#When no matter how loving and doting and trying the Fentons are - its never enough

[ailithnight]

Just gonna save these tags from OP cause they are

Gut Feeling

DPXDC

Commissioner Jim Gordon meets an odd kid in the precinct.

--

“Come on, you really don’t have a way to directly contact Batman?”

Jim smiled. Kids came to the station and asked that all the time. Usually, it was just curiosity and showing them the signal was enough to get them to sign up for the Junior Police program. This one looked a little older than most, teenagers were often “too old” to believe in Batman, but again, give them a little faith now and they’ll never loose it.

“Lookin’ for the Bat, kid?” Jim asked, knowing he was about to make this kid’s –

Jim froze. The kid turned to face him and it was Bruce Wayne. Not playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne, but freshly a teenager Bruce Wayne. The Bruce Wayne who Jim had checked in on time and again from age eight until he ran off on a globetrotting trip to find himself. The little Bruce Wayne with too pale skin and dark bags under his eyes, and not enough love to make up for all the grief weighing him down. And he didn’t look like Damian either, where Bruce was obviously his father but there were distinct traits from his mother. This was a carbon copy of a boy Jim remembered vividly.

“I am.” He even sounded like teenage Bruce. All business, like he was on a mission.

“I might be able to help you, but it’ll take a while.” Jim said and the officer the kid had been talking too gave him an odd look. He waved her off and told the kid to follow him to the commissioner’s office. Normally, he’d be more dramatic, put on more of a show for the kid, but his gut told him this was different, this was important. He offered the kid a styrofoam cup of water then closed the door behind him. “So, what do you need to talk to Batman for?”

“It’s personal. I need to talk to him in person.”

Jim took a sip of coffee from his cup. “He doesn’t appreciate me calling for no reason in the middle of the day.”

“So you do have a direct line?” The kid nearly jumped out of his seat. “If he’s upset, it’ll be my fault, just call him, please.”

“Who should I say wants to talk to him?”

The kid hesitated. “He doesn’t know me, but I have to talk to him.”

Jim frowned. “What’s your name, kid?”

He swallowed and looked like he wasn’t going to answer for a moment. “Danny.”

“Danny…?” Jim wanted a last name but Danny kept quiet. Jim sighed, “He’s likely not going to show up until sundown.”

“I can wait, as long as you guarantee he’ll show.”

“And you’re not going to tell me why you need Batman?” Jim just got a glare in response. “What about one of the other heroes?”

“Only Batman, no one else can help.”

“You sure about that? Not even Superman?”

“Not unless Superman can get me in the same room as Batman.”

“Why’s it so important that you meet him in person?”

“It’s personal.”

Jim liked this less and less by the minute. “Do your parents know you’re here?”

Danny looked away but right when it looked like he wouldn’t say anything he mumbled. “They wouldn’t care anyway.”

After another moment to give the kid time to reconsider, Jim pulled out the Bat-phone. It was a normal Wayne-Tech cell phone, but Jim had been given very specific instructions on how and when to use it. The phone listed all the Gotham Vigilantes without visible numbers so they couldn’t be copied and handed out. He pressed the one for Batman.

“Stand outside, would you?” The kid gave him a look, but followed the request. Jim could see his shadow in the door’s window, not so subtle eavesdropping.

It rang a few times, and Jim sat there awkwardly with a teenager listening to his every move. Finally, a familiar voice picked up the other end of the line. “Commissioner Gordon.”

“Sorry to call you out of the blue Batman, but I’ve got a kid here who needs your help.”

“Who?”

“Says his name is Danny, that you’ve never met him but you’re the only one who can help him.”

“Why?”

“Refuses to tell me.”

“What’s your best guess, Commissioner?”

Jim looked at Danny’s shadow, it looked like he was straining his ears to try and hear what he was saying. Danny had given him almost nothing to work with. Just his name, that he’s never met Batman but needs to talk with him in person. But Jim was here because he listened to his gut. A feeling like when you see a random rock on your neighbor’s doorstep but you’d never go in without an invitation. A feeling like you know what’s in the present and are preparing your surprised face. A feeling like when you cheated on your wife and you know she knows.

“He looks like Bruce Wayne.”

A beat of silence. “What?”

“Danny looks exactly like Bruce when he was a teenager. Exactly the same.” Jim hoped Batman would get it, feel in his gut what Jim felt.

“And he wont say why he’s there?”

“No, and he demands to see you in person.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

“10-4.” The line cut off before Jim had finished saying it. He called Danny in again. “He’s on his way.”

Danny glared at him. “If he’s not, if you called some social worker or something, you’ll regret it.”

“I’m sure.” Jim sighed and downed the rest of his now cold coffee.

