To literally everyone, Tim and Danny are a couple. They’re so obvious about it, it’s almost annoying. Tim goes out of his way to prioritize Danny over anyone else—he’ll cancel plans, rearrange his schedule, and bend over backward to make sure Danny’s happy. Need coffee at 3 a.m.? Tim’s already out the door. A custom gadget? It’s in Danny’s hands before he even asks.
And Danny? Danny dotes on Tim in a way that’s almost overprotective. He ensures Tim eats, sleeps, and doesn’t completely drown himself in work. He’s always there, watching out for him, ready to step in if Tim ever needs help. And god help anyone who says a single bad word about Tim because Danny will defend him with a ferocity that borders on terrifying.
They live together. They cuddle to sleep. They share a bed. They have dinners together like it’s some weekly tradition. They wear each other’s clothes so often no one can tell whose hoodie is whose anymore. Sometimes they even plan matching outfits when they go out. Their “hangouts” are way too romantic and way too specific to not count as dates.
It’s obvious to everyone that Tim and Danny are dating. Everyone… except Tim and Danny.
The breaking point happens when Danny starts spending time with a new friend. Tim doesn’t even notice at first, but slowly, irritation starts bubbling under the surface. Why does Danny even need new friends? Doesn’t he already have Tim? And then the irritation morphs into a tight knot in his chest every time Danny talks about hanging out with this friend.
At first, Tim tells himself he’s just being logical—Danny is busy enough as it is, why stretch himself thinner? But when Danny cancels one of their movie nights to go out with this new friend, Tim spirals. He’s glued to his laptop but hasn’t typed anything in over an hour, too consumed with thoughts like: Is Danny replacing me? Am I not enough for him? Does he want someone else to be his best friend now?
He’s never been good at handling emotions, so naturally, he decides the best course of action is to bottle it all up and ignore it. That is until Steph shows up and immediately clocks that something’s wrong.
“What’s with the grumpy face?” she asks, slumping onto his couch.
“I’m not grumpy,” Tim lies, glaring at his laptop like it’s offended him personally.
Steph raises an eyebrow. “Right. So why are you moping like someone kicked your dog?”
“I’m not moping,” he mutters, crossing his arms.
Steph stares at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowing as she pieces it together. She knows Danny’s out with some new friend, and now she’s looking at Tim, who’s pacing the apartment like a caged animal, glaring at his phone every few seconds. Her expression shifts—realization dawning, then sharp focus. “Oh my god, Tim. You’re jealous.”
Tim freezes. “What? No, I’m not. That’s ridiculous.”
Steph crosses her arms, her gaze locked on Tim as if he’s the most complicated puzzle she’s ever tried to solve. “Okay, let’s break this down,” she starts, her tone deliberate. “You’re upset that Danny’s out with someone else. You’re overthinking it, spiraling about whether or not you’re enough, and now you’re convinced you’ve somehow ruined everything… Does that sound like just ‘friend’ feelings to you?”
Tim freezes mid-pace, the words hitting him like a bucket of cold water. “I—what?”
Steph raises an eyebrow. “Tim. You’re jealous.”
“I’m not—” Tim begins, but then stops, the denial catching in his throat. His brain scrambles to process her words, but the sinking feeling in his chest refuses to let him dismiss it. The pieces fall into place, one by one, each memory sharper than the last: the way his heart always lifts when Danny smiles, the quiet warmth of falling asleep next to him, the ache in his chest at the thought of Danny choosing someone else.
“Oh no,” he whispers, his voice cracking. “Oh my god. I’m jealous because—because I’m—”
Steph sighs, rubbing her temples. “You’re jealous because you’re in love with Danny.”
Tim’s knees almost give out as the realization settles in. “I’m the worst friend in the world,” he blurts, his voice breaking. Tears spring to his eyes as he starts pacing again, his hands flying up in a panicked gesture. “I have no right to feel this way! He’s my best friend—he deserves someone better, someone who won’t ruin his life with… with whatever this is!”
