Rincón del Inadaptado

Something something Aventurine is one of Qlipoth's emanator in hiding, enjoying that chill down his spine he gets, gambling his discovery and existence within the IPC. Its the one thing he gets control in his life ever since his capture.

Aventurine isn't of the preservation in the sense of protecting people or protecting the assets of a company. No. His aspect as an Emanator has always been about self preservation. The protection of him self. If he has to screw over others in order to ensure his own safety, so be it.

Yet its also a part of him as a Sigonian to chase that thrill, to risk it all in an all or nothing gamble. He did it once with Veritas Ratio and the man had, regardless of how they felt about each other, become someone Aventurine could say he trusted above all else.

He doesn't really care about the IPC as long as his true nature flies under their radar. So when he sees the Trailblazer that both Topaz and Veritas mentioned offhandedly, he knows its time to take that gamble once more.

He doesn't expect the young man who is the vessal of a stellaron to shift, to change, gold eyes starring right into his soul, as if judging his trustworthiness. Whether he deserves the friendship of the Nameless beyond the IPC's dealings through Murata Himeko.

you can still read this version but know it doesn't present the full picture of the AU as i've envisioned it.

Long is Yaoshi is Long and the Vidyadhara race has forgotten its roots completely, of the dragon who was also a tree of life, the provider of their longevity and reincarnation, the healer, the life giver.

The Vidyadhara race pay for their reincarnation by forgetting, by being unable to reproduce anymore. Just as the long lived who sought out Yaoshi's power pay with the curse of Mara. The Vidyadhara forget. And forget. And forget. All the while forgetting the true visage of Long. They only remember the dragon.

Remnants exist. Remnants that are far more instinctual than they are true memories. The dragon tree of the Alchemy Commission, the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor, shaped into a dragon, the powers of healing the High Elders inherit.

The Vidyadhara associates themselves with water, yet is it not important, that for Abundance of plants to be true, water has to provide the sustenance required? Too much, and it kills. Too little and it also kills. Water brings life and abundance too.

Long is Yaoshi. And they take the form of Yaoshi, to draw eyes away from their Scions. That the blame lies not with their first followers, but with Yaoshi themselves. That Lan turns a blind eye to the true followers of Yaoshi, that they are not a target.

`` What if Kim Rok Soo transmigrated into Basen instead of Cale? ``

So mad at how long this took

If your parent smokes and tells you not to smoke, they’re not a hypocrite. If your parent drinks too much coffee but warns you against caffeine addiction, it’s because they’re living with the aftermath of bad decisions. If your parent chooses a dangerous job where they could die violently and painfully but wants you to chose a different career path, it’s because they love you.

So if Bruce is advising caution and self care and limits that he won’t give himself, that doesn’t make him a hypocrite. It makes him a parent.

If his kids call him a hypocrite and complain that Bruce will work 16 hour days but won’t let them, that makes them dumbass kids who will have the realization the day they have kids.

Danny knew he had been staring too long at the guy, judging by the suspicious glances from him and the two he was with. But really his mind was kinda stuck on how the guy had managed to get some kind of supernatural jewelry stuck in his chest.

It didn’t feel exactly ghostly but he knew it was on the dead spectrum. He just knew that this was the reason Clockwork had given specific (if cryptic, like always) instructions when he was going to meet Jazz in Gotham.

He inwardly groaned as the trio made their way over to him, deciding to confront him for staring.

“Is there a reason you’ve been staring at me?” Jason said aggressively.

Danny grimaced. “Yeah… I have absolutely no clue how to start this conversation but I can already tell you it is not heading in the direction you think it is.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s not any less suspicious than before.”

Danny sighed. “Look, I was given specific instructions before I came to Gotham by a guy who is cryptic up the wazoo but knows basically everything. I’m supposed to tell ‘the one with the Jeweled Rage’ that ‘The Hellblazer is the answer to ending the Rage.’ And since you are the one with the Jewelry problem, that is your message.”

Dick blinks, turning to look at Tim. “Jewelry problem? Did I miss something while I was working out today?”

Both Tim and Jason look just as confused, turning to look skeptically at Danny, with Tim asking, “What Jewelry problem are you talking about?”

Danny frowned. “You mean you don’t know about the piece of supernatural Jewelry stuck in his chest?” He says, pointing at Jason.

The three freeze before Jason bursts out, “If there was something stuck in my chest how wasn’t it seen by an x-ray?! I know I’ve broken my ribs more than once over the years!”

Danny deadpans. “Unless it was a supernatural x-ray the chances of seeing it is microscopic. Supernatural shit is weird.”

