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Currently, Jazz and Jason were having a joint book club/date in the corner. Dan was currently “sleeping” on one of the couches. Steph using his flaming hair to roast marshmallows, unaware that Dan’s hair only burnt things when he wanted it to, meaning he was definitely not asleep.

Danny, Elle, Tim, and Duke were all playing Mario Kart while waiting for their respective parents to finish their discussion. Cass was on Danny’s lap, doing something on her phone, while Elle was intermittently working with Damian to learn Arab and asking Duke about his powers. Dick and Barbara were sitting in their own corner, whispering something to each other. Dick had a mischievous smile on his face while Babs looked both exasperated and amused as she worked on her laptop.

Suddenly, as all this was happening, the first three notes of a very familiar song to all the Princes began to play. Immediately all four siblings stopped what they were doing to turn and look at Dick who was now on his phone. Just as they turned to look at him the music stopped. They all looked between each other, ignoring the questioning looks from the batkids, before collectively deciding to ignore it and return to what they were doing.

Danny returned to the game, apologizing to Cass for accidentally disturbing her relaxation. The girl in question was now no longer looking at her phone but instead staring intently at Danny, silently asking what that was all about. Elle returned to her conversations with Damian and Duke, the younger boy asking her what just happened. Jazz returned to her book discussing, continuing where she’d left off as though nothing happened. Jason was now looking concerned at her. Dan had immediately flopped back into his pretend sleep, ignoring Steph’s questions.

Just as everyone had started getting back to what they were doing, albeit with the batkids attmpting to question the Princes, they all heard a collective “Aaahaha~.” From where Dick and Babs were. It sounded like someone was singing and while all the Bats could recognize it as a song they couldn’t place where they’d heard it from quite yet. The Prince children had a much stronger reaction. Seemingly in unison their muscles all locked up and their heads spun towards Dick and Babs.

This time they spent a much longer time staring Dick and Babs down, the two seemingly unaware, before once again sharing a, now more skeptical, look. They then simultaneously returned to what they were doing yet all four of them much more tense.

Then, “Fooooor~” the noise continued and this time the collective reaction was much more violent. Elle and Danny both spun, arms raised and hands and eyes glowing ectoplasmic green. Dan immediately got up and spun, crouched like a tiger ready to pounce, his hands clawed and glowing like Elle and Danny. Jazz pulled her sword from nowhere and had it pointed at Dick. All of them looked to be a mix of angered and afraid.

“Show us your phone,” commanded Danny. Cass was now sitting up, looking at her boyfriend in increasing concern.

“Wha-“ Dick tried. He and Babs were now looking slightly afraid, each looking ready to dodge or reach for a weapon.

“SHOW US YOUR PHONE!” Demanded Jazz in a shout. She was now getting out of her seat, looking ready to cut Dick and Babs apart. Jason was doing his best to hold her back as he wondered what the Hell was going on. Normally Jazz was the calm one of her siblings.

The rest of the Bat children were in equal states of attempting to stop the ghostly children and trying to figure out what the Hell was happening to get this kind of response. Dick and Babs both frantically turned their screens around revealing Dick playing Clash of Clans and Babs working on a case.

The Princes all collectively sighed in relief and began apologizing to the batkids as a whole before they all seemed to simultaneously notice the screen. On it was Mariah Carrey singing All I Want for Christmas is You, “Youuu~” she sang. It was at this moment all the batkids realized that was what was playing before as the song seemed to have continued on from where it left off.

Bad Fenton parents reveal but instead of the usual Trope of going to Gotham he goes to Bludhaven just a few months before Nightwings first appearance.

Danny accidentally stumbles into information breaking mostly because he's Gathering all of his information himself by accidentally stumbling into back alley deals, he is not supposed to find and then turning intangible so he doesn't get shot at.

Danny isn't really Nightwings priority when he first gets there and he definitely uses his services as he's cut off from his main source of information.

The two of them end up having a very good relationship as the two of them are bouncing quips off of one another by their second meeting. Danny brings out the side that is mostly tucked away at the time from Nightwing as he is still in his angsty just left home phase.

And Danny felt really bad because he had essentially just stolen this guy’s lunch and for a thug, he looked pretty stressed out, probbaly because his gang was in the middle of a gang war at the moment and they were loosing. And the lower ranked goons were taking the brunt of the bosses’ ire and sent to do more dangerous tasks. Not to mention getting jumped every other day by the rival gang. And worst of all, this thug had been in charge of a recent shipment of weapons and money but the rival gang stole them. (The thug complained a lot during his smoke break).

And that’s when Danny got an idea. He had recently heard some useful information about the rival gang and where they were moving said shipment. Danny was sure the guy would appreciate that more than a hotdog anyways. In fact, he’ll bet the guy forgets all about his stolen food. So Danny quickly got a napkin from a nearby food stand (ironically, it was a hotdog stand) and quickly scribbled down the info along with a tiny ghost in the corner.

Armando is taking the shipment of weapons to the northern docs at 2pm this Friday. There will be 15 men stationed there with 10 guarding the cargo and 5 monitoring the nearby rooftops.

P.S. sorry for taking your hotdog. 👻

Then Danny left. So yeah, a one time thing. Only he came across that thug again later on. The guy had brought food and was calling out in the alleyway with some of his friends. He was asking for help with something but Danny was very familiar with the whole stranger danger thing. Plus, the guy was a known thug. So obviously he remained invisible.

Even if the smell of the food was really…really tempting. Eventually the guy just left the food and walked away with his friends teasing him. And well…if the food was just left there and clearly meant for him, why not take it?

Later Danny dropped a sticky not with the info the guy wanted in his hideout where he would find it.

And this continued. Rumors about the Ghost of Bloodhaven spread. And other gangs started using him too. The rules to get the ghost’s attention was simple. First, find one of the designated ‘checkpoints’. This was the hardest part. These places were where the ghost was most likely to respond. (These are basically just Danny’s hangout spots.) It is possible to get his attention elsewhere but not as likely. And these checkpoints are a closely guarded secret to prevent any eavesdroppers or to keep anyone else from using the ghost’s network as it was very useful. The second step is to bring an offering. Food works for casual information but if you want something more valuable you have to bring something more valuable. Cold cash and trades of other things will also work. Leave the offering along with what you want (or possibly a sticky note of your ask.) Taking an offering is a good way to get on the ghost’s bad side and leak very private information about you for free so DO NOT touch other offerings. If the offering is gone the next day, then it was accepted. If not, then either the request was refused or you do not have a good enough offering (typically the ghost might send a sticky note telling you of their asking price if that is the case). The ghost never accepts any task that will end with someone dying. So they will know if you are assassinating a person or if you have a criminal record (although being a criminal isn’t a problem as long as you don’t use the information to kill). Once an offering is accepted, the information will be delivered on a sticky note. Sometimes the ghost will help for free if there is an object they really want. They will take it and then provide information that is very important and useful. Sometimes valuable information that the person didn’t know was useful like someone setting up a trap for them, or a robbery that would happen at their workplace. Something to take note of is that the ghost never takes anything the original owner really cares about (Danny checks first) and always pays a price of equal or greater value. This is a rare occurrence though. Finally…no one has ever seen the ghost’s face. They don’t know who they are or how they know these things or even if there is more than one, but everyone knows that their information is always, without a doubt….100% accurate (Helps when Danny can feel emotions so can feel when someone is lying.)

Danny has been doing pretty good for himself. He got a job…kinda, and now has plenty of food and even a roof over his head. He made his home in an old blocked off subway station that was completely cut off from the outside due to a tunnel collapse so only someone with intangibility could get in. And he was pretty happy with his current life. He managed to wire technology and electricity. He has a flatscreen TV, ALL the latest games and consoles (Tucker would be so jealous), internet, running water, even a full length shower he was able to hook up (along with an instruction manual on plumbing from one very confused common crook asking for info) and even a fully stocked medical cabinet. That’s right. A cabinet. Danny’s got all kinds of furniture including a king sized bed. If anything, he’s basically set. Has everything he could ever want.

Except…

it’s a bit…

lonely.

Dick hummed. "I'm listening."

"There's this ghost, see?"

Dick sighed and pulled out one of his sticks as he charged it up. "I don't have time for this," he said wearily.

"It's true! I swear it's true! We all use 'im!"

Hmm. Interesting. "'Use 'im'?" Dick asked. He turned the stick off and put it back on his belt. "For what?"

"Info! The ghost sells info! You wanna know who's behind the new drug, ask the ghost!"

"Oh?" Dick hummed. This might be a promising lead. "And what does this ghost take for info?"

"Food, cash, games," the goon said.

Games? "That's an odd list." Maybe a kid? No, how would a kid know anything that a bunch of gang goons wanted?

"They're offerings, yeah? Don't fuck with the offerings. And no killing," added the goon. "Ghost is very big on everyone living."

Well. Dick was just going to have to meet this ghost. He pulled the goon back over the rooftop. "Tell me more," he ordered.

*

Danny watched warily as Nightwing--Nightwing!--walked into the alley. He knew he was invisible, but pressed his back against the bricks anyway. He didn't want anything to do with any of the vigilantes.

But he was too curious to leave. He watched as Nightwing walked up to the shrine that the local gang members had made for him, and--

Hold up. Was that--was that the smell of fresh baked donuts? In the middle of the night? Where had the vigilante gotten those? It was only thanks to having eaten earlier that his stomach didn't rumble and give him away.

Nightwing stopped in front of the shrine. Then--he took pictures? What for? Why? What could he possibly need, or want, pictures of the shrine for? This was unnerving.

The box Nightwing was holding was placed on the shrine. A note was placed on top. Nightwing shot a grapple to take himself to the nearby roof. And waited.

Hah! Danny knew it was a trap! Too bad, Mr. Vigilante, but Danny used to play that game, and he was better at waiting! Much better. It didn't take too long before Nightwing left. Really left, not just pretended to leave.

