Bruce: I'm Here, Nightwing. What's The Situation?

I see a lot of prompts and fics that operate on the premise of Danny being the world's first hero so everyone in the Justice League looks up to him. But what if he wasn't? What if, instead, he was the first villain? Not literally, he's not a bad person, he genuinely tried and did help people, he did protect Amity Park and the world. But what if the GIW won? What if his parents react poorly to a reveal? What if, instead of being hailed as the world's first hero, he's seen as the world's first villain, one who the GIW and Dr's Fenton worked together to trap in their version of a sarcophogus of forever sleep? One who they claimed was brutal and cruel and no one should ever let out because he has the power to destroy the world? What if the JL and JLD get word that someone (maybe his friends, maybe his sister, maybe a cult well meaning or otherwise) is trying to release the world's first villain and they're trying to stop them from doing it because obviously it's the world's first and possibly worst villain, he can't be set free. And what if it WASN'T like the sarcophagus of forever sleep? What if he was awake the whole time?

I found this prompt about aroace Danny and thought you might like to check it out.

https://www.tumblr.com/dcxdpdabbles/765333199553544192/you-know-what-would-be-really-fun-you-know-the

Ooh yes that is fun!

…though i’ll admit, the part of me that’s a fan of unhealthy unrequited love is a little disappointed the rejection was taken so well. Nothing actually wrong with it ofc, but just not my usual preference. So I wrote my own version with a slightly different path:

Several members of the Bat family were waiting impatiently in the drawing room for Jason’s return. He’d said he was going to ask Danny out today, and they couldn’t wait to hear how it went! They knew it would go perfectly; from their “research” into Danny, they were certain the pair would hit it off well! In fact, Jason had already used that information to successfully form a friendship with the other boy as a stepping stone.

…But then Jason stomped into the room and dropped onto a chair, letting out an angry huff and staring at his hands.

Dick was on his feet in an instant, stepping closer to Jason before pausing. “What happened?”

“He said no.”

“What?!”

Jason glared up at them. “Danny turned me down.”

“Did he say why?” Steph asked.

“No,” Jason grit out. “He just said ‘sorry’ and something about ‘I don’t’ or ‘I can’t’ or something like that then ran away.” His voice dropped to a mutter, “Wasn’t really paying attention after the first part.”

This time it was Tim who chimed in, “He said ‘can’t’? Maybe he wanted to but someone was threatening him! I can check the security cameras to see who’s approached him recently.”

“Or I could just ask him, you know?” Dick offered.

“A vigilante asking him about his dating life? That won’t be suspicious at all,” Jason commented sarcastically.

Dick blushed. “I– I mean—”

Steph rolled her eyes and cut him off before he could get any further. “Or maybe we could not go to the Bat option immediately? Just set up a few ‘coincidental’ meetings to talk to him, ask him a few friendly questions. Even if we don’t get direct answers, we might get some hints towards how you can win him over.”

Tim perked up. “Oh! I can bug him for you! Maybe that’ll help find info that wasn’t on his social media!”

“Stalker,” Jason chided affectionately. “But genuinely… thanks, guys. You’re right, this doesn’t have to be over! I can definitely find out a way to win his heart!”

***

Meanwhile, Danny lamented how long his new aroace pride pins were taking to ship. He’d lost his last ones while moving to Gotham, and he wished he still had them. Maybe he’d have had an easier time forming more than just a single friendship if he’d had a visual indicator that he was part of the community for other queer folks to see.

An offshoot of this post because why not.

So, Danny who wears sunglasses to hide his eyes from the GIW and Constantine who is very sure he's a ghost pretending to be human and vows to keep an eye on him.

The way the League meets Danny isn't all that grand. One moment there was Constantine, the next there was a boy lifting up and walking out of his coat while holding a pack of cigarettes.

"These are bad for you and will kill you." Theboy says while lighting himself one, Constantine doesn't even make a move to stop him as he tries it, only to immediately hack up a lung and Constantine takes that moment to pick his pack out of the boy's hand, lights himself one, and smoothly does what the boy failed to do while flipping him off.

The boy flipped him off in the midst of coughing.

Batman breaks the silence when the kid finally stood up properly, asking who he was and why he was here.

"Name's Danny, this guy." He points at Constantine. "Is my illegal guardian and I'm here becquse apparently you needed an expert in pacifying ghosts?"

"There are so many better ways you could have worded that." Constantine groaned and Danny smirked. "What? It's the truth though, I am your expert."

"You know bloody well what I'm talking about."

"Gotta be more specific, old man."

"Least I lived past 14."

"You wound me." The boy says, hand on his chest and wiping away invisible tears while Constantine rolled his eyes.

"Ahem." Batman narrowed his eyes.

