#Security Guard Danny AU

[bet-on-me-13]

Bank Security Guard Danny AU

So, the People of Gotham are extremely desensitized to Rouge Attacks at this point. It got to the point that whenever a person gets a job at the Bank, they have a whole 1 Hour Training Video on how to deal with a Rouge Attack right.

So, when they hire a New Security Guard from a lesser known Security Company, they don't even bother showing him the Training Video. They assume that he'll either Die or Drop them within a Week.

Danny, for the record, did not know how bad the Rouge problem truly was. All he knew was that some random guy in a Ski Mask had just walked into the bank like he owned the place and started showing off a Gun telling everybody to get on the ground.

Danny did the sensible thing and Knocked him the Fuck Out.

Then, the same thing happened the very next day, but this time it was an entire group of people. Danny had them dealt with before the first person had gotten to the floor.

Then the same thing happened the Same Day!

By the end of the week he had become a Legend among the Citizens of Gotham. There was only a single Bank in all of Gotham that had avoided being robbed for a Whole Week, and it was all because of this one Security Guard who was freakishly good at his Job.

By the end of the Month, most criminals don't even bother trying that Bank anymore. It got worse when he got loaned out as Security for another Bank, and the same thing happened again.

Eventually, he ends up rotating shifts in Every Bank in Gotham, and it becomes a Game for the Criminals to see if the Bank they try to Rob is the one Danny is in that night. And they can't even reasonably predict his next location, since he always moves around at Random!

No matter what Bank he is in, he always manages to beat the Crooks trying to Rob the Bank.

Then it gets weird. Due to a scheduling Mix Up, Danny ends up being scheduled for 2 different Banks on the same day, each across the city from the other.

One Bank reports that Danny stopped a gang from Robbing them at 6:00 PM, which really confuses the other Bank because Danny did the same thing in their Bank at the same time. Security Footage proves it, Danny was somehow in 2 places at once.

They decide not to confront him about it, but they do test a theory. They intentionally hire him at multiple different Banks at the same time for a week. He shows up to work every time without fail.

By now they have basically confirmed that he must be a Meta, but they don't really care anyways. Now he can protect multiple Banks at once with his usual perfect Efficiency, and he'll be payed accordingly as well. The Banks get protected well, and he gets payed Extreme Overtime by the Banks, everybody wins!

Well...except for the Crime Bosses of Gotham.

Before this, it was a Game for them to try and beat Danny. They didn't really care since a single Uber Competent Security Guard was still perfectly fine for business, sure they would fail a Job once in a while if they ran into him, but he could only be in 1 place at a time. It wasn't a Huge Loss.

But now it was too much. They needed to take care of him.

Assassination Attempts didn't work. He was just as competent Off the job as he was On it, so they could never get to him.

They tried attacking his Bosses, but then they hired themselves to protect...themselves. It was hard to kill his Bosses when he was constantly Bodyguarding all of them at once.

Attempts to get to him through his Family were...let's not talk about that...

It continued on like this for a while.

...

Soooo...I don't know how to end this one.

Go ahead and put your own spin on this Prompt! The basic idea is that Danny is using his Duplication Power to get to every shift on Time, and he is really annoying the Local Crime Bosses.

What do you think?

[gilbirda]

I'm just a simple guard, man

Part 6 of my Danny is an Arkham Security Guard AU (og tumblr post)

[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]

<< Prequel - Clown around and find out | First Part

There was silence and tension as they watched Batman go through the motions, tying up the unmoving but awake Joker and moving him to somewhere closer to the entrance. Joker was surprisingly responsive and lucid, just mellowed and obedient. Somehow it made it better — if he was a vegetable Jason knew Batman wouldn’t let that go until Danny undid what he had done.

Danny.

The Ghost King.

Jason didn’t know exactly what that meant. Heck, until today he didn’t know that ghosts were kind of a thing. Mythical creatures, he could buy. Apparitions, imprints of conscience that were unavenged — that he could buy too. But a Ghost King implied an organized society with status and a legal organization. A power structure.

“Oh yeah, forgot to mention that.”

He turned towards the doctor well aware his face showed every emotion.

“The fuck?”

“Did that really happen?” Duke was trying to keep calm, but his eyes were wide open and his hands slightly trembling.

“Yeah?” She lifted an eyebrow.

“But—”

“How the heck—”

“ — how did he do that —”

“ — did he set him on fire!”

“ — and is he even human?”

“Children,” Alfred stood from his seat, positioning himself between the brothers and their guest. “Let her breathe.”

“It’s okay, Mr. — uh…” She blushed as she realized she never asked for his name.

“Alfred,” the butler smiled, “Alfred Pennyworth.”

“Mr. Pennyworth,” she nodded politely. “I’m fine. I am aware that after that… theatrical spectacle, explanations are needed.”

“Indeed.” Batman cut in the conversation. “Proper explanations are in order. After I deliver the Joker to Arkham.”

“You can’t be serious!” Did the old man go crazy? Back to that place?

Jazz frowned, seemingly sharing his thoughts. She leaned closer to the microphone and spoke in a controlled voice. “Where are you delivering him? In the hospital.”

Bruce took way too long to answer, so Tim did it for him. “Through the front door?”

Jazz didn’t find it funny. “Wait for me.”

“What?”

“I said, wait for me.” Jazz reached for her discarded jacket, eyeing the door to the elevator back to the manor. “Joker is my patient and I need to be there.”

“What for?”

She turned to look at Jason. “He doesn’t deserve to be left at the mercy of some of the people in the Asylum. They could—”

“He can rot for all I care.”

The vigilante walked up to her, getting in her way and using his height and build to scare her into submission. Jazz held his gaze, defiant, muscles tense and ready to throw down if needed.

“You don’t know that place like I do.”

Jason huffed. “Whatever the inmates want to do to him, he deserves it.”

“I wasn’t talking about the inmates.” Her teal eyes steeled with fury. “Arkham has a history of staff abusing their authority.”

Duke glanced at Alfred, unsure what to make of that statement. He quietly stood up, getting ready to intervene in case Jason decided to get violent; but Alfred held him back with a gloved hand on his shoulder.

“Again, he deserves it.”

Tired of craning her neck to look up at him, Jazz stepped back. “He deserves the judgment of the people he’d hurt in the past — something my brother and I can promise you will happen.” Given what they saw in the camera feeds, nobody doubted the siblings could ensure it. “But I’m not going to tolerate that my patient spends his last years alive being unnecessarily abused.”

“I told you—”

“What do you think,” she interrupted Jason, her gaze cold and her body tense, “will happen if someone dies full of rage? If in their last moments they wish they could enact vengeance on those that harmed them?” She narrowed her eyes, knowing her words were hitting something in him. “What do you think will happen to the Joker’s soul if he’s abused and tortured at Arkham, and probably killed, after he crosses the Veil?”

“I—”

“A huge pain in the ass, it’s what will happen.”

The tense silence could be cut with a knife. Duke couldn’t understand how Jazz not only managed to stare down the six foot something tank that Jason was, but she also commanded the attention and respect. He was a newcomer to the place and he had done more than enough crazy stuff during his time in a gang; but he still struggled with openly challenging Jason and Cass. And Tim, but that was when the vigilante fell into his weird mumbling-in-the-dark episodes.

“I’m taking you there.”

He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the garage section of the cave. Jazz yanked her arm free and stopped to cross her arms.

“I can walk on my own.”

Jason bristled, opened his mouth to continue their fight, but apparently that was when Alfred had enough.

“If you want to get there in time,” his voice was neutral, controlled, and his face wore his signature arched eyebrow, “I'd recommend leaving right now.”

His tone was final.

Jazz and Jason looked at each other, frozen under the certified Alfred glare. They nodded and walked quickly towards where Jason’s signature red bike was parked.

***

Arkham Asylum was a mess when the duo arrived — police cars flooded the entrance, and the Batmobile stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the red and blue lights flashing around.

Jazz cursed under her breath. She would have preferred to not turn the situation into a circus.

They managed to walk through the sea of cops and civilians looking in the compound from the metal gates. Funny enough, the few guards blocking the way didn’t move to stop them once both glared at them at the same time.

Jazz made a beeline at the Director chatting animatedly with Batman. Black Bat was standing a bit back with Red Robin, probably discussing what just happened with Danny, but the Arkham doctor didn’t care about them.

“I demand I see my patient.” Jazz didn’t beat around the bush.

The Director blinked and slowly looked away from Batman, as if he couldn’t believe someone had the audacity to interrupt this moment. “Miss Fenton—”

“Doctor.” She corrected him.

The man cleared his throat, throwing a nervous glance at the silent Dark Knight.

“Doctor Fenton,” the word was spit like it was a curse, “your shift doesn’t start until eight.”

“But the Joker is my patient and I know he’s in there.” She gestured at the looming Asylum with her hand. “After such a traumatic event I need to see him.”

Someone coughed a laugh behind the Director. At least the man had the decency of hiding a smile.

“The Joker is not going anywhere, Miss— Doctor.” He added when she glared at him. “You can schedule a session tomorrow. That is, if your patient is up for conversation.” With that, the man deemed their conversation over and turned back to Batman. “Once again, thank you so much, Batman. I’m not going to ask how you did it this time, but we will certainly appreciate the results.”

Jason was as happy as everyone else that Joker wouldn’t be a problem anymore, but the way this bastard was treating Jasmine was outright criminal. He squared up for a fight and tried to step forward, but a cold hand on his forearm stopped him. Jazz moved her eyebrows up and her eyes went over his body before she looked back towards the police. Several new vehicles joined the party — all the Gotham news channels were here to record the event.

And he wasn’t wearing his suit. Right.

He nodded and remained where he was, but made a gesture towards where the Director was waxing poetry about how good Batman was for their city and how much the city owed him.

Do you want me to beat him up for you? He wanted to ask.

Jazz chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand. She shook her head and patted his arm a few times.

“Thanks,” she whispered, “but not today.”

He didn’t know how serious she was. This was the same person who pulled a gun at Red Hood and five seconds later forced him into a therapy session. The same lunatic that was excited about having the whole bat flock in her apartment so she could question them.

For the first time since the alarm sounded about Joker’s escape, Jason let himself relax a little bit. Jazz was crazy enough to take on Arkham’s finest and leave victorious.

“Director Kallwick,” her voice was pure steel, “I’m afraid it’s imperative I see my patient after such a traumatic—”

“I think there’s something you are not understanding, Miss Fenton.”

“And what is it?” She crossed her arms.

The Director raised an eyebrow, now fully facing her. It didn’t escape Jason how the man squared his shoulders to look bigger and overpower Jazz. He had seen that behavior way too many times, in many different situations — and he didn’t like it when men like the Director used it against people that couldn't fight back, specially women.

He glanced at Bruce, trying to gauge how much the old man would flip if he intervened anyway. He trusted Jazz, but he really didn’t like the Director right now.

“I’m positive that after today’s… development,” he smiled, “things at Arkham will definitely change. For the best, of course.” He raised an eyebrow. “Starting with streamlining our staff and making sure we count on experienced doctors to treat the patients that really need it.”

Was he implying…?

Jazz hummed, regarding the man with as much contempt as she allowed herself to show. “I know you don’t like me, Mr. Kallwick. You never did. I know you hired me because you needed cannon fodder to sacrifice and keep the Joker entertained.” She smiled. “I’m young, but I’m not stupid. And I know men like you — weak, scared, and cowardly.”

“Hey there young—”

“I know you’d rather let your staff die than develop better and healthier outlets for patient’s destructive tendencies.” She lifted a hand and walked closer, poking the man’s chest. “I know that you look the other way when guards and doctors mentally and physically abuse inmates because you actually think they deserve it.” She poked him again.

“I don’t—” He went to grab her hand.

She moved away from him so quickly and so smoothly that it looked like a dance step.

She smiled. It wasn’t nice. “And I know all about what you’ve been doing with the funds and donations.”

Even in the middle of the noise from the crowd at the gates, you could hear the man loudly swallow.

“I know about the embezzling and the bribes and the interesting filing mistakes and convenient registration mishaps, Mr. Kallwick.” Her eyes slowly turned greener. It was subtle, but you could see that her usual teal color suddenly looked greener than blue. A trick of the lights, you could think, but the bats knew better. “I know you don’t care how or why the Joker is unresponsive, but I do; and if you want me to stay in my lane I highly recommend you stay in yours.”

The man processed her words, the thoughts clear in his eyes. He was probably thinking how she could have found out, or who told her, or how was he going to silence her better.

Jason saw the switch to the later thought as clear as day.

Bruce saw it too.

Before the man said or did anything else, the tall and quiet shadow of Batman placed himself behind Jazz, one hand on her shoulder as an obvious sign of his support. The other two bats placed themselves on the sides of the Arkham doctor, arms crossed, looking down at the man who was realizing too late the mistake he made.

***

“Are you still mad?”

“Hm.”

“You sound like the old man.”

Jazz glared at him, violently stabbing her ice cream cup and breaking her plastic spoon.

“You may need to deal with those anger issues. Have you thought about going to therapy?” He said with a bright smile.

She stood up, not caring about attracting attention. Who was going to pay attention to them, Jason didn’t know. It was way early in the morning — or late at night, it depends on how you see it — and Jazz had demanded they go to the closest ice cream place that was open.

Luckily he knew a place, because of course only in Gotham someone would be crazy enough to have an ice cream shop open at this hour.

“Some vigilantes, and some rogues, really like ice cream. It is an untapped market.” The man running the place said when asked, shrugging like it was obvious.

Jazz sat back down, now with a new spoon, and continued eating her sweet monstrosity of layered chocolate and dulce de leche.

“If you are this mad I highly recommend you take it with Bruce. I’m sure he will be very understanding and accept your feedback.”

She kicked him in the shins, rolling her eyes at his sarcasm.

“Whatever you say, mister Daddy Issues.”

It was his turn to kick her, but she was expecting the movement and moved away before he made contact. She smirked, taking another bite of her ice cream with a smug smile on her face.

God, he hated older siblings and their knowing smiles.

He prepared to kick her again..

“Don’t even try,” a new voice said, the person taking the empty chair on their little table. “Jazz is like a ninja when she really wants to.”

Jason wanted to differ and explain he had trained with literal ninjas, but the speed at which she whipped a gun on him not that long ago came to his mind. Was it a liminal thing? Or a Jasmine thing? Maybe a Fenton thing?

“Hey.”

“Hey back at you.” Danny sighed, taking Jazz’s ice cream cup and biting directly from the top layer. “That bad, huh?”

Jason bit his simple chocolate cone, watching the siblings talk.

“She’s mad because B scary dog privileged his way into making the Arkham Director submit and it undermined Jazz’s authority. She did a neat speech and everything.” He shook his head. “All wasted.”

She huffed and stole her ice cream back. “I didn’t need his support.”

“I know you don’t.” Danny glanced at Jason. “But it’s better if you have Batman’s backup, yes?”

Jazz ignored him.

Jason took the chance to look at Danny, trying to find anything that was different about the young man. He still had the scene back with Joker burned in his mind.

King of the Ghosts.

He would have never guessed, given the scrawny and sleep deprived raccoon of a man sitting next to him. He was still wearing the same shirt and under the fluorescent lights of the ice cream shop, it was easier to see the scars on his arms and hands — and the ones peeking from under his collar.

“Spit it out.”

“Huh?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “You have questions. Ask.”

“I don’t—” He tried to deny it, but thought better about it. Jason bit his ice cream and cleared his throat. “I want to ask about —”

“Of course you want to ask about what happened.”

A soft thump! came from under the table, and given Danny’s glare at Jazz then she probably kicked him for the sass.

“What do you want to know?”

“Why are you being so forthcoming?”

“I’m feeling charitable today.” Another kick from under the table. “Ok, ok! No need for violence.” He sighed. “Jazz’s right. This is not my territory. If we want to stay, we have to play nice with you guys.”

The way he said it, and the way he made a face when he said it, told Jason that Danny was really struggling with trusting the bats with the information. Trust issues he could understand — one wasn’t in their line of work without being betrayed or hurt enough to warrant these issues.

No. It was something deeper.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

There were many questions burning in his mind and he didn’t know how long they had. “Why… Gotham? Why Arkham? Why a guard?”

“You just wasted your time man. You already know the answer for that.” He pointed at his sister, who nodded in agreement. “I followed her.”

“And I came here because I was interested in the rogues.” She added, licking her spoon clean.

Jason shook his head. “I meant — why is the King of the Ghosts… just… here?” He lowered his voice, glancing at the ice cream man. The man was half asleep on the counter and clearly not listening. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

Danny responded with a dry laugh. “I have no interest in being the king of anything.”

“But?”

He looked away, suddenly very uncomfortable.

Jason glanced at Jazz, but she was glaring at the table.

“What happened?” He poked the siblings, trying to be soft. It was obviously a touchy subject, and whatever happened was painful enough that they’ve been avoiding any mention of their past before Gotham like the plague.

“It was… It happened a few years ago. I defeated the previous Ghost King, but nothing happened for a while. I thought… I thought things had calmed down since ghosts stopped attacking my town so often. And then, after I graduated highschool, the Observants started harassing me about taking the throne.”

“Did they hurt you?” Jason didn’t know what these “Observants” were, but he could guess from context.

Danny shook his head, stealing Jazz’s ice cream again. “They were fucking annoying, but they couldn’t touch me. As the Prince, I was technically their superior and untouchable.” He bit the cold treat and chewed. Somehow Jason wasn’t surprised Danny never got a brain freeze. “It was a few more years of avoiding them and trying to keep peace in town, as well as trying to get to know the Infinite Realms.” He chuckled again. “I even considered, for a moment, that being King wasn’t even that bad.

“It was a pretty normal day when it happened. I went to the mall with my friends. Sam, she — She had a fight with her parents and went there to cool down and cheer her up. The ghosts came first,” he pushed the ice cream back to his sister, and avoided Jason’s eyes, “but nothing was out of the ordinary. We fought. I defeated them. More and more kept coming, faster than I — than we could contain them.”