Okay. Danny drifted towards the shrine, staying invisible and intangible, because he knew better than to trust the vigilante. It was--

Donuts. This close the smell was almost overpowering and Danny had to fight to keep his invisibility and intangibility. He let the tip of his finger go tangible just long enough to open the donut box. Six fresh donuts. And these weren't plain glazed, oh not. These were stuffed donuts, donuts with toppings, and--was that a Froot Loop donut? It was.

Well. What info did Nightwing want? Danny had to give it to him now. He looked at the note.

A lead into the new drug Hypnos.

Well. Danny could do better than that.

*

Dick was grappling between two buildings when a piece of paper smacked him in the face. He grabbed it, landed, and looked--at a an address? Huh. Oh, there was the little ghost doodle that he'd been told about. All right.

He knew he wasn't handling it well. He knew that going out on the streets and beating the shit out of scumbags wasn't handling it well, no matter what Bruce seemed to think. But he couldn't. Couldn't cope.

He dropped on a roof and began to cry, just remembering the little boy who thought that Robin was magic and how badly he'd been treated--by Bruce, and by Dick himself.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders. "It's all right, Nightwing," a voice said. "Let it all out. You're safe here."

Dick got his ghost friend's favorite order of burger and fries and waited on the roof. It had taken way too long for the ghost to feel comfortable enough with Dick, or with Nightwing, to risk showing himself to the vigilante.

Dick's first clue that Ghost was there was a low, impressed whistle. "My favorite food," said Ghost. Dick turned to see the young man, around Dick's age and (despite all the food he seemed to get for his "offerings") far too skinny. Ghost grinned, teeth flashing white in the dim light. "To what do I owe this honor?"

The rules for Nightwing were different than the rules for the others who got Ghost's attention. The others could leave an offering at one of the shrines, but Nightwing got directly approached. The others had to revisit the shrine to see if their offering was accepted, Nightwing was asked, clearly and in no uncertain terms, what he wanted before Ghost would ever step close to the vigilante.

"I don't even know if you have info that can help," lamented Dick. "But I thought we could eat together either way."

Ghost relaxed slightly and walked across the roof to sit next to Dick. "Nice. So," he asked as he took the bag and pulled out his order--only his order, Ghost always knew when Dick also got food for himself and what that food was--out of the bag. "What's this info you'd like that I may or may not know?"

"You know I'm part of a superhero group," Dick started. Ghost tensed slightly. It was a thing. Ghost was wary of humans; Dick didn't know why. "One of my teammates is having trouble with her father, this demon named Trigon."

Ghost relaxed a little and barked out a laugh. "Trigon's a little bitch," he sneered. "Here." Ghost's hand moved through one of Dick's pouches, to the one where he kept paper in case he needed it on patrol, and pulled out a piece and a pen. Then he braced the paper against the roof and doodled on it. By the time Ghost handed the paper back to Dick, Dick was able to recognize that it was a summoning sigil of some kind. "Just put a drop of blood on this when Trigon comes around." Ghost snickered. "He's gonna love it."

"Trigon?"

Ghost's grin widened. "No. I'm keeping the pen, by the way. It's nice. Consider it payment for the sigil."

That was when Dick noticed that all of Ghost's food was gone.

*

Raven watched Nightwing nervously from the bubble of protection, trying to keep her emotions from flaring and interfering with her control. "Are you sure this will work?"

"I'm sure we don't have any other ideas," said Nightwing. He pulled out a summoning sigil and Raven stared at the paper. She could feel the power wafting off of it, and her eyes widened as Nightwing pricked a finger and let a single drop of blood fall onto the paper.

The paper flared with ghastly green light before it burned with green flame and opened a portal. The bubble of protection fell as Raven stared, with horror, at the armored creature that came out of it. As she backed away from this new threat the creature presented, it pulled a flaming sword from a sheath on its hip. "TRIGON!" the creature intoned, death power wafting with every movement and emanating from the sword. "THOU DAREST TO REFUSE TO SETTLE THOU'S DEBTS IN AN HONORABLE FASHION?"

"What's going on?" asked Raven as Trigon fled from the new presence--which followed still waving its sword.

"Sounds like Trigon owes money," said Nightwing wisely. His head tilted to the side for a moment. "Or, you know, whatever they use instead of money."

Raven stared at Nightwing. "Where did you even get that?" she asked.

"Oh my God, dude! I need you to follow me. There's a kid who was buried and he's trying to claw out of his grave. I can't do anything cause I'm worried it's illegal to help him dig out of their. I also left another child their who was asking for my help with something. Shit, I left a child to help dig out a child! Fuck me!"

"Wait- why would it be illegal to help a child? I don't under- that doesn't really matter, show me the way!"

He proceeds to chase after Ghost to a familiar grave yard.

"I didn't want to mess with his grave in case Wayne sent the Bat after me! If it's you who pulls the kid out, you won't get in trouble with that dude. Oh! He's already got his hands out of the grave! We can just pull him out. It seems Tim doesn't have the physical strength to do it. At least this should be easier than initially planned."

It didn't feel like the usual grave, was the problem. Not that he was around graves, or graveyards, very often. Maybe if Sam were here, or at least Tucker, to interpret the digitized grimoire Sam insisted they have a copy of.

But... no, this felt familiar. He drifted closer, putting a hand on Tim's shoulder, careful not to startle the kid, "Hey," He said gently, "Hey, I've got this. Why don't you go stand by Nightwing?"

Tim immediately tried to throw his hand off, and he went with the motion, disconcerted at the wisp that left his mouth when he was jostled closer to the grave - it didn't, yet, have any of the rustling motions of self-disturbed dirt, but the unease was getting stronger. Whomever this kid was, there was something... bad? Going on behind this.

Nightwing had stepped forward, wrestling Tim away from both the grave and him, "Tim! Tim, it's okay, it's okay. Let Ghost work, alright?"

And Nightwing was looking at him with the sort of panic he usually didn't see. Or, well, hadn't seen up until this news. When he nodded, kneeling in Tim's spot, grabbing the shovel and tossing it to the side, the others retreated a few steps away with the sort of tenseness that told him he needed to work fast.

He took an extra second to assess the grave, laying a hand on top of it. The feeling was eerily familiar, and were he in his human form, his heart probably would have skipped a beat. As it were, the remembered sensation of electricity ripping through him was enough, and he slammed his eyes shut, shoving an intangible arm through the grave.

Here goes nothing.

What he picked up - what he grabbed - was not a normal human. It almost made him lose his grip, but he grunted, curling his fingers around squirming cloth and yanking.

The grave dirt was, naturally, disturbed, but luckily he was already floating, and he ignored the shocked exclamations from behind him. Pulling the newly dead, the newly reanimated from their burial was more difficult than he was willing to inform Nightwing, or Tim, about.

Sam had speculated one time that graves functioned like nodes to the Ghost Zone. It made sense, if he was honest, and the three of them had spent a lot of time in various libraries researching myths and cultures about how the dead were tended to.

What made someone a ghost, really.

It helped him more than he had initially expected in the Ghost Zone - being a halfa ostracized him enough, and the conditions of his ghost form meant that the location of his grave was... debated upon. Clockwork hadn't helped much, outside riddles that would have made Mister Lancer proud, and Frostbite was a little more helpful, even when he needed to learn a lot more about what Frostbite was even referencing.

So when he pulled this newly-made halfa out of his grave, he knew enough from experience to crush the kid against himself, letting his core do the talking while he scratched a quick sigil on the grave.

Mostly it was just a door-lock, and he'd have to teach it to the kid later, but the last thing he wanted was yet another portal that he needed to catch ghosts from. Especially in Gotham. There simply wasn't enough thermoses for this city, and he wasn't particularly happy at the idea of risking a visit to Amityville for ghost-hunting supplies.

Whomever the kid was, they had no idea they were still intangible, and he thumped himself on the grass outside the grave, sighing as he shifted his arm - and the kid - out of intangibility. Nightwing and Tim... said or did something, but he currently had some bigger fish to fry.

He remembered the way Sam and Tucker had panicked, rousing him after they thought he had died despite - in retrospect - just needing a moment to become conscious again, and he let that memory help him, wrapping his arms around the other halfa in a crushing grip that would only come across as comforting.

"Hey, hey," He murmured, barely audible over the crying of the kid, the other kid, and the superhero kid. Exhaling carefully, he modulated his voice - not the scream, but the timber, an echo of his core that he could put into his speech, "Kid. C'mon. Everything's okay."

Nightwing and Tim flinched back, the humans unused to the haunting quality of one ghost speaking to another, but the kid he was holding did - thankfully - calm down, the grip on his suit less panicking and more orienting.

"That's it," He praised, running one hand through the kid's hair, making a note of the streak of white. This was a strong kid - a hard death, then, and he murmured wordlessly in sympathy. There would be time, later, to figure out how the kid died, see if there was anything he could do about it, "There we go, up and at 'em."

However much time it took, it didn't feel like enough, and Nightwing and Tim slowly approached, lingering at the edges of his vision. They were speaking, too, careful and soft - the same way Sam and Tucker did, when they realized they didn't need to panic.

Slowly, very slowly, he shifted, Nightwing catching on and kneeling next to him. The kid went with little fuss, trading the familiarity of another halfa to someone that was, blatantly, familiar before death. He kept a hand on the kid's back, anyway, raising a brow at Nightwing.

The superhero looked up at him, then away, the mask outlining his eyes hiding, for once, little of his emotions. He rocked back on his heels, letting the family re-acquaint themselves.

He turned his attention back to the grave. It reeked of something ghostly. And old, the kind of old he'd probably have to ask about when there was a bit of time.

As it were, he dug out his phone, happy for the case Tucker managed to mail him that kept his phone mostly functional in the Ghost Zone, because it let him use it in his ghost form. Sam's grimoire glitched a little in the opening, telling him that this was no usual resurrection, but he found the page on additional wardings with little issue.

