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phantomskeep · 3 months ago

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The Early Bird Gets The Worm - Chapter 2

The Early Bird Gets The Worm

Chapter 2 - A Bird, a Babe, and a Butler All Walk Into a Cave

Written by @agent-sushi-fbi & myself uwu

Read it on AO3 here!

Masterpost | Chapter One | Chapter Three

When Danny had first ventured into the darkened alleyways of this dirty city, he didn’t expect to run into some weirdo in a skin-tight black and blue suit. Fellow dumpster divers? Yeah, sure. He figured that fighting off a family of possums was normal when scrounging around for any scrap of something to fill his stomach.

He didn’t even know where he ended up honestly. Danny got a headache anytime he thought too hard about the details of where he was or how he got there or even who he was. He knew his name was Danny. He knew he was small (he had looked in a mirror, thank you, but it felt wrong somehow, like a funhouse mirror upside down) and he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to be small. But thinking about stuff like that hurt a lot–kind of like a metal fist bashing into his skull.

Danny wasn’t really sure how he knows what that feels like, yet he was sure that was the best comparison.

What he certainly wasn’t expecting at tonight's garbage dump feast was being kidnapped by a vigilante. Was it really kidnapping though if he kind of went along willingly out of pure curiosity?

Although, man, was he glad (not that he'd ever admit it out loud) that this random vigilante decided to kidnap him tonight. After Nightwing had bundled Danny up onto his motorcycle once their meet-up with Batman was done and peeled out of the inner city of Gotham, the bird-themed hero brought him to a hidden entrance in the hills that led to a literal cave. He had watched when they pulled up as a reinforced steel panel lifted into the rocks above their head, leaving a gaping maw that Nightwing just zoomed into. Lights activated with motion sensors as they sped into a huge room that was full to the brim with gadgets and computers that lit up at their arrival. Danny could only stare in awe of how awesome and improbable it all seemed.

Seriously, how crazy were these Fruit Loops?

The man had started explaining some boring stuff about the cave when they arrived, but the massive freaking T-rex had immediately caught Danny’s eye and he stopped paying attention to Nightwing. It was like a switch was flipped, his cautious suspicion he’d been holding onto was thrown out the window, and now all that he could think about was flying himself up to the giant dinosaur and touching it. Danny was sure if you looked at his face at that moment, there was no other thought behind his eyes beyond must touch right freaking now.

Nightwing must have sensed the gremlin energy pouring off of him because next thing Danny knew, the collar of his jacket was being grabbed before he could move from his spot at the entrance. He pouted up at the man, demanding with his eyes that Nightwing let go so he could play on the dinosaur like he was a kid. But wait, maybe he should say because he’s a kid? He is a kid right, being all small? But he still wasn’t sure if that was correct. He mentally shrugged and thought: Eh, who cares? All Danny could see was shiny scales glinting in the fluorescent lights lining the cave.

And Danny? Danny was but a simple man (boy…maybe a crow?). He sees a shiny thing and must have the shiny thing.

“Danny, don't even think about it,” Nightwing intoned. He gripped Danny's jacket a little tighter and pulled him closer to the man's side. He totally did not pout at being squished into the vigilante. One hundred percent, no siree. No pouting here.

“Think about what? What are you thinking that I'm thinking?” Danny shrugged, acting casual while his eyes flitted back and forth between the vigilante and dinosaur. “There's no thoughts going on up here, I can promise you that.” He knocked on the side of his head to prove his point, but Nightwing looked unimpressed.

“Master Nightwing, I presume you brought this child back to the cave for medical attention?” Danny's nose bunched in confusion as he heard another, older and British, voice enter the chat. He turned his head around, looking for the source and spotted an older guy in a butler outfit paired with a mask, much like Nightwing’s, appear around the corner.

“Agent A! Good timing!” Nightwing jovially responded, yanking Danny around like he weighed nothing (shut up, he was a BIG MAN!) and presented him like a scrungly, dumpster-infested gift to Agent A. Danny crossed his arms and attempted to sit criss-cross while hovering in the air in response. He hoped it showed both men how displeased he was being carried around like a kitten.

Agent A only raised a single eyebrow, humming as he set down the tray he had been holding on a nearby table. Danny felt a little awkward at the look, like the man was able to be disappointed in him for nearly trying to be a brat and was waiting for Danny himself to realize it.

“Hmm, well Master Nightwing, would you be so kind as to introduce the young Mister to me?” Agent A's attention (thankfully) shifted to Nightwing and Danny huffed a near silent breath in relief.

Danny shifted uneasily, eyeing the new person. “How do I know you’re not some sort of government spy trying to steal my spleen?”

Nightwing let out a tired sigh, patting Danny’s greasy hair with his free hand. “This is Danny, he’s in need of some medical attention like you said. Starting with an attitude adjustment, I think.”

The young boy spluttered, smacking away Nightwing’s gloved hands. His feet dropped to the ground as he glared up at the vigilante who had finally decided to let him go. “I am perfectly fine, thank you very much! You’re the one who kidnapped me, so what kind of attitude should I have in the first place?”

“You came with me willingly!” Nightwing cried out, throwing his arms over his head in exasperation.

“You bribed me with sandwiches! I see no sandwiches here!” Danny rebutted, tilting his chin up and moving around like he was towering over Nightwing (he decided it was best to ignore his current height).

“Danny, you’ll get your sandwiches after Agent A and I check you over--”

“You’re a dirty liar and I hope you know that I will haunt you in your nightmares.” He squinted his eyes at Nightwing and Danny made a mental promise to himself to follow through with the threat…whether he knew how to do it or not. He would figure it out though if he didn't get the food he was supposed to be shoving in his mouth right about now.

Nightwing just sighed, bringing a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. “Okay, kiddo. Whatever you say, I'm too tired to argue.” Danny pumped a little fist in the air at his win.

A small cough caught the quarreling black-haired duo’s attention. They both shifted their gazes back to where Agent A was watching them bicker. Danny resolutely ignored how they acted in sync and shifted a few inches away.

“If it may please you, Mister Danny, while Nightwing gets you set up in the medical bay I can make you a few simple sandwiches.” The older man turned a pointed look towards the youngest present. “Are there any allergies or preferences that I should be aware of?” When Danny shook his head negatively, Agent A turned to leave for…wherever he had spawned from before.

“Thank you, A.” The vigilante called to his retreating back before starting to herd Danny over to a well-lit corner of the literal freaking cave with actual bats. He still couldn’t get over it.

Danny glared up at Nightwing, eyebrows scrunched in a face of pure childish pout. “I would like to state that I am doing this under heavy protest.”

“Duly noted.”

The medical bay was stocked full of random bits and bobs of probably important looking equipment. From IV lines to a full x-ray machine, Danny had to take a moment and question just how loaded these guys must be to have this stuff at the ready. None of this looked second-hand or even well-used to his untrained eyes, though he couldn't remember if he really had much of a reference for this stuff. As he was ushered onto a cot, Danny couldn’t help the shiver of fear involuntarily creeping up his spine as he sat down.