“I was away at college, but I later learned that it was a massive all out attack on just Danny.” Jazz placed a hand on Danny’s. “It was a coup attempt.”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know that so many people were against me being King, and all that time they were planning the attack, and if I just paid a little more attention… If I wasn’t so—”

Another kick under the table. Danny cleared his throat and tried again.

“The GIW came as well. Things went from bad to worse, and by the end of the day it was an all out war between us, the ghosts doing a coup and the GIW. With our parents at the head of the attack.”

Jason frowned. “But you guys knew they worked with the GIW.”

Jazz gave him a warning look. “We knew they collaborated and consulted for them. We knew about the patent weapons.”

“But we didn’t know that they’d lead an attack on me.”

Danny did a brief pause to breathe, and stole more ice cream from his sister. She just pushed the cup towards him, apparently done with the treat.

Jason followed where the siblings were going. “They knew you’d be at the mall. That… That Phantom would be at the mall.” Danny looked up, his tired eyes confirming his thoughts. “They knew.”

It wasn’t a question.

Jazz nodded anyway. “We don’t know how long they did, but the truth is they knew about Danny. And went for him anyway.”

Minutes ticked by. Jason and Danny made quick work of their ice creams, lost in thought. Jazz checked her phone, frowned, and typed a few messages before putting it away.

“People died.”

Jason blinked at the non sequitur. Danny swallowed the last of the ice cream and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Neighbors, friends, people I knew. That day. They were fine and then they were dead.”

Guilt. It was clear as day.

“Is not your—”

“Don’t.” He cut him off. “Please.”

Jason nodded and decided to move on. “So you won the fight?”

“Barely. The ghosts were either captured by the GIW or retreated when they became outnumbered. Tucker and Sam managed to mess up with the idiots in white’s machines and weapons long enough for us to retreat. But we knew that wasn’t the end of it.

“We packed what we could and I hid at Sam’s, with the excuse that I would help her while she recovered — she broke her arm at the fight. We were a hundred percent sure if… if Jack and Maddie actually knew I was Phantom or not, but just in case.”

“I stayed. They didn’t target me so we were positive they didn’t know about me being liminal, so I stayed home.”

The vigilante frowned at Jazz. “What for?”

“Someone had to monitor them to see what they knew exactly. I also hid away any weapon they could potentially use against Danny.” She shrugged. “Not that it actually helped, because neither came back home in the weeks after the incident.”

“They were at the GIW base.” Danny crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat. The young man looked tired. “Because of course there was work to do with the captured ghosts.”

Jason hummed. “So they’ve been working on experimentation since then?”

Jazz shook her head. “We were telling the truth when we said they weren’t involved in that, at least not by the time we left Amity Park. Back then they were more involved in investigation on ghost containment and weapons research.”

He nodded, and turned back to Danny. “And the coup?”

The young man cursed under his breath. “Dealt with them.”

Jason waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. He cleared his throat and tried again. “What—”

“Listen, man.” He slapped the table and stood up. “That doesn’t matter. They don’t matter. I dealt with it. I accepted the damn crown and then told everybody to fuck off. And they have done that so far.” He breathed in, breathed out. “I’m nobody’s king, I’m just a simple guard now, okay? Nothing more, nothing less.”

With that, Danny walked away and left Jazz and Jason simmer in the tense silence. He looked at her, trying to gauge if he had said the wrong thing, but Jazz appeared apologetic.

“Before you ask — I don’t know either. Nobody does. He just… after we took down the GIW base, he took the captured ghosts back to the Realms. He came back two days later, hurt and barely coherent, and never spoke of what happened there. To anybody.” Not even me, the hurt statement was implied. “He was… changed. He didn’t say what happened but from what we could piece together it was bad, very bad.”

A myriad of possibilities crossed Jason’s mind. How bad is “very bad”? How much did Danny stir things up at the Realms that he had remained unbothered ever since? He tried to map the scars that he saw, and grimaced at the idea of two straight days of fighting after doing a raid to the GIW base.

Danny was done. With being a hero. With fighting. With trying to do the right thing.

What was even the “right thing” here? Going back to being the King of a dimension that doesn’t want him and he doesn’t want in return? Give it up, and risk someone worse taking control of so much power? Destroying the GIW? Going after their own parents?

He thought about the Joker. He asked Jazz when she was back from checking on the clown, and she willingly shared some details about his state. Jason never felt sorry for the fucker, but gained a new appreciation for Danny and his abilities.

The power to take someone’s soul and seal it inside their bodies — what else could he do? What other otherworldly and potentially devastating powers did he have at his disposal?

What else was he choosing not to face? What else was he running away from?

He stood up and followed Danny outside, finding him standing in the cold morning rain of Gotham. It wasn’t pouring, but it was easy to get soaking wet if you underestimated it.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I wasn’t going to ask.”

Both ignored the door when Jazz quietly followed them out of the ice cream shop.

“Good.” The younger man looked up at the gray sky, maybe looking for the sun. Water droplets fell down his face, and he welcomed them with a relieved, albeit tiny, smile. “Because I don’t have anything else to say.”

Jason rolled his eyes. What a drama queen.

He glanced at Jazz, who was shaking her head. “Whatever you say, edgelord.”

She pulled Danny to her chest for a hug, which he only protested with a tiny grumble. Jason chuckled before he was pulled in too by a surprisingly strong grip.

“If I have to suffer sisterly hugs then so do you.”

Jazz giggled but welcomed the addition to her arms, not caring that she could barely hold both of them and her arms fell short. She squeezed them harder towards her chest, humming in delight.

Great, she was a hugger. Jason really didn’t need another Grayson in his life.

<< Prequel - Clown around and find out | First Part

BACK TO THE ARCHIVE

BACK TO DANNY PHANTOM ARCHIVE

Just a normal link in case you liked this and want to support me :)

[half-dead-half-wit]

wanting to read dp/dc fics but like. specifically ones with adult danny being a cretchur

[halfblackwolfdemon]

I'm living for this!

Dan has been having a hard time trying to blend in with humans after his okay from Clockwork that he can assimilate back into civilization. He's comfortable with himself and doesn't try to hide his inhuman features but some of the prejudiced and anti-meta folks make it harder than necessary to live his day to day life.  

So he starts researching and finds that there's a Justice League embassy nearby. What better place for people to not deal with anti-meta assholes than being a security guard there? (He later found there were frequent anti-powered and anti-League protests around the building. At least he has the legal right to throw hands with them now)

[deadsetobsessions]

Alley Drunk! Danny AU- Pt. 4

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3]

Danny blinked down at the cart, where a red hoodie and pants with red stripes along the side laid over the lip of the cart. Considering they’re in this universe’s brand of Marget- seriously, who names a store Target? If anything in Amity Park was named that, Skulker would have wrecked it in five seconds flat- it’s hilariously on brand. Though, to be fair, this was Gotham’s version too, which meant a lot of security guards (who definitely doubled as goons for the Rogues, Danny was sure) and the vibes were spooky.

“I’m guessing red’s your favorite color.”

Instead of the humorous way he meant the sentence, Jason looked up anxiously and Danny immediately hated himself a little bit more.

“Sh- I can put it back..?” Jason hunched in on himself.

Danny tracked the movement with clearer eyes than he’s had in a long while and ancients, does it remind him of how Dani was in front of Vlad all those years ago. And Danny has spent his entire half life being not like Vlad, so he’s not going to start now.

“Nah, you should definitely add some more stuff. This is no where near enough clothes.”

It really wasn’t. Danny had taken Jason to the store to pick out clothes- “Ther’s a second hand store down the stree’, ya know,” Jason had mumbled when they went through the doors- but the kid had only tentatively put in a small red hoodie and some pants in the cart. Now he had to put this in a way that’ll wipe the stubbornly hesitant look on Jason’s face off.

“Think about it this way, then. You’re repping me now, and while I might be the alley drunk, I’m not the poorly dressed alley drunk, yeah?”

“Oh. Tha’ makes sense.” Jason nodded to himself determinedly, and the kid strode over to the t-shirt section. For all of his confidence, he still glanced back to see if it was okay with Danny.

Well, Dani was the same way before she found her confidence (when she knew Danny wouldn’t abandon her or hurt her) so Danny just gave him a thumbs up before reaching into the rack and sweeping an armful of clothing straight into the cart. Then, he strode over to the jackets and grabbed the ones in Jason’s size and slightly bigger. Oh, he has to grab shoes. He’ll leave that for later, but Danny was going to get those ratty trainers off of Jason’s feet and into the nearest trash can if it was the last thing he does.

The halfa hummed, pausing at the first decidedly not miserable sound he’s made in a while. Dammit, if that wasn’t a sign of Danny’s attachment to Jason, he doesn’t know what would be. To be fair… Danny already committed murder for the kid, which was pretty much something he thought he’d never do, so in for a penny out for a pound or whatever.

He put a significant amount of the budget aside for the section labeled “JASON” so Danny shopped without a worry. Charlie’s ill-gotten assets were a good monetary compensation for his crime of existing near Jason or existing, period.

He picked up toiletries, toothbrushes and the like, when Jason came back sans t-shirt. Instead of a shirt- Danny had actually hoped that Jason would try to get multiple shirts- Jason was clutching a book.

Before he could even voice anything, Danny plucked the book out of his grip and put it into the cart with a disarming smile.

“Oh, good idea. We should get you books too. Wanna go pick out some more?”

“Uh- y’re just gonna get a book, just like that?”

“More than one book, I should hope. You are going to school, right?”

“…Yeah!” Danny couldn’t fathom ever being excited at the thought of school, but as Jason bounced away to peruse the admittedly poor selection of books, Danny couldn’t help but think that maybe he should give this education thing another try. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be less stressful now that he’s not Phantom.

Danny walked to the aisle next to the books and promptly proceeded to shove every single piece of stationary he thought was nice- pens, gel pens, cooling pens and pencils, a thick stack of notebooks, flash cards, etcetera- into the rapidly getting full cart.

Jason came back with three more books- nice, the classics- and froze at the sight of the cart.

“Oh, hey. Getting all of those?”

“Wha’- wha’s wit’ the stuff?”

“School supplies! Quality education starts with quality supplies, you know!” Danny said, a sliver of the grin that used to come so easily to him making an appearance on his face. "Don't worry, I budgeted. See?"

Danny handed Jason a piece of paper, confident that the kid would know if it was good or not.

"Where'd... ya get all of this?"

"Hmm... here and there."

Jason looked up at him, squinting suspiciously. "I hear' Charlie's gone poofed up."

Danny shrugged and put a calculator in the cart. "Oh, I'm sure he's busy."

Yeah, Danny thought vindictively. Busy being dead.

"Ya sound like a walking con," Jason said as he visibly decided to give up fighting against Danny's spending. "We nee' food."

"Gotcha. Well, if you need anything else, just bring it into the cart."

"I want veggies. Frozen, 's cheaper."

Danny nodded, resisting the urge to ruffle Jason's hair.

----

"Hey, you's the Alley Drunk, right? 'Bout that boy you've been toting ar-"

Danny punched the guy in the face, dropping him like a stone. He looked up slowly and swayed.

"Any of you ask about my kid brother again, and I won't bother with being drunk when I hit you."

Rapid nods. Danny shuffled away, satisfied.

----

Two weeks later, after a school day, Danny finds Jason heading to the bathroom with a box of...

"Hair-dye?"

Jason, who was marginally more relaxed and assured that Danny wasn't going to kick him out, nodded.

"Dye's fadin' n' I dun wanna get nabbed on the streets for having red hair."

Danny blinked. "You have red hair?"

"Sure do. See? Roots are showin' again." Jason pointed at his scalp where Danny could see the hair was getting lighter.

"Right. Well- I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need help, kiddo." Danny said, desperately hoping he hid how off kilter he was feeling well.

"I don't need help, ah've been doing this for ages." The kid went into the bathroom and closed the door harshly. When the lock clicked and the faucet began running, Danny let himself slide down the wall into a crouch, hands cradling his head.

Red hair. Blue eyes. Tan skin. The facial features. The intelligence and empathy.

Danny chuckled hysterically under his breath.

Was Jason this universe's version of Jazz?

"Fuck."

[kermdoeswriting]

AU where Danny who was an inmate of Arkham Asylum when? I know we had a lot of aus where he was a security guard of Arkham but the inmate one is pretty much underrated.

There are two ways I can see this going.

One way is Danny being in jail and treating it like a vacation, where he honest to God doesn't even care he's locked in a building with all the scariest villains inside of it. He's honestly just there for the vibes and he's getting free food out of it.

He also can absolutely leave at ANY time and just chooses not to for the reason of not needing to pay rent in any capacity and can (if this au is one where Jazz is interning at Arkham) keep an eye on Jazz to make sure she was being safe.

Or Danny is in there and it goes in a similar way of that one episode where he was in Ghost Jail. Where he like makes all the other inmates restless enough to stage his own escape.

He would probably plan that better though to make sure none of the people who genuinely didn't deserve to escape, escape. Like Joker.

Danny would probably beat the shit out of Joker his first day in the jail. And he would do so knowing itd probably make him worse than the Joker but he genuinely doesnt even care.

I personally like the first one because Danny just chilling in Jail is so funny compared to the other Rogues and like inmates that are locked in their consistently.

Like imagine lining up the rogues and just seeing this 20 smthing yr old kid in the line up, thats so fuckin funny. What would his crime even be?

I feel like it should be killing Joker only for the sake of the fact that anyone willing to throw it down with Joker and actually MURDER the dude HAS to be seen as like 20% more dangerous then Joker ever was as a living person.

[bunny-jpeg]

Hi bunny! Can I please request a custard tart and profiteroles with a side of martini served by Danny Ric please?

bakery menu

want to submit your own order? then hit up the menu! there's tons of options to choose from and i'd be beyond happy to write them up for you! thank you to those who submitted, i am slowly but surly working on them! thank you! for this lovely anon, thank you for the request! i know the danny news had been heartbreaking! but i am here to give ya'll some fics to lift your spirits!!! <3

custard tart ("i've never done this before.") + profiteroles ("come away with me. for a week, together. anywhere you want, we'll go.") + martini (mafia au) served by daniel ricciardo (formula one)!!

cw: smut/pwp, mafia au, mafia enforcer!daniel, uni student!reader, references to violence & serious injury, massages, bruises, oral sex (daniel receiving), loving!daniel

you would consider your life fairly charmed. you haven't paid for you university classes since your first semester and you lived in a nice apartment that had a security guard. you considered yourself fairly lucky.

your boyfriend paid for everything. and while you would more often than not be those types of situations. daniel simply patted you on the head and smiled, "you just finish your studies, when you get a job in your dream field then you can provide more. for now, focus on school and i'll take care of everything else." his smile wide and his teeth pearly.

you could rarely say no to your boyfriend, except maybe when he tracked dirt through the apartment. you couldn't even say no to what he did. his job as an enforcer for rb. still to this day you didn't know what rb was, but you knew that daniel made sure that debts were paid.

and he did so with a smile.

it was monday night, and you were dozing on the couch. you were curled up in your pajamas with the television on. you would've put on a series you had been watching, but daniel had become engrossed with watching them all with you. even the crappy reality programs. so you were curled up with the cushion under your head and the throw blanket was throw over your body.

daniel was at work.

you noticed that the baseball bat was missing from the closet and gloves missing from one of the drawer and he wore a beat up pair of sneakers that basically had the soles worn down to nothing that could be traced. you tried not to think about it too hard, you knew you'd go crazy if you thought about what he was doing.

"i'm doing this to protect you, angel. these people aren't the kind of people that aim to hurt you." he cupped your cheek before he left, "you are my priority, beautiful. and i need to protect you."

the knock on the door took you from your thoughts as you lifted your head. you heard yuki's voice, "hey, it's me. i have daniel."

you were instantly on your feet almost tripped over yourself to get to the door. you opened it and saw a bruised daniel up against his friend yuki. you looked at both men before you asked, "what the hell happened?"

daniel lifted his head a little to look at you, "hey honey."

you took him in your arms and looked to yuki with shock. the other man looked away for a moment, but you held your gaze, "yuki, please. i need some reasoning."

yuki replied, "they were ready for him, and he got jumped. most of the injuries have been cleaned up." he swallowed, "i'm sorry."

you nodded, "i understand. thank you, yuki. for bringing him home to me."

the other man nodded, "of course, i mean, he wouldn't let me bring him anywhere else. even to get his injuries looked at. he wanted to see you first."

you looked at your lover and said, "you're in big trouble." and daniel simply smiled as he leaned in closer to you. basking in your warmth. you thanked yuki once more before you closed the door and got your boyfriend onto the couch.

you frowned when he looked at you, this big beautiful eyes on his always made it impossible to stay mad. and while he did very little to make you upset, it still was worrisome how beaten he was.

his face was already glossy with a bruise and there was some dried blood near his nose. he should be lucky that he wasn't dead. you exhaled deeply and leaned in to cup his face.

"is there anything broken?" you asked.

"nothing." he replied, "i'm sorry i worried you." he tried to lean up to you for a kiss. which you met. you melded your lips against his and he sighed happily.

"let's just go to bed, you've had enough activity tonight." you even went as far as to help him get undressed. you got him under the covers after he brushed his teeth and you held him as he got comfy.

you wanted to feel close to him, and he wanted to feel close to you.

-

you had no class the next morning and took to taking care of your lover. the bruises looked pretty bad, but daniel assured you that they looked worse than they felt. but you were uncertain. you still lightly kisses them as you laid in bed together.

when he tried to get up, he made a pained noise. when he looked at you he said, "i need a massage or something." then rubbed his achy lower back where there was a boot shaped bruise on his back.

you placed a hand on his shoulder gently. you replied, "well, i've never done this before. so please tell me if it starts hurting." and daniel nodded. you watched him lie on his front with his head to the side.

you sat down beside him on the bed. and ran a hand down your lover's strong back. you could feel the built muscle under your fingertips before you started to gingerly rub at the sore spots.

