Short DPXDC Prompts #648

To be honest. DCxDP where the reason Danny meets the bats is Ace the Bat-hound

Like, just think about it for a second. Danny is in Gotham for college, or maybe he just moved out to find a city where having mad scientist parents isn’t actually that unusual.

He can see ghosts.

The ghosts know this.

Now he’s getting harassed left and right by spirits trying to get closure. Fine, whatever, most of them are a one-and-done type deal, and the amount of ghosts trying to get his help steadily decreases.

Except for this one very stubborn dog.

It just keeps showing up and leading him to crime scenes! He doesn’t know how many “anonymous tips” he can call in to the cops before they trace his phone! And this dog, this incredibly good boy, will not stop trying to help the city. He’s never met anyone with such a strong sense of justice, let alone a dog. Can dogs even have a moral compass?

And so Danny just accepts the fact that Ace isn’t going anywhere and becomes his reluctant sidekick/dedicated medium. He leans into the whole thing, dressing up in a mix of traditional magic-user attire and accessories that pay homage to the ghost dog.

He becomes somewhat well known. The psychopomp detective following around the shadowy figure of a German Shepard? That’s unusual! That’s weird! I mean, it’s not the weirdest thing in Gotham, sure, but he’s a new vigilante and he’s got a ghost dog that people can only see when it’s around him. Someone’s gonna notice.

Damian, as Robin, is the first to reach out to him.

Ace doesn’t know Damian but he does know a Robin, and while this isn’t his Robin, he’s still friendlier than usual. Danny’s panicking because oh god the bats are here and also is this kid gonna steal my ghost dog, Damian is absolutely delighted by Ace, and Ace is just happy to see a Robin again.

Damian decides that the psychopomp isn’t a danger to anyone, and there’s no reason to put this encounter into his reports, really, and perhaps Danny can help with some of his cases in the future.

Danny is sweating bullets because Damian basically tells him that he’ll keep him secret as long as he gets to play with Ace. Ace is happy that he’s finally getting some bat affiliated crime-fighting assistance.

And so, Danny is now both Ace AND Damian’s reluctant assistant. At least whenever he’s in trouble, he can always call a middle schooler to help him.

(Is Robin even in school? He’s out patrolling damn near every night, and he stays out late as hell. Does he have a bedtime? He should.)

Eventually it gets to the point where Damian is going over to Danny’s house. When he first sees it, he has a damn bitch you live like this moment, to which Danny responds that not everyone has the money to afford a nice place. Damian counters that he could at least take the time to clean up, and Danny replies that he’s working, going to school, and being a vigilante assistant to a ghost dog, something’s got to give.

Danny nearly has a heart attack when he checks his bank account the next day and sees that someone transferred him 10,000 dollars.

And so they get into a routine. Danny and Damian fight crime with Ace at night, and occasionally Damian stops by during the day to play with Ace and have Danny help with his homework.

(Damian is smart enough to do it on his own, but some of the instructions are written incredibly confusingly, and he would never admit to needing help to his family. Danny is just glad that the kid is in school and cares about his education, blissfully unaware that he’s basically emotionally adopted him.)

Damian is used to being in Danny’s company.

Eventually, when going over a case with the family, Damian absentmindedly remarks that he’ll have to ask Danny about some of the clues that they might be missing. Nightwing asks who he means and Damian makes a face like he just swallowed a lemon.

Cue shitstorm.

Who is “Danny?” Why is Damian willing to ask for help from anyone, much less someone outside of the family? Does he know who Damian is? Has Damian been compromised? What the hell is going on?

Damian now has to explain that Danny is the psychopomp with the ghost dog who he might have met hunted down while on patrol and conveniently not mentioned, but he’s not a bad person, really, and he lets him play with Ace, and he’s been quite helpful on certain cases due to his ability to talk to ghosts.

Bruce insists that the family meet Danny. Damian, hoping that he won’t just skip town the second he hears the news, relents.