Steph groans, dragging a hand down her face. “Tim, for the love of—you're already dating.”
He stops dead in his tracks, blinking at her like she’s just spoken another language. “What?”
“Seriously? You’re basically married,” Steph says, throwing her hands up. “He practically lives here, you do everything together, and you’re constantly rearranging your life for him. What part of that screams just friends to you?”
Tim’s mouth opens, then closes, his mind spinning as he replays every moment with Danny through a new lens. The quiet mornings when they share coffee in companionable silence. The way Danny always notices when he’s stressed and pulls him into a hug without a word. How being with Danny feels like breathing—natural, essential, like coming home.
And it all clicks.
Oh. Oh no. He’s in love with Danny.
The realization is overwhelming, a mix of panic and joy and sheer terror. But beneath all that, there’s something else—a quiet certainty. He doesn’t just love Danny; he’s in love with him, and he doesn’t want to waste another second pretending otherwise.
Tim decides, then and there, that he has to confess. Because if there’s even the slightest chance that Danny feels the same, he’s not going to let it slip through his fingers. And if he doesn’t… well, there’s always Antarctica.
When Tim finally confesses, he pours his heart out in a way that’s so painfully earnest it makes Danny laugh.
“Tim,” Danny says, tears of laughter in his eyes, “I thought we were already dating.”
Tim blinks. “What?”
Danny grins. “Yeah, I kind of assumed we were. I mean, we live together. We share a bed. We cuddle. We’ve been wearing matching outfits for months, dude.”
“Oh.” Tim feels his face heat up.
Danny laughs again, pulling Tim into a hug. “You’re adorable, you know that?”
Tim buries his face in Danny’s shoulder, equal parts mortified and relieved. But hey, at least now they’re officially dating—or, well, aware of it.
Steph hears the whole story later and immediately texts them both: “Congrats on being the last ones to figure it out. True geniuses at work.”
Silly Idea: Through some portal/dimensional mishap Danny and a good majority of his Rogue Gallery get scattered across the DCU. Luckily they’re mostly in the same temporal range so he doesn’t have to really ask Clockwork for help beyond making sure he was the first to arrive. They don’t all appear at once and either appear in pairs with whoever shares a “Soulbond” with them or just by themselves to cause havoc for as long as they can before Danny captures them again. Danny is trying very hard to protect this new delicate dimension along with his wayward rogues for both sides own good. His rogues have their own power classes that he made up just for his Ghostpedia.
Damage: Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Amorpho Danger: Cujo, Johnny 13, Shadow, Youngblood, Skulker Emergency: Ember, Kitty, Sidney Poindexter, Penelope Spectra, Bertrand Disaster: Desiree, Ghost Writer, Walker, Bullet Cataclysmic: Undergrowth, Vortex, Nocturn Catastrophic: Dan Phantom(Contained), Pariah Dark(Contained)
Danny has to remain disguised as a normal human and live a normal life out while he waits for his rogues to appear. Then he can do his magical girl transformation and go out and fight them until they’re weak enough for capture. He even designed new comfortable containers for them to replace the thermos so they wouldn’t all be stuck with each other and cramped inside one small container until he could get them all back to their own dimension. They look like very fancy futuristic cards and act as very comfortable sleeping capsules for them. Much better than the thermos, like taking a nice rejuvenating nap really. The cards will have a nice fancy caricature of them to show who is inside too! So he doesn’t accidently forget who’s in what card. He’s out there catching his rogues like Card Captor Sakura. XD
Maybe Danny just appears in Gotham one day because the ambient ectoplasm is just what he needs to stay healthy and Lady Gotham thinks he’s adorable; vigilantes are her favorite after all. She’s never had a magical boy vigilante, how fun~
Meanwhile Damian and Jason are losing their fucking minds because this kid just appeared one day and no one is questioning it. They all act like he’s always been there but they are damn sure he only appeared like 3 days ago at most. Why are they the only ones aware? Perhaps Damian’s super long term exposure to Lazarus pits over half his life but just living practically on top of them. Maybe because Jason was dead for so long before he got brought back and he was brought back wrong. Maybe they go straight to paranoid stalking but despite the weird memory manipulation he doesn’t actually do anything wrong. Maybe they watch him for so long they get kind of frustrated about it because this bastard is just so nice all the time and despite the weirdness around him he’s so clearly non-malicious that he cried over a box of kittens abandoned in an alley and they felt more awkward about seeing that then any family dinner they’d ever been to.
