I'm OpaqueCheshire, a 31-year-old female INTP/INTJ with a BS in Mathematics. I love books, beading, cross-stitching, drawing, and music. I tend to reblog a little of everything, and I have a multitude of fandoms as can be seen in the tags below (though there are probably plenty more that I'm forgetting).
Cis Female, Asexual, Aromantic
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Santa is on strike due to global warming. All presents this year will be delivered by Sasha the Christmas Tiger. Milk and cookies may not be sufficient.
And if I said Megamind through its three subversions of Superman shows a deeper understanding that the point of Superman is that he was loved and taught to love by good, present parents, and because of that he is able to return that love to a world even if it doesn't always accept it, and he is not corrupted by his power, than many other films either subverting or playing the superman story straight.
Megamind has three Superman subversions. One is obviously Megamind himself. He was not raised loved by the world, but rather was loved by those hated by the world. Because he was still raised with love, he does care about other people, hence his character development. But because he didn't receive wider love growing up, his own is misplaced at first.
Metro Man was not loved growing up in a way that mattered. His adopted father was clearly very absent, and while we don't know much about his family, their relationship seems superficial. Because of this, his sense of duty to the world is also superficial, hence his boredom.
Hal wasn't raised with power. He gained it and was shown how to use it by a 'space dad' who only taught him power and not love. Hence, he sees it only as a grasping means to an end.
All three of these subversions, in their negative space, create the silhouette of the superhero that they are parodying. That silhouette is of a space child that came to earth and was cared for very deeply by the world, and taught love through his experience of love, and because of that holds fast to his duty to the world. Which is Superman.
It's midnight and I'm hopped up on that ADHD juice. Been thinking on and off about this prompt and how things play out. Might clean this up for ao3 posting later but whatever.
Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
____
Danny can feel the weight of their stares like it’s physical. A last mournful glance at his pancakes- Actually no, fuck it. He grabs the last one from his plate, flashes the whole Wayne family a peace sign, and turns invisible. The pancake is eaten as he dashes out the door and away from the shouting and chaos he leaves the family in.
-
“Where the FUCK did he go!?” Jason’s shout somehow made it above the din of the others- and got Bruce and Dick yelling ‘language’ back at him. The pricks.
“I say! Watch your tone Master Jason! As for the rest of you-” The whole family shut the immediate fuck up when Alfred speaks. His displeased expression more than enough to cow them into submission. “I expect you to clean up after yourselves today and a quiet trip to the batcave to find our new ward. Master Jason, you will be taking care of Master Danny’s plates, and I will hear of an apology from you for scaring that poor boy.”
There’s a chorus of ‘yes Alfred’ from the chastised bats, but Bruce- carefully mind you- presses.
“Alfred, how long has he been here? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“The young master has been staying for the past three weeks sir. And despite my best attempts, I have not yet been able to convince him to sleep in his own room.”
Bruce groans and rubs at his face before turning back to his other children, “Nobody thought to tell me!?”
The kids all look at each other, and then back at him with the most judgmental ‘are you serious’ looks they can muster. Except Cassandra, who very excitedly signs; New brother! All Bruce can do is sigh into his hands.
“We’ll discuss this later-”
“Why didn’t you notice then old man?” Jason grins, a little feral at Bruce’s dirty look but sue him.
“Okay okay, let’s hurry up and get this place cleaned up. There’s no telling how far Danny got- and the sooner we go after him the sooner we figure out what’s going on.” Dick said, quickly gathering his own plate.
“And the sooner I can get all of you presents.” The entire family stops. Staring at Jason in shock. “Only the finest ‘World’s best detective’ mugs for all of you!”
The groan he gets from all of them is perfect.
-
“I cannot believe you didn’t think to tell me either!” Batman scolds Oracle later.
Everyone is out in force. Even Batwoman, Batwing, and Bluebird (after having a good laugh at Batman’s expense) had joined. They had all been searching for Danny the better part of the day. Batman had even agreed to let Red Robin and Robin join the search and skip school. That’s how seriously the kids knew he was taking this. And how important it was for one of them to get to Danny before Batman scared him off for good with his infamous paranoia.
“If you didn’t notice, that one’s on you Batman.” God Jason really loved Barbara sometimes.
“Oracle would not have allowed a dangerous individual into our midst. She is thorough when it comes to such things.” Robin is moving fast, probably swinging right behind Batman. No doubt headed east where the nicer areas were and any sane person was bound to head.
“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, baby bat.”
“O, you wouldn’t happen to have a new update on Danny’s whereabouts would you? Or anything from his past?” Nightwing cuts in after Robin’s little ‘Tt’. He’s somewhere near the border to Bludhaven, in case Danny’s making it out that way.
“Nothing Nightwing.” They can hear her frustration, and concern, through the voice modulator. “The kid’s practically a ghost. All I can tell you is that he’s not from Gotham. What little I can find of his time here in Gotham is some security feeds of dumpster diving and sleeping on a bench.”
“He’s also definitely a meta.” Signal mutters, somewhere to the west and near the coast..
Jason remains quiet and lets them all talk. As funny as it is- and holy shit Jason will never let any of them live this down ever- it is a little strange this random kid would just... Show up out of nowhere. Meta or not. Alfred said he wouldn’t sleep in a bed of his own, but he also hadn’t left until after Jason questioned his existence. This ‘Danny’ had been around the manor, the bats coming and going, for weeks. He could’ve found out their secrets, and even if he hadn’t sold them out yet, there’s no telling who might pick him up and drag those secrets out of him. Or worse, if he was sent here by someone, then they needed to find out who. And fast…
….
Ugh. He sounded like Batman.
“Hey guys, how well do you even know Danny?” Jason pulls over near an abandoned apartment building. Cutting the engine to his bike to hear them all better. “He was there for a few weeks, pick up anything on him? Might help us figure out where he ran off to.” That last bit was added as an afterthought, not wanting to be too paranoid, but it was also true.
“I know how this is going to sound, but uh, well, he does seem really nice actually.” Signal helpfully offers. “Dick and I ran into Danny I think not long after he got there?”
“O’s camera feed tells us Danny arrived at the manor 28 days ago, Thursday night 11:38 PM. Looking at the records, he was picked up prior to that in front of Wayne Enterprises by one of our drivers- Archer Tenson. He’s reliable and honest, no record of any sort that would make him a suspect of subterfuge.” Nightwing rattles off the information pretty calmly, but they all know him well enough to hear the concern. “According to the records, he was going to pick up the caffeine addict after the cafe got an alert of his fourth Death Latte-” They all ignored Red Robin’s little ‘hey!’, “-and dropped him off safely at home.”
“Red Robin.” Batman’s parental disapproval was palpable through the comms.
“There wasn’t a fourth Death Latte!” Red Robin protested from his place in the batcave. Aiding in the digital search and combing over the camera feeds over the past few weeks for any information about Danny. “The third Death Latte was the last one. An Alert at W.E. was the plan the whole night. Nobody made it back to the manor until sunrise and the cafe kept saying there wasn’t any more coffee and-!” He gasped, horrified! Outraged! And the rest were left to hold their snickers as Red Robin said, “He stole my last coffee!”
“That’s right, Danny said he was a caffeine addict too.” Batwing mused. Probably flying somewhere over the more open suburbia in case Danny was trying to make a break out of the city that way.
“Wait when did you meet Danny?” Spoiler asked- Jason knew she was patrolling nearby with Bluebird. Those two, Orphan and Signal were the only ones who were allowed to come close to Crime Alley. Mainly because they annoyed Jason the least, but also because they understood how bad the streets could get and looked the other way better than the others. Signal surprised him about that one.
“Start from the beginning.” Batman orders. “Nightwing, Signal, you met Danny when?”
“Looking back, it was actually the day after he got there it sounds like.” Signal sighs. “I was headed downstairs for breakfast, and saw Dick in one of the sitting rooms. I thought I saw our caffeine addict passed out on the couch and thought dick was going to wake him, so I went in to help…”
Danny is stuck in the DC Universe against his will. He is trying to build a Ghost Portal to try and get back home, but he needs to steal a bunch from the different High-Tech Companies in the DC Universe
So now Wayne-Tech, Lex-Corp, Palmer Industries, Star Labs, and everything else you can think of has been robbed by a Meta-Human Theif who can walk through walls, disappear, and fly
Eventually, Danny gets all the parts he needs for the Portal and starts to build it in some forest outside of Gotham.
At the same time, Constantine reports to the League that the small traces of magical green goo they found at each crime scene was Ectoplasm. Basically Death Energy in Liquid Form from a Dimension called the Infinite Realms. They figure out that all the parts put together could be used to build a Portal, and the Ectoplasm makes them suspect that he is trying to open a Portal the the Infinite Realms
Constantine says that the Ectoplasm has energy readings that suggest it is from the High King, but it is mixed in with a bunch of Human DNA. He suspects that Danny is a Thrall of Pariah Dark, created so he could open a Portal the the Infinite Realms and pave the way for his Invasion of their Dimension.
They find a way to track down the Portal, right when Danny is about to open it.
A final battle ensues as Danny desperately tries to defend his Portal, while the computer reads out the Countdown to the Portal Opening. When the timer reaches 1, Batman finds a Bomb near the Portal Opening and throws it into the tunnel, destroying the entire Portal in one go.