"fuck, honey." he exhaled deeply, he shifted a little on the bed and eventually got comfortable. you tried to work the muscle a little deeper and heard him almost moan.

"how does that feel?" you asked as you rubbed his sore body. you then leaned in to kiss him on the shoulder.

"oh." he groaned, "that feels good. you've never done this before?"

you smiled a little, "does it hurt?"

"oh, no, no, no, no." he said as he held onto the pillow under his head. he shifted a little more, he could feel himself hard in his briefs. he groaned a little bit as you massaged him.

but, it was painfully hot. to feel your touch on his skin as helped him feel less achy. you kissed his back once more and he groaned a little louder. after the hell of last night, he was happy to have your touch against him.

"oh, sweetheart." he smiled against the covers.

"i'm glad this is helping. i'm sorry i can't do more."

"no. no. this is perfect." he then got onto his back and winced, he said with heavy pants, "please, honey. please. i love you so much, you're the most beautiful woman in my life. can you.. can you suck me off, or get me off anyway you can?"

you felt flattered. but you also worried about him. he had gotten beaten pretty bad the previous night. you didn't need to cause him any pain.

"i don't want to hurt you, danny."

he shook his head, "no, you could never hurt me. your lips on me would heal me more than anything." he laughed a little as he reached out for you.

you looked at him and smiled, "okay, but you-"

he held your hand, "i will tell you if it hurts, babe. alright?" he brought your hand to his lips and kiss it, "you heal me more than hurt me."

you smiled at his words, "you flirt." then reached to pull his underwear down to reveal his hard cock. your mob enforcer boyfriend, even though you didn't approve with what he did. that smile and his love for you allowed you to accept him.

you kissed the tip of his leaky cock and he shuddered. he held onto the back of your head as you slowly sank your mouth onto his length.

you slowly moved your head up and down. encouraged by daniel's soft noises. his hand in your hair as he slowly rocked against you. he could feel the love for you though his body as you pleasured him.

"that's it, honey. that's it. you are so painfully perfect. i want to take care of you, love you." he groaned a little bit. he could feel his heart hammered in his chest.

he loved you, he loved you when you dressed up for date night and when you were barely awake for your nine a.m. lecture. he loved you in the pretty clothes he bought you but also the band t-shirts you wore. your smile even if there was spinach between you teeth, and how you were around him. he loved hearing you talk about your work in school and your hobbies.

it was comforting, he had spent so much time being an enforcer. always throwing the first punch, but to be in a home with you felt great. it didn't hurt that you also knew how to make him feel so good.

you continued to pleasure him and he groaned a little louder at the sensation. you moaned a little bit as he met your pace a little bit. you took deep breaths through your nose as you felt wetness between your legs.

"i love you." he said, "i love you so much, you're perfect." he arched his back a little as he felt pleasure really curl in his body. he had never been with a woman like you and he would have you for the rest of his days.

you continued to pleasure him and his noises got a little louder. you knew that he loved the feeling. he loved your mouth on him, anyway he could have you, he would have you.

it wasn't long before he held onto you tightly. he nudged his cock up against the back of your throat. he groaned as he came and tensed up. he held onto you and you held onto him.

even though he could feel a bit of pain in his body from his injuries. he'd endure all pain to be close to you. because he loved you. you were his world and he wanted to touch you every chance he got.

"shit, honey." he said.

you looked to him and swallowed his cum before you pulled your head away. you felt a bit of a head rush as you did so. you could feel your heart racing as you looked to him.

"are you okay?"

he grabbed you by the shirt and pulled you beside him on the bed. where he then peppered your face with loving kisses. you squirmed a little against him. his voice was like a promise as he kept you in his arms. oh, you were simply perfect.

"shit, sweetheart. that was... amazing." he beamed at you, "you are amazing." he had no other words, but he held onto you tightly.

"we can't do that all the time, not until you get better. i don't need you getting more hurt." you scolded him lightly.

daniel beamed at you, the smile that he reserved only for you. even though it hurt a little due to the bruise on his face, he simply curled into you more. you petted his hair gently before he asked, "when the bruises heal and you have your time off school. come away with me. for a week, together. anywhere you want, we'll go. so you don't have to worry about me getting hurt again."

the thing about daniel was, you could rarely say no to him. his love for you was a magnetic feeling. so you kissed under his eye where some of the bruise was and replied, "okay. just you and me. no bruises, no blood. just us."

"of course, honey. just us." <3

[dudethatsmyundeaduncle]

DP X DC AU Danny & The Little Dead Girl

(title pending lol, Danny and Curare adventures pt 2!) Pt 1 here My AU art

__________________________________________

Monday comes, as it is won't to do, and Danny has to go to school which means the baby halfa has to come to school too.

" ok, so, one rule for today, big rule, you gotta be quiet in class. Uh-"

Danny pulls his phone out of his pocket as their bus hits a pot hole. Sitting right at the front means they catch the momentum first and he has to hold Curaré against his side lest she go flying into the aisle.

A couple voices grumble behind them at the jostling as Danny gets his text to speech open.

" Necessitas ser quieto en clase. ¿Entiendes?" The Google robot lady voice translates for him.

Curaré blinks at him from behind her little paper face mask and looks from the phone to him curiously.

This is the game they've been playing since last night, Danny says something in English robo lady repeats it in Spanish.

Danny doesn't know if Curaré understands how the phone speaks or even that it does but she's giving him her favorite little blank expression so he assumes she gets it. At least, she hasn't really disagreed or disobeyed anything he's asked of her yet so...not gonna look that gift horse in the mouth Danny boy!

..

School goes well, mostly.

They get through the metal detectors and bag checks at the front entrance just fine. The security guards barely glance at Curaré once they confirm she isn't hiding a Glock or something under her shirt. Which it's kinda sad to know gun control is a cross-dimensional American problem but it's on brand if nothing else Danny thinks.

They get to first period without stopping at Danny's locker and settle down in two desks by the back door. This is Danny's usual spot, well usual as of a month ago, it's mostly empty back here now but Danny used to have a seat partner.

(A seat partner who had a kind of shady tweaker vibe that Danny would have been worried about but that kid went home early one day and never came back so....it's Curaré's seat now.)

The little dead girl looks even littler sat in the desk-chair combo, she can barely see over the top. Danny stacks three dictionaries under her for a boost then he gets her set up with some pencils and paper and the single highlighter he found on the floor his first day here.

Curaré seems vaguely interested in his offerings ,after Danny shows her how to use them to mark the page, and starts creating cautious marks of her own.

She keeps glancing back up at Danny as if to confirm that this is still fine? And he nods his head every time trying to be encouraging as it becomes obvious that nobody taught this kid to write inside Fosters Home for Real life Assassins. Which Danny thinks is poor planning on there part because really? If your Assassin can't write how the fuck were they supposed to leave ominous threatening warnings? Or fake suicide notes? Or any number of written props to flesh out a cover story.

Whatever, obviously the assassins raising Curaré sucked ass all around so he can't say he's surprised but he is majorly disappointed.

As the bell rings for first period a whole slew of teens rush in ahead of the teacher Mr. Berk. Simple guy, grey beard, coke bottle glasses, smells like Vics vapor rub, the works.

He's like the most chilled out version of Mr. Lancer ever so he's alright in Danny's books. Plus he only has one "rule", as long as your butt is in your seat by the time he calls your name for attendance he won't mark you late. In Gotham, where everyone and their brother has enough late marks from shitty public transportion to get detention, it's a pretty sweet rule.

So Mr. Berk takes attendance like usual and only pauses on Danny and Curaré in the back for a brief moment.

Curaré stops drawing and stares down Mr. Berk like he's the T rex from Jurassic park. Frozen in place and without breaking eye contact. He stares back at her completely unphased.

" A small visitor then?" He says.

Danny nods. " My sister"

" Mhm" Mr. Berk says already moving on to the next student on his roster.

Danny breathes out huge sigh of relief, that was so much easier then he expected.

They more or less repeat this exchange the whole day. Mondays suck ass because it's one of the only days Danny actually has all 6 periods, but they make it through 1st, 2nd, and nutrition unscathed.

By lunch time Danny thinks they might actually be home free, if no one is gonna bring up the whole freaking child tagging along with him then he can probably just bring her with him everyday.

Maybe he can find her some work books and she can learn the alphabet? And addition? That's like on track for 4 year olds right? Danny can't remember being 4 but that feels right to him. He will educate the child in his care like the responsible almost adult he is. She will go to college!

At lunch Danny sits them at the back of the school right next to the teachers lounge because it's mostly deserted.

In Danny's exprience the best place to hide is in plain sight. He's been sitting here everyday since he enrolled himself and the teachers have never noticed him. Their way too busy trying to get any kind of break from teaching high schoolers to be concerned.Which Danny is greatful for because he has broken the rule about using his cell phone at lunch 50 times at this point.

Listen he has to do universe research when he has access to wifi! Which he only does at school. The administration should be glad he's using his lunch period to educate himself really.

So they eat by the lounge. Danny has Curaré face away from the door so she can take off her face mask and eat unencumbered.The cut on her face is still gnarly, it looks an almost enflamed purple as it tries it's best to heal.

Danny had given Curaré a little immuno-boost with his own ecto the night before to try to speed up her healing factor. But like any Halfa, basically just Danny's personal experience, you have to nourish the ghost half and the human half in equal parts to heal all the way.

It's not until home room, period 6/7, that the metaphorical straw breaks the metaphorical camels back. or the real straw to the metaphorical camel? Did camels even carry straw? where would it go? Between there humps? Not important Fenton!

Home room was a grade A disaster.

Mr. Perez, Danny's kind of ancient home room teacher, who was for almost all intents and purposes blind, had a freaking nose for trouble. It's like he could sniff out vapes and cell phones as soon as they hit the stale class air. Danny thought this would be the easiest class by far, Mr. Perez wouldn't even see Curaré let alone smell her.

And at first it seems like he doesnt, Mr. Perez takes attendance and skips right over Danny and Curaré with no fanfare.

Danny thinks that's the end of it and starts to breathe easy until 15 minutes before the final bell when Mr. Perez' TA asks him to step into the hallway with her for a second.

Danny generally liked Mr. Perez's TA, her name was Sabrina Kahn and she was the kind of girl Jazz would have hung out with.Straight laced, wore argyle cardigans, read books, the smart sort. She looked Jazz's age too, maybe 21ish and she always rolled her eyes when people gave dumb answers in class.

She looks a little embarrassed to be speaking to Danny which immediately sets him on edge.

" It's okay that you brought your little sister today but, I'm sorry, you won't be able to do that again. A bunch of your teachers made complaints with the front office and Mr. Perez got a call about it ..."

Sabrina had always been nice to him and now she was about to ruin his whole week.

" But Ms. Kahn-" Danny started.

She gave him a sympathetic look " Lemme guess, your parents can't take her to work so this was the next best option?"

Danny closed his mouth and nodded, that was actually a much better lie then he was gonna tell, thank you Ms. Kahn. ( But also Boooooo curse you Ms. Kahn!)

" Here, I know it can be hard to find childcare for metas, especially ones as ah-vibrant as your sister. My brother had the same trouble with my nephew."

Sabrina hands Danny a flyer, it's still warm from the printer, it looks like it's just a screenshot of an email.

"Thanks?"

The TA rolls her eyes, wow a lot like Jazz then.

" It's the address to that daycare and a referral. They only take kids by word of mouth, they're kind of... off the books. But their good people! I hope they can help you Danny."

The paper is on off yellow, as Ms.Kahn heads back into homeroom Danny feels all his hope go with her. Shit, what was he gonna do now? He looks through the little glass window in the door to the back where Curaré sits, she's already watching him. He tries to smile at her, be reassuring, he's not sure it works.

......

When the bell finally rings Danny picks Curaré up and puts her on his hip to avoid her being crushed by the rush of high schoolers who stampede out the door in front of them.

The flyer from Ms. Kahn feels like it's burning a hole through his pocket as they ride the bus towards the Narrows.

Danny cased the house from the flyer with maps street view as well as he could. It showed a skinny sublet house across from a small strip mall and laundrymat.

Inconspicuous sure, maybe even innocent looking but well...you could never tell in Gotham, all the buildings looked sort of evil by default. It was probably because of the gargoyles and the general low level stink fog that seemed to always be out.

The big city™ really made Danny miss the suburbs of Amity Park more then just the regular gut wrenching home sickness. Oh what'd he'd give to take a deep breath of air and not inhale the smell of piss when he walked down the street.

They get off the bus at the corner a block from the daycare.

Danny holds Curaré's hand which makes for slow going but seems like the right thing to do. She's never wandered off but Danny didn't want to give her the opportunity to either.

As he helped her climb the three short stairs up to the house Danny was suddenly hit with a wave of panic.

What the fuck am I doing? Am I really gonna take care of this freaking Halfa ghost baby for the next 18 years? Im not even an adult! I work weekends at BatBurger for minimum wage WTF?

Danny's hands began to sweat and his stomach cramped. Oh fuck, here was the existential crisis he'd been waiting for since he first decided to take Curaré from the leagues super secret baby basement.

Oh shit he couldn't breathe, what was he gonna do! OH fuck think!

What would jazz do? Call child services and offer psychological support. Not Uber helpful in this case Danny didn't know the first thing about psychology and Gotham CPS was actual prison.

What would Sam do? Assassin babies are hella counter culture but maybe find a cool rich eccentric family to adopt them? Nope, not gonna work Danny only knew one eccentric rich girl and she was a whole dimension away. FUCK THINK FENTON!

What would Tucker do? In this situation ask Google, homeschooling is big these days so maybe if you leave her in the apartment while your gone with an iPad-

" Hey you alright there dude, can I help you?"

Danny choked on the end of his anxiety panic badbadbad spiral and looked up.

The front door to the house was open and just inside the threshold stood a younger teen, maybe 16? With the kind of fade haircut Tucker always whined he couldn't pull off and a bright yellow hoodie.

Danny held his breathe for a moment making sure he felt it burn up his lungs and throat before letting out a big sigh.

" Yeah, yeah sorry kinda zoned out there I'm just uh kinda nervous I was told to come here for Daycare help for my little sister?"

Curaré looked at the stranger in the doorway with the same wide eyed blankness she stared at everything with. Funnily enough she was still holding Danny's hand, had held on through Danny's entire mental meltdown too despite the ecto sweat. Danny felt oddly touched by the gesture, even if it was more likely that the little girl wasn't bothered by his crisis then her being sympathetic.

The teen in the Yellow Hoodie raised an eyebrow at Danny as he fumbled the paper from Ms. Kahn out of his pocket to hand over.

Yellow Hoodie took it and looked between it, him, and Curaré.

" You're not a cop right? You have to tell us if you're a cop"

Danny made a face, " no, I'm not a cop! I would never be a cop, cops suck."

" Right." Yellow Hoodie said still suspicious " So you wouldn't mind if I called your referral up?"

" Be my guest dude."

The teen pulled out his phone and made sure to keep steady eye contact with Danny. Who could do nothing except not look away during this, the world's most impromptu staring contest, until Yellow Hoodie put his phone away.

" Just wanted to see if you were bluffing. Sabrina called earlier said she'd sent someone our way but you can never be too careful. Come on in. "

Danny felt the wind go out of his sails for the second time that day, what was with people and making him anticipate the worst.

.....

The inside of the house was old, homey, but old. It had very obviously been well lived in by a few generations of children, easy to see from the scuffed floors, chipped crown molding, and the sheer number of framed photos that hung on the walls.

There were signs of new life about too, some toys scattered on the floor, walls that were covered in butcher paper and crayon as high as little hands could reach, and oddly enough some scorch marks. Although, Danny's supposed that an unlicensed daycare for meta kids worth it's salt ought to have a least a few burn marks. For posterity if nothing else.

" I'm Duke, I volunteer here when I can but the place is run by the Mariscos, Mrs. Marisco specifically. She's been in the game for a long time" Duke nee yellow hoodie said as he stopped them in front of a closed door.

The hand made sign on the door said Office in nice scribbly lettering and it was hung on with a peg and twine. Real kitschy.

Danny could just make out the sounds of kids playing in another part of the house and was a little impressed that Duke had managed to keep Danny from seeing even one tiny tot during the impromptu house tour.

" I gotta go help Izzy with the kids, this is Mrs.Mariscos' office just knock before you go in, she might be on the phone."

Duke nodded to Danny, smiled down at Curaré and disappeared down the hallway.

Leaving Danny and Curaré alone in front of a closed door once again.

Danny looked down at Curaré and she looked up at him, she was characteristically silent.

" This feels like a job interview, did you bring your resume? "

Curaré blinked.

" Yeah, me neither. But I think if we both give her puppy eyes maybe our combined under aged-ness will activate her maternal instincts and she'll be forced to accept us?"

The nerves were back, they had never really left but now they had settled like a rock at the pit of Danny's stomach.

He couldn't bring himself to knock on that office door just yet so he fussed over Curaré instead. Kneeling down he straightened the collar of Curaré's hooded jacket and moveed her little backpack strap back up her shoulder where it had slipped.

" We got this. It's you and me now remember, even if this blows and you have to come to school with me for the rest of year it's you and me." Danny rested his hands on little shoulders and hung his head. " Jeez, I sound like my mom"

"No need to be so nervous Mijo! My Chiqis never met a kid she could turn away."

Danny's neck had never snapped up so fast in his life.

Curaré hadn't been looking up at him at all. No, Curaré was staring up towards the elderly woman floating near the ceiling.

Which was not great, because Danny for all the time had spent in Gotham had never seen another ghost. Not a single one.

Which was unsettling on its own but not bad per se, he'd thought maybe this dimension was just different, not enough spectral energy to manifest a ghostly body.

But no, again nope, this was so much worse.

No ghosts was easy enough to reationalize but one ghost? One ghost meant there was enough spectral energy, one ghost meant something was really really wrong with Gotham.

Because if there was only one ghost in a crime ridden pissed off city like this where the shit were all the others?