Maybe nobody notices for so long that these two get attached by the time the JL Dark even notices that there’s anything wrong about him. But by then it’s way too late, that’s their magical boy fuck you very much.
“Hey uh pal, what you got there…?”
Grundy hummed a rumble, blinking slowly as he turned slightly towards his… what were they… Not an enemy, not a threat… they were… friend! Yes, they were the friend that didn’t mind that whenever he came back he came back different.
He uncurled his arms slightly, proudly showing his friend what he’d found splashing in the water growling angrily. His friend blinked, mouth opening and closing for a few moments as he waited patiently, careful not to drop the squirming duo.
“Babies,” he proudly declared as they let out squeaky roars.
part 2
Everyone in the Batfamily knows Tim Drake has… issues with boundaries. They’ve spent years trying to teach him what’s appropriate and what’s—well—deeply unsettling and completely invasive. To be fair, he’s learned. Mostly. He doesn’t stalk his family anymore (much), and he no longer pulls up files on every single person they talk to (okay, maybe just sometimes). But it’s progress.
But then Tim starts dating Danny Fenton. And, oh boy, a few screws come loose.
It starts small, as always. Just little things. Tim’s a detective, after all—background checks are second nature. Danny’s living in Gotham, and Gotham isn’t safe. So, really, what’s the harm in knowing a little more about Danny’s friends? And his professors? And maybe also his classmates? It’s just standard protocol. Okay?
“Tim, you’ve run a full dossier on my entire biology class?” Danny asks one day, laughing as he flips through a file on the coffee table. Tim shrugs. “What if one of them is dangerous?” “Pretty sure the most dangerous thing in that class is the midterm.”
Danny doesn’t think much of it. He’s a little flattered, even. Tim’s protective. It’s sweet.
But Tim’s mind doesn’t stop there. Danny’s too handsome. Too charming. What if someone tries to hurt him? What if someone tries to take him away? It’s not obsessive—it’s just concern. So, a tracker on Danny’s phone? Necessary. Cameras in his apartment? Standard. Monitoring his sleeping patterns and hangout spots? Logical.
Tim tells himself it’s love. And maybe a little insecurity.
“You have a tracker on his phone?” Dick asks, trying not to sound alarmed. Tim nods, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “Of course. What if something happens to him?” “And the cameras?” “Safety.” “The background checks on his professors?” “Gotham U isn’t exactly known for its stellar staff, Dick.”
It doesn’t stop there. Tim knows everything. Danny’s eating habits, his favorite places to go when he’s stressed, his childhood allergies. Tim’s mapped out Danny’s entire life. He knows about Danny’s ghost powers too—of course he does. He’s Tim Drake. The moment he realized Danny was Phantom, it just… clicked.
Danny being half-ghost? That’s just one more reason to worry. Tim’s up late at night, watching for any signs of ectoplasmic interference. He tracks the energy spikes. He monitors Danny’s fights.
He doesn’t think Danny knows. He’s terrified of what will happen if he finds out.
But then he does.
One evening, Danny walks into Tim’s apartment and casually drops a folder on the table. Tim’s heart stops.
“What’s this?” Danny asks, raising an eyebrow. Tim swallows hard. “I… it’s just…” “You’ve been tracking me?” Danny opens the file, glancing through pages of surveillance reports, background checks, even analysis of his ectoplasmic energy. Tim feels like his world is about to shatter.
