal guardians. What’s the number?"
Danny rubbed at his nape with a wince. “I’m here for school, I don’t have family in the city. I'm emancipated though, so I'm ok.”
"That's alright, then." the officer gave Danny a look of sympathy. "I’ll have an officer drive you home."
"Thank you," Danny said with a grateful smile that was returned by the policeman.
"What about you?" The man turned to Damian.
15 minutes later had Richard walking a scowling Damian out of the police station. Despite his protest it hadn’t been necessary, the policeman had insisted on contacting a parent, and with Father out of the country, Richard was the next best choice.
Richard waited until they were both in the car before speaking up. “I thought you were going to the Aquarium today, little D.”
“I was. There was a robbery,” Damian answered. “I attempted not to involve myself, but the situation forced me to act.”
“And knock someone out?”
“Civilians render people unconscious too.” Damian had solid proof.
Richard sighed and seemed to decide to give up on the subject. “Where did you get the chocolates?”
“They were a gift,” Damian answered.
“Oh, did Jon swing by?” Richard asked distractedly as he took a turn.
Damian hummed noncommittally. It was too early to reveal his ‘relationship’ with Danny. The plan needed more time before they would pass the muster of the bats and birds.
It was a while later after Pennyworth's chastisement, when he was sitting at his desk finishing up some homework that his phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Hey! It’s Danny,” the voice came from the receiver. “Listen, I’m sorry the date didn’t go as planned. Would you be free next Saturday? We could go see a movie or something?”
Damian hadn’t planned on another date so soon, but it was true the first one had been unusual. Now was the time to set the guidelines for future outing reference. “That is satisfactory.”
“Alright! I’ll see what’s playing right now and I’ll text you some ideas.”
Both boys said their goodbyes, and Damian hung up. As he set the phone down, the brightly packaged chocolate box caught his eyes.
He did need to try them to report back to Danny that his gift had been appreciated…
Today was going to be the day. Just because last date had been ruined by a robbery (at the aquarium no less, Gotham really was something) that didn’t mean this one was going to end in violence again. Danny was determined to make it work. There was a documentary on penguins that Damian had said he'd be interested in. Danny had also read the reviews about the great snack options and nice staff people.
Today was going to be the day.
He had just got his phone out to call Damian, when he spotted him coming through the doors. He walked towards him with a smile. "Damian!"
"Hello Danny," the younger boy answered formally. "I hope you have been well."
"I have," Danny answered with a smile. "I'm excited for the documentary, hopefully it'll be as good as the reviews made it sound."
"I am also looking forward to this viewing," Damian said with a little bit of anticipation coming through his aloof mask, which Danny firmly told himself wasn't endearing at all.
"Just give me a second, I'll get us the tickets," Danny said before he walked up to the register to pay for the tickets. As soon as Danny mentioned the documentary, the employee winced.
"I'm so sorry, but this we no longer have any showings of that."
"What? But it was listed on the website just yesterday," Danny asked, feeling an impending sense of doom.
"I'm really sorry, we are offering some tickets half-price today though," the employee said.
"But why is the documentary not showing anymore?" Danny couldn't believe this was going wrong so fast.
The employee must've read the absolute abjection in his face, because she sighed before moving closer to the glass.
"Look," she lowered her voice, "the truth is the boss' apartment building was torched by some of Penguin's gang and it was rough on him. We thought we'd better take the posters down and just cancel the showings so he wouldn't be reminded at work. It's bad for business, but Don's a good guy and we wanted to be supportive."
Danny had to fight the urge to groan. Seriously, what was up with Gotham.
"In the meantime we're re-running old classics at half the price," she continued
"What's the next movie showing?" Danny asked.
"It's the Sailor Moon movie, 1993. It's in half an hour"
Danny had come too far to back off now. "Alright, I'll take two students tickets please."
Walking back up to Damian, he gave him a weak smile. "So, apparently the showing was cancelled, something about the Penguin burning the boss' house down."
"That is unfortunate." Damian scowled, and Danny felt bad since he'd clearly been looking forward to the documentary.
"I got us tickets for the soonest showing since I figured you might have got stuff to do after the date. It's an old Sailor Moon movie. We don't have to watch it, but I figured since we're already there it wouldn't hurt."
Damian's scowl didn't disappear, but he still nodded. "I believe you are right, we should not waste the opportunity."
Since the showing was still half an hour away, they ended up heading towards the arcade area. They didn't make it very far before Damian headed towards the claw machine near the entrance.
After a few tries, Damian hadn't managed to grab anything, and looked about ready to just break the glass to take the prize out himself.
"This game is inane and foolish," the younger boy spit out, as the claw slipped off the cat-shaped toy once again.
"These are rigged, nobody gets it on the first try" Danny comforted. "Here let me try."
Damian took a step back to liberate the space with a fierce scowl.
"I used to play with these all the time back home," Danny said as he fed the machine and started up the claw. "The trick is to get the right angle, but mostly it's about choosing the right prize." As he finished the last word, he closed the claw around the cat-shaped toy. "The rest is all up to luck." Just like that, he dropped the toy into the chute, and took it out.
"Here you go," Danny said with a smile as he offered the plush to Damian.
The latter just looked at him. "Why are you giving it to me?"
"It's customary that if you win at that kind of game on a date, you usually give them the prize," Danny explained.
Damian squinted. "Like some kind of mating ritual?"
Danny had to cough to disguise his laugh. "Uh, yeah, sure."
This time when Danny handed him the toy, Damian took it.
"We better go now, before we're late for the movie," Danny said and they both walked up to their room.
As they took their seats and the previews started showing, the older boy could see the room was mostly empty, which wasn't surprising. The movie started and Danny quickly got sucked into the story, he used to watch reruns of sailor moon with Jazz when he was younger. The movie had him missing her, and by the time it was over he was feeling all kinds of nostalgic.
As the lights turned on, he turned towards Damian.
"How did you like it?"
Damian tsked, "It was adequate," he answered, but Danny could see the pink tint of his ears. He once again told himself his boss was certainly not cute, and that any thoughts of it should be banished to the furthest depths of his mind.
"It's based on a manga and they also made a series," Danny said lightly. "I used to watch it with my sister, it's pretty good."
Damian hummed, but the older boy could see the considering light in his eyes. They walked out of the building in silence, though the atmosphere felt nice.