Watching Nightwing move around brought a thin feeling of panic racing through his veins. The sterile smell, brightly unadorned walls, and the constant hum of devices plugged into every outlet. There was a mayo cart near the end of the cot he sat on, not much on it but Danny couldn’t tear his eyes away from the larger-than-they-should be tweezers and the forceps peeking out from under the sheet covering it.

“Alright, Danno, we’re just gonna check you over real quick,” Nightwing told him, bustling around the small space comfortably. Danny felt like he couldn't breathe at the nickname for some reason he couldn’t recall. But that wasn't right? Because he was pretty sure he didn't have to breathe, which is wrong because a human should be breathing, right? He raised a shaky hand to his chest and yep, it was definitely not moving. Danny had stopped breathing at some point without realizing and it wasn’t affecting him, which was weird. But he still hadn't stopped watching the gleaming silver taunting him as though the instruments would start moving on their own towards him. So, he couldn’t bring himself to care about his own unnaturalness. “Now, I'm not the one with a history of medical care and knowledge. I know more than most. but I’ve only got enough in this old noggin for some basic first aid. Agent A will be the one actually looking you over in a bit.”

Nightwing continued to chatter on, but Danny couldn't bring himself to focus on his words until the man stepped in front of the instruments, blocking them from Danny’s line of sight. He sucked in a sharp breath for the first time in minutes, but Nightwing didn’t act like he heard him as he reached over to remove Danny's jacket.

“Now, real quick I'm just going to do a surface check,” Nightwing rubbed Danny’s hands between his own rapidly. “Jeez kid, you're like an ice cube! We'll get you some warm clothes after we make sure you don't have any injuries. I'm gonna look for any bruises or cuts or anything broken so I can bring it to A's attention. Okay?”

Danny didn't respond. His eyes had started scanning the room and landed on a tiny centrifuge on the counter a few feet away. It looked off, it wasn't spinning at least, but the sight of it caused questions to blur in his mind. Were they going to take his blood? Why would they do that? Lots of reasons he knew, but couldn't name a single one. Why couldn’t he think of them? Would anything happen if they did take his blood? Why was he worried? Was there something that Danny should know, should remember, that he just couldn't? It was important, it had to be important! They were important, they were terrifying, they were his everything, they were his end–!

He felt his mind screech to a sudden halt, narrowing in on the blinking red light of the power button. The centrifuge just taunted him innocently as his mind panicked. Danny felt his chest going up and down, but his lungs still felt empty while his heart beat so fast he could feel it in his throat. He could hear his own heart beating.

What if he was some kind of monster behind his memories? What if Nightwing and Batman arrested him, handed him over to someone? No, no, no! He couldn't let them! He couldn't go back, not to that place or to them--they hurt him, there was no way he'd go back! Danny refused to be sent back to the—!

Suddenly his thoughts stopped. Danny felt light-headed, all of his questions still swimming in his mind, but not as loud. He felt…calmer, but not at the same time? Who was he thinking of? What was he about to remember?

“Danny? Danny, bud, you alright there? It's not normal for you to be so quiet.” A voice spoke next to him, low and anxious but Danny's mind didn't really register it was Nightwing. He just sat there, his limbs heavy and eyelids sinking in exhaustion. He's not sure why he's suddenly so tired, but he felt his mind drift to the thought of flying through the skies with a blue shape holding onto him tightly–laughter chasing them in the wind.

********************************

To say Dick was panicking would be an understatement…He was absolutely losing his shit. One minute, Danny was perfectly fine (if a little bit nervous) but the next he was dissociating and hyperventilating! But without the very important part where he breathes! His little chest was moving up and down rapidly, but there didn't seem to be any air coming in or out of the boy.

“Danny? Danny, bud, you alright there?” Dick smiled, hoping it was a bit comforting. “It's not like you to be so quiet.” He spoke in hushed tones, but hoped that his goading brought the boy back to his former spunk for even a moment and snap him out of his altered mental state. When he got no response out of it though, which worried Dick even more.

When Danny’s eyes had rolled back into his head and he passed out, just as Dick was reaching out for him? He felt his heart stop. But when Dick barely managed to catch the small boy before he fell off the cot? That was the final straw. He quickly cradled Danny in his arms and faced the main portion of the cave.

“Agent A! I need your help, come quick!”

A hurrying of footsteps alerted him to Alfred arriving, but after calling out for assistance, Dick's eyes never left Danny’s face. There was a clatter as Alfred hastily dropped the sandwich tray he had been carrying onto the counter, the older man stopping next to Dick with a distraught expression. “What has happened here?”

“I don’t know, one second he seemed fine and then he just stopped talking!” Dick reached a hand up to gently cradle Danny’s small face, turning his head up to look at his pseudo-grandfather. “I tried asking him a question and he just passed out all of a sudden.”

With a quick nod, Alfred took Danny from his arms and laid him down on his side. Dick couldn’t help but notice just how small the boy looked laying on the adult sized cot. His breathing was short and shallow–nothing like how it was supposed to be when someone was sleeping restfully.

“Get the oximeter set up on him, lad. We’ll need to take his temperature and get a baseline.” With a determined nod, the young man set off to do just that. As he clipped the small, child-sized plastic equipment Bruce kept in the med bay for whatever reason, Dick couldn’t help but run through what had happened prior to him absconding with Danny to the top of Wayne Tower. Did he notice anything wrong with the kid besides the obvious? Did Danny act like he was protecting a wound of any kind while they spoke? He had no idea, but he sure was some detective for not noticing. Dick scoffed at his own thoughts and rushed back to Alfred.

“Was there anything that might have happened to cause any kind of head injury to the young lad?” Alfred questioned as he slipped a thermometer under the unconscious boy’s tongue. He held it there, never looking away from his patient as he questioned Dick. “Any symptoms of a fever or cough that may indicate he is sick or suffering from an underlying issue?”

Dick shook his head, impatiently waiting for the oximeter to give him something. When it continued to show nothing, he felt his heart sink. “Not anything I was there for. The kid was dumpster diving when I found him…looking for food.” He closed his eyes, trying to recall what exactly had happened earlier that night. “He kept swaying around when I got close to him though, like he was exhausted or something but trying not to show it.”

Alfred hummed, pulling the thermometer from Danny’s mouth as it beeped a cheery tune. “His temperature is not where it should be, but not out of the question with the weather and how thinly he is dressed.” The butler gave a sharp nod, depositing the used thermometer off to the side and moving towards the blood draw station. “We’ll need to perform a blood panel on Mister Danny, it’s a very high possibility that his blood sugar is low, as well.”

Dick felt his shoulders deflate, glancing helplessly between the kid he knew he was getting attached way too fast to and his grandfather. “And what if his blood sugar isn't the problem we're having here? What if something else is going on?”

Alfred's eyes softened a little around the edges, his steps a little less hurried, though still confident nonetheless. “Then that is simply one diagnosis we will be able to remove from the realm of possibility. Now, please help me get Mister Danny cleaned up a bit. I daresay, we cannot have the child catching an infection from the street grime finding its way into an injection site.”

“Got it–okay.” Dick pushed his shaking hands to still as he hurried over to one of the cabinets alongside the walls. He opened the drawer housing the many rags they use in these types of situations, a box of alcohol wipes, and a small bucket he filled with water at the sink to take over to Danny’s bedside. Setting them all on the nearby mayo cart, he started gently scrubbing away the thick layer of filth coating the young boy’s arm until the skin turned near pink. Doing his best to not think about just what was happening, the vigilante cleaned up the young boy with Bat-trained efficiency.