“I… I can explain,” Tim says, his voice tight. “I’m just… worried about you. You’re in danger all the time, and I—” Danny walks over, cupping Tim’s face in his hands. Tim braces for the worst.
But Danny just smiles. “Can I put a tracker on you too?”
Tim blinks. “What?” Danny kisses his cheek. “If you’re watching my back, it’s only fair I watch yours. I need to make sure you’re safe too.”
Tim stares at him, speechless. Danny doesn’t look scared. Or angry. He looks… fond. Like Tim’s obsessive tendencies aren’t a problem at all.
“I’ve never had someone care about me this much,” Danny says softly. “I trust you with my life, Tim. This? This just proves how serious you are.”
Tim thinks he’s just fallen deeper in love.
-------------------
The Batfamily? They’re worried.
Jason corners Tim in the cave. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve got cameras in his apartment. You’ve mapped out his entire life. You’ve got a tracker on him and a heartbeat monitor. And he’s… fine with it?” Tim nods, a dreamy smile on his face. “Yeah. He even wants to put a tracker on me.” “That’s not… healthy, Tim,” Dick says carefully. “That’s—” “It’s mutual,” Tim interrupts. “We’re protecting each other.”
Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tim, this isn’t how relationships are supposed to work.” Tim shrugs. “It’s how ours works.”
Damian watches the whole thing with narrowed eyes. “This is deeply unsettling,” he mutters.
They try to talk to Danny. Intervention style. They invite him over, sit him down, and gently (or not so gently) try to explain that Tim’s behavior isn’t normal.
Danny just laughs. “You guys do know I’m half-ghost, right?” “That doesn’t mean—” Dick starts. “I spent my entire life being hunted by ghost hunters. I’ve had worse invasions of privacy.” Danny smiles. “Tim cares. He keeps me safe. That’s all I need.”
The bats don't quite know what to say.
-------------------
Tim and Danny, two slightly unhinged souls who think mutual surveillance is the ultimate act of love.
The bats? They’re just trying to keep up.
(“At least they’re happy?” Barbara offers weakly. Bruce sighs. “For now.”)
Gotham’s version of love was never going to be normal. But this? This is a whole new level.
Danny is just Some Guy:
It started as a random idea and has since snowballed. It is not a cohesive storyline as none of these post were made in a particular order.
Original post, Post two, Post three, Post four, Post five, Post six, Post seven, Post eight, Post nine
Snippets/Outtakes: I didn’t know what else to do with these so here they are.
Snippet 1, Snippet 2
Anyway enjoy! Or don’t. I know I am.
—-
Things I might come back too:
Random snippets: Snippet 1
Being a Dad is hard. Jason being a Dad? It’s complicated.
Original post
Serial killer Jason just acquired a new pet: Demon Danny.
Original post
This time it goes a little differently. The halfas are all still captured; Vlad, Dan, Dani, and Danny all taken in by the GIW. A GIW more serious and dangerous than they had been before, competent under new management. This time however the Fenton family does not take this slight lying down; Jazz, forced to inform her parents of the truth is backed by all their righteous and protective fury as they rain hell upon the federal facility to gain back their beloved children and dearest friend. All prejudices forgotten and discarded as the lies they were for the overwhelming love and loyalty to those they know far better than propaganda.
A rebellion forms under the guidance of Sam, Tucker, and Valerie; unwilling to bend or stop even with their parents’ pleads for their children to instead choose safety. With their children unrelenting they can only join the rebellion, the war that has begun. Make no mistake it is a war, horrific and unyielding as neither side is remotely willing to surrender no matter the numbers lost. It is however a very much one sided war however as the government loses their minions and the ghosts swell in numbers and power. Without the Fenton’s research and technology to draw upon they do not have the means of destruction they previously had, though they make a vile effort; cracking cores and destabilizing forms, slaughtering human and liminal civilians en mass.
