Tim, buddy, what do you mean you might had accidentally made a Love Child?!
Danny finds out that
1. He's a clonish 'love child' of two heroes
2. He was accidentally created during one of his donors mental break downs after losing his father and best friends (one of which was his other donor)
3. CW interfered before his creator realized what he made and pulled him out of that dimension because "it would had lead that world to true ruin if he found out at his state of mind. He's better now but it would had been the final straw for him should anything had happened to you in his care and given who he had to partner up with later... I did what I had to."
4. Due to Danny having a bad fall out with his parents after he told them about being Phantom (they didn't attack him... but they did disown him.) Danny is left adrift of what to do. He doesn't wanna bug Jazz, she's in college and dorming. Tuckers place has no room. Sam's parents would never let him stay. Vlad was a definitely a no go. And Dani (Ellie) last check in was near the Amazon rainforest.
5. Danny finds out some of his powers might not be as ghostly as he thought... it does explain the huge power boost some of his powers have compared to other ghosts.
6. He went to Clockwork... who proceeded to tell him the truth, smile his cryptic smile while saying "and now. Have fun this time around. I'll see you again in due time Daniel." Before yeeting him into a portal.
7. Danny woke up in his home dimension.... deaged to being five years old (the age he would be if he stayed and grew by now) (DC timeline is slower than DP in this)
8. He woke up apparently his creator's home city... during a Gala (Danny woke up in a garden, dazed and confused. His memories are fuzzy)... and wandered into the party... and apparently he looked like a perfect mix of his.. dads? Which catches A LOT of peoples attention.
9. Especially with Tim Drake-Wayne and Conner Kent-Luthor just announcing they're dating that very night.
10. Rumors and gossip of a random kid, who looks just like the recent happily announced couple, go flying quickly among the elite... and reaches certain ears before it gets to batfam and supers (I have a feeling they learned how to block out rumors and gossips during these events)
11. Those ears happen to be Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul (both who are there at the Gala just to annoy and unnerve the Bats and Supers)
12. By the time the rumors get to Tim and Conner, they find Danny almost getting taken away by one of those two.
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it’s the sound that tips him off.
it’s late, half-past hell by his last count, and mactavish knows there shouldn’t be a single soul in the showers this time of night. though he’s sure if he asked, he’d be told a soul isn’t in there.
just a ghost.
he almost chokes on the thick steam filling the locker room; humid and hazy and the perfect cover. or it would be, if the man collapsed in the far stall cared about hiding.
mactavish hates himself a little for the low sigh that falls from his lips. he wishes he wasn't so disappointed; that the promises he's heard over and over and watched be broken as many times hadn't wedged their way into his heart and convinced him that maybe, maybe this could be the time it sticks.
he doesn't know what's worse; the disappointment or the lack of surprise.
he holds his breath through the steam and leans over the limp body; stinging hot water hitting his back, instantly soaking through his clothes and already starting to burn. he flicks the tap enough to take the bulk of the heat out and straightens; a groan startling out of the man beneath him at the sudden lash of tepid water.
mactavish crouches, knees clicking and hooks a hand under his bicep to pull him up straight against the wall. if there was any vomit on his skin, it's been washed away by the pelting stream and he supposes he can count himself lucky for that. he tilts his limp head back and slips his fingers into his mouth; holding down his tongue and ignores the way it lazily jolts under his fingers to check his airway.
clear.
another small victory.
mactavish pulls his fingers out and cups his chin, keeping him tilted up and moves in the way of the water again so he can pull at his eyelid.
the eye he's met with is cloudy, so dilated there's hardly a ring of blue left.
he sighs again; hand falling away and letting his eye fall shut. "god damnit, riley."
riley moans, all his weight resting on the hand holding his jaw.
"aye, 'm talking ‘bout you," he grunts tiredly.
he lets riley's head fall forward to grab his arm, pulling him away from the wall to sit behind him; propping his body up against his chest. he leans his head back over his shoulder, keeping his face out of the water and his airway open just in case he hasn't actually finished throwing up.
he takes the rag riley'd half-managed to soap up and mechanically runs it over him; cataloguing new bruises and cuts and checking if the old ones are healing. sickly yellow fingerprints ring his hips, red splotches paint his ribs; too new to have settled into the deep purple he knows they’ll become.
riley slowly makes more noise as he rubs life into his body; still lying limp against his front but his head's starting to roll restlessly on his shoulder. he swipes between his legs and carefully doesn't think a single thing about what he finds.