“He’s ready,” Dick announced as he swiped an alcohol wipe repeatedly over the now-cleaned flesh. Alfred hummed as the older man wrapped a latex band around Danny’s upper arm, watching as the young boy’s veins slowly thickened with blood swelling. With a gentle precision, Alfred prodded around before reaching a hand out to press lightly above the tourniquet. Instinctively, Dick passed over a needle and syringe to him, keeping the empty tiger tubes in his palm until Alfred asked for them.

Just as the cool metal of the needle began to poke into Danny’s veins, the boy’s fist snapped out, almost knocking the empty tubes out of Dick’s hands. They were shocked enough by the response–both men startled more than they expected–that Dick found himself taking a half step back and Alfred was pulling the needle away from Danny's arm to ensure he didn't poke the boy in the wrong spot by accident.

“Danny?” Dick called out, his surprise hurriedly making way for relief. “Oh my, Danny! You scared me–” Snarling greeted his approach and instantly stopped Dick in his tracks. His arms were held up in an aborted hug as he watched Danny inch upwards and lean forward so his weight was supported by his wrists. It couldn't have been comfortable, but Dick wasn't sure if Danny even realized as his eyes remained tightly shut–lines appearing around them that made him seem so much older than his young age was.

Danny’s noises intensified when Alfred began to move again, the needle still held tightly within his right hand. Although they didn't open during all of this, Danny's eyes were trained on the gleaming silver as though it personally offended him. Dick’s gaze flitted between the two others for a moment before he had an idea.

Lowering himself a little so he wasn't too tall in this moment, settling into a crouched position that put him eye level with Danny, Dick took a deep breath. “Alfie, I need you to take a step back for me.”

The old butler raised a brow and did not move, keeping his eyes on Danny with continuous aborted attempts to reach the child. “Master Dick, I do not know what you are planning–”

“Sorry Alf, I just need you to trust me,” he held a hand out, interrupting the butler and accepting his consequences for later. “I've got an idea, but I need you to step back a little first.”

Alfred tsked in disapproval, but did as Dick asked and the young man watched as a little bit of tension left Danny's face. “Okay okay, now I need you to slowly lower the hand that’s holding the needle.”

“Now, really Master Dick.” Alfred didn't complain, but he made his displeasure known. “This young man is now my patient, so I must treat him. Would you please allow me?”

Dick resisted the urge to sigh. He felt like right now was not the best time to be arguing, it could only lead to Danny running from them, from him. Dick didn't know how he knew that probability, but he felt it in his very bones. Every second they wasted, he knew that it would lead to Danny running as fast as his small legs would take him.

“Alfred, please, I'm asking you to trust me right now,” he begged. Waving a hand at Danny’s current state as though to prove his point. “There's something happening, and I think that we need to follow Danny's lead here. If I know grunts and growls from B, then this is an angry or scared one. We have to step back, ok?”

Alfred glanced away from Danny long enough to stare into Dick's eyes and sigh under his breath (Dick didn't actually hear the noise, but he knew it happened). But without argument, he moved his arm down slowly, never letting go of the needle–but rather just removing it from Danny's direct line of sight. The snarls didn't completely disappear, but they lowered enough in volume that he could almost say the kid sounded like an old fridge humming to life for the first time in years.

Turning to the (obviously freaked out) child in front of him, Dick put on his best showman's smile for him. “Danno, it's okay, no one will hurt you.” There was no response, not that Dick thought there would be. “No one will ever touch you again without your okay on it, is that alright?”

A blank stare was the only reply Dick received, making his worry increase. He did his best to not show it, his smile steady and sure as he kept gently talking to the scared boy in front of him. “What’s got you all worked up? Must not like needles, huh, bud?” With the utmost caution, Dick slowly reached out a hand. When Danny’s snarling continued as before without raising in volume, the vigilante kept creeping closer and closer. “Needles are pretty scary. I used to hate getting shots, y’know? Batman would have to bribe me with ice cream to get me to do it.” Dick dropped his voice to a stage whisper as he gently touched Danny’s shaking arm. “He still has to bribe me, even if I’m not scared anymore. It gets me free ice cream, how could I say no to that?”

Alfred chuckled despite himself at Dick's words, no doubt remembering all the times he had to quell Dick's tantrums when he had to get all of his vaccinations after moving in. “It is true, Mister Danny. Master Nightwing was quite the rambunctious child and the main aggressor in Batman's multitude of gray hairs coming in early.”

Dick frowned at Alfred. He wasn't that bad growing up! But before he could protest his angelic childhood nature, he heard a quiet snort. Whipping his head back around from where he was about to defend himself to Alfred, Dick watched as the lines on Danny's face receded a bit and there was a tiny quirk to his lips.

Deciding sometimes it's better to join them than try and beat them, Dick moved forward. “Oh yeah, for sure, I was a total monster! There was this one time where Batman told me I couldn't go on patrol with him after I kept playing with Poison Ivy's plants,” Dick started in a hushed whisper, as though he were telling a secret. Danny leaned forward, his eyes still closed but not as tightly and he thought he could almost make out a sliver of color from them. “Well, I couldn't stand for that, of course! I was all of eight-years-old and totally knew better than Batman himself, so I went out anyway but in the opposite direction of his patrol. I figured if he didn't see me, he wouldn't know.” Dick shrugged casually, leaning back a bit with a faux-cocky smirk.

“How, pray tell, did that end up working out for you, Master Nightwing?” Alfred was smirking. That was never a good sign for any of them.

Dick looked away from the old butler, keeping Danny in his peripheral as he muttered. “I slipped on some ice that Mr Freeze had left on the ground and slid into the middle of traffic. Batman got a call from Gordon about ‘an extra traffic light the city didn't authorize’ and told him to come get me.” Dick pouted remembering how Bab's’ Dad kept chuckling at him the whole time Bruce gave him a silent lecture on the police station roof. “I was grounded from everything, not just patrol, for a month. A whole month!”

A small huff of laughter caught Dick’s attention, and he could see Danny’s shoulders lower from their tense position. Dick gave a quick glance over him, checking for anything wrong, and just seeing that the little boy was much more relaxed. Within seconds his little head was lolling around like it weighed more than he could handle. Dick jumped up and grabbed hold of Danny's shoulders before he could slump over and fall off the cot. With the same amount of caution one would use to approach a rabid dog, Dick slowly laid the once again unconscious child back down. He stayed still for a few tense moments, waiting for Danny to react negatively at the change in position. When there was no aggressive movement, he breathed a sigh of relief. Turning his head to face Alfred, he spoke in a hushed tone. “Maybe we don’t draw the kid’s blood just yet.”

“Master Nightwing, we need to find out what’s wrong with the young lad.” The old butler set the needle down on a nearby table, locking covered eyes with Dick’s own. “It could be something that needs immediate treatment.”

“Is there any way we could get that information without drawing a panicked child’s blood?” Dick hissed.

