Another Clone Danny x batfam au, Danny was also full dead before he's shoved into a clone body, but it's not really relevant in this part.
[Pt2: here]
Danny isn't a hundred percent sure how he got here. Last thing he remembered was running away from the GIW and his parents. They got a lucky shot on him, and he was losing ectoplasum fast. He's pretty sure he was about to fully End. He remembers being mildly amused over his parents' inventions killing him twice, before it all goes dark.
He woke up as a baby. A clone baby by the looks of his environment, an underground lab(?). His creator(?) is staring at him as if he's a miracle, and given the fancy sci-fi screen thingy (a tablet? Or ipad? He's not sure how he knows these terms) in front of the cloning tank say "attempt 99", he probably is this guy's miracle.
Danny doesn't see anyone else around, and this guy, a teenager about Jazz's age (?), seems happy on a personal level to see Danny wiggling in the tank. So it's not likely he was forced to do this. Whatever this is..
"I did it...? Holy shit! I did it!" The teen cheers before freezing, "I'm a parent now.. I did not think this through... welp, I'm a parent now."
The guy checks his vitals before draining the tank. Danny is handled as if he's the most precious, yet breakable thing in the world to this kid.
"Hello, I'm Tim, your dad, I guess." The kid, Tim, introduces himself, and Danny giggles at him because if Danny was a normal baby, he'd have no idea what he was saying. "You're the clone of my dead best friend. He was half kryptonian. I promise to do my best to help you learn your powers and culture. I'll break into Clark's ice fortress if I have to to do it."
Danny has no idea what any of that means, but Tim seems determined, so Danny isn't too worried. He's more worried about the power thing. Are they going to be completely different from his old ones? Does he still have access to his ghost powers?
His little baby body can't handle his big emotions, and he starts crying. Tim panics, checking for mess, before realizing he doesn't have baby supplies. He clearly didn't think his cloning attempt would work with how unprepared he is. And that's valid if Danny really is his 99th attempt.
Tim bundles Danny up and rushes them to the nearest store that has baby supplies. Danny is clothed and fed promptly and given a wolf plushy. Danny isn't sure about the wolf thing, but the stuffie does sooth his baby instincts, so he rolls with it.
"Alright, baby. I... I didn't think of a name for you. I originally was trying to make a clone closer to Kon's age and figured they could name themselves, like Kon did." Tim sighs, slightly rocking Danny in his arms. "Man, I must seem insane talking to a baby. A baby I made because I couldn't deal with one more person in my life being dead or gone."
Danny notes the interesting wording.
"Okay. Can you understand me at all? I forgot to adjust the knowledge download to a year old's level, but that doesn't mean your baby brain absorbed any of the info."
Ooooh, that explains why he knows things that didn't exist where he's from.
Danny blows spit bubbles and attempts to nod. It's a bit hard, his baby muscles not developed enough for the action. Tim understands, though.
"Okay, okay." Tim looking both scared and relieved. "How about you pat me once for yes and twice for no? At least for now. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
Danny lightly smacks a hand to Tim's face. They both giggle over it.
"Alright, so I'm going to list off names, and you can tell me yes or no, okay?" One pat. "Okay, let's see."
Danny wonders if he can get a new name that can still let him have Danny as a nickname.
"Jasper" No
"Darin" No
"Dugu" No??
"Presh?" No! Tim? Where are you getting these names??
"Ratan" No
"Cicil" No
"Matthew" No
"Theo?" No
"Alihan" No
"Atiya" Nope
"Tesher" No
"Senai" No
"Uuum... Habwat?" No
"Geoffrey" No
"Amari?" Nope
"Jordan" ... huh, technically could get Danny from that, but still. No.
"Riley?" No
"Drew?" Nope
"Nova" Oooo so tempting, but no
"Esteban" Nope
"Izar" No
"Aedan?" You know what, good enough. That's Danny's new name.
Tim looks misty eyed when Danny finally agrees to a name.
"Alright, welcome to the world, Aedan Drake." Danny blows bubbles at him. "We'll visit adding Kent and getting you a proper kryptonian name when you can actually speak and understand what those names mean. Kon's human name was Conner Kent, and his kryptonian name was Kon-El. It translates to abomination of the house of El. He was a clone of Kal-El and wasn't treated well for it. I won't let the Els treat you as they treated him."
Tim looks pissed on his friend's behalf and cradles Danny protectively.
"The Els don't matter anyways. You will always be a Drake. And Drakes protect what they claim with viciousness." He kisses Danny's forehead. He then moves to the fanciest computer Danny has ever seen, and with the hand not supporting Danny's body, starts designing what appears to be a bulletproof and stabproof baby carrier. "I should have waited til after I finish hunting for clues to get Bruce, he's my adoptive father, out of the timestream. My siblings think I'm crazy, which creating a clone isn't helping my case over, but I know he's alive. I found evidence, just not enough to prove it to them."
Danny starts nodding off. Tim's ramblings are soothing and his hold gentle, Danny's tiny baby body doesn't stand a chance at staying awake. He's sad he's missing out on all the dad lore because of it.
Once the carrier is ready, Tim starts going out and taking Danny with him. Danny is actually pretty safe on these outings. The carrier is bulletproof, stabproof, has tinted bulletproof glass so Danny can get sun without people seeing him, it's temperature controlled, well ventilated, and has plenty of cushion. Seriously, Danny is sure the whole thing is like 60 pounds with him in it, but Tim gives zero fucks. He's determined to keep Danny safe.
It's super touching. And Danny swears to one day return the favour. The day is closer than he thinks when a creepy old fucker crawls out of the woodworks. Danny hates him instantly. Tim explaining the creep's relation to Tim's family doesn't change Danny's mind. In fact, it probably makes his opinion on this Ra's Al Gul even worse. And once he sees how that pedo looks at his sweet new dad, he plans to be an absolute menace.
