#also took liberty with introducing the Flash family by making Danny break down because he is still just a kid that wants to be loved

[noxcheshire]

WAIT NO THAT’S EVEN BETTEEEEEEEEERRRRR

BIG BRAIN

OMG

WINTER THAT IS GENIUS

I kinda forgot for a second that Damian is a literal assassin raised child, and would of course do what assassin’s are meant to do.

Kill.

And being still a kid, a star child at that, he’s gonna be competitive and violent. Damian is not going to take being second best well at all.

So of COURSE he would go behind the family’s back and search for Danny too.

Not to bring him home.

But to finish what should have occurred all these years ago.

Damian will make sure that Danny stays dead, for good.

He will sabotage any leads that he finds for Danny, plant false trails, and just go full frontal in ending the stain that had once clung to lung to the Al Ghul and now Wayne name.

Danny, though he might have left the brutal life of the League behind to live like a normal loved child, is still traumatized by that early point of his life.

It never really goes away, that fear that lingers at the back of his mind that keeps him just that enough on edge for him to know when to run.

And he does.

He runs and takes anything that used to prove that Danny existed.

He erased it, but he was always just one step behind being perfect.

And Danny knows when he is being hunted.

He knows the same way he knew that it was time to leave the Wayne family. He knows the same way that the Wayne’s were allowing Damian to search for Danny.

They don’t love Danny.

They wanted Danny to die.

He should have never allowed himself to forget, should have never allowed himself to pretend, and now he will pay that price at the heirs hands once more

But he holds on.

It’s been weeks, months, and Danny is now nothing more than this scrawny, starving, dirty child when he crosses paths with the Flash family.

And it is obvious that he is running on fumes.

They can’t help but want to help.

They can’t help but want to ease whatever burdens Danny may be facing.

But Danny doesn’t want their help.

He’s been burned more than once.

And he is still burning.

But they are a persistent bunch, keeping just out of reach, but close enough to always know where Danny was. Sometimes they just kept him company, other times they brought him food, more times if they couldn’t coax him to their home they would bring warm blankets and point out a space for him to tuck away quietly from the world.

It’s frustrating and frazzling, and Danny doesn’t need the distraction, he needs to keep moving, needs to run, needs to needstoneedstoneedsto

When has anyone ever wanted Danny?

Danny bursts into tears.

All that build up that he had kept at bay in the face of survival suddenly breaks.

Danny was never the best, he knew that, but the Wayne’s made him believe that it was enough.

That he was enough.

But if Danny was enough then why bring home Damian?

The answer is, Danny knows, is that Danny wasn’t enough.

“You are,” the man in red whispers, gently cradling fingers through Danny’s dirty hair. It is gentle, warm, in a way that reminds him of being tucked in during winter.

Danny wants to believe.

He wants to — Danny clings to the front of the man’s suit — and he wails.

Don’t hurt me too.

He laid there on the ground, letting the cold sink into his bones as he bled out. Deep down, Danny had known for a long time this was coming. He was the Shadow, the Spare. The Inferior. He'd always been the shame of his family. After all, what good was an assassin that didn't kill?

That's why he knew it'd only be a matter of time before Grandfather got rid of him. He just never expected it to be like this. Struck down by his own brother. In hindsight, it made sense. It was a way for Damian to be completely initiated before his first mission and to cut off the rotted rope of the Al Ghul line.

It made sense, Danny repeated to himself, but it didn't stop the hurt. The pain that cut deeper than the sword to his gut. Damian hadn't even hesitated. He'd picked up his weapon and charged as soon as Grandfather had told them to begin the duel. Sure, he'd known Damian was never too fond of him. And maybe sometimes he'd thrown knives at Danny whenever he called him "Dami". But he always thought there was at least some form of affection between them. After all, they were twins. Yet Damian had ran him through as easily as breathing. He hadn't even spared a glance back as he left with Grandfather and Mother. None of them had.

Danny couldn't help but weakly chuckle. To think this was how his second death would go. Being stabbed by his own brother.

As his consciousness began to fail him, Danny distantly heard was sounded like a plane. Maybe a jet. He heard once that people can hallucinate before they died. Funny, he always figured he'd hear a train or something. Maybe a family member calling his name sweetly. Instead Danny heard heavy footsteps charging towards him. Gloved hands picked him up and held him close to a chest as an unknown voice whispered, "I've got you."

Ah, he realized what was happening. This was his mind's desperate attempt to give him some comfort in his final moments. It was nice, feeling cared for like this. He couldn't remember the last time he had been. Danny quietly thanked his mind for the blissful illusion, before his consciousness fully faded away.

(Bruce finds out he has a son and goes to rescue him. He gets there just in time to stop Danny from bleeding out and leaves, not knowing he's leaving his other son behind.)