Inspired by: @charlietheepicwriter7 post >Here<
Warning! Description of violent murder, the Ring/Grudge style ghost Jazz, and kidnapping of minors. This is just a short blurb I thought of and had to write given it is Halloween. XD
That beast, he thought that if he chopped her into pieces he could save himself. That she would be unable to form. He actually thought that he could prevent her wrath by phasing the pieces of her corpse into the vast reaches of the globe. While it did slow her down a bit, there was nothing in this or any universe that would stop Jazz Fenton from helping her baby brother. Jazz was not like Vlad Masters, she was not half so pathetic as he was. Jazz was calculating, she was determined, and she was made of love.
It took her ages, so much time was lost just pulling herself together. But that was alright, she had Time, she always had Time on her side. She had time enough to gather herself, time enough to gain power, time enough to train her new form and powers, time enough to find the beast that murdered her parents and stole her brother and niblings. Time enough to chase him down to the wretched little corner of the multiverse he thought he could hide away in. It was different, unfortunately she had to relearn herself once again after going through a portal into that world. But it didn’t matter, she was determined. She could sense her dearest family somewhere in that city. Blocked by a ghost shield no doubt.
That didn’t matter, she was patient, she could find a way in with enough time. Danny and her niblings would be safe while she worked on it. Because she had found him~
Dear Vlad wasn’t expecting her, he hadn’t been ready to be met with her ghost. Not the dark twisted version of what she had made him. She should have been bright, joyful, but instead her long hair fell in sleek watery black waves, stretching long behind her into the abyss. Her limbs only barely attached to her torso and head. Her eyes a dark, fathomless abyss. Blood trailed after her in puddles and floods. He did try to fight back, the coward. But Jazz had long reached the point of Calamity, she was not just a ghost anymore but a vengeful reckoning.
Vlad had taken everything from her. He had killed her parents, killed her friends, kidnapped her brother and niblings, killed her. He must have feared that this would happen, after all he had tried so hard to keep her buried. But she was a Fenton and Fenton’s were not silent. Though he managed to get a few hits on her, he was really no match for her fluid movements, for the boiling rage she carried in her core, for the love that drove her to continue on, for the way she plucked his core from his chest and crushed it between her fingers. With his ghost half gone he was only a pathetic rapidly fading old man, scrambling to get away from her. But she was not merciful as he had not been to her.
What was left of Vlad was found the next morning by his secretary plastered in blood and viscera across his office walls, floor, and ceiling. His perfectly preserved head placed neatly upon his desk with an expression of unspeakable horror on his face.
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I had another 11pm brain worm.
Enjoy
-x-x-
Daniel Wayne, the younger toddler brother of Bruce Wayne and the son of Martha and Thomas Wayne had been kidnapped the night their parents were murdered.
Daniel had been snagged the moment their killer heard people headed to the alley and Bruce in his state of shock didn't realize it until it was far to late and could only scream in horror (from everything) as his baby brother is crying his name. (If you wanna make it even more heart wrenching, make it Danny's first time being able to say Bruce's name right and/or Bruce had said some mean things to Danny earlier after he accidentally broke something of Bruce's, something like 'I wish youd go away' or 'I never wanted a brother, you're such a bother!')
Bruce is being held by Alfred as some police officers are chasing down the Wayne's parents killer while some stay behind to see if they could do something.
Minutes turn to hours and as they wait, praying the police at least found Danny, Bruce is ridden with guilt. From his parents death to allowing his brother to be kidnapped.
Eventually the police return to give Alfred and Bruce the news. And it's not good.
The killer escaped and Danny was nowhere to be found.
And it would take many years before he would be found.
-x-x-
Bruce gets a call from Damian during school hours one day. When he answers he is greeted with Damian demanding him to get to the school and explain himself.
Confused Bruce asks what does he mean and Damian responds with
"The two new students in class today are the spitting images of you and I father! Either they are poorly created clones or you have more hidden blood children!"
-x-x-
Meanwhile the very students being discussed are calling up someone too
"Ellie? Dan? What's wrong? You better not have made too much chaos already, I just paid for the uniforms for that place."
"DAD! I THINK ANOTHER ONE OF THE FRUITLOOPS FAILED CLONES SOMEHOW SURVIVED!"
"What?"
cw: mild gore
There’s so many possibilities with a believed-to-be Pit-Influenced Danny Phantom.