[Here] Sea Cryptic! Danny cleans up beach after local vigilante explodes his plane over the ocean.
[Here] Sea Cryptic! Danny cleans the Gotham bay and does broke college student things.
[Here] Sea Cryptic! Danny extorts money from Batman for blankets.
[Here] Sea Cryptic! Danny makes a friend and calls Red Robin broke.
[Here] Sea Cryptic! Danny makes Batman a debtor and makes friends with the best vigilante recyclers in Gotham.
[Here] Tim asks Danny to introduce Tim to Danny, Jason has a post-zombie crisis.
[Here] Batman tries to adopt another kid, Danny gets Vlad flashbacks, and the Bats finds out that Jason is stinky.
[Here] Danny is violently against oil spills, Lex Luthor learns that the hard way, and Clark Kent is a messy bitch
[Here] Nightwing poaches Gotham's undead clean up, Danny trolls the bats again
[Here] "This you?"
[Here] Jason is a Magical Girl
"Danyal, its time to end this game and return with me."
Danny should had known Clockwork had something in mind when he sent him on this mission. He knew he should had been suspicious of the time keeper when he noticed the little 'this is going to be fun' smile on his face when he sent Danny off into the portal.
"Get back here you demon spawn 2.0!"
But how was he supposed to know that he'd wake up in this world version of himself in a pit full of corrupted (AND NASTY) ectoplasim at the tender age of five or that when he swam up to the surface he'd be meeting face to face with what was apparently a cult.
"-O just spotted him a block away! I'll try to cut itty bitty bridie off!"
An Assassins Cult his, new to him, loving yet a little insane mother was in charge of (though during the few months he stayed in the compound he heard rumors and gossip from maids and others alike that if his grandfather returned from the dead he'll take over once again, no doubt punish Talia for creating another heir after the failure of the last one, most likely was going to kill Danny and that... that was can of worms Danny didn't wanna deal with yet)
"Ten bucks says they try to stab RR when we get the feral thing home"
"...Losers bet...."
Danny had lived with his mother for a while after being brought back from the 'dead' for apparently the first time, it turned out training a five year old with an actual sword and a dumbass hidden revenge seeking teacher was a terrible idea.
"I swear if this one tries to murder me like the others I'm asking Zatanna if there is a curse on me."
He dealt with her high demands of perfection, the endless training, and the constant comparisons to his apparent older brother Damain... Who didn't know Danny, or rather Danyal existed.
Nor did his father (when Danny, using his powers he's kept hidden since 'waking' up in this Realm, he sneaked his way around the base and discovered how he came into the world. And tbh he couldn't blame his mom how she made him, she was an assassin first and foremost, being naturally pregnant would had painted a target on her for to long... but he also felt it was unfair and an asshole move on his unsuspecting father as well)
"As your elder brother I demand you to stop running!"
Now don't get him wrong, he did like his new mother (total badass assassin lady and all that) and he knew she loved him in her own... deadly way. But yeah, she really shouldn't be taking care of kids. He could tell she struggled with wanting to be a normal mother but her first instinct after so many years was to be an assassin first.
Something she was trying to engrave into Danny with as well.
"Ah, hello Beloved. I see you've learned of our Danyal."
"Talia. Back away from him and leave Gotham now."
"I can not do that. The League needs an heir and since Damian refuses to return... I have decided to create a new one and I shall not be leaving until he returns with me."
"Talia."
Hence why when Danny, or rather Danyal al Ghul had gotten decent control over his powers he decided to leave the League. Again nothing wrong with the life his mom leads, to each their own, but he... really, really didnt want to be an assassin. Or an assassin heir.
So here he was, after almost a year on the run, using his powers and training to out smart and out maneuver his mother and her many band of Assassins, in Gotham. One of the last places he ever wanted to run to cause he knew his father and brother lived here.
It was just his luck that his mother had managed to intercept his train ride that passed into Gotham for a few hours and forced him to run into the city...
Add her assassins into the mix and running into Robin, who heard from Oracle his mother had been spotted chasing a young boy across the city, that same night.
After that it became a full on "catch me if you can" chase for not only his mother but for the batclan as well.
And after two whole days of chase, it seemed like the final showdown was about to begin because everyone was on top of this rooftop, his mother and her assassins on one side, his father and the batclan on the other and Danny well... he was right in the middle of all of it.
He just had to hope no one would notice him once the fighting started...
[pt.1] [sketch]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Constantine warned them that the creatures of the Infinite Realms behaved on a logic of their own.
Never trust your senses.
When the time came for them to ask for help, nobody knew what to expect.
Or, you know, what not to expect.
The summoning ritual itself was weird enough.
Powdered milk for the circle; hard candy, glass beads, and buttons as catalysts, and… real butterflies as offerings.
The chant was even weirder, a nonsensical poetry made from several languages.
When they finished chanting, reality warped inside the circle, as an incomprehensible mass was taking form.
A kid.
Sure, he looked absolutely manic, but a kid.
“What in every sensational?! It hasn’t been flesh in a long time!”
He exclaimed.
There was a beat of silence, long enough to irritate the being.
“You flesh! Earn your keep!”
The kid emoted in an exaggerated way.
His white hair reached the floor, creating a cupola around him. His toxic-green eyes shined like those of a cat, with his pupils so small, they started to doubt he could actually see anything.
His teeth were always exposed, even if he wasn’t talking, and he was wearing what looked like a hazmat suit, too big for the scrawny body.
He was floating a few inches from the ground and didn’t seem to stop moving, always rocking from side to side.
“I uh… hi?
Barry tried to start the conversation.