--------------------------------------------------

Yo! Just wanted to say thank u for all the support on part 1, did not expect people to like or care about it lol. Anyway back on bullshit, I've had this written for a while but didn't have the insp to post it until now.

Might write more, might not, you get one bat cameo for reading this time ur welcome.

Forgot to add this to the first post, it's in the reblogs, but TLDR Curaré is an assassin from batman beyond.

Note: if you wanna see cool art for this AU check the Danny and the little dead girl tag on my blog!

[percywinchester27]

The new Mrs. Winchester (18)

Word count: 3.1K

Pairing: Sam X Reader AU

Chapter warnings: Implications of sexual abuse, mentions of torture, PTSD, angst, flesh trade, language, mention of violence; reader discretion is strongly advised.

Series Summary: After spending over two years in captivity, and enduring assault, torture, and degradation of every kind, Y/N is finally sold off to the highest bidder. But when the deal is masked as a hushed marriage to a wealthy and powerful man, Y/N knows it means a few more nights of brutal torment ending in certain death. After all, why else would a man like him, want someone like her, except to fulfill desires so depraved that they would require owning a person. However, the Winchester mansion has mysteries of its own, woven in lies, betrayal, and death. Smack in the middle of it, she finds both hope and a home, in the person she least expected to find it with. But when it comes down to it, will she be able to save the thing that matters the most?

A/N: Really slowly, but we are getting there ;)

Beta: My darling @deanssweetheart23

With your back to the damp wall, you stared at the mouldy ceiling. Sick green patches had bloomed all over it, giving the appearance of an ugly, mossy carpet. A guard had thrown two blankets over your body. Amazing the difference that warmth could make to the mind’s functioning. 

Thirteen men so far. 

The pins had been removed from your heels, and now littered on the cell’s floor.  Using the sharp point of one you made thirteen lines on the wall, then a fourteenth one. The guard from the first night should also count. But so should Nick, then.

Rage, the sort that could scorch the earth whole erupted inside you. A few days was all it took for the shock to turn into horror, then grief and finally rage. That monster was the reason Danny and Jamie were being held hostage. But they were safe. You had gathered your marbles and spent every minute since your recapture vigorously trying to understand the extent of your situation to the last detail. First: You were a commodity, with investment already put in place. If you behaved as instructed, you could avoid the worst of bodily harm, at least, from the captors’ side. The boss– a shudder ran through your body, in cold fear– wouldn’t let his men touch you… only the clients and him. The first assault from a guard was a one-time thing and would never be repeated, now that you knew all the rules. So, as an investment, you would be taken care of. Physical injuries would obviously reduce the value of the goods. 

Second: The kids were safe for now. The business didn’t deal with murdering children for fun, they were only a security and not a purposeful target. No one would ever go out of their way to hurt them. As long as you followed instructions, they would be untouched and well-educated. 

Third: You could manage and escape, but you wouldn’t even try now and everyone knew that. They managed high-end clientele and you were specifically chosen for being well-educated, where you could entertain body and mind. 

A possibility emerged from all the analysis. If you managed to stay alive for a few decades here, they wouldn’t want anything to do with a wrinkled woman. Then, instead of killing you, they might turn you onto the streets. 

A rattling cough sounded from the adjoining cell. In the afternoon, when they’d taken you upstairs for the man in the hideous purple suit, the cell had been empty. Noises could only mean one thing– you weren’t the newest piece for sale anymore. 

Gripping the bars, you hoisted yourself up, still in pain, and banged on the wall. No one was on duty in the passageways at that time. The girl must have mirrored you, for you could see the tips of her fingers if you craned your neck.

“Don’t resist,” you whispered. “They’ll get you one way or another. It’s no use.”

She spat. “You can give up. But I won’t. I’ll find a way of getting out of here.”

You didn’t mind her derision. Rather, a sadness gripped your heart at her confidence, at the fight she harboured. You were just the same once.

Sliding back, you bit back a shriek of pain. Everything hurt and you didn’t know if you would be ready to deal with more by tomorrow.

“Where… where are we?” She asked, voice shaky. “Which way is the exit?”

“We’re in Texas, near the border to New Mexico. This is the second basement and the exit is on the third right by the parallel passageway. Two guards are always stationed there. If you get past it, you’ll exit on a mile-long driveway and about two miles to the east of its end, you’ll find a bus stop.”

A sharp intake of breath.

“I managed to escape once,” you told her. “Almost made it into the bus, too.”

“So, there is a way out?”

You didn’t want to repeat words of hopelessness to her. In her own time, she would know how impossible it was.

Michael came rattling the bars and you pressed up against the wall, scared of the smirk on his face. But he stopped before your cell, in front of hers. 

“C’mon, Darling, it’s showtime,” he sneered. She must have spat in his face because the next minute you heard the clanging of the door being opened and then a slap, followed by a crash. 

“You better watch it, bitch!” 

“My boyfriend will rip you to pieces!” She screamed.

“Oh, really?” Another slap.

A sob broke free of your lips. That poor girl had also trusted a man and ended up here. You knew the drill, the water hoses, followed by nights of torment where she would worry sick about the guy before they would drop the truth on her of who really sold her.

“T-Take me!” The words left your lips, and then you couldn’t take them back. “Leave her. I’ll go again tonight.”

“My… my… how touching,,.” Michael came around to your cell. “Such a princess move! You know I’m not picky. If you want to get some more tonight, be my guest.” He opened your door and yanked you out. Slowly, you moved past her and registered nothing but her big brown eyes, before Michael poked you in the back. “After you, your royal highness.”

*****

“Would you like honey in your coffee, Miss?”

You craned your neck up to squint at her. “Honey? In coffee?”

“Yes,” said Abby. “Mr. Winchester has been taking it in his and it seems to have made all the difference.”

“Abby, the only thing that could make any difference to his coffee is throwing that whole jar away.”

She giggled quietly and added a single sugar cube to yours. You registered her mild tone. There seemed to have been a colossal shift in her attitude towards Sam. You wouldn’t be the one to complain, but regretted having missed the phenomenon.

“Mrs Winchester!” Sarah, the other maid on Wednesday’s wait staff barged into the room. “Ma’am, you need to come down, people have come asking for Mr Winchester.”

Sharing a confused look with Abby, you followed Sarah downstairs and then steeled yourself to find most of the board in the dining room, seated at the table.

“Mr Singer, it's wonderful to see you here,” you greeted Bobby and then the other members, most of whom were Sam’s cousins. “Sam isn’t home at the moment. What can I help you with?”

Sam hadn’t been home for a while now, away on business as he was.

“You can’t help here,” said Christian, but he didn’t appear surprised in the least to not find Sam at home. “It’s a board matter.”

None of the Campbells had ever spoken to you directly. Not Christian or even Gwen, but she was glaring at you now.

“Why, I think I deserve to know.”

“If you insist then,” he said, tilting his head. “The board has decided by a majority to remove Sam Winchester as the CEO. Considering the share of all present parties, the majority percentage agrees to instant dismissal.”

Your heart started pumping faster in your chest, but you managed to murmur, “How does that work?”

Christian seemed to be the spokesperson here. “Removing Sam’s forty per cent leaves sixty per cent. Bobby here refuses to agree–” a sneer in his direction– “ That leaves a majority of the shares with us! Is it simple enough for you, Y/N?”

You jerked at being called by your name by anyone other than Sam. However, you held your ground. “Doesn’t leave sixty per cent.”

“Excuse me?” Gwen stepped up.

“I said, removing Sam’s share, doesn’t leave sixty per cent. It leaves eighty. A week ago he transferred half of his shares to mine.”

A rumble ran through the assembled men. Apparently, the share transfer hadn’t been put up on a bulletin board. 

“That’s still what? Twenty to–”

“Twenty-five,” grumbled Bobby. “Don’t go forgetting this old man, Campbell.”

Christian was losing it now. “Fine, big deal. It’s still twenty-five to thirty-five. About time that Sam and his new bride packed up and left.” 

At your startled look, Gwen grinned. “Didn’t you know, Darlin’? The mansion’s run by a trust, no majority, no house.”

You looked about yourself, missing Sam in your bones. Insanely, while sitting at the dining table, of all people you thought of Han. The snapping, the hostile looks in everyone’s eyes reminded you of his words: “Lady, if you run into the wolves, I’ll be afraid for them.” You wanted to be that brave girl now, the one unafraid of wolves. And just like that you were homesick for him. He’d promised to come when you needed help, needed him– lamp or no lamp.

And here you were about to be thrown out when Sam wasn’t even home.

The doors of the dining hall were thrown open and you jerked up in your seat. As if in a fever dream you saw Han saunter into the living room, boots, leather jacket, muddy jeans and all, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

As he passed by your chair, he lightly ruffled the top of your hair briefly, then pulled the chair beside yours and fell on it. “Hey, Chewie!” He grinned, completely disregarding that every chair apart from his and yours had scraped and now everyone else was on their feet, emotions ranging from shock to being thunderstruck. He put his muddy boots up on the table over crossed ankles. The soles directly faced Christian.

You made a move to get up as well, but he placed a hand on yours to hold you there. You couldn’t help but gauge everyone’s reaction. Out by the brook, on your pier, holding Han’s hand would be the most natural thing in the world, but not only did he seem completely out of place here amidst these men in suits, but he also didn’t seem to care… at all. And you didn’t know if you did, as Mark Campbell’s eyes moved from Han’s face to his hand on yours. Be that as it may, you were still magnanimously glad that he was here for you.

“So, Christian, I heard you were harassing this young lady?” Said Han, eyes sharp. “Old habits die hard, huh?”

A slight panic started to rise in your throat. You didn’t want any of these people to be disrespectful to your friend, be horrible to him, because they were perfectly capable of it. 

“Ha–” you started, but he tightened the grip on your hand, and you understood his signal to be quiet.

No one had found their voices yet and were still gawking at Han as if he were some extra-terrestrial being.

In the end, Bobby cleared his throat and put a hand on your friend’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you, son.” 

Han turned his face to meet Bobby’s gaze and you couldn’t see the expression on it anymore, but Bobby’s eyes became tender and he let go. When Han faced Christian again, the steel was back in his voice. “ Explain the math to me again, will you?”

“Y-you can’t just come back again and… and…”

“And what? Explain it like a five-year-old to you?” Han smirked. “Did you leave all of my twenty per cent out? Guess it doesn’t take the MBA that you don’t have to figure out forty-five is a bigger number than thirty-five, huh?”

“You, son of a bitch,” hissed Christian, putting his palms on the table. “You think you can disappear to God knows where and then turn up now to–”

For the second time, the door to the dining room opened and Sam stumbled in. At first, his gaze fell on the assembly as a whole, then he did a double take at Han, eyes going wide and wider by the second, until they dropped to your entwined hands and back up again, at your face first and back to the man next to you. You saw him rock a little on his feet and then go very still.

You yanked your hand back, but you needn’t have because Han let go, too, and got to his feet. You fully appreciated how tall he was, also. It seemed like an eternity passed between them as they stood staring at one another and slowly, very slowly the situation truly sank in your comprehension. 

Castiel followed after Sam and froze, too, then exclaimed, “Dean!”

With shaky feet, you stood up, realising how wrongly you had interpreted the entire situation. The board members weren’t shocked at the appearance of an alien person in their midst. Rather they were incensed at the entry of the strongest contender in the game save for Sam himself.

This man was Dean. Your Han was Dean Winchester.

“Cas,” Bobby warned, and Castiel schooled his expression. “Move along then, people,” Bobby raised his voice. “I believe the matter is settled. Let the family have some privacy.” But the men didn’t seem to want to move, as if they were also caught in the power of the unbroken gaze, expecting a shouting match… eager for it. And maybe they weren’t far off, because you knew Sam’s clenched jaw and Dean’s steely eyes. 

“Move now!” Bobby snapped and slowly the board filed out of the room. Cas, the last to leave, closed the door behind him with a look of apprehension.

Your breath caught.

Time unfroze then.

Suddenly, Sam crossed the room and closed the distance in between to engulf his brother in a tight hug. Dean hugged him back fiercely, eyes an ocean of emotions– pain, longing, love. And Sam? You had seen him stressed, worried, even vulnerable… but never like this, never seen him close his eyes so tight and simply let go. The weight he seemed to carry on his shoulders all the time, seemed to evaporate in a second and you could see in him the man who was only twenty-nine, without the responsibility of the world to pull him down.

They broke apart, eyes still roving each other's faces for a minute, before Sam turned to you, grinning. “Dean,” he said, voice lighter than a breeze, “This is Y/N. And Y/N, this… this is my brother, Dean.”

He took a step in your direction, but you moved back, flattening yourself against the wall. “Don’t… don’t come close to me.”

“Y/N?”

Sam’s brow furrowed. 

You inched further away, pointing a finger at him. “You got me good, Sam. You got me real good. You and your brother. Did you plan every second of it? And for how long? For two years, is it? For two years you’ve made a fool of the whole world… no bigger fool than me, though. Brilliantly executed good cop- bad cop routine.”

You felt disgusted at yourself for falling for the manipulation. Had anything been real at all? 

“You wouldn’t even look at me in the beginning. In… In the chapel, you wouldn’t even turn your head in my direction, as if I was something disgusting stuck to your shoe, and you treated me like an invisible ghost in your house. And then you graced me with your attention, your care, your… your…” You broke down crying. “All to get me talking. I know that now. I’m not stupid.”

Knees bucking, you fell to the ground, unable to stop the pitiful crying. 

Both brothers moved, but Dean was quicker to get on his knees.

“Chewie–”

“Don’t you fucking call me that,” you screamed. “I trusted you. I thought you were my friend.”

Over you, Sam started, worried eyes shifting between you and his brother in confusion.

“You’re an asshole,” you pointed at the man before you and then above. “You, too, Sam. You violated my trust. What you did is no better than any of those hundred men.”

Sam flinched. You might have slapped him.

Shakily, you got to your feet. “I’ll never forgive you.” 

The run up the stairs and straight into your room ended when you threw yourself onto the bed. The silk hangings mocked you. You had been blinded by the false promises and reassurances, but you were still nothing more than a piece for sale, to be used… had never been anything more.

Slowly the past few months started to feel like a dream… one that had always felt too good to be true because it was.

The girl in the next cell jumped up from the floor as you were nearly dragged back to the basement that night, having completely lost the will and ability to walk. You heard the clatter of steel bowl as she rushed, but couldn’t find the energy to meet her gaze. Then it was too late as the door to your cell opened and you were unceremoniously flung inside. The birds outside were just starting to twitter, signaling the early hours of morning, little rodents scurrying to get back into their holes now that the night had ended. How you wanted to crawl in a hole, too, and just… die.

“Why did you do that?” She asked, voice strangled.

You didn’t have an answer for her. Getting slapped six times was nearly the same as getting slapped five times, right? Tonight, you were beaten anyway and she wasn’t. You understood the difference.

“Thank you.” Her voice held all the gratitude.

With the last vestiges of strength, you dragged yourself up onto the cot and pulled the two blankets over your body. “It’s alright.” Maybe she heard the whisper. Maybe she didn’t.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m gonna get us out of here. Get you out, if it’s the last thing I do.”

She was brave that one. You wanted to tell her to hold on to that spirit because men knew nothing but to hammer against it. Men knew nothing but to take advantage of women, but you were too tired to open your mouth.

Maybe having her in the next cell, you might not feel so lonely anymore, you thought as your eyes closed.

The banging woke you up. Sam was hammering on the connecting door of your room. Pulling your hands up, you shut your ears tightly until the banging stopped. Sam didn’t rest, as the desperate banging gave way to structured knocks.

L-E-T  M-E  A-T-L-E-A-S-T  E-X-P-L-A-I-N

P-L-E-A-S-E

Y-N

One last loud bang against the door, as if he had banged his fists against it in frustration.

You must have fallen asleep or were nearly under when softer knocks sounded right over your headboard on the wall:

I-M  S-O-R-R-Y

But you didn’t have it in you now. All along you had been right: Men knew nothing but to take advantage of women.

*****************************

A/N 2: I am struggling to write. Encouragement is the only thing keeping me going at this point. Please chat me up/ message me/ share your thoughts on this chapter!

Please do let me know if you liked this part. Reblogs and comments are what keep me going!

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@cosicas-cuquis @daughterleftbehind @maliburenee @spn730015@aeo10fan @stoneyggirl @houseforwhores @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @linki-locks11 @cookiechipdough @impalaimagining @gabavaldman @multifandom-slxt @chalicia @mrswhozeewhatsis @mackiemcb @qveenmikaelson @lightchesters @deanwanddamons @mlovesstories @sams-bubblegum-bitch @chinosherlock @hoboal87 @sandlee44 @mariaenchanted @little-x-wolf @theanniewisegirl @supraveng @i-is-for-inspiring @fandom-princess-forevermore @sammedeansandwhich @trexrambling @strawberryycoww @joseyrw @lacilou @giggles1029 @perpetuallyoverwhelmed @borhapparker @wafflezo @sammysgirl@goodbyemilkyway @winnifredburkleismyhero @impalaspixie @edwardsfangirl1712 @fandomoniumflurry @pbandjellly @sammysgirl1997 @aloneatpeace @spnexploration @sojuxxi @vickyfarley @esoltis280 @mayafatimakhan

[new-revenant]

Amusement park au

Danny hires several goons to work at his amusement park, several become park security, a few are life guards in the water park area, they already had several part timers but full timers are nice to have, a few handle food and other supply shipments, there are several that handle the behind the scenes stuff and a few that walk around as park mascots. Most of his human part timers are at risk teens and young adults. Danny makes sure that the humans working for him make above minimum wage and have full health benefits including dental

Yes yes yes! Reminds me of when Batman would offer job opportunities at Wayne Enterprises(is that the right name?) for criminals. Just because they just took the wrong path in life, doesn’t mean that they’re hopeless. Idk, when you said goons I pictured former criminals who worked for like the Joker or something. I know in my heart that Bruce would invest in the park, maybe even help find new former goons as Batman and guide them into working for the park. Anything to save a life, ya know?