The kid would probably come back to his grave, once he realized what it was, so even if he had any nails or salt on him, it'd be a dick move to use them. He settled for drawing with his finger, letting a little bit of energy from his core collect at the fingertip as he drew sigil after sigil, to better separate the memory of death from the person, to contain whatever this was, and to stabilize the portal before anyone could use it to rip open the Ghost Zone.

Again. He really hated dealing with that.

He watched Tim shuffle next to him, blatantly attempting to memorize the work, and tried not to smile. Maybe he could teach someone - maybe not in Gotham, this place weirded him out, but...

Hm. A thought for later.

Layers of seals finished, he clicked off his phone's screen, putting it back into his pocket and settling in to wait out everyone's reunion. He had some time, but not much - Bludhaven probably had some more requests of him, and he really, really, did not want to miss out on some hot fries.

When Danny ran away from home and ended up in Gotham he wasn't quite sure what to do, adrenaline was coursing through his veins and all he wanted was a place to be safe.

That's when Crime Alley lit up like a Christmas tree and Danny knew it could be his new home, something about Crime Alley was drawing him in. It wasn't long before he decided to get a job to lay low. Of course, the latter was a bust because Red Hood noticed him almost instantly.

Contrary to his expectations, the Crime Lord took an interest in him but said nothing. He simply asked him to repair his motorcycle like a normal customer in his new job. Danny did and well, he couldn't help but repair some damaged systems and add some modifications. He hoped he wasn't stepping out of line, he just couldn't help himself, it was second nature to repair damaged things.

He thought Red Hood would be angry about it but the man seemed delighted (or as delighted as he could look with the mask), he looked at Danny and asked him what else he could do. Nervously, he told him that he was somewhat good with technology and before he knew it he had been hired by a gang (more or less, they were just asking for some custom orders).

So, technically he established as the mechanic and supplier to the Hood gang, and more specifically to the Crime Lord himself. He gave Hood some upgrades and became his supplier of (mostly harmless) weapons and upgrades. This attracted the attention of most of the gangs that were against the Crime Lord and Batman himself.

Jason, noticing how nervous the guy was assured him that he would protect him and no one was going to hurt him as long as he was around, it was obvious he wasn't from Gotham. For some reason, his new employee blushed every time he said those words.

Danny didn't know if Red Hood understood what he was doing (That was totally a flirt for protection spirits!), every day it was getting harder and harder not to respond to him. His ghost side kept screaming that he got a good match!

Which was technically true, considering that Red Hood had promised him protection and let him stay in his haunt (it became obvious that Crime Alley was his haunt after a few days in Gotham but strangely it accepted him)

And than he turns to red hood, cheeks flushed, lil but of blood on his clothes, the piece of wood in his hands like "are YOU ok mr sir red hood???????" And Jason goes oh.

Bc y'all can't tell me Jason also isn't protection spirit and someone under your protection protecting you and taking care of you isn't also another form of flirting.

So now you got two dorks, both of them in love w each other, one of them agressively flirting by offering protection, the other by always reminding how he actually protected him, and the whole batfam watching this not knowing whatever the fuck is going on

I feel like Jason doesn't know he's flirting but he definitely feels a bit like he's flirting. Maybe he's feeling possessive when he says it

Danny: Jazz, you have NO idea. He's just... perfect! Honestly if we hadn't been in public... Well.

Jazz: What did he do this time?

Danny: Well someone was trying to cause trouble in the shop. And Jason came in and just, picked me up. Placed me behind him. And then, Ancient's, he growled out they weren't allowed to touch me. I was under his protection. And Jazz... I want to marry him so bad!

Jazz: Oh dear. Look Danny. You need to tell him. With human words. Be blunt, be brave! I believe in you! You can do this!

Danny: Yes! I can! Should I make him a new gun? As a courting gift?

Jazz: You know what, sure. He sounds like the kinda guy who would like that.

Meanwhile in Hood's base.

Hood: Did I go too far do you think? Like, was I too possessive about it?

Goon: Boss. Please, just ask him out. We've seen him swoon ok. He actually swoon when you said that Boss. I've never seen a man more smitten.

Hood: Really?

Think Danny testing out the gun and the bars and some new goon catch Danny firing it and it decimates a wall and target but he wants more power in it so they catch him saying

"needs ... .. power ... I wanna ... Property damage.... Take out red hood "

Needs less power I wanna cause less property damage and take out red hood like on a date

Danny goes bright red and makes sure it's not Hood. Sighs in relief.

Danny: Hi. What do you want today?

Goon: Well.. that gun? What's it for?

Danny of course flusters for a bit.

Danny: Ok. So Hood. Likes guns right? So... I wanna make him a good one! And uh, maybe ask him out? Is it a good idea?

Goon: So. You wanna take out Hood huh? Makes sense makes sense. So is it meant to break walls?

Danny: No! It's too powerful! Um... Help?

Later that night the goon rocks up to the hideout with the biggest grin. Grabs some of the other goons.

Danny was feeling really excited. His courting gift was ready! And he had managed to make a new, better bullet resistant material! So he could give that to Hood as well. He could do this! He could! He was brave! Depp breaths Danny! He knew Hood was coming over this evening. So he would just invite him to dinner! And while they were eating he would present the gifts! And ask if he would like to date! Only a few hours to go!

Jason was feeling a bit more confident after his right hand's pep talk. He would go over and flirt. If Danny flirted back! Then he would ask him out! It was a solid plan. One that risked way less issues than asking right out the gate! It was only logical to do it this way. Danny was the best at what he did. Replacement even praised his work.

Jason knocked on the door frame and walked into Danny's shop. His breath caught a little when Danny looked up. He looked incredible. He was wearing something a little tighter than usual. And he could not keep his eyes to himself. And then he grinned, soft and welcoming. And it was all he could do to not just kiss him. Fuck. Ok. He could do this. Be cool Jason, be cool!

Jason: Hey, got time to spare me?

Danny smiled wider and waved him in.

Danny: Hey Hood. Uh, I was. Well. I was wondering if you might join me for dinner? I got something I made for you, and it's ready. So uh. Dinner! To explain it!

Jason: Yeah, Dinner sounds great! And you made me something? You didn't have to!

Danny: Yeah but you take such good care of us. I thought you deserved something special you know?

Jason: Something special huh? Most special thing in this shop is you.

Danny felt a blush rise on his face at that. He bit back the instinctive chirp and answer. No Danny, you can't just say he can have you! Have some self respect!

Jason smirked as he saw how flustered that made Danny. Ok, his guys might be right! And he invited him in for dinner. That was a great sign!

Danny: Um! Thanks! I made, I made chili dogs. With garlic bread! I heard you liked it! So, um.

Jason: Then I better stay to try it. Can't let you waste your time right? Want me to lock up down here?

Danny: Sounds good to me!

Danny quickly ran upstairs to plate up the food. He had cooked everything separately and made sure to keep it warm. Now it needed plating and serving. He heard Hood come into his kitchen and felt warm at the thought. He had his (potential) mate in HIS house, in HIS kitchen, about to eat HIS food? It felt great. He knew he was still flushed and a bit giddy. But give him a break.

Jason smiled watching Danny bustle around the kitchen. Everything was perfectly tidied away, except for the most recently used bits and pieces. Clearly either Danny rarely cooked, or he was meticulous about keeping his eating space clean. The food did smell good though. He sat at the table and noticed a large box to the side. The gift at a guess.

Danny grinned and set the food down and handed him a glass and a range of choices for drinks. He couldn't help it! He was from Illinois! Manners and hosting are important!

Danny: I hope you like it!

Jason: Well it smells amazing so. Anyway, this gift?

Danny: Yeah. Um! You deserve better gear. So you are as safe as you can be. With your job you know? So um, I made a new type of gun! It uses concussive force. Like an air cannon, but hand held! And I worked on new fabric. So it's better than kevlar. So you can make your protective gear out of it. And the method is in the box too! So you can share it with your guys!

Jason: Danny... That's. Amazing. You, don't have to go to that much effort for me you know?

Danny: Um, But I want to? I want to keep you around. And help keep you safe as well?

Jason felt all kinds of warm and fuzzy hearing that. Add that to the sight of Danny flushed red, and looking so damn cute and shy? Fuck, damn, he was just. Perfect.

Danny hardened his nerve and looked Jason in the eyes. Determined to get it out.

Danny: I want a chance. To keep you. To date you. To keep you safe.

Jason let out a harsh breath and stood up quickly leaning in to grab Danny's face in his hands. He leaned in close, lips near touching.

Jason: Yes. I want that to. Can I kiss you?

And then Black Mask heard about Hood's partner. The perfect target to hurt Hood. And he sent people to grab him. Now, Danny knew he would be fine. But he couldn't fight back in the open. People might get hurt. So he went with them.

Goon: You're coming quiet?

Danny: Don't want anyone hurt in the crossfire. Hood hates when innocents get hurt. So do I. I'll go. just, don't hurt our people ok?

Goon: Sure. You come quiet and I'll leave us neighbours alone.

When Hood saw that on the security videos he broke the phone he was holding. Danny had told him enough to know he should be fine. But it didn't stop the worry. And the anger. Mask was going to pay for this!

Black Mask grinned as he saw the twins Hood was seeing. Perfect bair. Great leverage. Now, they had to rough him up a bit. For the random video see.

Black Mask: Let's get him tied down boys! We need to send a message to Hood!

Danny: Yeah.... About that? Chains really? I don't know what you are into, but chains don't do it for me.

Black Mask grit his teeth and smacked Danny for his cheek. Danny just grinned, his fangs starting to grow out.

Danny: You know. I was gonna sit tight. Be a good damsel. But, I've changed my mind!

