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Danny quickened his pace as the rainfall became more intense before a crack of thunder bloomed through the night. Blue eyes peeked through the soaked bangs, watching the clouds writhed in masses of black and grey, a perfect blend of color for this city.
His red converse landed on the puddle, slimy water bathing it as he gripped his backpack close to him, eyes continuing to dart around the alley he was in, cautious and wariness evident in his body language, ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger.
Danny pursed his lips at the three intersections before he decided to fuck it! And went for the right, ignoring the weight of his soggy clothes.
He’s tired. He’s hungry and cranky. His feet were killing him and he was this close to collapsing, but Danny pushed through, despite the urge to sink to his knees on the ground and let the rain drown him.
I’m almost there, Danny urged himself, passing by brick wall apartments that reek of mold. In the corner of his eyes, he could see a shadow of a man lazily flipping a pocket knife into the air. And if Danny sped up, well, it was a matter of self-preservation even though he was confident in his abilities to fight off any potential muggers. Sucks to be them.
It felt like a long time, seemingly going in with no direction, but Danny did have a destination in mind. An address he memorized with a gripping chance.
And when his feet finally made it to the front door, with a number matching the address, Danny couldn’t help but hesitate as he raised his fist.
Danny didn’t have high hopes for this. If he was completely honest to himself, this was his last-ditch of seeking sanctuary.
He can’t rely on hiding in Foley’s house. He can’t rely on hiding in the Mansons. And the last thing he wanted was to burden Jazz with his presence, who was currently having a great time at Harvard with a scholarship in her grasp. She didn’t even know that their parents knew.
And Danny can’t bring himself to involve any more of them. They would only be in more danger if his parents knew of their involvement.
And if the GIW knew, Danny grimly thought.
Yeah, no. This was the least he could do to protect the people he loved. He had to do this alone.
And so, here he was, miles away from Amity Park, so far from home. In an unfamiliar city. Known for “no-metas”, which was fucking great, Danny thought sarcastically.
But nobody would ever suspect him of hiding here. It was why Danny took a risk going here. Not just because of the city’s reputation with its vigilantes, but because of one particular person who lived here.
The only one who might help him.
His parents didn’t even know that he knew he was adopted. A stupid middle-school assignment had done wonders for that when Danny had sneaked into their room, looking for the family records till he accidentally stumbled upon papers of closed adoption with his name in there. Danny had been disheartened at first, but later concluded that he still loved the Fentons. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t theirs by blood. Mom and Dad chose him.
Until they stumbled across his secret. His whole life came crashing down. His secret identity was exposed, and with nowhere to run (He refused to seek shelter from Vlad). No safe place he could hide from everyone.
Except maybe his birth mom.
Danny thanked the Ancients that Tucker managed to track her down even though it had been a closed adoption. But his friend made it work, and Danny was surprised when Tucker pulled out a picture of his biological mother, he saw the familiar features staring back at him.
And when Danny finally got the courage to knock on the door, it opened in a few seconds, and standing before him was her.
Stephanie Brown, Danny thought, his eyes drinking her in.
Steph frowned as she slowly opened the front door.
“Oh my god, a wet kitten!” She blurted it out before she could stop it.
Incredulous blue eyes stared at hers, the words seemingly dying on his tongue as his rat’s nest black hair and clothes continued to drip wet onto her wooden porch. One hand was clutching the straps of his backpack while the other was frozen mid-air.
Steph quickly scrambled away to search for clean towels, her instincts kicking in, leaving the dumbstruck teen standing.
Where is it?...AHA!
She quickly strode back to where she came from. The mysterious teen's eyes were hesitant as he seemed to survey her house before it immediately zoned in on her. A part of her noted that the teen had sixth sense despite her silent footsteps. Huh.
“Here!” She bundled the teen with comfy Spoiler-themed towels. Unable to resist the lost puppy-eyed look, Steph dried his wet hair with another towel, making his hair go fluffy in all sorts of directions.
"Can I help you?" Steph asked, her insides curling as she was met with blue eyes so eerily familiar.
"Are you Stephanie Brown?" he asked, his voice hoarse as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
She tensed, unsure if this was some trap of some kind, taking a step back slightly.
"I am...Who are you?"