Dick suddenly reaches out, grabbing Danny’s wrist. “You are coming with us while we get this figured out.”

what if after they basically just kidnap danny, they bring him over to like a safe house or something. (they would have brought him to the cave but he saw them as civilians so they don’t wanna risk their identities, y’know)

they get bruce to come over as batman and like try to interrogate danny a bit more because, like, wtf do u mean jason has magic jewelry in his chest and u just happened to have a cryptic message for him???

they end up getting the vibe that danny doesn’t really have an ulterior motive and genuinely was just sent here to give jason that advice

through some leaps of logic or whatever, they could also think that clockwork is some crazy god they need to be careful/wary about

so eventually, batman’s all like, “okay, I guess we should actually look into this seriously” and decides to reach out to his occult contacts

maybe they get like constantine or zatana to come give jason a proper look over and to confirm wether or not what danny’s saying has any real seriousness to it or if he’s just blowing it out of proportion

when the JLD memo get there though and actually sees danny, they can be all like, “aren’t u that errand boy for the time ghost? why are u wasting ur time getting held here by the bats??”

so danny is all like, “idk man I just felt like it would be less trouble to get my task done” and like phases out of his ropes or whatever they’re holding him with

the bat clan are all lowkey freaking because they just learned none of the restraints they were using were in any way helpful or functional on danny

Edit: i use @shewhowillrise

The Justice League was choosing their head engineer. They had a few contenders. One being the top student in engineering at Gotham University, even has a scholarship through Jason Wayne’s Scholarship for Underperforming Students. Bruce Wayne has started it after adopting Jason and seeing how smart he was but also how much he struggled in school.

Daniel Fenton lived on the same street as the Monarch Theatre, the same street he found Jason.

Batman couldn’t help but think Daniel was what Jason could have been if he was able to finish school and head off too college.

Batman knocked on the apartment door, not at all surprised at how fast it opened. When setting up the meeting, he could hear the excitement over the phone.

“Hello Batman Sir!” Daniel greeted, holding out a hand. He had a strong firm grip, reminded him of Clark’s. Possibly a meta, which is a plus. With what the kid might encounter while building or making repairs, a meta gene would be good to have, especially strength.

And over the meeting Batman fell more and more in love with the kid’s enthusiasm. Without the guarantee of the job, the kid was ready to give some ideas (that would amazing) incase the League would need them.

The meeting was supposed to be an hour but soon he noticed that the sun was low.

Batman sat up straighter upon hearing a key turn in the lock.

“Oh that’s my partner, sorry, I would I have warned you but I didn’t realize the meeting was going to be this long,” Danny (only creepy billionaires call me Daniel) said, which Batman also noted that he tried his best not to blame Batman for going over the allotted time. Kid’s respectful too.

“Hey Stardust how’d the meeting I’m not supposed to know about go? I’m sure whatever words you stumbled over the Bat didn’t hold it against you for being nerv-” the disembodied voice walks into the dining room, and freezes in surprise before collecting himself, an easy smile going on his face while wiping grease stained hands on his grease stained jeans and stuck one out to shake.

“Hi, I’m Jaylad Peters,” he says but Batman doesn’t take the hand offered. He doesn’t react at all.

Since he was never dipped in the Lazarus pits, Jason doesn’t have pit rage. Also, just as a side note, Danny’s core purrs when he’s happy/content.

Over time, Danny helped Jason get adjusted to society again. Even helped him with getting a job. Jaylad was beyond grateful for this man’s help. Both in finding him, taking care of him so he wasn’t stuck in a building filled with nothing but white walls, and also for never giving up on him. At this point, Jason didn't actually need to stay with Danny but he wanted to. So he just…never moved out. But throughout all of this, Danny never stoped looking for Jason’s real family. He never forgot his promise and he could tell the question weighed on his boyfriend’s (they’re dating now!) mind.

Danny trying to get a job with the Justice League is actually him trying to get access to their computer so he can try and find Jason’s family. What if Jason was actually a recluse so there were no pictures of one Jason Todd. Plus, Jason Todd was dead and Danny was looking for a missing person.

“What computer?”

“The ones that will be aboard the Watchtower. Had to test them to make sure they’re working bu-”

“Don’t,” he says, almost slamming down the teapot. Jaylad’s never been harsh before so this catches all of Danny’s attention.

“But your-”

“I don’t care,” Jaylad starts heavy breathing, “not…not when the GIW just barely got disbanded, and the Anti ECTO Acts dismissed not two months ago. Don’t,” he loves how determined Danny is for him but this, “Don’t put yourself at risk for me, not like this.”

“Jay, how can I not use the resources at my disposal to help you find your family!”

“When it could cost you a job! A-A livelihood! The government only dismissed the act because they believe ghosts are still a phony road side attraction. What would happen to you if the JLA caught you huh?”