Danny is Damian’s twin. They’re separated after a mission gone wrong, resulting in Danny ending up with the Fentons and Damian believing his brother is dead. This time around, when Damian is dumped on Bruce’s doorstep, he tells the family about his dead twin. His integration into the family is much smoother because the Waynes are able to get him therapy and grief counseling.
Danny’s not doing so hot. Jazz tries, but neglectful parents are neglectful parents. Neglect turns to abuse when he dies in a lab accident at fourteen and becomes a halfa. Danny’s not as brave this time around. Damian was always his anchor and protector, looking out for him in the League. Now he’s half dead and he doesn’t know what to do. He was never strong enough for the LoA, how is he supposed to fight unearthly beings hellbent on destruction? Ghosts are more dangerous in this world. Not as…friendly. Those claws and fangs are put to use.
Danny learns what it means to be a ghost. He’s scared, always scared. He wants Damian, but without him, he realizes he will have to be a monster to survive. He survives.
Phantom is a being of great size and power—where a white-haired boy stands, a shadow rises above him, a monster with deadly glowing eyes and flaming hair. He tames Dan. Phantom and Dan are one, and in their center, Danny. What looks like a boy can glitch into a million fractured pieces of shadow and glass shards and an animalistic eldritch beast. He is powerful enough to escape his parents when the time comes (and it comes; he never had a doubt that it would, unfortunately). He flies to Nanda Parbat, desperate to find his beloved brother, to reunite with his other true half and fill that ever-consuming void inside him. Damian has always been the stronger of the two. He will be able to stop Danny, should the occasion ever arise.
Instead, he finds Ra’s and Talia, who only see a potential heir that they can mold to do their bidding. He doesn’t reveal his Phantom form until they throw him into the Lazarus Pits, believing them to make him stronger. Unable to fight the overwhelming energy of rotten ectoplasm all at once, his transformation is forced out of him, revealing his second form. An innocent, white haired boy stands before them.
They are not fooled. Determined to turn him into a weapon, they keep him in a cell in the dungeon and take him out only to train (Danny doesn’t think they realize he could leave this mortal cell whenever he wants. At first, he sneaks out at night and searches rooms for Damian. He never finds him. Danny stops searching). He doesn’t ask where Damian is; they don’t tell him. He’s tired of fighting for control. He gives in and obeys their commands, because it’s easier that way.
Damian and the rest of the Bats go to Nanda Parbat on a mission. They heard that the LoA has a secret weapon, and they must find what it is.
Enter stage left. They walk in on a massacre.
Dozens of bodies cover the floor. Blood soaks the floor, the walls, a little on the ceiling and windows. A few detached limbs litter the ground. Ra’s himself lays in the dead center (no pun intended).
“Guess their weapon got away from ‘em,” Jason, as Red Hood, breathes out.
The rest of the Bats silently agree, a sharp, acrid copper scent poisoning their noses. It’s…unreal. Fictitious, really, that Ra’s could be dead. For so long, he’s felt like a villain with plot armor, a figure too great to be killed off just like that.
He’s just a man. It’s all any of them are, really.
Before any of them can continue their search, the shadows of the room all twist towards the middle, bending forward as though bowing. Above Ra’s mutilated body, another being flickers into the visible spectrum. They all tense.
It’s a monster, at first. Long, white fangs drip blood, and flaming white hair sends up whisps of shadowy smoke that disappears into nothing. Its eyes are pure Lazarus green with pinpricks of black in the center. The bridge of its nose is scrunched like a defensive predatory animal as it glares at them, pointed ears flicking.
It looks like a monster. Sounds like one. But then it shrinks, and a boy with red-stained jeans and wobbly knees drops the extra foot to the ground. His shirt is torn in places, face stained with tears, but a snarl still mars his face.
That face is unmistakable. “Dan- Danyal?” Damian whispers.
They all tense further. Danyal’s eyes are still glowing sickly green, and Dick sidles forward towards Damian. A quick glance to the others confirms they’re all thinking the same thing: Danyal, dead. Body never seen. Talia. Lazarus Pits. Pit Rage.
“Dami?” Dick says quietly, grabbing the boy’s arm as he tries to run to his long-dead twin. “Hold on, Dames. I– I know you miss him. We want to meet him, too. But I think he’s got really bad Pit Rage right now, so let’s give it a minute, okay?”