They needed help with a strange artifact that fell from the Infinite Realms, and apparently, he was one of a few beings that didn’t need a blood sacrifice to be called.
The being lighted up (literally) when Flesh spoke up, his smile widening even more.
“Ho, ho! Oh, where has your poor stomach been? Is it gone, or cat’s got your tongue?”
There was another beat of silence.
“What?”
The being huffed, shaking his head.
At this point, Constantine groaned and stepped forward.
“I hate this part…”
He murmured, before clearing his throat and looking at the kid.
Then, in the whiniest voice a grown man can muster, he exclaimed:
“I don’t believe it, this is rich, it’s rich!”
Oh.
Everybody was too stunned to speak, as Constantine was trying to emote just as much as the kid.
The being nodded, seemingly agreeing.
“But hasn’t this been enough already? Bring out the loot”
Constantine turned around, giving the kid the jar of live butterflies they got.
The being unscrewed the lid and started to eat them out of the jar like chips.
The heroes looked a mixture of weirded out and horrified.
On the other hand, the kid looked pleased.
“Ah, nothing better than a cup of Joe in the morning”
It was the middle of the night.
He was eating butterflies out of a jar-
Constantine took a deep breath in, then started to tap his foot on the floor, as if impatient.
“Listen here now, and sit down. Only you can make due, and due is here to be made, now more haste, go for it!”
The being huffed and put the jar down
“Being employed is miserable”
He murmured, before seemingly turning inside-out and disappearing. Every butterfly that he ate was now peacefully flying around.
Constantine sighed, before rubbing his temples.
The members of the JL were staring at him, having understood absolutely fucking nothing of what just happened.
Batman was the first to step up.
"What happened?"
"He got the message, he's getting the artifact back to it's place."
"How do you know that?"
The blond gave them a deadpan glare, too done for the day.
“Clean up this mess, we're gonna talk about this after I have a drink.”
(This is my first post like this so there may be errors, sorry in advance. So I remember seeing some posts where the JL think and act like Danny is a meta. I was inspired to try to make my own.)
Danny is working with Justice League for a few weeks as a teenage hero and he’s had it with them. Danny’s had it with working with “Professional Hero’s”. Even though he is currently in the Watchtower in SPACE his blood boiling he is quitting today. He’ll just stay in Amity Park and only leave when necessary.
Danny see’s Batman walk around and Danny sees this as his opportunity. He flys up to Batman.
Danny: Batman!
Before Batman has a chance to respond.
Danny: I quit. I’m done. I can’t stand being in a place where people seem to think it’s okay to ask me a question then completely ignore me. I don’t know what everyone’s deal is but they act like they know every little detail about my life.
First Flash asked me about my powers and I told him I was in a lab accident and he just lectures me about lab safety and I should know better. He’s acting like I wanted it to happen. Like I didn’t intend for it to happen thats why it’s an accident.
Or when I’m working at a desk and I start floating then Green Lantern Hal gets on my case about using my powers unnecessarily. He didn’t even let me explain that my natural state is essentially zero gravity and that I have to concentrate to turn on and off gravities affect on me.
Don’t forget people get upset at me staring out at space. I get that I lose track of time because of it. But no one lets me explain that my second obsession is space and that fighting to fulfill it is dangerous for my health. If they do listen they just blow me off.
And I apparently need to just bottle all my emotions up otherwise my intangibility will start acting up and I either can’t hold things or I fall through the floor. I’m sorry I’m a teenager that doesn’t have a complete handle on his emotions. And that amazing, stealthy, deadly girl in all black bat costume. I just couldn’t help it when she said hello to me the other day, it made my heart beat at a regular pace. Ancients I just wis- would really like it if she would just punch me into next week…”
Danny stares in the distance before slowly realizing what he just said in front of Batman. The anger Danny had replaced by an awkward shyness as he slowly drops to the ground.
Danny: Here’s the league communicator and badge. I’m just gonna go back to Amity Park and never leave… ever.
After Danny left Batman standing there Black Bat, Nightwing, Red Robin and Robin come around the corner.
Nightwing: looks like Cass left the boy starstruc- (Nightwing dodges a kick from Black Bat).
Robin: This is no laughing matter Greyson. A mentally unstable individual who seems to want to be physically abused by Cassandra is expressing romantic feelings for her. Father, Drake surely you both see that this boy is unfit for her. (Robin dodges a punch to the head)
Red Robin: Not getting involved in that. B we still have to get to what was meant to be Phantoms evaluation meeting.
Batman: Hm
The reblogs make the story so wholesome
About to go to bed and this plot idea came into my head so I'm gonna be quick.
Danny and Dani (or Ellie) are on the run from well... everything. (Bad Fenton parents? Vlad? GIW? IDK pick)
They almost escape into the zone when Ellie gets hit by something that starts destabilizing her. They escape but toss themselves into a random portal that opened up and crash land in a dark gloomy city alleyway. For a moment they think it's okay, they're safe for now but they gotta keep moving. So they do, they run and run into the city until they find a place to finally rest.
It isn't until then they realize what's happening to Ellie. Her body is destabilizing now that the adrenaline she had was going down. She starts panicking and freaking out cause she knows they don't have any ecto-dejecto.
Danny, freaking out and desperate to save her freezes her body with ghost ice to make her stop melting (basically it doesn't hurt her despite not having an ice core but instead kinda puts her in a status)
And it works.
But it sends Ellie into a deep sleep as well.
Danny, stressed and on the verge of passing out from using his ice core (and willing some of his protectior spirit into as well to keep Ellie safe in the ice), looks up when he hears footsteps coming towards him.
He passes out when he realizes the place they had hidden in, a warehouse, had already been pretty cold even before Danny had used his ice powers.