Danny is surprisingly eager to meet the bats, considering his earlier fears.

Damian, blissfully unaware of what’s coming, sets a time and place to meet.

Once everyone is there, he gives Bruce the earful of a lifetime.

Robin is in middle school! Danny knows that there’s no way to stop the boy from going on patrol, but you could at least shift his schedule so he gets enough sleep on school nights! Does the Bat even know where he is half the time?! (No) And why isn’t he comfortable asking his family for help with both cases and homework? Did they ever even notice how much time he was spending at Danny’s house? If Danny was a bad person, he could have seriously hurt the poor boy! Shame on you!

Nightwing is mortified that Damian didn’t trust him enough to tell him about any of this. Red Hood is laughing his ass off, because yeah Danny is making good points but he’s also chewing out the literal Batman. Tim is recording the whole thing. Steph is delighted by the absolute gall of this Danger Twink™️, and already planning to add him to several groupchats. Damian is more embarrassed than he’s ever been in his entire life.

You, he points to Nightwing, did your academic life feel supported when you were a Robin? Nightwing is too stunned to speak. Red Hood, eternal shit-stirrer, says that oh, we all prioritized patrol over our education, that’s just how it is. Red Robin actually dropped out of high school to avoid distractions, did you know that?

Danny honest-to-god shrieks at this.

He finishes his angry rant and leaves, everyone too stunned to stop him.

And as it turns out, Tim wasn’t the only person recording the whole thing.

The entire internet is blowing up with Psychopomp The Danger Twink™️’s rant. People are taking sides. Things are getting messy. Red Hood literally admitting on-camera to previously being a Robin is somehow not the main focus here.

Eventually someone connects some dots from the video, as well as stories circling the internet about the psychopomp. A ghost dog named Ace, who is the literal only reason that the psychopomp is fighting crime at all, which seems incredibly fond of Nightwing and Robin.

A crime-fighting dog who wants constant attention from both the current and original Robin.

Oh my god, Ace the Bat-hound died and became a crime-fighting ghost.

And, somehow, that’s still not the strangest thing going on in Gotham.

DPxDC Prompt #17

There is a room Danny's Keep he set up shortly after defeating Pariah Dark. It became necessary when the broader magical community realized Pariah had be defeated and therefore a new King took his throne. Danny found himself briefly bombarded with waves of attempted summonings.

Which, the summonings themselves, wouldn't have been so bad. Turns out people can't just drag the King of Ghosts to themselves on a whim. Danny has to actively accept a summoning to get pulled to it. And if he just decides "No," the pull and whispers go away. No problem there.

No, the problem is the offerings. And sacrifices. The things that people put in the circle as payment for even attempting to summon him. Like having to put a quarter in the payphone just to listen to it ring and ring and ring as the person on the other end of the call doesn't pick up. Since the summoning magic regarded these things as belonging to Danny even if he rejected the summons, they usually ended up just materializing in front of him if he didn't go to them.

Which, okay. It was funny that time he got to end a fight with Vlad very fast when a whole gold bar materialized and dropped on his head. And the food was nice sometimes when it was late and everywhere was closed and his parents had left samples in the fridge to contaminate everything into animation again. But the goat head dropping from the ceiling onto his desk during on of Lancer's English tests was not appreciated. Even if it did get the test rescheduled and the whole school shut down for a few days to investigate the "potentially satanic activity."

So, yeah, it was a bit of a problem. Fortunately, it was a problem with a relatively simple solution. Danny set up an inbox. With a bit of help from Tucker and Pandora, and a couple tips from Clockwork; all summoning offerings and sacrifices would now go straight to the dedicated room in the Keep.

And! As a special touch, the summoners would also get a chipper, automated voice saying, "The Ghost King you are trying to summon has more important things to do than answer you right now. Please leave a message in the circle with your name, date, location, contact information, and reason for summoning. The Ghost King will get back to you at his earliest convenience." Sam's stupid fancy girl gala voice had been perfect for that little message.