"I'm taking the subway back home, are you coming with?"
Damian seemed to consider, before turning towards him. "I will come with you."
They started walking side-by-side.
"You don't have a ride?" Danny asked.
"Pennyworth offered," Damian admitted. "But I do not wish to disturb him."
"Do you think he would mind?"
"I know he would not," Damian stated. "I simply do not wish to burden him further, as his workload has been heavier these days."
By now, they were walking down the subway steps.
"Oh yeah, your dad's away right now," Danny remembered from the police station talk they'd had.
They reached the bottom of the stairs and started walking into a poorly-illuminated passageway.
"Yes, my older brother is staying at the manor in the meantime."
Just as it hit Danny that this would be a perfect spot for a mugging, they came face-to-face with a hooded man brandishing a knife.
"Gimme the money!"
Danny sighed.
Next time, he really had to bring some zip-ties.
Please tell me if anybody wants to be off the tag list: @u-a-wizard-jamie @akikkobara @michealawithana @littlefeather345 @all-eyes-no-dragon @the-legal-shipper @confusionchaos @spectralstardustandphantomnights @mothman-the-mothman87 @crystalice067 @heartsong18 @skulld3mort-1fan @emeraudesfateandfandoms @illusionwolfwriter24r8 @jaggedheart11 @naluforever3 @addie-lover-of-stories @edgyboi10000
Go to Gotham, they'd said. They have some of the best schools in the country, they said.
As he stood, once again being threatened with a weapon, Danny wondered if it was something in the water. He really, really didn't want to have to take down what looked like a slightly-older teenager in front of him. Not only because fighting regular untrained humans felt unfair, but also because he had wanted to make a good impression on Damian.
Yes, Danny had already punched someone in front of him, and yes this wasn't even a real date, but Danny liked to think he had good work ethics. He'd been recruited to be the other boy's fake boyfriend, and he wanted to be a good fake boyfriend. The kind you brought home to your parents, not the kind that was an apparent criminal magnet.
Too lost in his maudlin thoughts, he didn't even register Damian moving. He blinked, only to see the younger boy restraining the mugger with the knife a few feet from them.
Well. That was convenient. Danny hadn't even seen Damian move.
"Danny, call the authorities."
"No!" The mugger yelled. "Please, you can't!"
Crouching down to get closer to the guy's face, Danny asked, "Why not?"
"Danny," Damian repeated, with a slight complaint in his voice, but the half-ghost was curious.
"I have priors, I don't have enough pay bail."
"You mugged us," Damian pointed out.
"Look I'm- I'm sorry, but I can't lose my job!"
"Why?" Danny asked.
The mugger looked reluctant.
"We can always call the cops," Danny reminded him.
"Alright I'll tell you, just- let me up."
Danny turned towards Damian who just stared back incredulously. The halfa gave him his best puppy eyes, but Damian still didn't move. For a second Danny thought maybe it hadn't worked, before the younger boy let go of the mugger with a huff. He took a step back and crossed his arms, standing behind Danny like a very effective bodyguard.
"Alright, let's try this again," Danny started. "My name's Danny, and this is Damian. What's yours?"
"Alan," the guy said as he massaged his shoulder. "You didn't have to push that hard, man," he shot at Damian.
Damian bared his teeth in a sneer. "I can make it worse." Alan puffed up at the threat, and the air seemed to heat up again.
"Now, now, Damian, let's be civil." Danny patted the younger boy's leg conciliatory, which had him peering confusedly at Danny who then turned towards the mugger. "Alan, would you tell us why you decided to mug us?"
With a frown, Alan crossed his arms as he looked away. "Financial aid was pulled for my sister's med," the mugger started. "She had some complications from that one time she got exposed to Joker toxin. Now her immunity system's shit and she needs her meds to make sure she doesn't die of a cold."
"That really sucks," Danny sympathized.
Alan seemed to deflate at that. "It's just the two of us with my step-dad right now. My step-dad can't work cause he got this bone condition and my job is barely letting us scrap by. My mom usually sends some money but there wasn't enough this month and El can't miss her dose, so I just-" He gestured at the dirty alley.
Now Danny felt bad for the guy. As he rubbed at the corner of his jacket absent-mindedly, he studied Alan's face in front of him.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do." Danny stood up and dusted his pants. "Damian and I are going to take that knife and make sure nobody else gets to use it." Before the thief could protest, he forged ahead. "You are going to go back home and give a big hug to your sister."
Danny took out his wallet to get the envelope of cash Damian had given him on their first meeting. He hadn't had the chance to make a deposit yet, but it was just as well. "And here," he said, handing it off to the mugger. "That should help for a while."
Alan took it with a bit of mistrust in his face, but as soon as he opened the envelope it all shifted to shock.
"This is- Holy shit- I mean, why?" The mugger stuttered out.
"Don't worry about it," Danny assured.
Alan seemed to be too surprised for words for a moment. "Thank you," Alan eventually said, then as if he couldn't quite think of anything to say he just repeated, "thank you."
"No problem," Danny waved him goodbye. "Have a nice evening."
"Yeah," Alan said, looking a little shell-shocked still. "Yeah, you too." Then, he turned and started walking out of the alley.
"Careful on the way back home! Wouldn't want to get mugged," Danny couldn't help but quip at the departing figure, that he could see wince in the distance.
With a smile still on his face, Danny turned towards Damian to find him scowling at him.
"This was stupid," he said. "The man was likely lying."
"Eh, let's call this a leap of faith then." Danny shrugged. "What does it hurt?"
"That was a considerable amount of money," Damian stressed and scowled deeper.
"I have a very generous employer," the older teen replied cheekily.
Damian narrowed his eyes and tsked. "You are a fool."
"A fool for you, remember?" Danny said with a wink.
Damian's face scrunched up in a way Danny couldn't decipher before he waltzed away in a huff. Oops. The teasing might have been a bit much.
"Wait up!" Danny said as he ran to catch up to Damian.
As he got closer, he noticed the pink tint in the younger boy's ears. That made sense, he thought to himself, it was getting quite chilly out, and Damian hadn't even brought a coat. Taking off his jacket, Danny handed it to the other boy.
"Here," Danny said.
"I do not require your jacket," Damian replied stiffly.
"Dude, your ears are red," Danny pointed out.
Damian jerked as if to cover them up but stopped himself. Recovering, he shot back, "Then, what about you?"