When he wakes up, he realizes hes been moved from the warehouse and freaks out and tries to find Ellie. When he opens his door from the room he was in, hes greeted by cold (but Danny isn't bothered by it) and a man, a Dr. Victor Fries, who just so happened to had been at that warehouse that night looking into stealing some valuable equipment being imported but instead had watched a young, badly hurt teen desperately try to save and have to freeze his 'sister' as she was melting in front of him.
I want more TaliaxDanny stuff so how about this AU. Its mostly HEAVILY hinted though.
[Side note: Danny is in his 20s, maybe mid 20s btw, also enjoy my actual writing style, haven't done this in a while besides some small snippets I write]
Talia discovers the future plans Ra's has for her baby, her heir, her child. She is hurt and enraged because "How dare he! How dare he raise my son to be a sacrificial lamb just to extend his own life!" And the fact he had no plans to truly step down from being the Demon Head. (Basically the timeline where Ra's planned to overtake Damain's body)
-x-x-
Talia stared, her green eyes almost glowing toward the sleeping form of her son on her bed. Her eyes roamed his tiny face, the way he lightly dozed the day away unknowingly of the danger that had set in stone for him. Yes, being not just her son but the son of the Bat and the grandson of the Demon Head he was always going to be in danger but never had she really thought the danger would come from the very person who just declared him his heir. At least not in the way its been presented.
Talia had just discovered the fate her father, Ra's al Ghul, the same man that had held Damian not even a day ago and spoke of the future he could see Damian bring to the League once he was of age and would lead it, had actually planned for her son.
He planned on using her son, raising him to be the perfect heir.... to... to...
Use him as a vessel in the end.
He planned to leave his old decaying body, a body that was beginning to no longer respond to the Lazarus Pits as of late, and basically jump ship to a younger and better body...
The body of her son. The son she created and craved to have and raise. The son she made with her beloved's blood running in his veins.
Despite how enraged she is' Talia knows she can't confront her father. He would kill her... no he would torture her by hurting her baby to the point death would be a mercy if she tried. She also knows she can't go running to Bruce, she had burned the bridge to him ages ago when she refused to leave her father and his teachings and knows he would rip Damian away from her should she tell him what she did. He would, under the guise of protecting their child gain sole custody from Talia, set up next to nothing visitation rights for her to follow. He would say it would be to protect Damian from Ra's but Talia knows Bruce, knows he would use it as a half-excuse just to keep her away... but Talia wants to be in her child's life. Wants to raise him. Wants to be his mother, despite knowing next to nothing on how to be an actual normal mother, she wanted to try. She needed to try.
Running away was also out of the question, especially since Damian had been declared her father 'heir'. He would hunt them down and there was no where in this world she could hide that her father could not find them...
And-
Talia barely gives any warning when she flings the knife behind her. She waited for only a second, either to hear the ting of metal being blocked or the sound of it burying itself onto the wooden door she knew was in its pathway.
Instead she heard neither of those things and instead heard the ticking of a grandfather clock and a deep chuckle.
"As expected from the daughter of the Demon. Sharp and deadly with no hesitation in sight."
"Who are you." It was not a question but a demand. She slowly turned her head and was meet with an odd sight that even the daughter of the Demon has never seen before.
"At most.. an ally to have. At worst, merely a passing stranger with an offer."
The ticking never stopped.
Everything else outside the room though did.
-x-x-
Danny stared, his currently green eyes burning even more brightly than they normally do. Many emotions passed through them, anger, frustration, pain, sadness, regret, heartbreak, and hopelessness to name a few.
He stared at the tiny sleeping face within the healing pod in front of him and closed his eyes as memories of spending time with the one sleeping filled his mind.
"My King." A voice began, Danny's sharp pointed ears twitch for a moment and he turned his head slightly but it was all the speaker needed to know that they had his attention even if he didn't give them his full attention.
"I bring the updated reports from Chief Frostbite you requested." The young yeti ghost said, this had Danny finally turning around and looking upwards and towards the young yeti, who was smaller than Frostbite but none the less bigger than Danny. Danny held his hand out and took the stack of papers in their hands.
Once the papers were in his hands he gave a curt wave of his fingers as if to say 'go on' without actually saying the words and turned his attention to the words on the papers. The young yeti, Icewinds took the signal and began.
"Princess Danielle's core has remained the same since the last check up. No major sign of deteriorating or destabilizing... However that also means there have been no signs of improvement or healing as well..." Icewinds stopped for a moment, allowing their King to register the words being spoken "We will continue to monitor her as best as we can but... My King..."
Icewinds took a deep breath and delivered the news everyone already knew "Without a female donor to complete her Ecto-DNA, should the Princess suffers from another Fading even a minor one, I fear it might be too much for her core and with her current body form it will not be able to withstand the stress... I'm truly sorry My King."
The room fell silent, the only real sounds being the monitors in the room and sound of rustling papers in Danny's hands, who was staring blankly at the words written on them but not really taking them in.
After a moment, Icewinds shifting uncomfortably for a second, Danny spoke his voice raw but strong and firm "I understand. Please inform Frostbite I am... grateful for his, yours, and everyone's continued support and everything everyone's has done to help her... If you do not mind Icewinds, I would... Like to be alone for a while and think... For a moment."
"O-Of course My King." And with that Icewinds left the room, Danny barely taking not of the door closing and his enhanced hearing picking up the hushed soft words being spoken to the Knights that stood outside the room of Danny's request of being left alone for a while.
Once the talking outside the room faded, Danny tilted his body and head back on the chair he had been sitting in for the last few days and allowed the papers he had his hands to fall out and onto the floor. Danny took in a shaky breath and closed his burning eyes as he tried to keep his core emotions in control, knowing if he lost control the Realms would echo him and would panic or worry his people.
