Not even this simple thing matches each other lol
No one can deny that Alfred Pennyworth's life before working at Wayne Manor was a gaint mystery.
Not even Bruce could tell them what exactly Alfred had been up to, what missions he went on for her majesty and not for the lack of trying (or out of respect).
That's why the morning Alfred asked Bruce if it was alright for him to foster a boy within the manor as a favor for an old contact codenamed Clockwork, the whole family nearly lost their minds.
Bruce, of course, welcomed the boy, and they had a room set up for him in the servant's wing before lunchtime that same day. Alfred has always insisted on remaining with the servant quarters, so his foster son would too.
Two weeks later, Danny Fenton walks through the door. Clockwork had to remove him from his home due to his parents' danger to his safety. That's all Alfred's explanation.
Danny slips in as Alfred's assistant rather quickly, silent as death and beautiful like the galaxies. His beauty is a bit off-putting, too perfect, too enchanting to be human but no one points its out.
Danny is an amazing inventor, quickly establishing himself as the Batfamily's gadget maker/Guy in a chair. He found the cave while dusting. Polite, intelligent, easygoing, and is vouched for by Alfred.
The only fault Bruce has against Danny is half of his kids develop crushes on him. Damian, Tim, Steph, and Duke seem to blush whenever he enters a room, and Bruce feels like a villain in Jason's period romance novels. The big noble Dad whom is trying to keep his noble children away from romancing the staff.
(Part 2 )
so i'd like to preface this by saying this stems from me going entirely off the rails thinking about tales of the passerine-- which is frankly quite on brand for me to think of one au, and then develop it so far left ways that it makes another au entirely.
bUT. Context! Danny's ancestors sometime before they immigrated to America had a fae marry into the family. This had its Side Effects. Naturally. The Fentonnightengale responsible for this charmed a fae thanks to their swagless nature and awkward demeanor, so instead of getting eaten the fae thought it was cute instead. The fae marrying into the family had an affinity for music, but that kinda repressed itself by accident -- blame the salem witch trials.
By the time Danny is born, the fae blood has become so latent that it really doesn't show up anymore other than the Fentons Eccentricity and obsession with the supernatural (a latent desire to return home to the fae realm - aka infinite realms). There's an unnatural charm surrounding the fenton that really only creeps almost every human within a visual radius, and Danny is no exception.
hoWEVEr. the accident that turned danny into a halfa in one timeline did no such thing in this one -- it just reactivated his latent fae blood, and reactivated it with a fervor. Effectively turning Danny from a human into a changeling.
Danny just thinks at first that he's a half-ghost -- only to realize later on from Clockwork that he's not one at all. He's very much fae -- which is a wild discovery for Danny to make. It also means his rogues are quite a bit more intimidated by him. Fae are above ghosts in the Infinite Realm Creature Hierarchy, no matter how powerful they are. A fae can still Steal the name of a ghost, so Danny's rogues are rather skittish/unsure around Danny until they realize he doesn't know he's a changeling -- after that, many of them vow to try and keep it secret amongst themselves.
Danny's 'ghost' form is rather birdlike, and in human form his appearance warps to match his comfortability. When he's alone with his friends he starts taking on unnatural features. -- his blue-green eyes brighten and his pupils elongate, his teeth sharpen, and his ears grow longer and animal-like. His hair softens to be more feathery, his nails sharpen. In general he takes on more 'bird-ish' features. At school, around his parents, and when he's stressed, tense, or scared, he looks completely human -- an instinctual survival mechanism.
As a ghost, he has large, pretty wings that gradient from black to dark purple-blue, with a shimmer across the feathers that resembles the aurora borealis. His limbs elongate, his legs becoming bird-like and his talons grow on both his feet and nails. His ears vaguely resemble a rabbit's, although they don't flop down like one. All his teeth sharpen. Razor sharp chompers, capable of biting through bone. His eyes take on a greenish-hue, but otherwise remain the same color, albeit his sclera becomes blue-ish and his pupils become diamond-shaped and white. Rings of seafoam blue circle around his iris, creating a reflective sheen. He makes chirping, creaking noises, and when he speaks there's a faint overlap that is very enchanting.
Overall he's rather beautiful in a terrifyingly inhuman way, its hard to take your eyes off him. He has a lot of feathers. He's very drawn to singing and music in general, and gets into music sometime after his accident. He likes flutes/ocarinas/woodwinds the most, followed shortly after by strings, and then piano. He also slowly loses the ability to lie -- which is really annoying and also terrifying until he learns how to reword himself and become a better wordsmith.