The teen seemed to curl inward at her confirmation, eyes darting everywhere else as he rubbed the back of his neck. "My name's Danny. Danny Fenton. And I'm—" he stopped, looking more nervous than ever.
Steph's suspicion deepened. Even though she had never seen this teen before, there was something about him that was familiar—
"—And I'm your son."
Steph froze, ice crashing through her veins. Her mind flashed back fifteen years ago when she gave away her baby as she was first starting out as a vigilante. Knowing that her child would be better and safer elsewhere. Away from her.
“What?”
The teen let out a nervous chuckle. “Hi, Mom." And it sounded so awkward for him to call her that. It’s not like she deserved to be called that.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” was all Steph could say as she opened the door wider, letting her son enter. Her movement felt robotic as she led him to the living room, small and bare. And a mess.
Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. It’s not like she expected visitors today (or any other day, she added). But when a teenager claiming to be her son was gazing around the room, curious, Steph felt she needed to stay something before he started commenting on her untidiness.
“Last I checked, I had a daughter,” Steph finally spoke. Now that she was looking at it, she could see it. The resemblance.
The teen winced, seeming to shrink himself as he took a seat. “Trans.”
“Hmm,” she said distractedly. Her eyes were still stuck on his features, so achingly familiar.
We have the same eyes, Steph realized.
“I mean, if you don’t believe me, I brought the papers,” the teen started to ramble, hands jittery, his body language nervous, scrambling to open his backpack behind him.
Steph wanted to say something. Anything at all to wipe away that worried look on his face. But the teen was word vomiting at a fast speed, not giving Steph any time to cut in. Or reassure him at all that it was okay. That he didn’t need to be afraid.
Then a flash of papers was filled in her vision. Steph slowly took it as the teen—no, wait, Danny—quickly took a step back, sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck before returning to his seat.
A nervous habit, her detective-trained mind noted that as the teen continued to awkwardly shift in the armchair. Eyes that continued to quickly dart hers for a few seconds before looking away.
A heavy silence stretched between them as Steph forced herself to turn her gaze away from him to look at the papers, a distant part of her mind analyzed the information, plucking it into her brain to look it up later, for double checking. Yet a part of her felt like she didn’t need to. Call it a feeling (which she was sure the Bats would reprimand her for not being paranoid enough. And Steph would beg to differ because her gut instincts hadn’t betrayed her so far for the past fifteen years), but Steph knew for sure that Danny was telling the truth. And that he was who he claimed he was.
Her son.
Color her with purple glitter. Who would’ve expected that?
Steph could feel her mouth stretching into a wry grin. “I’ve been spoiled.”
Danny’s face turned into a cute scrunched-up look. “I’m sorry?”
Oh my god. Steph wanted to pinch his cheeks. She hadn’t noticed, but Danny still had baby fat. And cute little freckles sprinkled across his nose and cheek. It made her want to pull out her phone and snap a quick shot of that, just so she could coo at that sight.
Judging by his body language, it would probably overwhelm that poor fella. So she just waved him off, “An inside joke.”
“So,” She clapped her hands, keeping her smile fixated so she didn’t scare him off. Gentle probing was the key here. “Spill the beans. Give me the deets.”
After hearing a very concerning explanation of the wheres, hows, and why Danny was here—and holy shit, Ghosts exists?! Steph shouldn’t be surprised considering her line of work, but still—Steph immediately offered him her place.
“Stay as long as you like. I have a guest room down the hallway, second door to left.” Well, it used to be Cass’s but Steph was sure she wouldn’t mind giving it to her new favorite nephew.
“Just like that?” Danny sounded baffled. “You believe me?!”
“Yeah, just like that.” Why wouldn’t she? Even if he wasn’t her son, she was not in a habit of turning away kids in need.
A part of her wanted to snuggle the boy into her arms, to let him know that she would never disbelieve him. Another part of her wanted to ask who dared make her son think he can’t trust adults, but she already knew the answer to that.
Her heart was already hurting from imagining the pain Danny must have gone through. And that was the only reason why Steph, having much more tact, decided not to push the teen from explaining. For now, Danny’s welfare and needs take priority. Of course, Steph was going to have to do something about that pesky little threat Danny mentioned, but Steph was confident that Barbara would help.
Nothing like two girls willing to cover a bit of murder. Hell hath no fury like a woman scored.