They all stand back, watching as Danny stops and collapses in front of the destroyed Portal. Constantine warns them to be careful, Pariah Dark is a being of pure hatred, and once they piss off his Thrall he will attack them with all his angered might. "This bloke is about to explode. Once he realizes what he's looking at, he's gonna-"
But he is cut off when they hear drops of water hiting the ground, coming from the direction of the Portal. Danny is silently crying, looking at all his hard work go to up in flames.
They are all stunned. Constantine warned them that the Thralls of Pariah Dark were incapable of any emotion other than Anger, that they were completely sadistic monsters who took pleasure in ripping Mortals apart piece by piece. But this wasn't anything like that.
This was a Child, crying on his knees while staring at his Portal he had worked so hard to build.
"Why?" He asks.
"You were going to open a Portal to the Infinite Realms. We know you are a Thrall of Pariah Dark, you would have let his army through to our dimension."
"But Pariah Dark is dead."
"If he was dead, then why did we find traces of the King's energy in your Ectoplasm?"
"I'm beat him a few months ago. I'm the new king."
"Wait, so why were you trying to open the Portal?"
"I just wanted to see my family again. It wasn't even going to be open for long, I had a bomb ready to destroy it behind me..."
What if Danny had to infuse his own ectoplasm into the tech since, without natural portals, this world is severely lacking the ambient ecto his parents used to make their own portal compatible with the realms.
Without every single piece being infused with clean ecto, it's just gonna blow up in his face. And the only clean ecto in this world is Danny's.
He's had to use so much already. He's so tired. His ghost half growing weaker with each part. But he did it. Once. All he has to do is let enough energy build up. But then they show up. And they ruin it. And Danny... he doesn't have enough left to do it again. He's so tired.
.
"Why?! I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to go home! Why won't you let me go home? I... I'm tired. I don't have enough. Can't make another. Not enough. I'm not enough. I can't. I can't go home. Why can't I go home?"
This is too devastating I can't leave it like this. It did end up getting worse before it got better tho. I was gonna put it in the tags but it's too long, might properly flesh it out later but don't hold your breath over it lol
Every single JL member present is guilty as shit. If any of them had just stopped to ask the kid what he was doing, they could've figured things out, maybe even lent a hand. But they didn't and now this poor kid has to suffer for it
Superman offers a place to stay until they can figure something out. I imagine Danny's living in the woods where he could protect the portal when he wasn't out gathering pieces, and they can't exactly just leave him there. Danny is intensely distrustful but knows too well that people with the best of intentions can fuck up, so he lets himself be brought to the Kent farm
Once the frustration passes, he's just left with homesickness and a bone-deep exhaustion
Bats, supes and the rest are fkn ON👏THE👏CASE👏
They've got a complete list of everything Danny ever stole to make the portal and enough resources between them to recreate them. Sure it takes some finagling to get the schematics from Lex-Corp, but Tim's been splitting his waking hours between the Bat Computer and the Kent Farm, having Danny walk him through how he built this thing and offering improvements as they go. And at this point, he'd rebuild the damn portal from scratch by himself if it would get this kid to just smile.
Danny doesn't believe for a second all this effort will amount to anything, and doesn't hide it. He's told them they need pure ectoplasm to power the machine, and other members of the JL are looking for a source, but it's been a struggle. The Lazarus pits were considered, and are in fact ectoplasm. But it's more than corrupted, it's flat out rotten. It can't be purified enough to be made useful
Tim ends up roping the rest of Young Justice into visiting every now and then, because bad enough Danny is separated from everyone he's ever known and loved, he needs a few people his own age who can talk to him on more even ground. Ship as you please, I'm partial to Danny/Kaldur'ahm, but I'm also not picky.
With all these young vigilantes around, Danny actually pulls up out of his funk a little. If he's gonna get fully stuck in another dimension, one full of supers who kinda get what his life has been like isn't the worst option. He talks about his experiences with vigilantism and maybe takes advantage of the therapy offered by the JL (you can't have a superhero workplace and not have therapists in standby. Just because Bruce doesn't go does not mean it doesn't exist). They get him off the farm and even bring him to Mount Justice for movie and game nights. He spars with them a few times, but is already so weak, he stops after a few weeks
Now as the new ghost king, Danny's powers should be, well, growing. It didn't all hit at once, instead the power and authority of the High King of the Infinite Realms is something he was meant to grow into. But without the ambient ectoplasm of Amity or the Realms, the power essentially does not have the energy to support itself
He's ghost-starving, is what I'm saying
He's never been deprived of ambient ectoplasm for so long, and he was already lacking from the first attempt at a portal, so even though his mood has improved, he's just getting more and more tired.
A few hangouts at YJHQ have ended abruptly when they needed to go out to fight, but Danny's never gone with them. He'll watch the news on the monitors but he can't exactly be of any help.
Until one day, after an interrupted game of Clue, Danny watches as his friends get tossed aside, one by one. Any heroes that would normally pull in to help are off looking for a source of ectoplasm. A psychic attack downs Miss Martian. Kid Flash and Artemis are down for the count. Superboy gets Kryptonite waved in his face. Things are looking bad
So what's a ghost with a Protection obsession to do?
Come in clutch, of course
He only has the energy for a few attacks, but weeks to months spent not transforming have allowed his power to grow enough that a few is all it takes. Which is good, because Danny collapses right away. Robin and Aqualad go to him telling him that was azing! But also very stupid, he doesn't have the energy for this and he knows it! But Danny, exhausted as can be, is focused on the kryptonite that he knocked out of his opponent's grip. He asks them to bring it to him. They do, but ask why, as Danny looks at the crystal in wonder. He takes it from their hand
And crunches down on it like rock candy
So yeah, turns out kryptonite is actually crystalized death energy from the destruction of Krypton. Not ectoplasm per se, but a similar enough compound that Danny can convert it into ectoplasm by eating it
Connor, unfortunately, has to stay away from him for a day or two while he digests and transforms the energy, and again every time the JL - who are immediately informed of this update - find another piece to bring him. As a happy side effect, this literally eats up a fair amount of the kryptonite on this earth, making it a bit less available to anyone trying to hurt the supers.
So Danny can supply enough of his own ectoplasm to power up the portal, and romanceable-character-of-your-choice admits they're sad to see him go. But, he assures, if they leave the portal running, he'll be able to visit. He advised that they keep it closed most of the time, though, just so they don't get the same ghost problem as Amity
I just kinda spit this out without thinking too hard. Tag list is small so I'm not bothering w/ a cut
Okay little head-canon that after Danny became the ghost king and since he did die in the portal and ectoplasm quite literally killed him the realms changed after having a new ruler.
Danny after becoming the ghost king unknowingly has icy blue light crystal eyes in his ghost form instead of green and is absolutely confused.
Jack and Maddie are looking at the portal in disbelief because it changed colors
Meanwhile every other ghost in the infinite realms are looking around: why are there realms BLUE???
Clockwork is just silently grateful that it's just blue because dang it there's a reason why he didn't leave his tower even when he could. The green was an eyesore to his eyes.
Not much is clear but it's often referred to as ghost half.
Truth be told he was never fully human from the start. That much Talia already knew. When the League of assassins saw what looked like to be a shooting star falling from the sky straight into the league they were all ready to fight a threat only to find but a small infant a newborn crying.
As soon as Talia held the baby it instantly stopped crying looking at her with curiosity giggling while trying to play with her hair.
She didn't know what possessed her to keep the child but she did took him in as her own son.
There were tales and theories about his existence perhaps he was an alien or a creation of the stars himself the way you looked at the stars easily reflected on his eyes sometimes League members would have sworn that they saw the galaxy itself die and be born in his hair and eyes and the morning grew the more those traits went all over his body.
But that wasn't the only thing about him every time he was near someone with Pitt rage the pits themselves would become no matter how bad the pit rage and started showing affection to the boy or thinking with a clear head. That was obviously something that peaked Ras'es interest but he decided to take mercy on the boy in a favor of seeing how things would develop
Danyal what often go to the stars if he was angry sad or needed comfort he went there almost all the time even when he didn't feel anything in particular he often told Talia about how they made him feel safe and at home telling her stories he shouldn't know.
He was 4 years old when Damien was born and had been a year since Danyal started his training he was determined to protect his little brother and mother especially at her weak state. He would tell him the stories about the stars figures among them and the story and meaning behind each one despite it being a baby.
Talia was happy with her sons. But of course all good things come into an end
It all started a one wretched night where Danyal was 8 in a daze walking through the hallway at the same spot he usually goes to except something was off about him League members tried stopping but went around him suddenly found themselves unable to move.
Talia herself tried to follow her son maybe talk some sense into him but she was also unable to move she was on that wrenched rooftop with the stars above them Danyal looking dazed raising his arm in the sky.
"mom their calling me... the stars are calling me out whispering promises and prophecies that I can't understand..."
"Danyal what is this nonsense?! What are you talking about get back this instant! Father will not-"
"mom... they're calling me phantom. I can feel them trying to take me to fulfill some kind of prophecy..."
Daniel turned and looked at her one last time the boy she raised with a bright smile but he used to turn around put his hands in the air laughing and being a light in the darkness was suddenly gone in a state where the stars themselves is trying to take him away. She won't allow it.