“I’d make up something! I don’t know! I don’t care if they catch me-”

“I do!” Jaylad yells and then the apartment grows quiet. The two breathe for a moment before Jaylad speaks.

“I’m sorry I yelled. I just…I appreciate you trying everything you can to help me find my past but, you’re my family too. And I don’t want to be the reason you’re caught by whoever.”

Danny sighs, “I’m sorry too, for not asking you first if you thought this was a good idea. I just, I want to help you find your family so much,” he hugs him, and Jaylad’s arms come around him too, “I didn’t think about the consequences for me.”

Jaylad snorts, “that’s because you’re a self sacrificing idiot,” he squeezes once more before pulling away to look at Danny, “but seriously, we’re already on the brink of being illegal beings, I just, would rather find my family the legal way.”

“Okay,” Danny throws his hands up playfully, “okay. I promise. No more skirting around the law.”

“Uh, yeah? I’m kinda in between projects right now.” Danny said as he leaned against his workstation. “What’s up?”

“A recent concern raised by The Flash has us doing a new project. It’s in regards to the significant others of the Watchtower employees.” Bruce wasn’t lying, Barry had brought it up when he pointed that if their enemies had been able to clone one of their sidekicks, who was to saw they didn’t try to clone one of their employees or a significant other of the employee. “An incident some time ago raises the concern of clones being used to influence our employees. We’ll need a small blood sample, we have a program that’s able to detect the small irregularities that clones have that normal tech can’t detect. I know this does feel invasive, but right now we don’t know of another method to identify clones.”

“Father, Agent A wishes to know if you’ll be home for dinner.” Robin asks from the doorway.

“I’m just wrapping up here Robin. Fenton?”

Danny acts like he’s considering it, but it’s the perfect opportunity for him to help Jay out without putting his job at risk. “Well, Jay’s blood is a little contaminated, you might need my help with that.”

“He’s been exposed to the Lazarus Pits, I could tell from how his eyes had a light green glow. I have experience with people exposed to the pits.” Bruce assured him.

Bruce thinks back to the recording Dick played.

“I believe you call it…ecto?” Bruce says, a little unsure. And he sees Danny’s entire demeanor change. The young adult who’s always open and friendly with a smile has suddenly disappeared.

Damian let out a tsk, “What father is struggling to say is that your paramour bears a striking resemblance to his deceased son and my adopted older brother. While father avoids patrolling in that area too much due to his own issues Nightwing is not above doing that.”

Bruce let out a heavy sigh, “Robin is correct. I do apologize for the invasion of privacy, despite my reputation I do respect it. Some of my children however have a different way of showing that they respect it. If you could point us to someone who has an unbiased view of ecto and how it works that would be appreciated. If it has any relation to the Lazarus Pits, well I have several enemies who abuse the pits that the information could prove useful against.”

Danny calmed down, although his heart rate had accelerated slightly, despite its slow beat. “I actually know a lot about ecto, the Doctor Fentons are my parents, well, former parents. I’m emancipated from them. But I know some ecto beings you could talk to that could help you out way more.”

Bruce gave Danny a small smile, “I would appreciate that. Now,” Suddenly Batman fell away and all that Danny could see was The Bat, “Who is trying to hunt you down and make you illegal beings?” The Bat’s voice was dangerously low and Danny could feel dark emotions rolling off of him, but they were directed at the people trying to hurt Danny and Jay.

Danny tried his hardest not to show his nervousness while pulling out a file he kept in the bottom of his desk drawer. Here he was, showing he broke the rules in front of the person who made them. No using the Justice League Association equipment for personal private investigations. But how else was he to keep tabs on Agent K and his scrapped together team.

Opening the file, he brought out a satellite picture of a group of white vans parked around an abandoned Luther Corp warehouse.

Danny watched as Robin walked over, pulling the photo closer to look at it. The Bat leaned over his prodigy’s shoulder.

“Used to work under Ghost Investigation Ward. The current leader’s name is Agent K. His partner, Agent O, I haven’t been able to find since the company disbanded…”

Robin shifted through the file while The Bat watched. The silence made Danny more nervous.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I-I know you said not to use the equipment for personal investigations but…I…I just wanted to make sure Jay and I were safe. I promise I didn’t use it for anything else. Don’t…don’t let this color how you see my people. Please.”

The change between The Bat and Batman, it reminded him of himself when he would switch between human form and ghost form. In fact, the way the shadows moved around Batman as he transformed, that was a near exact replication of a halfa transformation. “I have some other files back home, I could go get them if you’d like.” He couldn’t air out his suspicions, for all he knew Batman was a liminal who used magic. He needed more proof. “If you could get me a sample of these Lazarus Pits I could tell you its relation to ecto. I can whip together some stuff that can be able to analyze it.”

