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whoseyscientist · 1 year

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BEST BRUCE WAYNE/ BATMAN FICS I KNOW

ok so I’ve noticed a distinct lack of fic recs surrounding bruce as a focus and figured hey, I read a fuck ton of bruce fics to fix that!!

This is gonna be a mix of gen and shipping, for this list at least, I’m just gonna have all the longer fics with a more serious tone here- i lowkey wanna do another rec list for batfam or team bonding with the league and/or sweeter slice of life fics too (also all the other superbat fics, there were so many others but this list was already getting waay too long lol)

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GENERAL

I’ll Come Out Right On The Other Side

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21995317/chapters/52488031

A direct follow up to “Live While I Breathe” in which Bruce begins therapy.

His first major goal? Bettering his relationships with his kids, one at a time.

AKA: Bruce plans a bonding activity with each of his kids and generally makes a fool of himself. He thinks it might be worth it though, in the end.

Good Intentions and the Highest Hopes

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35013313/chapters/87205279

Bruce offers each of his children the chance to go on vacation with him, and they get to choose the destination. Jason chooses the one place he thinks Bruce will enjoy the least, out of spite.

That’s how the two of them end up going to Disney World.

Yesterday's Voices

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035398/chapters/24597084

While trying to take down a drug cartel that deals with memory altering drugs, things go awry, and Batman wakes up with no recollection of the last five years. As a result, his family must now race against time to find the antidote, while also having to deal with a Bruce who still thinks Jason is Robin. A Bruce who doesn't recognise most of them. A Bruce far less jaded and cynical than the one they're used to. A Bruce who still cares.

Nature and Nurture

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14519379/chapters/33545871

It was a no good, very bad night all around, and it kept getting worse.

In which the writer explores some classic tropes, indulges in some BatFam feels, and explores the effects of nature and nurture on the psyche of one Bruce Thomas Wayne.

(^ bruce gets hit with a spell and goes through different ages and bonds with each batfam through every one- it’s really really good)

Foreign Object

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7804285/chapters/17807005

Bruce Wayne deals with a serious illness, one that threatens the most crucial part of himself. He and the family try to cope with their own fears and expectations about it and then the aftermath. This is written partly as character study, partly as family drama.

A Good Place

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13515501/chapters/30999966

Damian Wayne is kidnapped and sent back years through time. Together, he and Father – who's only been Batman for a mere six months –must figure out how to return him to his own time. Over the course of the next week, Damian discovers that Mexican gangsters do not mess around, that social workers find Bruce annoying, that Bruce might be a little messed up, and that crystal chandeliers create the fondest memories.

Oh. And Alfred has hair.

Keep Your Head, Your Backbone, and Your Heart

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30878135/chapters/76242287

The last thing that Duke expected on what was supposed to be just a regular patrol was being suddenly thrown five years into the past, coming face to face with a darker, more violent Batman than the one he knew, a broken family, and a Tim who was a foot shorter than Duke, and not even Robin yet.

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SUPERBAT

A Common Misconception

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28374456/chapters/69587634#workskin

When Bruce Wayne comes out, he accidentally becomes the poster child of bisexuality and realizes his lifestyle of sleeping around needs to come to an end. Clark, being the supportive friend that he is, volunteers to pretend to date him for a year.

You know the rest.

Infinite

https://archiveofourown.org/works/9544220/chapters/21581087

With the help of an alien artifact Bruce is travelling to more universes than he ever thought possible. The only problem?

He can’t get back to his own.

Time To Give

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33784999/chapters/83984005

Martha Kent has lost her son; that's something Bruce can understand. A friendship that blossoms from grief and loss? Bruce can be selfish this once and allow himself at least that.

But then Martha gets her son back, and Bruce? Bruce doesn't. Living with what he's done and has had done to him? Maybe Bruce needs a little help with that. And it seems both Kents are willing to give Bruce as much time as he's willing to give them.

Until his son does come back. Both of them.

(A Superhero's Amateur Guide to Saving a Life, Falling in Love, and Preserving the Space-Time Continuum Despite) Time Travel

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137466

There isn't anything unusual about the day Bruce dies.

Clark wishes there had been. He wishes he'd known it was coming; he wishes he'd been ready and waiting to stop it before it happened at all.

But having the chance to fix it after the fact is the next-best thing. He'll take it.

Porridge (New and Improved)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18916780

If there was no Batman, he would just have to create him. No matter what the cost. With the help of a Batman-inspired supercomputer that is close to the real thing (but not nearly close enough), Superman brings Batman to the world once more.

(^ crazyyyyy)

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BATLANTERN

Am I The Asshole?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28287774/chapters/69318234

Hal is sick, and Bruce helps out, and illness has a way of showing you not just who you really are, but who someone else is too. It's possible, Hal comes to realize, that he just might be the asshole. Possibly. Just maybe

What If

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137433/chapters/52840714

(not the summary, but a note)

It's a "What if Hal came home to find out about Coast City's destruction after the fact?" and a "What if Bruce, being his general awkward but well-intentioned self, stuck his nose in?" and a "What if, Hal got a little support from his friends - take that and shove it, Parallax" kind of fic

The Little Green Light

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3785038/chapters/8419681

Bruce lets himself push back a door of possibility he really ought to have known better than to try, and gets entangled in Ollie and Dinah's complicated life. Hal Jordan has been there before, and offers him some free advice -- and then quite a bit more.