They free their friends, their loved ones. But there is a cost, a price to be paid. Dan and Dani destabilized, their cores cracked and the only method to save them was incubation by another halfa. Vlad’s own core was too cracked to safely nurture them and Danny being the only other halfa in existence the child of balance is forced to be the one to carry them. So many are lost this way, though ghosts can be incubated by other ghosts to save them. Jazz herself is lost to them twice, a valiant warrior standing tall for those she loves and what she believes in; she dies as a human and is destabilized as a ghost. There is almost another war amongst their own ranks for the honor to incubate her. In the end Clockwork himself intervenes to incubate her himself.
They all lose someone, some even lose themselves. Many Fade, the grief and fear too much to carry for an eternity. But in the end they win, though their home realm becomes too saturated in ectoplasm to remain stable. For the safety and recovery of the earth all those affected by ectoplasm or made entirely of ectoplasm needed to go either to the realms or an alternate world that was not so affected by ectoplasm. A world that would not be destabilized by liminals seeking a home in a mortal world when they could not remain within the Infinite Realms. It took time, a lot of time, until they ran out of time and were forced to choose. In the end a somewhat chaotic world was chosen; a world of heroes and villains, of science and magic.
They made their new home in the midwest of a parallel United States, a parallel Illanois. An area that had never become Amity Park but would become so now that they had brought their city to that parallel world. They slotted in as though they had always been meant to be there. As though they always had been there. It took some adjusting, they kept the shield up, and they kept to themselves. They had no problems with it really, they adjusted quite well actually. So much so that the youngest grew restless, interested in the outside world. Finally reaching adulthood, most of the graduating catalyst class Casper High could no longer reasonably be held back.
Though most fled in smaller packs to different cities, unable to leave behind the soul deep bonds that had been forged in blood, ectoplasm, and fire; there was one group that was larger than the others. Danny Fenton accompanied by his twin toddlers; Dawn and Dusk, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Valerie Gray, and their ghostly guardian Jazz Fenton. She had not stayed a child for long upon reforming unlike her physical bodied halfa niblings and had gained a power boost due being incubated by an Ancient. She was long able to disguise herself as a fully fleshed out human, though she kept all the weaknesses and strengths of a ghost and carried a cold with her that was unmistakable.
They were ready for their cross country road trip to visit every hero city they could before hitting Europe.
It one of the few things he would like to do in his free time is to help the ocean sea with minor problems, a seal having his neck stuck with a plastic can holder, a a couple shark with a hook stuck to her fin/nose or tailfin, a couple of trapped rare fish in poacher traps.
He wasn't expecting a small group of whales, mainly a momma whale and two Baby whales to swim by singing their song while hunting a vast enormous group of krills.
Only to hear a tiny little baby mer singing along with them. It was a boy, with chubby lil arms, a beautiful trails of sparkling white and neon green color, fade gray and black tips mer tailwind. A fainted trail of electric shock probably from a mishap by jellyfish tracing from one of his chubby hand down to his body.
Hair white as snow, eyes greener then the grass on land, tanned skin and a odd sliver mechanism purple clock on a necklace that was ticking slowly despite being in deep underwater.
Arthur was going to get closer but the Momma whale Block his view using her vast body after she noticed him getting closer, the two Baby whales hiding behind her along with the baby mer.
Meanwhile Danny as clockwork apprentice until he grows into his state as the ruler of ghost realm and away from noisy observators has been on a mission to keep the timeline in check in other dimensions. Clockwork insisted this form would do the trick
Part 2 link here <-
Prodigal son beyond time - Part 1
Ra's Al Ghul had a son. No, it's not Dusan we spoke of right now. Ra's Al Ghul's first born child was a peculiar boy that was forged by the Lazarus Pits—or so what he says.
Talia has never met her brother.
Her brother, it has been years since she's found out about him yet her father never gives them a name—he thinks them unworthy of it. Even if he was not present, her brother continues to be the favorite, to be the child their father praised most. His absence is a glaring hole in her father's heart (though she is not sure if he has one).