“That is appreciated. Have you seen any of the people hunting you in Gotham?” Bruce immediately went for the big question.

Danny didn’t immediately answer, noticing again how the shadows receded around Batman, as if he was taking on another form but it wasn’t as obvious like when he became The Bat. “Not that I can tell. But my parents have tried to get in, ever since the GIW’s funding got cut my parents started working for them pro bono. I’ve tried to explain to them what ecto beings are really like, but they just wouldn’t listen.” Danny got sad remembering the fight he and his parents had when he destroyed the portal. He had learned how to make his own portals thanks to observing Cujo so he could still go to the Infinite Realms for his ghostly needs without relying on the portal in his basement. But it had hurt a lot seeing how easily his parents had signed off on his emancipation, and the glare his normally happy father gave him he couldn’t forget. “They make their gadgets and weapons, if you can get me pictures of what they’re using I can help you make counters to them.”

Bruce smiled at Danny, “I’m certain The Question would love the opportunity to take down a branch of the government. Is it okay if I loop him in?”

“Can he keep a secret?”

“To protect others yes. And he knows how to reveal the dirty laundry of a lot of dangerous people, I’m certain he’ll be able to find this Agent O soon enough. Now, Robin?”

“Yes Father?”

Suddenly The Bat was back, skipping over the state that had been in between the one Batman had been and The Bat, “Inform Agent A that I’ll be missing dinner. I have some hunting to do within Gotham.” The Bat slunk out of the workshop, not making a sound unlike Batman.

“Your dad is terrifying you know that right?” Danny asked Robin who puffed up a bit in pride.

“I am aware. I’ll have your samples of the Lazarus Pits delivered to you within the next ten hours, will that be enough time for you to build the necessary equipment?”

Danny snorted, “oh and how would you know?”

“I…just do.” He finished lamely. It’s things he knows, how to tie his shoes, how to cook pasta, he loves Jane Austen, Batman has worked with different creatures before. It’s the same feeling he gets when looking at a broken clock and he has an uncontrollable urge to change the hands to say 10:47. Or the uncomfortable familiarity he feels when seeing a picture of Bruce Wayne on the news or in gossip rags. Things of his life he knows but can’t fucking reach.

He ignores the look Danny’s face contorts too. He knows Danny doesn’t mean it badly with the pity in his eyes, but in his guts he knows he despises pity. He doesn’t know where that sense of pride comes, but he knows it’s like everything else.

“So Frostbite?” Danny asks, laying his head on Jay’s shoulder. Jay lays his head against his, and sighs.

You’d be best, Jay thinks. Danny’s felt in adequate in any of his confidence in knowledge since everything he learned from the Doctor Fentons was flipped on their head. But Jay won’t push where Danny’s not ready.

“Indeed! Great One has spoken very highly of you, thank you for bringing our attention to these Lazarus Pits.” Frostbite took Batman’s hand and shook it. “You take good care of your own.” Batman didn’t know what Frostbite was referring to with that statement, but he wasn’t currently interested in asking.

“What can you tell me about the Lazarus Pits?” He got right to business.

“So,” Danny clapped his hands together and pulled up an image of the inner workings of Ecto and the inner workings of the Lazarus Pits, “The Lazarus Pits have similar properties to a type of ecto that we make in the Infinite Realms.”

“You make Ecto? Like farming?”

“More like wine making. The type of ecto that the Lazarus Pits is similar to is our version of brandy, although it’s become rancid from exposure to mortal elements.” Danny explain, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“The Lazarus Pits is expired Ecto Alcohol?” Batman asked incredulously.

“Indeed, and from what your files talked about them people have been using them as means of resurrection. That is extremely dangerous to the health of their body and spirit,” Frostbite took over while Danny went back to upgrading the blood taker so that it can be able to scans contaminated blood. “While being near these can cause one to become liminal, bathing in them could lead to madness, Ecto/flesh instability, and the high risk of the soul tearing itself apart before you completely depart from the mortal world. If enough are contaminated it could cause what the Great One called a zombie apocalypse.”

Batman processed what he could at that time, and made a note to get Talia as far away from the Lazarus Pits as possible as soon as he’s done with this meeting. “Can I assume that you saw my files on the Talons of the Court of Owls? They are created from an altered version of the Lazarus Pits, how might that be different?”

“The stuff they use is like an expired non-alcoholic drink. For us it doesn’t give as much sustenance but for mortals it doesn’t fully resurrect them. It’s the closest thing to zombies without them actually being zombies.” Danny explained before going back to finishing the upgrades.