(^ honestly, any batlatern fic done by this person, literally every one)

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RARE(OTHER) PAIR

not really rare but more I couldn’t justify them having their own section so here’s where all the other pairs go lol

Find Your Purpose

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624758/chapters/64921246

With the manor in flames, Bruce Wayne sets out into the world for a well deserved vacation. When he becomes separated from Alfred, Bruce finds himself trapped in a downward spiral he can't recover from.

Or at least not without help, and help comes from the strangest of places.

(^ bruce/bane- i really like how they dealt with the more political side of things and asked some real questions)

Coming Home

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459708/chapters/28354785

After she receives his gift, Diana invites Bruce to Paris so she can tell him her story. They are interrupted when a figure from Diana's past returns with a message from Themyscira. Diana, with Bruce at her side, discovers that not all myths are myth and she is not as alone as she once was.

(^ wonderbat in my favourite flavour, protagonist diana and happy to be here bruce :))

When Another Clark Situation Becomes Something More

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40404015/chapters/101215623

This is the story of how Vigilante and Batman became an item. And it all started with Vigilante quoting Clint Eastwood in the right place at the right time. Golden Age of Hollywood cowboy movies played a huge role. And the batkids did too. But they aren't aware of that.

(^ incredibly rare vigilante/batman but it’s also really good- the writer really knows what they’re doing)

SCAR TISSUE

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38102632/chapters/95179879

Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne; once childhood friends, former young lovers, seminal business partners, coinciding superheroes, now... what?

They've shared more than their honest need of fixes, shared more than enough of their afflictions, and shared far more than one lifetime together. Left with scattered memories of their relationship, they're made to question whether they had too much together; if they still have too much remaining to answer for.

With their friendship stretched thin by matters demanding their alter-egos, failing romantic affairs, and inveterate personal burdens, they haven't seen each other in a few years but, when Bruce shows up at one of Tony's AA meetings, the pair rekindle their unremitting relationship in a way only they know how.

(^ tony/bruce- just two emotionally damaged, struggling, toxic billionaires who need each other so deeply they would rather die than be apart, yknow, as you do)

Half Way Across

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5795281/chapters/13357042

Set immediately after "The Killing Joke": Joker changes his mind on the way back to Arkham and agrees to Batman's offer to rehabilitate him.

What follows is a mess of conflicting needs, emotional ugliness and a whole lot of bad decisions, but no one ever said it was going to be easy.

(^ i know its batjokes x-x I know how ya’ll feel about the ship so i get if you wanna skip this last one but do know, it is really good. (unhealthy? definitely, but good? very much so)

#bruce wayne #batman #DC Universe #baman fanfic recs #fanfic rec #dc #batfam #batfam fanfiction #batman fanfiction recs #fanfic #ao3 #superbat #batlantern #good dad bruce wayne #bruce wayne whump

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admiringtheskies · 9 months

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ok y’all if you like bruce-centric (and especially whump with a side of character study) you have GOT to read this fic, the premise is just fucking AMAZING, and the chapter that OP just posted today had me SCREAMING; like actually pls go just check this out, it’s brilliant and i need more ppl to read it

the specific quote from this newest chapter that actually totally unhinged me (yes i’m using that as an active verb,,, what can i say, my hinges have been banished by Good Words)—

Baking really was a test of patience. No wonder Alfred was so adept at putting up with Bruce. He could never be more frustrating than baking.

(Lies. People liked baking. No one liked Bruce.)

ANYWAYS the plot itself is also quite fascinating so i’m not gonna say anything else, just go read it if you want!!! and thanks/congrats to @SolaceInSpace on ao3 for writing an absolute BANGER of a fic👏🏽

#batman #batfam #bruce wayne #bruce wayne is a good dad #bruce wayne whump #batfamily #batman-centric #dc comics #dc batman

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ktkat99 · 9 months

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Two Weeks Of Whump Challenge Day 11. Hanging (By A Thread)

TW: Depression and loss of apatite.

"It feels like breathing is a chore. Like something you have to do. Like something you should be able to do on your own, but you just keep forgetting. You… you feel like you're walking, trying to just keep moving forwards, but with every step, someones adding more and more weight. But you know you can't stop. You're not allowed. Because everyone always says that if you just keep going, it will all get better. And so all your focus is on just… moving. One foot in front of the other. Again. And again. And again. But it keeps getting harder and harder. And then sometimes you wake up and realize you've been so focused on just moving that you've blocked out literally everything else. Your life, your friends, your family. The whole world. It's all kept moving without you. You weren't necessary."

Tim shifted and looked at his hands, leaning against Bruce's side. "It sucks." He whispered. "I know it does."

Mad Hatter had set off a device earlier that night that amplified all of Batman's most negative emotions until they overwhelmed him and left him disoriented.

"But, please, just… come back?"

Tim, having only been Robin a few months by this point, had frozen in place. He hadn't been sure what was more important at the moment, catching Mad Hatter, or helping Batman.

He'd decided to stay and help Batman.

He'd gotten him into the Batmobile.

