DP x DC Prompt/Plotbunny #6
After days? weeks? months? years? in this mercy-forsaken lab, Danny finds himself slipping; his core straining under the weight of what he's been subjected to. In a last ditch effort to save his fracturing soul, his brain simply stops processing the pain and allows his mind to escape into a waking dream.
Danny knows it's a dream. If he thinks about it; he can still hear, see, feel the scientists at work. He doesn't think about it; instead embraces whatever false world his mind decides to concoct for him.
.
Several states away, a young boy opens his eyes to the inside of a strange pod in an abandoned lab. Though he cannot see it yet, a strange metal tag dangles from his ear, stamped on one side with the word 'CADMUS' and on the other with 'R-13'.
peter parker in gotham au where he runs a red robin fanpage and posts oddly close photos of red robin in action. no one believes tim for a while but once they realize it's true all of the robins (+ batgirls and duke) start teasing him & asking how it feels to be on the opposite end.
I have a soft spot for Peter Parker in Gotham fics, but how about Peter in Central City?
Post NWH Peter Parker ends up in the DC universe. He starts being spider-man there, makes connections and befriends other heroes. Eventually, Peter overhears someone mention how everyone forgot Wally existed because of speedforce shenanigans.
Naturally, Peter has a lot of emotions about his own situation and goes to the only other person he thinks will understand his predicament for advice (even if their situations were pretty different actually).
Peter kind of fails to properly explain himself and the alternate universe thing though. So Wally comes to the obvious conclusion that Peter is someone he knew, or at least heard of, before the spell. When Wally realizes all the issues Peter is having adjusting to life without a legal identity he offers to take him in.
(It would be fun to combine this with birdflash and 'Richard Parker and Dick Grayson are the same person' AUs.)
(I also think it would be funny if Peter said, "Dr. Strange did it." Like imagine Hugo Strange chilling in his cell when the bats pop in and demand answers he doesn't have lol.)
Little star's favorite
It all started when Talia came to Gotham with a gift.
The gift in question was a twelve year old boy.
Bruce stared at the boy who was almost the exact replica of Damian if not for the blue eyes and longer hair. He looked utterly perplexed at the sight of Bruce, tilting his head before frowning at his mother with a visibly displeased look.
"Beloved, may I introduce you to Danyal, our Damian's twin brother. He was... Away... On a mission until recently." Talia hummed, a hand on Danyal's back.
"You... You didn't think to tell me about him when you told me about Damian?" Shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked down at the boy who looked a little more like him than Talia and felt himself softening. "Hello Danyal."
"Hello."
Talia smiled, before her expression fell. "A little warning, beloved. The twins do not get along. Damian is quite the competitive child and Danyal... Well, he's the nicer one if I must say." She shrugged, running her fingers through her son's hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Go on now, Najmi As-Sagheer (my little star)."
"Ummi... Must I join them? I am perfectly fine with remaining in the league." Danyal muttered, eye twitching but his expression was quickly schooled into neutrality.
"Yes, Danyal." She sighed, "I have no intention of letting father keep you."
Bruce raised a brow at her words.
"That is a conversation for another time, habibi." Talia lazily insisted, gently pushing Danyal towards Bruce.
Bruce, for all he's lived, immediately recognized a feral cat in the form a child. Yep. Another Damian. That was seemingly the nicer one.
But he was scruffy little thing who was being called little star by his mother. Bruce blinked, offering his hand to Danyal (like how a person would do by letting a cat sniff his hand to see if they were safe).
Danyal, more twitchy and annoyed than his brother, looked at the hand like it had personally offended him.
And that is how Batman brought home another child while holding him by the scruff.
(Danny hated everyone except for Alfred—both cat and butler)
Danyal was a much quieter person compared to Damian. Unlike his brother who had practically came into their lives guns blazing and declaring that he was the rightful heir to the bat, Danyal mainly ignored them. He would glare, snarl, and scowl, but not in the way Damian did. The kid was obviously threatened by them, but more for his own safety rather than inheritance.
He avoided them like the plague, only welcoming the company of Alfred and occasionally Cass.
He didn't join in on the vigilante business, opting to stay back with Oracle and just quietly direct them on their missions. It was strange in all honesty.