"Da-"
"mama they're saying we'll meet again they're saying when I come back I'll be strong enough to protect you! They say I will leave and surpass you and protect you and my little brother this isn't that wonderful!"
He said with a bright smile but suddenly he spit out what looked like to be the galaxy itself with a tint of blue in it.
"mom... I don't feel so good"
And then he started fading into blue stars Talia tried desperately to move even showing weakness crying
"DANYAL! DANYAL! CAN YOU HEAR ME HOLD ON ILL SAVE YOU HOLD ON BABY MOMS IS GOING TO HELP!"
But it was too late the only thing that remained was the same pool of whatever substance her son had spit out and the remaining blue stars on the ground.
Talia couldn't take it anymore and fell to her knees crying for her son. No there was no way he could be dead if whatever he was saying was true then he was somewhere else he had to be! She would find her son there's no way he's dead!
It is rumored among the assassins that you keeps her son's remains in her safest location but not even Ras could find.
....
Years ago another lane of existence
"are you sure about that ancient of space? This boy will eventually overthrow you become the next ghost king and ancient of space effectively replacing you and making you stop existing altogether as he takes your spot"
"old friend we both know that my existence has long but started fading if I don't plan the seeds now who knows what will happen. I refuse to fight the boy I'll let him take my place in peace I'll lure him to take my place if anything. But I refuse to harm the child I created the living boy who was not he just fated to be a hero. Not to mention if according to your mirror the boy does become the ghost king there's no doubt that he would be a much better ruler than pariah ever could and the observance would no longer have power over the infinite realms. But truly my only regret is not being able to watch my son grow and live his life. I regret not being able to raise him but when the time comes promise me you will be by my child's side clockwork."
"of course friend his fate has already begun. A boy who can change the stars and prophecy as well as but itself by sheer will alone... You always did manage to impress me with your wonderful creations Spagalax"
Realistically speaking Casper high would NOT trust Danny in a survival situation if anything they would make him the sacrifice considering he's a weak twink with bad grades and probably the energy of a sloth while also not even defending himself against Dash being promptly also physically weak
So let's go with this prompt where a rogue kidnaps Danny's class for whatever reason and live streams it and Danny convinces Sam and Tucker to stay with the group instead of joining him while he figures shit as danny.
The instructions Sam and Tucker to lead the group away from danger or defend them or manage to find a way as a leader before he goes into the forest like the others sacrificed him for.
Only for like a week later Danny comes back with a goddamn Kraken that's now a pet. Somehow more buff than he was before and with a confidence that practically screams to be put on a stage with a bunch of crates while swinging by everything.
"SAM TUCKER I MADE A VILLAGE IN THE TREES! WITH WI-FI AND UNLIMITED FOOD I GLITCHED REALITY! >:D"
Casper high: ... Tf
Mr lancer: Danny... why do you have a kraken
Danny: her name is Molly I make toys for her to drag down into the ocean she's a sweetheart! She's just a little cute baby
Kraken: horror noises
Danny: anyways I'm taking only Sam and Tucker the rest of you can rot goodbye :D
Sam and Tucker: well we're jungle rich now
Or let's make a few more cases and scenarios
Danny drunk from poison: Ah stomach pain is this what a hangover feels like? Better than getting electrocuted by a portal
Paulina slowly turning to Danny: what
Danny: I still have the lightning scars that's how I became phantom! Feeling the afterlife quite literally occurs through your body is not a fun experience 0 out of 10 would not recommend don't make portals to the afterlife! Or the glue of reality itself
paulina: . . . You are either lying or we owe Wes money
....
Danny jumping off one of the many tree houses to fight a bear because apparently he needs feralness
Dash: he can do that. Did he always know how to do that?
Sam looks Dash dead in the eyes: yes
Dash: ... I have been deceived. I have been deceived by a Fenton pretending to be weak I should have known better. The Fentons are never normal
...
Danny: :)
A huge machine behind him on the beach
Lancer: Fenton are you building a cruise?!
Danny: science I'm smarter Mr lancer but I'm always on my fifth coffee in 8 in the morning. Sleep is the ex that I desperately want back. Also I got cloned by my godfather :D
Lancer: what even is your home life makes me concerned
....
Meanwhile from people all over the world are watching this questioning how the heck did justice League did not find this yet. But they've given a nickname to Danny. Science raccoon. Also should probably call CPS on the Fentons
After so much time changing between forms, Danny thought that he would no longer have external changes. His human and ghost forms were a bit more combined than when he was a teenager but it wasn't as much of a problem for him now that ghosts weren't actively trying to wipe out humanity and his parents had more or less accepted him.
The problem was when he started his internship at Wayne Enterprises and his teeth started to hurt. He didn't pay much attention to it at first since maybe he should visit Frostbite or some normal dentist. Cavities were pretty common when you ate fast food growing up.
The problem was when three days after the pain started, one of his teeth fell out. That didn't make much sense since the halfa had shed his baby teeth long time ago, and those were supposed to be "permanent".
He decided not to smile and continue working, avoiding anyone that could notice the change but the hole in his teeth was obvious when he looked in the mirror. Then another tooth fell, and he felt his gums itch. Something was beginning to grow.
That was how Danny started changing his teeth into ghost fangs at the worst possible time. Worst of all, he was sure he was growing a third, maybe fourth row of fangs, and fuck how was he going to hide it from his bosses?
He couldn't pretend that he was mute! What if a tooth fell out during work and someone found it? It was a nightmare!
Not people saying “Fandom has always been like this” in that vent post I made. No. It hasn’t always been like this. Fandom has NEVER been like this until recently and if you were in fandom pre-tumblr purge, pre-twitter, pre-netflix boom, pre-tiktok….then you would fucking know it was nothing like this.
We still had the drive to create. We still sold prints and charms and made zines…but it was never like this.
The introduction of streaming, binge shows that drop all at once, tiktok and vine RIP i still love u vine but you were the beginning of a particularly ugly era) creating this bite sized, quick paced ‘content’ era of creation and it bled out into fucking everything else.
Fandoms didn’t die down when the show ended or the season was over. You didn’t mass unfollow artist, writers or moots just because they changed fandoms. There wasn’t this need to please the algorithm in order for your posts to get seen by people and enjoyed.
Fandoms used to last YEARS. Star Trek is literally the oldest running fandom out there and you got people in there that could care less about the new stuff and still have been happily prancing through their fucking fifty year old fandom today. Hell, even SPN after all it’s fuckups and shitshows has a dedicated fanbase STILL creating tons of art and fic.
There is no patience anymore. No calm feeling of taking in fandom and friends at a pace that which doesn’t make you stressed and is still fun.
Do I blame fandom for this? Of course not, but people are complacent with it and start changing their vocab to accommodate and end up making the situation so deep it cant be fixed.
We call Art & Fic Content now, completely stripping the value of what it is to a level of consumerism instead of personal entertainment & community bonding.
No one in the Justice League/Wayne Industries seems to know much about their colleague Danny Fenton. Every time he opens his mouth, he tends to leave everyone in the vicinity with more questions than answers. That is, until they were put on lockdown.
No one really knew what to make of Danny Fenton. He was a clever kid, fresh from his Masters in Chemical Engineering, with a wicked tongue and a mischievous smirk. Wicked in the sense that he put curses on anyone and everyone nearby because half the time the nonsense he spouted didn't make a lick of sense.
He could spout info-dumps on the strangest, most niche subjects your mind could conjure up. Oftentimes they had nothing to do with his field of study, and yet he could recite to you five different sources off the back of his head. On occasion, a lucky listener might even learn of his fortunate chance to meet the scientist in question.
Now most people would call that a load of bullshit, but the fact of the matter was that it would… actually make a lot more sense if he knew all the people he insisted he did. But that still left the question of just how he had all these connections, let alone what had brought him here to Wayne Enterprises if he had that many buddies in even higher places.
But Danny, well, he was a man of character. So maybe it wasn't all that surprising to know that Danny would go here of all places, a company that proved to an entire city that it could do right by it, helping the world at large along the way.
Or well, that's how Olivia tried to think about it.
She didn't interact with Danny all that much, you see. They were in entirely different departments, with Olivia on the legal side and Danny on the R&D one. But they frequented the cafeteria around the same time of day, and they often passed each other in the halls in the late nights they stayed after hours. Danny always complained about how Mr. Fox kept chiding him for staying back so late, but Olivia was rather certain the man was just worried about Danny.
She might be fond of the kid but there's no denying that he could be rather contradictory. He knew the OSHA regulations by heart and yet he had no regard for his own personal safety. Oh, he was plenty strict with anyone entering his personal labs, almost to the point that half of his own department had only gone in once to check on his work. Ever. But Olivia had heard stories about Danny in the lab, using a flamethrower of all things with little to no safety equipment. She had to wonder what kind of scolding he received for that.
And he wondered why Mr. Fox was always worried about him, Olivia thought to herself, shaking her head.
There's no reason for her to be thinking about Danny right now save for the fact that one of his closest colleagues, Brent, had been talking about one of their joint projects. She hadn't actually been all that interested, but Matilda had listened with rapt attention. But Matilda was also in love with Brent so Olivia had to wonder how much information the other woman was intaking at all.
