Life on the farm pt 4 copy cat
It takes QUITE a bit of explaining for about how exactly Danny is apparently dead for Clark to be even mildly okay with it. Up until Pa tells him how he save his life at which point Clark was close to tears. Lois had to pull him off Danny before he was crushed to death. All in all they had a very interesting Christmas.
Fast forward a month and Clark mentions to Bruce how he has a new little brother and how apparently his parents have a habit of attracting the paranormal. This tips Bruce off and he suggests that Clark bring Danny by mount justice to see what he can do. Danny is pretty iffy about it and intends to say no when Ma tells him he should go. It might be nice for him to meet kids his age that he doesn’t have to worry about scaring. So Danny reluctantly agrees.
When they arrive via zeta tube Danny immediately takes off in search of a trash can before he vomits all over the entrance, cujo not far behind him. He ends up getting lost in the halls and walking into a training session with black canary. Danny watches, fairly impressed with the teen sparring with the blond, he had a bit of a temper but he wasn’t doing too bad. When she slammed him on the ground Danny gave a sympathetic groan, the teen twisted around glaring at him “Who the hell are you?!?” He stood up revealing the Superman symbol on his chest.
Danny immediately held his hands up to show he meant no harm. Canary tells him to calm down before addressing Danny “you must be the young meta Superman told us was coming. I’m black Canary, it’s nice to meet you.” The other boy scowled, much to Danny’s confusion.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a meta but sure, I’m here with Superman” he turns to address the teen. “you were doing real great in that fight. I’m impressed, but y’know…”
“I need to reign in my temper. I know!” Danny looks at him surprised, “actually I was gonna say that if you went in for a jab before she flipped you it would have thrown off her balance. Sometimes the most efficient attacks are the ones that don’t hit.” He looked at Danny confused, and a little bit relieved. Danny grinned “you didn’t lose the spar because of your temper, you lost because she’s more experienced. I used to get my ass kicked all the time. It just takes practice.”
“You fight? Would you care to try your luck?” Canary asked. Danny hesitated “uhm I’m not sure about that, I don’t usually fight the living…” canary looked at him confused “what do you mean..” before canary finishes her question they are interrupted by wolf charging into the room chased by… a small green dog?
Danny shouts “Cujo!” The dog stops and races to Danny, wolf hides behind Conner.
“What’s wrong buddy, he’s just a little guy?”
Danny laughs and says “I wouldn’t go that far, but he’s probably more concerned by the fact that hes a ghost. Animals tend to get pretty antsy near ghosts, working on a farm was an… interesting experience to say the least.” Danny laughs “we should probably go find Supes” the three make they’re way toward the living area where they find Superman with the rest of the team. He surveys the team guessing who’s who. He’s not sure about the magician, Obviously the red head works with the speedster, he’s not sure who the kid in the cape works with, Danny’s not sure if there are any archers in the league so he’s a little confused by the blond girl. The cute teen with gills probably works with aquaman. The moment he sees M’gann though, Danny stares with undisguised confusion. Conner notices the look and immediately gets defensive “you got a problem with martians?!” Danny swiftly turns to Conner “She’s from MARS!?!??” Danny is no longer next to Conner.
The whole team gets whiplash from the change as Danny bombards their resident Martian with questions about Mars and space. Superman laughs, “how come you weren’t this enthusiastic when you found out I was kryptonian” Danny gives Clark an unimpressed look. “You were raised on earth by Ma and Pa, she was raised on MARS you are not the same.” The whole team freezes, not that Danny notices much as he continues to ask M’gann about space.
Conner breaks out of his surprise “you’re related to Superman?” Clark goes to interrupt but Danny answers before he can.
“Yep, Ma and Pa took me in so now I’ve got a kryptonian big brother.” Conner clenches his jaw as Danny continues “but don’t worry I won’t be stealing your mentor, I’m pretty strictly a solo act, closest thing I had to a mentor was… an old friend.” Danny may be obsessed with space but he’s not a complete idiot so it’s pretty obvious at this point that Conner is trying to reign in his temper. “Is there something wrong?”
“He’s not my mentor!” Danny looks between the two “sorry my mistake the shirt threw me off. Just a fan then.” They all start to look at him weird before Clark jumps in
“He’s uhh, well he’s my clone” Danny freezes with a gasp he covers his mouth in shock and places a hand over his chest. “I can’t believe this. To think… I’ve finally assessed to the rank of middle child!!!” Danny throws his hands in the air in triumph. With a laugh he turns back to Clark “Why didn’t you tell me I had a little brother?! This is awesome!” Conner looks at Danny confused
Clark interrupted Danny’s excitement “he’s, well you don’t, he’s not my brother he’s my clone.” Danny brushes him off
“So what! He’s perfect little brother material. I’m assuming Ma and Pa don’t know, they’re gonna be so excited.”
“Danny! Calm down, no I haven’t told Ma and Pa, I didn’t want to worry them.”
Danny is confused “worry them, why would this make them worried?” Clark sighs
“Conner was made by lex Luthor, my arch enemy, with the intent to replace me.” Danny takes a step back, Conner looks away dejected even as his friends gather close around him.
The room goes cold
“Dude I think you need to chill” Danny says with an sharp grin. “I mean a clone I understand out of your control? A clone made by your arch enemy to replace you? I mean seriously, has he even tried to shoot you in the back yet?”
“He didn’t ask to be made, so stop treating him like it’s HIS fault.” Danny’s eyes have started to glow as the room seems to close in on them before all at once everything goes back to normal. Superman takes a gasp of air. Danny laughs “gonna be honest though, it kinda feels like you’re copying me at this point.” He says moving over to Conner, throwing an arm over his shoulder. “But let’s make one thing straight, and I mean absolutely no offense, but my clone is clearly superior.” Conner and Clark look at Danny shocked. “Your WHAT?!?” Danny laughs
“Yeah man, when I was 14 my arch nemesis cloned me in a attempt to replace me, didn’t work, only one was stable and she wants nothing to do with him at this point.” Clark looks at Danny pleadingly “that…that doesnt explain anything, why did you have an arch enemy.”
“Well I mean, originally he asked me to join him, but I’m wasn’t really a fan of him killing my dad and marrying my mom. He was obsessed with making me his son, major fruitloop man he’s crazy.” Danny shrugs.” Kid flash laughs
“I’m calling bullshit there’s no way.”
Danny laughs “think what you like but don’t come crying to me when Ellie haunts your nightmares”
Danny claps his hands “So what exactly are we doing today?”
——————
Meanwhile in the arctic in another dimension
a small girl is chasing after a group of penguins when a portal appears in front of her and she crashes face first into the large blue bearded figure that exits.
“CLOCKWORK!!” She laughs “wanna chase penguins with me?” The elderly ghost grins
“Perhaps another time, for now how would you like to visit your cousin for a little while. There’s some people that are DYING to meet you.”
The girl gives him an impossibly wide Sharp grin before letting out maniacal laugh
“Lead the way clocks!”
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i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.
He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.
And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.
And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.
Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.
Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."
There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.
It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.
Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.
At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.
"Do you like to do anything?"
Nothing. Just silence.
Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.
Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.
Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.
And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.
He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.
Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.
So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.
"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"
"Don't."
He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.
Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"
"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."
It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"
The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."
Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."
And they fall back into silence.
Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."
He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.
(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)
At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.
Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.
("Tucker told me once--")
("Tucker?")
("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")
(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)
(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)
It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."
The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."
The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.
When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.
Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.
"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."
When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.
Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.
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