He'd managed to drive the both of them back to the cave.

And now, hours later, he was seated on the edge of Bruce's bed, trying to talk to his mentor as the man sat, still as a statue, staring at a photo of himself and his last Robin.

"I… I don't know what the right thing to say is. I don't… I don't know how to help you." Tim swallowed the lump in his throat. He'd been talking for hours, and had barely gotten any reaction.

"Jason's gone, and I can't change that. I can't fix that. And I'm sorry." He felt hot tears as they fell.

"But, if it helps at all, I'm here. I know I'm not who you want, but… at least you're not alone. I always…" Tim trailed off rubbing his eyes with his hoodie sleeve. "I always hate being alone."

Yyyyy

"Hey, Bruce?" Dick knocked on the open door of his father's home office.

"Hey. What's up?" Bruce greeted, eyebrows drawing together in concern.

Dick leaned in the doorway, worry written all over his face. "It's Tim." He nodded down the hall. "He's not eating."

Bruce frowned. That wasn't good.

Tim had been struggling for a while lately, but a few days ago a case had gone sideways and he'd gotten a nasty dose of Fear Toxin.

He'd gotten through it after about half a day, but whatever he'd been forced to see…

"I'm sure he'll eat when he's hungry. Why don't you leave the plate on his nightstand?" At least, Bruce hoped he would.

After waking up, Tim hadn't spoken to any of them beyond a few hoarse whispers about being tired and just wanting to sleep.

They'd helped him upstairs to his bed, and that's where he'd stayed.

At first, they'd all just been happy to see that he was resting and actually taking time to recover.

Then, they'd been relieved and even joked when it seemed he was taking some time to just relax and be lazy for a bit.

But now?

Now they were starting to get worried.

"I don't… Bruce, I don't think he will." Dick sighed. "I brought him dinner last night and the plates still on his nightstand. He didn't touch a damn thing."

Bruce nodded and stood. "I'll see what I can do."

He made his way down the hall to Tim's room and knocked on the closed door.

No response.

"Buddy, it's Bruce. I'm coming in." He called.

No response.

He opened the door and walked in. The light was off and the window closed, making the room dark enough that his eyes had to adjust.

Dirty clothes lay all over the floor, dropped and left where they'd fallen.

His desk held a closed laptop and several stacks of papers and files, all stamped with the familiar Wayne Enterprises logo.

The skateboard he used to ride everywhere was leaned against the wall, coated in a visible layer of dust.

And the small lump under the blankets on the bed hadn't so much as twitched since he'd walked in.

Bruce walked closer, seeing that Dick had been right. The plate they'd made for Tim the night before hadn't been touched. Balanced beside it, hanging over the edge of the nightstand, was a bowl of oatmeal.

Dick had sliced a peach into it, the way Tim loved.

He hadn't even taken a bite.

"Tim." Bruce sat carefully on the edge of the mattress. "Are you awake?"

No response.

"Can I get you anything?"

No response.

"Do you want something else to eat?"

It was starting to feel like Bruce was talking to a wall.

Sighing, feeling helpless to protect his child from this invisible foe, Bruce gently set his hand on Tim's shoulder, rubbing it slowly.

"I don't know what you need."

He, again, didn't get a response.

"I don't know what you saw. I don't know what you went through, or if that's even what triggered this."

Bruce reached out with his other hand and felt the bowl of oatmeal. It was room temperature, and starting to dry out.

How long had Dick sat here trying to get his brother to eat something?

"Please, let me help."

He begged softly.

"Please tell me what I can do."

Tim still offered no response. Bruce would almost have thought he was asleep if it weren't for the fact that he could see that Tim's eyes were open. He was staring blankly at the wall, back facing his father.

"You told me once… what it felt like. When you got like this."

Tim blinked.

"You said that it felt like the world and everyone in it just kept moving without you."

Bruce gave Tim's arm a firm squeeze.

"Tim, I'm not moving. I'm not going anywhere."

He rested his forehead on Tim's shoulder.

"Not without you. Because you're my son, and I love you."

Tim's next exhale was shaky.

"I don't care how long it takes. Just, please. Come back to me? I-,"

Bruce trailed off when Tim shifted ever so slightly.

He reached up and grabbed the hand that was still resting on his arm, squeezing it tight.

His hand was shaking, but Bruce chose to focus on the fact that he was moving at all.

"I'm here, Tim." He whispered. "I promise, I'm here."

Tim gently tugged the hand, and Bruce let him move it.

He pulled it to his chest and hugged it tight with both arms like a child afraid to lose their security blanket.

And then he broke.

Silent tears streamed down his cheeks as he ducked his head and curled up into a ball, still desperately clinging to Bruce's arm.

Heart breaking, Bruce wrapped his other arm under Tim's body and hauled him upright, pulling him into his lap.

Tim let himself be moved, but his grip didn't waver.

His entire body shook with sobs, which quickly dampened Bruce's shirt.

Neither of them cared.

"I'm here, son. I'm here. I've got you."

If Tim heard what Bruce was whispering, he gave no sign.

#batman #bruce wayne #bruce wayne whump #tim drake #dick grayson #batfam #red robin #nightwing #tim drake whump #bruce and tim

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mnemosyne-nyx · 5 months

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I'm in a Bruce Wayne whump famine right now 😭 I'm re-reading comics and fics like a mad, mouth-frothing goblin locked in a cave.