“If you could bring some Talons to me to examine I may be able to help you find a way to release the bodies from the torment they are forced into.” Frostbite made his request.

“I’ll make sure to capture some soon. By the way, the notes on Ecto you put into the database helped me have a better understanding of it. Could you give an examination of one of our Dark heroes Deadman? I’m worried he may not be getting enough Ecto for himself.” Batman requested.

“Of course, I will remain here to examine any heroes who are liminal and have concerns about their health. It’s clear you were already focusing on that for yourself.” Batman chose to come back to that later.

“Are the upgrades complete?”

Danny closed up the panels and stepped back, “Yup, you can put Jay’s blood in now.” Danny grabbed the vial of blood that Jay gave him and put it in the newly upgraded analyzer.

The machine whirred to life and began its analysis of the blood. For a few minutes the machine processed the blood before it let out ding and pulled up a file of someone that Jay shared blood with. It pulled up the file of the second Robin, Jason.

Danny stared wide eyed at the result, before he noticed the look of fear on Batman’s face. For the first time Batman looked like he was hyperventilating, that he was afraid. “Jason.” He whispered hoarsely, “It really is him.” Batman stumbled back slightly would’ve fallen over if Frostbite didn’t catch him. His son was alive, his baby boy was alive. How? Who brought him back?

Batman straightened up and tried to get his emotions back under control, “Make a copy of the file and show it to Jaylad, see if it jogs his memories. I… I need to go handle something.” Batman walked quickly out of the lab, ignoring Superman who had rushed over when he heard Bruce’s heartbeat become irregular. Going through the Zeta Tube he returned to the Batcave and saw Alfred cleaning the display cases. “Alfred,” He spoke out, stumbling slightly.

“Master Bruce! Were you attacked? What’s happened?” Alfred rushed forward and grabbed Bruce by the shoulders and helped him sit down.

“Alfred, I need you to do something. Don’t ask questions, I just need you to do it, please. Jason, Jason’s alive, our suspicions about Jaylad Peter. Alfred, that dream you told me about, the one you have that always causes you to wake up smiling. Grab every gun that you’ll need and fulfill it. He’s at Arkham right now, don’t stop even if I change my mind. I can’t- I can’t let him hurt Jason again, I won’t let him.” Bruce was starting to cry, his brain was processing everything too fast, there was too much going through his head.

Jaylad, or Jason as the file name said, hadn’t had the courage to even touch the damn thing. The tv was on in the background, to tune out the deafening silence of trepidation.

Inhaling, he decided to finally look at the file. He barely got the front flipped over when an emergency announcement blared on the tv.

Jay- Jason- Whatever his name is, looked at the TV in surprise. It felt strange, but his ectoplasm suddenly felt way calmer. Almost as if- Jason’s thoughts stopped as a piercing pain shot through his head and let out a scream. Danny immediately rushed to him as Jason held his head in pain, memories, so many memories coming to front of his mind, fighting for a space for him to concentrate on. It hurt, it hurt so much.

Danny held onto Jason tight, trying to get his ectoplasm to release calming emotions to him, but Jason’s mind, his core, was remembering everything. Frostbite had warned him that for ghosts regaining lost memories could be painful, and he didn’t know how it would affect Halfas.

At Wayne Manor Alfred walked through the door, blood staining his suit but he had a content smile on his face. “Al? Did you kill the Joker?” Stephanie asked hesitantly. The emotion was shared among the rest of Bruce’s children. They knew that Alfred was dangerous but for as long as they had known him he hadn’t killed. He was their kindly grandfather.

“Master Bruce gave me permission, and even though he said not to stop even if he changed his mind I would’ve stopped if he asked. So I had to make quick work of the clown, a quick death was far too kind to him, oh what I would’ve given to be able to inflict every pain I had hoped to give him, but I would not give him the chance to live. How is Master Bruce?” Alfred folded his sleeves up and took his bloodstained gloves off. He placed his guns upon a table and went into the kitchen to do a rudimentary cleaning of his skin.

“He’s at Jason’s grave. Al what the hell happened that Bruce gave you permission to kill the Joker?” Tim asked.

“I won’t say a word until Master Bruce feels it is right. Just know to not expect this to become a common occurrence.” Alfred smiled at his grandchildren, and despite the blood stained clothes he wore they felt safe with him.

“You good Comish?” One of the officers piped up from where they were collecting evidence.

“He couldn’t have done it more low key for christs sake?”

The officers all looked at each other bewildered. Decades of weeding people out to finally crack down on the crime of Gotham, they were the best team Gordan ever had. And here he was complaining he had a clean cut case.

“I’m-m sorry?”