"sean?" he rasps and mactavish's hand stills; eyes falling shut. he bites his check, hand clenching around the rag tight enough to shake and breathes hard out his nose.
he doesn't say a word, just forces himself to go back to cleaning.
he's not sure what would come out of his mouth if he did.
riley isn't conscious enough to hear him anyway.
he runs his fingers over his inner elbows for tracks and manages to muster some relief when he doesn't find any. seems to be a pill and booze night; far from the worst condition he's found him in.
he rinses him off, running a curtesy hand over his shaved head only for it to fall back to his jaw; his thumb stroking over the thick scar carved into his cheek.
"you gotta stop doin' this," he whispers.
he isn’t sure if he’s talking to riley or himself.
mactavish gathers up riley's too-light body into his arms and turns off the shower. his head lolls into his throat and he throws a towel over his dripping body and another over his shoulder. it doesn't stop him from tracking water all the way to his quarters but he'd like to see someone try to put in a complaint about it.
he lays out the other towel on the bed and sets riley down; moving his body into the recovery position in an all-too familiar routine. he dries him enough that he won't soak the covers as he pulls them up to his chest and kicks the waste bin within grabbing distance of the bed.
he goes to pull off his sodden clothes when a different noise makes him freeze.
a low sniffle.
mactavish slowly turns back to the bed to find riley's eyes squinting open; glazed with tears as he kneads at the covers.
he stares at him for a moment as he looks around the room and those hazy eyes lock on him for the first time. "cap'n?"
he swallows. "aye; s'just me, riley."
his hand pokes out from under the covers and for all the promises he's made himself - all the “never again”s and “this is the last time”s - at the end of the day, he's weak.
he sits on the side of the bed and takes riley's hand in his; already so cold after nearly boiling himself alive.
"y' mad a' me?" he sniffs.
mactavish runs his tongue over his lip and slowly shakes his head. "no, i'm not mad at you."
"prom'se?" he pushes.
he reaches out and caresses his temple with his thumb. his hand almost covers his head and it cuts like a knife to remember just how small riley is. "aye," he says, hushed. "i promise."
riley's eyes fall shut, voicelessly murmuring 'promise’ to himself over and over.
"I’ll ge’ bett'r," he slurs and between one breath and the next, he's out.
mactavish sighs, running his hand in a final pass over his head and stares at a face that looks so much younger in sleep; bruised and sallow skin hidden in the shadows. "i know you will."
he presses a slow kiss to his forehead, shutting his eyes against the grief that wells in his heart and gets up to pull a chair over to the bed; settling in for another long night's vigil of watching his broken lieutenant sleep, ready to tilt him over if he throws up, eyes locked on the slow rise and fall of his chest fearing tonight may finally be the time it stops.
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The other Titans teammate whom Grant was often paired with was Tara Markov (Terra). Not that Terra, of "Judas Contract" infamy, who of course was dead by this point. Terra II is a separate character, despite having the same appearance, powers, and name as the original Terra. She showed up after some timeline shenanigans, with no idea of her actual background and origin. The possibility of her being the original Terra somehow resurrected was teased during her time with the Titans, but this would turn out not to be the case.
Whoever she is, she seems to be about Grant's age, and the two form a friendship. Of sorts. Tara tends to be abrasive, and Grant tends to take things personally, so it often goes about as well as you would expect.
Story time!
Their first interaction, during Grant's first outing with the Titans, sets up their relationship as teasing. Tara thinks Grant is a "dweeb" (please enjoy all the mid-90s slang featured in everyone's dialogue) and gives him grief about it. Their teammate Mirage tries to call her out on embarrassing him, but Tara sees no problem with her behavior. And Grant dishes the teasing right back.
(New Titans #0)
Which leads to banter about what stock roles that they play in the group and whom they would cast as themselves in a movie (popular heartthrob 90s actors, of course!).
Soon enough they're concerned teammates.
(New Titans #116)
But the insults stick around. And it's not always Tara who initiates them.
(New Titans #117)
As the youngest members of the team, Grant, Tara, and Bart Allen form a trio. During some down time, they go exploring in New York together, and Tara shows a more compassionate side. Like Grant, having friends is new for her. She takes it a step further and identifies them as a sort of family, and Grant agrees.