It was the perfect solution. Danny no longer had to deal with randomly materializing offerings putting his secret identity at risk. Pariah's skeletons, who had been antsy for something to do now that they were no longer bent under the thumb of a cruel tyrant, were instructed to take care of all the offerings; making sure everything was always cleaned up and put away. And all Danny had to do was stop by periodically to check in and "Officially respond" -ie, write a fuck off note- to the summoning messages (Clockwork's insistence).

A perfect solution. Up until Danny checked in one day to find the skellies pampering a whole ass boy. No. Not just any boy. Danny recognizes that costume.

"Why is Robin here?"

Danny's found a way to dodge GIW trackers, as well as his parents. Their equipment hunts ghosts, ghosts run on emotion; so as long as he keeps his under a tight lid and doesn't feel anything ever, they won't be able to track him.

It works!

He's able to run from them, and goes as far as New Jersey. The plan was to stow away on a ship, and go to literally any country that wasn't America. He goes to Gotham, which hosts the one harbor he knows where no one will ask any questions.

But because of how weird he acted (completely emotionless during a Joker attack), he was fingered by police immediately.

He's handed over to CPP. CPP doesn't know what to do with a teen literally so traumatized that they don't show any emotion at all, ever. He keeps just...walking out of his placements. Just leaves without a sound.

Luckily, he's always caught, due to those placement houses having quiet alarms and him refusing to run.

They call the one foster parent they know who does.

Bruce Wayne takes in the strange, nameless kid who refuses to talk.

On paper, they gave him the filler name of 'John Doe', for lack of anything better to do.

Bruce does everything he can to make the newest arrival feel at home. Damian, for as territorial as he is, actually breaks out of his shell sooner than expected just to try to get the new kid to speak. To emote. To do something. Duke tries the open approach, then tries the 'no one will ever know, everyone thinks I'm an innocent goody-two-shoes' approach. Nada.

Tim even tries to trick him into talking, but nothing works.

Enter Dick; Dick heard about Bruce's new ward, about the situation, and decided to see if he could get the kid to open up.

Danny though. Danny's in trouble.

The Wayne Manor is weirdly secure, and he can't just walk away like he did his other placements. He can't use ghost powers or the GIW and his parents will immediately know where he is.

He really, really wants to take Bruce up on his offer and just spend the day relaxing. Respond to Damian's attempts to provoke him. Overshare about space facts with Tim.

But most of all, he really, desperately wants to get in a Pun Competition with Dick. He wants to laugh at Dick's jokes, and learn coolass gymnastic tricks!

But he can't!

If he relaxes with Bruce, he'll be content, which is an emotion. If he argues with Damian, he'll get annoyed, which is an emotion. If he sneaks out with Duke and breaks the rules, he'll get happy, which, again, emotion. If he overshares with Tim, he'll get excited, which is, yet again, an emotion!

The worst sin of all, he can't even show proper appreciation of the food the Butler keeps making him!

And now there's even more people coming over!

There's a quiet girl who keeps reading his body language and trying to get him to dance ballet, a blonde girl who keeps trying to kidnap him to take him to BatBurger, a guy with a stripe of white who wants to take him to a shooting range, and it just...he really, really wants to!

He wants to do all these cool things with them!

But he fucking can't!

I have an idea for a Merlin fic but life is chaos so I cannot write it:

So for whatever reason Arthur is away (probably visiting some Lord or Nobel House) and Merlin stays behind (who knows why).

Uthers manservant is ill so he requests Merlin (after all he’s the crown prince’s manservant he should be good enough for the king).

