Chapter 2: Welcome to Gotham!
Warnings: A little bit of blood, breakdown and emotional distress.
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Chapter 1! | Masterpost | Chapter 3!
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After finally closing up the last wound, Clockwork took a moment to look over his work. All of the young Halfa’s wounds have been sealed and treated with diluted ectoplasm. It was only enough to make the injuries look a week old at best but it will have to do.
The Ancient lifted his staff and in one swift movement ripped a hole in the fabric of reality. CW then carefully cradled Danny in his arms. Then both the Ancient and the Halfa stepped into the portal.
On the other side, they were met with an emaciated woman clad in a red and black Victorian dress accompanied by a small rose decorated matching hat. In her hand a small umbrella made of lace and what seemed to be black clouds.
Her delicate snow white skin furrowed by ink black veins. Her blood red lips striking against the pallor of her face were pursed in worry. Her eyes, even while covered by her laced black veil, didn’t hide her apprehension.
The woman’s dress’s neckline was fashioned in the silhouette of a bat. Pearls scattered like falling stars across the red and black folds of the garment. Her waist encased in a tight bodice was embellished by small golden coins and feathers. The red fishtail spilling on the ground lazily trailing after its mistress.
The woman bowed her head, greeting the Ancient and his charge.
“Lord Clockwork.” Her raspy yet somehow suave voice resonated into the night.
“Lady Gotham.” He responded while slightly dipping his head down.
The city spirit glanced at the boy in the other’s arm. His bandaged form and torn clothes were not what first captured her attention. What truly horrified her was the state of the young Halfa’s core. Wrapped and cracked, barely a breath away from breaking and ceasing to exist.
Her own aching at the view, screaming at her to take the boy, wrap him in a bundle of blankets and nurse/guard him until at full health.
Being ended was reserved to the lowest of the low. It was a last resort that should only be used should the offender be irredeemable and too dangerous to be contained. To think that this almost happened and still could to her own king and one so young.
It was nauseating.
Lady Gotham forced herself to look away, turning her attention back to Clockwork.
“I assume he is the charge you want to bring into my care.”
“He is.” Clockwork responded.
The woman nodded, the smoke and black clouds in her umbrella spreading around her.
“Then if you will follow me.”
Lady Gotham faded and became one with the smog. The black mass zooming towards Midtown Gotham, the ancient of time on its heels.
They soon arrived in front of a small but clean apartment building. The two ghosts phased through the wall of the top floor only to be greeted by the view of a spacious yet cozy loft.
The unit was furnished with all the necessary furniture, non-ecto-contaminated food already stocked in the fridge. The space was designed in order to facilitate Daniel’s recovery. The boy would already be going through hell with his recovery and grief; it was best not to add insult to injury.
The city spirit having taken back physical form, leads Clockwork towards the bed on the second floor of the loft.
Once inside, the Ancient carefully sets Danny down on the bed and slowly covers him with a soft blanket. He then produced a pen and a neon green notepad from who knows where and started writing.
Lady Gotham approached the ghost.
“Lord ClockWork, pardon my intrusion, but wouldn’t it be best for you to explain the situation to the young king face to face.”
Clockwork paused.
“Young Daniel is too unstable to be dealing with the emotional distress my presence would bring. He has been hurt enough as it is.”
“Those excuses are nothing but the words of a coward.”
“Pardon me?”
“You are not. Are you truly running away in order to protect the boy or are you doing so to save yourself?”
“…”
“Tell me, Lord Clockwork. When the young king awakens, would he prefer to be met with an insincere apology letter from a coward or the genuine words of a man admitting to his mistakes?”
Clockwork couldn’t even utter a word.He didn’t have any excuse to defend himself. The city spirit was right.
“Your words are as sharp as ever, old friend.”
“I speak nothing but the truth, Master of Time. However, it seems to me that you are already set on your decision.”
“I-”
“I hope in your interest that you made the right choice.” The Lady snapped.
The woman turned away but not without leaving a few departing words.