“He would never hurt me!” Damian snarls, tugging away, but the hurt and uncertainty in his voice reflects his doubts. They all would’ve thought that about Jason, once, but experience would prove otherwise. Not that he’d ever hurt them now that he was better.
“Damian, honey,” Dick starts gently, prepared to inch his little brother away from the twin who was also some kind of Pit monster strong enough to destroy an entire room of assassins. But then the– the boy, the twin, speaks.
“D-Dami?” It’s said so quietly in such a broken voice that they barely hear it. The snarl is gone, replaced by quivering lips. “Is– is that you?”
“Danyal!” Damian shouts, yanking away from Dick and running for the boy covered in blood. “Danyal, I’m here!”
Danyal wavers, legs buckling and he falls forward into Damian’s arms. In the silence of the room, they hear when he begins sobbing.
“Damian, I– I– I didn’t mean to,” he hiccups, burying his face in the other boy’s shoulder, muffling his words slightly. “Please, you gotta– you gotta believe me! I didn’t– I didn’t mean to, I can’t– I didn’t want to!”
“Shhh, it’s alright,” Damian murmurs. “I believe you.”
“They wanted– they wanted me to hurt people, and I couldn’t, I just– Damian, I missed you so much, I needed you.”
“I know, Danyal. I know. It’s okay, I’m here now.”
“Please don’t leave me, Dami.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Damian says firmly, righting his grip around his brother.
“I looked for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, akhi.”
“You won’t leave?”
“Never.”
“Promise? Even though I’m a– a monster?”
“If you are a monster, then I must be the worst of kind of creature to walk the Earth.”
“What? Damian, no, you’re– you’re amazing, you’re not—”
“Then I suppose we are at an impasse.”
They sit in silence for a moment. Behind them, the other Bats are murmuring and moving around.
“You haven’t promised,” Danny whispers, painfully raw.
“I promise. I vow it to you, Danyal. I will never leave your side.”
imagine with me Danny ends up in Gotham some how and is a mad scientist that is hired to make cool shit and gets BANK but then the bats crack down on the shit and they see a 13 year old boy with big ass goggles with machinery all around him and looks up for a second before glancing up again as if confirming what he saw and then slowly turns around “Hi…? I swear if these are one of my delusions than I will be complaining to HR- wait am I… HR?”
Danny ends up in Gotham after Nasty Burger happened, but to not become Dark Danny, he buried himself in machine work, using some blueprints from his parents' lab as a baseline and then eventually creating his own.
Some guy in Gotham found him one day and decided that he had a talent for making stuff like this, and that he'll pay Danny handsomely if he made some things for him, and, well. Danny was pretty low on money from his parents' bank account after blowing most of it on machine parts.
So he accepted.
Then the guy started requesting some other things for some other people and he eventually became his middleman for the big hitters in Gotham who wanted his stuff. Well, not that he knew his stuff was being given out to the big hitters that also include villains, since he spent most of his time just building, then eating, then passing right the fuck out, and repeat.
Then the bats crack down on him, and Danny's been making some shit for more than 24 hours already with no rest time and just a little snack here and there, and then he questions if he accidently inhaled something he wasn't supposed to because the bats are literally in his workshop/house.
So he thinks he maybe high as shit right now and then just treats them like they weren't there and goes back to making his thing because that one guy said a person with a fuck ton of money wanted it. Then Batman pulls him away from the machine and he's like: "Huh."
Still thinking this is a massive hallucination because he's high as a kite, he tries to get Batman to let go, but his grip is pretty strong, then he pokes him and then goes: "Oh, maybe this isn't a hallucination."
"Oh sugar honey iced tea."
Also, it's the strangest kidnapping Kon's ever heard of.
The cultists have locked them in a room with pizza, the latest video game consoles, the most comfy bed Kon's ever sat on, the fastest wifi he's ever seen outside of something Rob made, and a button for them to request like, anything.
And Kon tested it.
He asked for a puppy.
The cultists literally handed him one less the seven minutes later.
The whole reason Kon hasn't burst out is because he's curious.
He wants to know what the hell is going on.
"So..." he turns to look at the civilian, who was clearly the actual target.
The civilian doesn't move from where he's laying on the ground and glaring at the ceiling.
"Why?" Kon asks, using one hand to motion to the room as the other one gives belly rubs to KingKon, the newly named puppy.