The sun hadn’t set, but only just barely. Jim ended up taking Danny up to the roof in the end after all, if only to save his window from being broken into. The kid had a red hoodie on, but he was still shivering in the autumn chill and it was just going to get colder by the minute as the sun made its way behind the horizon.

Jim checked his watch and, at exactly an hour from when he called, he acted surprised when Batman and Robin appeared out of nowhere. “Bats.”

“Commissioner.” Batman greeted but his eyes went straight for Danny. “Danny, I assume.”

“Yeah, I…” Danny hesitated, looking at Jim and Robin.

All it took was four words from Batman. “What do you need?”

The kid held out his hand with a flash drive in it. “I’m your clone. My par- The people who made me wanted to make a stronger version of you, but they got ahead of themselves. My DNA is degrading and I’ll die if I don’t get your DNA to stabilize me.”

Holy cow.

“You don’t expect us to believe that, do you?” Robin sneered at him.

“The flash drive has all the info on it. All the data about the cloning process and the, uh, relevant experiments after that.” Batman gave the kid a look. “I didn’t want to waste time on unnecessary data.”

“If what you’re saying is true, why are you here, alone? Are they working on a different solution?”

Danny’s shoulders hiked up. “I’ve been a failure for a while now, I’m not worth the resources and they’d learn more from an autopsy.”

Oof, kid. Jim looked at Batman who seemed to feel the same… if Jim was reading him right.

“So, you wont object to a DNA test?” Robin asked with a cocky head tilt, at least he was relatively easy to read.

“You can try.” Danny said, and then realized what that sounded like. “I mean I wont stop you, but my DNA degrades faster outside my body. You’ll have to take me to whatever lab you plan on using.”

“Then we will.” Batman said and jerked his head towards where they’d probably parked that ridiculous car of his. But then he looked at Jim with a nod. “Commissioner.”

“Batman.” Jim returned the nod. “You’ll tell me how things turn out, yeah?”

“I’ll give you a report.” Batman joked – Jim could tell, it was gut feeling.

[goodfish-bowl]

Snippet 1: Alone

Here is the Vlad Snippet for Dead to the World. Snippets will typically be shorter than 2k words and in one perspective.  

Can also be found here. 

                  Vladimir Masters knew an opportunity when he saw one and knew better than to let one pass him by. He had been meaning to reconnect with his (former) college “friends” in recent time, either way. He was going to plan a “college reunion”, but then, of course, there had been a sudden change, and not all change is bad. While the nature of the event was surely tragic, the opportunity it presented was not. In fact, it was one of the best things to happen to him personally in a long while. When Maddie’s son passed in a heartbreaking accident, Vlad’s only thought had been that he should be there to support her, and he pushed his long-schemed plan ahead of schedule by months. With Maddie in the fragile state she most surely was in, he would be able to sweep her into his arms, and away from Jack’s with much less hassle than his original plan.

               Vlad’s new plan was simple enough compared to his old one. He would show up, and offer Maddie much needed consolation and support, help her through this trying event, and somehow twist it so that the boy’s death would have been Jack’s fault. Nothing was more powerful than a mother’s love, after all, and such a thing would drive Jack far off, and Vlad that much closer to what his heart desired. He would hardly have to do much of it himself, if everything went swimmingly. Maddie would realize his feelings for her, and she would return them. Then he would have her to himself, and he would finally be complete.

               When Vlad heard how the boy, Daniel, he believed had been his name, had died, he almost burst out laughing at the irony of it all. A portal. The boy had died inside of a ghost portal, electrocuted to death. He almost found it hilarious that a portal had killed Jack’s son due to his mistakes. They had found several obvious, exposed electrical problems inside the portal that had been the exact cause of death for young Daniel, a mistake Vlad knew Maddie would never make. Jack had not only killed his (former) best friend, but his own son, using the same damn thing no less. Vlad wonder if this was some sort of karma inflicted onto Jack for what he had done to him so many years prior, and only wished it hadn’t affected Maddie so deeply as well. The jumpsuit-clad buffoon had had it coming.

               But, something about the whole thing bothered Vlad, a gut feeling. No, it was something in his core, not his gut. But it was impossible, the boy was dead as a doornail, he hadn’t survived, and surely wouldn’t become what he was, despite the similarity in their cases. There was a much higher chance of the boy becoming a full ghost, especially since he had died inside the portal, than becoming a half-ghost. The boy had crossed over too-completely for Vlad to have that vain sense of hope his core insisted on feeling, that he would no longer be alone. Vlad would no longer be alone once he had Maddie, he reasoned.  She would accept him and love him, completely, even if not at first, she would eventually. Then he would finally feel complete. But it tugged insistently, hopelessly hoping that the boy would come back. It would sooth Maddie, he supposed in a way, if her son somehow survived his period beyond the veil, and he could still continue to drive it between her and Jack, since the boy, Daniel, would no longer be alive either.