Steph will never understand why the Bats seemed to be under the impression the Oracle’s morals would be as straight as theirs. Have they forgotten that the Oracle occasionally worked with her Birds of Prey teammate, Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress.
And Cass will either babysit or pull out some fancy assassin moves. Oh yeah. Steph should totally sick Cass on the Fentons. It would be fabulous. The scary Black Bat terrifying the shit out of them.
Steph could feel her mouth stretching into a wide evil grin, probably spooking her son. Oh god. Her son. Steph was going to have to get used to that.
“We’re having waffles?” He sounded judgmental about that.
“What’s wrong with waffles? Waffles are a great way to start your day!” And it was how Mom used to bond with her before she was off to her shift in West Mercy Hospital. Waffles. The epitome of a great Mom-and-child bonding experience. Steph wanted to applaud herself for thinking that.
Danny muttered under his breath “As long it’s not toast”. Steph made sure her smile remained unchanged while her brain buzzed with that interesting tidbit of information.
“I died.”
“So did I.” Danny raised his eyebrow at her.
What?!
"How did you die again?" Steph asked later, a cup of warm tea on her hands.
"You sure you want spoilers for that?" Danny said.
"...Yup. Definitely my kid. The sass is genetic."
"I have great Aunties." After introducing Danny to Barbara and Cass, of course, they immediately jump in to help. Steph never doubted her girl besties were down to help.
"What about your uncles?" Barbara asked, giving Steph a pointed look.
She shrugged. She didn’t want Danny to deal with Bruce’s long-ass interrogation. He could stick it up on his ass. No way was she going to let Danny go through that.
"I have uncles?" Danny blankly said.
"Yeah, and a billionaire grandad."
"Great.” He didn’t sound enthusiastic about that. “I'm related to a fruit loop billionaire?"
“He’s not my dad,” Steph couldn’t help but add that. “So, we're not actually related to any of them. They’re more of a family friend, to be honest.”
“So what about your dad?” Danny asked.
Steph snorted. “Haven’t you researched about me? My dad is the frickin’ Cluemaster.”
“Wait, my grandpa was a supervillain?”
“He’s barely a villain. More like a C-rated one. Low tier.”
“Ew. I can't believe I'm related to a lame name like Cluemaster. What's up with that?”
Cass let out a mysterious smile, tapping Danny on the nose. “No clue.” Funny.
“And isn’t your hero name a pun, Mister Danny ‘Phantom’ Fenton?” Steph cheekily grinned at him.
Her son scowled. “Like yours, Spoiler.”
“Like mother like son.” Barbara smiled softly, shaking her head at them.
Steph giggled while her son let out a muttering of curses.
“Wait, that billionaire grandad that you mentioned—“
“He’s not actually my dad.” Steph reminded him.
“…is Bruce Wayne?”
"Bruce would love you,” Cass added, trying to be helpful.
Danny wrinkled his nose. “If I have to choose between meeting a billionaire himbo or a lame name like Cluemaster, I think I’ll take my chances with the latter choice of granddad.”
Guess Steph will keep her mouth shut that his granddad was actually a furry himbo. Oh well.
“It's eggplant, Danny. Purple would have looked stupid."
Her son gave her a wry grin. "You know; my friend Sam would agree with you there."
There was something funny in the way he said that. Steph's brows furrowed in confusion.
“Sam was your ex, right?”
“What’s wrong with that? Can’t be friends with an ex?”
“I have a friend like that.”
Danny’s nose scrunched, almost in disgust. “Please tell he’s not my dad.”
That would be hilarious. Steph snorted at that. The thought of Tim being capable of handling any child of hers would be too chaotic for that poor guy. He’d probably treat Danny like a puzzle.
“Naah. He’s weak,” she giggled, ignoring the look of confusion thrown in her way.
"Wait, you dated a billionaire?"
"Used to date. My greatest shame," Steph moaned dramatically.
Danny snorted. "He sounds stupid."
"Probably because I hit him with a brick when we first met." Steph offhandedly said.
Danny's jaw dropped.
My mom is definitely unhinged. He can’t believe he’s related to her.
Steph snorted in laughter when her eyes landed on the front page of Gotham Gazette. A picture of her and Danny walking down the street was on display, with a title: Tim’s ex hiding a secret love child?