"Because certain assholes don't know how to take no for an answer."
Oh, well if it's a creep creeping on a teenager then Kon isn't sticking around.
"Do you mind watching my new puppy while I go beat them up? What's their name?"
The civilian turns his head to look very dubiously at Kon. Which. Rude.
Kon could beat up a creep.
Kon beats up creeps all the time.
"Pariah Dark, Tyrant of the Dead."
Okay that's a little bit of a tall order.
"Why does Pariah Dark want a teenager?"
"Because I beat him up and now he wants to adopt me, so he keeps trying to win me over."
Oh! Okay. Totally different situation.
Still weird though.
Inspiration from this post (here) from @dclovesdanny
[Tags/TW: Trans!Danny, implied SA(false), implied grooming(platonic), de-aged Danielle, de-aged Dan, ghost pregnancy, destabilized clones, dead Fentons, ghost Jazz, grieving, platonic yandere(Vlad), passively suicidal thoughts, emotional manipulation, misunderstandings, eavesdropping, OCs for plot reasons, domestic abuse]
Part (One) Part (Two) Part (Three) Part (Four) Part (Five) Part (Six) Part (Seven)
Extras: [Comfort song]
The Picrews used are: (Vlad) (Danny) (Dani) (Dan)
DpxDc AU: Tim as a child was never given a lot of information regarding the scribbling messy handwriting that appeared over night all over his arms- naturally he came to his own conclusions.
Tim Drake was home entirely alone at 9 years old and was about to go out for the night to test his brand new long exposure camera lens when he sees the writing on his arm. It’s not English, like he assumed it was at first, but it was using the alphabet to represent… Tim isn’t bad at math but this formula is complex for his little genius brain.
Looking at his camera, he decides he can spare a moment to look it up, solve it, and get back out into old town Gotham in time for Batman and Robin’s final patrol lap. He does just that, finding the problem to relate to some aerospace engineering and then quickly deduces what laws and theorems need to be applied. He finds a pen, writes down his findings in much neater handwriting onto his arm, and goes out. It’s barely a remarkable night at all. He gets a much more memorable photo of Robin roundhouse kicking a hench person.
Things just continued on that way. Tim would find some complex math, physics or chemistry prompt on his arm (surrounded by various question marks or notes or sad faces)- he’d answer it as best he could and move on with his life. Perhaps his parents were manifesting these pop quizzes? Perhaps his subconscious felt guilty about abandoning his studies for more Bat related pursuits? Tim really didn’t care to think much about it once he became Robin- there was too much on his plate and too many peoples problems for him to fix.
Notably, however, after the attack at the Tower, the pop quiz appeared and Tim wrote back that he wouldn’t be able to find an answer to this one. It was the only time Tim questioned the markings appearance and it was because the next thing that appeared was “Hope you feel better soon.”
… his parents wouldn’t include that on a pop quiz. Cursed then. Tim decided it must be a curse, whatever, he’d deal with the implications later in life.
Tim then has the worst year of his life, hes 15, no longer Robin and the questions from his curse are getting less math oriented and more… philosophical. A lot of mentions of death that, in hindsight helped him actually grieve, and a lot of theories about dark matter and souls. Tim answers back as best he can but he’s drained and his answers aren’t very good in his opinion. He gets minimal feedback.
It all comes to a point that he’s at a family dinner, Bruce is at the head of the table, Jason has promised just to stay for dessert, Damian hasn’t thrown a single insult his way and Steph was laughing at him- when a new theoretical model appears on his arm.
“You’re just as bad as Bruce, Timberly. Hiding a soulmate from all of us, how fucking typical.” Jason points out, while watching Tim scribble back some math with a question mark onto his arm.
“A what? No, this is just a curse. I get pop quizzes every now and then.” Tim bats away Steph who rapidly approaches and began to analyze his arm (the rest of the family isn’t far behind).
“Drake. Explain how you came to this conclusion.” Damian seems more curious than anything, if his lack of insults was anything to go off of.
“Since I was young I’ve had at least weekly math check ins, I never had a parent or anyone else around so I assumed my parents had me cursed to ensure I stayed on top of my studies. Sometimes it’s physics or chemistry, for a while there it was a ton of philosophy and behavioral psychology.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Master Tim, I believe the lack of adults in your life has led you towards a false conclusion. That is most certainly a soulmate mark. The individual to whom you are responding is undoubtedly your other half.” Alfred attempts to calm the room before explaining to Tim. Tim isnt sure if he believes the butler, though Alfred only very rarely lied, so he grabs the pen once more. He writes his first question back: “Who am I to you?”