Well whatever. It gave her time to daydream and introspect about her rather unusual workmate.
She had just gotten out of her seat to dump her sandwich wrapper in the bin when an alarm blared overhead. As one, the entire cafeteria snapped their heads towards the loudspeakers.
When the speaker announced an emergency lockdown for the entire building, instead of fear and panic, everyone just groaned in annoyance.
"Again?" Brent whined, throwing his head back as Olivia approached their shared table. She shook her head and turned towards the windows, watching with some dread as the metal sheets fell to shutter and protect the glass. Not all floors had these, probably to make sure that the Bats could get in, but unfortunately the cafeteria just so happened to be one of those rooms.
"Who do you think it's this time?" Matilda remarked with a sigh, using her straw to stir her iced coffee. "Gotham Rogue?"
"Obviously," Olivia scoffed as she propped her head up with a fist. "Who else would be ballsy enough to attack Wayne Enterprise headquarters with Signal so close by."
"'And where the Signal shines'," Brent started, reciting the words for what felt like the millionth time.
"'The Bat will come'," Matilda and Olivia finished as one.
"Who do you think then? Joker?" Matilda asked and it's here that some of her apprehension shone through. Not that Olivia could blame her.
"What would he want from Wayne Enterprises though?" Brent pointed out with a frown.
"Chaos? What else does the clown want?" Olivia huffed, wrinkling up her nose. She paused. "Dr. Freeze?"
"Not his MO," Matilda reminded her this time, and Olivia pursed her lips.
"The door's locked," one of their other workmates called out, fiddling with the entrance. "That's… unusual. They were serious about the lockdown then."
"That means someone got into the building," someone else mentioned. The blanket of unease that followed was thick and palpable. "What do we do now? We can't just sit here."
"We should still have a connection inside the building," Geralt, one of her supervisors, pointed out to them all. "We might not be able to contact police, but we could reach out to some of the higher ups and see what they know."
Olivia immediately whipped out her in-house communicator, only to curse quietly when she saw the battery. "Dammit, I forgot to charge it overnight."
"Ugh, don't you hate it when that happens?" A voice rattled in the overhead vents. Olivia craned her neck to squint up at the vent, startling slightly when she recognized the face that rested just on the edge.
"Danny?" Olivia gasped in shock. Her colleague had his head propped up with a palm, looking awfully bored. How had no one noticed him? She knew the vents were far stronger than normal, to help the Bats with their work no doubt, but she's still fairly certain that she should have heard something when he unscrewed the grate. Something, anything.
"Howdy folks," Danny greeted with a jaunty wave, pushing himself out of the vent like something out of a Looney Tunes episode. Olivia blinked, realizing something just as Danny was brushing himself off. Danny's shoulders were too wide to fit into the vents. His everything was too wide to fit into the vents.
What kind of clown car fuckering was this? Olivia thought with a shake of her head.
"Should you really be going through the vents like that?" Misha- and no, don't ask how she knew their name- commented with a concerned frown.
"Don't worry, no one noticed me," Danny reassured them. Once he finally turned his attention back to them. It's not that Olivia noticed the strap of ammo tucked across his chest. Someone had been watching too many Die Hard movies lately.
"That's really not what concerns me," Matilda murmured with a pensive look of her own.
"Yeah, what is all of this?" Geralt motioned to the weapons Danny was now pulling out from the vents and strapped to his back, chest, hips. These weren't just normal weapons either, they looked more like high-tech, futuristic laser guns. More than one person took a step back when Danny hefted the largest gun over one shoulder.
"Back-up, what else?" Danny remarked with an impish smirk.
"How are you back-up?" Brent guffawed.
Danny tilted his head slightly, lips pursed. "Ever wonder why Mr. Wayne hired me in the first place?"
"My parents had a very… specific set of skills you might say," Danny informed her, baring his teeth. "I grew up knowing how to fight, how to shoot a gun, how to calculate the amount of radioactive chemicals that could kill a man… All sorts of things. I used to have the weirdest chores."
Well that explained why he was so flippant about his personal safety, Olivia mused. It's all he's ever known.
"Does Mr. Wayne know you have those guns around?" Mark Anthony asked apprehensively.
Olivia could have sworn she saw Danny's eyes flicker green. "What's he going to do to stop me?"
Truthfully, he could do a lot. And yet Olivia didn't doubt Danny for a second.
It’s recently been found that even hive insects rest. Bees will play with colorful toys. Ants sleep for about 1 minute but they do it so frequently it amounts to a few hours per day. Even trees take breaks.
The only things that work without rest are machines; literally everything that lives requires rest.
EVERYTHING THAT LIVES REQUIRES REST. STOP JUDGING YOURSELF FOR NOT BEING A ROBOT.
robots require very frequent breaks! welding machines generally have it programmed in that they can’t run so long they melt themselves. ive overseen two different manufacturing robots now and each of them were fragile, finicky idiots that require constant maintenance and repair. they pause in between moves, in between jobs. you’re always keeping an eye on programming errors, on coolant levels, on heat. you’re always pulling bits of scrap out of joints, sweeping up debris, washing off nozzles and untangling hoses. and even then it snaps a chain and takes a whole morning’s vacation.
Danny, running from the GIW in Metropolis, gets a knock to the head.
Which is super unfortunate, because he is now mildly concussed and apparently not speaking English.
He was in Metropolis on a field trip, accidentally slipped up, and the GIW had apparently not been that far behind. He'd been hit with something that drastically contained his powers (not all of them, not flight and strength), and the chase had begun.
So after dodging them again, he gave up and just flew into the air-and ran straight into Superman.
And even knowing his fuzzy brain was stuck on some language other than English, he can't help but spit out
"Watch it, man; I don't wanna end up on a dissection slab because you slowed me down!"
Clark, for his part, goes through a series of emotions.
First is confusion; why is this kid being chased by strange men in white suits? Why can he fly?
Second is disbelief; this kid just spoke in perfect Kryptonian, conjugating verbs like a true native, while snapping at Clark to move.
Third is actual rage; this teenage Kryptonian, clearly not a clone from his accent alone, an actual honest to Rao Kryptonian, was being chased by madmen intent on dissecting him.
When Danny died in the portal incident, he needed a new heart.
When Jason got resurrected, his body regrew the organs it needed and healed as best it could.
This is why when Jason was wandering the streets as a zombie, Clark never clued in on it; because he had been made aware that Jason's heart was being transplanted into another young boy. So he heard it begin, and then tuned it out.
Bruce, in his haze of grief, oversaw the operation to place Jason's heart in a boy that could have been his deceased sons twin.
As curious as it was, he never looked into it.
He couldn't.
He buried himself in grief and rage.
Danny received a heart from the perfect donor, and thinks nothing of it until Frostbite commends his twin's sacrifice.
Hey you know all those Danny Is A Clone of X batfam member aus?
What if his parents clones Danny Todd and got some of Jasons’ DNA in the mix unaware, and chalked the differences up to epigentics/environment?
Its less conspicuous to clone a random kid, and selling your own DNA early on while Catherine Todd was alive but dealing with her battle with addiction makes Danny Fenton closer to an Irish Twin for Jason.
Especially if his parents did a touch if accelerated aging to avoid diapers and only moved to Amity Park once they decided both their clone kids were stable (if you want to go Jazz is related to any red head in Gotham AU, or Jazz was their only bio kid but the Fentons keep forgetting this)
So Jason was a perfect match, and moat assume he’s Danny twin.
Danny is confused because his parents did admit when he was little that his birthday was really his ‘stablization’ day when he was physically age 5. Before that he knows he was on the sickly side, but that stopped.
Then the portal happened and his heart was fried. He would have had bad burns so some of Jason’s skin may have been used to treat those as well.
Danny’s body is made from two boys trying to protect others. His DNA came from a big brother willing to do anything to keep his baby brother safe, and his mom afloat. Danny’s transplanted heart and skin would have come from Jason, a boy who died trying to protect his bio mom who set him up for his death and sold him out to the Joker.
Danny’s DNA and body’s origin is made from love and a desire to protect others from the Todd Brothers. Who are both Dead.
Their sacrifice likely means Danny’s ghost form is given direction by their love and that driving them to protect.
Danny on the other hand? As an individual he feels responsible for the portal working and causing pain on both sides.
And if Superman checked in on Jason’s heart once, only to not hear it? Bruce didn’t need to know Jason’s sacrifice was in vain.
Not until he went to check up on the obituaries only to see how alike Danny was to Jason in his face thanks to a clip of Danny’s dad’s driving and a later article published and written long after Clark heard Danny’s heart stop.
How the boy saved the purple back gorillas with a heart condition was impressive, but he would understand not broadcasting that to the public.
Then Danny made the news again. For fighting a mayor? Who is his godfather? In public…
If Clark passed that investigation to Detective Chimp as ‘hey this kid has a heart condition, and you mentioned wanting to meet him. Can you look into this shady mayor he keeps fighting?’
Finding out the Fenton parents are breaking the Geneva conventions against (what is a wide variety of) extradimensional species that happens to include the restless dead was not how clark wanted to kickstart his meeting with the JLD.
Or that the kid Jason’s heart is in and skin is on, bares not only an uncanny resemblance to the local ghost (usually) minimizing damage from attacks on either side. No. Its that there’s a smaller ghost girl that is identical to said kid.