               Vlad spent the next two days helping Maddie where and whenever he could. He had never met either of Maddie’s children before now, so he wasn’t expected to make a speech at this event, a rare thing for the CEO. Jazz was pleasant enough in her grief-stricken state. Smart, almost frighteningly so, but he’d expect no less from Maddie’s daughter. The only traits of Jack she exhibited would be her own fixation on psychology and her tendency to be easily distracted. Thankfully, there was little resemblance otherwise, and he was keen to dote on the girl to gain Maddie’s affections. He spent a comparable amount of money on flowers, paid for the hall where the funeral would be held, and even covered the cost of the grave site where Daniel would be buried after the funeral. He didn’t know what kind of flowers Maddie liked, something he definitely should know, so he bought them all, and had them arranged into a draping arrangement to be displayed on the casket. He was sure she appreciated the sentiment without knowing its full purpose.

               Vlad was extremely careful on the day of the funeral, as he soothed Maddie. He had to be careful what words he said and even how and where he stepped. He had to make sure not to insult or aggravate her in her fragile state, less she turned on him instead of her own husband. He decided he wouldn’t drive her and Jack apart just yet, not until she had at least partially recovered from her grief, it would be easier then than it would be now. If those 20 years locked away taught him anything, it was patience. He wore an expensive, yet strikingly simple, black suit to the funeral. Maddie was the star of it all, all eyes should be on her, not him, for once. He was in awe of her the entire time, clinging to her every word and action, how the black dress she wore clung to her frame in a modest, yet oh so thought-provoking way, at least to him.

           Vlad was surprised when he actually recognized one of the attendees, the Mansons. They were a rich, influential, and well-connected family, and liked to isolate themselves to the higher-class circles, so he was genuinely surprised to find them here. Their daughter, whom he had never had the displeasure of meeting, was apparently a close friend of Daniel’s and he could appreciate the eloquence of the dress she wore. Vlad didn’t even give the Mansons a second glance.

               Vlad was fixated on Maddie’s opening speech about her son and ached a bit inside. He couldn’t tell if it was his core or his cold, lonesome heart that clenched at the near-visible pain Maddie was in, but it tugged at his heartstrings all the same. She spoke of memories she had with Daniel, some embarrassing and heartfelt others near tragic, as she recalled how he grew up. Vlad watched her stave off tears with all her strength as she trudged on and his love for her only grew. He barely heard the words she was speaking, but he clung to every single one of them.

               Then, of all the damnest things, his core burst out, burning him internally, another ghost was nearby. Small and weak, but it was there all the same. He glanced around, bitter to have his attention torn away from Maddie, but this was important. Ghosts knew not to bother him as Masters. He swiveled his head around, careful to be subtle in his sudden change of focus. He couldn’t spot anything, but there was a ghost nearby, very nearby, but where?  

               It was quiet, muffled, inaudible to all but him. Cries for help and banging on wood, desperate and pleading, and weakening by the second. They were coming from the casket.

               Vlad hated what he did in that moment, the confused stares and shouts of anguish and then horror that had been directed at him, Maddie had shouted at him. It was basically sacrilege, what he had done, but it had to be done, he physically couldn’t have done anything else, consequences be damned. He had no choice.  

               Vlad threw up the front lid of the casket, something no one else have been able to do, since the casket had been effectively locked, and the lid too heavy to be lifted with one arm, let alone flung open. The hinges creaked then snapped as the lid fell against them and the top half of the casket slammed into the floor behind the alter, but he could care less. He ignored how the sounds behind him suddenly shifted from outrage to unnerving silence. Vlad, carefully as he could, picked up the shivering, panicking boy inside.

               The boy was near hysterics himself, pupils blow wide, breathing erratic. But his eyes, oh his eyes, they glowed that same toxic, unmistakable green that the Ghost Zone did, the green glow of ectoplasm. Vlad could even feel the thrum of ectoenergy in the boy as he picked him up, dragging him into a sitting position. Daniel was weak, like a struggling kitten, as he strained against Vlad to see what was going on, the green in his eyes flickered out. Vlad hardly remembered to breathe as his mind confirmed what his core already had known.  

               Daniel Fenton had come back to life three days after his death, but that hadn’t mattered to Vlad then. No, the only thing that mattered when Vlad had picked up the distressed teen was that he was no longer alone.

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While I like this, I feel like it really wouldn’t have worked well in the original, since it really doesn’t hold the importance other than showing what Vlad is up to, which I really didn’t want to do in the original as well.