The room waits in anticipation and within moments a brand new line appears on Tim’s arm and he is vindicated: “We do math together???”
——
The reason Danny is failing English is because his built in homework helper sucks ass at metaphors and has apparently never read any classic literature. The tutor on his arm is great at puzzles and math tho.
Danny gets a reply back one night that he wasn’t expecting (Who am I to you?) and he mentions it to Jazz. Who goes insane that Danny didn’t even question it and just went with “meh, probably haunted” as his explanation for the phenomenon for all these years.
Apparently, if Jazz was right, he had a soulmate who was uh, super fucking smart. That was an overwhelming thought.
The next day Danny is in crisis mode and writes back “Wait, WHAT AM I TO YOU??? Can I help on your homework??”
Danny gets vindicated when the writing on his arm presents a shit ton of dates and information for an unsolved Gotham cold case. See, Haunted.
———
Eventually between Danny becoming the top candidate for astrophysics at Wayne Enterprises and Tim Drake being outed as having contributed tips to the GCPD that solved cold cases- they meet and realize just how dumb they’ve been.
Based on the results of this poll post.
Bruce knew kids made imaginary friends as part of their development. He had done plenty of research on the topic long before taking in Dick. Over the years, as his children grew in numbers, so did his research on proper developmental milestones.
Typically, children create imaginary friends from the ages of six to nine. But that did not mean they had to give them up even if they were in their teens.
So yes, he knew kids could have imaginary friends of any age, but seeing Damian develop one was slightly shocking. It might have been due to his upbringing that Damian hadn't had one or had chosen not to speak of his buddy until he knew he was safe.
Knowing his son felt secure enough in his household to do so filled his heart with joy. Bruce kept an eye on Damian since he brought up his new friend, Daniel. He was glad his son had finally made a friend in his school that it took a few days to notice Damian never brought up Daniel unless someone else did.
When Tim asked him about his friend- claiming to have spotted Damian sitting by himself at lunchtime after his youngest had told everyone he had lunched with Daniel- the boy had waved his concerns away.
That's when Bruce learned Daniel was not a little kid at Damian's school but rather an imaginary friend.
More specifically, he learned that Daniel could not be photographed or recorded. He simply would not appear on cameras or in auto recordings. Damian didn't seem to find any of that odd, nor take into account that, as Batman and Co., they had the means to pick up some trace of something being there.
After all, they had machines that could indicate a Speedster messing with the timeline! But no, Damian insisted that Daniel simply could not be recorded.
Apparently, Damian checked.
Now Bruce knew that an imaginary friend only became a concern when the child seemed frightened by it; it encourages harmful or destructive behavior; it rapidly changes the child's typical behavior, and the child blames it for all harmful or dangerous behavior or if it disrupts the child's ability to socially interact with others.
Daniel didn't seem to frighten Damian, nor did it encourage bad behavior in his son. But it certainly got in the way of Damian making real friends, and his son's behavior changed, even if he grumbled good naturally about it.
Daniel pestered Damian to join him in exploring Gotham to find, and Bruce quotes, "Secret spots for getting down in funky town."
Damian had videos of himself break dancing in abandoned subways, ballroom dancing with the air in an abandoned firehouse, and the oddest of all, disco in an underpass where he seemed to be making faces at the area around his left shoulder. He never posted them, claiming that Daniel just wanted them for themselves.
Bruce was mildly alarmed. He brought it up with the rest of his children, who all reported similar tales of Daniel.
Tim had noticed Damian recording songs in his room- his son had inherited the Wayne vocal cords. They were all blessed singers- claiming that Daniel had written and composed the music but had wanted Damian to record it since he couldn't. They would be using it in one of their videos.
Jason brought up the fact he had seen Damian make a collage covered in nothing but pictures of himself and the Gotham landscapes. Damian had spent nearly seven hours cutting, gluing, and organizing the postal board that he hung up.
Dick's report, however, was the most alarming. He had seen a photo booth strip Damian carried at all times. It supposedly held Daniel, but all he saw was an empty booth. This, coupled with the heart-shaped frame of some underpass, of an empty wall that Damian lovingly placed on his desk, could only mean one thing.