Dani and her melting is unnerving to clark. Danny Phantom is shown to be very close to the other ghost, and call her his “mirror born”. A term used by this species for clones, twins, and ‘ghosts born of one ghost alone’. That mirrorborn share powers and can heal one another across distances instinctively once they understand how to heal the injury.
The US also essentially waged a war against this species. And the species? Fighting is how they show affection. As far as they understand, they are helping the ‘baby’ liminals learn their powers and discover what drives them.
The more he heard, the harder it was not to make some… connections to Jason’s situation.
Phantom appeared six months after Jason’s death. jason was found wandering on the same day as Phantom appeared.
And Constantine mentioned an extinct species from the Infinite Realms; only known now by the slur Halfa. That they can form by having a portal open or close on them or be born that way between mortal liminal parents living in the Infinite Realms.
Superman could connect the dots.
Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were the same person. And when he turned into Phantom the first time? He inadvertently revived Jason Todd—possibly with the organ transplant being enough to categorize as a mirror born for the halfa species.
Something that he would have to tell Bruce about. Red Hood wasn’t just Jason…. He was arguably the eldest of three mirrorborn. The younger two who are being hunted, and threatened with torture and a second death daily.
Jason’s rage was compounded from his death, that of his two mirrorborns, and wasn’t just on a vengeance bender… he might have a “core” demanding justice for his death and to make it safe for him to bring his two siblings into his “haunt” in Crime Alley dictating some of his actions.
He wondered how well Jason would take finding out he’s liminal at the very least. And has two ‘mirrorborn’ ghost relatives.
When Tim Drake ran into Killer Croc while infiltrating Arkham, he didn't survive.
To those not familiar with Batman Lore; there was an incident where the Joker was using Joker gas on a bunch of other villains, and Tim went to investigate. Croc snagged his cape, but he got away.
Unfortunately, the cape landed on a chewed-up skeleton, and the batfamily was misinformed of his untimely demise, and Dick Lost His Shit.
This is what led to the infamous incident of Dick beating the Joker to death.
So, slight change.
Tim genuinely did not survive that Croc encounter. He got away, to be sure, but he succumbed to his injuries deep, deep in the sewers.
Very deep into them.
So deep they probably weren't actually sewers anymore and were just an underground cave system filled with gross water.
After managing to pull himself up from the water and onto a stone outcropping, with strange sigils carved into the floor, Timothy Jackson Drake falls into the arms of Death.
Danny, meanwhile, was minding his own business when he became aware of the tugging sensation of a summoning.
...And the distinct disgusting aftertaste that came with a human sacrifice.
By the time he arrived, the baby core was already humming discontentedly above a fresh corpse. A corpse that belonged to a kid that was far, far too young.
There was still a connection, albeit faint, from the baby core to the body.
So Danny, all of thirty and panicking something fierce, tries to force the baby core back into the body in front of him.
Nothing doing.
The body is willing to accept the core, to feed off of the ectoplasm Danny was willing to feed it and convert that energy into the life-saving healing that the kid needed, but the core was weak.
So Danny...improvised.
He reached into himself, and managed to painfully peel off a splinter of his own core, and fed it to the baby one. He'd be the equivalent of a swooning victorian maiden for a few years, but if the kid was able to survive it'd be worth it.
The baby core accepted it, ate the sliver of power it was given, and melted seamlessly back into the body.
Danny waited. And waited. And waited.
And waited.
And with a bright flash of light that seemingly changed absolutely nothing, the kid started breathing; his wounds started closing up.
Job done, Danny grabbed the kid and phased him through the earth and to the city above. He could already feel himself getting faint, so he just dumped the kid somewhere the kid's core recognized as a good spot and dipped back to the summoning circle, and back to the Infinite Realms.
Danny did not realize what he had just done.
Tim's body had, in that flash of light, had it's DNA changed much the same way Danny's had, if not more so.
Same in regards to Tim being a baby halfa, who has had no reason to believe he has any form other than his human one.
Different in that Tim's DNA now no longer reflects Jack as his biological father.
The "good spot" was the batfam's primary agreed-upon rendezvous spot for if/when they got separated.
While Batman is busy resuscitating Joker to "save Nightwing from having killed someone" or w/e his reasoning was, Nightwing himself is moving swiftly from the anger stage of grief back to denial.
He heads for the rendezvous spot.
Some tiny spark of hope deep down thinks that maybe he'll arrive and find Tim waiting, alive. Okay.
He knows it won't happen.
Tim won't be there.
Tim is...
Tim is sitting wild-eyed on the ground at the rendezvous point, holding two fingers to his wrist and looking on the verge of hysteria.
Dick closes the distance in no time, taking in the devastating gouges in the suit, all bloody edges sticking to seemingly smooth, undamaged flesh.
"Tim!" he calls once he's within arms reach and the boy still doesn't seem to have noticed him.
Tim's head whips up to track him as he slides to a crouch in front of him.
"Tim, thank God! Talk to me, what hurts, what's bleeding?" he demands, gently moving his chin to check for neck injuries. He notes the possible concussion, given he fails to respond immediately.
Then he startles when Tim grabs his wrist with both arms, tight enough that it would probably bruise but looking so desperate and panicked that Dick hesitated.
"Night-wing? I'm- I was- I'm alive? I-" he shook himself. "No, I-I'm... fine. Nothing... nothing hurts. I don't think anything is bleeding? ...Dick, where-"
He cuts off his speech, loosening his grip but shoving Dick's hand at is throat no less forcefully.
"Woah!"
"I'm real right!?" Tim cries, voice shaking as Dick carefully curls his fingers to feel his pulse once he realizes what he's trying to do. "I still have a pulse right? You can feel it? You're real? This isn't some weird variation on life-flashing-before-my-eyes before I bleed to death in s-some sewer!?"
"You're real, Tim," Dick assures, looping his free arm around him and pulling him in for a hug. "You're alive. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."
It takes a few minutes for Tim to let go of his wrist fully, and Dick wastes no time scooping him up and grappling to the batmobile. It isn't a long swing, and Tim's skill at imitating a koala makes the trip faster. He has them both buckled into the batmobile and headed for the manner in no time.
"Bruce?" Tim manages to ask, breaking his silence once he realizes they're leaving city limits alone.
"He's fine. He can make his own way back to the cave, we're getting you to the medbay now, just in case."
Tim remains silent for the rest of the ride, despite Dick's attempts to engage him by bringing up some of his own Robin stories - which (previously) never failed to elicit starry-eyed excitement and a litany of questions.
Tim sat alive and breathing beside him - he knows, he checked, this isn't like with Jason, this isn't a hallucination he's real andaliveandokay - but his eyes are deaddeaddead.
He doesn't know what happened to make him look like that, but he's going to find out.
And depending on the answers? If Bruce really revived that stupid clown, Nightwing might be going for round 2.
The concussion theory, as it happens, is incorrect.
Despite the missing cape and the numerous bloody rips with blood they were able to verify was, in facts, Tim's, the only thing wrong with him when they get home is that he's running a bit hot.
It's just 2 degrees over his usually, barely even a fever, but Dick stills wheedles him into staying the night and pushes water bottles on him until he finally falls asleep.
Bruce returned at some point, but Alfred - bless him - had explained the situation and set him on testing some blood sample to see what could've caused what appeared to be Tim's miraculous healing.
It doesn't take long to rule out a meta-gene, leaving him with a bit of a mystery.
The attempt to talk with Dick about how murder is bad goes poorly. The tests the batcomputer ran overnight turn up nothing.
The morning is already going poorly when Bruce hears a frantic "Tim!?" coming from the kitchen.
Actually, Tim has been having a bad time since before the morning.
Let's review, shall we?
During the Arkham breakout he got maimed by Killer Croc. He knows this happened, despite the lack of injuries, because the damage to his Robin suit is all perfectly consistent both with attacks from Killer Croc and with the exact attacks he remembers - a tatter here from an errant claw, a seeming fringe from where he nearly lost a leg to the jaws there, etc. He got maimed.
After getting maimed by Killer Croc, he managed to escape into the sewers.
He doesn't remember where, in the sewers, he ended up. But he remembers collapsing. He remembers...it stopped. Everything stopped. Every little ache and pain gone numb as he fell asleep, bleeding too much too fast with help too far away.
And then he wakes up at the rendezvous point and - no. No there was more to it before that. Clearly he got to the rendezvous point somehow but he doesn't remember, he knows he doesn't remember that. But he remembers- he remembers- he remembers how he felt. He remembers, just barely, all of the grief and disappointment he felt over his failure just before he fell asleep. And then still feeling it. Feeling grief and disappointment and self loathing and a crushing, aching loneliness that refuses to continue going unacknowledged no matter how he wanted to shove it away and then-
And then, for just a moment, a spark of peace and hope and the loneliness eases just a bit even as there is an undercurrent of terror and confusion that refuses to go away and then-
And then he is no longer asleep-but-not really. Because that's where the emotion-memory ends, and he is truly asleep.