Merlin is now stuck as Uthers servant for a week and I really want to see Merlin try to wake the King up with “rise and shine!! :D”

He talks too much and is entirely too familiar with the King, taking liberties and speaking out of turn, mentioning Arthur by name and not title, is always late with lunch but somehow…

Uther finds him fascinating. He knows Merlin is completely loyal to Arthur (he said so himself in the show). He understands Merlin hears castle gossip like most staff, but he is actually able to understand the significance behind the rumours. Merlin is also trusted by the knights and has insight into the lords and ladies of the court. He sees things, he hears things. Uther can use this

As a physician in training, he is able to treat Uthers old knee injury, and he is clearly learned. He can read and write better than some of the noblemen he’s met. One day Uther enters his chambers and finds Merlin bent over the desk looking over the grain reports “did you notice Lord Chester had been underreporting his grain storage for three years and is selling it under the table to a foreign king?”

Merlin is a terrible manservant…but Uthers clothing had never been cleaner, his armour so polished, his bathwater so hot and his notes so organised. Merlin is continuously late and covered in mud or moss, but somehow Uther finds he doesn’t mind as long as Merlin keeps feeding him important castle gossip.

Arthur gets Merlin back at the end of the week, and Merlin can finally breathe (he’s been a nervous wreck for the last seven days). Uthers servant recovers and the King has a functional servant again as is befitting his station.

But Uther is now willing to overlook some of Merlin’s …ridiculousness and familiarity with Arthur…after all, he’s realised Merlin does have some uses, even though he’s always late with breakfast.

Scenes like this:

“You’re the clumsiest excuse for a servant I’ve ever met!”

“Yes, Arthur says I have the elegance of a newborn lamb”

“Why is there a twig in your hair? It’s unbefitting of your station as servant of the King”

“I fell asleep in a ditch, anyways have you heard Lady Carteret has been seen buying hemlock at the apothecary? I’m sure Lord Carteret is soon to be missing, poor sod”

“Can you never bring me my breakfast on time?!”

“Sorry Sire, the poison tester died this morning after drinking your tea, so I had to brew it myself, and we’re in need of a new poison tester. And in totally unrelated news Lord Milder was seen fleeing the castle”

“Rise and shine!! The sun is up and you should be too!”

“Is this really how you wake your King? And where the hell is my breakfast!”

“Well Arthur usually throws a pillow at me even though it’s my job to wake him in the morning - that lazy arse!”

Okay usually I don't post headcanons or ficlets about dp x dc (only art lol) but I read one of many a fic where Danny was Bruce's bio son (I think in that fic he was the kid of him and Selina but they thought he died or smth) and like, there's so much good stuff out there for it even though I prefer the adoption route myself but it got me thinking.

Bruce and Danny meeting and finding out they're father and son and Bruce just...

Absolutely denies it. Full stop. Ignores the glaringly obvious evidence and doesn't want to talk to Danny, holes up in his office or the cave to find evidence of the contrary

Danny doesn't quite understand why he would be so adamant about him not being his son. He kinda feels really guilty because obviously he didn't want him, that's why he was put up for adoption / presumed dead anyway. Right?

Yet it stings a little because Bruce has a LOT of kids. Like so many. What's one more? What did he do to be so unwanted? He knew the ghost part was unsettling to say the least but for someone like the Batman to refuse him? Damn he must be really rotten then

He's ready to pack his bags and dissappear when his new brothers pull him aside cause if he thought he felt upset or angry, he wasn't ready for his brothers to be absolutely furious.

Even Damian, annoyed at not being the one and true heir, decides that this behaviour is unacceptable because Bruce didn't act that way towards him when he revealed himself, so what honor is there in refusing another son?

They assure Danny he is more than welcome in the family and that they'll find ways to work with his ghost half but not before they talk to Bruce.

So they walk up to his office, ready to tear him several new ones when they notice the door slightly opened. Bruce is talking to someone, Alfred, Selina take your pick.

They notice a Bruce they have never seen or heard before.

His voice is strained and tense, like Dick when he's trying to stay calm and keep any worry hidden.