#Superbat #Bruce wayne whump

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arianaofimladris · 7 months

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Whumptober 2023 entry

Fandom: Batman (Nolan's trilogy), Batman Begins specifically

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth

Summary: Batman saves Gotham. Bruce Wayne gets drunk and burns down his house. Alfred is there to pick up the pieces. A missing scene for Barman Begins (after the final fight)

- no. 5 - debris

- no. 13 - "I don't feel so good"

- no. 15 - "I'm fine"

- no. 20 - found family

“Come now, Master Bruce. You’re a bit too old for falling asleep in the car.”

“In a minute.” Bruce flashed him a tired smile, then accepted his outstretched hand. He stumbled out and immediately leaned back against the car, clutching at his right side. He didn’t remember it hurting this much before.

“A bit too big for me to carry you too, if I may say so.”

#whumptober2023 #no.5 #no.13 #no.15 #no20 #debris #I don't feel so good #“I'm fine”#found family #Batman #Batman Begins #fic #Bruce Wayne #Alfred Pennyworth #Bruce Wayne whump

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lovefrombegonia · 8 months

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I am suffering. So, now I also want Bruce to suffer. I want some Bruce WHUMP headcanons. I want him to crumble in despair. I want his heart and spirit broken into a million pieces. I want him to hate himself as much as I hate myself.

#saya rants #bruce wayne WHUMP #bruce wayne #batman

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ratking-reads · 2 years

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I like to think existence gets so frustrating Bruce has to hold back frustrated tears or he’ll break and move to Fiji or something

#Batman #bruce wayne whump #Bruce Wayne

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claracivry · 2 years

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Couple updates!

Falling through the ice with 2022 Batman

Severed artery with Five from Umbrella academy

#my fics #bthb #whump fic #the batman 2022 #bruce wayne whump #five hargreeves whump #bad things happen bingo

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strange-birb · 5 months

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Gore warning Ngl idk

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dragonpyre · 1 year

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Secret Robin AU

Follow up on part 6. Suffice to say, things aren't so secret anymore...

Prev / Next / Commission info / ko-fi

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wait-whos-batman · 3 months

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does anyone have any batfam fanfics to recommend? I lost all of my ao3 tabs and need something to numb the pain of existence.

#whump #ao3 #batfam #batman #batfamily #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #bruce wayne #comics #fanfic #hurt/comfort #im hurtin #wheres the comfort #jaydick #damijon #timkon #superbat

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nana-mizu-shiki · 2 months

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Me recommending Angsty fic with funny screenshots:

"It's 4:30 AM, I have cried over 10 times, and I regret nothing."

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ktkat99 · 9 months

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Chapter 10

Bruce and Tim help each other deal when their depression gets to be too much

#batman #tim drake #dick grayson #red robin #batfam #nightwing #bruce wayne #twow #twoweeksofwhump #tim drake whump #emotional hurt/comfort #bruce wayne whump

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superbat-love · 10 months

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Batman pleading for Superman to go away and Superman feeling guilty for hurting him in the aftermath

#batman whump #hurt/comfort #angst #superbat #superman x batman #batman x superman #superman/batman #batman/superman #dc #dc comics #official #superman #batman #clark kent #bruce wayne

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arianaofimladris · 1 month

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I might have written a self-indulgent whump companion piece to my Batman series. I'm afraid The Dark Knight left Bruce in a state that is delicious to explore.

His breathing hitched and Bruce found himself shaking, no matter how hard he tried to keep his body still. It seemed there wasn't the tiniest thing he could control right now. He had never felt this weak, except perhaps the time when he had been exposed to the fear toxin. But the drug was different, it was something that tried to play nasty tricks with his mind, dragging his worst fears back to the surface. It had rendered him senseless for almost two days and left only a vague feeling of dread afterwards.

Right now, Bruce was conscious but just as helpless, the pounding in his ears almost deafening, his muscles twitching and relaxing against his will. Suddenly, he was falling all over again.

Except this time, he didn’t.

"Easy, master Bruce. Easy.” A pair of strong hands caught him by the shoulders and Bruce hissed in pain. “It's alright, sir. You’re alright."

Alfred kept one steady hand on his shoulder, while the other Bruce could feel gently rubbing a spot between his shoulder blades - one of the few places on his back that wasn't so awfully sore. He focused on the repetitive notion, on the familiarity and intimacy of this gesture. That was the comfort Alfred used to offer him when Bruce had been unable to deal with the grief his nightmares brought back. The one steady presence in his shattered world. Back then, he had tried to keep his crying quiet, but most of the times Alfred found out and came anyway. Sometimes, when it had been too much, Bruce was the one seeking the butler.

He didn't need to now. Alfred was right there, as always.

#Batman #Batman fanfic #Bruce Wayne #Alfred Pennyworth #Bruce Wayne whump #The Dark Knight #Nolan's Batman Trilogy #whump

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daydreamsandcrashingwaves · 4 months

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Keeping It Close To The Chest Pt 1

Edited 12/25/23 ~~ Here's Part Two ~~

Part Three Part Four

I devoured the Damian Wayne and Danny Fenton are Twins tags and had to make something of my own to add. This is my first fanfic I've decided to post. I'm much more familiar with the DP side of things but I gave it my best shot. Hope this brings joy anyway. If I decide to post this on A03 I will have it beta'd since I made this in like four parts and then wove them together so the flow may not always be there whoopps.. but for now I just wanted to share this with all you!