Eyes narrowing in displeasure, Alfred spoke with a sharp tone. “Master Nightwing, it would do you well to remember the manners Batman and I taught you.”

Dick sheepishly looked at the ground, mumbling out an apology. “But, A, c’mon. He clearly doesn’t like needles for some reason. Why don’t we just wake him up, or do some tests that don’t involve drawing his blood?”

Alfred twisted his lips in a way only the man himself could, eyes trained on Dick who was anxiously rubbing his hands together, waiting for an answer. When Bruce wasn't here, Alfred was in charge. (Aw, who was he kidding? Alfred was always in charge, but when Bruce isn't here the arguments are a lot easier).

“As you wish, I will view Mister Danny's current status without the transfer of biological tissue of any kind,” Alfred agreed easily, moving past Dick to properly dispose of the needle he had opened. “But I tell you this now sir, if there is an underlying health issue then I won't be able to do anything if his condition worsens in this situation. So I suggest coming up with an idea for when the young sir awakens.”

Dick nodded while feeling like groaning in misery. He barely knew the kid–how was he supposed to act as a health surrogate for this tiny child right now? The vigilante put his hands on his hips as he watched Alfred work, removing Danny's dirty outer clothing. Alfred’s facade broke for a second as he made a face at the two filthy, thin jackets covering the boy’s still covered arm and the ripped flannel around his waist. The old butler methodically cleaned every part of Danny's arms and face that were covered in dirt, and Dick watched in awe as the most adorable freckles appeared on his round baby cheeks. He needed to squish them and coo at the little boy right that second, having to use every ounce of Bat-trained restraint to not coddle the tiny human.

“Nightwing,” Dick took in a sharp breath, instinctually standing up straight. He hadn’t been expecting Bruce to be back to the Cave so soon, normally the man would stay out as late as possible on patrol. “Report, now.” Bruce's voice garnered no argument, a tone demanding answers. Dick knew that he probably had some kind of traumatic response reasoning or whatever for needing to know literally everything for a sense of control. But Dick had a traumatic response to fight at every turn when being spoken down to.

“Not now B, if you can’t tell there’s something going right now we’re a bit busy with,” Dick grit his teeth as he responded, unable to tear his eyes away from the laceration on the back of Danny’s left arm that Alfred had just uncovered. What could have made that? A kitchen knife perhaps? Dick wanted to get a closer look, but he knew he’d just be in Alfred’s way right now. “So if you could kindly fuck off until later, that would be great.”

“Language, young sir,” Alfred admonished him absently.

Dick felt his cheeks heat up, but didn’t move from his position in the doorway where he was watching everything that happened. He didn’t want Bruce coming close to Danny. “Sorry A, my bad.”

“Nightwing,” Bruce–no, Batman–intoned. Dick wanted to ignore the man. God, did he want to just flat out pretend he wasn’t there and focus on this tiny bundle of cuteness that filled him with a strong urge to protect said bundle from any and all harm.

But Batman was someone that couldn’t be easily ignored.

“What part of ‘not now’ do you not understand?” The younger vigilante quipped, trying to play the part of happy-go-lucky-Dick-Grayson everyone always seemed to expect from him. It was exhausting most of the time these days, but somehow easier to just fall into his assigned role than live with the anger brewing in his chest bit by bit.

“I don't have time for your remarks, Nightwing,” Batman scolded. At this point in his life, Dick can tell Bruce's frowns apart as well as he could the grunts. This was an ‘you are lucky you're my kid, otherwise I'd sock you in the jaw’ kind of frown. He didn't earn those too often, surprisingly. “You let an underaged civilian into the Cave without consulting me first. Explain your actions, now.”

Dick’s lips curled, snarling at Batman. “What I did was bring a scared, hurt little boy to a place that I knew would give him half-decent medical attention. It’s better than dropping him off at, I don’t know, Ma Gunn’s?” With an ugly type of satisfaction, he watched as the blow hit its mark. He could read Batman’s body language well enough by now to see the half-hidden wince, the slightest uptick of his shoulders. Hopefully it was enough to make Batman be Bruce for half a minute so they could have an actual conversation, rather than a screaming match.

“You're out of line, Nightwing,” Batman frowned, the creases in his mask deepening as he stalked towards Dick. A dark feeling wormed its way through Dick's chest. It was an awful thing that made him feel like a shit son for being cruel to the man who raised him, but also felt glad he could inflict just a little suffering back at Bruce for his emotionally constipated actions over the years. Dick felt sick at the words that just came out of him. “I suggest you stop now, and let me move past you.”

Dick jutted out his chin, shifting on his feet to broaden his stance and better block off the entry to the medical bay. “Absolutely not.”

The two stared each other down for a moment. Dick didn't move from his post, crossing his arms defiantly as Bruce tried to stand up to his annoyingly taller height in an act of intimidation. Too bad for him, it stopped working after the last time he betrayed Dick's trust, right before he abandoned the mantle of Robin that he had built.

“Nightwing, that was not a request but an order. Move now.” Bruce made to shoulder his way around Dick, but the younger’s lithe form moved to block him.

“I don’t care. I’m not letting you take a kid–who just fainted–out of this cave! He needs medical attention and Alfred’s the best of the best.” Dick argued defiantly. Maybe a little childishly too, if he had to admit it. Dick knew that Danny would do well to be treated properly in a hospital, but after what he witnessed in that room with hardly the basics in medical care? He wasn't letting that kid anywhere near a hospital without his consent right now.

“Alfred, while skilled, is not comparable to a trained doctor who can treat this child and get them the help he needs.” Bruce put his hand on Dick's shoulder and he roughly shoved it off, feeling the skin burn despite layers of kevlar and spandex separating them. “You are acting irrationally right now–”

“I don’t care, Bruce!” Dick shouted, shaking with a barely-contained rage. He felt his chest burning with it, unable to hold the words in and since there were no younger siblings or small children around (and awake), so he didn't stop them. “I don’t care that Alfred’s not a trained doctor. I don’t care that you’re so against this! What I care about is the fact that this little kid trusted me enough to bring him here, to get him help, when he very clearly does not trust anybody!” Dick moved, getting up in Bruce’s face as he went on his tangent. He was so fired up, he couldn't even notice Bruce's dominos widening in shock. “You should know better than anyone what it’s like to have a kid dropped right in front of you and know that you need to help! Hell, how many orphans have come through here, again?”

Dick huffed loudly, his breaths causing a slight mist in the damp cave as he watched Bruce process his words for a moment. The man barely moved the whole time Dick was ranting and he was honestly shocked he got out what he did without Bruce shutting him up. Or Alfred complaining about how they were disturbing his patient.

“Exactly, Dick,” Bruce agreed. But his voice was low and dangerous, the tone he saved for when he was incredibly angry. Dick only ever heard it when the man was facing Joker or The Riddler after their antics affected large groups of people and led to deaths. “I have seen multiple orphans walk through this manor and through this cave. I have watched as you were consumed by rage and tried to avenge your family with your small hands, still growing as you filled these halls with so much sorrow it couldn't fit in a tiny body.” Bruce's fists clenched at his sides. “I watched as you followed in my footsteps, becoming Robin and channeling your anger before just leaving everything behind. I couldn't stop you.”