[tomboy014]

Dun Dun Dunnn!!! Arkham Security Guard Danny's Epic Backstory! with Dick Grayson

I fell in love with the Arkham Guard AU by @xy-is-i and like most projects I work on, rather than starting where the story starts, I end up going backwards and delve into the backstory.  And I mean waaay into the backstory.

Because while the stories might start when the Bats run into Danny and Jazz working at Arkham Asylum isn’t where they first met.

Long, long ago, through shenanigans unknown, Robin and Phantom became friends, and honestly, they both really needed it. 

Dick Grayson, age 16, has been Robin for a while, but this is so early in the day that there just aren’t many teen heroes or sidekicks yet.  He’s basically pioneering the field of child heroes.

For Danny, 14, Sam and Tucker are great, but there are just some parts of superhero-ing that they just don’t get when you don’t have to hide a secret identity. 

Batman, for his part, does not approve of the friendship.  He’s already not a fan of metas in his city, but when the two of them get together, the chaos twin energy between Dick and Danny multiplies.  Worse, it brings about the pun-pocalypse, and there are only so many puns Bruce can take.  And then there’s the sibling discourse…

After all the stories Danny has told about his family, Dick is desperate to have a little sibling of his own, and the two repeatedly gang up on Batman to adopt another kid.  Their acting may be stilted, but the efforts are constant.

It never works.  Bruce doesn’t have empty nest syndrome yet, and tiny, homicidal Dick was already more than he could handle while he was trying to figure out how to adult, but he also can’t stand that he’s disappointing Dick.  Alfred isn’t helping either; he wants more grandkids.

And there’s no way in HELL that he’s adopting Phantom.

But for Robin and Phantom, they finally have someone they can talk to who gets it.  They can vent about their rogues, get help with homework, bitch about balancing their vigilantism with going to school, talk about whatever TV they’ve been watching, anything and everything.  It’s not uncommon to see them hanging off the Gotham gargoyles or grabbing a bite on top of the Nasty Burger.

There’s an unspoken rule between them that neither pries into the other’s personal life or secret identity, but as they get more comfortable with each other, little things slip out.  Then more.  Numbers are swapped, bits and pieces about their families come out. 

Later on, homes and secret hideouts are visited and they know each other’s first names.  It’s not a problem for Dick to go to the Fenton’s, but technically, Danny isn’t allowed in the Bat Cave or the Manor.  Those visits happen behind Batman’s back, and they were almost caught when they hid in the chandelier before Danny remembered he could turn them invisible. (Alfred encourages the friendship and bakes extra cookies once when he finds out Danny is over.) 

And eventually the relationship grows until they’re comfortable enough to swap full names.  No more secrets.

Dick likes going over to Danny’s place since it’s a chance to feel a lot more normal, even if they have to be very careful and either stay in civilian clothes in the shared areas or stay locked in Danny’s room if they’re in uniform.  Danny also goes out of his way to keep Dick from ever meeting his sister, Jazz (Danny knows he has a type).  It doesn’t stop them from swapping their numbers under the door.  (Jazz will unofficially be Dick’s therapist for years after this)

But being this close, Dick can also see just how stressed Danny is trying to maintain this lifestyle.  Doesn’t help either he has to listen to Danny’s parents go on and on about wanting to rip their own son apart, molecule by molecule.  Sure, Danny has a couple friends to help him, but he doesn’t have the same mentor or support system Dick has.  For a kid his age to be anything other than a sidekick is practically unheard of in this day and age.  Superheroes are still fairly few and far between, but Batman helped start a group called the Justice League a couple years ago with the idea that heroes could help each other.  Maybe there’s something there…

So, Dick starts the Teen Titan.  He had originally intended for Danny to join him as one of the founding members, but are you kidding?  Jump City is on the opposite side of the country!  He has school! and parents! (That’s the point, Danny. We’re trying to get you away from the parents that want to dissect you) He can’t just up and leave home and run halfway across the country!

So, Dick found the other iconic members and still joined the Titans, but Danny will always have an open invitation to join them and a room at the Tower, something Danny does occasionally take advantage of.  Jump City doesn’t spawn as many natural portals as Gotham, but he visits whenever he can and basically haunts the tower the entire month of December to get away from his family.

Still, the distance and growing up are hard on Dick and Danny, and they grow more distant over the years, but they’ll always have each other’s backs in an emergency.  Dick was there when Danny thought he was turning into a monster (it was just ghost puberty).  Danny stole the Spectre Speeder so they could scour the Ghost Zone after Jason died.  And Danny would eventually become godfather to Dick’s daughter, Mar’i. 

But things cooled down between them… at least until a panicked Danny called because his sister just took a job at Arkham…

Next>>

[sswirlingstars]

A lil rambling about the zombie Au i have decided to call Project Insight

The idea is Jon was a researcher at the Magnus Institute which in this universe is a Medical Institute and he was randomly promoted to be Elias's personal assistant and of course that goes really bad for him

Tim and sasha stay researchers until the virus breaks out when they go on the run together

Jon technically starts the apocalypse when he was trying to excape the personal labs Elise set up and bit a security guard. He didnt mean too it was simply him lashing out bc he was scared. (It might be danny? Idk yet)

Martin has nothing to do with the magnus institute and is a simple Librarian. He takes care of his mother in the small flat her rents and after things go bad gets traps by a zombie just outside his door for weeks until it slips in and gets his mother. And he has to take down both before his is bittin and accepts his fate. One that never comes bc he is immune.

Then uuuuuuuh jmart lol

A lot of this is still pretty subject to change but rn i think its fun

[stealingyourbones]

DPXDC Prompt Masterlist #1051-1100

1051. Soul Scars!AU 1052. Affectionate BITES! 1053. Space Orcs 1054. GZ Traversing like The Jaunt 1055. How can Danny fight Supes 1056. Danny is Constantine's Soul Child 1057. Soul Scars!AU 2 1058. DP x Static Shock Collab 1059. Jason is Ghost Writer's Pupil 1060. Possessed Scarface 1061. Lawyer Paulina 1062. S!Prime vs Danny 1063. Open Mic 1064. 7 Evil Ghosts 1065. Danny Possesses Red Tornado 1066. Vigilante! Sam AND Bruce 1067. Dash is Batman's Mechanic 1068. Silver St. Cloud meets Dani 1069. Ominous Ass Danny 1070. Schrodingers!Danny (Riddler fic) 1071. Lois saved by Dani 1072. Clockwork favors Tim 1073. Hal falls into GZ 1074. Danny Drops Items into DC 1075. Security Guard!Dan 1076. Danny meets OG Supersons 1077. Mid 30s Danny 1078. Jason meets homeless Demon Twins Danny 1079. Lois finds GIW Tortured Danny 1080. Jason is AU Danny but BIG 1081. Danny corrupts Security Cameras in Damian's School 1082. Amorpho meets The Question 1083. Danny meets Danny the Street 1084. "Pissing all by yourself handsome?" 1085. Jason's Soul is Shattered 1086. Literal Soulmates 1087. Waking up to the Love of your Life 1088. Danny Reads DC Comics at The Watchtower 1089. Souls are Wings Wingfic 1090. Souls are Wings/Windows to the Soul 1091. LexCorp's Freelancer: Dan Masters 1092. Professor Pyg in Amity 1093. Low Powered Danny in Smallville 1094. Dani Adopted by Shazam!Family 1095. Ass Slap = Broken Hand 1096. Hostage Danny 1097. Villain Danny Full Death AU 1098. Superman is Jewish Rage 1099. "Call for Danny" 1100. Goon POV Cryptid Phantom

[genko-yoru]

~ Day 28 - Favorite AU ~

(Doing a Fanfic as I've been too sick to draw lately)

I don't have one favourite. I'm a sucker for Vlad Redemption AU. (I blame Checkmate). I also love Darker AUs in general.

I recalled an old Fanfic which had a interesting take on both AUs. I think it was about Danny becoming a half ghost at the age of 5, and was captured/given to the GIW? While Vlad had a vendetta against them and plots revenge. I remember it stopping right at the moment Vlad breaks him out. But sadly, it never continued, and the Fic has since been deleted.

So, super loosely inspired by that, I decided to write a… Err, short- probably-turn-into-longfic-later story. Where Vlad places himself closer to the GIW by buying out a partnered company, Axion Labs; and learns the GIW somehow got themselves a half ghost. Obviously, Vlad sees opportunity for an indebted ally. While at the same time unnerved someone at the GIW is getting suspicious of Vlad's own portal accident history.

If you don't want to read it here, I'll post it on A03 here.

~

~How To Be Dead~

Words: 6,309

"Thirty-four million!"

Vlad glanced over at the caller, dully wondering what on earth a computer company would want a ghost for?

The Guys in White's annual asset auction was reaching its crescendo, moving from mundane technologies to far more valuable items. What the world's richest and most powerful were waiting for. It was a critical event. From leaders to big corporations, to everything shady in between. For companies across the globe to get their hands on the latest in ectoplasmic advancements. The new field was too enticing to pass.

Vlad loosely crossed his arms, watching the item in question: a hulking ghost trapped inside a large cube-shaped ecto-container.

As the newly appointed CEO of Axion Labs, Vlad had been obligated to attend this highly exclusive—and deeply secretive—event. It was, after all, the reason he'd bought the security tech company in the first place.

He wasn't here for business- though he'd bought a few technological pieces earlier to play the part. Couldn't let himself look too out of place. No, he was nothing like these imbeciles. This was all recon.

Vlad knew it would be foolish to try weaseling his way into the GIW's operations itself. Especially due to his... condition. So, better to own their biggest supplier instead. Control a partner who could destroy their field operations in a heartbeat if Vlad wanted. And now, here he was: seated near the front, watching them parade their "assets" around like prize livestock.

If the GIW ever posed a threat to him? Well… Vlad could always regretfully delay a few critical shipments.

"What do you think, Mr. Masters? Could it be useful?"

Vlad looked toward Damon Gray seated beside him. As a senior Axion employee and head of the R&D division, Gray had been advising him on lab operations for the last two months. He'd been to these auctions before, closer to the GIW than first assumed.

While Vlad tolerated the man, it was only because Gray proved a useful repository of information about how much the GIW really knew of the Ghost Zone.

"Axion has enough guard dogs already. A ghostly one would be far more trouble than it's worth."

And that was what the ghost was. A hulking bulldog with oversized jowls and exposed fangs. But like all the spooks the GIW displayed, it was a weak animal-type ghost. Barely worth the pity.

Gray nodded, and they turned their attention back to the stage as another voice called out.

"Thirty-five!"

"We have thirty-five! Shall we go higher for this fine specimen?"

Onstage stood the GIW's second-in-command, Dr. Omega. While Alpha handled most of the operation's bulk, Omega was the bones. Head of the science division and lead researcher- and by all accounts, the real brain of the outfit.

Dressed in the usual pristine white uniform suit, his straw-blonde hair was slicked back without a strand out of place. Immaculate, as all the GIW prided themselves on being.

He basked in the limelight. Guiding the night with the energy of a ringleader. And the elite spectators in the room gawked at him like children at a carnival.

Vlad had dug up what he could on the man. And he hadn't liked any of it.

"Once, twice… and we have a deal! Number forty six, congratulations. We'll throw in its favorite squeaky toy—wouldn't want your accountant to be the next chew target!"

A chorus of laughter rippled across the room. Vlad rolled his eyes. Idiots.

The ghost was sucked back into a containment unit, hauled backstage for whatever paper and processing was next. No doubt its new owner would suffer an fatal attack within the week, and the spook would end up imprisoned again—ready for a new buffoon next year.

These people believed they held immense power, with their money, politics, and polished boots. Thought if they commanded beings of immense strength, they themselves were unstoppable.

Vlad looked around and felt suddenly like a Sabretooth tiger surrounded by a flock of doe-eyed sheep.

Still… perhaps he should buy a few ghosts tonight, Vlad thought with a smirk. Just to release them into the GIW's lobby. Wouldn't that be fun? Watching them panic and run from the things they thought they controlled?

Sadly, they'd trace it back to him in a heartbeat.

However, this time no new cylinder container was brought out. The cube was dimming as it was powered down. Vlad was surprised to find his interest piqued. There was still one hour to go. An intermission?

Doctor Omega's smile grew larger, all pristine white teeth. "Now, tonight, the GIW has a wonderful surprise for you all. We all know of the glowing green ghosts who plague our world. But what if there was a ghost you couldn't spot? Hidden in plain sight among us. Perhaps... there's one sitting next to you right now!"

Vlad's fingers tightened on his forearm. It was bad enough watching them auction off ghosts for other companies like cattle. But this topic had him off guard. Especially when others glanced around, laughing at the obviously ridiculous concept.

Dr. Omega paused for effect, hand rising. "It is why, my dear guests, the GIW is proud to reveal its most promising project yet. We believed to have discovered a unique spook. One, I can imagine, you will find most fascinating."

With a nod, Dr. Omega gestured to someone off the stage. There was a rumbling murmur from the front row as two agents tugged the next poor specimen onto the stage.

But it was quite a shock seeing what looked like a normal teenage boy being dragged out by two heavy chains. A thin, scrawny-looking boy at that.

A ripple of unease passed through the crowd, Mr. Gray leaning over to Vlad. "Is this a sick joke?"

Vlad, however, didn't reply. He'd gone rigid.

There was no way...

On the stage, the teenage boy watched the audience with frantic, sky-blue eyes under long straggly strands. He was clearly uncomfortable with the attention. Quickly flickering his gaze over the crowd, staring at him.

Their hands were bound in thick, anti-ecto cuffs. Locked in right to the elbows. Abnormally thin frame was covered in plain white clothing hanging loose around the neck. One agent tugged one chain link connected to a silver collar around said neck. And the boy cringed, nose creasing.

"Now, I ask before you all outcry for us to be shut down, hold on to that judgement!" Dr. Omega laughed, turning to the boy. "This here might look like an innocent, normal boy. A meek, helpless child. But I assure you, it is far from normal. I'd like to proudly introduce you all, dear audience, to the GIW's greatest asset: Phantom."

Another ripple ran through the room. Vlad realized he'd stopped breathing. An odd exhilaration building in his chest.

"Phantom is the most incredible discovery of modern spectral history; a ghost who is almost undetectable to any tracker. Who can potentially blend into our everyday society without discovery? One of the strongest ghosts we have ever obtained. Who has even mastered creating a heartbeat, can even pretend to breathe!"

The doctor wagged his finger at the crowd, face mocking disappointment. "I heard your shock and pity at the sight of the asset. Well, I'm afraid to say you've all fallen for its master disguise!"

Dr. Omega strolled over to the boy, playful performance dropping. The boy, this Phantom, locked onto the Doctor with an intense glare. The other agents parted in opposite ways, pulling the chainlinks tight as if to warn him not to try anything.

Straightening his back, Omega spoke sharply. As if commanding a dog. "Phantom! Transform!"

The boy flinched, before a pair of white rings summoned around his waist.

There was a collective gasp as the boy was replaced with a white-haired ghost. Unlike the other demonic spooks, it had an uncanny human appearance. Except for the burning emerald stare and glow, one could take it as living.

An excited chatter at this new discovery washed through the crowd, gleeful.

Vlad was flabbergasted.

Knew his jaw had slackened. He stared... and stared. Couldn't believe what he'd seen. Rings. Bands of power, just like his own. The ghost form thrumming with power even with the suppressants. Even at this distance, Vlad could feel the power, the hum of a ghost quite like Plasmius. While far weaker, Vlad's own ectoplasmic blood burned, knowing another was close.

A hybrid… A half ghost, just like him.

How the hell did the bloody, incompetent GIW capture themselves a half ghost!?

Mr. Gray nudged him. "Incredible! Would you look at that, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad swallowed down a sudden burst of unexpected, uncharacteristic rage. Pure rage. Enough, he was close to transforming himself, sending a wave of lightning to burn everyone in this room dead. None could leave alive. No one in this room must be left to speak of the existence of half ghosts. To make sure none could make his own powers a potential reality.

Only Vlad didn't do it knowing it was the dumbest, rashest thing to do.

Somehow, learning of another Halfa had rattled Vlad's usual perfect visage It was odd... A wave of emotions. Shock, giddy excitement, nervous of the implications... and terror. Watching the hybrid wince at the crowd's clapping, eyeing the agents holding his bounds. They, in return, tighten the hold.

It was like looking into a mirror of Plasmius's own fate if his secret was exposed.

Dr. Omega clapped his hands once, drawing attention back. "Phantom here is a rare ghost- some even believe it might be a new species of parasitical spook. Ten years ago he was donated to us, at about... Hm... This height?" The man hovered his hand closer to the ground, about where Phantom's knee was.

Vlad bizarrely feared he was about to be sick then. Never had he been affected this badly by an event. Not since he first transformed. These ghost hunters could have learned everything about half ghosts. Everything. Destroyed his hidden affliction and risk exposure. Ten years... If he's a teenager now, then...

"Phantom's currently possessed the corpse of a young boy. Yet... unlike a normal overshadow, the ghost cannot be exorcised. It had fused with the host, fully. An almost physical binding. To the point it mimics growth… Just like a normal human child."

The doctor stepped around the stage, never quite turning his back on the ghost. The whole time Phantom had his eyes locked on him. Watching every movement, every shift in Omega's pose like a cat watching a bird.

Vlad knew then there was a hatred there. Bitter history... But also fear. Watching his hands like he was waiting for a blow.

"Phantom was merely a level three spook when it first arrived with us. But now... it is a seven. Not just its host grows, but its power. An unheard of skill in any specimen we've collected. A ghost with an unlimited potential. Imagine, my friends? A spook who never stops growing? Unstoppable to even against other monsters of the dead. Who could grow to a level never seen in our recorded history-"

Suddenly, one of the crowd members stood and everyone twisted to see. Vlad didn't look, but dully realized the voice beyond to a rich european mineral tycoon he'd dealt with a few years back. Could hear the swish of the number fan cut through the air.. "One billion!"