They didn't know much about Danyal, aside from the fact that his mother called him little star for his natural love of space. That he liked to tinker with gadgets and make his own weapons. That he really liked fudge.
Aside from that, the kid was quiet and was usually hiding out in his room.
Tim wasn't particularly thrilled to have another demon brat in the family. He avoided Danyal as much as possible expecting for the boy to be just like his brother and attack him.
But apparently not.
It's one of those unfortunate times that Tim's sleep deprivation and overload on energy drinks gets him benched by Alfred and not Bruce. No one particularly wanted to argue with their beloved butler/grandpa so Tim was stuck in place. It was a much quieter night than usual, almost peaceful (as much as Gotham can get).
Babs was relieved of her duties to have a night off, rest and relax and such, while Tim manned the bat computer in Oracle's place. He almost didn't notice the mop of black hair that suddenly appeared beside him.
Tim didn't want to admit it, but he flinched at Danyal's presence and how he was quietly standing there with a tray of coffee and cookies. Blue eyes blinked at him, silently pushing the tray forward to offer Tim the lone cup (most likely for him) and the plate of cookies.
Suspicious, Tim narrowed his eyes. "Alfred wouldn't make me coffee after benching me for this kind of thing."
Danyal shrugged, "Made it myself. Thought you'd need it since the others will be gone for a while."
"That's poisoned."
"It's not." Danyal frowned, immediately taking the cup and taking a couple sips himself before once again offering it to Tim.
Now, Tim wasn't stupid enough to ignore the possibility of Danyal having some tolerance to poison. But Tim was also tolerant to a lot of poisons so might as well.
When taking one sip, he was already feeling weird. One, there was no poison. Two, it was actually pretty good.
Danyal just sat there and stared at the screen, munching on cookies and pointing at the screen whenever Robin started to stray from the patrol route. Tim had a lot of fun reportingtattling to Bruce about it.
Eventually, it became a routine.
Danyal always sat beside Tim. Quiet and just offering random stuff, either food, some little gadget he made, or just the most bizarre stuff he found while at school.
Tim learned many things about his weird little brother. How cameras go crazy around him. How he had his reasons for not being touched. How Danyal was more silent than Cass. How Danyal vanished and reappeared at times.
(The glowing green eyes were the most concerning.)
He never really took notice of how Danyal started to gravitate to him. Always with him, barely without.
(Tim refused to admit that he was just the same.)
"Can I go on patrol with you?" Danyal asked, tugging at his Red Robin suit with a curious look. "I wanna meet Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn."
And Tim didn't really see much of a problem with that. Danyal was a highly trained assassin that Ra's apparently trusted to go on a solo mission while Damian had to be whisked away from the league. It wasn't too absurd for Tim to just shrug and let his kid brother tag along.
He was also very sure that his baby brother was an eldritch being with how the shadows seemed to rise around him. Yeah, the baby was a cryptid amongst a family of supposed cryptids. Very fitting.
It's a nice night. With Danny running amok with Tim, clearly having fun. But that one looks of sadness didn't escape Tim when Danny paused and looked to the sky with longing.
Tim remembers how Danny rambled about the stars in their shared moments, where it's just them.
Tim remembers how Danny would describe the sky in Nanda Parbar and how he often snuck out just to see it.
Tim remembers how much his little brother likes space and turns to the cloudy sky of Gotham that hides the stars.
Tim remembers how he was often depraved of the brotherly love he wanted. How he didn't get the full experience of having an older brother.
"You okay, little star?"
Danyal snapped his head towards Tim, eyes blown wide and flashing green (he knows that wasn't normal but he ignores that in favor to the way Danyal visibly softens at the nickname).
"'m okay, akhi." Danyal muttered, following after Tim after adjusting his own hood.
And it's like his heart stops.
Yep.
Tim has had Danyal for barely a year and he was willing to throw hands with Ra's, Talia, and Bruce for him.
"C'mon, qalbi(my heart). Batburger's still open."
He barely noticed the shift after that. But others think it's a glaring change that often made them stop and stare.
Danyal went to Tim whenever he needed anything.
If Danyal wasn't in bed, you'd find him snuggled up to Tim.
Danyal hated it when people touched him... Except for Tim.
Danyal liked Tim the most.