Bruce jutted his chin out, the vein in his neck popping as he remembered Dick's younger years. “I watched as…as Jason, so filled with hatred and rage entered the manor. He hid his food and tried to protect himself even when no one was coming after him, and then he took over Robin. He was the happiest I had seen him in those days,” Bruce's voice quieted some, but the steel in his tone grew sharper. “Then I watched as he died. He died because he was Robin, because I took him in.”

Bruce pointed at Dick suddenly, and the accusatory finger felt so strong he took a step back in surprise. “Tim was not one I expected, and I tried to push him away for his own good. He'd have been better off not being Robin for his own sake. Even a life lived like his could have become better than the one he has now, risking his life on the streets when he could be at home developing film or skateboarding with friends. A normal life, without the mission,” Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Dick, I know what it's like to see an orphan child and want to help them, of course I do. But sometimes, even with good intentions, there are people who want to help but in hindsight probably shouldn't. They could end up making the child's life even worse, completely without trying.”

The guilt that Dick had been feeling washed out in a seething tsunami of fury. All throughout Bruce’s speech, the acrobat felt regretful over what he said to Bruce. Maybe the man actually understood how fucked up his relationships with his kids were? He was mentally debating how to apologize to him for what was said and move forward, maybe turn this into an actual conversation for once. Yet, Bruce's words at the end gave him pause. He made some points Dick could find himself agreeing to in other circumstances, but to say that he shouldn’t be around Danny? Because he would make the kid’s life worse? That's just catastrophizing and projecting his own guilt onto Dick!

“I want you to think about how old you were when you took me in, Bruce.” Dick said, slowly and clearly as he stalked closer to his father-figure. “You were only twenty-two. Fresh out of traveling the world, leaving behind all your responsibilities to start out on your own quest to avenge your parents. To lead a one-man crusade against all the bad things this screwed up city has to offer.” The younger man glared up at Bruce, hoping that he was communicating just how royally pissed off he was. “I’m two years older than you were. I have a full-time job as well as having a normal life outside of the suit. I have decent relationships with my co-workers and I have not only successfully led teams, but I have been fighting towards The Mission for most of my life. I have friends inside and out of being a vigilante who would be more than happy to help me if I asked them to. And, unlike someone I know, I would actually ask.”

Dick shook his head bitterly. He felt the insane urge to laugh right now, but none of this was funny. He knew that.

“I know I can take Danny under my wing and raise him well. I have a great example of what not to do, after all. But, what happened to the one kid you ever bothered to actually adopt, Bruce? Where is he now? Would you say that being under your care made his life even worse?” They both knew he was talking about himself, but Dick wanted Bruce to say the words he was always afraid to admit out loud about their relationship.

Dick felt a sick sort of satisfaction still though at seeing Bruce's shoulders shake minutely. There was not a lot that could rattle the man, but bringing up the mistakes he made raising his kids would always do it--you just had to know what signs to look for. If Jason had been here for this, or even Tim, they probably would have tried to stop their fight before it got to this point. His brothers never enjoyed being around him and Bruce at times like these, but it still made him feel awful in a way to speak to Bruce like this. But he was so upset at the situation he couldn't bring himself to care.

He barely managed to dodge the swing Bruce tossed his way, ducking down to his haunches as the man pushed his weight forwards. Sliding around his legs, Dick hooked himself around Bruce's ankle to bring the bigger vigilante down, but Bruce only stumbled a bit. Dick tumbled a few feet away and popped back up, lowering himself into a half-crouched stance in case Bruce came towards him again. But he didn't, Bruce just stood in the entry of the doorway, huffing like an angry bull as he whipped his cowl off and turned burning blue eyes onto Dick.

He peeked around the man's wide shoulders at Alfred, who stood in the background like a sentinel over Danny's quiet form resting on the bed. Somehow the kid was still asleep through all of the noise. If he weren't facing Bruce, Dick would laugh at the sight of the kid’s slack jaw and an ever growing puddle of drool under his chin.

“You have no right to talk about situations you don't understand, Dick,” Bruce ground out, his voice gravelly with the emotions he never let out. “The choices I made were–”

“Really shitty?” Dick quipped as he rose from his crouch. “Because, yes. They were, I agree.”

“They were the best choices I could make at the time,” Bruce corrected, lines deepening on his face and aging the man even more. “I was young and I had a child dropped into my lap–”

“More like yoinked from the cops, but go on.” Dick shrugged at the man, body language loose but his nerves were shot now that he was further from Danny. “Keep digging that hole B, maybe soon it'll be big enough to fit you.”

“Nightwing, stop this now–” Bruce started to lecture. But the step backwards he made caused Dick to snap. He was too close to Danny and Dick was too far. He had to protect!

“No! This isn't Batman and Nightwing time B,” Dick began marching forward, fists trembling in front of him with each step. “This is Dick and Bruce, man and ward time. You and I are talking, it is not you giving me orders!”

Stopping in front of his father-figure, Dick looked him dead in the eyes. Blue met blue. Frown met frown. He stood up to Batman who was keeping him from the child his heart had already claimed.

“So how about we talk, old man?”

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flamingpudding · 1 year ago

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Time for some time shenanigans?

Here is an idea.

Time is an interesting thing but not something one should mess with unless your the being ruling over it. And in a moment of true Clockwork No! Clockwork Yes! Fashion. The ruler of time decided that something needed to be done to help his king heal once more after having lost his family.

And as someone who lived millennial of years and no real understanding of humans aside from what he sees from watching timelines, Clockwork came up with the, in his opinion, perfect solution. Deaging his king into a toddler and sending him into the past to expirence some familial love. He had made sure his little king was getting picked up by the man with an adoption problem. A family with a lot of siblings for his king to love and to get loved back.

Now, that would all be fine and dandy if Clockwork had remembered to at least seal or erase his kings memories. The problem was he didn't. But really, what could his little king with his memories but the mind of a toddler do?

Apparently a lot. Espacially with the help of the family that picked him up.

Okay, plan B. Clockwork was going to send all his king's rogues to keep him and his vigilante family occupied so his king would stop attempting to get to Amity Park and change his own past and focus more on his new family.

Meanwhile the bat clan is freaking out. Their newest baby brother of 3 years old appears to be the constant target of other worldy attacks they barely managed to protect him from. Why were these weird beings after a little toddler that hasn't harmed anyone?! And why in the name of anything good did it look like the toddler was okay with fighting them too?!

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sguidwards-bestfriend · 8 months ago

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Dpxdc thoughts

Big brother damien

De-aged Danny is living with the Waynes. Absolutely NOONE expected Damien of all people to be overly protective, but boy, is he.

Danny's first outing as a Wayne is hijacked by paparazzi. Sure, they were wary of Damien after the first time he nearly stabbed someone, but he got over it and would just disappeared like the rest of them. Except Dick, he has that Brucie Wayne personality down to a T and he uses it to his advantage well.

In this case, specifically, it was used to let Damien and Danny leave without being over whelmed.

A smaller, but still vicious, group of photographers looms around the corner, which Damien knows is there.

And he has a plan.

Danny hasn't been with them long enough to have learned morse code, and although Damien can understand Danny's strange alien language, he can't speak it himself. So he'll have to go into this hoping Danny will figure it out and play along.