The goons laughed at his bravado, not seeing the item he slipped from hi sleeve. They laughed until they heard the cuffs holding his hands behind his back break. And then all hell broke loose. Danny grabbed his wrist Ray and started to take the goons out. They hadn't even searched him properly. Did they really think the head mechanic would Have safety gear? Idiots.

Danny quickly jumped behind cover and started to cause havoc. Black Mask was shouting for reinforcements. But his orders were to detain not kill. And Danny did not want to be caught.

His Fenton laser still had enough juice to cause damage. So he aimed at the nearby shelves. It would make them fall, giving him more places to hide. And more cover.

By the time Hood and his men arrived Danny had thoroughly humiliated Black Mask and his operation. He was currently sat on top of a pile of tied up men. Using the goons as a throne. Black Mask as his foot rest, as he casually took apart of of their tech. When Hood barged in Danny looked up and shot him a wicked grin.

Danny jumped up, making sure to step in Black Mask. And then bounced over to Hood. Hood opened his arms to grab him in a hug. Danny jumped and wrapped his arms and legs around his partner.

Danny: Hi babe! Think I did enough damage?

Hood: Yup. I think you did more than enough.

Danny: Enough to get a reward?

Hood: Hmm. I'd say so yeah. You're staying at mine tonight.

Danny: I'll collect tonight then.

One of Hood's men coughed lightly.

Bill: Boss. We can take care of cleanup. Take your man home yeah?

Hood: Aight. We'll be off then. See y'all tomorrow.

Danny: Night guys! Have a good one!

The guys shook their heads as Hood left, still carrying his danger twink. Bill looked at the likes of goons and whistled. Honestly impressed.

Bull: Right! Let's get this lot sorted! Boss is uh, gonna be busy. Let's not disturb him, or his pretty danger twink till tomorrow noon yeah?

Goons: Oh yeah. I would not want to walk in on whatever they get up to. His pretty little partner did a LOT of damage. Aye, if I could get me someone like that....

And yeah, Hood gets a lot of good natured teasing for a bit after that. Danny gets treated with an even bigger level of respect. They already adored the guy. He made the good weapons and armour. And now they know he can destroy a gang? Boss's new partner is cool. They approve. Also, he doesn't try to get involved in gang stuff or Mon politics. He leaves it alone. And a lot of the gang members have seen when someone gets too involved in a bad way. They like that he isn't doing that to them!

Of course, this is how the batfam find out about Danny. Red Hood fucked off in the middle of patrol and they had no idea why? Until they found Hood's gang members dealing with Black Mask. And asked a few questions.

If course the answer that "Hood's pretty little danger twink got snatched" was not the answer they were expecting. At all. And Hood didn't kill Mask for that?

Red Robin: What, did he not want to let his lover see him kill the guy?

Goon: Hah! Nah! Pretty boy had em all knocked out and tied up by the time we got here! Hood was a bit busy trying to keep his hands us 'imself to even think about it!

Nightwing: Hence 'danger twink'?

Goon:Yup! Don't youse lot go fucking it up! Boss is happy! And they're cute together!

Nightwing: Well that's no fair! Why don't I get to tease him!

Red Robin: Are you scared he'll run from us?

Goon: Nah. More likely to break you're arm of reckon! If ya pissed him off!

Only to find Jason's security has been massively updated... He might need help to get through this... Time to call in Tim!

Danny and Jason come down to see it. And neither can help laughing. Full blown, clutching stomachs, side splitting laughter. Danny films him for a bit then let's him down.

Danny: Now what should I do with the footage babe?

Danny is dancing away from Dick who is trying to swipe his phone as Jason is smirking off to one side.

Jason: Send it to me. I'll make sure my siblings all see it!

Dick: No! Wait! Trade! I can trade! Do not!

Danny: I dunno. I feel like showing this to everyone else will give me a relationship boost to the others....

Jason: Timmers will love it for sure. And Steph.

Dick: Come on! How are you so good at dodging!

Danny: Mad scientist parents. You ducked or you died. Hmm... Nah. Suffer! I'm a younger sibling too. Tis the correct approach!

She accidentally got the attention of a small GIW branch in the middle of nowhere, probably a prison or containment unit, and they hunted her straight into the town she managed to find.

They also used their weapons on her. Their weapons...tuned for Danny. Her template.

Dani is down an arm and a leg, powers on the fritz because of the weapons they shot her with, sprawled in the middle of the road while horrified onlookers scream, with the GIW agents bearing down on her.

She closes her eyes and braces, and hopes it's at least less painful than melting. The adrenaline has already numbed the pain of losing two limbs, and she's grateful for that, but she's not sure it'll be enough to stand up to...well. Getting shot over and over again.

But nothing happens.

The screams slowly die down, and a hush falls over the area. The air itself seems to go still

She peeks open her eyes, and the GIW agents are still and tense, staring at something behind her. The people on the street still look scared, but now they look scared in a different way.

It's a struggle, but she manages to turn her head to see what stopped the GIW in it's tracks.

She's expecting Danny, or one of his rogues. Maybe even Vlad, in her wildest dreams.

What stands behind her, though, is none of them.

There are four people, all wearing similar outfits, not saying a word as they stare down the GIW with red hot glowing eyes.

She thinks she recognizes some of them, but the blood-loss is catching up.

The last thing she thinks before she passes out is that she really, really hopes she didn't hallucinate being saved by the Supergirl, cuz that would be really cool.

Government agents shoved inside their own tank-like SUVs and trapped inside as the metal is twisted and welded around them, barely left space to breathe, much less move until the Supers find a place to keep them for trial.

Scathing articles about defense funding being siphoned through several false companies and fake personal accounts to attack and maim children who have been declared non-sentient but clearly feel pain and fear.

Many people in and around Smallville recognizing the little girl as being that sassy but kind adventurer who’d claimed she was taking the Greyhound across country to visit her cousin. She had been sleeping on a bench at the station waiting for her bus transfer, and offering to share a story in exchange for food. Several other travelers and townsfolk share first-hand accounts to several news stations of just how sentient she is.

The Anti-Ecto Acts being brought to public view and national protests turning into violent riots when police attack churches for wanting to protect their dead spirits. There is more unity between religious sects in that month than ever before recorded in history, all fighting and organizing together to decree The Dead Have A Right To Live Their Afterlife.

But that’s all drawn out over months. All Dani knows when she wakes up about 30 hours later is she’s hooked up to medical equipment. The only reason she doesn’t have an instant panic attack is she also opens her eyes to see Supergirl sleeping in a recliner next to her hospital bed.

The Supers have been taking turns watching over this damaged child and have grown attached. No one has dared get close without being fully supervised by a Super.

Dani: sooo where’s my arm and leg?

Kon: uhhh I don’t mean to alarm you but they’re gone? They kinda almost blew you up completely.

Dani, rolling her eyes: yes I know that thank you. But if you kept the pieces I could reabsorb them and that would help me regain some strength. It’ll take longer to grow those limbs back though. Not as malleable as I used to be since I stabilized. Wish I had an Ecto-Dejecto.

Jon: a what?

Kara: …dejecto…? Sounds like the opposite of what you need right now.

Dani: yeah the name sucks but trust me it’s good stuff. Totally kept me from melting that one time.

Dani: …..my cousin.

Kara: can you contact them?

Dani: I mean yes? Technically? But should I is a different story. Danny’s a bit…protective. If he hears what happened, he’s going to freak out. I’m talking full on mother hen mode.

Kara and co immediately assume this is a cousin who is older kinda like how Clark was older than Kara and that this cousin is a responsible adult despite the girl’s stubborn refusal to ask for help.

Dont get Danny wrong, he's grateful that they saved her, but his ghostly instincts to Protect are now flaring up, and before he realizes what he's doing, he's already flown out of his families house and is in front of a GIW base.

He only remembers a blur of fighting, killing, and destroying any base or GIW Operative he comes across or knows about. The bases looked closer to a childrens hospital from a thousand years ago than a base that had been populated barely an hour before Danny arrived.

Dani just raised an eyebrow at her template.

Dani: You couldn't have cleaned up before coming over? I don't want GIW gross blood on me!!!

Danny froze and looked down at himself. He had been on a mindless rampage honestly. After seeing them hurt his person. He just.. Lost it. Oops. He shrugged sheepishly and went intangible. The sound as all the debris hit the floor was kinda gross. But it could have been worse.

Danny: Sorry. I got your medication! Are you feeling ok? How many doses do you need? I grabbed the whole box. And the stuff needed to mix up more just in case. Why didn't you have any on you! You should have called when they started tracking you! I'd have helped!!!

Dani: Nooo!! I knew you'd be like this! I didn't want to worry you. You already have to babysit Amity and the portal and the Fenton's. Then you have to deal with Vlad and his bull. I thought I could handle it. I was headed to visit. So I could grab more.

What I’d give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you’re in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you’re not weak if you can’t escape by yourself

She’s impossibly wealthy. The dress isn’t a fabric he can recognize, but it’s beaded with cut diamonds, faintly milky opals that shimmer with a rainbow, little pale aquamarines, and somewhere are little bells gently ringing with each step - he’s a Prince and he can’t afford to dress like that. The slippers ring too … there is nothing like that crafted by the hands of humans. That’s fairy stuff. She has an in with them that eclipses royal politics. She is powerful in the Old Ways.

All this wraps around the poorest woman he’s ever seen in his entire life, and he’s seen some very, very, poor people in his time.

Poor in money, but poor in “oh you poor thing!” as well. This is someone who has been robbed blind. This is someone who carried themselves waiting for the lash, for a browbeating, for harsh, cruel, abrupt, punishment.

He expects her to be haughty, or hard, or meek or… something else… but she’s just nice. She’s just … nice.

The rigid posture comes out of his back, his tongue unsticks. She’s like sitting by the embers of a low, calm, fire. He feels warmed and rested simply speaking to her. He wonders if it’s magic, and it might be, but if it is it is magic that is her own.