SInce this stemmed from an older brother dpdc au, its gonna stay an older brother dpdc au alsfh. i'll just get to the dpxdc part in another post since i wanted to get this off my chest first
Danny Fenton gains a particular reputation in Amity Park for being a "Catnip for Heros."
It started in Freshman year. Phantom was seen coming and going from his house at odd times. It wasn't a very well-kept secret- neighbors would see the glowing teenager in broad daylight.
The ghost hunters who owned the house were the only people unaware of the ghost flying out of the third window on the second floorโDanny's bedroom. At first, they thought it was a one-time thing.
Maybe the ghost wanted to have a little bit of fun now that he was stationed back in the human world? Fenton was rather good-looking when he cleaned up and could be charming when he wasn't dodging his responsibilities.
The A-listers started a rumor that Danny Fenton was relatively easy if all it took was Phantom saving him once. Still, the rumor never gained traction since Fenton seemed flustered at the most minor compliments. Instead, he seemed to jump out of his skin whenever anyone hinted of being interested in him- romantically or friends with benefits.
Never mind when his nighttime rendezvous with Phantom was brought up. Boy looked mortified to have it even suggested, as in burst into tears right then and there.
Even the A-listers weren't that mean. (Some think it was more due to their respect for Phantom than anything.)
Then Fenton was spotted flying on the hoverboard of Red Huntress, clinging to her like a damsel in distress. It would have been a simple rescue that the hero was known for doing, except she often carried him about without a ghost.
It became customary to hear her board humming through the air, Fenton either holding tight to her suffering stance or being carried in her strong arms. As usual, Red Huntress's face was completely covered, but her body language was open and friendly, curved toward Fenton as if he were the sun to her flower.
Red Huntress slowly but surely became more visible in public sight. Unlike Phantom, she normal vanished as soon as a fight was done. People speculated that she was human, but no one could prove it.
Once Dash Baxter was able to film Fenton literally kicking his feet and giggling as Red Huntress hovered in the air, one arm under his knees and the other on his back in a classic princess carry. She had bought him a street hot dog, and Fenton was acting like it was an engagement ring.
The video spread like wildfire through Casper High, and soon, people whispered that Fenton and Phantom had ended. Then two days later, a new video of Phantom flying out of Fenton's room at two in the morning was passed along by two jocks that had been out doing an extreme workout run through the city.
Students of Casper High wondered if Fenton was daring enough to two-time the town heroes. Wes put a stop to the accusations when he flagged down Huntress and asked her about Fenton's relationship with Phantom.
Of course, Wes meant that Fenton and Phantom were the same person (he was crazy like that), but everyone knew it was more about possible cheating. She shattered the thought with, "Phantom and I share Fenton," and flew away, leaving everyone with their jaws dropping.
However, what got Fenton his nickname was the day the Justice League arrived to ask Phantom for help against an invading paranormal force. It was a whole, saving the world; you're our last hope scenario.
People in Amity watched the battle updates from various news outlets. It seemed a bit touch and go for a while, but thankfully, Phantom and Batman could pull through and push back the undead. The streets of the small town flooded with cheering citizens who were overjoyed their town hero did it.
Red Huntress even flew over the city throwing "Phantom #1" foam fingers. It was cute how excited she was for her boyfriend. Fenton was notably absent during that time, but she said it was fine, so people let it go.
It put Amity Park on the map. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know about Phantom and his exploits. News crews, reporters, and even celebrity gossip rags were scouting the tiny town, looking for anything on Phantom besides "He's really old. Really powerful. Dead."
One Jimmy Olsen managed to get the most giant scoop of Earth's newest and hottest hero. It was of Phantom, leaning awfully close to a flustered-looking Fenton. One tilt of his head and their two lips would have been brushing.
Olsen took the shot, forgetting about his flash, and watched Phantom fade out of sight. Fenton looked horrified and raced away before Olsen could ask him questions.
Undeterred, Olsen spent a whole day searching for Fenton and nearly gave up until he happened to find the teenager in the local park, sitting on Red Robins's lap as the hero played with his hair. Shocked, Olsen snapped the photo, watching the two for a while, getting more and more footage. They fed each other ice cream at one point and raced back to the hotel to show Lois.