The day Dick thought it was a good idea to call Danyal 'Danny' (a nickname that was only used by Tim and Alfred), he almost got stabbed. Well, that's where all the stabbiness went to.
Safe to say, Tim was Danny's favorite.
And Danny was Tim's.
"Drake! What have you done to my brother?!" Damian pointed a katana at Tim, who lazily glanced his way before turning back to Danny who was comfortably snuggled up to him and watching Blue while Tim scrolled on Tiktok.
"I haven't done anything to Danny, demon brat. Now shoo!" Tim's irritation could be heard from a mile away, shamelessly shooing Damian away with a flick of his wrist. Then the next second, he was combing his fingers through Danny's hair and listening to his younger brother make a purring noise.
(Another point of investigation because that is not fucking normal, Tim. Cute though!)
"I refuse to believe that Danyal would prefer you over me!"
"You're just salty that he stabs you like you stab me." Tim waved him off again, watching as Danny yawned and continued to ignore everyone else.
The click of a camera immediately alerts him and he's tugging Danny down before the much younger boy lunges at Dick.
"Woah! What's up with him?" Dick nervously asked, instinctively raising his phone above his head.
"Delete that!" Tim snarled, pulling Danny closer and guiding his brothers face to his shoulder. "You know he hates it when people take pictures without consent!"
(Tim doesn't tell them that something goes every wrong with the footage if Danny was ever in the picture.)
"Dick." Tim warned, effortlessly picking up Danny, because yes, his seemingly cryptid baby brother could become weightless, and snatched Dick's phone. Yep. Instead of Danny, there was a very strange figure, a glitching silhouette of black and green. He deletes it immediately.
Dick was pouring, "I don't have any pics of Danny—"
"Don't call me that, Richard." Danny scowled, clinging to Tim like a koala. He was strangely more child-like than Damian, muttering about annoying people who interrupted bonding time. (Dick was just forced to pout.)
"Danyal." Damian crossed his arms, scowling at Danny who was still comfortably cuddled up to Tim. "It is not appropriate to cling to Drake in such a way! You will embarrass our mother and father if you are seen acting like a petulant child!"
Tim wanted to argue that no, he wouldn't embarrass Talia and Bruce by being a kid, but Danny just grabbed a cookie from nowhere (note to self, add possible teleportation powers to cryptid baby) and shoved it into his mouth.
Danny just yawned, fixing Damian with a lazy glare.
"Tuhali, can you shut up?"
Damian stood stock still, while Jason and Bruce choked on their own spit. Jason slapping a hand over his mouth and Bruce just staring at his twins like the apocalypse was about to return.
"What did you just call me?"
Danny yawne again, "My spleen."
Tim knew what Tuhali meant. Of course he fucking knew Arabic! But to think that his cryptid baby brother was straight up calling Damian his spleen?
The spleen that Tim doesn't have.
The spleen that's important to the immune system but you can survive without it?
Tim grinned, grabbing his cryptid baby and made a run for it.
Yep.
Danny was definitely his favorite.
Credits to: @strangergraphics for the dividers used.
It's Jason time baby! (Read the tags first!)
Dick Tim Damian Cass
The third time Jason and Danny were put into foster care, Jason got a local family while Danny was fostered out of state. He stayed there and was eventually adopted by his foster family. When Danny's 16, he decides to take a trip to Gotham to visit Catherine's grave. There he finds Jason placing down flowers. A tearful reunion ensues and Jason gets to meet the family who's been taking care of his little brother this whole time. He is a little off put by their blatant display of affection at first but before he knows it, Jason is sucked into the Fenton's boisterous and eccentric lifestyle. Bruce may or may not be jealous.
While Jason and Danny are on the streets, Danny gets trafficked. He is led to believe that Jason sold him and is devastated. Luckily, the trafficking ring is broken up but since the police don't know where Danny came from, they just put him in the system. He is later adopted by a nice couple in Illinois. Years later, Sam coerces Danny into going to Gotham with her. It is there that he sees his older brother hanging out with others. He looks happy and completely unaffected by what he did to his kid brother all those years ago. Danny gets angry and pounces on Jason, beating the tar out of him. It takes Tim and Dick pulling him off to stop him. Jason, nose probably broken and face bloodied, gurgles out 'You're alive!?' Danny replies, 'No thanks to you.' before shrugging off Dick's grip and running away.