While the crowd buzzed, Dr. Omega laughed. "I'm honored, sir! Truly. Alas, Phantom is not for sale tonight."

The whole time Vlad didn't look away from Phantom. The kid had whipped up to the caller. And even he could feel a tiny bit of pity seeing the fear cross his face. Posture lowering into a slump as if to make himself as small and insignificant as possible.

So, there was still a mind inside. A perceptive mind wanting not to draw attention.

Despite whatever torture he'd endured, the GIW had obviously failed to destroy all of his humanity yet.

The tycoon waved the number again. "This is an auction, isn't it? One and a half billion!"

"I'm afraid Phantom isn't ready for such an offer. See..." Dr. Omega smirked, stepping next to the hybrid. A fake, affectionate pat on the top of his head made the boy twitch. "There are a few behavioral issues we still need to iron out. You could say it's entered its teenage-rebellion stage."

There was a light chuckle at the joke- and Vlad was bewildered to find a smirk tug at his lips, spotting Phantom scowl furiously at the agent's back. Almost death-glare level.

It seemed like Plasmius, the boy had a temper!

Dr. Omega gestured to the two agents, who began tugging Phantom off the stage. He resisted a little, but surrendered to being guided away. Vlad found himself leaning forward in his seat, as if to catch sight of him before he left the stage-

And froze, spotting Dr. Omega staring right at him. No mistake, he was singling Vlad out.

Vlad instantly pretended to stretch his neck, yawning. Relieved yet unnerved to see the man had returned to the crowd.

Surely, he was overthinking things? How could he know?

There was obvious disappointment in the group of clients, though. But Omega hushed them. "Tonight's reveal was the show you how your loyal donations are working on far greater projects. However, for your safety we cannot have Phantom demonstrate tonight. Understandably, a cunning creature like it might pose a risk. I assure you, once ready, you'll be seeing much more of our asset... Now, let's move to our next actual sellable item: a slippery ghost we obtained in the far sands of Egypt..."

"Mr. Masters?"

Vlad forced himself not to cringe, turning to the last voice he wanted to hear.

The rest of the auction had thankfully ended with less world-shattering reveals. Vlad was hoping for a quick exit to process the information bomb that had torn his life apart. Needed to debate what to do with this development. How to use it.

Yet he and Mr. Gray had barely left the hall when none other than the devil himself appeared.

Dr. Omega even had the gall to offer a hand. "It's wonderful to meet the new owner of Axion Labs. Congratulations are in order for your purchase."

Steeling his inner thoughts, Vlad placed a humorous smirk on his face. Taking the hand with a very firm grip. "Why, thank you, Doctor. I must say Axion Labs has certainly added some... potential innovations to my business portfolio."

Omega grinned, squeezing back equally hard. Damn snake.

"I do hope so, sir. The GIW and Axion Labs have been working together in common interest for some time. I hope our alliance can remain strong. It would benefit my ward and the field divisions greatly. I suggest that you speak to our CEO. Alpha would likely love to review our manufacturing deal to something more beneficial. "

"Hm, I'll have to make a meeting when I have time- you know, running multiple companies does tend to keep me very busy." Vlad remained calm, falling into the game he loved to play with these fools.

Knew this game was going to be the most impactful round yet. "I confess, I have never experienced such an exciting auction before. A riveting performance, Dr. Omega."

"Thank you. I do like to surprise." Dr. Omega let go of his hand, shaking Mr. Gray's offered one. "And Mr. Gray, pleasure to see you again. I take it you enjoyed our presentation tonight?"

"I certainly did!" Mr. Gray obviously wasn't reading the room. "I've been to a lot of these now, but this was by far the best! That Phantom one! What a twist!"

Omega's smile deepened- and Vlad found he did not like that smile. "Thank you, Damon. Phantom has been a passion project of mine... I'm quite proud of it."

He glanced at Vlad. A challenge? Or simply seeing Vlad's reaction?

It wasn't right letting this idiot play him. "I imagine you are. Such a fascinating ghost to have come into your possession, Doctor. I must say, I'm curious as to how you obtain such a creature?"

The smile turned into a prideful smirk. "It is quite the tale. Do you wish to learn more about my asset, Mr. Masters?"

Careful. He needed to watch his steps with this one. "Who wouldn't? I think half the room was about to start the greatest bidding war in history."

Omega laughed. "Yes! I did panic there. While the GIW could use the billions, Phantom will never be sold. I'm grown quite attached to the little devil." He paused, pivoting to Mr. Gray. "Damon, could you please excuse us? If it isn't too much, I'd rather speak of the asset to Mr. Masters in a more private space."

"Oh, of course, Doctor. I'll wait in the foyer, Mr. Masters."

Vlad hesitated. Allowing himself to go deeper into the belly of the enemy's den was not a smart idea. Not the plan he'd counted on. Especially since his allies were nowhere near. Yet Mr. Gray was already gone. And this was a perfect chance to learn more about this other hybrid.

Besides, refusing would look even more suspicious.

Omega took the lead, the opposite way to the other guests. They branched off into a simpler hallway, Omega guiding them to a large lift which must lead to the facility itself. Pressing down, they waited, Vlad deciding this was an excellent opportunity to fish for danger. "Do not take this the wrong way, Doctor. But I'm surprised you would discuss a classified project of the GIW with me so freely."

He glanced at Vlad. "Not at all. We need Axion Labs for weapons and equipment. And you benefit from our sales. I might be only a scientist, but I also understand the basics of business. I hope you seeing the future of ghost research will bring our relationship to greater heights."

"Ah... with this 'new' species of spook, Hm?"

The lift opened, Omega gesturing for him to enter first. "Phantom is the future, Mr. Masters. Its existence challenges everything we know."

Vlad felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Double Butter-biscuits.

They went down on a thankfully short decent. Before they could leave, Omega had to press his fingerprint into a panel. Vlad noted the code he used. Quickly had it memorized.

When the metal doors parted they entered a dim, narrow hallway. The lights were off, white metal walls humming with powerful shields. Vlad suppressed a shudder, Plasmius recoiling from the pressure. Every instinct screamed to run at the feeling of hundreds of very vengeful ghosts. But he'd practice this for years. Learned to remove such primitive emotions. Face a mask of calm curiosity.

Omega spoke again. "Tonight was a big step- one I've argued with Alpha for some time. Some in our organization don't agree to show the competition our projects. But we need to show those greedy businesses that we GIW have something which could threaten their attempts."

"Attempts? I don't follow?"

"To overthrow us. It's no secret other countries are rushing for the next super weapon. War will come. And whoever has the best offense will win. Ghosts are perfect for warfare. Why send an army when one undead creature will do the work? Their disposable far more than common soldiers, fewer casualties on our side. It's the future, and we need to show them we have the first advantage."

Vlad frowned, knowing what he meant. Ghosts were powerhouses; he could do some incredible damage himself. But the concept of humans trying to control them to fight their pointless wars was an insulting concept.

"I see... But I fail to see how your asset changes things-"

He paused hearing a faint bang down the hall. Muffled, but the setting made Vlad pick up on it. Omega sighed dramatically, pure show. "That; would be Phantom. This way, please."

Without another word he guided him further down the hall. And when they stopped, Vlad momentarily was lost in the sight. Almost dropped his guard.

They were before a window, wall to floor. Inside was a white room, no bigger than a small office cubicle. No furniture, no items, nothing interesting at all. Pure white to a sickly level, the lights themselves were made to stop a single shadow from casting.

And inside, Phantom was pacing.

Vlad was fascinated with the boy, who was back to his human side. He didn't have the heavy manacles anymore, yet his hands were still tied together with smaller cuffs. Silver collar glinting in the bright light. He was pacing furiously along the tiny space. A quick, round pace that demonstrated he was in acute distress. Unlike the stage, he was much more animated.

Obviously, this must be a one-way mirror, as Phantom made no sign he'd spotted their arrival.

"The truth is, the issue we have with Phantom is he's a wild card. Obedient when knowing there'll be severe punishment for acting out. But the asset is progressing backwards. Hence, why we can't have it demonstrate its powers to clients."

"Backwards..." Vlad whispered it- a tactical mistake, showing he was disturbed. Yet it wasn't commented on as they watched another swift circle of the half ghost.

"Yes. For the first seven years, Phantom was actually quite docile- a little troublesome from time to time. But submitted to commands perfectly thanks to our conditioning. Despite Phantom's unusual abilities, it responds to the same discipline techniques the other ghosts do. Then we had the accident."

Vlad tore his gaze away, watching Omega scowl. The word stirred his own memories of the proto-portal. "An accident, you say?"

"Alpha gave clearance for Phantom to join a hunting mission two years ago. Without my permission. I warned him Phantom wasn't ready for active field work. The second this creature got outside, it went berserk. Killed its handlers and escaped. Luckily, we reclaimed it before it caused havoc. But ever since this thing has misbehaved. Tries to escape the moment it senses a weakness. Back to square one."

It was taking a lot of Vlad's practiced control not to react. Omega was looking at him now. Watching him uncomfortably close. Damn. He had to play this smart. "How did you even obtain such a thing?"

Omega smiled, breaking the look to return to the room. Vlad did the same. "We received a call from a hospital in Amity Park about a five-year-old boy. One of our agents said he showed odd signs of overshadowing. An accident had happened at the parents' house, blasting the son with a mass of ectoplasm. And the hospital staff assumed the boy's corpse was possessed by the spook you see here."

He folded his arms. "I myself collected the asset. Once I saw it transform, I knew we had something special. Gave my condolences to the parents of their deceased son. Perhaps told a little white lie- they were deeply distraught. But I offered a monetary package and financial grants for their future endeavors as compensation."

Vlad felt his mouth go dry. Stared at the pacing Halfa. Like him... An accident... Ectoplasm blast.. A portal, likely.

This boy was a half ghost. Another one of his kind existed in the world. And unlike Vlad, who'd hidden his emerging powers, this one had been basically sold off to the GIW as a little child. The fate Vlad had actively worked tirelessly to avoid.

It was a conflicting thought. One, it was wise not to get involved. Poor other half ghost. Oh well! Better him than Plasmius in there. Yet... Vlad was unnerved the ghost hunters had access to information about something that shared his genetic makeup. If they somehow made weapons which could affect even a Halfa-

Suddenly, Phantom charged at the window.

Vlad actually stepped back, instincts to defend kicking in as he felt the one-way mirror vibrate. Phantom slammed into the glass, pressed aggressively onto it like he was trying to use his intangibility to pass through. And Vlad was rooted to the spot.

His eyes... filled with both wild madness and determination. Vlad had never seen such eyes. A fire, a will to live was roaring through them. Even though the half ghost couldn't see them, it was like he sensed them. Pupils wildly roamed to seek some kind of sign they were there.

The breath returned to Vlad's lungs shakily. Phantom knew this spot was a window. Was trying to shatter the weaker surface compared to the concert walls.

He was smart. Sharp. Knew when it was wise to remain submissive vs aggressive. To wait till he was less restrained to try. Filled with a desire to be free now, he'd briefly tasted it. With a rage that was determined not to give up. A fighter. An intense pressure, even Vlad- a powerful Halfa in his own right- was in wonder at the aura.

Of the ghosts that currently existed, Plasmius was by far one of the strongest. Feared of his dominate power and control of a vast lair. Respected in the Ghost Zone and its denizens. Yet, faced with those eyes, he was surprised to be awestruck.

Plasmius might be physically stronger and smarter than this kid. But Phantom's pure tenaciousness surpassed him tenfold.

"Quite the beast, isn't it?" Omega broke the spell Vlad was under. Glancing back at the agent to find him looking right at him.

A flicker of movement showed Phantom had pushed himself off the glass, stalking back to the center of the room. Though no sound came from the thick, proofed walls, Vlad could tell the Halfa was roaring in fury. Winced when Phantom looped back to place a well-rounded, actually quite impressive kick to the mental door. Yet it didn't budge, holding strong. Returning to his furious pacing.

"That reminds me, Mr. Masters..." Omega's voice was low, almost soft. Vlad tensed, not liking the tone. "After hearing of your takeover, I read up on you- for research, mind. And I came across a news article that perked my interest. Says you suffered from a horrible accident in your youth. Of a blotched ectoplasm experiment, if I remember correctly. Quite a funny coincidence, it is..."

The doctor peered up at Vlad, a smirk tugging his mouth. A burn of excitement filling his gaze. "That you suffered from an accident quite similar to my Phantom. One could say their almost identical in nature. Don't you find that fascinating, Masters?"

He could kill him. Strangle this meddler cold. Lash out and snap his neck. Break the window so the GIW would just think their precious asset killed their boss. Yes... It would be so easy to waste this stupid, pathetic worm-

Vlad laughed, rolled his eyes casually. "I try not to think about it at all, Doctor! I suffered anguish from the ecto-radiation. Almost died from a severe case of ecto-acne that crippled me for years! If I were possessed, I think my medical team would have alerted me a long time ago!"

To show his calm, Vlad cocked his head to the side. Smirking back. "Besides, Dr. Omega, I hate ghosts just as much as you do. Their power almost took my life. Could it be you dare insinuate I might be like this freak?"

"Not at all. I was just comparing how similar your cases were, that's all. It is impossible. If you were a monster, you couldn't survive this long undetected without triggering our defenses. Though... Phantom in his human body can shield his signature alarmingly well."

The smile the doctor sent was the fakest Vlad had seen. Blast!? He was thinking of the connections.

Once more, Phantom body-slammed into the one-way mirror. In fact, Vlad was shocked at the force the Halfa had thrown himself. Reckless to the point he'd caused damage to himself, nose instantly gushing in obvious red, living blood as it broke.

It was then Vlad saw the crack in his furious façade. Face slightly crumpling in despair, eyes glossing over. A wave of pity tugged at Vlad. A shared sympathy for this poor thing. Perhaps this first demonstration tonight had added a new fear level to the half ghost's sad existence.

Though Phantom recovered quickly from the emotion, back to fury. Pulled himself away from the glass, stepping into the center of the room. Rubbing the bridge of his nose without little outward signs he was in pain.

To Vlad's bafflement, the boy abruptly seemed to sneeze, the pristine-white floor now splattered with flecks of red.

When, oddly, he did it again, Dr. Omega growled. Scowling in disgust. "That little devil!? And after the warning, I don't tolerate mess too!"

Internally Vlad was laughing, now watching Phantom wipe his face. Defiantly stamping handprints on the walls. It was truly a morbid sight, but it was a courageous one, too. An act to lash out at his clean-freak captors. Regaining control in the empty space. A stark claim he wasn't broken yet. This Phantom sure was a feisty thing!

A half ghost like this... That courage could be quite useful.

Vlad regained control of the situation, glancing at his watch like this was all a boring affair. "As riveting as this conversation is, I'm afraid I must take my leave. Early start with finalizing the Axion Labs' renewal contracts. I'll contact your boss about working on a business deal. Hm… In light of this asset, I'll see if you can have some more funding. How does that sound?"

Dr. Omega jumped, flustered. Realizing he'd shown Vlad emotion he hadn't wished to display. Though the snake was quick to fix it, annoying smile back. "Sounds wonderful, we were hoping to invest in our shield technologies. Axion's shields are leaders in effectiveness. But with the asset's growth, it would be good to have defenses which work on both sides of the hybrid."

Vlad froze. Almost broke his mask. Saw Omega watching him closely. Instead, Vlad pretended to nod and smile at the deal. "Marvelous! I'm glad we seem to understand each other!"

Silence. Building tension. Vlad looked him in the eye. Dared his question. Felt the hum of the anti-ghost defense vibrate on his skin. Aware of the narrow walls around him.

Omega moved first, walking past Vlad to begin guiding him back to the lift.

And Vlad quietly exhaled. Didn't linger to glance back at Phantom, knowing each move was being judged.

Omega knew Phantom was a hybrid- likely knew he was very much still alive. Was lying to avoid the horrid fact he was abusing a living child to inhumane torture. Had practically kidnapped a sick child with false intentions. Knew if Vlad gained evidence on the GIW, the company would be burned to the ground by the public outcry.

Yet was also hinting he suspected Vlad was the same as Phantom. Warning, he was on to him. And if Omega knew the inner workings of a half ghost from the boy... Wanted to invest in tech that could harm Plasmius too. Which could trap Vlad in a sticky spot.

If Omega revealed he was a Halfa, he could play it that Vlad was merely a ghost in a corpse, too. Have his fake evidence lined up from Phantom to prove his deranged side. Putting Vlad in a position where he might have to fight for his half-life by the skin of his teeth. Even have to permanently move into the Ghost Zone to protect himself.

The thought enraged him. No one was stealing what he worked so hard to obtain!? Especially not this pathetic weakling!?

He was almost expected to be ambushed when they exited the lift. Thankfully, nothing waited. Dr. Omega guided him to the foyer without delay. Vlad stopped himself from dashing to the main door for the freedom of the night's air. Instead, he watched Mr. Gray move away from a lingering group, waving catching sight of them.

"It's been a pleasure, Mr. Masters." Omega once more offered a hand. "I do hope you and I get to meet each other again."

Vlad forced a fake smile, gripping the hand tightly enough to see the man wince. "Likewise, Doctor. I'm sure we most certainly will."

The flight back to Wisconsin was a heavy one, more somber than expected. Vlad pretended to sleep most of the way. Ignored the flight staff and incessant buzzing of his phone; lost in thought. Eyes closed and arms crossed.

He needed to think...

It was about three in the morning when he finally strolled into his home, surprising his ghostly staff into a frenzy. The original plan had been to stay in a hotel nearby, but this recent development had canceled that immediately. Calling his allies for an emergency meeting; hence, his phone was blowing up from Skulker.

When Vlad threw open the doors to his private study, he was greeted with a burst of ghostly energy.

Of Skulker's metallic hum, bolting out of the armchair. The haunting chill of Fright Knight's aura, sharpening his sword in the corner. And the utterly useless vultures by the window, who barely stirred from sleep.

"Plasmius!" Skulker's armor clanged as he dashed over. "So you did make it out in one piece! Did you learn something from their den?"