It is no secret amongst the league that Ra's nameless son was unofficially the heir, even when Damian was born.
Talia has doubted her brother's distance many times, and yet she finds evidence of him over and over again.
Her father writes letters, strange ones that vary in language, dialect, grammar, writing styles. She did not mean to read one when she was young, but she couldn't help herself when she had seen it.
My dearest, son of mine,
It has been an age since last I beheld your presence. I find it most disquieting that you have not seen fit to visit, though I am not ignorant of how poorly time aligns itself with your affairs. Yet still, I dare to hope that you might bestow upon me a portion of your time, if but briefly.
Your siblings have inquired after you once more. Yet I am acutely aware that it would be unwise to bind you to this mortal realm for too great a span. Their hearts, tender and unfortified, lack the endurance I possess to weather the long absences your path necessitates. Nevertheless, I am not blind to the hope you carry—to one day stand before them, whether that moment lies near or far in the veiled expanse of time.
She could not finish the lengthy letter before the letter vanished from her hand, a burst of green and strange liquid slipping from her fingers. Talia had been startled, too young, assuming that this was Lazarus water that has stolen her father's letter.
And she found her father looming behind her, his expression stern get there was amusement in his eyes.
"Your brother is a curious person." Her father hummed, "He's powerful."
"We are not... Allowed to meet him?"
"Not yet. Until you steel your hearts." Ra's nodded, "Your brother does not stay in one place for long. But he is soft hearted and loyal to the family. You give him reason to stay and he will stay."
His hand, firm and guidind, pressed against her shoulder in a tight grip. "And I will not let any of you weaken him."
On that day, Talia realized that her father truly did love her brother. In his own strange way.
The next time she reads a letter, Damian was but a babe of one, cradled in her arms as a letter written on green paper rested in her father's hand. It was open, the wax seal carefully sliced from the envelope.
"Father."
"Talia." He replied nonchalantly, eyes flicking to Damian, his eyes softening momentarily as a longing look slipped to the letter.
Talia's heart tightened, resentful that her father was beginning to see his favorite child on her own son. She could not allow that...
"Your brother has written to me. It has been... Almost a year... Since the last." Ra's hummed, turning to Talia, then Damian, before flicking yet another letter to her. It startled her.
"From your brother." Ra's sighed, "I made the mistake of writing about Damian and now he wishes to meet you first. Not Nyssa, not Dusan—you."
"My brother?" Talia hesitantly accepted the letter. "I do not even know his name..."
Ra's clicked his tongue, "He signed it in his name. You will know from that letter." He paused, glancing back at her. "You have yet to prove yourself worthy, Talia, but... Damian's birth will surely being your brother back home."
Talia's heart palpitated in her chest.
The prospect of her baby, her son, her child—the mere thought that her baby would be the thing that successfully brings her brother home was... Outstanding.
"Read it in your own time... After that, seek me out."
Talia does not know... What to particularly do...
But she takes Damian, watches as her father leaves, and hurries along to her own quarters.
Talia tucks her son into the crib, narrowing her eyes at the nursemaids that were hired to nurture her son. She dismissed them immediately, watching as they silently leave the room. It is only when silence reigns does she takes a seat on her bed as Damian slumbers in his crib.
(Her hands tremble as the letter rested in her hands. It was light, not heavy, her her hands tremble as if she could not handle the weight.)
She takes in a deep breath, takes a dagger and carefully slices it away from envelope. It's intricately made.
The letter is written in the same green paper that her father received.
The letter read as thus:
My Dearest Talia, It would seem that I am now to be regarded as your brother, for Ra's has deemed me his son. Admittedly, this turn of events is of my own doing, as I endeared myself to him centuries past and found solace in his companionship, coming to view him as a father in truth. Yet you, his daughter by blood, remain a stranger to me, as do Nyssa and Dusan. How peculiar it is that Father should act in such a manner, withholding such introductions with his customary inscrutability.
