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nerdpoe · 1 year

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To Fail and to Succeed

AO3

Graphic depictions of death, descriptions of the sounds and smell of someone dying via electricity, don't read if u can't handle it. Take care of urself.

~~~~~~

Bruce was about to start falling asleep standing up, he could tell.

This couple had just talked nonstop for five hours about something that didn’t exist.

But he needed to act like Brucie, and Brucie needed to cement the fact that he was a frivolous idiot who would back other idiots like these ones.

His mind ached for something substantial to do, and the comm in his ear had long since fallen silent. He could tell that Dick was still there, at least; the snoring gave it away.

His other children had long since gotten bored and, after two hours of impressions and making fun of the Drs Fenton, had wandered off.

“-And that’s why our Portal is a guaranteed way to explore other dimensions!” Maddie cut into his thoughts, startling him to the extent that he had to put conscious effort not to tense up and dodge away from her proximity.

“You also get to skip that annoying airfare!” Jack worthlessly concluded, slapping Bruce on the back.

“Mom, Dad; you’re both on the no-fly list, remember?” Their daughter, Jasmine, the only blessedly normal one, reminded them on her way out the door. Bruce felt the involuntary sigh of relief leave him; they would not be able to legally fly to Gotham.

Thank god for small mercies.

“Oh Jazzie-pants, like that would stop us!”

Did Maddie Fenton just confess to a crime? Did that mean he could report them?

Could Bruce…go home?

“Easy B, just put up with it until after dinner and you get to come back to your usual broody cave. I’ll even ask Alfred to make you cookies.”

Damn. Dick had woken up.

Bruce grimaced and moved so his hidden camera was fully taking in the lab. One last shot before excusing himself.

“Well, this has been a very interesting-”

“Anyways the portal is ready to go now!”

And with very little fanfare, Jack Fenton slammed the power switch down and stood directly in front of the supposed interdimensional portal. Ghost Zone portal. Whatever, anyone who knew anything about dimensions knew what that thing really was.

Bruce tensed and prepared to yank the fool to safety, but…nothing.

Nothing happened.

Bruce could have cried with relief.

These two were far too scatterbrained to put their literal doctorates to use.

He instead opted for putting a hand over his still-rapidly beating heart and letting out a very small, very unnoticeable wheeze.

He’d already been lost to time once, if he had to do it again because of these two mad scientists-because that is definitely what they were and they were going on a watch list after this-he would have…

He…

Well, Bruce wasn’t sure what he would have done.

Waited for his kids or friends to get him out again and then personally apprehend the Fentons, probably.

Jack looked like he was about to cry.

Scratch that, the man was actively tearing up.

Maddie rushed over to comfort him and Bruce used their distraction to get a better look at the portal without all the background noise.

It was…surprisingly well built. There was no cable management, no safety features, and its very purpose was unhinged. Otherwise, a fairly solid build.

The Drs Fenton would definitely be on the watch list for potential villains.

All Bruce needed was for Tim to tell him how best to make sure this monstrosity never worked, but his chronically sleep-deprived son had just fallen asleep, so that would have to be put on hold.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Wayne, but it looks like the Ghost Zone is going to have to wait,” Maddie sighed, looking just as heartbroken over it as her husband, “In the meantime, why don’t we go get some burgers. Cheer ourselves up.”

Bruce nodded along, playing up the sympathetic look and herding the couple upstairs towards the front door.

Halfway to the strange amalgamation they called their car, he stopped.

His Dad Sense, as Jason called it, was going off.

Jack and Maddie were in front of him.

Jasmine was walking down the street to do…something. Possibly library, if he remembered the layout of the city correctly.

Their son, Daniel was…

Quiet.

For all he had been bugging them to see the Portal come online, he had gone upstairs with his friends and they hadn’t heard a peep since.

Now that Bruce was thinking about it, he hadn’t even heard any footsteps running around up there.

That was Not Good.

The only time teenagers were that quiet was if they weren’t in the house to begin with, or if they were planning something they weren’t allowed to do.

Bruce would know.

He’d semi-raised enough teenagers to know.

Daniel and his friends were about to do something Stupid.

And looking at the boy’s parents, they would probably cheer him on.

“Hey, how about I meet you guys at the restaurant,” Brucie said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing, “I just realized I should pick up some documents from the hotel! I’ll grab those and then we can get that funding underway, hey? Your inventions really are out of this world!”

“Of course, Brucie, you take your time!” Jack vigorously shook his hand, almost yanking Bruce’s entire body off the ground.

Was the man a meta?

“We’ll meet you at Nasty Burger!” Maddie called, revving the engine of that…thing.

Bruce stayed out long enough to wave at them as they drove away and ran over multiple streetlights-why did they have drivers licenses-before diving for the front door and rushing in as quickly as he could.

Through the living room, down to the left, onto the basement stairs and-

-no.

Why were teenagers like this!?

“B?”

Daniel Fenton was dressed in only a hazmat suit, one designed for chemical exposure and not anything else, and was walking into the highly electrified metal arch.

“B, get him out of there!”

Bruce was already leaping over the railing, landing on a table and scattering the glassware. Daniel’s friends, Samantha and Tucker, bolted away from him, taking the phone they had been using to record their stupid stunt with them.

He ignored them.

“Daniel James Fenton!” The boy’s name was ripped from his mouth, voice in full Batman mode, before he even had time to think.

Daniel jumped.

Daniel turned around too quickly for his own two feet.

Daniel tripped.

Daniel fell.

Daniel reached out to stabilize himself.

Bruce was two steps away.

Then the world went Green.

Bruce couldn’t hear what Dick was saying as his body soared through the air and landed hard against the opposite wall.

What he could hear was the unending screams of a child being electrified to death.

He shakily pushed himself up, ignoring the pain from the probable concussion, and forced himself to stand.

The air was thick with smoke, and Bruce gagged when the smell hit him.

Pork roast.

Burning plastic.

The sickly-sweet scent of rot.

“-uce! Bruce! Are you okay?! I’m sending-”

Bruce was not okay.

Bruce could not string together a plan, and Daniel was still screaming.

If Daniel could still scream, then it meant that Daniel was still alive.

Bruce didn’t think, for once.

He charged forward, stuck his hands into the Lazarus Green portal, grabbed what he assumed was Daniel, and pulled.

First through the portal were the arms he was clutching, followed by a head of glowing white hair, and, finally, the rest of the boy.

It was Daniel, Bruce was sure. Same body build, same face, just different colors.

It would be fine.

Barry had survived his lab accident, Daniel would too.

He had to keep telling himself it would be fine, or his brain would shove him back to Ethiopia; with the same smells and the same smoke and a different dead child.