“Or that at least you are prepared to face the consequences.”
Lady Gotham disappeared in a whirlwind of smog.
Clock work turned back to Daniel watching as his face scrunched up when the old ghost brushed a strand of hair away from his face.
His old core flared with parental love.
He looked so peaceful, as if nothing ever went wrong. However, In just a few hours, he would wake up and reality would come crashing down.
His bright and joyous protegee. The one he couldn’t help but adore every version of. The one he subconsciously adopted as his own child.
Clockwork couldn’t. He just couldn’t bring himself to face the hatred and pain his pupil would inevitably direct at him.
Gotham was right.
The Master of Time set down the notepad on the night table
He was a coward.
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*A few hours later*
As the first few rays of sunshine broke through Gotham’s thick smog, a young black and white haired boy slowly woke up from his slumber.
It was comfortable, the soft fluffy blanket brushing against his achy skin. The warmth that comes with being cocooned in the safety of your own bed. Danny didn’t want to open his eyes. But he needed to wake up, in just a few moments Jazz would come knocking at his door to drag him to school.
The soft familiar knock never came, but the memories sure did.
Danny snapped his eyes open. Tears threatening to fall.
Clockwork -LiaR- ,the reveal, the capture -BeTraYaL-, the experiments -PaIN-, Jazz, Sam, Tucker,-PAINPAINPAIN mY FauLT- the wails, blood, explosion, death -MurDEreR!-, pain, Core breaking, burning, melting- PAIN PAIN PAIN! I ShOuLD be DeAD!-.
The Halfa now fully awake kicked the blanket enveloping him away and tried to get out of the bed.
His legs still injured and unable to support his weight gave out and he collapsed on the wooden floor in a heap.
The sharp pain of jolting his injuries and face planting further cemented to Danny that he wasn’t dreaming and that the nightmare was fully real.
“...no…NONONONONONO! Please, no! Please! I BEG YOU! PLEASE! JAZZ, TUCK, SAM PLEASE! DONT BE REAL! PLEASE!” Danny tried to say, but the only thing that came out were erratic breaths that could vaguely be associated with words. His damaged throat made it impossible to even breathe without it flaring in pain.
Choked and pained sobs filled the once silent room.
The young Halfa still collapsed on the floor cried , slowly curling up on himself hugging his knees.
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Chapter 1! | Masterpost | Chapter 3!
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See you next time!
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The Floor is Lava!
After dinner was all cleaned up was when the game of Floor is Lava started. Dick, while leaving the room, had suddenly jumped into the door jam, blocking the way out into the rest of the manor, sans kitchen, and shouted with a grin “The Floor is Lava! The floor is lava! Get off the floor!”
Jazz immediately sighed and Danny’s mischievous grin grew to near inhuman standards.
The rest of the Wayne family had immediately dedicated their focus to getting off the floor as quickly as possible.
Cassandra leapt onto the windowsill and Steph claimed possession of the dining table (much to Alfred’s displeasure). If anyone dared try to also jump onto the table, she would body them back off the table and onto the ‘lava.’
Barbara stayed where she was. When an exasperated Dick scolded her, she would just raise an eyebrow and say “No part of me is touching the ground. Only my wheelchair is.”
Tim, running on an hour of sleep from two days ago, glared at Dick before sinking down to lay on the ground. Danny thought he heard the quiet grumble of “just succumbing to the inevitable. I’m too tired for this shit.” Damian immediately stepped directly onto Tim’s back, staring down anyone who looked at him.
Bruce simply sat back down at his seat at the head of the table and reopened his newspaper, his legs folded beneath him. Even Alfred moved to step onto a rug, hiding a smile by turning towards the tea set. Only Jason saw his amusement as he had chosen to push himself up on the tea tray (after moving everything to the side, he wasn’t a monster).
It was only after everyone else found their perches that they looked over to see Danny simply sitting cross-legged in mid air with Jazz holding onto him like a backpack. Danny, of course, had the biggest grin. Jazz stared at Dick with the most dead-pan expression.
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