She takes in a deep breath, awes by her brother's penmaniship... And then suddenly the writing style changes. Morphing from the olden age, the formality of a noble, to...
Anyways! Since you're my sister, I don't think I have to keep writing to you the same way Ra's does. It feels awkward to me, y'know?
She was not expecting that change but...
I've always wanted to meet you all. But my duties to my realm are hard. I can't freelt leave. It's especially worse since my world's time doesn't correlate to yours.
You might find the change of writing styles weird, but in all honesty, I'm from the 21st century. It's just that time never did agree with me. Had to comply with the old man on writing like that since he likes it. Weird, right?
But anyways! I heard you had a son! Congrats by the way. I'd like to meet him too, actually. Aside from that, I heard from Ra's you don't know my name.
Well, he's decided to call my Danyal as it's the Arabic version of my original name "Daniel". Though I often go by my nickname Danny. But it has been a delight to write to you, Talia. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet you and your son in the future.
Since you have my name now, you can write me letters too! It'll find me eventually.
Your brother,
Danny
Her brother's name was Danyal... Her brother went by Danny.
Talia blinked.
Her strange brother was a being that traversed through time, a person who was born in the 21st century... Her brother could be somewhere in the world in that moment and in another time the next.
She pressed the letter to her lips, unable to hold back her smile.
She had quite the silly brother...
And amongst her siblings, Talia was the first to know her brother's name. That bit about being able to write letters to him made her finally understand why her father was so possessive of a name.
(In the Infinite realms, High King Phantom received a letter from his estranged younger sister. He really didn't mean to find family in the Demon's head, but he found it anyways.)
Part 2 | Masterlist
It starts off small, in controlled, barely noticeable areas of Gotham.
Over days, the litter and trash vanish, the sidewalks are washed and cleaned, and even building yards long since abandoned are trimmed. No one notices at first because Gotham is so used to ignoring how dirty everything is until Poison Ivy makes a public announcement thanking the person who cleaned up Gotham's parks.
You know, while she was tearing up that one street with her vine monster.
After the Bats had her locked away pending a trial, they stopped to look around and realized, yes, someone had been cleaning house. No one really knows who, but things have started to change. Streetlights are replaced, graffiti is painted over, and cracked windows are fixed. It's a nice thought, but all this had the gangs up in arms, especially when their tagging disappeared.
To control the goodie-two-shoes, a few gangs burn down a few local parks- mostly the ones near or around Crime Alley- and they also loot the smaller businesses. It's a warning that the mystery housekeeper should be reminded of their station, but- well, it's all for nothing because, like magic, the following night, the damage is repaired and somehow better than before.
What's crazy is the water change. Everyone notices that right away.
Gotham's water system was just as corrupted and descriptive as its class system. If you were one of the elites- your water was clean and crisp- if you were one of the poor- your water was practically tar with how contaminated it was. Anyone in between got a fifty-fifty chance of drinkable water, depending on what side of the city they lived on.
It became an identifier, really. Depending on how often you were seen at stores buying bottled water, people could tell how well off your family was.
That's why, on a random Wednesday, Gotham lost their collective mind that the entire water system was fixed. Regardless of class, every household had clear, scent-free water from the tabs.
The few who wandered outside trying to figure out what in the world was happening were left stunned at the sight of Gotham's surrounding bodies of water.
They were clean.
All the rivers, the harbors, the silly little fountains found around Old Gotham- everything. It was safe to swim in them now. That was just wrong.
"What's happening?" Jason growls, crouching at one of Wayne Manor's main windows. His eyes are barely visible over the edge, allowing him to peek out into the yard, but he must not be fully visible, lest he become a target.
"I don't know," Tim hisses, taking a similar position on the second floor. He grips the communicator with a white-knuckle grip, trying his best to ground himself. "I just don't know. There are no witnesses, no evidence, no clues whatsoever on who's doing this to the city!"
"I don't like this!"