She excitably jumped on the idea of a plain civilian boy with heroes, especially after some digging showed his connection to Phantom and Red Huntress.
They decided they needed proof before pitching the idea back home, and Fenton was caught in similar positions with Orphan, Superboy (the clone on Red Robin's team), Inpulse, Blue Beatle (the younger new one), and Supergirl. All in a month.
"He's really going through them, huh?" Olsen muttered while the story was posted. The header read, "Danny Fenton: Teenage heartthrob that is Catnip for Heros!"
It's an overnight hit sensation.
Miles away, hiding his face in his hands, is Danny Fenton, surrounded by all the young heroes laughing so hard a few nearly break a rib.
"My Obsession is Protection and Love. It's not my fault I need cuddles from those I care about to function!" The teen cries after reading the somewhat scandalous article and pictures of himself.
"We know Danny," Tim assures him, tucking the boy under his chin. "Getting high off of love is a medical condition."
"Wait, does he actually get high?" Kara asks. "I thought he was just getting giggly 'cause he's cute like that."
"Nope. The emotion humans- and Kryptonians, I guess- release when love- any form of it- causes Danny to get high. Blown pupils. Seeing streaks of lights. Laughing silly. The whole sha-bang." Kon laughs, reaching out to pat Danny's shoulder. The teenager half-buried his face more in his hands with a muffled cry. "He once got so high after Bruce told him how proud he was of him that he created a duplicate and had a staring contest with it to see who had the right to the last bag of chips."
Jaime holds up the tablet, pointing to a photo. "It's the one that started this whole catnip thing. Also, how honored I am to be included in the harem? My popularity had never been higher."
"Stop!" Danny cries. This isn't funny. How am I supposed to protect my secret identity when the whole world thinks I'm "Making my way through all the young heroes?"
"You could marry me," Bart offers. "No one will expect you to run off with a speedster ironically."
"You have to go through Bruce first," Tim tells him; though there is a smile on his face, his eyes are ice cold. "And the rest of my family. Danny is destined to be a Wayne."
"Bruce can't adopt me; I have parents."
"I meant marry in love."
"Tim, now is not the time to state a claim." Kara sighs and then narrows her eyes. "Danny is going to marry into the El family."
"Not if we Allens have anything to say about it!"Bart shouts.
Kon and Jaime watch as Danny slips to the floor a smile slowly blooming on his face as various heroes start yelling at each other. "Should we tell them he's getting high right now or-?"
"Nah, it's fine."
It had been a few years since Vlad and Danny had stopped being enemies, years since Amity had been at peace with the ghosts. Danny spent his days teaching his children (he assumed they were his children) about well, everything.
Dan and Ellie had prefabricated knowledge, the halfa couldn't quite get it, but the point was that while they knew who was the creator of the chemistry, they had no idea how to do 2 + 2, so he made it his homework to fill in all the gaps.
No one at Amity blinked at the 30-year-boy-who-was-actually-12 and the 15-year-girl-who-was-actually-4, Danny guessed they had gotten used to the weirdness. One day, Vlad called and pointed out that someone had entered his database a few months ago (apparently he checked his digital security very little when he didn't make "evil" plans) and they had stolen the plans for the cloning capsule. Danny had a bad feeling.
Of course, it was after a month of searching that he found out about Lex Luthor's little "project." To say that he was angry was an understatement; he found the poor Superboy being mind controlled. He felt sad when he remembered Ellie's situation and well, he ended up stealing a clone child and destroying some laboratory. Like old times.
The world did not know of Phantom; Amity was suspicious, almost jealous that their protector could be taken away if they said a word, so they didn't say anything out of the city. It's not like the League did anything when they called. Danny didn't care, less tedious meetings and contingency plans for him. Besides, he wasn't excited about going back to the field if he didn't have to, as long as Amity was safe, the world could be destroyed for all he cared.
He wondered if spending too much time with Dan was affecting him, but in the end he dismissed the thought. Upon arriving home, Superboy had woken up and was being interrogated by the Phantoms. He chose his name to be Conner (sounds good apparently) and agreed to take classes to fill in the gaps of knowledge, just like Ellie, he seemed uncomfortable with the gaps.
The poor boy looked uncomfortable, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did. After finding out whose clone he was, he wondered if they would take him to Superman, but Danny just snorted. By the end of the week, Conner was a Phantom, and he was fine with that. Danny even told him that he could live normally if he wanted to, and the boy happily accepted the offer. Conner didn't want to be a hero, at least not that early, and Danny was happy with his decision.