TW/CW: Medical experimentation and trauma, parental abuse/neglect, wound description, blood-ectoplasm and human, death (it's danny, he's the culprit lol will apply to Jason too if I add to this), body horror (to be safe), PTSD and flashbacks, childhood trauma and abuse, dehumanization

If I missed a tag/warning please let me know! I've never been an extensive tagger so i tried real hard to get everything, but I am human and could've missed something. Much love, stay safe.

~Ren

He had to keep moving. He could still hear their screams of rage ringing in his ears. Faster, he had to be faster. His blind panic had created an opportunity, a sliver of hope Danyal was determined to twist to his advantage. He was limping forward on uncertain legs. His vision swayed with the movement, and he fought to keep upright. His chest was on fire, Danny pressed his hands tightly to the wound there in a desperate attempt to keep his organs from spilling out like confetti. He kept his arms tucked close and rounded his shoulders to try and keep his torso still while he moved quickly through the empty streets of his once home. His chest was by far injured the worst, but he had paid no mind to the others. If he dared to stop, he would fully die.

Even in his human form, Danny just knows he's leaving a glowing blood trail behind him, the ectoplasm burning into the ground behind him. Whatever side of his transformation his body was currently showing it didn't matter, he was simultaneously both, always. The trail was evidence he transformed due to necessity, he became so durable after dying that it took a lot to hurt him. Danny risked a glance down and paled further. The green he spilled as Phantom mixed with red. A fucked up corrosive bread trail right to him. He was sure he truly was in deep shit. He just had to get to his go bag. Over time with his parent's inventions getting more dangerous the more Danny had to think about putting into motion The Great Escape.

Anything important he had always kept hidden, but Danny had taken everything out of his room once he had died the second time, and Danny was grateful for the convenience to be able to phase things into walls, floors, ceilings. It made his things pretty secure; no human could find it and any ghost that came through was too focused on their obsession or fighting him to go on a treasure hunt for his hidden things.

Danny's willful ignorance of his body as he stumbles farther from FentonWorks doesn’t stop the slight burn of his ectoplasm against the edges of his wounds and the tatters of his hazmat suit pulling on the scabbing blood or the smell. Ancients the smell. It’s rancid, he hasn’t been able to cycle it properly without his normal supply of fresh ectoplasm from the Zone. Only provided in small bursts when his parents wanted to see how his body healed with and without ectoplasm. He can feel the whispers of his terror, anger, grief that’s flowing through his blood.

He had been overconfident way back when he had threatened Vlad with exposing his secret. He had thought they'd love him despite having kept his halfa status from them, he hadn't been prepared for the distrust, the hatred, the way they moved farther and farther from thought out experiments to revenge. Danny knows Maddie and Jack still see him as the quiet, shaken child so desperate to be good, craving acceptance by the eccentric family that took him in when they look at him. If Danny had to guess they had been so blinded in their rage to even realized it was their machine, their failure that made him this way. Now they really did want him dead.

He’s whole somehow, despite their best effort, he just needs time. Ancients, He’s not exactly the monster they pictured, but He's not human... He’s whole.

The thought tastes bitter and Danny strangles it before it can expand. He must be focused. Taking a measured breath Danny turns down a familiar alley, he goes intangible with a slight twinge in his core, slipping into the bathroom of Nasty Burger. He’s done this so many times the familiar path brings comfort, reassurance. Like maybe things will start to turn for the better. Making his way over to the stall Danny debated whether it was worth climbing the toilet or floating up there. No, it was better to grit his teeth and bare it. There were only three containers of ectoplasm in his bag, he needed to preserve what strength he had. He would soon have no way to access the Zone for a refill.

Danny took one hand and placed it on the wall before careful stepping up. Lifting his leg had sent waves of pain across his nerves but with a grunt he leveraged himself up. His vision went black at the edges, he was dizzy, and bile clawed at the back of his throat. Danny took a few breaths, while he might not need to breathe, he’s been human longer than not, and well.. he’s only half ghost so the habit carried over to when he's Phantom. Danny was immensely grateful for his time in the League, the training was brutal, he still has nightmares about dying the first time but.. he did learn how to survive in situations that if he was truly a Fenton, would've killed him many times over. As Danny was Danyal Al Ghul Fenton, he always had back up plans. His Mother had been heavy handed with those lessons.

It was painful to think about Talia. She had been Grandfather’s favored child and the weight of his expectations of his grandsons was enforced by her. Lessons or punishment, very rarely praise was given to Danny by his Mother's hand. Each milestone was meticulously observed and reported back, doubly so for their failures. Tiny bodies with too big of weapons, green and blue eyes, a face mirroring his own but twisted in determination, competition. His older brother, his twin. They were inseparable, until they weren't.