“Oh don’t get a stick up your ass Smith,” Gordan huffed, “we all wanted this day to come.” Under his breath he continued on about how he was going to through an old geezer into prison for doing this city a favor.

The officers all shared looks. They knew everyone here had lost someone because of the dead clown that grew cold in the middle of the room.

“It appears I forgot to wear gloves when taking dna samples,” an officer said while standing up, latex gloves still on his hands, “I’m afraid any evidence I bagged is contaminated.”

“I forgot to put an SD card in the camera, and it’ll be a pain to go back to the station to get one, seeing as the roads are blocked for an impromptu parade,” another officer said, taking the SD card out and crushing it between her fingers.

Another officer dropped a piece of metal down the drain in the cell, “The shooter must have taken the bullets with him after, so I unfortunately can’t identify the gun at this moment.”

“I’m sorry sir, that my team was so ill prepared and clumsy with this investigation Commissioner,” the detective stated, “next time they will be on the ball.”

Gordan’s pursed lips grew into a smirk.

—

Dick had his arms wrapped around Bruce, hugging him from the back as his father kelt before his brother’s grave. Something had to have changed for Bruce to give Alfred permission like that, but instead of asking questions, he let Bruce sob it out. He’ll have time later to ask, he’s just relieved that stupid clown can’t hurt any more of his family.

Bruce moves, wiping his eyes and grabs a phone out of his pocket. Dick recognizes it as the phone Bruce uses for Batman cases, a way for civilians to contact him for the moment.

Dick learned his snoopy nature from Bruce so it’s second nature to read the text from over his shoulder.

He’s awake and he remembers.

“Who?” Dick asks as Bruce stands up, a smile across his face.

Tim rubbed his chin, “So that’s why you gave Alfred permission. Oh by the way, Barbara sends her regards she’s currently celebrating. She reported that all criminals are out celebrating themselves or staying home so we really don’t need to patrol tonight.”

“Good, that’s good to hear.” Bruce smiled slightly. Was he happy that he gave Alfred permission to kill the Joker? No. Would he give it again in a heartbeat if it meant protecting his children? Without question.

“Jason’s really alive?” Dick asked, unable to fully believe it. “And he’s coming here?”

Bruce pulled Dick in for a sideways hug, “Yes, to both. I don’t know how he was resurrected, and I’m certain I’ll ask at some point, but for now I’m just grateful to have him back.”

Elsewhere in Gotham Danny and Jason were driving through the streets, facing plenty of traffic due to the celebrations. “How you feeling?” Danny asked.

“Nervous, angry, something. Why didn’t he have the Joker killed before when I first died?”

Danny patted Jason on the shoulder comfortingly, “I actually saw the file on that. Apparently Joker become the ambassador of Iran or something and got political protection. Batman was apparently trying to kill him but Superman stopped him. People had thought Joker died in a helicopter crash, but he clearly survived. By the time he came back the third Robin had forced himself into being Batman’s sidekick and helped mellow him out.”

Jason blinked a few times, “Who the fuck made him an ambassador?”

Danny let out a laugh, “Don’t know.”

Jason pursed his lips, “Do you- do you still want to be with me even though I have my memories back?”

“Are you able to procure this ecto so I may make food with Master Jason’s dietary needs?” Alfred asked, breaking the silence.

“I believe his paramour has been making sure he keeps his nutrition up, but I’m sure you can ask Danny when we meet him,” Bruce states, straightening from where he was fidgeting with the seam of his pants.

“Paramour?” Dick snorted, “that’s such a Jason word.”

Bruce laughed, “well they do seem more mature than each other’s boyfriends, but I didn’t see a ring. I have a feeling one is soon though.”

Dick smiled, “Should have known out of any of us, Jason would get married first, that romantic little nerd.”

Bruce cut him off by bringing him in for a bone crushing hug, “Jason, oh my baby boy. I missed you so much.”

Jason teared up as he hugged Bruce back, “I missed you too dad.”

“JASON!” Dick launched himself over the two and hugged Jason from the other side.

“Hey Dickface, good to see you,” Jason turned his head to smile at Dick. Turning it back he saw Alfred smiling at him, “Hey Al, I’m surprised they haven’t put you on the seat of honor for the parade.”

“It’s good to see you Master Jason. Master Bruce, Master Dick, please release him so he and Master Danny can come in. There are a few introductions in order, I also informed Miss Kyle about what has happened. She’ll be here shortly,” Bruce and Dick untangled themselves only for Alfred to capture Jason in his own hug, “It is so good to see you again my boy, it just hasn’t been the same.”

Danny smiled at the sight of this family, “Danny,” Bruce caught his attention, “What are you doing standing out there? Get in here, I wanna hear all about how you and Jason met,” Danny hesitantly stepped into the manor and Bruce gave him a one armed hug, “Thank you for everything. So when do you plan to propose, you already have my blessing.”