Danny frowned thinking of all the heroes who would say that is "selfish" for someone with power to not to use it. But he believed that they were doubly selfish. Being a teenage hero wasn't fucking easy. He hugged Conner, welcoming him to the family and within days, the whole town already knew about him (they also knew whose clone he was, but they didn't really care, they weren't snitching).
Curiously, it was Tim Drake who noticed the strange family visiting Gotham (a 23-year-old seemed to be berating a 30-year-old for stealing tires, he snorted at the irony). However he froze when he saw Clark?, but much younger, speaking in Kryptonian and laughing. He called a meeting in the batcave and tried to call the family, but as soon as they saw the expression in his face they vanished from sight.
Hell, he needed to report it to Bruce.
Dan, bound to a clone body and experiencing a relatively calm life with the Fentons, gets de-aged by a jealous Vlad and is held hostage by the man, who wants to be involved with family things. Vlad, somehow, loses the baby.
14 years later, Jason Todd is desperately looking for his mother, only for the DNA test to match him with a 30-year-old transman and a billionaire over 60.
Oh, and his own missing person's report.
Dp x Spiderman x DC prompt
"Danny Phantom and Peter Parker Aka Spiderman are sent to the DC universe and they will make that everyone's problem."
For whatever reason, whether to protect him, because he loves chaos, or just because he was bored, Clockwork sends Danny to another universe even if Danny doesn't agree with it. Anyway, now Danny is stuck in the DC universe, and he's drawn to a city dripping with ectoplasm and crime, and looking for a way to get home or whatever Clockwork wants him to do, Danny heads to Gotham City.
At the same time in another universe, as a last resort and to protect his universe and his loved ones, Spider-Man, Peter Parker is erased from everyone's minds and his world, so he is sent as a last act of kindness and gratitud from Doctor Strange to another universe so he can start over. So Peter awakes in another universe and new world, one where super heroes exist but no person he knows has ever existed and where there are no records of his own existence, and to make matters worse, he's 14 now and he's in a city infested with criminals, villains and pollution. Seriously, not even New York is this bad.
Looking around for how to survive, a place to stay and how to get home, Peter's spider sense alerts him of a powerful presence approaching, and Danny flying through the city while invisible is paralyzed in mid-air when a boy wearing a suit under an oversized coat looks directly at him, as if he could really know he's there, and after hesitating for a couple of seconds he becomes tangible and the other boy's eyes widen comically in surprise, and they both take a defensive stance. They have a staring standoff for a couple of minutes in which they determine whether or not the other is a threat, and when that is resolved, Danny and Peter meet. Quickly after an exchange of information, they discover that they have a lot in common, they're both young heroes, with more responsibilities and power than they could ever expect, underestimated and misunderstood teenagers, geeks, with a similar humor, show true interest in each other's tastes, and are stuck in another universe with no way to return home, oh and they share the same principles and morals, so naturally they become best friends and decide to survive together.
Danny really likes Peter Aka Spiderman, it's the first time he's met someone in his age range who really understands what he's going through. But that's not just why he likes him, Peter is funny, smart, kind, sweet and genuinely a good person, and a kid, one who in his short years of life has already been through too much, (they did trauma dump on each other) and Danny and his ever-evolving ghost core who is now obsessed with protecting children, wants Peter safe and happy, and by their side, so considering that Peter's universe and the people in it no longer existe for him, they both emerge with a plan, they are going to stay together in this universe for now and then find a way to leave together to Danny's universe, and for that they come up with the idea of โโbuilding a portal. They trust that they can do it, they're smart and have enough knowledge to maybe and by putting both brains together, they can decipher travel between universes, or at least to the ghost zone. But for that they need equipment, tools, materials and a safe place to stay and be able to start working, and with an established plan, their journey begins.
They find an old building, house, warehouse (it doesn't really matter) and they take it as their new home, and it's perfect, it's in fairly good shape, it's safe and secluded enough that no one will bother them while they work, it's away from most of the criminal gangs, gang territories, and off the territory and radar of the local vigilantes, vigilantes that Danny and Peter were quickly aware of dominate the streets of Gotham, and don't accept people with superhuman abilities on them. They still have to go out into the streets to get supplies and materials to build the portal, and because being two young superheroes they can't help but fight crime for a long time, and in fact they make a good team. Who would think their skills would work so well combined? (I did. I actually thought about it quite a bit, and I could have a whole conversation on this topic alone.)