And then he wakes up at the rendezvous point, wholly uninjured despite his costume telling a different tale and the absence of pain makes him think - and Tim's never been one to believe in ghosts but in this world of madmen and aliens and clones and zombie assassins - just for a moment, that he might be dead. And he scrambles at the tears in his suit double-checking only to find the wounds he can't feel aren't visible either and he's scrambling for his pulse and it's there but if he's a ghost maybe he's just faking a pulse that only he can feel and-
And then Dick is there, and he's solid and real and he can see him and he tells him he's alive.
After the checkup found nothing but a fever, he was relieved. Sure there was still the whole "why is he not currently maimed and also probably dead" thing, but he was pretty happy about being not-maimed. And honestly, he didn't even feel feverish. He felt fine - better than ever, even, once the shock wore off.
But of course, Tim can't have nice things.
Which is why when Dick sneaks up on him and he startles, he can suddenly no longer see himself in the edges of his vision.
And the look on Dick's face is awful - devastated and haunted, and he takes a step back, head whipping around the kitchen and yelling "Tim!?" just as he's opening his own mouth to say something.
"I'm right here" he says, calmer than he feels about being invisible after the night before.
Dick's head whips to look...around him even as Bruce bursts into the kitchen, and Tim reaches out to tap Dick's arm so he'll have some proof that he's still alive know where he is.
Except his hand passes through with no resistance.
He tries to again.
"Guys," he says, voice edging on hysteria carefully neutral.
"We hear you, Tim," Bruce attempts to soothe.
"I can't see you, little bird," Dick says, voice a little hollow. "But I hear you. We hear you."
"Can you tell us what's happening?"
"What's happening is I'm invisible!" he snaps. "I- I can't touch you! My hand just- it just passed through!" He turns to pull out a chair and gets the same effect, relaying the attempt verbally.
It takes a good 20 minutes of coaching Tim through different grounding exercises to somewhat settled the panic that keeps bubbling up - especially given how Dick is so noticeably off (and if he clings to the hem of Bruce's blazer Bruce won't say a word but he worries) - and then, miraculously, Tim pops back into visibility all on his own. As if all he'd needed to do was take a moment to breath.
His still tense shoulders only relax once they make successful eye-contact with him, and when Dick reaches out for a tentative hair-ruffle Tim lunges to pull them both into a hug instead.
Tim spends a decent portion of his morning thinking he's a ghost, and Dick spends a decent portion of his morning wondering if he's really just hallucinating another dead brother: plus Bruce who is also hallucinating and/or a hallucination himself edition.
After a breakfast game of "how many times can Tim drop his spoons" Bruce finally drags them all down to the cave for a debrief.
Tim recounts his death what happened the night before as best he can remember, but they have to stop several times to ground him back into visi- and tangibility - though it is much easier than the first time now that he knows it can be done, taking closer to 20 seconds than 20 minutes.
The thing, Bruce tells them, is that he does not have the meta gene.
Tim's DNA is fully human.
Tim's DNA contains no abnormal markers.
Nothing in the tale he recounted should have caused a random healing factor or any other powers, for that matter. And yet.
"There are a few possibilities," Bruce says. "But for now I'd like to try and retrace your steps as carefully as possible and see if we can find anything - Oracle found your general direction on cams, so we'll go from there."
Tim stands, but Batman holds up a hand to stop him.
"By "we" I mean Nightwing and I. You'll be staying under observation with Agent A in case any additional side-effects pop-up. You will be advising us from the batcomputer while you get some rest."
Tim plops back down, one part unhappy to be left out and another, far larger, part relieved to not have to return to- to where he- to the sewers where he died.
Bruce mentioned keeping an eye out for other side effects, but Dick already saw one: Timmers' emotions are all over the place.
For as long as he'd known him Tim had been a quiet, serious little guy. The panic the previous night could be attributed to shock, and the panic this morning was. Well
It was fair.
But the hug-
Tim was always as distant and professional as he could make himself with them. Was he excited to be Robin? Of course. But he always kept distance - oh, he'd banter and enjoy himself but at the end of the night he'd "clock out" as soon as any injuries would allow and he almost always had to be cajoled and bribed and "it's good for team cohesion"d into staying for a meal.
This morning he'd hugged them both and hadn't let go until Alfred came in with breakfast, after which he sat down - and bless Alfred's precognitive ability to just have an extra serving ready when needed - and ate with them with little more than a gentle nudge towards the table.
And not a word of complaint.
So yes, Dick was worried.
The worry only worsened as Tim attempted to guide them through the sewer system.
The further they went the more he questioned himself, voice shaking and unsure and getting worse and worse until he finally devolved into a sobbing and sputtering mess of "I don't know"s, with no amount of attempts to soothe him helping.
Luckily, Agent A is with him in the cave until they get back - all three of them having unanimously and simultaneously decided to call off the mission.
By the time they arrive back at the cave Tim is quiet, but his eyes are back to that terrible dead emptiness, voice just as bad as he apologizes for his childish outburst.
Dick yanks him into a hug anyway and he immediately clings and shakes, letting out even more muffled sobs that escalate into half-incomprehensible apologies.
Bruce puts a hand on his shoulder once the sobs have mostly stopped.
"The purpose of the mission was to help ensure your safety and wellbeing. Given the lack of anything along the path - including the bloodtrail that should have been left behind - it is unlikely we would have found anything of use. That said, later on, if you are feeling up to it, or if your memory improves, I would like to try again-"
"Bruce-" Dick attempted to interrupt, voice tense.
"But there are plenty of other avenues I can investigate in the meantime. Ideally, we will find our answers elsewhere. Don't dwell on things you can't accomplish, but what you can."
Bruce frowns.
"Primarily, getting rid of that fever."
While it should be heartwarming, the way Tim all but tackles Bruce in a hug only nudges Dick's "concern(TM)" meter higher.
Because in the wake of the Arkham breakout, the Joker having gone right back in after being revived meant there was significantly less to worry about from the rogues. And not just because it meant Joker was in Arkham.
No, another major part of the reprieve was that Nightwing's attempt to put Joker in a morgue and his rage filled beatdown of the next criminals he encountered - hello well-placed aggression? - both made the locals wary of his behavior and cemented in their minds that, yes, he is still in Gotham.
Might be for a while.
Maybe keep your head down in case this turns out to be Robin 2's death take 2: Batman and Nightwing both start spiralling into increasing violence but both in Gotham edition.
Because they remember Batman before Robin 3 came along, and he was just barely almost back to "normal."
No one (except maybe Joker but he is, again, in Arkham) wants to see how bad he'd snap from a second loss like that.
And worst of all?
Batman hasn't been seen since the incident.
There are a lot of theories floating around: that he and Robin 3 both died in the breakout, that they're both alive but Robin is so injured Batman decided to stay back and keep an eye on him while Nightwing kept an eye on Gotham, that Robin died in the breakout but Batman survived until Nightwing killed him for reviving the Joker and only remains until the next breakout so he can kill the Joker again, and so on and so forth.
Gotham's underbelly is as quiet as it's ever been, Bruce is making progress on a lead to help Tim...somewhere outside of the city, and Tim is obediently staying home since his absence is what's keeping the criminals so quiet - though he was still incredibly unhappy to have to stay back.
He understands that staying off of the field is for the best right now - he does! He gets it! His absence is intimidating! His powers are a liability in the field! He needs to learn control! Unless it's some alien disease or a meta used a power on him! Bruce is finding out! he just has to be patient! - but he is so, unutterably bored.
One of the first things Bruce did was call him out of school - Jack and Janet being gone again, which was a relief since it was far easier to hide uncontrolled powers from people who weren't around - and contact the Justice League's Martian Manhunter for advice.
Now Tim is spending at least an hour every day with Martian Manhunter drilling him in powers control.
Except their intangibility works differently given that intangible + intangible should = tangible for reasons Tim doesn't quite understand, but Tim accidentally passed a hand through MM's while gesturing about something on day 5. While they both intangible. Yeah.
It's the same for the invisibility - Tim isn't camouflaging himself, he's just...gone. Invisible. More like turning "clear" than matching the background.
So. A lot of MM's advice is kinda not relevant?
The drills help - repeatedly turning one or both powers on or off in different combinations x amount of times each time.
Except they last an hour. Minimum.
Of basically the same two actions.
On the bright side he's been able to explore a lot more of the mansion?
Bruce and Dick both wanted him to stay until they figured out what really happened, and he's gotten to spend a lot more time with Alfred - if he couldn't be of use in the field he could at least be of use here.
That's what was making staying back the worst - he wanted to help.
He only ever became Robin to help Batman - and Nightwing, once he met the guy, even he didn't quite need it in the same way Batman did everyone needs some kind of support.
He wanted to be able to help them.
And every day he sat in the manor waiting, all he could about was how instead he'd managed to make a burden of himself.
Now not only was he inactive, Batman was inactive - and who knows where - because of his own failure to protect himself.
At least the fact that his death rumors of his death were the reason Gotham was so quiet allowed him to quiet his self-recriminations to a degree.
It takes 19 days for Justice League Dark to officially come into being.
For the rest of the world, life churns on as per usual. But for the Justice League, it is as though a new set of allies cropped up overnight - along with all of their associated enemies.
The members of the Justice League arrive to the meeting to find a wide array of strangers, each with a hunted look in their eyes.
It takes a full day for Batman to finish his presentation, introducing the new team both as individual members and their abilities as well as their purpose as an overall unit. And how they can assist the original team and vice versa.