And he couldn't deal with that. Not now.
"Clockwork, whatever timeline you are trying to set in motion, I hope it pans out soon." Danny rasped out as he tried his best to keep himself from falling apart. Losing Danielle, losing the girl that was his clone, his mirror, but also was like a sister... daughter sometimes would break him, harshly and deeply.
He knew his advisor and resident Timekeeper had something in the works, the way the aging spirit had looked at him before he left was telling when the news of Danielle's suffering from another Fading attack and Frostbite having to perform a Core Transform nearly last second, which in turn turned her into a baby from how close she was to fully Fading, had been delivered to Danny and the others.
But despite knowing Clockwork had a plan, Danny knew that smile he had before he had left. It had been Clockwork's 'Have hope, but even I am unsure.' smile, a rare one the Timekeeper would wear when even he didn't know which way the pendulum of chance would swing first.
So he did the only thing he could do for now, and that was to remain in the room with Danielle, keep her stabilized as best as he could with his own ectoplasim flowing, and wait to see if whatever Clockwork had planned would work out.
Waiting, even with all he's done in his life from becoming a Halfa, to defending his home and haunt, from fighting off insane Fruitloops to dismantling government bigots until there was nothing left of them, all the way to fighting a tyrannicidal Ghost King to the point Danny had won the crown by Trail by Combat thus taking up the mantle of Ghost King of the Infinite Realms since his seventeenth birthday and bringing the Infinite Realms into a new age of healing the broken crumbling lands and ruling over all justly but firmly, waiting was all he could do for Danielle.
And the waiting. The stress. Was agonizing.
Because what they needed was...
Was a miracle if Danny was to be honest. They needed a female, a donor in all sense of the words, to complete Danielle's incomplete Ecto-DNA, because of course that damned Fruitloop tried skipping steps in creating a clone of Danny and it was no wonder he had failed so many times with only Danielle the most stable of them all and given the fact she still wasn't was damning, but they couldn't just have any female donate their DNA to her.
No the DNA needed the donor to at least be limenal, thus turning the DNA into Ecto-DNA because Danielle was created to be a halfa... The only problem was that the person in question needed to be Jazz level of limenal Ecto-DNA as well.
Meaning that despite both Sam and Val offering their Ecto-DNA from the years of being exposed to the Realms and Ectoplasim theirs wasn't enough to work with Danielle's. Jazz's Ecto-DNA was off the table seeing as she was his sister and mixing it with Danielle's would just lead to problems.
No they needed someone who was born near or in ectoplasm, breathed it, ate or at least filtered it, grew with it for years like Jazz and Danny did, basically the person in question just needed one odd day of dying and returning to life at the same time to becoming a halfa levels of limenal. Only those high levels could complete and combined with Danielle's.
Which given the fact only Jazz had those levels, finding someone near those levels was like looking for needle in space, because forget the haystack.
"....You've returned." Was the only words Danny said when his ears caught the sound of a ticking clock suddenly in the room, his anxiety raising as both dread and a tiny slimmer of hope both slowly climb up in his emotions, knowing whatever answer Clockwork would give him would outweigh the other.
"On time, as always My King." His cryptic Timekeeper responded "I bring... a chance."
Those words were enough to snap Danny out of his chair, he quickly looked towards where Clockwork's voice had been coming from and floated. His eyes burning with determination for a moment before he caught sight of movement behind Clockwork.
Behind the ever changing being stood a breathtaking woman. Tall and proud from the way she held herself, she looked a few years older than him but Danny could sense she was far older her soul not really matching her body. She was lovely to look at no doubt but deadly, very deadly and that was something else Danny could sense after all he was the Ghost King.
And she wasn't alone for in her arms was a baby, roughly the same age that Danielle had been de-aged to as well.
Danny blinked at them when he noticed something.
She...
She was limenal.
Very limenal. Even more limenal than Jazz.
In fact both of them were.
"I would like you to meet Lady Talia al Ghul and her son Damian, My King." Clockwork said as he gave a tiny bow towards the woman who stepped forward, a frown on her face she took in Danny's features and her eyes darting towards Danielle's healing pod for a moment, Danny could see she was tensed and a little weary from no doubt everything so far.
".... Welcome Lady Talia to the Infinite Realms. I am King Phantom." Danny greeted, his many years of training with other royalties coming forward as second nature now, he wasn't some normal teen from the middle of the Mid-West after all. "Has Clockwork told you the reasoning as to why you have been... chosen?"
He honestly would put it past Clockwork to be cryptic about the reasoning, but he hoped he hadn't because Danny really didn't want to explain the importance of it all and why they needed to hurry. And judging by the roll of his eyes Clockwork knew what Danny had been meaning as well.
"Yes King Phantom" Talia spoke, her voice rich and silky that sent a tiny shiver up Danny's spine from the sound "You need my DNA to help heal your clone. Should it be successful however it will change her from being merely a clone to instead into becoming yours and mine daughter."
"Correct." Was Danny's response, short and to the point. He needed her answer now if they wanted to save even a fragment of Danielle's core.
The room fell silent again, each them of taking a moment to think.
But eventually Talia spoke. Her voice steady and strong.
"I will offer my aid to you and yours... But only if you swear to both me and my son that we will be given sanctuary from my father and any who dares harm us for the blood that runs in our veins."
Danny only had one answer to that as his eyes caught hers.
Because despite being the Ghost King Phantom nowadays. He had once been Danny Phantom whose core started as a protector spirit and could sense the honestly of needing safety in her words.
"Yes."
-x-x-
Clockwork watched and smiled at the two adults in the room as they continued to stare at each other.