There are two new vigilantes in Gotham and they are metas, that's what everyone talks about in the streets, and it's what the bats and birds have seen, and they are concern. These meta vigilantes don't seem remotely affected by Batman's rule of no metas in Gotham, but that's not what's relevant to the Bat and the Bat Kids, it's how young they are, not much older than Damian or Tim, with flashy uniforms and even flashier powers, if not dangerous, they're reckless, and their origins and reasons for being in Gotham are unknown. They know that they must approach this situation delicately, if they don't want it to get out of hand. And since they are in the streets and seem friendly, the bats try to get closer and get information, they try on different occasions and with different methods, but they don't obtain great results from any of the encounters. If the new young vigilantes don't escape and disappear completely just by noticing the presence of the bats or birds (they always know where they are no matter who or how stealthy they are), they respond with jokes or sarcastic comments to any question, sometimes insults if they are not in the mood for an interrogation, they never fight or attack but they refuse to have a relationship with the local Gotham vigilantes, and after two months of this all they know is that the one in red and blue is Spiderman and the one in black and white is Phantom, and that's driving them all crazy, especially when in the few times they've faced them (they tried to capture one of them, it doesn't matter who, it's not a good idea) they have shown that they know how to defend themselves and that their abilities should not be underestimated, and if you try to go after one of them, the other will go against you with everything he has (I like to think that Peter and Danny would be overprotective of each other since they are the only thing the other one have in that universe and they are not going to lose their best friend if they can help it). The bats learned this the hard way and now know what to expect from each one of them. At the moment, the one who has shown that he could have the best chance of being a real threat in the future is Phantom, who managed to give a good scare to Nighwing and Red Hood and everyone who was around to witness it when the vigilantes were very close to capturing Spiderman, but as long as you don't touch his friend he's harmless (although there are suspicions that Phantom fell into the Lazarus pit, a classic), but Batman learned that if you try to hurt or capture Phantom, Spiderman will have no problem crushing you and breaking your ribs, again (first time was an accident, Peter felt really bad about it), he just didn't do it a second time because Robin was present and stopped himself so the little kid vigilante wouldn't be scared of him, so Batman knew from experience, although less scary and calm than Phantom, Spiderman is a time bomb and it's better not to give him reasons to explode.
So the bats keep their distance, as long as the new vigilantes don't hurt anyone or commit any crimes they decide that they can coexist in Gotham peacefully, and maybe collaborate if the opportunity arises and they need extra help. But then things start disappearing from Wayne Enterprises and some hospitals, and blackouts are reported, and strong shocks of static energy shake the city (Danny and Peter have begun their research and experimenting with the new technology they have in this universe, they're doing their best). None of Gotham's villains or criminals are responsible, so the main suspects soon become the new and enigmatic vigilantes. Now the real game begins, imagine the efforts the Batfamily would go to to obtain information and slowly gain the trust of Danny and Peter, all the interesting situations and interactions we could get out of this, I don't know, I think we could get at least 6 different stories out of this idea with all the juicy stuff a crossover likes this can offer.
This time it goes a little differently. The halfas are all still captured; Vlad, Dan, Dani, and Danny all taken in by the GIW. A GIW more serious and dangerous than they had been before, competent under new management. This time however the Fenton family does not take this slight lying down; Jazz, forced to inform her parents of the truth is backed by all their righteous and protective fury as they rain hell upon the federal facility to gain back their beloved children and dearest friend. All prejudices forgotten and discarded as the lies they were for the overwhelming love and loyalty to those they know far better than propaganda.
A rebellion forms under the guidance of Sam, Tucker, and Valerie; unwilling to bend or stop even with their parentsโ pleads for their children to instead choose safety. With their children unrelenting they can only join the rebellion, the war that has begun. Make no mistake it is a war, horrific and unyielding as neither side is remotely willing to surrender no matter the numbers lost. It is however a very much one sided war however as the government loses their minions and the ghosts swell in numbers and power. Without the Fentonโs research and technology to draw upon they do not have the means of destruction they previously had, though they make a vile effort; cracking cores and destabilizing forms, slaughtering human and liminal civilians en mass.