Vlad brushed past, rubbing the bridge of his nose. This was a mess. Dr. Omega's threat had just changed everything. Shown that the GIW was more of a foe than first imagined.

Flopping down into his armchair, Vlad huffed. Unthreaded the silk necktie to toss it onto his desk. Slumped back to stare at the ceiling.

What a strategic game he'd been just dunked into. So much to debate. So much risk. Much to plan- and quickly.

"Hey! Zone to Plasmius!? Did those hunters scramble your brain while in there?" Skulker had followed him, waving a hand across his face. "What happened that was important enough to drag me away from my hunt?"

Vlad scowled, though his usual calm anger was dormant. Decided no point in hiding it. It would come out eventually.

"Apparently, the Guys in White have captured themselves a half ghost."

Silence. Fright Knight's whetstone paused mid-motion, helmet turning. Skulker stared, the orbs of his eyes glowing brighter with understanding.

"You cannot be serious..."

"Afraid not. I saw their rings with my own eyes. Felt his ghost energy. There appears to be another like me cursed with this gift."

Fright Knight spoke. "What are they like? Is he as formidable as you?"

"Alas, no. He's a boy. A mere child. Been in their possession for ten years; a horrid thought. Malnourished, no doubt to keep his strength suppressed, along with obvious torture. But there is potential. Great power, buried under it all. A fighter."

At once, Skulker tensed.

"Oh no, you don't, Plasmius!"

"And what is it you think I'm doing?" Vlad asked coolly.

"I know you! "Skulker sneered, jabbing a finger. "It's not worth the risk! There might be another Halfa, but there's only one Plasmius!"

Vlad smirked. "I'm touched, Skulker-"

"It is not a compliment! They'll never let their prized pet go so easily! If you steal their Halfa, they'll hunt you down. With venom."

Vlad leaned over his desk, fingers threading together. "Be careful. You dare say I'm weak, Skulker? Think those pathetic, bumbling hunters could even hit the likes of me?"

"The Ghost Zone cannot lose you, Plasmius. Not if we want our plans to work." Skulker said, metal jaw tight. "If the GIW is more of a threat than first thought, we need a link to the human world. You. We can't afford to let you be captured."

The statement landed heavier than expected. Even Fright Knight nodded.

Vlad sighed, standing again. "I'm afraid Dr. Omega has already challenged me. He suspects my nature. Perhaps he even knows, but clever enough to realize admitting it would end in his death. Still, the idea's planted. It won't be long until he tries to weasel me into the open."

Skulker blanched, hands clenching. "Dark. We must-"

"Language." Fright Knight growled, before returning to his sword.

Vlad, however, could already feel a burning building. A familiar one. One he always got when a project had lit a fire in his mind.

"It is obvious what must be done, my friends. Opportunity has never knocked so clearly. We must free this half ghost. The GIW cannot be allowed to have someone with my genetic corruption. They could gain knowledge. Might create technology that could detect even me. I won't have my existence threatened.

"Besides," Vlad grinned at them, "If I free the poor creature from his cell, no doubt he'll be... ecstatic. Perhaps even eternally grateful. So much so, I will have an indebted ally. Forever loyal. One with a deep, festering hatred for our enemies."

Skulker frowned. "Plasmius... if the pup's a Halfa too, I don't think he'll yield so easily to your commands."

"Oh, stop being simple-minded, Skulker! Think of the potential! The power! The boy clearly hates his captors just as much as we do. With another powerful ally at our disposal, the GIW loses its only advantage. As we originally planned, we'll destroy that pathetic organization from the inside out!"

With a burst of light, Vlad let his black rings summon. Felt fangs tug his lips as the grin widened.

"All we need, my most loyal friends, is to plan a flawless heist. One led by Plasmius, not Masters. We all win. I'll gain the most perfect subordinate, loyal to only me. And then..."

Plasmius let a ball of red flame build in his palm. Feeling his blood boil from the energy.

"We'll burn every department of that deplorable GIW to the ground. Tear it apart from the inside. Piece, by worthless piece."

[readyforthegarden]

When the Nightingale Sings - Part Three

Pairing: Danny Wagner x F!Reader

Synopsis: Medieval AU! In a world where noble alliances dictate futures, you have been betrothed to Prince Emers, a man you barely know and certainly don't love. As you travel towards the royal palace for your impending wedding, your journey is upended, causing you to run straight into a kind, lonesome hunter. With no choice but to trust him, you embark on a journey together towards the nearest village, navigating through the forest and it's perils. As the solace you find in his companionship builds will you choose to honor your duty, or will you abandon everything you've ever know to follow your heart?

WC: 3499

Warnings: mentions of death, blood, anxiety

A/N: A big thank you to @earthlysorrows for beta-reading and editing and helping me along the way!

You slept fine through the night, out cold after crying so much during the day. The finality of death hitting you hard. Danny had moved a few times in the night in his hammock, watching your body to make sure you were still breathing. One of his old tunics had become a nightdress for you, and he watched the fabric rise and fall before settling back and closing his eyes. 

“Could I help?” your voice was soft, catching Danny off guard as he fastened the buttons on his coat. You were sat up, the blanket delicately held to your chest. He hadn’t expected you to awaken while he got ready, and he tried to be even quieter than the days before. 

“Did I wake you?” he asked, concerned. a soft shake of your head was your only answer. “You’d like to come with me and check my traps?”

“I’d like to do something here, if I could.” you answered. “There are chickens outside, perhaps I could feed them for you? I haven’t found a broom otherwise I would sweep.” Danny stared at you, slightly dumbfounded that someone of noble birth was willing, asking, to do menial labor. “I could mend some clothes, if you needed. My mother made sure I was excellent at embroidery.”

“What is with the sudden urge to help?” Danny asked, surprise still lacing his voice. 

“Sitting and staring at the fire all day isn’t exactly thrilling.” you gave him a half-smile. “I believe that’s actually how people go mad.” you laughed softly, something Danny hadn’t heard before. He felt something in his chest stir at the sound, and swallowed roughly, nodding. 

“Get dressed and meet me outside, I’ll show you how to feed the chickens.” Danny nodded and turned, undoing the lock and stepping outside just as you began getting up from the bed. When you met him a few moments later, you were wiping your palms excitedly on your dress, walking over to Danny. He had never seen someone so excited to toss dried barley at poultry before. 

“What do we do first?” your question had Danny smile, as he reached for the empty bucket at his feet. 

“First, we get the feed.” he nodded to a small building, a few feet away from the cottage. It was separated from the main house by a small wildflower field. “Chickens mostly eat barley, so we’ll take some of that and bring it to them.” He handed you the bucket and began walking towards the field. You hurried to keep up, Danny’s long legs carrying him faster than your shorter ones could you. 

The lock on this door was sturdier, and Danny used a key to get in. As the door swung open, the smell of dry straw and hay met your nostrils. It felt warm as you stepped inside, taking the bucket from Danny’s hand. 

“The barley is just there,” he pointed to a large barrel towards the corner. “You’ll want to fill the bucket about halfway, get a good scoop.” nodding, you lifted the lid off the barrel and plunged the bucket in, lifting it back up. You shook out the excess, getting to halfway before replacing the lid. Danny shuffled in behind you, hammering his fist down in a solid swipe to make sure the lid was secure from moisture. You waited for him outside the store house and let him lead you to the other side of the cottage. A small pen was keeping the chickens and roosters from wandering free into the forest. There was a rustic coop in the back, where the animals could hide from the harsh winters among the hay. 

“Do I place the bucket in there?” you asked, glancing up at Danny. He had to hold back from laughing, reminding himself that you had never done the work before, you had probably never been allowed to get near a chicken coop in your entire life. 

“No, you take a handful of it,” Danny reached into the bucket, bringing up a fistful of barley. “and toss it around.” he tossed out his hand, opening it and letting the dried grains fly and scatter. The chickens were startled at first, but quickly scurried over to where the grain fell, pecking at the ground. 

“Oh,” you reached into the bucket, mirroring Danny’s closed fist and tossing out the barley toward the chickens. You couldn’t help the elated giggle that burst from your throat. Danny watched you, a smile on his face as you tossed out more. “This is great! I was never allowed to just throw things before!” Danny felt his heart squeeze in his chest, watching your eyes light up as you tossed another handful. “Can I go in?”

“Not today,” Danny didn’t want to think about chasing after chickens, or his ornery rooster right now, not when his body was still sore from digging the graves. “Just move around the fence, please.” It didn’t dim the brightness in your eyes, his response. You continued to move around the fence line, tossing fistful after fistful on barley. 

“Did you have chicks in the spring?” You called excitedly, seeing some smaller chickens. 

“Aye, I did.” you grinned at him from over the fence. 

“I’ve heard their feathers are so soft, I should love to hold one one day.” 

“I don’t think they’ll let you near the royal coops, princess.” Danny joked. You turned away from him before he could see the smile fade from your face. 

“Of course not,” your voice was quieter, the excitement gone. “It’s no place for a princess, you’re right.” Truthfully, you would rather toss grains to chickens for the rest of your life than sit on a throne that meant nothing. 

“I’m going to check the traps, I’ll be back in a while.” Danny called to you. “Do you remember the knock?”

“Yes, Danny,” you nodded over your shoulder at him, a soft smile of acknowledgement. As you did, the clouds above parted, and light shone down upon you, highlighting the hair that framed your face. The sun's rays kissed your cheek, exposing your pink tinged cheeks. His heart stopped in his chest, watching as if the earth had slowed down your movements and time, your eyes sparkling as the sun glinted in them. He could understand why a prince wanted you. You were beautiful. 

“Daniel?” he snapped back to himself at your use of his full name, your brows furrowed in concern. “Are you alright?” 

“Yes, I-I will be back soon.” he cleared his throat and adjusted the belt around his middle, hunting knives rattling as he did so. He trudged off leaving you alone to finish feeding the chickens. Once you had tossed the last of the barley, you set the bucket by the door of the house, wiping your hands on your skirts and sighed. For the small task you did, you felt accomplished, a feeling you hadn’t had since being a young girl. 

Wanting to keep the high going, you glanced around the cottage, pursing your lips. It was far too cold to wash and hang clothes or the sheets, they would never dry in time for sleep. And you weren’t entirely sure you could wash the furs properly. There still was no broom that you could find, though you figured living alone, Danny rarely tracked in enough dirt to need it. 

Your mind wandered to the store house, and you found your legs carrying you there, cutting through the wildflower field to get there. Danny had forgotten to lock it back up in his haste to get to the traps, allowing you to push the door open with little effort. Glancing around, you tried to find something to do. The barrels and bags of grains were far too heavy for you to lift, you knew organizing was out of the question. 

It wasn’t until you spied a small bag of flour that you gasped. Milled flour was expensive, a rarity even in your home. You bent at the waist, looking over the bag, trying to see if it was older. It was opened, the top rolled down tightly. It took a few moments of deciding before you figured out how to help out more. 

As Danny approached the cottage a few hours later, his back was sore, but he felt triumphant. A wild boar had stepped into one of his metal traps, a good sized one too. If he cut it just right, they could dry some rations for the journey ahead, and he’d still have plenty to keep him through the winter. He couldn’t help the grin on his face as he neared, excited to show off his prize. However, his smile fell as he grew closer, the smell of smoke and something burning meeting his nose. 

Hefting the boar higher on his shoulder, he moved as fast as he could, his mind racing with the possibilities that could await him. Hopefully he could make it in time. 

As he came into the small clearing with his cottage, he watched as you burst through the door, something wrapped in a cloth in your hands and you tossed it away into the grass coughing.  As you turned to go back in, you spied Danny, giving him a sheepish grin and wiping your palms on the skirts of your dress again. 

“Are you trying to burn my house down?” Danny asked as you approached, lifting an eyebrow. “What was that you tossed?”

“Please do not be upset,” you glanced down at your feet. “But I was trying to make us bread.” 

“You-“ Danny cut himself off as he took a closer look at you, flour dusted over your clothing and some in the ends of your hair. A thick line of it was in your cheek, matching one that was on the back of your hand. 

“I know, it was wasteful of your flour, and I will repay you, I swear it.” The determined look on your face made him laugh, and he shook his head, curls bouncing. 

“Don’t fret,” he replied, reaching up and dusting the flour off your cheek. Your breathing stilled at the touch, body frozen. Yesterday his touch had been different, one that was much needed in a time of grieving. This was arbitrary, almost forward. 

And yet when he pulled away, you missed the coolness of the worn leather on his glove, the gentle pressure of the back of his fingers on your skin. 

“I did manage one good loaf, I think.” your voice was softer as you cleared your throat, glancing towards the cottage. “We could have it with supper.”

“I’d like that very much.” Danny nodded. “It’s been a while since there’s been fresh bread in this place.” 

“You don’t make it?”

“There isn’t much time to.” Danny shrugged, grunting softly as he hoisted the beast over his shoulder up again. “And tonight I’ll be busy preparing this.” the shock on your face as you noticed the boar was exactly the reaction he was looking for. 

“Danny, that’s huge!” you glanced around him. “I don’t think I’ve seen a pig that large even back home.” Danny swelled with pride about his catch, beginning to walk with a swagger towards the door to his home. “That would feed two banquets at least.”

“I plan on drying a good portion of it, and we can pack some for the journey to Rockhallow.” he informed you, dropping it by the door before going inside with you. “I’ll spend most of the night preparing it so we can leave in a day's time.”

“That’s fine,” you nodded. “I think I’ll be cleaning ashes out of the hearth for a bit.” You led him to the table, where a nice loaf of bread was waiting. Lifting a knife, you sliced into it, handing Danny a chunk. 

The bread was dense, and Danny lifted it to his lips, taking a rather large bite. Your face shone up at him as he chewed, waiting for feedback. There was no flavor of ale or beer, nothing to leaven it with. He hadn’t had bread like this since The Illness swept through the country and he couldn’t go out for anything. Swallowing the dry, thick bread, he forced a grin to his face. 

“It’s good” he cleared his throat, fighting the grimace trying to take its place on his lips as he used his tongue to unglue some of the bread from the roof of his mouth. “This will definitely hold up well on our trip too.” your smile was enough, and when you turned to wrap the loaf to save it, he quickly put the remaining hunk in his coat pocket. “Have you made bread before?”

“Never!” You chirped over your shoulder, moving the bread to his small kitchen storage. “I used to watch the scullery maids in the kitchens make it when I was a girl. I may have helped knead a loaf once before mother lost her head at me being in the kitchens.” 

“You never learned to cook anything?” you shook your head, smile falling a bit. 

“I was raised being told there would always be someone to do things for me.”  you told Danny. “I wasn’t allowed in the kitchens, or the stables, or anywhere that could be deemed dirty and improper. A lady is meant to be a thing of beauty and anything that could ruin that was something I was kept away from.” 

“Your mother must be something, raising you like that.” Danny crossed his arms over his chest. In his world, women needed to know how to cook and survive in case something happened to their spouses, for their children’s sake and their own. 

“I have never been a child to her,” you shook your head. “Nor my father. I am something to raise and use to find prospects and to sell.” Danny frowned as you crouched by the fire. “The highest bidder wins.” 

This was your lot in life. You realized from a young age when your brother couldn’t shield you from the world any longer. As soon as the first visiting duke took notice of you when, in your opinion and thankfully your fathers, you were far too young to marry, you were trained to be everything a lady ought to be. Smart, but not well-read enough to emasculate your suitors. Beautiful enough to catch the eyes of anyone who passed by you but not so much that you were intimidating. Back-breaking posture while you read and recited sonnets and poems to prove you loved the arts but were still removed enough that you weren’t seen as an artist. You were like the wild boar that waited to be fileted and broken down, a prize catch, and would fetch a pretty penny at market. 

Danny cleared his throat one more time, the last bits of the bread finally making their way down his throat and he considered your upbringing. 

“Well,” he began. “While you’re here with me, you’re gonna learn a few things.” His voice was slightly stern, but in a way that made you smile. “Your first bread turned out well, and you’ll help me dry the pork once I’ve butchered it, and we’ll make another stew for supper.”

You stayed silent, slowly brushing some ashes into your hand as you crouched by the hearth, an older, more burnt loaf waiting for you. Your bottom lip caught between your teeth, fighting the small smile that tried to emerge. 

“You never know when you’ll need the skill,” he finished softly. 

“You’re right.” when you glanced back at him, he was staring at the floor, a pensive look on his face. You saw him as something different in this moment, not the strong young man who had rescued you, but someone who had to depend on himself for far too long. Your heart thumped sadly in your chest, wishing you could reach out and comfort him. “And I will be better for the help.” Danny’s eyes met yours, the amber flecks flickering in the firelight. 

With a stiff nod, he turned on his heel and went back outside, closing the door behind him. Most of the afternoon was spent separately again, him out butchering the boar, and you flit about the cottage, cleaning up the mess from your kitchen experiment. When he was back, Danny set to work with you, having you place the bones and ham hock from the boar into a kettle with water, telling you to let them boil with the parsnips and potatoes you cut up again. 

It was the most flavorful stew you had ever had, both you and Danny gobbled it up, dunking a few slices of bread into the broth and swallowing it down, barely talking.

Your full stomach was helping lull you into sleep, but you strived to stay awake as Danny had pulled a lute from his cupboard, and was laying in his hammock, strumming a quiet tune as the fire crackled in the background. 

“When the nightingale sings, the trees grow green, leaf and grass and blossom springs. In April, I suppose and love has to my heart gone, with a spear so keen, night and day my blood it drains my heart to death it aches." His voice was quiet and breathy, but he carried the tune beautifully. 

“That’s so sad,” you murmured, rolling on your stomach and looking up at him. He opted to listen to you, humming softly as he plucked out the song. “Loving someone so much your heart feels like it’s bleeding out for them.” 

“Is it such a bad thing?” Danny asked, glancing down at you, his fingers still moving along the strings. “To love so deeply you feel as if you’re drained dry when they’re not around?”

“I don’t know,” you murmured, tugging at a small thread on the blankets. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in love. I don’t know that I will be.”