Someone you used to know.
Concept:
an AU where after Danny's parents find out the truth about his biology, they turn their weapons against him; affectively leaving him no choice but to run away. There was no longer a 'Daniel James Fenton'; a child long dead after he was killed via electrocution. He cuts contact with everyone— and I mean everyone; only the god of time knows where he is. He turns to Gotham to start a new life there; under the guise of 'Danyal Nightingale', a homeless kid in crime alley, under the protection of the sentient city herself.
Enter: Bruce Wayne.
Bruce Wayne was quite the enigma to him. The teen basically knew everything about self defense, but Bruce is rich rich; Danny can't really understand why he would need to be athletic as shit for "self defense" when he's pretty sure he could've just hire mercenary level bodyguards. But he doesn't pry on it too much; because Danny understands that somethings are better to not poke around at.
They both grew up. Danny still couldn't understand Bruce. They grew closer, yes; but Bruce would literally... disappear. Like— for long amounts of time. He would ask Alfred for his whereabouts, but the butler simply shook his head, insisting that Bruce would be fine.
And he was right, technically.
The (now pretty grown) man would always come back, even if he was battered and bruised. He would wave off his best friend's worries with "I'm fine"s and "stop worrying"s that just fueled his distaste about Bruce leaving.
And then Bruce left, again.
While he was slightly annoyed by Bruce's constant disappearance, he can't help but just sigh in resignation at the hard headed billionaire. Bruce will come back.... eventually, at least.
He was right; Bruce did come back.
But he didn't.
He couldn't.
He was trapped inside a neverending nightmare.
Because they found him.
Years pass by and his whole body felt numb, numb, numb. He's always either strapped inside a straight jacket in an empty room or torn open like a frog in biology class, on top of a surgery table. He doesn't remember how to speak, what he sounded like, what food tasted like— how it felt to move freely. Because all he could do over the past years (decade?) Is silently take the torture if simply existing.
On a good day, they would let him dream. He dreamt of talking, hyperfixating about stars and Greek mythology— he dreamt of playing tag and cooking messily in a kitchen; all with a boy and older man whose face he doesn't remember. On those days his life felt a little more bearable; like it gives him the motivation to just exist.
"... there's no way you're named after a bird."
"....ne. What's yours?"
"Danny is a nice name."
"Hey, wh— HEY! Get down from there!"
"Don't be such a worrywart. I'll see you soon, Danny."
".....Danny"
".....Danny!"
"Danny....?"
His dazed eyes weakly focused on the familiar voice calling his name; the sight of a dark figure by the lab door greets his line of sight.
He's strapped on the table; chest still wide open as the figure rushes over him. He could hear their heart rattling inside their ribcage and their heaving breaths.
....no. this is all just a dream.
Give me demon twins with a complicated relationship. no more Damian and Danny who have a semi-healthy relationship.
Give me younger brother Danny who is overshadowed by Damian.
Give me a Danny who doesn't know Bruce Wayne is his father because he could never meet his mother's expectations.
Give me Damian who refuses to tell him because Danny needs to earn it.
Give me a Damian who sees Danny as weak because he's more in tune with his emotions, and who absolutely hates him for it.
Give me a Damian who when tasked by grandfather to prune the weak branches of the bloodline he does so with no hesitation.
Give me a Danny who fucking fears Damian and knows that Damian will kill him on the orders of Ras.
Give me a Danny who doesn't fight back because he knows that he can never beat Damian, who accepts his fate.
Give me a Danny who's happy that it was Damian his older brother who gets to kill him.
Give me a Danny who tells Damian that "it had to be you."
Give me demon twins with a complicated relationship that even after Danny was put in the Lazarus pits and sent to bumbfuck Illinois and Damian was sent to his father. Danny still fears Damian, and Damian while no longer hating Danny for his preserved weakness resents him for not fighting back and just letting him kill him.
Give me a Danny who's relationship with Damian colors, or at least tint the relationship he has with Jazz.
Give me a Danny who does have a personality of his own and just does what is expected from him because he doesn't want the Fentons to throw him away as the Al Ghuls did.
