Curate, connect, and discover
consider: danny son of Joker
—
Danny had always known that he was adopted; far before his parents had actually up and told him, anyways.
He’d just never looked like his family.
Where his parents were soft curves, he was all hard angles. He was lean and slender, almost willowy once he got his growth spurt, where his parents were broader and thicker-built.
Where his father’s hair was a warm, light black, like a cup of coffee, his was dark and cold like an oil spill.
Even his eyes were wrong; sure, his father’s eyes were blue too, but his were far darker. Danny’s were as light and frigid as arctic ice; even before he had died, they had never reflected enough light to seem alive.
So, when his parents finally told him the truth once he turned 15, it was honestly more of a relief than anything else. He wasn’t uniquely strange, he just didn’t look like his parents because he wasn’t related to them.
Still, he couldn’t help but be curious as to where he had come from. Sure, he liked his parents’ stories about the Fenton family and their rich (probably false) history, but he had roots branching elsewhere, too.
So, with money he had earned from washing cars and mowing lawns, he had bought a DNA test for 50 dollars, and sent a vial of blood in to whatever shady company he had bought it from.
The results…
He stared at the letter in shock.
He had already crumpled to the ground; luckily, he had been standing on the plush carpet of his room rather than the kitchen tile when he had opened it.
Father - Unknown
Mother - Dr. Harleen Quinzel
Fuck. Fuck.
That couldn’t be right, could it?
He checked the reviews of the company with manic speed; not a single other person had been named as being related to a rogue.
Could it be a prank?
Surely, the actual Harley Quinn never had time to have a child. Or, if she did, she would’ve been made to keep it by the Joker.
He began to google in a daze.
…
After a few minutes, he had his answer.
The longest time that the Joker had ever been in Arkham was for a year and a month.
He had gone in roughly 9 months before Danny was born, which technically gave Harley the time to have a child, put it up for adoption, and lose some of the baby fat before the Joker came back, all without him ever knowing.
Harley had also been mysteriously inactive for most of that time, too, which only gave more credibility to his theory.
What was he supposed to do with this, though?
It’s not like he could tell anyone. It’s not like it really changed anything in his day to day life, aside from his entire worldview.
Obviously he told Sam and Tucker, as well as Jazz after a few days.
Obviously he didn’t tell his parents.
…
In the end, not much came of it.
It was just another fact of life, another thing eating away at Danny’s mind. Another fear to internalize.
He had gotten so good at ignoring it, in fact, that he didn’t even remember where he came from when he was accepted to Gotham U, and drove a whole day to the only university willing to give him a scholarship.
…Well, as long as he keeps his nose out of trouble, it won’t matter much anyways. After all, what are the odds he actually meets anyone who might be able to figure it out?