He paces around, heels heavy on contact with the floor, like Jason when he's frustrated and needs to let it out without destroying anything.

He's rambling, jumping from one thing to the other, coherent or not like a waterfall unable to contain the flow of the river just like Tim when he's stuck on a problem and needs to look at every possible angle to find a solution.

Through the crack, they can see him tugging at the fabric of his sleeves every so slightly, rubbing it between his thumb and index finger, just like Damian when he's nervous and on edge.

They don't see Bruce, or Batman. They see their mentor, their father, their dad on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

"He can't be mine!" he cries out. He repeats it several times and Danny feels himself shrivel inside. Tears start fighting to be released while one of his new siblings, Jason? Probably? He doesnt notice who it is at first, puts a hand on his shoulders, and pulling him closer is Dick while Tim and Damian look ready to kick in the door until Bruce huffs a reply to the "Why not" hanging heavy in the air.

"Because if he is, then I've failed another one of my kids."

He sits himself against his desk, hands on his face.

"If he is my kid, then I have failed as a father by not being there to talk to, to find solace in. I pushed him away without even being there like I did with Dick"

"If he is mine, then I let him be in a situation where his parents didn't look out for him, where he was alone without someone to give him a real home, the only thing here that makes it somewhat better is that he at least had a sister looking out for him unlike Tim"

"If he is mine, it means I had to miss out on yet another childhood. Yet another son of mine forced to grow up too fast, to be a warrior, to be fighting for others, to survive while he should've had someone fighting for him!"

He's choking back tears and Jason feels his heart break, a split between feeling sad for his old man and guilty about feeling relieved that he does care when he finally speaks again"

"If Danny is mine, it means, I let another one of my children die. Not only that, but to have them not be able to rest in peace but be puzzled together again! Jason had it so rough already, but Danny has to deal with more than just being half dead and it's more than I know how to properly handle."

He doesn't want to, but he's shaking as he speaks.

"How can he be mine when I'm such a terrible father?"

He never noticed someone coming in. He didn't hear a sound save for a sob breaking through the silence as this kid, his kid wraps himself around him.

"You're not" he assures him as the doors open up and the rest of his siblings walk in.

"But the things you went through-"

"Weren't your fault" he mutters through silent tears.

"But could've been prevented"

"So many things could have been, B" Dick says softly. "But you know it doesn't matter what happened, but how you move on from it"

"Not gonna say you're perfect or forgiven for every wrongdoing", Jason grunts, although it sounds more like a huff without malice, "but, you're here. You try. That's a start if anything"

Bruce glances at his kids, wondering where the time went as he takes in their worn expressions accompanied by warm smiles.

Maybe he isn't such a terrible father after all. He just needs to prove it. Starting fresh with his ghost child still clinging to his sides.

2/4

Dcxdp trope twist

Danny didn’t mind being on Young Justice. He loved being around his new friends, and he truly felt accepted and cared for. However, since Vlad screwed up, he had to request to become last resort for the time being.

The rest of the team is confused, until Kon uses his x-ray vision and informs Tim through clenched teeth that there was a second core inside their teammate’s body, one with a baby slowly forming around it.

Part 3: Park

PREV // MASTERPOST // NEXT

Sam: *slams hands on table* You're a YA protagonist!

Danny: *confused* I'm.....not?

Sam: *points at Jason reading in the corner* That's your boyfriend?

Danny: Yes?

Sam: Your Crime Lord Boyfriend?

Danny: That doesn't mean that I'm a-

Sam: Your crime lord boyfriend that is also the child of this citys billionaire and could buy you anything you wanted?

Danny: *flustered* Well, i-

Sam: Your crime lord boyfriend that's loaded that's also a revanant, and constantly around you because he "feels himself when he's around you"?

Danny:....

Sam:.....

Danny:.....Oh Ancients, I'm a YA protagonist.

Sam: Glad you've noticed.

Sam:..

Sam: Also he growls alot.