"I'm practically immune to the cold," Danny answered with a conspirator smile.
Seeing as Damian was still hesitating, the half-ghost shrugged in an exaggeratedly relaxed way. "I'm not putting it back on."
It took a moment with the two looking back at each other. Then, with a huff, Damian snatched the jacket and quickly got his arms through the sleeves. "Happy?" he said sarcastically.
"Immensely," Danny answered with a beaming smile that had Damian quickly turning away with a grumble.
They walked for a bit in silence before Danny spoke up. "Next time, we should go to my place. I think it's the only way of making sure we don't get robbed again."
"Next time?" Damian asked.
"Yeah, can you do next Friday? We could do diner and a movie."
Damian hesitated, before nodding. "That would be feasible."
Danny already had a great idea for the movie.
"Have you ever seen Princess Mononoke?"
As for the tag list, sorry if I forgot anyone: @u-a-wizard-jamie @akikkobara @michealawithana @littlefeather345 @all-eyes-no-dragon @the-legal-shipper @confusionchaos @spectralstardustandphantomnights @mothman-the-mothman87 @crystalice067 @heartsong18 @skulld3mort-1fan @emeraudesfateandfandoms @illusionwolfwriter24r8 @jaggedheart11 @naluforever3 @addie-lover-of-stories @edgyboi10000 @thegatorsgoose @chaos-n-kindness @56thingsinaname @draconicdumbass @icedbluesoul @lizisipancardo @inth3world @emergentpanda-blog
Part 4! This is getting way longer than I thought it would be haha
When Danny had mentioned "his place" Damian had expected a small apartment, not a dorm room. Not that he had anything against such living arrangement, it was more that the limited space made it so the only place for the two boys to watch the movie was crammed together on the bed.
Damian wasn't a fan of physical contact with people he did not know well, and the younger boy had almost wanted to refuse when Danny had pated the spot beside him in invitation. He'd reluctantly climbed in and sat on the bed with the perfect posture he'd been taught to maintain. Danny hadn't commented nor had he seemed particularly bothered, but Damian had felt the atmosphere was somewhat uncomfortable. The first few minutes of the film had had Damian unable to concentrate on the story, but as time went by, he found himself relaxing slightly and becoming more engrossed with the cinematic piece.
San was a worthy protagonist and Damian found himself favouring her and her cause. Not to mention that her giant wolf companion was very nicely designed. So absorbed was he in San making on he way to assassinate what she perceived as an enemy, that when the room fell into darkness, it took a full second to register that the lights had gone out. Danny groaned and paused the movie.
"Another power outage," the older boy said.
Damian frowned, mostly in confusion, but also slightly due to his dissatisfaction that the film had been halted. "Is that a frequent occurrence?"
"Unfortunately." Danny sighed and slid off the bed. "Give me a minute, there's a guy I usually go to to get the light back on. I shouldn't be more than a minute."
"Very well," Damian answered.
"I'll be back in no time," Danny said with one last smile before he walked out the door
Danny thought the third date was going great so far. The lights cutting out was a minor hiccup, especially compared with the previous dates' hiccups. Besides, this had happened twice just this week and both times it had been the same person who'd fixed everything in a matter of minutes.
“Hey Matt, could you…” Danny trailed off as he caught sight of the scene. There was a masked man with a gun with Matt sitting crossed-legs on his bed, wide-eyed with his fingers hovering over his keyboard.
“Yeah," Danny said. "I'm gonna go with nope on this one.”
The boy closed the door back up and was about to start speed walking out of there when the door slammed opened and he was dragged inside by the burly man. “You said there wouldn’t be anywhere here, Fox,” the gunman said to Matt.
“There wasn’t supposed to be!" the boy defended. "What the fuck Danny?”
“What the fuck me?" Danny couldn't help but shriek indignantly. "What the fuck you, you asshole! I’m not the one making shady deals in the school dorms!” Danny started squirming to try and dislodge himself from the other man's grasp.
“Stop moving if you don’t want me to hurt you,” the man said.
“Hey woah," Matt said nervously. "I didn’t sign up for actually hurting anyone.”
“And I didn’t sign up for a witness,” the masked man growled.
“Look, just let me go, I'll go back to my date and pretend I didn’t see anything,” Danny tried to bargain but he was ignored.
“I can keep him quiet," Matt pleaded.
“I can make him quieter," the other man stated coldly.
“Is anybody listening? I said l won't tell!” Danny whined.
“That wasn’t the plan.” Matt was starting to sound panicky
“Plans change.” The man said as her raised his arm to point the gun to the teenager's head.
“Alright that’s it,” Danny said before elbowing the gunman in the gut while simultaneously twisting the wrist that held the gun. It clattered to the ground with a metallic clang and Danny dived for it.
The man was too slow to react and seeing his weapon in Danny’s hand, he decided to make a break for the door. As soon as he opened it, he was greeted with a punch to the face courtesy of Damian, who was just as surprised to see the man. The masked man was laid flat on his back, knocked out cold by the reflexive punch.
Danny offered Damian a bright smile. "Thanks!"
“You were absent for too long," the other boy explained as he walked into the room curiously. "I took the liberty to investigate.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Danny let out a sheepish laugh. “Turns out the curse is still going strong.”
“So it would seem.” The half-dead teen could hear a note of amusement in the other boy's tone and as a response, Danny's smile toned down to a softer smile. Damian echoed it with the slightest hint of an upturn lips, which had the older boy wishing for a way to coax out a full-on smile. His thought process was soon interrupted by Matt who he'd forgotten was still there.
Soo,,,,, sorry I’ve been dead? I got covid and pretty much been sleeping all the time lol
Anyways, i was thinking about fics where danny dimension travels and usually it’s just Danny being thrown into DC.
But how about Danny and Valarie?
Phantom and The red huntress we’re playing fighting, both making a truce, and now their friends.
While Danny’s playing with Valerie, a new ghost [insert some reason for making a portal and shooting them both through it] shoots Danny, and he knocks both of them into DC.
Because I like to make them suffer they get plopped straight into a Gotham fight, and get taken hostage. Danny’s passed out from the shot and Valarie’s heavily disoriented from the portal so their taken without much fuss.
Of course the batfam are like “who tf and also IS THAT KID BLEEDING ZOMBIE WATER???”