And that terrifies him, because he’s trained to see these things and he knows someone with a cruel hand is waiting to douse her, and snuff her, and beat the last glimmer out of her shining eyes - eyes that put that dress to shame and and and and… she’s gone.

Oh god, she’s gone. It will be all over her sweet, kind, warm face that she transgressed and … oh god they’ll kill her, whoever they are. This will embarrass them and if there’s anything he knows, it’s that you don’t humiliate someone who has power over you and walk away unscathed.

And all he has is a fairy slipper that will only ever fit her foot (it’s not merely shoe size, it’s a kind of spiritual fit as well), and the vain hope that he can keep such a bright light from burning out. It doesn’t even touch his heart that what he’s feeling is a kind of pure philia, not until it enraptures him soul to bones, all at once. Oh god, oh no, oh shit… he’s reached well above his station, but…he can try to be good and worthy.

Can his blood mites, when mixed with another's blood, be used to manipulate that blood?

If so, can that blood be mixed enough as to act as his bloodmites?

Can his blood create lifeforms?

if it can create lifeforms, can he use it to create something that acts independently from him?

If both work, see if mixing his and shixiong's blood allows him to create a blood child.

if both don't work, steal shixiong's blood and find a plant that does.

If only mixing blood works, use his blood to indefinitely keep some of shixiong's blood inside of him (side goal).

Binghe, outloud: "Immortals live a long time, Shixiong. As long as you're with me, there's no telling what may happen."

Danny is being hunted. Both his parents and the Giw. They all think he is a villain so he might as well be one.

He’d just choose who he’d be a villain for.

By then he had one choice. The flash. That man seems to care about his villain . He doesn’t think the man would let one of his villains be tortured or experimented on.

After his recent escape from the parties hunting him he sets out for central city. He’d just be a villain to an actual decent person instead.

Danny just shrugged as the two of them looked over at the police officer with his feet frozen to the ground in oddly warm ice that was in no danger of giving him frostbite. "I didn't think they deserved a ticket, and when I asked him nicely not to give them one, he asked me what I was going to do about it." Danny shrugged.

Flash was mildly impressed. And vaguely alarmed. There was a unknown meta kid walking his city that could freeze people with less effort than it took for Flash to eat. "So, uh, can you melt the ice?" he asked.

Another shrug. "Sure." The ice suddenly vanished and the officer toppled over.

"Thanks, kid." Flash looked over the skinny, raggedly dressed, clearly underweight teen. "How do you feel about getting some food?"

The kid's face lit up. "Really?" he asked, clearly excited.

Take the time Danny froze a cash register shut. Sure, the clerk hadn't been able to get it open. But the store had also been actively being robbed at the time, and the criminal hadn't been able to get it open either. And this wasn't some big name store chain; this was a little Mom&Pop place that was always on the edge of making/losing money. He'd saved them from being robbed and just waited. For Barry to get there as Flash before he unfroze the register.

Or the time that Danny froze a bus in place. The bus had been frozen, unable to move. It had also experienced brake failure and was about to hit a cat in the road. And the ice was placed so that the people on board could exit safely, some of the ice even making a handicap ramp.

But Danny himself referred them as "acts of villainy." And once, in a conversation that Barry overheard, mentioned that he'd chosen to go to Central City because Flash was the best hero a rogue could have. He was polite about stopping Danny and hadn't threatened to rip him apart molecule by molecule even once!

Barry dropped what he was doing to change. "What ahppened and where are you?"

"We're in the basement of the Tuesday Trivia night building, and the kid and I are surrounded by--Flash, you're not going to believe this, but we're surrounded by people in white suits who are demanding we die."

The sea of white suited people, all sporting bulky earbuds and wires, appeared in front of Flash. "Got it." He did a couple of laps. They had technology that Barry had never seen before. "You got another way out?"

"I--uh, I don't know. The kid's kind of catatonic."

A chill ran through Barry. "The kid's there?" he asked.

"They were chasing him."

Barry wasn't one to randomly lose his temper, but these--people were getting him there. He found what looked to be the leader and stopped in front of them with a wave. "So, what brings you to Central City?" he asked.

The person's lip curled in a sneer. "Nothing to concern yourself with," they said.

"Yeah, that's not gonna fly," Barry told him firmly. "See, this is my city, and I protect it. You are in my city, so I kinda need to know what you're doing here."

Another white suited person came over. "There's an ectoplasmic entity hiding in that building. We need to retrieve it for study and disposal."

The kid. They were talking about the kid. "No one needs to 'study and dispose' of anyone," he said. He pressed a button on his communicator to connect him to the League. It was time to bring in the big guns.

"We have authorization to remove any obstacles in our path to containing and neutralizing the entity," the first one said.

"Authorization from whom?" demanded Superman, looming behind the two.

"Good question," said Batman, materializing from--somewhere.

Barry had stopped asking questions about Batman a long time ago. He was simply something that could not be quantified. But he was also the biggest gun. "They said they want study and dispose of a kid," he tattled.

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Did they now?" he asked.

The person in white rolled their eyes. "It's not a child," they said. "It's an ectoplasmic entity. Just an imprint of emotions."

"You know," Superman said slowly, "one of my oldest companions is an emotional imprint on a digital database." The agent turned around and Batman was not surprised at the pure look of fury on the hero's face. "And he has full rights under the Meta Protection Act."

"Whoo! You tell 'em, Supes!" cheered Flash. Suddenly an arm was around Batman. "Bye the way, how do you adopt without going through the system?"

"Later," grunted Batman. "Flash."

"Got it!" The man vanished.