He knew he had been cutting it close, waiting for Talia to be at the ends of ropes and needing a chance to finally leave her deadly and abusive father without the toxic strings attached her ex would tie around her under the guise of safety for their son.
Turning his attention away from the two as they began to speak terms, Clockwork cast his gaze towards an window in the room and stared out of it, smile still on his face as glimpses of the rare future he saw slowly rose up more frequently.
Danny and Talia slowly and surely working together to raise not just Danielle, or rather Ellie as they renamed her since she was no longer a clone of Danny, but also Damian together. Passing them off as twins to those outside the Realms or Amity Park.
Talia learning to release the toxic love she had towards Bruce Wayne, and understand if someone truly loved you for you, they would demand sudden change from the only way of life one knows. That since she was no longer the thumb of her father she could finally be free to be herself.
Danny learning that despite being crowned so early in his life, that the weight of the crown didn't need to be carried alone. Sure he had his friends and family but Danny needed someone, someone who understood the weight of the feeling of needing to wear it head held high. And who better to help teach that than the woman who had to carry the name Daughter of the Demon Head herself.
The two growing closer and closer. Until fondness changed and shifted into more. As they raised the two infants with laughter and joy and love.
Ellie getting a kiss from Talia on the forehead when she had a nightmare and seeked her mother out for comfort. Toddler Damian riding Cujo around the castle as he copied Fright Knight after watching him ride off, Danny floating right by him making sure he didn't fall off. Ellie learning how to fight not just from her mother but from her idol Pandora. Damian learning to identity the stars and their names from the man he saw, and later wished was, his father. Ellie and Damian building pillow forts in the library and reading all manners of stories to each other. Danny and Talia holding their tiny hands as they took them to their first day of school within Amity Park their joyful laughter bringing soft smiles on their parents faces.
Danny holding a crying Talia as she explained the things she had been taught and forced to learn by the orders of her father in the dead of night. Doing his best to calm her down as he had been taught by Jazz ages ago.
Talia standing tall and firm when the Observants tried to undermined a order, no a law Danny had set in motion that had upset the eyeballs badly. How she gathered evidence of their attempts to go against it and how they were nothing but traitors towards their King and couldn't weasel themselves out of it this time.
Clockwork smiled warmly when he caught sight of one more glimpse of this future timeline.
Talia dressed beautifully, a crown made of stars and black jewels on her head. Her son dancing with her as firm as he could but his little tongue peeking out of his mouth as he concentrated on his steps and was dressed like a tiny prince complete with a tiny crown of stars on his head as well, Talia's face held a tiny smile of love watching him try his hardest to dance correctly with her. Joyful squeals of laughter rang out as King Phantom twirled with Ellie, who was dressed like a true princess, in his arms.
Around them in the ballroom the citizens of Realms laughed, joyfully danced, sang, ate, or merely watched. For the first time in many, many years the Realms felt... Complete. Whole. Happy.
A true wonderful afterlife that all could enjoy.
Yes.
He knew waiting the last second was a long shot, for a chance that almost wasn't, but the future he saw was well worth it.
A good future. A balanced one. A happy afterlife one.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the seeds of this future to bloom.
This is the first half of a continuation of the previous short story, even though it takes place before that part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As Danny cradled little Eleanor —Ellie— gently in his arms, the newborn slept soundly, unaware of the chaos that had just unfolded. He’d taken her into his arms after everything had been sorted out at the hospital regarding her custody —Technus had played a key role, ensuring the process went smoothly and keeping everything under wraps; The old ghost had insisted this was repayment for Danny saving him from being ‘ended’.
Now, with Ellie nestled against him, Danny couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that gnawed at him. Jazz had given him a parenting book, and Technus had promised to keep the ghosts away from Amity Park for the week, claiming that the birth of a ‘ghost child’ was a momentous occasion —never mind the fact that Ellie wasn’t a ghost and Danny had no idea whether she’d inherited any of his powers. It was a small blessing, and he figured he should use the time to get a crash course in fatherhood.
But after that, what then? The ghosts would return to attacking Amity Park, of that he was certain. But how would he keep the city safe while caring for Ellie? And school —he couldn’t exactly bring her with him. Jazz would help for a while, but he couldn’t expect her to sacrifice her time indefinitely, especially when he wanted her to focus on her own life as well —He couldn’t keep asking her to look after Ellie while he was at school or off fighting ghosts. He needed a solution, and fast. Either he’d have to figure out a way to stop the ghosts from attacking altogether or find someone who could look after Ellie for him.
— Hey, Danny, -Jazz’s voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, her eyes softening as she looked down at the bundle in his arms.- Is that her?
— Yeah, -Danny replied, his voice quieter than usual.- Want to see her?
Jazz didn’t need to be asked twice. She quickly stepped toward him, and Danny shifted his arms slightly, just enough for her to get a better view. As she looked down at the tiny sleeping baby, Ellie frowned slightly, wriggling as though trying to snuggle closer to Danny’s chest.
— She’s so cute, -Jazz murmured, a smile tugging at her lips as she gently pulled the blanket aside to get a better look at Ellie.- Hard to believe she’s your daughter.
— Hey! -Danny chuckled quietly, but the tone was playful.- Watch it, Jazz.
He kept his voice low enough to avoid waking Ellie, though he couldn't help but grin at his sister's teasing. Jazz only smirked in return, unfazed.
She lingered for a moment, cooing at the baby with a warmth in her voice before reluctantly letting go of the blanket. As Danny brought Ellie closer to him, she settled back down, her frown disappearing into a peaceful sleep.
— I take it everything went well back in Gotham? -Jazz asked, and Danny nodded, looking more at ease.
— Yeah, Technus kept his word down to a T, -Danny replied.- The paperwork went smoothly, and he made sure no one would find out Stephanie’s her mom.