Whatever rouge you choose notices and is like “Aw are they your baby birds??” And goes to idk hurt them (? Lol)
At this point Valaries a lil bit back and just pretending to be completely out, she’s delt with ghosts that are gods, a lil portal WASNT going to keep her down. The rouge goes for Danny and Valarie doesn’t realize that the rouges a normal person(ish) and attacks like how she’d attack a ghost.
[in this au Valaries a bit of a Halfa, she can only turn halfway into a ghost while wearing her armour, this also amplifies her instincts more, she’s also a protective spirit like Danny but hers is more possessive in nature as her instincts only protects what’s hers]
The batfam and Gotham watch as this mysterious woman in red armor absolutely demolish the rouge, and almost kills them. Danny wakes up and is like VAL THEIR CLOSE TO DYING STOP and she’s like STFU.
She stops but because her instincts are basically running her, she grabs Danny and gets on her hover board and runs off.
I’m getting tired so if someone decides to pick this up u can decide what half-Halfa Valarie completely dumped in her instincts while also protecting a probably-concussed Danny in Gotham would do.
[TW: swearing, violence, blood, all that good stuff]
[Edit: I forgot to add color to some of the words so I fixed it just shoot me now]
---
Valerie had never been dimension hopping before, and honestly? This was the worst way to do it. Having a 5’10”, 140-pound ghost boy slam into her at breakneck speed and tossed through a portal only to spin around violently like they were in a blender made her almost sick. It took all her concentration to keep her grip on Danny and not let him fly off into the aether. Her hoverboard was lost somewhere; so was her blaster. Hopefully, she’d find them later.
Luckily, the trip through whatever hell they just went through was short, and they were quickly plopped down unceremoniously in the middle of a rowdy warehouse. A cacophony of noise assaulted them from all sides, and Valerie flinched as her sensitive ears picked up screams and shouts that echoed wildly off the concrete. She could smell blood and something rotten, which made her dizziness worse. Her vision was wavering, and adrenaline pumped through her veins with nowhere to go.
She felt so sick that Valerie didn’t react when someone suddenly grabbed her suit and manhandled her off to the side. Danny wasn’t in her arms anymore; where was he? Where was Danny? He’d hit his head badly, and there was so much blood. Her helmet was smeared with green, so where was he?
Fucking hell, she was going to bite whomever it was that decided to punt them through the void. (If she could remember who it was.)
The shouts were getting filtered through her helmet’s system, tuning down the sounds so she could make out what was being said. She tried to wipe off Danny’s blood, but her arm was restricted. It was a weak grip, but Valerie was disoriented enough that all she could do was listen to the fight around her.
“What the fuck?!”
“Oh!! More baby birds!!!”
“Holy shit is that kid dead?”
“I don’t think so, he’s just bleeding out.”
“Hey! Get away from them!”
“Aw~ The bats want their little birds back. Isn’t that cute?”
“Yo is that zombie water-“
“But these two were so kind to drop into our laps! Surely they’ll be fine staying with us.”
“Hey, this one is red, too!”
“The family resemblance is uncanny!”
"Are we not going to talk about the portal they just fell through?"
“The boss will be thrilled to introduce these two to his favorite crowbar, I’m sure.”
“DON’T YOU FUCKING-“
“HOOD! WAIT!”
“TIME TO ADD MORE CLOWN NOSES TO MY COLLECTION, MOTHERFUCKERS!”
“AIM FOR THE KNEES, LITTLE WING!”
“STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!!”
“You people are insufferable.”
“Shut up, Robin.”
“Children, no fighting!”
“Shut up, old man!”
“Wow, you didn’t all need to say it.”
“I wish Black Bat was here, she’s quieter than you heaps of shit.”
“She is here.”
“What-” A scream cut someone off.
The rest of the words faded into a garbled mess, swirling around Valerie’s head as her helmet rebooted. Then, it was blissfully quiet for a moment, and she took the time to center herself, mentally going over what was happening.
She and Danny had been sparring in the town square, practicing some fancy maneuvers together while a crowd of townsfolk gathered below to watch the show. It was just supposed to be a simple spar between two hauntmates for the sake of developing her new pseudo-core. However, Wes had set up a camera and would probably upload their fight to his blog later that day. They joked about using it as feedback to see what needed to be improved.
Valerie had gotten a lucky shot in, clipping Danny on the shoulder. He’d flown back, laughing and waving off the crowd’s gasp of concern. But they weren’t gasping for him. Instead, they watched the swirling, foul-smelling portal open up behind him, releasing some creature from the depths of the Infinite Realms.
The spirit was sick, dripping with corrupted ectoplasm and wheezing like it was on the brink of its second death. It was very much not human, and Valerie’s instincts roared its ugly head when it reached out a skeletal hand towards Danny and stabbed one sharp talon through the very shoulder Valerie had just shot. The rest was a blur.
Danny had screamed, nearly dropping from the sky. Valerie bolted forward with her blaster already going off at the spirit and caught Danny with one hand, letting him regain his sense of balance. After that, they played an ugly cat-and-mouse game, weaving around buildings and trying to draw away the spirit’s attention from the humans below. Electricity buzzed under her skin from the suit, making every action feel charged.
It must have been an off day for Danny because the spirit smacked him into the ground, and Valerie winced as his head bounced off the pavement and started to bleed. She had screamed in rage, probably. Her throat felt raw. Danny tried to rise again and charged like an idiot, only for the spirit to smack him into Valerie, and they both went tumbling into swirling green.
And now they were here.
Her suit chimed, a little pop-up telling her the diagnostic test returned clean. The suit was fine. She wrenched her arm free with a heave and wiped away Danny’s blood. With her helmet unobscured, all the aches and pains she was feeling suddenly disappeared. They were in a warehouse, alright. The whole place was laced with nasty ectoplasm; the only bright spot she could see was Danny. She could feel a couple of weak cores floating around but was too inexperienced to make out much else. Speaking of, she and Danny were surrounded by costumes freaks fighting a horde of cartoonish clowns.
And one of the clowns was holding a gun to her hauntmate’s head.
Valerie’s vision flashed green as she jerked upright, positively lunging at the clown holding onto the unconscious Danny. The person holding onto her was tossed away like a rag doll. Herculean strength swelled up from her core, and all that adrenaline was finally put to use as Valerie absolutely bodied the clown.