Danny's core throbs in his chest, he wanted to shy away from the thought, yet the inconsolable part of him screams at the injustice of being the only one to escape their Grandfather. If only Danny could've proven himself, perhaps his brother would've had a chance to leave in his stead, but Danny knows just how much he was lacking in comparison to his brother, and it was their skill, or lack thereof in Danny's case, that sealed their fates. Danny was able to avoid Ra's overseeing eyes when they moved off the failure of a Spare and homed in on his true Heir. The grandson who took to their lessons like a duck in water. Deathly beautiful, Danny used to think as he watched his brother dance and fly through his training. Talia couldn't defy Ra's orders but if she just.. misplaced.. the Spare that was abandoned, well, no one has come for him yet.

Danny knows she loved him, somewhere hidden, deep inside his Grandfather's perfect pet assassin. She loved him enough to send him away when it became clear Ra’s saw no need in the Spare that was no longer needed, she had loved him when she had beaten him and left mortal wounds-their only chance to fool Grandfather, she loved him when she had given him his packed bag and left him outside that orphanage in Chicago with lazarus water raging in his veins, and she loved him when she told him to forget.

Forget about the League her and his brother, his family.

With brief tight squeeze to his small shoulder her she told him if he was in danger to find Bruce Wayne and then Talia Al Ghul was gone and Danyal-just Danyal now- was left truly on his own for the first time ever.

Danny was definitely in danger now; his situation was grave and despite everything the pun brought a small smile to his face. He couldn’t go back home to the Fenton's. He tries to forget how he froze in his surprise when he realized his parents didn’t take his reveal as Phantom as well as they had let on. They had smiled and stalled until they had found a way to contain him. By then it was too late, he had gotten too complacent in his run on a normal life.

Only after Ancients knows how long he had been resisting, pleading, screaming-I’m still Danny, it hurts mom please, I’m still me, Dad I’m alive- did Maddie find his core. Too tired to move it away from her gaze any longer and when her fingers brushed it the wave of mind-numbing terror exploded out of him. Something must've been on her gloves because his core burned. It ripped a wail from his throat while he writhed on the table. Ice responded like it never was taken from him by the anti-ghost restraints.

Danny could still distantly feel the ghostly ice that had trapped them in place and shattered his restraints under the pressure the frozen water bursting into existence. Even trapped in his ghost ice they were steadily working on getting out and would be on the hunt for him again soon. He wouldn't allow them to catch him again.

The mere idea they’d be on their way already spurred Danny back into action. Slipping his hand into the wall he grabbed the strap and pulled his bag out, careful to keep it weightless, and slid off the toilet and back down to the floor. He hasn't seen his dagger in months, it hurt too much to practice without Dami, his other half. Here it is though, innocently tied to his bag and his gaze traced it lovingly, before searching inside the biggest pocket for his first aid kit. He didn't have time for stiches, so he reaches for the butterfly bandages and starts to pull the skin together before securing it. It's really the first proper look he gets, it's... unsettling at the very least, horrifying, to see a wound reserved for autopsies on his chest.

The Y incision is inflamed and still bleeding so he carefully follows its path until he's done. Grabbing gauze, he starts to reinforce pad, wrapping a roll of bandages around to hold everything in place. Danny bites his lip and thinks for a moment, he will need stitches, he's been wounded enough in this half-life to know that. The likelihood for his work to stay in place while he flies is less than he'd like. Making a decision and with a mental shrug he takes an ectoshot from the smaller pocket and stabbed it into his thigh before pressing the depressor. Pure energy zapped through his system hard, angerly surges to settle in his chest. Feeling a bit better but more.. wired Danny takes a second to calm. Steeling himself he tries to nudge his core, it responds in a weak pulse.

Danny's body protests, he can feel his muscles shred and reform, his bones twist like taffy, his organs melt together before settling to form his ectobody. It's all over in a flash of bright light, yet the pain felt endless. Overwhelming in its intensity but gone just as quickly as it came leaving Danny sweaty and panting. Transforming injured was tricky, he had to carefully picture where the bandages were, so he didn't lose all his hard work.

Confusion settled as a fog, clinging to his thoughts, making them murky. His hands were covered in blood, his body hurt, and he couldn't quite remember why, there was a siren coming closer. Everything in him screamed to run, to escape, but his hunters were too close now, freed from his ice to kill him fully. On instinct Danny's nails grew to claws, ripping into space to create a portal. He was weak, always had been, but he was good at running, hiding away in the shadows. Ghost was once a name of his, a proud title, not just what he is now.

Just as the doors burst open in a teal and orange blur Danny dove into the swirling green and hoped Clockwork was watching so at least someone knew things had exploded here in Amity. He hasn't needed to be on his own like this since after Jazz first saw him and demanded that her parents bring Danny home with them. He misses her now as the path out of Nasty Burger closes behind him. Danny's falling, dropping towards the ground too fast for eyes to track but his impact had definitely shaken the room. With a pained whine and a flash Danny was back to being human again, his landing had pulled at whatever scab was able to form in the twentyish minutes it took him to drag himself away from the basement. Danny was going to be sick, the sticky cool liquid that had his clothes clinging to him, was going to be very alarming when he finally could give himself a proper once over. He could feel the new bruises as he tried to roll off the pallets he had crushed.