— I still don’t get why she wanted to keep that hidden, -Jazz said, her frown deepening.
— She probably just wanted to keep her safe, -Danny said, his tone serious.- With how unhinged the Joker and some of the other rogues of Gotham are, I wouldn’t put it past them to go after Ellie if they ever got their hands on Stephanie.
— Maybe, but something still doesn’t sit right with me, -Jazz replied, her voice laced with concern.- Anyway, have you told her you made it back to Amity safe? I know you still have her number on your phone.
— Not yet, -Danny said, bouncing his arms a little when Ellie started to fuss.- I’m waiting a bit longer—gotta make sure it fits with my cover story of getting Vlad to lend me his private jet.
— You could’ve told her you were a meta with portaling abilities, -Jazz said, a teasing glint in her eyes.- Wouldn’t have been that hard to keep up, right?
Danny frowned, not sharing her amusement.
— And how would I explain it when no meta records come up when we registered Ellie at the hospital? -He replied, glancing down at his daughter.- Besides, even though I trust Stephanie a lot, I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to find out about my powers. It’s safer for her that way.
Jazz gave him a skeptical look, but Danny didn’t meet her gaze. She didn’t push the matter further, but the doubt still lingered. Instead, she moved on to another issue.
— Sam and Tucker are downstairs, -Jazz said, watching as Danny’s head snapped up in surprise, his gaze sharp.- I managed to keep them occupied for now, but I think they suspect something’s going on.
Danny’s frown deepened, and he sighed.
— I knew I’d have to tell them the truth about my weird behavior over the last eight months, -He admitted, rubbing a hand over his face.- But I didn’t think it’d be this soon.
Jazz placed a hand on his shoulder, her expression sympathetic.
— Better to rip the band-aid off now than let it fester, -She said gently.
Danny took a deep breath, his resolve firming up.
— I know, -He said, eyes hardening as he squared his shoulders.- You’re coming with me, right?
Jazz gave him a soft smile and squeezed his shoulder lightly before removing her hand.
— Of course, -She said.- Did you really think I’d let you go through this alone?
— Never, -Danny said with a slight smile, his mood shifting slightly. He took a deep breath and headed for the door, his footsteps steady.- I guess it’s showtime, then.
Danny finds out that
1. He's a clonish 'love child' of two heroes
2. He was accidentally created during one of his donors mental break downs after losing his father and best friends (one of which was his other donor)
3. CW interfered before his creator realized what he made and pulled him out of that dimension because "it would had lead that world to true ruin if he found out at his state of mind. He's better now but it would had been the final straw for him should anything had happened to you in his care and given who he had to partner up with later... I did what I had to."
4. Due to Danny having a bad fall out with his parents after he told them about being Phantom (they didn't attack him... but they did disown him.) Danny is left adrift of what to do. He doesn't wanna bug Jazz, she's in college and dorming. Tuckers place has no room. Sam's parents would never let him stay. Vlad was a definitely a no go. And Dani (Ellie) last check in was near the Amazon rainforest.
5. Danny finds out some of his powers might not be as ghostly as he thought... it does explain the huge power boost some of his powers have compared to other ghosts.
6. He went to Clockwork... who proceeded to tell him the truth, smile his cryptic smile while saying "and now. Have fun this time around. I'll see you again in due time Daniel." Before yeeting him into a portal.
7. Danny woke up in his home dimension.... deaged to being five years old (the age he would be if he stayed and grew by now) (DC timeline is slower than DP in this)
8. He woke up apparently his creator's home city... during a Gala (Danny woke up in a garden, dazed and confused. His memories are fuzzy)... and wandered into the party... and apparently he looked like a perfect mix of his.. dads? Which catches A LOT of peoples attention.
9. Especially with Tim Drake-Wayne and Conner Kent-Luthor just announcing they're dating that very night.
10. Rumors and gossip of a random kid, who looks just like the recent happily announced couple, go flying quickly among the elite... and reaches certain ears before it gets to batfam and supers (I have a feeling they learned how to block out rumors and gossips during these events)
11. Those ears happen to be Lex Luthor and Ra's al Ghul (both who are there at the Gala just to annoy and unnerve the Bats and Supers)
12. By the time the rumors get to Tim and Conner, they find Danny almost getting taken away by one of those two.
A TaliaxDanny idea that came to me.
Damian, Bruce, and the rest of the bats discover the Talia al Ghul they had been fighting against, the one that cloned her own son, had the clone kill him, plant a control device in him when he broke his spine, etc etc was actually not the real Talia al Ghul.
Turned out Ra's had cloned her and killed the original when she discovered his little plans to take over Damain's body and she confronted him about it. Ra's had to make a clone when after tossing a dead Talia into the pits but never returned (he meant to kill her as a warning, as a "you may be my blood but will not hesitate to end you Talia.") It explains so much to Damian when remembers how out of nowhere his mother changed, her training him changed from harsh to deadly, the soft motherly love she would give him when behind closed doors suddenly stopped, the tales she would spin for him about his father no longer whispered to him for bed.
How this was find out?
Well it's hard to ignore the facts that when your foolish grandfather in his quest for immortality summons an eldritch being known as the Ghost King into the Mortal Realm and uses Damian as a sacrifice while his (not) mother watches emotionless.
When the being appeared, plunging the room from green glowing flames and the glow of the Lazarus Pits into darkness before a cosmos exploded to life, its glowing green eyes snapped open in the stars and stared at them all. Making every single one of them feel small, so very small.
It took a single glance around the room before stopping on the al Ghul's. It's eyes widen before a steel and firm look entered them. Just as quick as the cosmos sprang to life, it suddenly swirled away into a ball, putting them all back into the Lazarus room,and reformed in front of them to a more humanish height and body.