"Damian is infatuated with his imaginary friend." He said, voice heavy in concern as his children gave each other wary looks. "Damian is fully convinced Daniel is real and, likely, is treating him as a boyfriend rather than a best friend."
"Want me to talk to him? I can get him to agree to introduce me to his....boyfriend." Steph volunteers while stepping forward. "There were some cases at the homeless shelter Duke and I volunteer at where I needed to convince some kids to introduce me to their imaginary friends."
"That could work. Besides Dick, you have the closest relationship with Damian," Duke agrees. He is staring at the videos of Damian dipping someone that wasn't there, jaw tense. It likely reminded him of his parents. "It is better to send you in just because Damian may not be ready to talk to Dick about crushes."
"I'll set up some closer monitoring around Damian," Babs offers, nodding at Tim, who was already hacking into the boy's school cameras. She had sent him a private message to get started on that the second she heard Dick's report. She was busy hacking into the city's system of Damian's usual routes when going into the city. "If someone caused him to develop Daniel, I want to be sure we stop it."
"And I'll be sure to make them pay," Jason hissed, punching his fist as Cass twirled a blade at his side, nodding in agreement. She hasn't said much, but everyone could see the anger and concern for the youngest in her eyes. Apparently, she had been able to tell through Damian's body language he had developed a crush on Daniel but had not picked up on the fact he wasn't real.
To Damian, he was, so when she read his body language, she thought he was, too.
Alfred speaks up, his voice even despite the slight tremble in his folded hands on the conference table. "We also have to consider the possibility of instituting Damian. Something like this does not dub well for Master Damian's ability in the field. Civilian or Cape."
His words send a cold chill down everyone's backs. It was like the air itself was holding its breath as they turned to look at Bruce, waiting for his call. Bruce had his face in his hands, shoulders shaking in silent tears, but he nodded. "Dami needs help"
Dick stumbled back into his chair, looking like his father had just punched him in the gut. Tim's fingers paused over the keys, eyes hazy and lips tight. Cass' knife stabbed the table, grip knuckle white while Jason swore up a storm, slamming a fist down.
Steph, Duke, and Babs remained in their spot, but their faces had angry frowns. Bitter that they could do no more as they glared into the air around them. The three had always been more silent rage than the rest, the kind that forced the air around them when the rest of the Bats burned in it.
"We have to-" Bruce's words get cut off by the Cave communication bell. The camera on the Batcomputer turns on, displaying Damian in a rather fetching streetwear outfit.
"Hello, Father." He said calmly, aiming the camera so they could see he was inside a stale bathroom. "I am calling to ask permission to invite Daniel to dinner at the Manor. We were going to get some pizza after our latest dancing video, but the one Daniel adores was closed for construction, and it's getting rather late for other places. Daniel lives in the bad side of town, so his sister would rather he not be out too late."
Oh gods, Daniel had a sister now? One that limited Damian's movements?
"Of course, son," Bruce heard himself say. A heavy lump developed in his throat as a broad, pleased smile spread across his child's face. Bruce is no stranger to heartbreak, but he felt it cracking as Damian reminded him that Daniel was a civilian, so they needed to ensure that vigilante things were out of sight. "That sounds fine, Dami. We will be waiting for you both."
"We?"
"Your siblings want to meet Daniel." Bruce clarifies, looking around the table of his children, who look back at Damian with pity. "Don't you?"
Dick presses a hand against his mouth, nodding his head. "We sure do. Heard so much about Daniel, it would be a shame not to."
"Very well." Damian yields after some thought. "We shall be home in an hour. Alfred, could you make some meat lasagna? That's Daniel's favorite food."
"It's making him ask for meat." Jason curses under her breath "on top of everything else?"
Thankfully, it's too soft for Damian to hear, so Alfred speaks up. "Of course,e Master Damian."
"Replace the béchamel sauce with layers of cheese, please." Damian requests, smile turning a bit soft and gooey. "Daniel prefers it that way."
"Right away, sir."
The call ends, and the cave erupts into noise. Bruce springs to his feet, shouting out orders. They will think of what to do now that Damian has introduced them to Daniel.
Multiple JusticeLeague-approved therapists are called, Black Carnary is on speed dial for any help they may need, and the kids brush up on their mental illness assistant packages. They don't plan on confronting Damian tonight about it, but they will carefully prob to see what exactly Daniel and his sister make Damian do.