He went down with a shout, gun firing into the open air. Guns were a bit too risky right now, so Valerie simply broke the man’s hand and tore the weapon in half, ignoring the resulting shrapnel and fire that licked at her hands as it caused a mini-explosion from the force and electricity at her fingertips. The man below her screamed, not being spared from the heat or bits flying everywhere. Or maybe he was crying because of his hand. It was a little hard to tell through the sobs.
Valerie placed her knee on the guy’s chest and balanced all her weight on that single point until she heard a satisfying crack. Then, satisfied that she managed to damage his core, she pushed herself into a standing position and kicked the guy in the ribs for good measure. Now it was a simple matter of going apeshit on everyone in the room.
The entire warehouse was a frenzy of blood and violence, and she was just making it worse. The shadows clung to every surface in the room, and the stink of sour ectoplasm seemed to worsen the longer she was there. There seemed to be no single origin of the ectoplasm. Even her helmet’s air filter couldn’t eliminate the horrible smell.
She ran like a rat with its tail on fire, wildly and without direction. Electricity grabbed at the air like greedy hands as she dove into the fray, sliding under someone’s feet as bullets ricocheted off concrete walls. She was gasping for breath. Her heart and core were pumping, burning in tandem, filling her head with panic and rage.
Her hauntmate was in danger.
Valerie dove for cover behind a half-demolished crate. The sound of an automatic filled her ears.
Danny was in danger.
The shooting stopped, and Valerie threw herself back into the firefight, charging straight toward the ghost with the gun.
These ghosts threatened his life.
A man wearing a red helmet similar to hers fell in her path onto his hands and knees. Valerie used her momentum to step on his back and launch herself into the air.
They needed to flee.
She landed on her intended target feet first, shocking him with the force of the impact. The volts running through his body made him convulse and drop the gun. Valerie scooped it up.
Everyone here deserved to be Ended.
The gun was a Saiga-12 with a barrel extension. She discarded the magazine. Two ghosts lunged for her, eyes glowing with malice and clown smiles stretching too wide. Valerie turned ninety degrees, flipped the gun, and smashed the end against the nearest kneecaps. Then, spinning like she was in color guard, the gun was thrown up and caught flawlessly as she walloped the other guy in the back of the head with it.
She could do it.
Strong hands clawed at her suit, and suddenly the air felt suffocating. Valerie whipped around again and shoved the gun's barrel upwards, catching another ghost in the chin hard enough that he stumbled back. The gun crumpled like wet paper in her hands from the force, and she had to toss it aside.
She could End everyone here.
A knife was headed toward her face. Valerie blocked the incoming strike with one arm and delivered a decisive blow to the ghost’s torso. It landed without a hitch, and the guy flew back several feet. Why wasn’t anyone turning intangible?
They needed to leave.
A small child dressed like a traffic light landed next to her. He wielded a katana that quickly cut down the enemies before him. Valerie barely spared him a glance. Instead, she reached over the kid’s head and grabbed one of the charging ghosts by the throat, lifting him high in the air. The kid’s domino mask didn’t betray much emotion, but in a small corner of her mind, Valerie knew he was surprised. Whatever. Throwing down the ghost with more force than necessary, Valerie got lost in a blur. She watched the child’s blind spots until he bounded off to join someone else, katana glinting in the low light.
She should do it.
In the end, it was Danny’s quiet groan that brought Valerie out of her violent haze. She aborted her flying tackled and tucked into a roll midair, popping up to glance back at Danny. Another clown had come and stepped on his back, jolting him back to consciousness. Lightning renewed its frantic dance across her body as her rage made her see green. A rabid snarl ripped through the air as she charged forward, body-checking the man at impossible speeds.
From the corner of her eye, Valerie could see Danny curled up in the fetal position, eyes screwed shut tightly as his heightened senses suddenly picked up everything at once. She could feel his distress, confusion, and fear through their fragile core bond.
Where are we? What is happening? I feel so sick, why am I sick? My head hurts. Help, I’m scared. Please make it stop.
Despite her hauntmate’s suffering, Valerie had to be focused on her current fight. In Valerie's opinion, the clown’s head cracked against the concrete in a bout of poetic justice. The guy had gone limp, eyes glazed over. Valerie didn’t care. It was the clown’s fault for being such a weak ghost. Either way, she sunk one hand into the clown’s torso to grasp his rib cage, so he couldn’t turn intangible and run and started beating the shit out of him with the other. (This was a trick she’d learned from Dani, which turned out to be extremely helpful at times.)
Shouts got louder from all sides, and blood was drawn, but Valerie couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop. Her knuckles burned as the force of her hits wore through the protective padding on her hands. Green was blinding her, fueling the wild instincts running through her veins.
These people had threatened her hauntmate. They’d threatened her.
She’s decided. She was going to End them.
Valerie.
She paused with her fist in mid-air, poised for another strike.
“Val, you’re killing them.” Danny’s whisper was drowned out by the ruckus of the fight, but she could still feel his words reverberate through their bond. He’d uncurled from the fetal position and had dragged himself across the floor to sit against a random crate. She tried her best to send back a weak response.
That’s the point.
“No, Val,” Danny’s voice was louder this time. Or was the warehouse getting quieter? “They’re human, Val. They’re alive.”
No. They tried to hurt you. Hurt us. They must be Ended.
“Val…” Danny trailed off and tried a different tactic. Valerie. Come here. I need help.
And, of course, Valerie’s stupid new ghost instincts immediately focused on Danny and his injuries rather than the unconscious, human clown bleeding to death beneath her fingers. She was by his side in a second, cradling his face as he collapsed into her arms. Danny was still bleeding. Her hands trembled while she wiped away the blood.
They’re human, Valerie.
No-
They’re alive.
Valerie choked out a broken sob.
I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-
Val.
What do I do? You’re so hurt and everyone is a threat. I don’t know where we are, what do I do-
Danny huffed a weak laugh and let his head go limp in her arms. “Let’s just get out of here.”
“Don’t you dare pass out on me,” She hissed at him, but gathered him up regardless.
A presence approached Valerie from behind, and she tensed. Her suit buzzed in tune with her emotions, letting off a low-pitched whine that would have any sane liminal backing away. But apparently, these crazies were humans and still very much living-holy shit she should be in jail-despite the weak humming of several cores.
But hey, she’d been wrong before, and it didn’t really matter right now.