They free their friends, their loved ones. But there is a cost, a price to be paid. Dan and Dani destabilized, their cores cracked and the only method to save them was incubation by another halfa. Vladโs own core was too cracked to safely nurture them and Danny being the only other halfa in existence the child of balance is forced to be the one to carry them. So many are lost this way, though ghosts can be incubated by other ghosts to save them. Jazz herself is lost to them twice, a valiant warrior standing tall for those she loves and what she believes in; she dies as a human and is destabilized as a ghost. There is almost another war amongst their own ranks for the honor to incubate her. In the end Clockwork himself intervenes to incubate her himself.
They all lose someone, some even lose themselves. Many Fade, the grief and fear too much to carry for an eternity. But in the end they win, though their home realm becomes too saturated in ectoplasm to remain stable. For the safety and recovery of the earth all those affected by ectoplasm or made entirely of ectoplasm needed to go either to the realms or an alternate world that was not so affected by ectoplasm. A world that would not be destabilized by liminals seeking a home in a mortal world when they could not remain within the Infinite Realms. It took time, a lot of time, until they ran out of time and were forced to choose. In the end a somewhat chaotic world was chosen; a world of heroes and villains, of science and magic.
They made their new home in the midwest of a parallel United States, a parallel Illanois. An area that had never become Amity Park but would become so now that they had brought their city to that parallel world. They slotted in as though they had always been meant to be there. As though they always had been there. It took some adjusting, they kept the shield up, and they kept to themselves. They had no problems with it really, they adjusted quite well actually. So much so that the youngest grew restless, interested in the outside world. Finally reaching adulthood, most of the graduating catalyst class Casper High could no longer reasonably be held back.
Though most fled in smaller packs to different cities, unable to leave behind the soul deep bonds that had been forged in blood, ectoplasm, and fire; there was one group that was larger than the others. Danny Fenton accompanied by his twin toddlers; Dawn and Dusk, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Valerie Gray, and their ghostly guardian Jazz Fenton. She had not stayed a child for long upon reforming unlike her physical bodied halfa niblings and had gained a power boost due being incubated by an Ancient. She was long able to disguise herself as a fully fleshed out human, though she kept all the weaknesses and strengths of a ghost and carried a cold with her that was unmistakable.
They were ready for their cross country road trip to visit every hero city they could before hitting Europe.
Every ancient's core is directly tied to what they are the ancient of. For Clockwork, his core is present throughout all of time. For Undergrowth, his core is connected to every plant on Earth. For Nocturn, his ckrr is made up of the combined dreams of the people of Earth.
Danny though, as the Ancient of Space, Danny's core is made up of the entire universe. He has a hard time explaining this to the Justice League.
Inspired by an ICarly Clip. "Mr. Wayne, we have your son here."
Bruce blinked, then checked the number on the phone. It was from the police station. He then looked around the table which had fallen silent when Alfred had brought him the phone.
Dick, Jason, Tim, Duke, and Damian were all accounted for. Even Jon was there so they couldn't have misidentified him as his kid.
"Which one?" Bruce chose to ask.
"Tim Drake."
Bruce looked at Tim specifically as he tilted his head confused. "Are you sure?"
"Oh yeah, Mr. Wayne, we know your boys by now."
"Right... alright, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Can I ask on why Tim has been taken into custody?"
Tim tilted his head even further while some of the others around the table started chuckling.
"He was found trespassing near the new Axion Labs at the edge of the city. The owner chose not to press charges so we're sending him home in your custody."
"I see, I'll be there soon. Thank you for the call."
"Of course, Mr. Wayne, we'll see you soon."
Bruce ended the call then looked at his kids. "Apparently, Tim has been arrested for trespassing near the Axion Labs construction site."
"And you didn't even invite me?" Dick chuckled at Tim, "We could have had so much fun together."
Tim scrunched his nose at the idea. "No way, that whole area is an OSHA violation. If I went there it wouldn't be out of costume, whoever that kid is was risking his life just walking within a block of it."
"Well, I'm going to go down there and see what 'Tim' was thinking." Bruce got out of his seat, "I'll be back soon."
"New brother?" Cass asked as Damian growled.
"We're going to assume no for now, but we may have another for dinner depending on what's going on."
"I will prepare another seat while you are gone, Master Bruce."
"Thanks, Alfred. I'll be back soon."
-
When Bruce walked into the police station he immediately noticed 'Tim' sitting in front of one of the officers desks. It was a newer officer and it was clear that neither Detective Montoya or Commissioner Gordon were in or somebody would have noticed that this kid definitely wasn't Tim.