"No one does, Jason," Bruce intervenes; the accompanying sound of keys typing is familiar background noise. He's still in the cave, attempting to run through all reports of horrified Gothamites on social media, trying to find a pattern. "Babs? Do you have any new updates?"
"No!" She hisses, her typing sounding far more aggressive. "I can't find anything on those responsible. Nothing on the internet, nothing on public camera feeds, and nothing on rumors through dark web chats. It's like I'm trying to track a ghost!"
"This isn't natural, B," Steph cuts in. She's hiding in her bedroom closet, voice low in case her mom hears. After they realize some new lunatic is running loose in Gotham, her mom calls her back home to barricade them. If they had a bomb shelter, they would have been in it long ago.
"It's worse than we think," Duke huffs. He's somewhere near the top floor, having chosen a higher vantage point, hoping his meta powers would spot someone coming towards the manor. "I think I see glimpses of blue in the sky. If this continues at this rate, we'll have a clear blue sky in about two hours."
Multiple gasps of horror are heard throughout the communication lines. Bruce starts to type faster, barking orders for everyone to remain where they are and not go gather information. They had no idea what they were dealing with.
Damian stands with a confused Cass, Dick, and Alfred. The only bats not originated from Gotham, so while they can claim to have years in the city, none of them truly know. "I do not understand. Is this not beneficial to Gotham?"
"It may be too much at once, Master Damian." The Bulter tells him carefully. He only speaks that slowly when Alfred thinks of every word before saying it. "Whoever is behind this must not be from Gotham. If they were, they know that people would lose their collective minds upon the improvements."
"But who could be responsible?" Cass asks, watching Jason duck and army crawl to a new window once some sunlight manages to break through the clouds where he was originally hiding.
"I wish I knew Miss Cass."
Meanwhile, Danny Fenton leans back in his computer chair in a dimension of hope and a skip away. He laces his fingers together, bending them until satisfying cracks are heard. It was a productive hour of work, but he thinks now that his virtual city had cleaner water, his NPCs should start healing and developing better.
He was suspicious of Madam Gotham—a new ghost that appeared within his territory of the Ghost Zone—but after a quick conversation, he decided to befriend her. Danny is glad he did, seeing as she was in danger of fading away. Her core had suffered severe damage due to denying her obsession for so long.
Danny could do nothing for her. Madam Gotham needed professional help that only certain Yetis could offer. Although the Yetis usually turned away anyone not of their kind, with Danny backing her up, they had been willing to take in Madam Gotham.
She had been stubborn, though, refusing to get help because she was too busy playing her silly little game. The computer she played it on was unique to her realm and could not withstand the cold temeture of the Far Frozen. Danny was literally watching her melt—a horrific reminder of Dani and her siblings' disabling—before he could take it anymore.
Only after agreeing to watch her video game did she decide to be moved to the Far Frozen to receive medical treatment. Now, Danny never really liked those farming simulator games, but this was different in the sense that the city was already there.
His job was to further develop the city into a utopia. It was interesting to learn what modern issues the city had and how he could make decisions based on point costs on what to fix.
He gained points from making his citizens happier, supporting the Bats—the city's defenders—or choosing to develop options that significantly raised the value of his city.
It was rather addicting, really. He could see how Madam Gotham got so sucked in, even though it didn't really have much action for him to make. Mostly, he would let his citizens react to his new choices and use his points to delete trash and gunk.
There were some side quests he liked to work on, too, like helping certain citizens with drug addiction, depression, anxiety, or anger issues. Danny has no idea why Madam Gotham allowed so many to develop so badly, so every day, he would give them all one good luck point to brighten their days.
He had three full tabs of characters, a brief explanation of their lives, and whatever issues Danny could make them go through. He would tackle the number of homeless youth next by fixing up the city's affordable housing and infrastructure.
It was a bit narcissistic of Madam Gotham to name her game town "Gotham City," but it's better than any name Danny could have come up with.