“You almost killed them.” Stated a rough voice. Quiet and deep, it reminded Valerie of the shadows that clung to the corners of her room.
“But I didn’t.” She snarled, eyes firmly glued to Danny’s face. Her helmet made her sound garbled and inhuman- which she was at this point. Her suit glowed an angry red, something she hadn’t noticed before, and Valerie heard the frantic shuffle of a few people scrambling away.
“Who are you?” The voice tried again. She glanced away from Danny for just a second. A tall man wrapped in darkness loomed over her, seeming to melt in with the shadows of the night. The kid from before was half-hidden in the man’s cloak, glaring at her but otherwise not acting hostile. Another figure dressed like the first silently twisted down from the rafters, making no sound. Instead, worry radiated off of their hunched figure.
The warehouse had truly calmed down by now. Men wearing clown masks were scattered about, unconscious and bound. None had glowing eyes or sharp talons like she thought they did. These were just ordinary people who were completely off their rockers. She refused to acknowledge the men covered in a significant amount of blood and lay at weird angles. The remaining figures were standing back, letting the man take the lead. They all varied in size and color, looking almost as ridiculous as some of Danny’s rouges. The only one who seemed somewhat sensible was the guy she’d used as a springboard. He was standing the farthest away, wary and absolutely reeking of nasty ectoplasm. But, on the other hand, everyone looked strong in their own right and were all tensed, waiting to see what she did.
Now that her head was clearing a bit, Valerie quickly picked up on the situation. These were vigilantes she was dealing with. She cursed silently. At least half the group had courted Death in some way, which she could now see caused her confusion in the first place. Some of these folks had just the barest hint of a core growing, even weaker and smaller than hers. And something was obviously wrong with their growth since the rough mix of Danny’s clean ectoplasm against the soured ectoplasm was creating a strained atmosphere. Her instincts were egging her on, insisting that she immediately announce her position as top predator.
A notification from her helmet made Valerie tilt her head. A loud ripping sound echoed around the warehouse, making the group flinch. Then, in a move that spoke of years of practice, Valerie gracefully stepped onto her returned hoverboard as the tear, in reality, closed up behind it.
“I am Red Huntress,” she declared. “I’m not sorry for almost killing those men. My hauntmate is hurt, so don’t look for us.”
With that last biting remark, Valerie burst through the warehouse skylight and zoomed off toward the city lights. Danny was weakly waving goodbye to the group with a dazed look.
They needed to hide.
---
I very much wanted to continue this, but it was getting too long, and I am t i r e d.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever continue this buuut enjoy
Bruce wasn’t sure how this was going to go. His children were going to absolutely murder him when they got the news. How was he even going to explain this? He was supposed to be the leader of this family, stoic, brave, someone who only made the best decisions, even if it angered or hurt someone. But this? This was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done in his life.
Somehow Bruce Wayne had married a twink who was old enough to be his son. Or at least he looked it. According to Danny he was well over two hundred years old.
A few years ago, when I was living in the housing co-op and looking for a quick cookie recipe, I came across a blog post for something called “Norwegian Christmas butter squares.” I’d never found anything like it before: it created rich, buttery and chewy cookies, like a vastly superior version of the holiday sugar cookies I’d eaten growing up. About a year ago I went looking for the recipe again, and failed to find it. The blog had been taken down, and it sent me into momentary panic.
Luckily, I remembered enough to find it on the Wayback Machine, and quickly copied it into a file that I’ve saved ever since. I probably make these cookies about once a month, and they last about five days around my voracious husband - they’re fantastic with a cup of bitter coffee or tea. I’m skeptical that there is something distinctively Norwegian about these cookies, but they do seem like the perfect thing to eat on a cold day.
Norwegian Christmas Butter Squares
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
Turbinado/ Raw Sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chill a 9x13″ baking pan in the freezer. Do not grease the pan.
Using a mixer, blend the butter, egg, sugar, and salt together until it is creamy. Add the flour and vanilla and mix using your hands until the mixture holds together in large clumps. If it seems overly soft, add a little extra flour.
Using your hands, press the dough out onto the chilled and ungreased baking sheet until it is even and ¼ inch thick. Dust the top of the cookies evenly with raw sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees until the edges turn a golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about five minutes before cutting the cooked dough into squares. Remove the squares from the warm pan using a spatula.
It basically makes the platonic ideal of commercial sugar cookies, only in bar form. When I give them to people (which I do a lot, because this is one of those simple recipes where the results seem very impressive), I just tell them they’re sugar cookie bars.
The OP version of this has become my go-to cookie for basically all things and I have a whole cohort of friends and colleagues who would murder each other to get them. Haven’t tried any add ons yet, since the base recipe is SO GOOD.
I’ve reblogged this before and I’m reblogging it again because I’m about to make it again tomorrow and I wanted to add my own tale of just how amazingly delicious it. it was SO incredibly simple to bake and with an extra dusting of brown sugar on top and served warm and soft they gift you with the taste of the nectar of the gods when paired with a small glass of milk. this image is from when I first made them a couple years ago:
Needed to make a dessert in a hurry to bring to Thanksgiving, and this recipe worked excellently. I did not have the right kind of sugar for the topping, so instead I used a packet of lemonade powder, which gave it a nice citrusy zing.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Summary:
Brown shows Damian a viral video of a twitch streamer, named UndeadNebula, passionately defending the current Robin from his critics. Intrigued, he begins watching the streamer.UndeadNebula is smart, kind, funny, and Damian could listen to him talk for eternity. It seems… the streamer might have wormed his way into Damian’s heart.
This was inspired by a lovely piece of art by @anikuja
@halfblackwolfdemon and I bounced ideas off of each other, and it was really fun!
I hope everyone likes it!
Jason and Jazz becoming friends through a pen pal thing at school that would send emails and letters back and forth—even after the project ended—until one day when Jazz never got a reply to one of her letters, she kept sending them despite not getting a reply up until she moves out from home and to Gotham for college.
Jason never got to reply because he had died and Bruce and Alfred didn’t have the heart to open letters that were for Jason and couldn’t bring themselves to actually write to this kid who was Jason’s pen pal. If they had actually read the letters they would have learned that Amity Park was overrun with ghosts and that Jazz was scared for her baby brother and living in a very neglectful home. They would have learned that Jazz was lonely and that she missed her friend and that the only think keeping her sane are these letters that she is writing to her one and only friend, Jason.