Once all of the introductions and ground rules and procedures are laid out, Batman calls the meeting to an end, keeping back the entirety of the JLD plus Martian Manhunter.
Superman lingers briefly, meeting Batman's eyes in an unspoken question, but he shakes his head and, though hesitant, Superman leaves.
Tim has been running 2 degrees hotter for 11 days. Now, he appears to be fine - physically, if Dick ignores all of the sudden emotional and behavioral changes - but he's had a fever for 11 days.
Dick has been trying to convince him to see a doctor since day 7.
You have a fever for a week or over a certain temperature? You see a doctor. Thems the rules.
But Tim insisted he was fine, and everything about his behavior indicated as much.
"Just give it a little more time" he'd say.
"At least let me get a few more days of powers practice so I don't accidentally go invisible in the waiting room" he'd say.
And Dick had let it go each time, because he had a point. And it was such a low-grade fever.
But Tim has had a fever for 11 days, and Dick is putting his foot down.
Unfortunately, they are down in the Batcave when the argument happens, and Alfred is somewhere in the gardens - too far off to play mediator when the Dick's instance meets Tim's resistance and promptly devolves into shouting.
Dick's announcement that they'll be going even if he has to drag him there results in a more physical fight that somehow ends with a blanket burrito'd Tim, but Tim remembers his intangibility halfway to the elevator and slips free.
When Dick tries to burrito him again, his mood goes from irritation to outright anger and he snaps, eyes glowing toxic green, "I said I DON'T WANT TO!"
As he speaks a burst of light washes over him, and Dick is left looking at a floating, inverted Robin.
His hair has gone from it's usual black to a pure white that looks hazy around the edges, almost like smoke.
The usual traffic-like colors of the Robin suit - which Tim was not wearing before - have been replaced with soothing blues, gentle greens, the bold black and gold cape changing to a soft white and a navy blue, the formerly green pants and sleeves giving way to a burnt orange.
A beat.
Tim looks at the ground.
Tim falls back to the ground - training thankfully ensuring he doesn't hurt anything.
Tim races - flies after the first few steps, not that he seems to notice - to the nearest mirror, and after a few seconds of silent staring, somehow changes back with another sweeping wave of light.
"...I'll just call Martian Manhunter then," Dick offers.
"And no doctor."
"No. For now. But we're doing another full check up in the med bay."
#😩 how are they finding his temp but not the fact that his heart isn't beating as a ghost#where's Danny???#dpxdc#phanfic
Bc I wrote this on 4hrs sleep after 20 more hrs awake oops
They didn't go to medbay for that they just checked temp in the manner (they are gonna go to medbay, it just cut off before they did. Tim grabbed the nearest thermometer bc he wanted Dick to drop the fever/doctor thing)
Danny dipped pretty much instantly. He's not great at thinking about consequences, and he figured "the guy lived, healed, my work here is done"
And like. Given all of the ways halfas are made (aka just portal or clone) he doesn't really have a good reason to believe Tim is a halfa or has any powers.
Like. Did he feed him a sliver of his core? Sure. Should it probably occur to him that the core won't just fade away once he's healed? Probably. Does it? No.
Honestly, depending on how resuscitating people works in terms of ghost formation, he might've thought he just kinda. Hacked the process, using his powers. Why not, given all the other things his powers allow him to do?
He shrugs, figures he nailed it, drops the alive-guy somewhere safe, and goes home.
Just gonna point out that mans chipped a bit of his soul off, I don't think he is capable of thinking straight rn. Like the way it was written was light hearted but how much was How It Is vs Danny downplaying it. I can't imagine he's not experiencing Symptoms of some sort. He got right attached to Dani well quick, if he was in better form he probably would have stuck around to check Tim would be found and then stick for side effects. Trauma bonding baybey
I want to bring Young Justice into this, because I like them and it’s about the right time period for everyone to be there (and if it’s not, shush, yes it is).
It’s Dick who insists on inviting Tim’s team over. Tim is obviously not dealing well with this transition and the new powers, though he’s trying to hide it, and Dick knows how close Tim is with his team and he remembers how his own team has helped him with so much over the years.
Tim has always enjoyed the game of keeping his civilian identity assiduously hidden from his team, so the fact that he simply stares and then says “Please?” when Dick suggests inviting them round to Wayne Manor is yet another cause for concern to add to the list. Then it's just a matter of persuading Bruce and Alfred, who are both rather justifiably concerned about the mayhem that might be wrought, but even B is worried enough about Tim to think it’s worth a try.
Bart is there almost immediately with Cissie. He drops her off and dips straight back out to get Anita. Kon arrives shortly after, with Cassie and Greta.
And that’s where it gets weird.
Because just when those three show up, Tim coughs out a little cloud of purple sparks, and what new power is that, and what does it mean? It completely overshadows Tim’s big identity reveal, and rather distracts from the whole Bruce Wayne is Batman thing too.
And then there’s cuddles and comfort, and they joke and mess around and Tim is cheerfully goaded into demonstrating his new powers – and that’s when they discover that when Tim is intangible, he’s not intangible to Greta.
It’s bittersweet. Tim can finally hug his friend, for the first time ever. Greta gets her first hug since she died. But it comes at the cost of knowing that Tim really is some sort of ghost, that he did actually die down there in the sewers.
Dick is devastated. He failed another brother, wasn’t there when he was needed, let another Robin die. But Tim actually feels a bit better. It was the not knowing that was getting to him. He’s the one to comfort Dick. He’s still here, isn’t he? He’s still at least a little bit alive. He can still help.
#dpxdc#you think I could see#tim being made a halfa in the time period when he had a ghost on his team#and not do something with that?#meanwhile danny is spending a lot of time asleep#recovery is a bitch#he’ll get better#souls are the essence of yourself#so they grow#and they grow back#but right now he’s just. very tired. and sore all over#also there’s kon#wondering why he’s feeling quite so *energised* right now#stars are suns after all#star core halfa tim
mmmmmm love me all of this.
"why do I feel like I've just gone sunbathing for like, seven hours straight?" whenever he's near Tim
Tim getting more comfy going intangible because it means that he can get Greta some much needed cuddle time.
Dick angst and by extension Bruce angst, because it's always a nice read.
Alfred watched with raised eyebrows as Alfred the cat trotted in through a side door. Usually this would be nothing worthy of note, but the fact his fuzzy namesake had another much bigger kitty trailing after him had the butler a bit flummoxed.
He didn't know if the boy was a meta, alien or some supernatural equivalent, but the cat ears on the boys head swiveled around enough as he surveyed the room for Alfred to know they were the real deal. He watched as the boy locked eyes with him. The stared own only lasted a few seconds before the boy dismissed him being a threat and followed the cat further into a manor the child had no business being in.
The audacity.
Bruce would probably adopt this one too if he could. In the meantime he got to work making some cookies and milk for thier guest. Waking up in the batcave should teach the little scoundrel a lesson or two. Even though he wouldn't be harmed the scare might set him straight.
Alfred found the boy in the library, laying in the sunlight atop one of the grand bookcases. Alfred the cat laying next to him as they both purred with contentment.
The butler let the smell of his prize winning cookies waft into the room they were in. The intruder lifted his head to crane his neck in thier direction, but instead of looking hungry or eager, he looked suspicious. As if he figured the cookies were drugged.
That changed things.
The day progressed as usual but the boy never took a cookie. Eventually Alfred found the catboy gone and his namesake curled up in Master Damians lap. Master Tim was inspecting the long black cat hairs left all over one of the benches. How dare.
---
Lmao, Catboy Danny and Alfred the cat are besties while Catboy Danny and Alfred the human are semi-foes.
---
Second break in:
Damian did not foresee his day going like this. To be fair, who could have guessed a catboy meta would break into the manor, dodge his weaponry with practiced ease, and then ask for his help/advice on kitty ear care.
Nor did he expect Drake to walk in on him cleaning the catboys ear so he could apply the medicine for the infection properly. Tim took a picture of them before running off.
He supposed this did look a bit strange considering the boys head was laying on one of his thighs for him to get comfortable access to the ear. Alfred the cat was kneeding his other thigh with his paws and both were purring loudly.
This days events were unexpected but pleasant nonetheless.
Im cackling, this is them exactly! Danny is appearing all over the manor and the bats are collectively losing thier minds as this kid keeps finding ways around thier security and traps, both old and new. At one point he casually sidesteps a projectile and laughs, stating it felt "just like home" and the bats had no idea how to take that comment.
Danny never takes any items from the mansion regardless of whether or not its offered to him, instead he takes to bringing the Waynes neat things he finds like a giant crow.
Tim gets old cameras and camera related stuff as well as skateboard things.
Damian mostly gets bracelets and weapons. Bruce has gotten into the habit of testing everything after Danny brought back a gun he found that was a missing murder weapon on a case they were investigating. One time Danny brought him a volleyball and gave him big kitty eyes until Damian agreed to play with him.
Ect.
Danny gets called a "furry" by one of the Waynes and Danny fires back with, "I'm not a furry, I'm furry bait. Thats why I hide from the bats." It goes over about as well as you'd expect.
Alfred is taking Dannys intrusions and rejection of his foods very personally and is actually against Bruce adopting this one. Oh, and the cat hair. Danny sheds so much
When he asks why Danny keeps breaking in danny responds, "Its safe here." And goes back to his nap.
