Literal Star Dew ✨
Sometimes I forget that this is a poor 14-year-old boy
I love the relationship between these two for many reasons and this is one of them
Macaque from Lego Monkie Kid!
More lately complicated relationship again and again 🙈
And twist things
I'm mister spine twister. I'm mister curves. I'm mister scoliosis. I'm mister Sitting Hurts
DPxDC Mechanical Engineer Danny
Danny caught the attention of Batman while studying at Gotham University for his alternative energy projects. He’s hired right out of college to work on the Watchtower.
He shows absolutely no tell of his abilities till there’s a dire situation- Flash’s electric discharge messes with one of his projects in progress and the whole base would have lost air pressure if he hadn’t done a quick fix using telekinesis and ice.
Of course Batman notices.
Batman assumes the worst- he suspects Danny’s a rogue of some kind, someone who has infiltrated the Justice League with an ulterior motive. But he can’t just fire Danny now- he’s the only one who knows how the new Watchtower energy source works. Plus, he’s not letting Danny go anywhere until he’s figured out his true motives.
Cue Batman subtly testing Danny- tossing things at him to trigger inhuman fast reflexes, having him lift too-heavy machinery, setting up convenient opportunities to steal or snoop or otherwise be up to no good. Danny does take advantage but only once, to use a computer terminal with unlocked clearance. He didn’t plant any bugs that Barman could find, and he otherwise kept up his powerless civilian act perfectly.
Still, Batman’s not satisfied. He brings an infrasonic sound emitter to Danny’s lab one day, and that, of all things, is what gets Danny to break.
“I know what you’re doing,” Danny admits with a sigh, finally. “If you’re really that suspicious of me, I can leave, but I kinda like my job so I’d prefer not to. The benefits are insane compared to what’s standard.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure. yeah. How about you turn off the freaking noise generator and we can talk?”
“Hm.” Batman obliges, and he takes the stool next to Danny at his gesture.
“Number one, I’m not a meta. Despite all the data and conclusions you’ve probably drawn otherwise. Number two, I’m on your side. I’m here to work on the base, that’s it. I follow your rules to the letter.”
“The-“
“The classified files I looked at? Yeah that was the one exception. You already know what I looked at, I’m sure, but maybe you haven’t figured out why. It goes back to point one- I may not be a meta, but I am something that organization, the GIW, cares about. I looked at your files on them to sus out your relations. Seeing as I don’t particularly love being the victim to twelve degrees of human rights violations if I can avoid it.”
“Hm.” The Ghost Intelligence Ward was one of many government agencies that the Justice League hadn’t worked closely with. But they also hadn’t been flagged for Justice League investigation. Danny’s comments made him doubt that call.
“Any other questions?”
“If you’re not a meta, what are you?”
“I’m an engineer. A pretty decent one. And I’d really, really like it to stay that way.”
Batman considers, and ultimately lets him stay. He likes Danny (everyone likes Danny), and it would be a massive pain in the ass to replace him. He really is a good engineer.
It’s only much later that his faith in Danny is repaid in spades.
Batman finds Danny on the Watchtower command bridge. Alarms are blaring, the station has been knocked out of orbit, out the window there’s shrapnel floating everywhere as a space battle rages around them.
On the station it’s chaos. Technicians run around, shouts from the med bay, sparks from the walls.
Batman and Danny stand at the main controls, watching the battle outside, stoic, unmoving.
Wonder Woman’s harried voice crackles through on coms: “We need backup.”
“There is no more backup.” Batman replies, while looking pointedly at Danny.
“What?”
Batman doesn’t move.
“What.”
“The impact from Darkseid’s initial attack should have sent this station on a terminal trajectory toward the planet.”
“Well. We aren’t currently plummeting to our deaths, so turns out it didn’t do that.”
“You did something.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re lying.”
“Maybe Superman nudged us back on course in all the chaos.”
“I’ve been watching the trackers. No one else with the capability has come near the station.”
“Can’t you just be grateful we got lucky?”
Sounds of peril screech over the coms. Danny’s face scrunches.
“Luck had nothing to do with it. As it is now, we are going to lose this fight.”
“Isn’t there anyone else you can call?”