“You will be,” Danny assured you. “You’ll fall for your prince. But a love like this song…it’s not meant for people like us. It’s for the poets and musicians. And even for them, it’s a rare find.” he hummed a bit more as your thoughts raced to your future. How long would it take you to fall for the prince? Could you ever, really? “Sweet-loved one, I pray thee for one loving speech. While I live in this wide world none other will I seek. With thy love, my sweet beloved, my bliss thou mightest increase. A sweet kiss of thy mouth might be my cure.”

You listened to Danny sing and hum until you fell asleep. Your dreams were swirling that night, Danny’s voice drifting in and out of every scene, the warmth of his voice a stark contrast to the cold castle walls and lonely, longing feeling in your stomach. You tried to follow his voice, to find Danny somewhere but his voice always faded as you got near. 

The dream sat you with an uneasy feeling the next day, helping Danny pack strips of pork into barrels of salt in the storehouse. It was tedious work, a layer of salt, strips of meat, another layer of salt, but it was one of the few ways to dry and preserve meat for a long time. 

“They should be ready by tomorrow morning.” Danny informed you. “I cut them thin enough to do so. We’ll pack up and start toward the village.”

“How will we be getting there?” You hadn’t seen a stable nor carriage house on his humble property. Glancing up from your work, Danny was looking at you with raised eyebrows. “We cannot possibly walk the entire way!”

“Unless you have a secret horse hidden somewhere, aye, we’ll be making the journey on foot.” Danny confirmed with a nod.  “I’ve done it often, to sell my pelts, it’s easy enough.” 

Keeping silent, you pushed down your protest. What was a few days of walking before making it to the village? You could handle it if this man was willing to do it to ensure your safe return to your life. You troubled your bottom lip between your teeth, packing more strips of pork beneath salt. Sleeping outside in the late fall nights wasn’t something you were prepared for, especially with the woodland animals in the season of their final hunt before hibernation. 

“You will be okay,” Danny had come to stand next to you now, giving you a soft, reassuring smile. “I will not let anything happen to you on our journey together.” 

“Do you swear it?” your voice trembled as you had become aware that you were woefully unprepared to defend yourself. 

“On my life.” Danny held your gaze for a few moments, the silence filled with something you couldn’t place. Clearing his throat, he turned away, and returned to his own work, the two of you going back to working in silence, preparing for the journey ahead.

Taglist: (feel free to add yourself!)

@joshsindigostreak @sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine @sammysprincess @sammykiszkamyass @belovedsamuel @sunfl0wer-power @indigo-starcatcher @sammyscherub @earthlysorrows @lvnterninthenight @losfacedevil @xserenax-13 @sarakay-gvf @myownparadise96 @watchingovergvff @gretavanfleetposts @josiee-gvf @joshkiszkatoothgap @madneedshelp @gardensgatedaisy @myownparadise96 @demonrat444 @dannyandthekiszkas @tearsofbri @paleshadow-ofadragon @happy-harpy-stuff @like-a-woman-in-a-dream @starshine-wagner @objectsinspvce @josh-iamyour-mama @mountain-in-springtime @cal-a-bungaa @capturethechaos @jankandjonch @gvfpal

@allybjt @hippievanfleet @weightofbrokenbells @joshkiszkasbadussy @malany-gvf @ruby0antlers @samofthedawn @sacredjake @aim4thedoublee @diditallforyouu @gvfmarge @highladyofasgard @sammysvanfeet@gold-mines-melting @earthgrlsreasy @mountain-in-springtime @forcebond301 @stardust-and-shadows @llightmyllovee @gretavangroupie @comesofarsomehow @infinisonicosm @indigofallingsky @hellowgoodbye @hearts-hunger @fwzco @dharma-divine33 @lightsofthe-living-gvf @ascendingtothestarsasone @klarxtr

@musicspeaks @mindastreamofcolours @imleavingyoufornewyork @dammm1256 @jordie-gvf @demonrat444 @misshunnybee @valleydollgvf @brookes-so-done @age0fwagner @starcatcherxstevie @amethystars @jakesguitarsolo @lolidontknowwhat @lyndz2names @godly-sinsx @dannythedog @anthemheatwave @samomf @spark-my-nature @scorpiosunsammy @theindigostre4k @jjwasneverhere @couldbefalling @peaceloveunitygvf @wrldabomination @gretavfreaky @kakejiszkas @brujamagik @miradoralbumwhen

@mar-rein12 @laurynnnn125 @maddie-rae @eraofstardustchords @musicislove3389

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Look at me another post ready on time! Hope you enjoy chapter 4! See you guys next week, it’s going to be another fun one

Pairings: Sam Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slash

Warnings and tags: 18+ only not for the teeny humans. Adult content including: wounds, aftermath of blood loss, mentions of previous parent death, strong themes of coping with previous parent death, Sam is literally that girl, enter nurse Jake (I love him sm), lots of brotherly banter, smut: none for this chapter :/ and of course vampire!AU

Word count: 3k

When Sam woke it was nearly two in the afternoon. He cursed as he threw the blankets off, his head pounding and his vision blurring from sitting up too quickly. Taking it slower he stood, patiently waiting for his balance to steady before taking steps towards the bathroom.

“So much for class today” he sighed as he attempted to stretch and scratched at his lower back. Even that felt like a chore with how tired his limbs were, he must have lost more blood last night than he’d initially thought. The realization of what happened last night did finally hit him though when Sam looked up at himself in his mirror.

First of all, he looked like death. His face was paler than normal, his hair dull and lifeless despite having just washed it. His eyes looked sunken in too, but none of that was anything compared to the two puncture marks left on the side of his neck.

Sam tilted his head to the side, wincing a bit at the way it pulled and stretched the damaged skin.

“Fucking hell” he muttered to himself, the counter digging into his hips as he leaned over the sink to get a closer look at the bite. On one side of his neck was all the proof he needed that Danny was indeed a vampire, and that he had fed from him. The other, as he slowly turned to examine the colorful finger sized bruises pressed into his skin, was proof that he’d enjoyed it.

Sam caught himself smiling in his reflection. Even if Danny was gone now he’d have these marks for at least a few days as a reminder. Marks he didn’t want to share with anyone else. That posed a problem, considering he’d have to be at work in just a few short hours and Josh was sure to have a cow if he saw his little brother prancing around with bruises on his neck.

As he was trying to think of a way to cover the wound without it being too obvious, another realization began to wash over him. He still remembered, everything.

Energy returned to his body as Sam started to get ready for the day, or what was left of it at least. He brushed his teeth with a smile on his face and took the extra time to dampen his hair and comb it into something more stylish than just throwing it up in a bun. When getting dressed, instead of opting for his usual work jeans and a random shirt, Sam pulled out a nice pair of pants with a unique pattern he always thought made himself stand out a little more and another white button down like the one he’d been wearing last night.

After he was dressed Sam slid the full length mirrored door to the side and dug into his closet, finding a shoebox tucked away at the very top corner where he kept odd accessories he didn’t wear often and didn’t really have the space to store anywhere else.

As soon as he opened the box Sam was caught off guard by something he’d forgotten had ever been thrown in there in the first place. Right on top was a delicate gold watch face with carefully worn in black leather straps on either side. Sam picked up the watch, feeling the coolness of the metal and glass compared to the softness of the leather underneath his fingertips, even the tiny pieces of stitching that were starting to come apart from repeated use.

In a fleeting decision Sam placed the watch on his left wrist, struggling for a moment to secure it one handedly until he finally managed to slide the tiny clasp into the right hole so that it was snug but not too tight. Without thinking much more about it he shuffled things around in the box, retrieving what he initially came looking for. The vibrant greens and oranges of the silk scarf hardly matched anything in his wardrobe, but it would do the job to cover the very peculiar markings, so he wrapped it around and knotted it in the front so as to not irritate the sides of his neck before tossing the box back up into his closet.

“Hey!” Sam hollered as a warning at the same time as he tossed a sub wrapped in paper over to Jake who threw his hands up at just the right second to catch it and not spill sandwich makings all over the ER floor.

“You’re early, I can't take my break for another twenty five minutes”.

“So? You can’t eat a sandwich at the triage desk?” Sam emphasized the correct name for the post where Jake spent most of his time while at work after many, many attempts on Jake’s part to make him get it right. “There’s no one here”.

“I’m here!” A frail old voice called out from behind a curtain across from where Jake was faced at the desk.

“I know Mrs. Peters, the doctor should be back with your test results any minute” Jake called back to her, shooting Sam a look as he set his sandwich down and scanned his badge to access the computer.

Sam shrugged and leaned on his back with his elbows against the desk as he waited so they could both eat together like they usually did before he headed in for his own shift at the bar. “You working another double tonight?”

Jake glanced over, almost immediately noticing what Sam was wearing on his wrist. “Is that Dad’s watch?”

“Yeah? And?” Sam replied almost defensively.

“And? I didn’t know you even had that” Jake continued, matching the same tone in Sam’s voice. “He gave it to you?”

“Yeah, kind of”. Sam’s eyes flickered over to the corner or the ER room, a space he usually avoided even acknowledging still existed since that disastrous night seven years ago.

“Kind of?” Jake pressed on, growing more annoyed by the minute that Sam wasn’t giving him a direct answer. “Did you steal it from the house?”

“I did not!” Sam shot back, turning around faster than he should’ve. His head started to spin again and he gripped the desk until his balance returned and the bright dots behind his eyelids faded.

Jake dropped the topic at hand, more concerned now with his little brother’s sudden staggering. “Hey, are you alright?” He moved around to the other side of the desk, grabbing Sam by the elbow gently but with firm intent as he guided him to sit in a nearby chair. “Are you sick? You look pale”.

“No, I’m fine. Just got dizzy is all”. Sam sat anyways, he had been going nonstop since waking up this afternoon and he still had a full shift ahead of him. Taking a break for a few minutes was probably a pretty good idea.

“Has that been happening a lot?” Jake started to look over Sam, reaching for his scarf to pull it down before Sam slapped his hand away.

“Would you stop? I’m fine, I came to the hospital to have lunch with you not to have you play nurse on me”.

Jake stood back with his arms crossed across his chest. His forest green scrubs were a little too big for him so the waistband sat low on his hips and the neckline where his badge hung from slouched showing a bit more of his collar than it was supposed to. “Fine, but if you keep getting dizzy you will come by the house and let me check you out? I have the next four days off”.

“So long as you’re not worried about me stealing anything” Sam sassed, but put on a smile to assure Jake that everything was indeed alright. “Actually, I do have a favor to ask you”. Jake's eyebrow raised, knowing Sam like he had all his life this could surely be something interesting. “Do you have any iron pills you can give me?”

“Iron pills?” The urgency returned to Jake’s voice, his medical training telling him everything that could possibly be wrong with Sam wanting to take iron supplements.

“Relax, I won’t take a lot of them. I just haven’t been eating very well and I read online that they’re a good option for vegetarians”.

“Sam, what have I told you about reading stuff online?” Jake continued to scold him. “You’re right though, you look like shit, a few of those could probably help. But if you don’t start feeling better in a couple of weeks I want you to come up here and see the doctor”.

Sam agreed just to make him satisfied and just as the second nurse on duty came to relieve Jake they made their way over to the old picnic bench outside the ER doors where they usually ate their lunch together if the weather was good. When they were done Sam waited for Jake to run and grab him the supplements, doing his due diligence to tell him exactly how to take them until Sam shooed him back inside and popped one into his mouth before heading in to work.

“Are you waiting for someone?” Josh asked, barely breaking Sam out of the anxious trance he’d been in as soon as the sun went down over the treeline out front.

“No? What makes you say that?” Sam kept at wiping down the table he had nearly buffed free of any dirt or food smudges by how long he had stood here, cleaning away just because it gave him a clear view.

“Oh nothing, it's just you’ve been staring at the front door for over an hour”.

“Have not” Sam faught even though he knew it was true. He had been watching every person who stepped through that door, none of which had been the one he was wishfully holding his breath for.

Danny had promised him he wouldn’t disappear after the night they had spent together, but Sam was already starting to worry he’d been stood up for a meeting neither of them had explicitly set. Groaning in frustration he set the spray bottle down, noticing now how cramped up his hand was from gripping it with too much tension. “Why’s it so damn quiet in here? It’s never quiet in here”.

Josh gave him a concerned look, but Sam was already abandoning his cleaning supplies and making his way across the bar to where the old fashioned jukebox sat untouched. His eyes scanned through the list of title tracks the box offered. It was filled with all the classics he grew up on and loved, but nothing seemed to catch his attention. After flipping through each page twice Sam gave up and selected something he could tolerate for the time being - Pink Floyd, one of his Dad’s favorite bands.

He stared down at the gold watch face still adorned to his wrist. It was a quarter to ten o’clock, the sad excuse of a dinner rush they had tonight was already over and only the handful of town drunks who spent nearly every night sitting at the bar still remained.

“Want to head home early?” Josh questioned, a bit of concern coloring his voice at Sam’s seemingly distant stare, not to mention his melancholy selection of music. The youngest was always a little spacey, but this was a whole new level of dissociation than even Sam was usually known for.

“No,” Sam sighed softly, finally settling himself to give up on seeing Danny tonight. “I said I’d help you close”.

Josh started to protest that he could handle it on his own but Sam pressed on, “Besides I’d just be sitting at home alone, might as well be here doing something”.

“You know you can always come visit whenever you want. Your room is a little stuffy because no one ever goes in there but it’s exactly the way you left it. Just let me know and I’ll turn on the window unit before you do” Josh hesitantly offered. It was still a touchy subject for him, for all of them, Sam having moved out leaving only Josh and Jake to take care of their parents house.

“I know” Sam replied dejectedly, “and I’m sorry for not coming around more often. I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now with school and other stuff”.

“Other stuff” Josh repeated with a playful raise of his brows. “Stuff like the guy I saw you leaving with last night? Is that why you’re so down in the dumps today?”

Sam’s eyes narrowed again and he crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “Ok now you’re overstepping”.

“Oh come on, I thought we were having a moment there!” Josh teased, following Sam as he tried to get a head start on his closing duties while they were still so slow.

“No moment Josh, you’re imagining things like always”.

“I’m not imagining that scarf you’re wearing, what’s the deal with that? You trying to impress someone?”

“Josh, the only person I’m trying to impress here is Mrs. Peters” Sam called back.

“Mrs. Peters?” Josh wracked his brain for who he was talking about. He only knew of one Mrs. Peters who used to sit in the front pew at church every Sunday. “Wait? The widow Mrs. Peters? The one with all that inheritance money?”

Sam’s lips curled into a devious smile as Josh’s face soured in disgust. They both knew he was only playing around, trying to get a rise out of him. “She’s got what? Four or five years left in her? I can manage that, and then after I’m taking the money and I’m getting the hell out of here”.

“Yeah, that’s a great plan Sammy. Send me a wedding invite”.

With Sam seemingly back to his usual self Josh took his place behind the bar again as Sam sent him the bird before disappearing into the kitchen.

Closing took no time with the two of them working in near silence after the little brotherly bantering from earlier. Sam helped Terry clean the kitchen, and Josh went over the bar from head to toe until the place was looking better than it had in months and they were all smelling of old grease and industry grade chemicals.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Terry called to Sam as they started to walk their separate ways in the gravel parking lot.

“Off tomorrow!” Sam waved at him, “but I’m picking up Diane’s shift Friday”.

They said their goodbyes and Sam climbed into his Buick, immediately impressing the cigarette lighter to get it warming up as he pulled out onto the highway. When it popped back out he lit his cigarette, trying not to think of the last smoke he had in his car and the mysterious companion who had been sitting next to him.

He drove the entire way home with the radio and air conditioning turned off. Where he’d needed the music blasting at the bar to distract himself from his thoughts and fuel his motivation to work, right now he let the dead silence infect him as he focused on nothing but the feeling of the worn in leather steering wheel and the paper cigarette in his hands.

Sam entered his trailer and immediately started peeling off his clothes, bound for the shower. After his dad’s watch was safely placed on the edge of the sink he stood under the low pressure stream, letting the drizzle saturate his hair and roll down his back in large droplets. It wasn’t until the water, which was barely hot to begin with, started to grow cold that he snatched his soap and began to rinse off his body, working the suds into his skin to hopefully scrub off any remaining work smells.

While his hair air dried Sam made a peanut butter sandwich, a comfort food from his childhood that he always found himself standing in his kitchen eating when he couldn’t sleep. He’d fixed the watch back to his wrist when he got dressed, a lightweight cotton shirt with matching shorts that fell mid thigh, the soft fibers absorbing the remaining water still clinging to his loose chestnut waves.

It only took a few bites to consume the single piece of bread folded over onto itself, and he licked the globs of extra creamy goodness that oozed out onto his fingers. Then he was going around and turning out all the lights, finally ending back in his room and staring at the empty bed.

After mentally kicking himself for having been so melodramatic today, Sam pulled the covers back and had managed to get one knee on the bed before he stopped at the sound of a curious noise tapping against his window. What in the hell?

Placing both feet back on the floor, Sam pad the small distance from the edge of his bed to the east facing window and pulled the curtain back.

“Daniel? What are yo-?” Realizing he probably couldn’t hear him clearly through the glass pane, Sam unlocked the latch and struggled slightly to pull the window up, a gust of cold wind sweeping into his bedroom and blowing through his frame.

“Hey” Danny tried to be easy with Sam, expecting him to be upset after essentially doing what he said he wouldn’t and disappearing on him, but as soon as he saw him standing there confused in his soft blue pajamas he couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. “I have something to show you”.

“Right now?”

“Oh sorry, were you going to bed?”

As if that wasn’t obvious Sam muttered under his breath “yeah, kind of” although he was pretty sure he was about to just lay there and stare at the ceiling until he either lost his mind or eventually became unconscious. Deciding that despite the inner turmoil he’d been caused by this stranger, whatever Danny had in mind still sounded more appealing than that. “Where are we going?”

“Get your shoes and come on”.

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