Danny blushed emerald, “I don’t know what you mean Mister Wayne.”

“No Misters with me. And I recognize that look in your eyes. Me and Dick used to have the same look for Selina and Kori back then before we lost Jason. Our grief caused us to lose those relationships, I don’t intend for you two to have any delays in getting together. Besides, if it’s a ring you’re having trouble with I have one I can give you,” Bruce gave Danny a small smile and passed him a ring, “It’s the ring my mother gave my father when they proposed to each other, it might need a small reforging but I think Jason will love it.”

They stop in front of a black kid, who’s not wearing any expensive stuff. Jason guesses he’s most likely-

“The newest addition! Duke! He’s the day shift. Powers of the lights of the universe!”

“Photokinesis,” Duke states with a smile, shaking Jason’s hand, “and I go by The Signal.”

“My way of explaining it is way cooler,” Duke assured before dragging Jason to the next kid. A blonde wearing all gucci purple.

“Stephenie! She’s-“

“Technically not one of Bruce’s kids,” she says, “I just dangle the promise of letting him adopt me as I use all his money.”

“I like you,” Jason says, shaking her hand.

“Call me Spoiler on patrol. Just don’t call me late for dinner.”

“Oh now you ruined it,” Jason jokes back, causing her to laugh as Dick drags him to a tiny little cutie kid in a sweater vest.

“This is Damian. Current Robin. Dad’s son with Talia.”

“Very apt description brother,” Damian says while Jason’s brain reboots.

“Talia?!” Jason asks Dick, but turns back to the kid by his -tt-

“What about my mother?”

“I…” Jason paused, “I’m just surprised such a…sophisticated woman chose that…man.”

Dick and Jason let out a breath as it seemed that Damian agreed.

Dick pulled Jason to an Asian girl who looked the same age as Jason, who dressed in a simple black sweater and black jeans and sneakers.

“This is Cassandra. Or Black Bat. She doesn’t talk, she uses sign but I don’t know how much you-“

Jason laughed, then tilted his head, shrugging. Cass in turn snorted and shook her head in exasperation.

“Um…what?”

“Can…you not feel what she’s saying or implying with her ambient emotions?”

Dick just stared at him, “okay moving on, and coming back to that later. Last but certainly not least, Tim. Red Rob-”

Jason pulled Tim into a hug, “I heard that you kept dad alive after my passing. Thank you for not letting his grief swallow him whole. I am sorry that is the Bruce you had to meet. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty.”

Skinny arms curled around Jason, “thank you,” the kid says.

-

Bruce smiled at Danny while he looked at the ring, “Jason picked it out himself from my father’s collection.”

“Oh?” Danny prompted, wanting to hear stories about his Jay. The nostalgia rolling off Bruce was intoxicating in the way ice cream was.

“It was a few weeks after I took him in. I found him snooping around for things to steal. Now, I wasn’t mad at him. I knew that taking in a homeless kid, he wouldn’t be trusting of me. And silverware can only be pawned for so much,” a fond smile broke across his face, “I don’t know how but he knew not to touch my mother’s pearls. Instead, he looked in my father’s only jewelry box.”

He cupped the hand Danny had the ring, “and that’s how I found him. Reciting Romeo and Juliet’s wedding with the ring. He’s always been a little boy looking for someone to love him, love him unconditionally. And I did, but due to my actions, he didn’t believe it. And that’s how I lost him. I regret it to this day. I…I don’t know how you did it but he believes it with you. I am honored to call you my son-in-law.”

Jason smiled at the sight of all his new siblings getting excited about having pizza, “You did good by them B.”

“I try to, yes Cass you can add on extra toppings when it arrives for your pizza,” Bruce said to Cassandra who hadn’t even raised her hands to sign. She smiled at him and skipped into the kitchen to collect her toppings.

“You can read her pretty well,” Jason observed, “So you had a kid with Talia, why isn’t she here? You two loved each other a lot, for that matter where’s Selina? You’d think those two would be celebrating the clown’s death.”

Bruce smiled sadly, “After your death I didn’t do well. Selina, Talia, I pushed them away in grief, lashing out in anger and saying things that went too far. By the time Tim managed to pull me back the damage was done. I’m okay not having a romantic relationship ever again, I just hope they’re happy. Although I have been trying to find a way to get Dick back together with Kori, unlike for me there’s still love between those two. Jason, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save you, I failed you as your father and there is nothing I can do to make up for that.”

Jason nudged Bruce’s shoulder, “I don’t know, from what I’ve heard you did everything you could to make up for it. Hell you literally let Alfred kill Joker today. I’m alive again B, just be there for me like you tried to back then and we’re good.”