“I’m asking you. You can help, can’t you?”
The glare-off lasts a long moment more before Danny breaks.
“Fuck. Fuckity fuck.” Danny runs his hands through his hair. “Shit. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I’m asking you to save this and countless other worlds from a genocide. I’m also asking you to save my friends.”
Danny looks at him, hard, weary, and with a kind of deep resolve that feels far too ancient to be on the face of a supposed twenty-something.
“Fine. Fine. Okay.” He steps back and transforms. If Batman is surprised when he shakes off his human appearance like an old coat, he doesn’t show it. But what’s undeniable is the being in Danny’s place has the unmistakable presence of power.
“No one else can know.” His voice echoes in a way that’s sonically impossible, both sounding closer and further away than he should be.
He pulls a gear-shaped medallion seemingly out of thin air and puts it over his head in one motion.
“If I get in trouble for this, I’m blaming you.”
He vanishes. Outside, the shape of the battle changes instantly. The stars seem to glow brighter as the arms of the galaxy flash with the colors of the aurora. Then it’s like the void of space itself comes alive. It moves the spaceships back like they’re toys, plucking them from one side of the field to the other. It finds Darkseid at the heart of the chaos and massive arms of nothingness and darkness wrap around him. He’s screaming as it swallows him whole.
His armies scatter. The battle turns. The JL deal with the stragglers, but the air of relief is palpable.
Danny reappears next to Batman, once again donning his grease-stained coveralls. Arms folded.
“Happy?”
It took all of five minutes. Less, probably. Batman tamps down a thousand questions.
“Thank you.”
“I’m gonna need two weeks off minimum.” Danny snaps. “One to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare you’ve just caused me, and another to recover from the headache.”
Batman blanks. “Granted.”
Danny sighs. “And I’m not fixing the station until I’m back. It won’t fall out of the sky as is. Make up whatever excuse you want.”
“Done.” He considers. “I would prefer to tell them the truth. That you saved us.”
Danny glares. “I’m not supposed to save you. I made a pact not to use my power to influence the mortal realm.”
“A pact with who?”
Danny rolls his eyes. “The embodiment of Time. The concept of Justice. Among others.” He smirks at Batman’s confusion.
“And what, exactly, does that make you?”
He stands, framed by the space window, haloed by the stars. “I’ll give you three guesses.”
Batman frowns.
“Look. I like you guys. I like working on your base. I like supporting the work you do. But you can not go factoring me in to any of your plans or contingencies. This was a one time thing.
“So to answer your question again: I’m an engineer.”
In Gotham University where Jason is studying literature, while Danny is studying engineering. Nobody knew how they even met, but they both showed up one day going out with each other.
Nobody knew why exactly Jason, who is an absolutely beefcake, built like a fridge, was with a guy that totally looks like a loser. He was tinier than Jason - a complete twink-, he often gets up to run to the bathroom citing stomach problems, once you set him off about something, he'll never stop yapping about it.
So, one brave student went up to Jason and asked the question. Why him?
Jason just smirked and tilted his head at Danny.
"Open your mouth."
Danny does so obligingly in confusion. What he didn't know nor did he realise was that once he did, his features started to distort, looking more...not human.
His teeth were sharp and jagged, his mouth was like a gaping abyss, so dark that the only thing that you see was more and more teeth. His eyes took more of a green hue, skin turned paler, and his freckles shone like the stars.
Danny then rolled out his tongue, which came out long and serpentine, flicking it a bit before rolling it back into his mouth, becoming normal once more.
Jason gave a lovesick lustful look at him.
The student immediately understood and simply said 'Have a nice day', because they get why. Teratophilia is a thing, people.
He is Yappatron 3000 🍺
Danny's flight or fight response has quite the hair trigger for a few select phrases most being things vlad would say
One such being his full name a bit odd but there's a reason he always asks to be called danny
So really it's not his fault after joining the school in gotham he had been introduced to his class and he'd told them to call him danny
And he hadn't heard him all he'd heard was someone calling him danial and putting a hand on his shoulder
So really he can't be blamed for how he reacted he told everyone not to call him Daniel and he snuck up and called him daniel
How can he be blamed for breaking Damien waynes nose