When Jason finally starts talking to the family and even goes to a few dinners—that usually end poorly, but we won’t talk about that!—and Alfred gives him a pile of envelopes tied together neatly addressed to him in numerical order. Jason is confused for a second until it clicks and these were from Jazz and that she had never stopped sending him letters. He takes them home and cry’s for a bit because his friend never stopped writing him, even when he was dead. Then Jason READS THEM!!! And becomes increasingly concerned after each letter ranging in detail and severity such as, “my home town is being overrun by the undead,” to “I’m scared for my brothers safety, Jason.”
And then the final one saying, “now that my brother has graduated high school Im taking him and moving to Gotham, this will be my last letter. You are my best friend!”
Jason set the letter down gently with shaking hands, willing himself not to cry and run the perfect cursive.
It took him a moment to recollect himself, and once he had, he snatched the letter back up again, scanning the final paragraph again and again.
'I know you may never see this letter, but I just wanted to say thank you. Your company has helped me stay sane throughout the years, even when you stopped responding.
I miss you, Jay. I'm worried about you, especially knowing Gotham's crime rate. When you stopped responding, I thought the worst, but I think I'd be able to tell if you were dead. It runs in the family, ya know? Sorry. I'm not funny, I just make bad jokes when I'm nervous. I just...know you're not dead. Maybe fed up with my constant letters and rambling, but not dead.
But who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other again! The damsel in distress finding her prince after years of being apart, like those cheesy Disney movies we used to talk about.
My brother is excited to finally meet my "secret admirer" after all these years (even though I told him that it's not a secret admirer if you know the person).
I'm leaving my cell number, in case you ever want to see me again.
Goodbye Jason. I hope the years have treated you well.'
Jason sucked in a breath, snatching his phone from the coffee table.
He entered the numbers hesitantly, as if he expected the phone to blow up as soon as he pressed 'create contact'.
Jason stared at the keyboard, not really knowing what to say. How could he explain his sudden disappearance: "Hey, sorry I left you to deal with what sounded like hell on earth for 5 years, but speaking of hell, you'll never guess where I've been all this time!"? Definitely not.
He erased the message a few more times before thinking: 'Fuck it,' and pressed send.
A bell chimed. Jazz shot up from her seat at the booth, leaning over the table to see the door.
"It's not him, Jazz," Danny sighed exasperatedly.
Jazz turned to see him waving his phone at her, a game of sorts taking up the screen. The bell chimed again, bright gold script that read 'High Score!" accompanying it.
Jazz smiled sheepishly, only getting a grumble in return, and sat back down.
She knew that Danny didn't mind her nervous habits, but he hadn't gotten much sleep (read: no sleep) since the flight to Gotham, making him irritable.
Jazz also knew it had something to do with the significant drop in ambient ectoplasm making him feel spent, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was feeling rather drained as well.
It was no secret that she was severely ectocontaminated, to the point where she had started to set off her pa-the Fenton's weapons in Danny's junior year.
She knew Danny worried for her. He felt as if it was his fault she was ectocontaminated, and it broke Jazz's heart to see such a heavy weight on such a young mind.
Logically, Jazz knew she was no better. She overcomplicated and overthought, always preparing for the smallest of changes.
That was why when Danny told her about his not-so-alive status, it had thrown her for a loop. How could she have prepared for this? How could she have helped? How could she have been so...so useless?
Jazz didn't tell Danny about her darker thoughts, the ones that slithered around in her head and latched on like leeches, twisting her emotions and warping her world-view until she couldn't tell the difference between what people told her and what she told herself.
Jazz was good. Jazz got good grades. Jazz was responsible. Jazz was mature. Jazz was the perfect child.
Jazz got good grades because it was her only hope, her only means of escaping Amity.
Jazz was responsible because she had spent too many nights holding her sobbing brother, promising him fresh, healthy meals and safety. Promising him lies.
Jazz was mature because the last time she trusted her parents, trusted anyone but herself, she had had to hold her brother's hand while she stitched up angry green incisions across his chest, looking into his dull eyes and telling him he was going to be okay.
They were going to be okay.
Jazz was perfect because she never had time to make friends, she never had time to go to parties, to kiss boys and girls, to buy fun outfits, to cry over breakups, to sneak out, to steal from cheap outlet malls, to try new things, to experiment, to discover herself.
Jazz was perfect because if she was anything else, she would fall apart.
Jazz shifted slightly to check her phone. No new messages. She opened the contact named 'Jason!!!' and read the simple text thread again and again.
12:58.
Throughout those difficult years, Jazz did have one friend.
She had started sending letters to Jason as part of a school assignment, and they quickly became friends after that.
Jason had a love for literature and English, something that most people around Jazz found boring. They would often send each other book recommendations.
Jazz remembered always reading the book as fast as possible in order to send her letter first, doing it so often Jason suggested making it a game. Every month they would find a new book-or movie in some cases-to share, and whoever finished the book first got to choose the next one.
Getting the letters were the highlight of Jazz's month and she loved reading the books Jason picked out, watching his interests change over the years. It was a good way to ignore the reality of her situation, to imagine that she was living in a futuristic city with crime-fighting parents that still made it home for dinner.
But then the letters stopped. Jazz had been waiting for Jasons letter; it was his turn to pick the book. But a letter never came. Jazz didnt know what to do. Had she angered him? Did she do something wrong? Was he finally done with her know-it-all behavior?
Jazz couldn't deal with the horrors her mind cooked up, so she kept sending letters.
Some were simple: 'Danny and I went shopping today. I got a new dress, but I'm probably not going to wear it.'
Others were more alarming: 'Mom Maddie shot Danny. I don't know how much longer we can stay here. I'm worried for him.'
She continued the stream of letters for what seemed like ages with no response. Eventually, the resume she had sent to Arkham was approved, and she was moving to Gotham.
Her last letter was carefully thought out; she procrastinated for hours trying to figure out what to write until Danny came in and suggested word vomit.
What the letter ended up being was less word vomit and more resembling a high school essay, but she was proud of it.
She had included a summary of what had happened in her life since Jason was gone, and added her number to the bottom as a final touch. Danny was not happy about tossing her number to the wind but gave in after being sternly lectured.
She wasn't excepting a response. So when her phone chimed 2 days prior, she had almost broken into tears.