Danny: *flustered* Sam!

That's MY Mom!!!

This was not at all even the fifth time that Danny Fenton had been kidnapped, but usually it was just Vlad kidnapping him so he had never really needed to be all that concerned about it. The thing was that since he had gone with his sister on her small journey to look at colleges. It had been going fairly well, Jazz was pretty excited. Even better Dan and Dani had opted to join them and make it a Family Road Trip. He was so happy to spend time with his children and sister away from Amity Park that he could admit he got complacent.

Things might have been fine if he hadn't been taken by a group of weirdos with makeup caked on and thus unable to slip away without revealing himself. He was quite annoyed, especially with the cheap clown knockoff that he was at least 99% sure wasn't even licensed to be clowning. He was obnoxious and talked a lot about bats, games, and making everyone smile despite clearly having no talent. Danny could have probably waited this guy out, but it seemed his children noticed his sudden absence before this idiot wrapped up whatever stupid show he was trying to put on. Danny couldn't transform or use his powers while they were recording as his existence was still illegal.

Danny really didn't have to worry about exposing himself though, his two wild natured clone children had not taken his kidnapping well and even less so the recording. Dani's ability to create portals for travel had been utilized to transport herself and Dan, already fully transformed, to his location thanks to their familial soul bond. Dan was all fury and fire as he tore through the portal and practically mauled the clown like a feral badger.

"DON'T TOUCH MY MOM!!" Dan shrieked in a somewhat trauma induced haze.

Danny could almost taste his fear. Dan had already violently and suddenly lost one family, it had taken him so long to allow himself to form new familial bonds and build what he had with Jazz, Dani, and Danny himself. Sure the direction of those bonds had been unexpected, but he had been more than happy to accept the new bond not just between he and Dan but Dani as well whole heartedly. Danny hated to see his sweet son so distraught.

"Tear his soul out! Rip it up!" Dani shouted, just as violently angry and shaken as her physically younger but mentally older brother.

Dani had been just as violent in tearing through the group of thugs that had been present. There were only about seven of them and a few tried to shoot the two ghost children, but obviously you can't shoot a ghost without the right equipment. Dani was fast and Dan was merciless.

"Wait! Wait stop!" Danny shouted suddenly, desperately trying to stop their decent into what he knew would be a painfully dark path for them.

"But he hurt you! They stole you from us!" Dani flinched a little her tone a little miserable as she yanked the ropes from his body setting him free.

"He deserves to be ripped apart molecule by molecule!" Dan snarled slamming the clown's mangled body into the concrete floor of the warehouse.

"Come here, you don't need to ruin your whole life over one no-name thug with zero taste and his little brainless pets." Danny spoke softly to them and held out his arms.

Dan grit his teeth his eyes flaring red as he dropped the shattered clown. He rushed into Danny's arms, Dani also throwing herself into the hug. Danny could feel Dan and Dani feeling out their bond to ensure his health and mood, he resonated all his love and adoration to his children, grateful for their presence. Dan's breath shuddered and Dani sniffled a little, Danny kissed each of their foreheads gently.

"It's alright my starlights. I'm still here, I won't leave you." Danny spoke to them softly. "C'mon, let's get out of here before the cops come to try and dissect you for being illegal."

The two nodded and all three went invisible before vanishing from the warehouse completely. Of course the bats arrived only a moment later.

DCxDP prompts #1

Jason had never understood why Bruce had taken so many kids under his wing. It was more trouble than it was worth. He knows that he was a fucking riot as a kid, hard to contain and control. Dick was a bit better from what he heard, but still hard.

Tim was probably the worst of them all. Then Damian and Duke... Really, it made no sense. But Jason never bothered to ask, why should he care?

Well...Maybe now he understands. Because as he stares at this tiny kid, skinny and a gun put to his head by the Joker, he feels a weird pull towards him.

Maybe it's time for him to get a side kick of his own.