Damien snatches Danny's little hand and squeezes twice. He looks up at Damien with a smile, which is met with a soft smirk.

The flash of a camera scares Danny and Damien yanks him behind himself.

Cameras snap and questions are thrown at them. If he's really a Wayne or if one of Bruce's kids had a kid of their own. Speculations on the mother. Rude remarks about whether he looks enough like Bruce or if a desperate mother is lying. The usual stuff.

Danny holds the bottom of his hem, staring at the floor, obviously trying not to cry.

Damien is good at hurting people, he knows that. He knows what blows hurt the worst now vs which will hurt more later.

"I won't let you do to him what you did to me!" Some of the flashes stop, the ones that don't get their cameras kicked straight into the air or into the operators face.

Damien turns, picks up Danny and runs past the crowd, and straight to Alfred.

Danny's grip is iron strong, and he's hiding his face into Damiens shoulder, not even taking a peak. Even so, his warbly voice says,

"They're not following us."

Danny's sniffles stop instantly as he sits on Damien's lap. "Do you think they believed me?"

"Yes. I believe so."

Danny's hands go up as he leans back, giggling happily. Damien's hands hold him, keeping him from falling.

The photos of them smiling together come out the next day. Not even a few minutes later, a video filmed on a phone comes out bashing the paparazzi. In it, very audibly, is Damien's anguished yell right before he "heroically saves" the youngest Wayne.

After that, no publication dares brave the wrath that posting Damien's or Danny's photo brings.

#dpxdc #writing #my writing #big brother Damien #deaged danny

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impyssadobsessions · 2 years ago

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Raising Phantom Chpt 9

Jazz sighed as she sent a text to Danny and Vlad, running her fingers through her hair. She had PLANNED and PROMISED to be home by dinner. Glancing at the clock on the school computer, it was already ten minutes past eight o'clock. She hoped Danny wouldn't be too upset, she really didn't mean to.. to-be like their parents.

Oh god. Jazz leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She clenched her fist repeatedly, trying to calm herself down. Tears painfully pricking at her eyes. Trying her best to avoid breaking down. There were still a few students in the computer room.

She wasn't like her parents. She reminded herself, trying to ignore the doubt in her inner voice. She really meant to be home and she told them she'd be late. Maddie and Jack sometimes forget to even do that when they were busy. But they worked in the basement. Just a staircase away. Stop!

She shook her head. She sat up focusing on the screen, clicking print on her report. She was turning in her work for her classes for the week as well as chatting with her teachers, when one of her professor's refused to accept the format of her work for him. So she had to go and change every single one.

Jazz rubbed her eyes and got up to grab the report from the printer. Borrowing a stapler and returning to logout of the computer. He also demanded it to be in paper. She never in her life disliked a teacher, but he was the first.

Though she had to admit to herself, it wasn't all because of work and school she was late. Talking to Sam and Tucker was very therapeutic. Of course they didn't like that she left Danny with Vlad, but they understood that she needed her space. Encouraged it, even.

“Tch. Of course, the only time I would have loved to go to one of those stuck up rich parties.” Sam muttered, upset to miss the chaos. “Oof. Luckily I don't think Mr. Wayne would remember you. So at least you still have a future job!” Tucker has said, trying to get her to look on the bright side for her, “Annnnd if he does, then no offense, but I don't know you-OW! Sam! I was just kidding!” Jazz suppressed a chuckle with a smile at the memory. Despite having been Danny's friends, they closely became hers too. More so since... She shook her head, looking straight on, she marched back to her professor's office to hand him her work.. again. Refusing to focus on another thought that wasn't on what was around her.

Then it was time to head home.

The walk back was peaceful, well relatively. It was getting dark, which meant danger, but the streets were crowded enough where it didn't feel terrifying. The shops still were lit, and their displays proudly shown in the windows.

Jazz stared at them as she walked by. She never was much of a window shopper before, but after living in Gotham, it had quite an appeal. She smiled as she passed a jewelry shop that had beautiful necklaces on display, clear that they were only for show as the real products lay protected inside. One of the necklaces reminded her of Dora's amulet.

Danny had explained to her one day, after he took her to various allies across the ghost zone. So she knew who to contact if he needed it. Dora was a sweetheart, but the amulet could cause her to turn into a dragon when upset. Jazz liked having tea with her. They'll have to make a trip to see them, next time she takes Danny to Frostbite for a check up.

Another reason she was working with Vlad. Vlad had a working portal and Danny couldn't rely on conventional medicines. Neither could she. She reminded herself, as she walked past a closed pharmacy.

She did worry about what would happen if she got hurt, if they tried to take her to hospital. Or worse, did get murdered. She felt a sharp pang in her heart. She clenched at the strap of her bag. Jazz glanced back at the windows, trying to avoid that thought.

Death wasn't an easy concept. Accepting it was hard. She wanted to believe it wasn't something that happened as often as it did, despite the evidence around her. Even at times she forgot that Danny had actually-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!” a blood curdling scream broke Jazz from her window shopping and her thoughts.

Jazz slapped her back against the wall, as a car came tumbling through the street. She peaked around the corner, hearing the growls and terrified screams. People were trying to flee the streets as another car was picked up by a giant reptilian man. Killer-Croc.

Jazz furrowed her brows, having studied a lot of the reoccurring rogues of Gotham. After-all, her chosen future workplace, she needed to be informed about all the potential patients. She kept to the corner, watching the behavior of the man as he tossed the car into a building.

Killer-Croc was an unfortunate soul, cursed with a body that looks far more monstrous than human. Jazz felt empathy for the giant reptilian. The parallels between him and ghosts were so similar. Creatures that deserve to be treated with the same rights as humans yet both denied based on how they look or how powerful they were. People feared them and used their fear to cast judgment.

Jazz yelped as she rolled out the way of a light pole being swung into the corner of the building she was at. It bounced and flipped into the street, smashing down a traffic light with it. But just like ghosts, there were some merits to their fear. It was a sad fate.

Fate was cruel like that.

The red-headed woman jerked as a motorcycle whipped down the street, jumping over the crushed poles that laid on the street. It skidded to a stop. There was no mistaking the red helmet vigilante that perched on the bike.

“Croc! Don't make me do this same song and dance!” Red Hood yelled, immediately cursing as he jumped off his bike, dodging another car tossed his way.

Killer-Croc was still rampaging, without making any attempts to verbally communicate. Growls and roars coming from the man. People kept running by her, screaming. Jazz should leave, but something felt wrong. She couldn't do anything about it though. She SHOULDN'T do anything about it.

She watched as Red Hood disappeared around the corner, assuming he was running towards the man. Her eyes glanced up as she noticed another vigilante land on the building opposite of her. She had to let them do their job, one day she'll get to do hers. So, she steadied herself off the building and decided to cut through the alleyway to her right.

That had to be the hardest thing about living in Gotham. Having to standby and watch instead of trying to help, especially when she just imagines Danny in their place. Danny, or Phantom as he called his hero persona, the ghost boy that took on everything without knowing how bad it would get. Took every punch, every shot, and every weight on his shoulders to protect people around them. Ghosts and Ghost Hunters included.