"Oh! Someone decided to drop by! " A man called out with glee as he sauntered in his direction. "Shall we see who our special guest is?" Danny could feel the rotten soul as he got closer. Too close. Forgoing moving Danny tensed in anticipation. He was hurt, yes, but he would go down fighting. He could do that much to make his brother proud, even if he never realized Danny lived to 15 not 5. Before he could uncurl to swing at the man there was the soft sound of fabric rustling and a blade being drawn. Curling tighter Danny hoped he had enough juice to go intangible.

"You will not reach your goal Joker; Do you not get sick of trying?" The voice was smooth, deeper than he remembered but it's been 10 years, it's understandable that puberty changed his brother's voice. Danny would recognize it anywhere. Danny jinxed himself, somehow. How he ended up in the same room as the brother he hadn't seen in a decade, Danny wasn't sure. He was terrified though. Where Damian was the League and their Grandfather wasn't far behind. Damian had carefully hidden away his care as a child but would shower Danny in it in the darkness of their room. After years apart and Grandfather's continued influence Danny was uncertain how much of Damian truly remained.

There was a burst of noise, of movement and a struggle then silence covered the room. Danny's hands were shaking. "Nightwing, first aid is required inside, bring the kit." His brother paused, "No, a civilian, a metahuman if his unusually colored blood is to be taken into account."

Danny could feel his brother's scrutiny, his gaze held weight as it scanned over his collapsed form, he tried to curl more but a hand brushing his shoulder had Danny screaming and scrambling away.

Damian's hands twitched at his side, an aborted motion to draw his sword. He seemed to pause then they flew up empty, placating- it didn't bring Danny any comfort.

An assassin's greatest tool was always their hands. Green eyes tracked him, narrowing at the way Danny was shrinking into the shadows. Dread swam down his spine to settle hard in his gut. Of all the ways to meet his brother again, it had to be when he was dying, for a third time. Danny reached blindly for whatever was next to him to pull himself up, his knees wobbled precariously but he would be standing for this. He had to be. Black spots were now in his vision, but he forced a smirk onto his face. Danny was sure he was a sight to see, torn clothes, skin riddled with bruises, green and red blood splattered all over like a kindergartener's messy painting of Christmas, limp dirty hair.

Danny knows Damian is assessing him, taking in what he can see in front of him to efficiently deal with it as they were trained to do. potential strengths and weaknesses. Behind both the domino mask and his calm exterior Damian is taking in a snapshot. Danny wonders what he sees, if his brother recognizes the boy he’s grown into, Danny’s core thrums wildly and he tries not to fidget. The slight frown that pulls at Damian’s mouth means he caught the aborted motion.

"Damn, green, yellow and red... You look like a traffic light!" He gets one giggle in before he chokes on it. Danny can't breathe. His brother had gone deathly still when Danny spoke. He could see the war of emotions fighting through his brother, suspicion was quickly doused with rage. "How dare she." The Arabic was an unexpected comfort, but Danny felt confusion at the words. He's severely out of practice, he thought he understood but doubt settled in. He wasn't sure.

Damian had always stood firm next to him in the League, calm, driven and decisive, the perfect heir for their Grandfather. He was always warm to Danny though, would allow traces of his true feelings to be visible when Damian would inevitably catch Danny sneaking out of his bed to stargaze. Danny would get scolded, every time. Grandfather would punish him harshly for such indulgences, he knew it. Attachments were weaknesses and Grandfather would not grow weakness in the League, in his heirs. Danny may be weak and the Spare but he was smart. He knows what the looks of distaste meant from his Grandfather. He knew how his failures would catch up to him and how Grandfather disapproved of his influence on Damian. Yet Danny kept going back, hiding in the shadows to gaze at the stars and wait for his brother to come find him.

Danny had braced for Damian to be mad when he realizes Danny didn’t truly die that day and has stayed away from his brother, but Danny couldn’t have expected this.

Pure hatred lights up in Damian’s eyes when he finally realizes what is in front of him. It's Danny’s undoing. Everything else that has happened seemed like a cakewalk compared to being rejected by the person who had always understood him most. Ghosts are the manifestation of their emotions. Frostbite had explained once how injuries can manifest in a ghost's form on their own. Emotional pain could make them unravel down to their cores, until even that disappeared.

For Danny, there was uncertainty, halfas were so rare that there wasn’t much off hand knowledge, but Danny has always known from the second he died. There was no separation between his human and ghost halves. He just was. What fancy wrapping he showed off hardly mattered. Things bleed so easily between them, Danny Fenton and Phantom.

"I'll kill her painfully for this, but you abomination it will be swift." Damian has balanced on his toes, ready for a quick burst of speed. His sword now clenched so tightly in his hands it almost shakes.

An abomination the words looped through Danny's mind. The wounded sob that came forth when he opened his mouth to reply was unexpected. Danny took halting steps back from his twin. The hitching breath brought his attention back to his chest. This wasn't how Danny had pictured this moment, all those years of stolen daydreams. His core felt wrong in his chest. He felt cold, cold and brittle but his chest was on fire-and wet. The surgical cut seeping like its minutes fresh, this was by far Danny’s worst idea, to believe to ever hope, his brother would ever keep a monster by his side Danny was a fool to hope even for a moment-hands hands reaching for him to bring him back, grabbing his arm-

“No! I don't know! No please” Danny gasps as he flails weakly “I’m sorry I’m sorry!”