Yes, the kid had black hair which was on the shorter side but his hair fell in front of his face more than Tim would wear it, and his eyes were unnaturally blue. He was pale in an old hoodie, blue jeans, and red shoes. The biggest difference though was that this kid looked like he was only pushing 15, not 17. Yes, he looked quite a bit like Tim but anybody who had spent more than five minutes with Tim Drake would know they weren't the same person.
"Mr. Wayne." The officer called as Bruce walked over, looking at the kid.
He was thin and pale, which a tired look on his face. He also shrunk away from Bruce when he walked over.
Bruce knew what a kid in trouble looked like. So he smiled down at the kid. "You know, Tim, when I said you could go to the lab to do your science homework I didn't expect you to go all the way to Axion Labs."
The kid looked at him, surprised then seemed to quickly catch on. "What can I say, I had to see what terrible science looked like. Sorry for making you come down here."
"It's fine, but are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, totally." He said, his hand subconsciously moving to his ribs as though he was hurt.
"Alright then you are grounded."
"What?!" 'Tim' squeaked, "Come on-"
"Nope. You are ground... for... 'til... college."
"FOR 'TIL COLLEGE?!"
"For 'til college!"
The officer cleared his throat then held out a clipboard. "If you sign the red x's you can take your son and leave, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce took the papers, quickly looking over it and signing it. It was strange to see that all of the handwriting on the paperwork was adult writing. Had they even asked this kid his name? Once everything was signed he passed it back over to the officer who nodded.
"Looks good. Thanks Mr. Wayne and you stay out of trouble. The whole city knows your face. You're just lucky Mr. Masters didn't want to press charges."
"Yeah, so lucky." The kid rolled his eyes, then stood up and looked up at Bruce. "Can we go now?"
"Sure thing, chum. Come on." Bruce said, leading the kid out of the station and to the car. The kid seemed hesitant as he looked around, his eyes narrowing when they landed on a gentlemen with silver hair in a ponytail, only when the man smiled at 'Tim' did the kid speak up again.
"Come on, Dad, let's get out of here before the stalkers find us." He said, climbing in the front seat and closing the door, much to the annoyance of the silver haired man.
Bruce climbed in the front seat, buckling in and driving away from the station. "So... 'not Tim' what's your name?"
"Danny. Just Danny... sorry about all of that Mr. Wayne. That guy took one look at me and started calling me 'Tim' and when I tried to explain that I wasn't 'Tim' hey called me a liar. But if I gave them my real name then... somebody else was going to come collect me and I didn't want that. So... I let them call me Tim. I'm sorry, I hope it didn't put you out..."
"Not at all. But... are you okay? Why were you at Axion Labs?"
Danny seemed hesitant, "I... it sounds crazy."
"It's Gotham, kid. Crazy things happen all the time..."
"Right... well um... I-I was kidnapped from my home and taken to Axion Labs. I-I escaped and when I was trying to leave the grounds the police saw me and thought I was trespassing. Since the cops were I decided to play along with it..."
Bruce frowned, "Kidnapped? Is... is there somebody I can call?"
Danny shook his head. "I have an older sister who is probably going crazy looking for me but other than her and a couple of friends there wouldn't be anybody. My parents... they were kind of involved. They... they found out something about me and tried to hurt me, I ran to somebody I knew I couldn't trust because I thought maybe he would get his head out of his ass but I was just being an idiot." Danny hugged himself. "You can drop me off anywhere though, you don't have to bother yourself with me or my shit."
Bruce pulled to a stoplight and reached over to the kid who flinched, Bruce waited until he relaxed before Bruce patted his head. "I'm not going to just leave you on the street. Besides, it's late and by now my butler has already dished you some dinner. So at least for tonight you're welcome to stay with me and my kids. We'll get some food in your belly, make sure you're not wounded, let you call your sister, and find a way to get you home. Sound good?" He asked, moving his hand away.
Danny looked at Bruce, seeming a bit untrusting for a moment before he glanced at something near Bruce and relaxed. There was nothing with Bruce, he wasn't carrying anything, but whatever Danny was seeing was enough to put his mind at ease. "Okay... but if anybody tries anything be warned, I bite."
Bruce chuckled, "So do most of the others. You'll fit right in."
'But just what the hell is going on with this kid? Does it have anything to do with that man outside the police station? I've got to get to the bottom of this before this kid leaves, especially if he's still a target.'
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