Danny decided he needed a vacation. He had recently gotten shapeshifting powers in his ghost form, because ectoplasm could be molded and stretched. The only thing that needed to stay the same was his core. He decided to become a puppy, and live out a few years with a good family. Unfortunately, he got involved in a dog fighting ring, and to keep his cover, had to go along with it. But that didn’t stop him from sending messages to the local bats. He’s rescued along with all of the other pups, and Batman had taken a liking to him. He’s named Ace and brought home with Batman. Bruce quickly found out that Ace (Danny) was scarily good at reading people, and after Ace had broken out of a locked cage and saved Batman more than once, that he now had a sidekick that was his dog. Danny was having his best time being a crime fighting dog.

Duke: Hey, do you guys remember my Dad's sister?

Tim: I literally don't know anything about you ever.

Steph: Weren't you on the streets after the Joker attack? Why didn't you go to your aunt's house or she come get you?

Duke: Well, she got married and had a daughter before she died-

Steph: DON'T JUST MOVE ON FROM THE QUESTIONS

Duke: -And recently, they've hit a really bad spot. Apparently, my Uncle Damon lost his job. They sold all their stuff, but it still wasn't enough. The house was taken by the bank two days ago.

Tim: Answer Steph's question Duke, or I assume your uncle is trying to explort you and make him a enemy of the Bats.

Duke sighing: My aunt and my uncle marriage ended in a really bad divorce, with her going no contact with him or my cousin Valerie, but I've always felt bad for not keeping in touch, you know? So I offered to house Valerie for a few weeks just until he can get in a good spot again.

Tim: I see. You're a good person Duke.

Duke: You say that like it's something to pity.

Steph: Seriously, Tim, this is the man that ran a child gang for months and took back the streets out of sheer spite. He's a good person, but he's crazy.

Duke: Thank you. Can I count on your support when I ask Bruce to have Valerie stay with us?

Steph: Depends. Is she hot?

Duke: Why would you ask me that?

Tim: No no no. She has a point. Answer the question.

Duke: I'm leaving

Three days later.

Duke: This is the game room. You can come in here whenever you like except during the meal times. Alfred has a strict sit down together rule. And this is-

Tim: Tim Drake, single, bi and I enjoy long walks on the beach.

Steph: Stephanie Brown. Single, Bi and I enjoy sicking dogs on Tim during his long walks on the beach.

Duke/Valerie:

10/10 dad joke

bruce who thinks tim is his one good honest and reliable child and his best friend superman who knows full well that tim is full of shit but bruce will not hear a bad word against him and it drives him INSANE

clark watches tim lie through his fucking teeth about a mission that clark was THERE for and he can’t even hear his heart miss a beat. tim grins at him behind bruce’s back and it’s at this point that clark realises that tim can straight up control his heartbeat to the point that not even superman can tell. he usually just doesn’t bother because he knows bruce wont listen to a word clark says anyway so who gives a fuck.

clark is terrified of this child. jon befriends damian and the JLA are confused as to why he’s not even a little worried about his kid hanging out with the scary sword kid but he’s just so relieved bcs next to tim this is nothing.

then kon comes home to introduce his boyfriend and clark’s stood there like. FUCK NO PLEASE GOD

Takeout Box

** this came to me in a fever dream and now y'all have to read it too**

Jason wasn’t entirely sure what to do. There was a large cardboard box on his doorstep, and not only was it faintly glowing green, it was also rattling and making muffled noises. He considered the possibility of Ivy, Harley, and Selina dropping off a box of feral cats, but surely they wouldn’t target Jason “Peters”, right?

With most strange doorstep boxes, he might have called for backup immediately. In fact, he ought to call for this box, especially with the sticky note on top. “Caution- May Bite”

It couldn’t be a bomb, what with the shaking and the noises.

Jason’s ears caught the sounds of his next door neighbor moving around their apartment, and he made up his mind. He could call the other bats after the suspicious box was out of the open.

With great care, he slipped on his oven mitts (better safe than sorry) and gingerly began pulling the box inside. It was heavier than he’d been expecting, but not more than he could handle by himself, which he thanked some unseen deity for. The movement stilled to a whisper almost as soon as the first edge of the box cleared the doorway, and the noises also calmed down some.

Once he’d gotten the box far enough into the apartment to close the door, he began circling it, looking for more identifying markings. He found himself sorely disappointed- the only visible symbols belonged to the note.

Three distinct knocks sounded from the box, nearly scaring Jason out of his skin.

“Hello?”

Three knocks again.

“Is someone- in there?”

Three knocks, more urgent this time.

Well. Fuck.

“Okay, okay, just, be still a moment?”

Carefully, one hand still protected by an oven mitt, Jason dug out a knife and slid it shallowly through the tape holding the box together. With the other hand he reached into his pocket for his phone to tap out an emergency code.