Danny mentions something about letting someone adopt him and everyone assumes it was about Bruce and that he may be after Bruces money only for Danny to mention Damian giving the best ear scratches just like Alfie said.
Everyone simultaneously realized he was talking about the cat. Talking about talking to the cat. The kid had cat powers. Huh. Then they realize that Alfie led him here and that Alfie invited him in the first place.
Danny was in loaf formation on a rug in one of the upstairs living rooms, his tail swishing wildly. One did not have run inside with Catwoman and not learn a thing or two about cats from it, which is why Duke is staying far away from the catboy loaf across the room from him.
"So," Duke began, pleased that an ear turned to listen to him, "Whats with the new outfit?" Thier houseguest had been wearing the same raggedy clothes from the day the bats had first met him and no amount of bargening or pleading would make the clearly homeless kid take any of the clothes he was offered.
Which was why the new outfit stood out so much. It was mostly black with little paw prints trailing up the sleeve on the shirt and then down the back and side. There were also a paw design on the bottom of the kids boots and a cloth choker around the kids neck with a little bell on it. "I had a run in with Catwoman."
Ah, that would do it.
Danny frowned, "She took my clothes." He said, sounding sadder than Duke thought someone normally would about clothes, "Now I definitely look like furry bait."
Duke tried to stifle a laugh, but he was too late. Catboy heard. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But I know for a fact there like, this entire swarm of people who run around in fursuits at night-"
Bat he may be, but this was hilarious. The others couldn't blame him for bursting out laughing. "and beating up people. Like, full fursuit. Only his mouth showing. Which is super wierd cause so many of his enemies use gas attacks right? And now I got Catwoman trying to adopt me after I've made it clear only Alfie or Damian can do that."
Just when Duke was regaining his breath, Catwoman appeared in the doorway and Danny puffed up and s c r e a m e d.
More great additions✨ danny is just so sad about being forced to change cloths, I relate so hard my dude. I shall draw in the morn. I am very intrigued on what loaf formation would look like for Danny, brain is struggling but I’ll get it eventually… maybe…
Also yeah, I love Salina but have always been kinda scared of Catwoman 😭 she’s scary!
As it turns out, I could not figure out loaf formation. Have 3 doodles instead. Boyo is very upset about his new outfit, and is even more upset that he thinks it’s comfortable, even the collar. Also! Actual toe beans on the socks! Extra padding for extra silence! (The bell SHOULD cancel that out but it doesn’t, the bats don’t understand. They’ve tested it, it’s a real bell.) also I was gonna add Alfred grooming Danny by the window but I was to lazy to add him. Oh well.
Danny has of list of people he likes to pester and a list of people he likes to cuddle. These lists are not mutually exclusive.
First is Duke. Duke is mildly unhinged and Danny can easily get him to chase him throughout the manor if he swipes something he wants. Usually a cookie or something to bribe him but if Duke has done something to annoy him (like step on his tail again) than he'll steal Duke's homework and he'll have to chase him for that.
Next is Stephanie. She doesn't actually live here but then again neither does Danny. Steph gives the best reactions when provoked but she also has great aim, so he has to beware of that lest he get hit by another flying hairbrush
At the top of the Pester list is Bruce Wayne himself. He likes to sneak into Bruces office while he's working and quietly swipe his office supplies until Bruce needs one. Bruce has made it a game to ask aloud, "Where's my (insert office supply here)" and for Danny to slide an augmented version of the item back onto the desk.
So Bruce always knows he's there. Also the way he arguments them is usually with googly eyes or glitter, but Danny is known to get creative. The glitter that inevitably sticks to Bruce Wayne helps with his playboy act but this also means that it ends up in the Batcave too.
Which means it travels to the other bats eventually. Bruce does not tell them where its coming from even when his kids are accusing one another
------
The Cuddle List is more important to Danny and there are different reasons for each person.
Danny likes to nap with Alfred obviously. Thats his friend. His fuzzy buddy. This list is for humans however.
Let's start with Dick. Dick let's him cuddle all the time, and anytime. Very chill. Its not uncommon to see Dick on a sofa with a catboy plastered to his side completely konked out. Unfortunately this is also prime time for him or the other kids to wake him up to hear him "mmr?" In confusion.
Next is Damian. You would think he'd be at the top but no. Damian is terrible at cuddling and doesn't like doing it for long but he's Dannys human and Danny likes cuddling with him when he gets the chance.
Now Tim. Tim is the one everyone wants Danny to cuddle with and he can see why. Danny may be a catboy but he's still classified as a cat. If a cat sprawls out across your lap (even if its usually only Dannys head or tummy thats in his actual lap) you are obligated to not move until the kitty gets down.
So the Waynes conspire to get Tim into situations where he has a lap full of catboy and can't go anywhere. Then he has nothing to focus on or distract himself with. Add this to the fact he can't get more coffee and bam! Timmy is out like a light. Bonus points if Alfie gets in his lap too.
At the top of the list is Jason. Everyone is surprised. Jason isn't around a lot but when he is hes dannys favorite, much to Damians disappointment. Jason is big and warm and comfortable and smells good and- the list goes on.
Weirdly enough Jason also feels like ectoplasm. Enough so that Danny feeds off of him and Jason seems to feel better after Dannys nap. Jason starts coming around more often to let the little guy nap with him up until Danny told him about how he feels like ectoplam. When Jay asked what that was he discibed what it was like and Jason just got up and left, dumping Danny into the floor on his way out.
He wasn't sure what he said or did wrong but he never brought up the green glowing goo from his parents lab again.
1. Jason was looking for his Red Hood helmet and finds Danny asleep with his head resting on it/curled around it/it in his arms
Hood freaks out, thinking Danny knows now and dannys like, "Yeah! You make amazing cosplay! Do you go to cons?"
2. Tim is very annoyed by Danny's insistence to sleep in his lap while he's at the computer. And I don't mean like sitting in his lap, I mean he's doing this:
Tim is asking, "Why are you like this?"
3. Danny hiding under someone's bed during a thunderstorm because a lightning strike triggered his past over the portal and various people attacking him electricity
4. Danny hiding behind either a bat or a Wayne as they tell someone off for messing with him.
5. Danny gets caught licking the back of his own hand with his sandpaper tongue "to see what it felt like"
Jason's body jerked on reflex when he felt someone grab his hand. Unable to pull away he swiftly looked down to face his assailant. The curses he was going to yell died on his tongue when he saw a little kid trying to pull him somewhere by his arm.
Dumbfounded, he asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm kidnapping you!" The kid growled, feet skidding on the ground where his ratty sneakers couldn't gain enough traction to help the poor kid. "How are you so heavy?!"
Jason, in all his 6ft and 200+ pound glory, just stared at the kid whose hands were too small to even cover one of his, what was he? Five? Jason lifted his arm taking the kid up with it. The kid looked so shocked by this and Jason took the opportunity to start asking questions, "So what did you wanna kidnap me for?"
Snapping out of his shock the kid replied with, "You are very dad shaped."
"What."
The kid seemed to realize what he said and backtracked a bit, "I don't need you to be my dad-dad just my fake dad."
That clarified things a little, "Why do you need a fake dad?"
"To avoid the foster system! I heard Gothams is really really bad and I've been living just fine on my own!" on his own?! A kid this small?! "But im pretty sure someone called the child cops or something cause people in suits keep trying to catch me or talk to me."
Aka Danny finds out hes a clone and is deaged to his actual age and is roaming around Gotham in the DC universe as a homeless farel child who keeps doing deranged things.
Now all I’m seeing is tiny Danny hiding behind Jason when the rest of the bats come barging in. There’s that split moment of perfect silence of bats looking at Jason and Jason staring back at the bats. Then of course Danny pokes his head out from behind Jason and stares at them too. They stare back. Much confusion is held. Then suddenly,
“See! I have a dad so you can’t take me!” Danny yells at the bats. Cute chubby baby fat cheeks pursed in a frown. Bright blue eyes flickering with determination.
“Jason, explain.” Batman says flatly.
“You know as much as I do. Now get the fuck out. You’re making my son feel uncomfortable.”
The real question is why the bats were so insistent to look for him in the first place. I mean, yeah he's a clone and looks like a tiny version of that bat (bonus points if its Jason and neither of them realize it) but I also like to think he originally got on the bats radar by blowing something up
No no, he didn't blow up anything that the bats know of instead, he managed to steal the tires off the bat mobile without getting caught until he was running away with the tires but accidently dropped one and went back for it.
Dude that’s fucking terrifying. Like no thank you. But I do imagine that he would roll some of the smaller older kids down abandoned roads and streets. He flies next to them to make sure they don’t go too far off course a no stops them before they can manage to roll their way into traffic or something else.
This makes me think of an au where Danny accidentally overshadowed a batmobile tire (why? Maybe he was trying to overshadow the batmobile or Batman himself) and now is running-rolling?- around the city while dodging very confused bats who keep trying to catch this runaway tire
Wasn't there a Steven King novel about something like this? Danny is having a blast and is just trolling everyone. Heros, villians, anti-heros, heck. Even the civilians. Its awesome. Too bad he can't speak like this cause his witty one liners are hilarious (according to him)