When the body, around the height and build of Batman, was done forming it took a step forward and suddenly as one blinked a man stood in front of them. Or rather floated. Snow white hair that flickered and wisped towards a crown made of fire and ice, glowing green eyes that held none of the madness but all of the power the Lazarus Pits could give. His clothing were tailored made that were tastefully a mixture of black and white with some silvers and greens, clothes fit for a King one would say. The cosmos that once engulfed the room had shifted into a cloak that hanged around his body, on one side more than the other (think like how CW wears his only the hood is down).
This, this was no doubt the Ghost King, he stood tall and regal and made everyone in the room feel the need to look down, to bow ones head for even just a moment. Even Ra's had trouble disobeying the urge to do so.
"Well..." the being said, his voice deep but not as gravely as Batman's was "What an interesting way to meet my In-Laws and Step-Son..."
He has said that as he looked towards the al Ghul's. Damian flinched back with a frown of confusion and disbelief while Ra's looked panicked for a second when the words registered into his mind, meanwhile Talia... looked emotionless and barely even twitched.
"What the fu-?" Someone began only to stop when the King lifted his hand and with a snap of his fingers a green portal appeared, it looked almost like the Lazarus Pits but it felt... cleaner? Less angry?
"My Bellatrix, my warrior star. I believe I've been summoned to your home dimension. And judging by the looks of it your father created a barely functioning Mirror of you and planned on using your son as a sacrifice to me." He spoke out towards the portal before holding his hand out.
A hand appeared from the portal, a slender hand and with green and black painted nails manicure to perfection before someone walked through it as they took hold of the Ghost King's offering hand.
Standing in front of them was another Talia, only this one looked a tad older than the one in the room. She wore clothing that matched the King to a T but even then, as always, Talia looked deadly in it. Beautiful but very deadly. From the heels she wore to the crown upon her head, a crown made of not ice and fire but of stars and black jewels. Her eyes were sharp as she stared at everyone in the room, frown on her painted lips, but her eyes lit with a small soft joy when she saw Damian only for them to turn poisonous when they landed on Ra's and the other Talia nearby.
"I should had know you would had created a Mirror of me instead of admitting to my son you killed me Father." Queen Talia spat out. "The least you could had done was not make my Mirror so cheaply, it doesn't even have a proper soul attached to it."
Trigon was trying to get through onto the earth using Raven's birthday as the teen titans and yoing Justice League have tried almost everything to stop it.
Raven is shakenly holding a glowing green sticky note, space designed candles and green chalk that she had left locked up tight in her room as her last option.
Drawing the summoning circle and all the symbols representing the solar system, planets, the sun, and the Pluto in the center. Beast boy, cyborg, starfire, and Robin were there as emotion support, while Justice League and Young Justice were fighting off the her half demon siblings.
She only told them that she knew an entity that could stop her father completely from entering the earth dimension..
She lighted the eight candles, each sparkling a different colored fire representing the planets as she light the ninth one representing Pluto in the middle, the green glowing pulsing through the summoning circle, the tiny ring box she kept in her cloak weigh on her mind.
"Azarath Metreon Zinthos!" A rush of stars dust and tiny specks metorite rises from the summoning circle, all which were defying gravity.
Raven can ignore wave sense of regret in her nevermore mindscape upon seeing the figure in a crouch position in midair, long white hair floating around with miniature galaxies swirling around the crown on his head, wearing a teal winter outfit with a fluffy white cloak.
Dull greenish blue eyes glaring upon her dark purple eyes, pointed long ears flatten down instead of peak upwards with that once goofy lovesick smile she was used to seeing long ago was gone with a small frown.
Raven refused to look fully at his hand he had crossed over his chest, one sleeveless.
"Greeting your majes-" Raven broke the silent pregnant quiet with a polite greeting by the entity whom ears flatten more downwards with a twitch, eyes blaring icy and narrowed as he slapped his hands on the summoning circle barrier, a massive cracked on the barrier, distorted the figure's more looking more elderitch, lichtenberg scars all over flashes on a faded human being glitches before the barrier instincrly repaired itself.
the mass coldness and weight pressuring the entire living room from that crack made the rest of the teen titans shiver heavily before the crack was healed fully, leaving the room silence.
"Don't you fucking dare act like that after what You done, Raven!" Hissed the being, his mouth gritted with sharp fanged before he closes his eyes and breath in slowly, a four minute go by before he exhale specs or stardust and ice float out, before his eyes open and the blue was more visible then green in his eyes.
"It's trigon again, that why you summon me. Not to apologize, not to give me a reason, a time of day on why you slash off my arm that day or vanish after and hide like you do in nevermore with the fucking Specter Deflector 5.9."
Raven's eyes twitch a bit as she remains calm before seeing a glint she never seen in Danny's eyes.
"You know I'm not letting you go off scotch free this time again, Raven. I'll help you and your daddy little tantrum, but you know what you have to do, don't you~?" Danny's nearly feral grim practically glow send a goosebumps down her spine, but that was normal.. wasn't it?
"Raven, what ring is he talking about?"
Raven knew what ring danny was talking about, her teammates' voices of concened were distant as she pulled out a ring box from the shadow in her purple cloak that held her ring box.
Her wedding ring that she never put on due to the guilt with the gleeming Musgravite sculpted in the shape of a nesting raven with green eyes on a golden ring.
Raven looked at Danny and the fight outside in a jump city with the looming threat that was her father, before sighing and gazed back at danny.
"I guess I'll shoulda put ring on it." Raven spoke out, Danny's eyes widen before a goofy lovesick smile spills from his lips as he giggles, which turns into a full-blown laugh with his head swinging back, his hand covering his face.