He was alive.
He was safe.
He still wanted to see her.
What followed his message was slightly awkward planning, lots of packing, and tearful goodbyes.
Which led them here, at the Batburger, in booth 15, at 12:59 p.m.
Jazz took a deep breath and jumped at the cold hand on her shoulder.
Danny gave her an appraising look with unnaturally blue eyes that still unnerved her to this day. She replied with a small smile and a thumbs-up. She knew Danny wasn't trying to discompose her, but the chill his direct eye contact gave was distressing nonetheless.
Danny sensed her stiffness at his touch and pulled his hand into his pockets, only to jolt upright, a faraway look that she didn't like in his eyes. "Danny?" Jazz started hesitantly, but was cut off by a cheerful tune and a loud buzz.
Her phone.
1:00.
The door jingled.
I'll add danny boys pov last >:) gonna do it tmmr though cause i think im going blind
im actually hoping to post dannos part this weekend but shit has been WILD and idk if ill be able to finish it...for some reason danny is impossible to do right when hes not the protag😔 too much main character energy
Danny is walking along in Gotham and trips and falls into a massive puddle. Instead of making a splash or hitting the cold wet floor, he simply goes through the ground and turns invisible as he falls.
Now imagine you are a Gotham vigilante just chilling on the rooftops and you see this scrawny ass black haired kid just eat shit and fall face first toward a puddle and just sink into the puddle with barley even a ripple. Completely vanishing from sight. The bafflement and chaos that would ensue from that… truly marvelous.
So the Flash is one of the min JLers I see who is used as very “Ghosts aren’t real.” Most of the speedsters even. And I think at one point Hal as well. So Amity Park sent out distress calls when ghosts started happening, then again for each major crisis and each time there’s no response. No one knows why but every time they’re saved and protected by a child. A Dead Child. One that the JL obviously failed to save but clearly wanted to be a Hero maybe even like them given the chest logo like so many of the big league Heros.
Bear with me here. I'm so tired but i need to get this down. so enjoy this set up.
Imagine Phantom didn’t show up right away, a couple major ghosts happen before Lunch Lady takes place. The Drs Fenton scare them off but do just as much damage and also fail to catch the ghost. Imagine with me that Danny was one of the people who sent the first distress call. And when no-one answered and his friends were directly in the line of fire Danny realized they were on their own. Imagine how crushed he would have been realizing that their heroes weren’t listening even enough to send t minimum a message of skepticism and he was the Only Person in all of Amity Park who could do something.
Danny’s ghostly obsession wasn’t the drive to protect, and for the longest his true obsession takes blow after blow as he’s considered evil and part of the problem. His core developing a secondary obsession to cope. He just wanted to be accepted, to matter in some way, and now its worse because he also wants, needs to keep his people safe because no one else will.
Now it’s years later. Danny’s grown some, he’s 16 nearly 17. He ages normally and sure he’s on the short side but he no longer wants to be tall like his dad like Dan anymore. Stronger, more confident in himself now that he’s no longer hated, his parents know and they help. Things are nice. He’s thriving on both his obsessions and his living needs being met and there being a healthy balance. They’ve come a long way.
Now Vlad fucks up. Something he does puts them on the JL’s radar. Danny is brought in as an expert because he is and the watchtower is in space and well, Danny thinks he’s put his anger behind him but his friends and family haven’t they’re angry on his behalf because Danny forgives so easily, he’s willing to give a new chance, maybe they just has rotten timing and there was a bigger crisis happening.
So Danny goes to explain things to they League alone. (As if Tucker and Technus haven’t hacked into the camera system to watch the potential show.
Constantine excuses himself as soon as Danny walks into the room. These losers are on their own he already made his peace with Phantom before he became prince, whatever shit the League have gotten into now is their problem. Danny starts as Fenton, after all they invited Fenton.
Something happens. Maybe Flash says some accidentally insensitive shit or its at the end of the meeting where danny has provided defensive gear and carefully curated offensive. Or better, Danny starts the meeting next to Batman who announces what possible threat they are facing. And Flash says “ghost aren’t real though?” Danny zeros in on him. It’s unsettling in a way that the Bat is but leaving. Bone deep chill.
“Was it you?” Danny asked abruptly. Everyone in the room acutely aware of what the teen was asking. Batman had torn Flash, and Hal, a new one for the ignored distress calls. Lter on Amity Park was silenced by Constantine but the occult Conman insisted he did it on request of the towns personal hero. “Did you ignore us?”
No one moved as Barry shrank slightly under the gaze of those hard blue eyes. “I-“ the lights flickered and The youngest Fenton was standing on the table at the center but in front of the speedster.
“You left us to die because you thought our cries for help were a joke.” The young man’s posture was relaxed but he held himself like a warrior, as though he carried a weight unimaginable. Perhaps he did, Wonder Woman considered with no small amount of surprise. “I died because you ignored us, ignored me. I called and you refused to answer.”
“But-“ superman started to say, the question shriveling into ash on his tongue.
“I’m here because I’m the only one willing to give you this chance to make amends. All of you. But you, Barry Allen,” and Danny’s blue eyes flashed an acidic green as he stepped closer, “I want you to look me in the eye. I want you to see me as I was when I was forced to do was you refused to even Look Into, and I want you to tell me why no one came.”
The air was heavy with a cold so sharp that even Superman shivered. Before the eyes of the gathered heroes Daniel Fenton began to change. Shrinking from his five foot six height to five foot two. The lean and defined muscle gave way to the thin frame of a boy who likely couldn’t lift more than fifteen pounds. His messy hair hung at odd angles and his clothes clung to his frame as if desperate to avoid falling free.
There was a collective gasp as Danny looked back up at the Flash, his eyes watery and expression tight with unshed tears. “I was fourteen. I died on my birthday. At least I wasn’t alone. But it was my fault the portal worked in the first place. I sent the first request for help before anyone had even used the doorway I’d torn open.”
He turned to look at Batman with a weary smile. “Don’t come to Amity Park. We don’t need you anymore. Plasmius will be properly punished for his actions.” While everyone was still reeling the boy smiled. “You left us to die and so we did.”
When the lights flickered again Danny Fenton was gone and the conference room exploded into chaos.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t imagine how ‘May you live in interesting times’ could be a curse. But now I would so love to not have a year’s worth of news happen every week. PLEASE.
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