“Why are you laughing?” Danny frowned, picking up the paper.
“Let’s just say I haven’t told the fam yet about you,” Steph cracked a grin. She can already imagine it now.
Meanwhile, the Bats were panicking when they saw the picture.
Tim immediately went bluescreen, looking utterly confused.
"Oh my god. Steph is turning into Bruce," that was the first thing Tim said when his eyes landed on Danny who seemed to shrink at the amount of attention on him. Steph instinctually took a step in front of him before Tim's words registered in her head.
Black hair. Check. Blue eyes. Double check. And with a tragic backstory. Triple check. Oh god, it’s contagious.
Steph just poked her tongue out at him. "It's not adoption since Danny's actually my son."
Danny's face seemed to turn red at that.
Not being able to resist now, Steph just pinched his cheek. Danny slapped her hands away.
Later, when the Batfam finally sat down and met Danny (after Bruce practically demanded it), explanations were exchanged, and everything became calm, believe it or not. Alfred had managed to wrangle the boys with a pointed look, reminding them that Danny was a guest.
The Bats gave him a sheepish look while Steph guided Danny to the large sitting room.
To Steph’s unsurprised, everyone adored her son. Bruce and Tim immediately were down to dismantle the GIW and the Anti-Ecto Acts (which seriously, what the fudge, guys?).
She wasn’t even surprised that Dick and Danny seemed to get along well with what looked like the beginnings of a pun-battle between them. Duke seemed to be the most curious about Danny, which wasn’t a surprise to her when considering Duke’s meta-abilities. Maybe ghost powers weren’t that far off the meta-gene.
Though Steph’s gotta say, she was surprised to see Jay here. But after much thinking, Steph concluded it must be a “dead” thing with the way her son constantly shot curious looks in Jason’s direction, who was totally pretending to not notice his stares by looking all cool with that leather jacket.
Does that mean we’re going to have to change the “Dead Robins” club to “Dead Teenage Vigilantes” club? Steph wondered as she watched her son hesitantly approach Jason. And few minutes later, Steph could immediately tell the difference in the way all the tension on Danny’s shoulder dissipated. His gestures become animated, his eyes lighting up while Jason listened attentively to the teen, always nodding at certain points.
“Of course, Daniel would be Todd’s favorite nephew,” Damian said in what looked like a distasteful expression, seeming to detest the teen’s existence. But Steph knew better. She knew for sure Danny’s got his fingers wrapped around that little gremlin. Danny’s just too irresistible and not even Damian was immune to that.
Jason agreed distractedly, still focused on whatever Danny was saying.
He's your only nephew. Of course, he’s your fav.” Steph rolled her eyes.
“That might not be the case in the future, according to Kori,” Jason offhandedly mentioned, not seeming to realize the bomb drop.
The sound of a thud followed by a yelp was heard from behind.
“WHAT?!” Everyone turned around and could see Dick’s wide-eyed shocked look. “She’s pregnant?!” he demanded.
“…woops?” Jason shot his brother a sheepish and embarrassed look.
It was at that moment that Danny let out a burst of laughter. And Steph couldn’t help but join with him.
"You know, your mom is so cool," one of Steph’s friends said to him later—Barbara, was it?— as they stared at the monitor where Batgirl, who whipped out a grapple gun before she flew in the air. Her carefree laugh echoed throughout the streets, with Danny’s new-found aunt and uncles following her from behind.
There was something poetic about Danny who only started as a vigilante because he felt like he had no choice, being the sole reason for making the Ghost Portal work, unleashing the ghosts into the living realm and proceeding to make his life a living hell.
And then there was Stephanie Brown, though while, yes, her initial reason had been because of her villain dad, she seemed to genuinely want to help people. She chose the vigilante life, of her own free will. And Danny can't help but admire her for that
She’s reliable, Danny realized later. He knew he shouldn’t compare his birth mom to his adopted parents, but he couldn’t help it. Stephanie was just the embodiment of carefree, determination, and trustworthiness. There was a kind of strength in her that made Danny admire her. A steadiness in her aura that made Danny believe he could lean on her, knowing that she would catch him.
Danny smiled softly, something like pride bloomed over his chest. "Yeah, she is." He agreed easily.
She’s amazing.