She felt tears prick her eyes, making it hard to see. She rubbed her face as she continued to run to the other street. It didn't help that the buildings and cars were now on fire. Smoke filtering into the alleyway. She wanted to be home to hug Danny. She should have been home. She needed-

“What's the rush girlie? Don't like the show?” There was a click of a gun.

Jazz froze, putting her hands up. She didn't know how good of an aim they had, but they sounded way too close to miss. She turned her head slowly to look behind her. There stood a man in a trench coat and a fedora covering his face in shadow.

“You haven't even seen the best part, yet~”

She could see a hint of a grin on his face. A cold dread in her bones. He walked up to her and threw an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to him. His gun pressed to her neck. She could see him more clearly, but refused to do so. The red mouth and the cracking white paint of his neck was more than enough for her.

“Come on, I'll get you front row seats! Generous as I am. It'll be a blast.”

----------------------------@w@ '''

Danny poked at the cold lasagna on his plate as he kicked his feet that dangled. His stomach was in knots. Jazz had called them at five exclaiming she was going to be late, and then texted that she was about to leave around eight. Vlad was pacing around the living room, his plate empty on the coffee table with an empty wine glass. Both of them were growing anxious.

Danny was torn as part of him wanted to go and find her right now, but the other part was clearly reminded of how she was before she left. He didn't want to bother her... she said that she'll be fine. And Jazz was always right... He squinted at his food as if it gave him a questionable look back.

He shook his head and stared at Vlad. He had to admit, Vlad wasn't... so bad.. at least not all the time. Today was actually kind of fun, even if they were both crippled by worry at the moment. Honestly, they didn't even know it was time for dinner by the time Jazz called.

They had flown across the sea all the way to Italy and back. They haunted a grapevine yard and visited old buildings. Something Danny didn't think he would be interested in, but being able to explore endlessly was fun. Danny even found an old toy that was hidden in between the walls. Danny phased it out and gave it to a ghost girl he saw. She was fun to play with too.

Maybe this is how Danielle must have felt traveling? Maybe she'll take him one time.

Though Vlad was upset that Danny had insisted they still get food from the restaurant back in Gotham, but folded as Danny reminded he promised Jazz. And maybe his puppy eyes might have helped. So they had settled on a compromise... which ended up with the fridge being filled with Italian cuisine from both the restaurant and various places in Italy. Vlad even got himself some expensive wine.

His eyes glanced at the bottle on the coffee table. It was already empty.

He glanced back at his food. He hardly had taken a bite. At first they were worried they would get home after Jazz and be scolded for their impromptu trip, even if they brought back souvenirs and food. So once they managed to make it back, they scrambled to get everything put up and set out as if they had been waiting on his sister to return the whole time.

Danny was even ready to get his pajamas on and go to bed, but Vlad insisted they wait. Then they waited. Vlad told him to go ahead and eat, Jasmine would be upset if they didn't, but Danny didn't feel like it now. He poked at his food again. He felt a familiar sting to his eyes as he tried to keep his breathing stable.

It was dumb to be so scared. She was fine. She had to be. Yet, Vlad's conversation with him earlier in the day just reignited the fear into his mind. If she...

He heard a deep sigh, and a pat on his shoulder. “Hurry up and eat Daniel. Please. We'll wait another thirty minutes and then go search for her. Her stubbornness be damned.”

“No pastry swears?” Danny sniffed as he stabbed his fork into the lasagna, ripping a bite size from it.

“I'm too tired and not buzzed enough to care. Though I would appreciate it if we it kept between us, hmm?” Vlad returned to his pacing. He would call her if he wasn't worried the call would get her in more danger.

Danny snorted as he forced himself to take a bite, rubbing his eyes. He wasn't going to promise, but he was also too tired to care. It would be funny to out Vlad for cursing, but only if Jazz hadn't been so upset today. He just wanted his sister home already. He took another bite, mechanically. All he wanted was to hug her right now, embarrassing as it was to admit.

He snorted again to himself, reaching for his glass of milk that was starting to warm up from being left out. He blamed it on being so young again, that he wanted his “mom”. Even if the circumstances were different. She was his sister.

A loud boom thundered across the city. Only sound after was Danny's fork dropping onto the floor.

#raising phantom #dpxdc #dp x dc #jazz fenton #danny fenton #vlad masters #red hood #dc crossover #deaged danny #ahhhh nerves its been a while #fanfic #sorry it took so long ;w;#cliffhanger #hoping that makes me write next chapter quicker #writing is hard but i like it

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bluerosefox · 6 months ago

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Little Danny's Big Adventure

New idea.

Okay now hear me out.

-Pulls out AU idea cauldron and tosses stuff into it-

Let's put in some Ghost King/Prince Danny.... But also some deaged to toddlerhood Danny that gets yeeted into the DCverse!

Like imagine, tiny baby Danny with his tiny crown of ice floating above his head and his galaxy cape wrapped around him and uses it like a baby blanket. He didn't mean to fall into a different universe, a natural portal opened up and he was being a curious little thing! He didn't mean to trip and fall in during his nap time.

Nor was he expecting to fall into this realm during a rogue attack and knock out said rogue cause they were being a meanie and harming people and now Danny just wants his nap time cause he spent a lot of his tiny engery and he wants to find a nice spot.

Danny finds a place to crash, snuggling himself into his cape and the astronaut bear Danielle got him during her last visit that he takes everywhere since.

He's out like a light as the door to this safe house that belongs to one of the Bats opens up.

Meanwhile. In the Infinite Realms, Queen Regent Jazz is going into Mama Bear Jazz Mode trying to find her deaged brother, keeping the Realms in check, and is resisting the urge to put CW in time out Soup Time because he's being cyptided again about Danny whereabouts!!! UGH!

#danny phantom #danny fenton #crossover #dp x dc #blue rambles #danny phantom dc #writing ideas #random idea #dpxdc #jazz fenton #queen regent Jazz #king/prince Danny #deaged Danny #Clockwork mention #baby!danny #hes just a tiny little guy #with more powers in his pinky finger and the ability to maybe end worlds #but still tiny little guy #Danny fell into the DCverse during his naptime #could be any city but I do love Gotham and the Bats #anyways hes a bit cranky when he sees someone being mean and harming people so he helps #and then flys aways before someone can really stop him #and gets tired again so he crashes in someones safe house #who? up to anyone tbh #meanwhile Jazz is going Mama Bear mode #CW is playing with fire not telling Jazz where Danny is at tbh #he does likes tempting fate #Soup Time is timeout time #Jazz is regent while Danny is in toddlerhood

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charlietheepicwriter7 · 5 months ago

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Anyway, new chapter in the Constantine Jr au is out

#constantine jr au #dc x dp #dp x dc #dpxdc #dcxdp #deaged danny #c: danny fenton #c: tim drake #c: dick grayson #c: bruce wayne #c: talia al ghul #memes

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elizabethemerald · 1 year ago

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The Child of Lazarus

Master Post

Talia often found herself admiring her Beloved’s dedication. While she personally considered Gotham a foul city that should be burned to the ground and the earth salted, she admired Bruce’s unending battle against the criminal elements of the city. He put his crusade in front of everything in his life, even his own life and health, and sometimes even his own children. Normally she would even admire his dedication to chasing after her, and considered it their own private romance as they danced among the rooftops.