____________________________________________________________
Alfred's face spams an hour late as he watches the front gate security cameras. Master Damian arrives in an Uber, holding the door open and offering his hand to the air as if attempting to help someone get out of the vehicle. The boy waves away the driver, then keeps his hand wrapped around nothing as he strides to the Manor in sure steps.
Alfred doesn't have the auto on, but he can tell by the movement of Master Damian's lips that he is speaking to it.
Alfred moves to the front door, fixing his vest to gather courage before opening the door, a calm Welcome home, Master Damian on his lips.
Only to choke on his spite at the sight of another young boy the same age as Master Damian standing right where Daniel should be. He even has his fingers interlocked with Master Damian.
"Alfred, this is Daniel Fenton. Daniel, this is my family butler, Alfred Pennyworth."
"You're real," Alfred breathes, staring wide-eyed at the boy who offers him a wave. It's such a whiplash from the emotional turmoil of this afternoon that he forgets himself and his manners as he gawks at the child.
"Um, I sure am?" Daniel, for his part, looks a little uneasy, which prompts Master Damian to step in front of him, shielding him with his body. His green eyes are blazing with slight protective rage.
"I did not see you in the camera...." He hears himself say as if that was justification for his reaction.
Master Domain's shoulders relax. "Yes, Daniel does not appear on any form of record. It happens. Come, Daniel, I'll show you my room while dinner is made."
"Cool. Can we practice some new moves, too? I really want to get the choreography for our new song down."
"Of course."
Alfred steps back, allowing the children to walk inside, climb up the stairs, and vanish from sight. He fumbles for his phone, knowing he has to report this before Master Bruce and the other children make fools of themselves.
Goodness, he didn't even start on the meat lasagna. He didn't think he was actually going to feed someone.
So a bit of a twist on the usual dp x dc trope; Vlad is the one who has come to live in the DC universe for a fresh start after he’s done his redemption thing and is getting therapy and he’s traveling around DC basically starting his company and wealth from scratch but without overshadowing people(still sketchy but what business man isn’t). Vlad happens to be in Gotham when Danny(18 y/o) comes to visit with Dani(Ellie)(5 y/o) and Dan(3 y/o) for a long weekend. Dick, Jason and Damian are the first ones to see the little family in a Batburger Danny dragged Vlad into. The little family is concerning for a number of reasons not because they are obviously(to a trained eye) not human(no nonhuman racism here) but the fact that Vlad and Danny are their usual antagonistic selves(Vlad is in a better place and a better parent then any one including Vlad thought he could be but him and Danny will eternally have beef) Vlad is very familiar with Danny and the obvious age difference between Danny and Vlad(with the kids and their ages added in the picture isn’t looking good). Encounters like this happen with all of the Batfam and Danny, Vlad and the kids behavior and conversation snippets the Batfam hear do nothing to clear up the Batfam’s misunderstandings. It all ends at gala; Danny(looking gorgeous in a ice blue dress with actual ghost ice crystals on it and coming in dramatically in a white fur coat from the Far Frozen) is Vlad’s date(the kids are left at the hotel with their ghost babysitter) and the bats manage to get Danny alone and corner him after the gala and while Batfam has the best of intentions this is quite literally none of their business(and Danny and Vlad were not blind to someone following them all this time) and though Danny was quite capable of taking care of himself he calls for Vlad with his aura and to say Vlad was pissed at what he finds when he answers Danny’s call is an understatement. Danny and Vlad don’t explain anything about the kids or what they are but they do take the Batfam to task for stalking, invasion of privacy, illegal interrogation and overall being nosy assholes who don’t know how to mind their own business. Vlad and Danny then leave and the Batfam are left with a lot to think about(hopefully), when Vlad moves on from Gotham at the end of the weekend Danny takes the kids home until the next vacation to visit Vlad and Vlad stays out of Gotham from then on.
(PS. This is good Fenton parents AU they are trying their best to make up to Danny and Jazz for what their inattention has cost their kids but their friendship with Vlad is firmly over(the only reason they haven’t Ended him is because of their grandkids).)
Hey. Shakes you by the shoulders. DCxDP where Eobard Thawne is Danny’s cool distant “uncle” that he never sees but always sends in the coolest gifts for the holidays.
~
Danny had grown used to seeing people injured at a surprisingly young age.