Damian hesitates again, before his resolve firms, "Danyal-" His name cracks over his brother's tongue. Danny isn't aware enough to unpack the way his brother's face twists in heartbreak the longer he watches Danny bleed. A warm body comes up behind him, blocking him in, he’s crying now, a weakness that he never could smother. "No!" Danny avoids his gaze scrambling to grip onto whatever fabric is in his hands. Danny wants the moment to last but he knows what’s coming. Damian won’t protect him now. His older brother had been steadfast by his side in their childhood, but now… now maybe it was better he’s bleeding out.

Danny vaguely registered the man behind him cutting off his shirt, kit at the ready besides him. Pressure on his wound forces a long high whine from his throat. He wants to shove it away, his hand swatting at it but he missed, and it thuds uselessly on the ground. He doesn't have the energy to try again.

The shock of a hot hand against his face brings everything into abrupt focus. Danny flinches but can’t move, the body unyielding behind him. He sees the room is covered in his frost and ice. Batman and Red Robin are farther back, their feet trapped in the ghostly ice, they had things in hand to try and hack away at the ice trapping them in place.

“Danyal” The pain in his twin's voice has him turning in that direction; his brother was there. For how well they could read each other in childhood Danny had no clue what his brother was thinking now. His twice dead brother, back to only die again at his feet. “Are you destabilizing? Why were you sent here? What does Mother want?”

“What?” Danny can’t help the laugh that bursts out of him, even if it hurts, it seems his ice kept his organs in place while he tumbled through his hastily made portal. He must've lost consciousness at some point though; his ice seems to have melted to leaving him fully exposed. “That bitch- She has nothing to do with this- wait. You think-” Danny laughs even harder until he can’t breathe and he’s hacking and spitting up more ectoplasm. He’s pulled more fully against the warm body behind him, his head lulls-oh it’s Nightwing, the blatant concern radiating from the man stings Danny’s eyes and a few tears scatter down his face.

“I’m not a clone Dami, I didn’t even know you weren’t with the League anymore." Danny's speech slurs more the harder he tries to piece sentences together, "I'm sorry I don't know how I ended up here.” Danny is growing quieter the longer he talks- can feel his life draining onto the floor and there’s panic in the air now, Batman had sprung up next to Damian's side. Seemed to say something to Damian before he retreated slightly. Batman was hovering ready to interfere but unsure in what actions needed to take place.

Damian is staring at him intently, looking to match his scars to the one's he remembers. He taps his fingers insistently on Danny's cheek and Danny doesn't fight looking back at him. The fingers linger against the scar hidden behind his hair next to his ear, traces the edges. Damian was the one to give it to him, a training error. He had looked at Danny similarly to how he was now. Fear, regret, panic. Words are being said, they blend together, warp, so Danny just hums in response. Everything is more distant now. Danny's own fear floating out of reach. He knows death intimately, he's not afraid to greet her a third time.

The words became frantic as he struggles to stay awake, and someone was talking again. “-ood to see you though- no tss okay no pain.. mma be cold soon-" Oh. That's Danny. The face he has ached to see for years fills his vision. The shade of green he could never replace. Danny was picked up and hustled out a door into the by Nightwing while a harsh discussion flew over his head. They were in some sort of vehicle now, the door shutting causes silence to blanket the group. His head is in Damian's lap, and it takes a second, but Danny realizes Damian is carting his fingers through his greasy hair. His other hand was holding Danny's, playing with his fingers like he did as children. Danny's vision fills with tears and spills down his face.

"Danyal? Can you hear me?" Damian calls his attention softly, his sweet, sweet brother tries to keep the concern out of his voice, off his face. Once he sees Danny focus on him a trembling smile makes its home on Damian's face. His domino mask is gone, Danny drinks in the unobscured view of his brother. "We'll be back to the Cave shortly, Alfred will attend to you, then you're going to tell me exactly how this happened so I can make sure it never does again." Danny can tell Damian is scared, the minute tremble in his petting only confirmed it. Danny let a smile tug at his lips too, "It's gonna be okay Dami" Danny slurred, he hears Damian insisting they were almost home.

Home with Damian. That was a fool's dream, just out of reach. Danny never indulged in the idea; he wouldn't put Dami in danger by reappearing. But- Danny was with him now, a twitch of his fingers against Damian's proves it. Danny went limp as the Batmobile skidded into the Cave, Damian was a silent statue watching Alfred take his brother away from him. Batman saddled up next to him- Damian should shower and change, whatever it was that changed his brother was making his skin itch- but he couldn't move. His baby brother was in there, dying, again.

"Damian, chum... what was all that?" Damian ignores his eyes itching as tears built, he clears his throat to report- reporting was vital with their nighttime activities, Father needed information to help Danny. He couldn't take his eyes of the little glowing red 'In Use' sign above the surgery door though.

Damian cuts a glance at the man next to him, more Bat than Father at the moment. "Once Danyal is stable, I will give you an explanation Father."

~~~~

I thought of a name, added it to the tags, I'll add a link to the next post if I write one, will tag future posts with 'Keeping It Close To The Chest' as well

much love

~Ren

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