Give me a Damian who realized that Danny was all the goodness in his family, that would have fit in better with father's side of the family better than him because Danny was the better person.
Give me a Damian who ends up idolizing the memory of Danny and who he could have been.
Give me demon twins with a complicated relationship that when they reunite, Danny freaks the fuck out and Damian just freezes.
Give me demon twins with a complicated relationship.
(different anon) another angst idea :D Peter seeing his uncle using a gun, a weapon he despises because it so easily took away his uncle's life and destroyed his world
It will probably cause conflicted feelings for Peter
Also welcome!! Thank you for the ask :) I hope I did it justice <33
Peter won't lie. He may have gotten... attached.
Ok, ok, it sounds like a recipe for disaster. Spending time with his not-uncle from another universe? Definitely not what Mr. Falcon would've recommended, but it was actually really... nice.
He— Jason, not Benjamin here— was so like his Uncle Ben. The way he spoke, the way he laughed, even down to his reading taste. But he was so different, too. He carried himself with caution, he had more scars, his mannerisms were just slightly off, and doesn't talk about family. Ever.
Uncle Ben had loved his family so much.
His uncle had been a firefighter, then when he retired he became a police officer. He was a good man who wanted to give back to his community.
Jason wasn't a firefighter or a police officer. He said he handled real estate, and that's why he had so many apartment buildings. But, unfortunately for Jason, Peter wasn't born yesterday.
Jason was still a good man, and he did good, just... not in the same way as Uncle Ben. Peter assumed he was running with that crime lord, Red Hood. In Peter's opinion, he sounded a little scary. Who wouldn't think that when he first appeared with the flourish of eight severed heads?
But the Red Hood guy (crime lord? Anti hero? Vigilante?) Also actively tried to help Crime Alley— where Peter was currently squatting, so he consequently cared for.
Peter trailed behind Uncle— Jason, just Jason. His spidey sense adored the guy, and he knew all the cheapest places to get groceries. Also, everyone steers clear of him. No one's ever so much as attempted to mug him, which is a genuine accomplishment in this place.
"So, how long are you plannin' to follow me, kiddo?" Jason asked around a smirk, turning around just as Peter lost his cover.
Seriously, how does this guy do that??
Peter gave an exaggerated frown, running to catch up with Jason's long strides. "Seriously, how do you do that?? Are you sure you're a normal guy?" Peter gave a skeptical look, but fell into step with with his not-uncle.
"You follow me every Saturday. Are you sure you're a normal kid?" Jason gave him a skeptical look back, but otherwise slowed down for Peter.
"Hey! You always find the best prices for groceries, I need your tutelage." Peter gave a small, teasing grin. It really was like arguing with his uncle.
Jason reached out, ruffling Peter's hair. Peter batted him away, sticking his tongue out. "Ok, but in return, I need some help with my computer. It ain't workin' again. I'll pay ya'."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You're seriosuly terrible with tech." Just like his uncle.
Jason swatted at him playfully.
Peter wasn't sure if, or how, Jason knew he was homeless, but he always helped him buy non perishables that didn't need a refrigerator or to be cooked. He was thoughtful like his uncle, in that regard.
It was... nice. Being able to shop with his Uncle. Or, well, Jason. (He really needed to start enforcing that distinction before it backfired on him.) Aunt May had been a terrible cook, so Uncle Ben did most of the cooking. He taught Peter most of everything he knew, too.
Peter thanked his uncle Jason for the help shyly, promising to make it up to him by fixing his computer for free. (Jason never let him do it for free.)
Jason watched the new Alley kid, Peter Parker, walk away. From what he'd heard, he was a skittish teen who knew his way around the shadows. A little naive, but otherwise he held his own. And, for some ungodly reason, he'd taken a shine to Jason. Not Red Hood, not Jason Todd-Wayne, just Jason the apartment guy who knew where all the good sales were.
Peter looked at him sometimes like he hung the moon, and other times with bitter nostalgia. He was about 94% sure Peter was an orphan, so maybe Jadon reminded him of a parent? Or at least someone who wasn't around anymore. It was hard to tell, with how the kids had no records, and getting him to talk about his past was like pulling teeth out of a Super.
Jason let Peter turn the corner before he started to follow. Ducking into alleys and staying a healthy distance away, Jason just wanted to make sure the Kid got back to his squat ok.
