The Boy king and The Dark Knights

I

Vague Beginnings
(Blame Clockwork)
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DANIEL FENTON, king of the ghost realm and one of the strongest ghosts in existence? Scared? Ha! Daniel was not even the slightest bit nervous as he rested back on a church steeple, looking over the gloomiest city he’d ever seen (and he was from the ghost zone!)

Daniel Fenton was sixteen years old. It had been two (very) long years since he had accidentally killed himself (and isn’t that an awkward statement out of context). It had been a year since his parents had discovered his alter ego and he had moved to the ghost zone to begin his training to be the next ghost king.

And now Danny was in Gotham, on some strange mission that Clockwork had sent him on, being annoyingly vague about Danny’s purpose in the city.

The ghost boy had heard of Batman. Everyone had. Well, everyone who didn’t live under a rock. But there was one piece of information that Danny and those with abilities like his own paid attention to.

Batman hated metas.

Ok, maybe that was an over exaggeration. He seemed to work well enough with the rest of the justice league, and all together they had more genetic miracles than Danny had friends.

But he still had that ironclad rule of no metas in Gotham.

Now Danny wasn’t technically a meta, but he didn’t really think Batman sit around to let him explain the technicalities of being half dead.

So Danny’s plan went like this:

Step 1- Get clockwork to tell him just what he was doing in possibly the most ominous city on earth.

Step 2- Get whatever he needs to do done as fast as (in-)humanly possible.

Step 3- Run for the hills like Pariah Dark himself is chasing you.

Now Danny just had to wait for someone to hurry up and help him kickstart Step 1.

Lost in his thought, he would have missed clockworks near-silent arrival if not for the pale blue fog that floated out of his mouth.

“So you want to tell me what I’m doing here?” Danny asked, peering at his mentor from the corner of his eye.

“No.” Clockwork smiled before flying away leaving a grumbling Danny to follow him.

As they weaved through the buildings of Gotham, Danny called out to his technical subject “I’m pretty sure this is insubordination!”

When Clockwork finally came to a stop in a dark alley, Danny floated down next to him, scanning the alleyway for any hints as to just what Clockwork brought him here for.

Scanning the surrounding area, the halfa came to a solid conclusion.

“Clockwork, this is a completely average alleyway.”

“That is true Daniel.” Clockwork still had that stupid smile on his face, before it turned somewhat sadder. “I suppose I should prematurely apologize.”

Now Danny was even more confused as clockwork patted his shoulder sympathetically “Apologize? What’s going on-“

A flash of green light lit up the near abandoned alleyway, consuming it in light.

When the light finally faded, Clockwork was nowhere to be seen.

Danny Fentons head was pounding. He reached up to clutch his head, to see if he could somehow manage to shove it back together even though it felt like it would split in two-

- his hands were too small and his body felt too soft and his head hurt and he didn’t know where he was and he didn’t know who he was because all that was left was pain-

And the Ghost Boy’s body fell to the floor, rings glowing around him changing pale white hair to a soft looking black and pale blue eyes sliding shut.

Danny laid prone in the filthy alleyway, consciousness completely lost from the boy who had been so much larger not even a minute ago.

Daniel Fenton was sixteen years old until he wasn’t, and Clockwork couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sympathy for the now prepubescent boy.

Daniel Fenton was a child again, and Clockworks pieces were falling into place.