He wasn’t injured on the regular, or witness to some sort of extraordinary amount of violence; his parents’ lab was just… very volatile, and they were unprofessionally lax on safety measures on the best of days.
As such, when he saw an unconscious, incredibly injured man wearing some sort of superhero suit in their backyard in the early hours of the morning (he had gotten up to get a glass of water when he heard a thump outside), he didn’t panic, as any young child should have in his situation.
No. Instead, Danny dragged the man inside (with considerable difficulty; despite how thin he was, he was heavy), treated his wounds as best he could (it’s difficult for a child younger than 10 to do stitches, you understand), put a blanket over the man, and went back to bed.
After losing a fight to the Flash and passing out in a random suburban lawn, the last thing Eobard was expecting to wake up to was a small child sitting on the floor in front of him, noisily eating a bowl of cereal.
(He had thought, maybe he would have been found by the Flash and brought to some Justice League holding cell. Or, found by a civilian, and brought to the police. Perhaps, in his feverish state, he had remembered the prison he ended up in from his time, with their brands and chemicals and torturous therapies.)
For some unknown reason, this child had found him, not recognized him as the monster he is (perhaps due to the boy’s age), and helped him—even if his healing factor would have fixed him eventually, having all his parts in the right order certainly sped up the process.
Usually he wouldn’t care for civilians. He’d killed enough that he’d lost count what felt like an eternity ago—and yet, somehow, he felt indebted to this boy. This boy, who had helped him so selflessly, who was so entirely clueless to the evil right in front of him.
This boy, who was all alone in an empty house, whose sister was away, whose parents had gone on a trip and left him behind.
(It didn’t matter the explanation the boy gave for it, Eobard’s mind whispered to itself regardless. Kin. Like calling to like.)
And so, he worked hard to free himself from this debt he had incurred.
He traveled through time, working his way into the family whilst posing as a distant relative. It was remarkably easy; the Fentons didn’t have an incredible memory of their relatives; all he had to do was forge a few papers and mention a few people and he was now “Uncle Eo”.
It was, however, taxing on the mind. These people were absurdly friendly, not to mention talkative. The effort had become a multi-year operation, popping in every now and then for large family gatherings and home visits.
It felt… nice, to be wanted for once. To be noticed in his absence for more than just his status.
To be liked.
He made sure to send the boy a gift on the right holidays, as well as on his birthdays. With his skillset, it wasn’t too difficult to follow him around and see what he liked and wanted. It also wasn’t difficult to spy in when he opened them, to ensure that he had done an acceptable job.
Of course, he couldn’t let this sort of thing cut into his time spent fighting the Flash, so he wasn’t too present. The last thing he wanted was to drag trouble into the boy’s life from his presence.
But then, it happened.
He found out that this boy, and the one known in his time as Phantom, were one and the same.
It was, as a historian, thrilling.
It was, as a villain, horrifying.
In all his travels, he had never intended to involve himself with that mysterious being which shadowed the Justice League. That ghost with the power, in some timelines, to bring about the end of all things.
Of course, he was also capable of doing that, but it isn’t exactly fun to meet someone who’s powers are a match for your own.
Especially if you couldn’t find it in yourself to end him, should he make himself your enemy.
Still, he had a debt to repay, and a boy to look after.
He delivered things to the boy’s room to help him; tactical gloves, a lightweight protective suit, weapons and equipment. All uncredited, since the boy seemed to value the idea of a secret identity.
He took it upon himself to shift the odds in his favor a few times, even; making faster-than-light adjustments to the boy and his combatants during fights to shift the odds in his favor.
Somewhere along the years, he had formed some sort of odd affection for the boy, if he was capable of doing so at all.
And so, when that ghost-boy sought his Uncle Eo out all the way in Central City, carved open and scarred, a distant look in his eyes, he took him in without a second thought.
He would protect this boy, who once had protected him.
i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.
He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.
And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.
And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.
Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.
Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."
There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.
It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.
Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.
At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.
"Do you like to do anything?"
Nothing. Just silence.
Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.
Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.
Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.
And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.
He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.
Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.
So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.
"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"
"Don't."
He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.
Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"
"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."
It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"
The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."
Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."
And they fall back into silence.
Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."
He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.
(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)
At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.
Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.
("Tucker told me once--") ("Tucker?") ("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")
(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)
(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)
It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."
The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."
The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.
When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.
Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.
"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."
When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.
Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.