Batman and Superman were left with the now nervous agents. "Where were we?" asked Batman. Superman floated just enough to loom over them.

~~~

Barry raced into the building, grabbed Digger and Danny, and zoomed the two of them out of there. As soon as he set them down Digger put a hand on Danny's shoulder. The kid was shaking like a leaf.

"Hey, Danny," said Barry, keeping his voice low and soft. "How you doin', Kiddo?"

"I don't want them to get me," Danny mumbled.

Barry didn't need to look at Digger's face to see the heartbreak in int. "Hey, listen to me," he said. "You're my rogue, all right?" The kid looked up, silent tears streaming down his face. "And I don't share my rogues. You can ask anyone!"

"That's right," Digger said. "Why, Flash here once went toe toe with the Bat for me."

Not quite how that had gone, but Barry wasn't going to do anything to undermine the support he was getting. "See?" he said. "No one's going to take you anywhere. You're my rogue, and I don't share."

Those haunted blue eyes stared into Barry's soul. "Promise?" Danny asked in a whisper.

"I promise," said Flash firmly. Danny threw himself into Flash's arms and began to sob.

It was just a statement of fact.

The Rogues of Central and Keystone City are just as much of a family as the Flashes. They have each other’s backs, know the rules, and know how to play the game.

Committing solo crime is known to be a great ticket to instantly experiencing an express package delivery to a jail cell in Iron Heights.

But occasionally, things are different.

This, was different.

It wasn’t uncommon, per say, for a flash rogue to do the occasional good deed and help the civilians of Central City. They might be rogues but they still had morals.

But this wasn’t that.

He already has experience in teaching a protégé. Wally West, his nephew. An amazing kid now joined up with the Teen Titans and continuing to make a name for himself as Kid Flash.

The Flashes ran free so he let Wally run on his own as well. Wally ran his own missions, fought his own battles, made his own heroing schedule, made his own boundaries.

Wally foraged his own path to becoming the self sufficient hero Barry knew he could become with his own experience. Laying down a strong foundation of hero work to make his own identity as apart of the Flash Family.

But whenever Wally needed advice, Barry would always be there in a heartbeat.

They all knew that any acts of villainy Danny, the rogue kid, committed were actually more like small acts of heroism. He wasn't any Batman, or Superman, or even Flash; he didn't save a city, but it was enough to get civilians and heroes alike to appreciate his efforts.

Solo villains don't last in Central City, but Danny was determined to go it alone. After the initial incident with the boneheads in white, some of his vague excuses about "Not wanting anyone to get caught in the crossfire" and "Not wanting to have any personal attachments that could be taken advantage of" made much more sense.

And the rogues know. They know Danny wasn't born or even raised in Central or Keystone, that he showed up one day and simply never left, that he seemed to be running from something. Hiding from something.

Someone. Actually, someones, plural, if the amount of white wearing idiots that showed up that day and infested the city after it was anything to go off.

He didn't really know what the cause of his brokenness was, just that he clearly and obviously was. Even before he died, he couldn't see color.

Unlike Jazz, whose soulmates began with their parents and continued to appear into her life and then stay in her life, Danny appeared to be soulmateless if it weren't for the fact that he still couldn't see color. Jazz, and everyone else in Amity, had the full rainbow and then some available to her before she even made it to middle school.

Jazz's soulmates were an easy and short list. Mom, Dad, her friend Kyle Weston, and her friend Spike. She had met Kyle in kindergarten, and Spike in third grade. All of her soulmates were platonic and familial, though there was still a chance that she was seeing darker shades of colors than they're supposed to be - it was more common than not for a romantic soulmate to brighten up the world that someone could already see.

Danny was in high school. And all he saw was grey, grey, and more grey. Occasionally, he could even tell that he was looking at black. It was unusual. He was broken. What else was he supposed to understand from that?

"Maybe your soulmates are somewhere else? Like, your soulmates are all French or something," Tucker suggested, offhand.

"Maybe," Danny pretended to agree. Frankly, though, he wasn't holding out hope.

He was already dead, after all.

If someone's soulmate passed, they just lost the ability to see whatever colors their soulmate had given them. Danny doubted that him being dead before meeting his soulmates would affect that specific phenomenon in any meaningful way. He would just never know.

So why the hell could he suddenly see this- this- this beautiful color after meeting some dude? He didn't seem to have noticed the change of colors, rushing off with a bright apology for running into Danny, as Danny's whole world flipped on its side. He- he had no clue how to find that person again. What was he supposed to do now?

Maybe... maybe start with googling what this color is.

Blue. Blue was the color of the sky, of oceans, of brightly colored birds and butterflies. It was so beautiful. Danny's eyes were blue! Danny decided just then that blue was his favorite color.

Who knew he'd finally find a soulmate after moving to Gotham? Maybe, just maybe, he'd find his other soulmates here too.

He shook his head; Danny knew better than to hope. Danny was dead. He can't have soulmates, now. Even if Danny could now see colors- or, well, one color, that didn't mean whoever was connected to him could also see their missing color(s). So even if Danny was connected to them, they... probably weren't connected to him.

...

"Sorry, Jay, I got held up at wor-" Dick trailed off, looking at his little brother's eyes.

They weren't that green before. He knows they weren't; after meeting Damian, Dick could see green. They could all see green after meeting Damian. Jason and Damian's eyes were both an olive green, only a slight shade difference between them, everyone in the family agreed. Not... not this neon bright green.

Jason's gaze snapped to Dick from where he'd been glaring at someone across the diner, and the brightness dulled. It didn't go away, but calmed down. No longer seemed like it was lighting Jason's face up. "What?"

"Well, no," Dick admitted, before gesturing aimlessly, "I figured you could probably just look at security cameras or something until you found someone that acts differently after I interact with them."

Tim sighed, looking burdened with the entire world, before doing a quick 180 to face the Bat-computer. "Do you, at the very least, have a time frame?"

"Uh... I mean," Dick shrugged, "I hadn't seen either Jason or Damian since two weeks ago, so..."

Tim's head hung down, before muttering something under his breath and pulling the Bat-keyboard closer to himself. "Gimme, like, three days or something. I'll skim through the footage I can find, see if I can find them."

"You're the best, baby bird!" Dick wrapped his arms around Tim's shoulders, Bat-chair included in the hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Tim grumbled, ignoring the hug from his older brother/soulmate.

It took less than a day for Tim to decide that he needed a break - because, man, Dick interacted with a lot of people every day. He could rule out most of the people that're working at stores and cafes and restaurants that Dick frequently visited, unless they were new at the job - luckily, not many new workers at those locations in the past month. There were quite a few people who reacted strangely after meeting Dick, but it was clear that they were simply reacting to having talked to an attractive person - gross. And really, he could probably ignore the people Dick talked to at his job, too. It's not like there were any new students or new parents in Dick's classes.

"Ah, thanks," Tim offhandedly said, meeting blue eyes of the person who'd held the door for him.

"No problem," the teen was distracted by something on his phone, so Tim didn't bother him much longer.

Really, there were too many candidates for Dick's new soulmate, and it was just a massive pain to try to figure it out.

...

Danny shot off his last reply to the group chat from his friends back in Amity, glad that Val had managed to catch Boxy before Danny's parents or the government did. Sam had volunteered to put Boxy back through the portal, and Tuck was currently sending Danny's parents on a wild goose chase around the city. It was...

Well, it wasn't exactly a good alternative to Danny being there, but like... at least they had it under control, from what he could tell.

Putting his phone away, Danny looked up to admire the blues and- and- he had another color. What was that color? Wait, when did he meet his soulmate?? Did he actually meet someone today?? The only person he'd interacted with was a barista and he probably held the door open for some people, but. But. But anyone he actually noticed didn't seem to change his vision any?

He whipped his phone back out, googling for that website that provides color names for the newly soulbound for the second time this week. His hands were shaky and- and weren't grey? But it was a dull version of that color so they weren't exactly that color- yellow. He... he must be missing a color or two, to be able to know what color his skin is. But... yellow was the color of sunlight? And, and it was the color of sunflowers, and bees, and ducks, and cheese - yellow was so- so cool!

AKA "Ghosts feed on emotions. The stronger, the better. Danny quickly realizes this also applies to pain. He becomes a nurse at Dr. Leslie Thompkins' clinic. Enter: the Wayne Family Dilemma." DPxDC prompt idea!

Okay, so, Danny hadn't really intended to work at Dr. Leslie Thompkins' free clinic as a nurse. He even applied for the job; he was helping somebody else who'd gotten mugged get to the free clinic and Dr. Thompkins stopped him, asked, "You're a nurse?" And he was hired. It turns out, nobody wanted to work for Dr. Thompkins because it was a crime-ridden hotspot: Crime Alley.

Danny doesn't even really realize what's happening until a patient with a GSW comes into clinic, yelling and bloody, and Danny's nitrile touch calms him enough that he doesn't even need morphine. A haphazard surgery later and Danny's fully satisfied - he doesn't even need to eat dinner because he feels like he's two minutes away from a food coma.

That's where the rumor starts. The free clinic has good drugs. Not fentanyl, oxycodone, dilaudid, or ketamine. Something better that has no side effects and totally erases every pain - as little as a sore throat to chronic pain that doctors have said there's no cure for. It becomes so well known that Dr. Thompkins' clinic is a huge target and a certain batfamily has to stake out the place to dissuade criminals.

Enter: Dick Grayson, former BPD officer with chronic leg pain after being shot in the leg. Jason "Totally Not A Crime Lord" Todd whose extensive burns affect the right side of his body. Barbara Gordon, Gotham librarian whose spinal injury causes phantom pain.

Danny used to be scared of ghosts. Hard not to when your parents constantly warn you how dangerous they are. It was comforting when his mom and dad would sit next to his bed at night telling him that if a ghost did try to hurt him they'd catch them and keep him safe.

Now he was a ghost and ghosts aren't so scary. They at alot like humans actully with wants and fears. He can't even remember why he thought they were scary.

Actually its humans who are kinda weird looking. They are so fleshy and oddly proportional. Their eyes are too small and dull. Then again Danny had trouble recognizing their faces now. They blur together most of the time.

What Danny didn't know was that he didn't remember what ghost used to look like in his human eyes. From twisted elongated necks that stretched from ceiling to floor, to hollow stretched black holes where their eyes would have been, to the rotted hanging jaws peeled of lips. Ghosts were a parody of normal anatomy, all twisted into horrid forms.

And their voices.

Their voices all sounded so familiar but strange, for a moment you wanted to listen and then you wanted to never hear it again.

He used to listen to them outside his window when he went to the countryside to visit relatives. He'd hear is grandfather tap on the glass.

"Danny you've gotten so big." he'd say "Why dont you come out and play with your Pop-pop? I can still throw a ball around."

Danny used to hide under the covers because he knew they just buried granddad a few days ago.

The thing's knarled black fingers would tap restlessly and get more insistent with each call. Its white pinprick pupils stared into his. Danny could only look at it paralyzed in fear.

Now Danny could play a few rounds with the old man and he couldn't understand how he didn't recognize his granddad.

Now he couldn't understand why people were so afraid of him. He was taking a bit of vaction/tour and whenever he transformed to do some light hero work people would run. Not just the bad guys but the citizens as well.

He didn't get it. Other heros around here didn't get that treatment. Was it because he was new?