Except, just a couple minutes from where Peter was staying, he was suddenly dragged into an alley. No one looked or noticed, but Jason did.
Jason did, and he was fucking pissed.
Grabbing his spare gun, Jason rushed to help his kid Peter.
—
Peter was getting mugged for his groceries. Which wasn't desirable, as his stomach was an endless pit the consumed enough for a family of six, so he was ready to knock a guy out then head back to his place.
Except... then his uncle came rushing in, telling the man to "get the fuck away before you get hurt".
His Uncle always came rushing in like this in his nightmares. Unarmed and with that limp he got from a burning beam falling on him with he was younger and a firefighter. He would rush in, yelling and unarmed, trying to save his dumbass nephew from getting shot.
He would always get shot, he'd fall, the mugger would run away, and he'd bleed out in Peter's arms.
It was his nightmare that repeated every so often, typically joined with a nightmare about May and Tony's death, too.
Except this time... his uncle had the gun.
Jason had the gun.
"I said, back the fuck away before I blow your brains out." Jason snarled, his finger flexing over the trigger in warning.
Peter stared, his mouth filling with cotton and everything going mute.
His uncle was pointing a gun at someone, ready to shoot.
His uncle was holding the thing that killed him.
Peter felt ready to throw up.
The would-be-robber dropped his knife, running away. But Peter's eyes never left his uncles hands, in the smooth and familiar way he operated the gun. How ready he was to shoot someone with it.
Its not... Peter knows, second amendment and all. It's a person's right to own a gun. It should be for protection, but it could just as easily end someone's life.
It ended his uncles.
As a police officer, sure he owned a gun, but it was always kept firmly locked up. He'd never even seen his uncle in the same room as a gun, much less holding one.
It was wrong.
"Pete, hey hey, you're ok, Peter?" His uncle kneeled in front of Peter. When had he ended up on the ground?
He continued to stare at the gun. His uncle took the hint and tucked it away with a practiced motion.
Peter's eyes watered, and he leaned over, expelling the hot dog his uncle bought him earlier. His uncle rubbed his back as he threw up, comforting him, albeit a little awkwardly.
When Peter looked back up, he saw his uncles blue— green eyes, his white and black hair, and the unfamiliar 'J' shaped scar marring his cheek, and remembered.
'This isn't my uncle.'
'This isn't my home.'
And the worst part? He felt sadder about his uncle than his home.
He had nothing to go back to, after all.
Soulmate facts x Cosmic Love
Danny had grown constantly checking his soulmate facts. He wasn’t the youngest of his soulmates (there had been two long years where he thought he didn’t have one, where Dash’s words hit hard, before he woke up one day to Arabic on his left arm and English on his right.)
Danny made sure to write down everything about his soulmates. He learned Arabic, struggling for months before he finally learned the basics. He made sure to never cover them, except when he was Phantom, of course. He couldn’t wait to meet them.
Jon was one year, two months and five days older than his youngest soulmate. He begged his mom to help him find someone to teach him Arabic, and only ever hid his arms when he was in costume.
He dreamed of finally fitting with people. He couldn’t wait until he finally met them, and could protect them. He couldn’t wait to never be alone again.
Damian was taught from a young age that his soulmates were important and sacred. They would be his consorts, joining him just as grandmother had joined grandfather for so long.
Damian knew having two soulmates was rare, but he swore he wouldn’t hide them. He wore his arms like badges of honor, tracing the words reverently.(He was the youngest, unfortunately, but he catalogued every fact to help him find them when he was older.)
Damian met Jon for the first time when he was 11, with the matching sentence “I want to be an astronaut.” catching his eye the minute he entered the room.
(It was annoying they shared the same facts, but Jon pointed out the matching was the way they found each other immediately (Damian maintains he would have recognized Jon as his soulmate within a few weeks, simply due to the facts he had memorized about them over the years.)
Jon flew to Wayne Manor the moment he saw that their third’s sentence changed to “I hate dying every day.” They spent months trying to figure out if their soulmate was a meta with a regeneration factor or a terminally ill person whose heart stopped often.
The next years sentence, “My parents tried to dissect me.” was the final straw. They were finding their soulmate, or they would burn the world with them.