Danny looked over to where Jason was chatting with his younger siblings. The smile on his face made Danny's core purr/warm and he was so happy his Jason finally found his family. He was startled from his thoughts when he was pulled into another hug. This time by Jason's older brother.

"Thank you. Thanks to you we got our Jaylad back..." "Ohhhh so THATS why he reacted to the name." Everyone quieted and looked towards Danny and Dick. "What do you mean?" Danny shrugged shyly. "Well when I first found him we didn't know his name. He'd been wandering the streets and I had taken him to a hospital. Unfortunately they couldn't find his identity either. So instead of sending him to somewhere like Arkham, I brought him home with me. It took a while of name guessing before he had a reaction to the name Jaylad. So we assumed that was his name. He had a similar reaction to Peter so we thought his name was Jaylad Peter."

He paused, glass of water against his lips. Taking a sip before setting it down, he raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "What do you mean?"

"You know, your origins and whatnot? How'd you end up in Gotham? You're totally not from here, so why'd you move here?"

Danny chewed the inside of his cheek as he mulled over his words carefully, glancing at Bruce and Jason. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, I'm originally from Amity Park, Illinois. My parents moved there a few years before my older sister was born 'cause the veil between this dimension and the Infinite Realms, or the "Ghost Zone" as they called it, was extremely thin for some reason. Originally they just wanted to study ghosts and their existance, so they tried to invent a portal that could get them access to it. But it failed. A lot. For almost 20 years they tried and failed over and over and over again. I think resentment from repeated failure mixed with the fact that handling so much ectoplasm made them liminal, even with them wearing protective gear. So by the time I was 14, they mostly wanted to hunt ghosts and experiment on them, to learn what made them tick before ending them."

Pausing for a moment, he exchanged a look with Jay, his partner giving him a reassuring nod and his hand a gentle squeeze. Danny gave him a tiny smile in return before continuing. "A few days after I turned 14 though, their latest attempt to build a portal had failed, but instead of tearing it apart again, they let it sit. And me being a reckless teen, I thought it'd be fun to show it off to my two best friends, and when I went inside for a picture that one of them wanted to take, I tripped and my hand found the 'On' button. Inside the portal. Turns out, you need a life force to manually open an artificial portal. Who knew."

His grin was strained as he watched their faces grew pale with horror. "Enough electricity to run a small city for months flowed through me along with the rift into the Infinite Realms opening on top of me kept me in a perpetual state of flipping between death and ressurection until finally it balanced out like a flipped coin landing on its edge. Not impossible, just extremely rare. I became one of the first Halfas in millenia, half ghost, half living. I had about a week before ghosts realized that there was a permanent portal to this dimension. A week to try and get a grasp of my situation without letting my parents know. Thankfully they were too distracted by their invention suddenly working to care about me acting strange.

"They didn't notice the first ghosts as they passed through the portal since they were weaker ones, and I felt this... need, this responsibility to send them back through. So I used my new powers to fight them and did just that, though it took me over a month to get a real grasp on the basics, after the stronger ones started showing up and my parents started noticing. But then the ghosts that came through just kept getting bigger and stronger, and while I did too, getting more powers and eventually allies, my parents twisted views on ghosts also grew.

"After I turned 16, I had a particularly nasty battle with a powerful ghost called an Ancient, they are the embodiment of universal aspects, this one in particular was Nocturne, the Ancient of Sleep and Dreams. I was talking with my sister about things and my parents overheard a bit and got mad, thinking that I was working with my ghostly alter ego to help ghosts take over the world or something. I tried to explain the truth to them, but my parents just... wouldn't listen. They still loved me just enough to not kick me out right then and there, but my sister ended up helping me to file for emancipation, and my parents signed off on it without a fight. After that, I destroyed the portal and their plans and left Amity Park. I need ambient ecto to stay healthy, so I traveled around and found that Gotham's got plenty, even if it isn't as pure as I was used to. I've lived here ever since. Got my GED, then went to GU for my bachelors and masters in engineering. While I was finishing up my masters, I found Jason."

He nodded to his partner, whom having heard this story before gave him a bittersweet smile, leaning over to kiss the side of his head and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. The table sat in silence for a couple minutes as Alfred returned (he had been there for a while but waited for Danny to finish speaking) with the ice cream, serving them slightly larger portions than normal and laying out options for toppings.

Eventually Bruce spoke up, his voice quiet but genuine. "I am sorry that you had to figure that out mostly by yourself. I don't understand why the JL wasn't informed if your whole town was under threat, but I can promise you that we will look into it and see to it that your town is given reparations to help rebuild."

I'm practicing manga drawing.