At least one bat would be coming through his window within fifteen minutes, and Jason could hold out until then if the person was hostile, but he wasn’t leaving someone trapped in a box.

He pulled the flaps open to reveal not one, but two dark haired children bound and gagged, curled up around each other. The one on the left growled a little around the gag, only for the other one to bump purposefully into them in reproach.

“Holy shit.”

Crap. No. Cursing around kids was bad. Bad Jason.

In a stroke of stupidity, he reached down and undid the gag on the growly one first, only to find sharp teeth digging into his hand after he pulled the piece of cloth away.

“Hey! No, stop that! Fuck, kid, I’m trying to help!”

The other kid made a small noise, and Bitey let go. Jason grimaced, but moved so that he could undo the other gag.

Calm took several deep breaths once the gag was off, and Jason wondered how, exactly, the kids had been breathing up until he opened the box. Their noses hadn’t been covered, but- Cardboard boxes were not conducive to breathing.

Instead of asking questions, Jason busied himself untying the kids, taking care not to let his hands go near Bitey’s mouth again. He figured he could ask questions while he found all the knots.

“So- what’s your story?”

Calm snickered.

“You’re bad at this.”

With a shrug, Jason tugged another knot loose. He didn’t want to use a knife this close to the kids. Kids were wiggly, right?

“Well, pardon me for not expecting a pair of kids at my front door.”

“I’m Danny and she’s Ellie. We were told that we’d find family here.”

“Who told you that?”

Now that the two were free, they looked at each other. Bitey- no, Ellie, was the first to speak up.

“CW did. Just so you know, no returns or refunds, the receipt was lost the moment you brought us inside.”

Danny smacked Ellie on the side of the head.

“He doesn’t have to keep us, Ellie. We can find some empty house to live in or something if he doesn’t want to. CW said we just had to live here for a few years, nothing about having a guardian.”

“Danny, we’re eight.”

Jason was about to ask who this ‘CW’ was, but Danny continued planning to live homeless in Gotham.

“We’ll just leave this haunt- you can feel it, he doesn’t want us here. Surely the Lady will shelter us until CW comes to pick us up.”

Ellie reached up to scratch at the back of her neck, and Jason could see a rash blooming on her arm. When he looked over at Danny, who was still muttering about asking for sanctuary in Gotham, the boy also had a flush of red rash spreading across his face.

There must be an allergen in the box.

“Let’s- get out of the box. And get you two wiped down for irritants.”

Danny shrugged and scratched at his own skin.

“It’s your haunt- we can’t be here if you don’t want us here. Well, we can, but it hurts.”

“My apartment hurts you?”

Ellie nodded, sitting on her hands to keep from scratching herself.

“It stopped when you brought the box inside, but- well.”

The two helped each other stand and clamber out of the box. Once they were no longer touching the glowing cardboard, it disappeared, leaving behind the sticky note. Ellie scooped it up, showed it to Danny, who shrugged, and then stuffed it in her mouth.

Jason startled.

“Hey! That’s evidence!”

“Goop now,” said Ellie, still chewing.

Danny took Ellie’s hand and started pulling her towards the door, and Jason could see even more of the bright red rash on the back of the boy’s legs.

“We’ll get out of your hair, Avenger. Sorry to drop in.”

“Danny!”

Ellie dug her heels in.

“It’s safer here! CW said it would be- even,” her voice dropped low, and her eyes darted around a little. “Even Dan said the Avenger would be safe. And if Dan said it-“

Jason decided to circle around and stop the kids before Danny pulled his sister out the door.

“Why would it be safer here with me?”

“Because you’re like us.” Danny and Ellie spoke at the same time.

To Jason’s extreme relief, Nightwing slid in through the window in the apartment kitchen just in time to have heard the kids.

“How is he like you?” Dick was smiling widely, but Jason could see the tension beneath the smile.

“He died and came back different.”

Dick’s smile instantly dropped, and the room went silent. Jason stared at the kids, and the kids stared resolutely back. They hadn’t turned to look at Dick at all, not even when he had spoken.

He could see the rashes start to recede, first from Ellie (sue him, he liked that she bit) and then Danny.

“I’m telling B.”

“Don’t you dare, Dickhead. I’ll tell him he’s got grandkids myself.”

The kids looked at each other and then back up to Jason.

“You’re keeping us?” Ellie’s voice was small, and her tone was different from anything Jason had heard from her so far.

With a firm nod, Jason patted their shoulders, turning them to face inside the apartment instead of the door.

“Sure. Us undead have to stick together, you know?”

I LOVE COMPLEX DATED ADVERBS. Wherein. Heretofore. Thereon. Hereunto. Whereof. Hitherward. Hereinafter. How can you look at these words and not lose your mind. They're insane. I think I'm in love.