He had no idea just how different he looked in the eyes of people who were not ghosts, or liminal, or other-adjacent.

Amity loved their hero Phantom.

Amity would fight for Phantom.

ALWAYS.

---

After Amity returned to the living realm, it took a while for people to notice the consequences.

Amitians that were not around when they pulled the city into the Infinite, screamed when they returned. To them, every one had been replaced by something other, and due to the block on their area/zip code, they couldn't even tell anyone, so they moved away and just hoped everyone would eventually move on.

The Amitians that stayed for a short while after returning, started to see the city people normally. Their subconscious locked away the fear and made them forget that they were initially afraid of almost everything. Similarly, those with connections (in the spiritual//magic sense) flocked to Amity in droves. The city was a ley line and its connection to the -other (it's what the community of spiritual and magical beings call the dimension they draw power from. It's an umbrella term)) had been made stronger.

Tourists and visitors typically entered the city by mistake or sped through jt to get to another state as quickly as possible. Since only ecto-infused tech could work within the city limits, people who tried to photograph the weird but their phones would not see anything. The reputation of being a ghost town started to grow.

When people left Amity, for work or school, they always had a hard time making friends or getting acquainted because there was always the energy of "if we don't see it, it won't acknowledge us." It was how outsiders reacted to Amitians. Ghosts were the horrors and Amitians were uncanny Valley (it was the origin of the use of the word in the U.S.). [Word was introduced in 1970 - Bukimi no Valley//Valley of Eeriness].

So, it was no surprise that when Phantom started showing up outside of Amity, that people ran. If those living on the edge of Amity had a rating of 4 (out of 10 on the Uncanny Valley scale) then those living in FentonWorks and close to the building, have a rating of 10. That, plus the ghosts as horrors, means that there is no ... nice way to accurately describe what Phantom looks like.

---

Many that encountered the entity, have been admitted into Psych wards. Others have been too afraid to do anything. Some under the latter have been moved onto life support as they literally starved and wasted away in their beds for fear of catching its attention. It wasn't until the entity made its way to Gotham that people finally got a hint as to what it was.

[HC being followed: Amity Park is the most liminal space in the world and in the U.S. Gotham City is the second most liminal space in the U.S. in terms of ambient ecto].

Gothamites did not reject the entity. It was more of a pause and then a carry on. It felt like one of their own, just a little to the left of things. Lady Gotham was pleased with the presence and Gotham saw no crime during the entities long stay. When Zatanna and John Constantine came across it, they finally got answers to their questions.

---

A JLA meeting was called. Everyone was present (JL, YJ, TT, JLD, Outlaws, etc.). John and Zatanna started off by stating that they had made contact with the entity and had great news to share. The entity was not malicious, had a name, and was, get this, a hero.

They explained a bit about what it was doing and why it was where it was. They also explained that the entity dealt with species of its kind to keep humans safe. It was well known in its home base (the word used to describe a Hero's place of origin//the place they protect the most) and had lots of civilian fans and contacts. They further explain that the entity was confused about the people running away, but did its job all the same.

Batman: you're saying he's a hero? Where is his home base?

The Flash: he?

At that, John and Zatanna zeroed in on Batman.

John: you can see him?

Zatanna: Truly?

Batman: Yes.

---

I have so much to say in this post, but I feel like this would be a good stop. I hope someone takes over and adds to the post. I wonder how it ends, if the JL would accept him.

Dan: Why?

Danny: Well, for one thing, you totaled the Specter Speeder, which Mom and Dad are going to kill you for, and two, the group of people surrounding our crash landing.

Dan: Oh yeah, I also feel uncomfortable with how much spandex they are wearing. Do you think we landed in a weird sex cult?

Danny: If we did, you have to protect me. They do weird things to virgins.

Dan: Ill set the Specter to self-destruct with us in it, if it come to it.

Danny: Thank you

Clark hearing everything they are saying: Okay guys we are all going to have to back up a bit. We're scaring the alien children.

Bruce: Children? There are children in there?

Hal: Yes. My ring confirmed it during the last scan. Looks like twins from the Infinite Realms, a sector really far from our galaxy. They are the equivalent of 14-

This keeps growing on me, so have the first(??) part.

The Titans had gotten themselves a bit of a reputation through the years. Cyborg likes to blame it on how they were all teen heroes when they started; all full of hubris and hormones. And the thing is, he’s not wrong.

But he’s also not right.

Nightwing was, and always would be in all the ways that really mattered, their leader. The Titans stood because of him. And he may have been Robin, but he was never a meek little bird, at least not since ‘Robin’ came after ‘Batman’. Nightwing was a terror, because he had to be. He had people that he loved and he would not let them fall, not again. Each Titan strived to meet the bar he set.

Which meant all of them were vicious.

They were a snake strike wrapped in a smile.

Bruce Wayne had access to databases most governments didn't even know existed.

If someone had been born...

He could usually find them.

Three hours after Danny fell asleep in one of the guest rooms above the Batcave, Bruce and Tim began searching.

"Start with the obvious," Bruce said.

Tim nodded.

"Daniel Fenton."

Nothing.

"Daniel James Fenton."

Nothing.

"Danny Fenton."

Nothing.

No birth certificate.

No school records.

No hospital visits.

No driver's permit.

No dental records.

Nothing.

Tim frowned.

"...That's impossible."

Bruce expanded the search.

Parents.

Jack Fenton.

Nothing.

Madeline Fenton.

Nothing.

Fenton Works.

Nothing.

Amity Park.

Nothing.

Tim leaned back in his chair.

"...Okay."

Bruce didn't answer.

Tim searched neighboring states.

Every city.

Every county.

Nothing.

No town named Amity Park had ever existed.

Not one.

"What about the sister?"

Bruce nodded.

"Searching."

Jazz Fenton.

Jasmine Fenton.

Jasmine Fen-

Nothing.

No birth records.

No school transcripts.

No college applications.

No social security number.

No obituary.

Nothing.

Tim frowned.

"Maybe aliases?"

Bruce had already started.

Facial recognition.

Nothing.

DNA databases.

Nothing.

Property ownership.

Nothing.

Military.

Medical.

Tax.

Nothing.

Tim rubbed his face.

"It doesn't make sense."

Bruce remained silent.

Because it did.

He simply didn't like the answer.

"Show me the thermos."

The strange metal cylinder sat inside one of the Batcave's containment labs.

Bruce examined every scratch.

Every seam.

Every inscription.

There.

Near the base.

Symbols.

Not a language he'd ever seen.

Not Kryptonian.

Not Thanagarian.

Not Atlantean.

Not New Genesis.

Something...

Else.

"Tim."

"I see it."

Bruce looked toward the computer.

"Run a dimensional energy analysis."

Tim's fingers flew across the keyboard.

The cave's scanners hummed.

Five minutes later...

A warning appeared.

UNKNOWN EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL SIGNATURE DETECTED

Tim slowly looked up.

"...Bruce."

"I know."

The energy wasn't simply from another dimension.

It wasn't from another timeline.

It wasn't even from the Phantom Zone.

It matched...

Nothing.

As though reality itself had never encountered it before.

Bruce replayed Danny's first words.

"What year is it?"

Then another.

"What's Gotham?"

And finally...

"My sister would be old now."

Bruce closed his eyes.

He'd assumed Danny had come from somewhere else on Earth.

He'd been wrong.

Danny hadn't crossed a country.

He'd crossed realities.

"He isn't missing from this Earth."

Tim finished the thought.

"...Because he was never here."

Bruce nodded once.

For the first time in years...

Batman had no trail to follow.

The next morning...

Danny sat at the enormous dining table in Wayne Manor.

His hands wrapped tightly around a mug Alfred had insisted he keep.

He still looked exhausted.

Still glanced toward every doorway whenever someone entered.

Still seemed surprised no one pointed a weapon at him.

Bruce took the seat across from him.

"We looked."

Danny immediately straightened.

"You found Jazz?"

The hope in his voice made Tim's chest tighten.

Bruce chose his next words carefully.

"We couldn't find any records."

Danny's smile faded.

"...She changed her name?"

"We couldn't find records of you either."

Danny blinked.

"What?"

"No birth certificate."

"..."

"No school."

"..."

"No parents."

"..."

"No town called Amity Park."

Danny stared at Bruce as though he'd spoken another language.

"...That's impossible."

"We thought so too."

Silence settled over the room.

Danny looked down into his tea.

"It has to be a mistake."

Bruce wished it were.

"We examined the device you arrived in."

Danny looked up.

"The thermos?"

"It carries an energy signature unlike anything we've encountered."

Tim quietly added,

"We think... it didn't just travel through time."

Danny frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Bruce folded his hands together.

"We believe it crossed into an entirely different universe."

The mug slipped from Danny's fingers.

Fortunately, it landed on the thick rug instead of shattering.

He didn't even notice.

"No."

His voice was barely audible.

"No..."

He shook his head over and over.

"That's..."

He laughed weakly.

"...That's stupid."

No one argued.

"It can't be."

No one interrupted.

"I just..."

His breathing became uneven.

"I just need to go home."

Tim looked away.

Bruce's silence told Danny everything.

"If you're right..."

Danny whispered.

"...then..."

He couldn't finish the sentence.

Because if Bruce was right...

There was no database to search.

No missing persons report.

No address to visit.

No grave to find.

No way to know.

Jazz might have lived a long, happy life.

She might have spent decades trying to find him.

She might have died believing she'd condemned her little brother to an eternity alone.

Or she might still be alive in another universe, still hoping against all reason that one day a silver thermos would come drifting back through a portal.

Danny would never know.

And somehow...

Not knowing hurt even more than certainty.

That evening, Tim found Bruce standing alone in the Batcave, staring at the dimensional scan.

"You're thinking about him."

Bruce didn't look away.

"When he asked if his sister was alive..."

Tim sighed.

"We couldn't even give him an answer."

Bruce's voice was quiet.

"Every missing child leaves a trail."

"A witness."

"A record."

"A photograph."

"A memory."

He looked at the scan of the impossible energy signature.

"Danny left nothing."

Tim crossed his arms.

"So what do we do?"

Bruce answered without hesitation.

"We stop looking for evidence that he belongs here."

Tim looked at him.

Bruce turned away from the monitor.

"And start helping him build a life in a world where he doesn't."

For the first time since opening the thermos, Danny Fenton wasn't just a frightened boy from another universe.

He was a sixteen-year-old with no home, no legal identity, no way back...

...and, whether he realized it yet or not, a family in Gotham that had already decided they weren't going to let him face that alone.

He has grown from the boy he was during his difficult beginnings as Robin. He has learnt compassion, gentleness, the worth of human life.

The value of family over legacy.

But his past mistakes still haunt him.

He has grown closer to Richard, and Todd and Cain became Jason and Cassandra over the years. He has more or less amicable relationships with the Gotham associates that are not quite part of the family but still within their sphere of acquaintance.

He is no closer to mending his relationship with Timothy Drake.

He does not blame the man. He has done tremendous damage to its foundations with his past behaviour. It is Drake's right to set a higher bar for him to reach before he lets him into his confidence.

A few days after his birthday, he overheard his most distant brother speaking to Richard.

The oldest Wayne son was arguing in Damian's favour, as he is so prone to doing to the detriment of his own relationship with Drake.

"You let Jay in and he also tried to kill you! What makes Damian different, Tim? He was a child."

"I was a child too! And Jason apologised. He showed me with his actions that it wouldn't happen again. He put in the work. He cared. And it wasn't easy either! He only reached out because I too got replaced."

It makes Damian feel ashamed just thinking about it. He can't believe he had expected Drake to simply overlook his past actions without even thinking that making amends had to start with an apology.