(New Titans #118)
...right before she goes back to the teasing. When he tries to console her after a rejection by telling her that he thinks she's cute, she makes a big show of pretending to be disgusted. Grant is a bit crestfallen, but this seems to be Tara's love language.
The three are also seen spending Christmas together by exploring Manhattan in Green Lantern 1990 #59.
When Grant and Roy clash over Grant's wish to leave on a personal quest, Tara is flippant. Roy assumes that she and Grant have never liked each other, so shouldn't she be glad to see him go? But she makes it clear that she's fond of him ("a little dorky, but he's cute") and "giving him a hard time" is her way of expressing that.
(New Titans #119)
Unfortunately, Grant hasn't picked up on that in their interactions. When he airs his grievances with the team during a fight, he makes it clear that he resents Tara's treating him "like I'm a walking zit with a pocket protector!" She takes offense at that, but by the time he stalks off in high dudgeon, she is more shocked than upset. This is the angriest that she's ever seen him, and perhaps she's a bit remorseful at how she has come across.
(Damage #13)
Grant never overtly apologizes to the team for what he says about them--as far as we're shown. But he and Tara are working together on normal terms again not long afterward, still bantering.
(Deathstroke #48)
...but now revealing some vulnerabilities to each other too. Grant is suspicious of Deathstroke, who reminds him of the ruthless family that runs the lab that experimented on him (and perhaps also of the Emersons), and Tara is afraid of turning out to be the original Tara Markov, who had a horrifying history with Deathstroke.
At the moment, Grant finds this fact to be TMI. But when it's brought up again during his second time with the Titans, he seems to be shocked instead. Maybe he didn't quite grasp what Tara is telling him here?
She continues to give him grief, pretending to object to his talking and his explosions.
(New Titans #122)
She goes a little too far during preparations for a mission in space, and Grant retaliates by sending energy through the floor to knock her down. She threatens him, but as ever, this is in jest.
(New Titans #124)
When he (not to mention the rest of the team) is in danger later, she is immediately concerned and comes to the rescue.
When the team reconvenes after going on separate adventures, Grant eagerly shows her a flower given to him by a new alien friend, and Tara seems less than impressed.
(This is not important, it just amused me.)
(Damage #16)
When Tara tries to argue with Roy, Grant tries to redirect her focus and remind her of where their current duty is.
(New Titans #125)
And she dishes out advice to him too.
Mid-fight, she goes out of her way to compliment him...backhandedly, of course (this is pretty rude slang). He snarks right back.
But he will sincerely compliment her later.
And she seems to be incapable of returning the favor without being insulting. Grant decides to just go with it.
Her powers are in full force in this scene, and it's pretty exciting for both of them.
And Grant gets the chance to use his powers to defend her after she gets knocked out.
He's a bit carried away with admiration, and there's an implication that they might have kissed if they hadn't been interrupted.
And Tara's last interaction with Grant will be to force a kiss on him as an attempt to placate him when Roy won't let him accompany the rest of the team to take Mirage to the hospital. She promises to keep him updated on the situation. But Grant has finally had it with Roy and walks out on the team permanently as soon as the others leave.
(New Titans #127)
She never does call. Grant seems to be forgotten as soon as he leaves.
Grant and Tara sometimes show up to the same big crossover events, but they do not speak to each other or work directly together again. The closest they get is standing near each other a couple times (notice that side-eye he's giving her!).
(Titans 1999 #39 / Young Justice 1998 #49)
She is killed in action not long after Grant joins the JSA. Her last words are a characteristically fierce "You want a war!!??!! I got your war right here!!!" and she dies from a fist ripping through her chest, a fate Grant will later meet too.
If they had gotten to interact again, I would have liked to have seen more exploration of their shared background of growing up alone and without a real family. They've adopted different coping mechanisms as a result--Terra presents a front of aggression, Grant is a people-pleaser until he's pushed too far--and this has affected their ability to connect. Tara genuinely likes Grant and enjoys his company, but she can't seem to interact with him without being mean. Grant can speak her language up to a point, but his insecurities can leave him vulnerable to her abrasiveness. They don't really know how to connect--so they interpret the regard they have for each other as romantic interest because hormonally-fueled kisses are easier than being open and sincere with each other. Under different circumstances, they could have been good friends, but at this point I think neither of them quite know how to do that.
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