Now she found Bruce’s dedication to chasing her all the more annoying. He would follow her no matter where she was as long as she was in his city, and she absolutely could not risk him following her back to the Child of Lazarus she had found. He would be all too willing to adopt the boy and take him in, permanently taking another child from her. And no doubt ruin what could be the perfect killer if she understood the boy’s skills properly.

It had taken her several weeks to lay a trail out of Gotham and away, to convince her Beloved that she had fulfilled her interest in her city and would not return until the next time she decided to check in on him and her son. Then she had to disappear. She utilized every ounce of her training with the League to vanish as thoroughly as possible and then sneak back into the city. Usually she allowed herself to be seen, to lure Bruce out for their usual confrontation and rooftop liaison, but this time she was all but invisible.

Talia finally made it back to the burned out apartment building where she had first met the Child of Lazarus, Danny. She carefully snuck her way through the building, her approach made all the more difficult by the structural damage. She could barely hear the sound of someone playing on the floor above her as she crept forward.

She had to use some creative climbing skills to get up to that floor, the stairs were completely destroyed. She could only imagine how her child got up and down regularly. Now that she’s closer, Talia could hear what sounds like the child explaining something, and for a second her heart grew colder, that someone had found her boy while she was gone, but she strained her ears and it sounded like he was explaining something to a doll in the way children are want to do.

Talia crept into the room almost completely silently, yet the boy still looked up at her as she entered, his eyes shining with a familiar green light and a wide smile on his face. He waved at her, an old and slightly dirty teddy in his hands. She was about to greet him in turn when something cold and metallic pressed to the back of her head and she heard the whining hum of an energy weapon.

How had another person managed to sneak up on her? She was the daughter of the Demon’s Head! The only small relief was seeing that her boy was unafraid and thus likely knew the mysterious person.

��Jazzy! This is the woman I told you about! She wants to give me a sword!” Danny said, a wide smile on his face as he looked over Talia’s shoulder.

“Who are you and what do you want with my brother?” A harsh, yet young voice said. Talia could read into the voice well enough. The voice belonged to a young woman, scared, and tired, but steady. If Talia had any interest in harming the boy she had no doubt she would not leave the room alive.

“My name is Talia al Ghoul. I found Danny alone on a rooftop some weeks ago, and I was impressed by his skill with stealth. A skill you seem to share. I merely wished to cultivate this talent, to provide for him a safe place, and to prevent those with less savory intentions from harming him.”

Talia didn’t take her eyes off the boy, and saw him watching her just as closely with his head tilted to the side. Once she was finished speaking he glanced to his sister and sent her a small nod. Interesting. Perhaps his hearing was superior to that of a regular human’s and he was listening to her heart beat. A skill that was useless against someone trained by the League of Assassins and had perfect control of her own body, but very useful in the fields she wished to train him in.

She felt more than heard the young woman step back as the pressure from the gun left her head. She also took a few slow steps, keeping her movements clear and controlled. The woman before could easily be called beautiful, red hair that flowed down her back, taller than most men even and built like a fighter. If Talia didn’t know better she would assume the woman was an Amazon. The most important detail Talia can now see is the dedication in this woman’s eyes. More than even her Beloved, this woman is dedicated to her brother. She can see in an instant that she would do anything, even kill for him, and maybe already has.

“I’m sure you want all that just out of the goodness of your heart.” She said derisively.

Now, Talia could lie, with her training from the league she could lie and even the Supers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. However, this wasn’t like her assassins who had been raised from birth to believe her word to be law, or with young Jason, whose mind was heavily altered from his experience in the Lazarus Pits. She would have to tread carefully at all times with this woman, so it was easier to tell her at least some truths.

“By no means.” Talia allowed her body to relax as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “There is very little goodness left in my heart, long years and a hard world have taken much from me. Perhaps I merely consider the skills two of you already possess, that I wish to cultivate and grow, to be something of a retirement policy. There is no end to the value in training two such capable individuals as yourselves.”

The woman watched her closely, her head tilting slightly to the side, just like her brother, though Talia wasn’t under the impression that she was listening for her heartbeat. However whatever she saw led her to relaxing her shoulders somewhat, though her aim still didn’t waver.

“You are very hard to read. It's like everything about you is focused toward hiding.” She finally said, with a slightly confused tone to her voice.

“Right?” Talia couldn’t stop her eyebrows rising in surprise as Danny floated into the air and darted to his sister’s shoulders, as if gravity were a mere suggestion, one he could simply ignore. “She’s unlike any of the others in the city. I mean, Red Hood is practically screaming how angry, scared and sad he is.”

Talia did her best to retake control over her expression as she took in the information given her. Perhaps Danny and his sister shared some kind of empathic ability? She had no doubts about the veracity of his claims, she knew Jason had always been emotional, and his anger and fear from his death were written into every line of his body. Yet, for some reason, her own emotions were hidden. How fascinating.

“I believe you’re telling me the truth, or at least as much of the truth as I’m going to get without beating it out of you.” Danny’s sister said, finally lowering her weapon, though she didn’t fully relax. “I’m Jasmine. Why would we want any of that? We could stay perfectly happy right here.”

Talia glanced around at the burnt out wreck of a building Danny had been squatting in.

“I could take you away from this… house. I could provide food, clothing, other supplies and just about any training you could wish for. We could leave this city and-”

“NO!” Jasmine said immediately. “Whatever else happens, we can’t leave Gotham.”

Danny had landed next to her and hid partially behind her, his face marred by fear just like hers. Talia narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked quickly between the two? Why? What was so special about Gotham that they were not just defensive, but terrified to leave? Very curious.

“Of course, if you want to stay in the city, then your stealth work would have to be flawless.” Talia said. “The Bat of Gotham keeps a close eye on his city. He doesn’t take kindly to interlopers. Or metas.”

Danny started nodding happily at how defensive Talia’s Beloved was of his city, yet didn’t seem to take into account that he might be excluded because he is a meta, despite flying around his sister’s shoulders. Is there perhaps someone they are running from that they think Bruce will keep from them? These two were just filled with mysteries, she’ll have to send some of her agents out to see what they can discover.

“More important than all of that! When are you going to teach me how to learn a sword?” Danny asked, once again hovering slightly into the air. Jasmine looked at him with fond exasperation.

“Before any sword lessons we need to find some place cleaner to live.” She said, rubbing her brother's head and pulling him in with a one armed hug, though he still hovered a little off the ground.

“I have several safe houses in the city, I’m certain one will be suitable for your needs, if you would like to follow me?” Talia offered, gesturing toward the door she had entered through. The siblings looked to each other for a moment, having a silent conversation that even with her perceptiveness she couldn’t catch, possibly linked to their shared empathic abilities? Then they finally turned to follow her out of the burned apartment building.

#dp x dc #talia al ghul #jazz fenton #danny fenton #deaged danny #Talia wants to train them to best her father and the bat #Jazz wants to sleep without someone trying to kill her or her brother #Danny just wants a sword #Talia also has basically no idea whats going on and trying to make a puzzle with only like half the pieces

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