"So what, you won't try to have a relationship with Damian until we get a new brother? Do we need to find someone else to put in the costume for you to start making an effort with him?" had asked Richard, incredulous.

"Why am I always the one making an effort? And don't be ridiculous. Sure, the suit's a reminder of how it all went down, but I'm over that. I can't deny it helped, though, with Jason." Drake had sighed then. "I always wanted a little brother, you know? Now I'm dreading the possibility that the next stray Bruce picks out will be the one to off me permanently."

Richard tried to lighten the conversation. He didn't seem to want a full blown argument. "I don't know, maybe it will be a real baby this time? Then they won't have the strength to lift a weapon."

They spoke more, but Damian didn't feel right listening further.

The conversation left Damian quite distracted.

There was much to take from it.

He would have to properly apologise and show that he means it, of course. He couldn't believe he had been too stupid to figure it out before this.

At least he has a path forward. The other part of the discussion strikes him as more memorable. He'd never considered the possibility that he wouldn't be the last surprise child.

Father was a bleeding heart and a playboy. Sooner or later an orphan would fall into his lap or one of his paramours would announce a surprise pregnancy.

Did Bruce Wayne even take precautions?

Damian shudders. The less he knows about his father's intimate endeavours, the better. But it bears investigations nonetheless.

He has long accepted the fact that he is not his father's only son and heir. Perhaps it is time to prepare himself to the possibility that he is not the only blood son either.

And what better way to prepare than being proactive?

***

Damian splits his time between his duties as Robin, his awkward overtures to mend the rift between him and Drake, and his investigations into his father's past trysts.

This is how he learns that Father had a vasectomy shortly after becoming the Batman.

Which drastically reduces the chance of Damian already having half-brothers, and renders Richard's hope of a baby brother incapable of wielding weapons impossible.

Somehow, both thoughts disappoint him.

He still makes a list of the women his father had public relationships with before the procedure.

He is not surprised by Selina Kyle's presence on said list.

He is more intrigued by the story of Silver St Cloud.

The woman was from a prestigious family and frequented Gotham's high society circles. She had a whirlwind romance with Damian's father, and the Batcomputer's old file marked her as one of the few who were aware of Bruce Wayne's vigilante identity. Their romance was cut short abruptly, and Damian has become a good enough detective to understand said secret identity probably was the cause of the break-up. Then St Cloud dated another man until she reunited with Father, broke up with said man to resume their tryst, and was summarily murdered by one of Father's enemies.

Without ever telling him that she had given birth to a child a few months after their first break-up and given him away for adoption.

This, Damian finds out by doing some involved research Richard would probably scold him for.

Said involved research might not even have been needed, as Silver St Cloud's name was not censored on the birth certificate.

Bruce Wayne's only other possible blood son took an interest in his biological family at age fifteen and contacted the St Cloud family. His name was then Daniel Fenton. Following this interaction with his maternal grandparents and the presumed revelation that his biological mother was dead, he decided to shed the name of his adoptive parents and go to live with them. Damian can only assume the Fentons were inadequate caretakers.

Daniel St Cloud is now nineteen and attending university in Metropolis. He studies engineering in a reputable program, is already submitting patents with his grandparents' support and has persistently dodged LexCorp's attempts to recruit him out of school. He looks a lot like his mother, but he resembles Damian and their father too. He still maintains connections to his adoptive sister Jasmine Fenton and his social media indicates that his childhood friends see him regularly -- Tucker Foley is Daniel's college roommate and Sam Manson visits them often despite studying in Gotham, he notes with detached interest. He seems happy.

Perhaps it is too late for him to need a father. And yet.

Damian has come to learn that there is no such thing as having too much family.

Perhaps Daniel has no need for a father. Perhaps he might still want one.

Damian thinks he would like a brother who did not know him when the League still had its claws into him.

The St Clouds having not set foot in Gotham since the murder of their daughter, Damian is not entirely sure if they are aware of Daniel's connection to the Wayne family and are keeping it from him or if Silver St Cloud simply never told them who the father of her child was.

He intends to find out, but this will require making direct contact with them.

He just has to figure out how to go about it.

Please help me find one of my favorite fics that's disapeared from my bookmarks

It was a story about Dick, Jason, and Tim at a gala causing chaos. They want to go home early so they get a bunch of different groups in the gala to start arguing with each other. Then they turn on the sprinklers ( I think they set them up to spray paint). Then they make a break for it as they see Bruce start to approach them.

It was absolutely hilarious and something I liked to read when having a bad day. But now it's disappeared and I don't know if it somehow got removed from my bookmarks or if it's one of the stories that comes up as 'the story has been deleted'

"But the kingdom is flourishing, how can they be unhappy!?" The ruler whined. "Come on! What is it now??"

It truly was a form of hell. All they wanted was to enjoy their life - their beautiful palace, their library, to float in their swimming pool in the sun drinking and at ease.

They'd assigned the best the kingdom had to offer for that cause. Delegates and committees who really, really, shouldn't need their opinion all of the damn time.

"There's not enough housing for the rising population, sire," the advisor said.

"So build more houses?? It's not hard."

"There is not enough land in the kingdom to support that, sire," the advisor said, tentatively. "We are a small nation, and the financial and agricultural costs of-"

"-You're the experts," the ruler said. "You're supposed to figure it out. Can we, I don't know, stop the population rising instead? Why are there suddenly so many people?"

"You got rid of the famine and the hardship, sire."

"Can we kill the complaining ones so everyone else can be happy then? I really think they're bringing down the mood with unecessary negativity. And I don't want riots. They do need to take some responsibility for their own actions. Maybe an educational course on abstience? Do we already have free contraception?"

The advisor stared at them.

The ruler sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. They could feel a headache coming on.

"I just don't see why I have to have the answer to everything. What am I paying you for?"

"To advise you, sire."

"So advise me."

"We would be able to acquire more land, and more resources for the building of houses, if we expanded our borders."

"I can't have a war," the ruler said, like the advisor was being very silly indeed. "The people would hate me. Also wars are expensive and disrupt my supply lines."

"There's also the issue of increased food shortages, sire."

"You just said I solved the famine!"

"And then there were more people, sire."

"Maybe we can poll the people and get them to vote on the issue and I'll just do what they pick. Do that." The ruler nodded, firmly.

"...yes sire."

The polls came back a week later, interrupting a particularly juicy part of the ruler's novel. Their eye twitched.

The polls showed that no one could quite agree on a solution. No one wanted to lose their home. Different groups all felt the other groups should be the ones shoved out somewhere less undesirable, or culled. They all really felt that the ruler should never actually have let the situation get so dire in the first place.

"Sometimes," the advisor said, gently, "it's impossible to please everyone."

The ruler scowled.

"It's not that hard to be happy," they said. "Are they just incompetent?"

"No, sire."

"Are you sure?"

For the first time, since they took the job, something flashed in the advisor's eyes. A flicker of something like irritation.

"Sire," they said, still gently, albeit through gritted teeth. "Both people and governance are complex, with varied and sometimes competing needs and priorities. They are not trying to spite you. They are looking to you for help, as their ruler."

"And I'm looking to you, as my advisor, to sort these things. What about if I just gave you the power to make decisions in my stead, while I stay here?"

"Is that what you're doing, sire?"

The ruler considered, eyeing their advisor. Maybe not. Not with that flicker of irritation. Maybe it was simply time to get a new, more useful, more agreeable advisor.

"No, of course not," the ruler said, and forced a smile. "The problem is merely frustrating. I aim to please."

"You aim, sire, to be left alone with your riches unbothered."

"And if pleasure and a thriving economy is the side effect of that, I don't really think you should be taking such a judging tone with your monarch. I dislike it."

"I dislike the thought of you living here, contributing nothing, whining about every minor inconvenience of your priviledge."

The ruler gaped, jaw dropping open. "You can't talk to me like that!"

"You wanted me to advise you. I'm advising you to tread carefully and talk about your people with more respect, because as you clearly know, you exist in their service."

The ruler seethed. Blood pounded in their ears.

Had they not brought peace? Prosperity? More long-standing stability than any other monarch? Sure, maybe it wasn't always for the good of the kingdom, but that didn't stop the outcomes from being good.

Was it never, ever enough?

They'd thought helping the people be happy might give them what they wanted, but if the people were unhappy and always demanding more of them regardless, then why were they even trying so hard?

Perhaps their advisor saw something in their eyes too, because their advisor's expression shuttered.

They considered each other across the ruler's table.

The ruler scanned the poll results again, coolly.

"Build the new houses on the far border," they said. "Move the least useful citizens, and anyone who complains, to them. Kill anyone who resists and make it clear that any uprising will not be tolerated.."

The advisor swallowed, hard.

"You wanted me to make a decision," the ruler said, coldly. "The things you can also clearly see, but do not have the spine to decide for yourself, to earn my keep. I have done so. Do as I bid and leave."

"...yes, sire."

The other good thing about having advisors, even annoying ones who should have known better, was that there was always someone else to blame.

When the people rioted against, their saviour of a ruler knew exactly whose head they would offer on a platter.

They were the one who'd carried out the orders after all.

Satisfied, the ruler went back to their book.

Like- Hal Jordan. He's an Air Force Academy Graduate, was in the Air Force, and is a Test Pilot. You don't do that while being 'dumb'. He differs from Bruce because he trusts his instincts rather than data. He's impulsive where Bruce is calculated, and it's what makes him thrive in chaos where Bruce does with control. Not to mention, alien politics can NOT be an easy thing.

From what i've seen, people like to put Barry Allen in a 'dumb' light too. Which, couldn't be more wrong. He's a forensic scientist, a good one at that, and it's not an easy job. If anything, I'd like to see him conversing with Bruce on the topic more within fan-made media. It would probably be a joy for Barry to talk to someone who understands his work without him having to simplify or explain everything. And I've also seen people putting him down as 'weak' for his compassion, which...really..?

Then we got Arthur Curry.. He's a king, you guys. King of Atlantis? Protector of the Seas? He's royalty and a warrior, and has the diplomacy and instincts to back it up. His kingdom trusts him despite likely still not trusting those on the surface, and from what I can tell and assume, he's the main mediator between those of the ocean and those on land. He's impulsive, which is always seen as a weakness, but he's also passionate and very loyal to his people.

Oliver Queen? Let me start by saying he is a master archer, but Bruce is not. Bruce is not going to be able to correct him or talk as if Oliver is just..not shooting arrows correctly. Oliver has run for mayor of Star City and used his platform to challenge systemic inequality. Not to say Bruce hasn't, but they do it in very different ways. And with that, unlike Bruce, who often remains emotionally closed off, Oliver evolves. His relationships—with Dinah Lance, Roy Harper, Connor Hawke, and likely others that I can't name for the life of me—are messy but deeply human. He’s made mistakes, owned them, and grown from them. I believe people tend to forget how much Oliver has grown and changed throughout everything. Bruce is not the only human walking alongside gods and metas.