~~~~~~

Danny felt himself being yanked out of the pain, through the green, and laid on the floor of his parent’s lab.

He took his time, shivering and twitching as he hyperventilated. Whatever had just happened to him, he didn’t need to come back to himself until absolutely necessary.

He swore he could still feel the electricity burrowing under his skin, crawling up his spine, and-

-He didn’t want to think about that anymore.

Danny just wanted to go to bed.

Or play video games.

Or get a hug.

Danny could really go for a hug.

The shivering was dying down, and the twitching had almost stopped.

One more minute and he was starting to get his breathing under control too.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Danny saw was Mr. Wayne, crouched in front of him, talking to someone Danny couldn’t see, and looking over Danny with glowing, iridescent green eyes.

“Daniel, can you hear me now?”

Danny nodded, not trusting his voice to work.

“Good, hold on; there’s a…very specialized medical team who need to look you over.”

Oh, no.

Danny decided it was time to tell his voice to suck it up.

“Don’t-don’t tell my parents!”

Mr. Wayne paused, staring down at him incredulously.

“Are you joking?”

Wow, Mr. Wayne sounded a lot like Sam when he was pissed.

Time to butter him up.

“No. I’m not. By the way, Mr. Wayne, whoever told you that the uh, white streak was a good look for you definitely deserves a raise! Totally! Also I swear I won’t tell anyone you’re a meta.”

Mr. Wayne froze, staggered up, and turned to look at the mirror next to Sam and Tucker.

They looked horrified, but they’d also just found out one of the richest men in the world’s deepest secret, so Danny couldn’t blame them.

Then Mr. Wayne let out a strangled sound, and Danny knew his attempt to butter the man up had failed.

“No, it’s fine. Dick. Dick, it’s fine. Stop panicking. Please, I can’t…deal. With that. I’ll go for a check up on the way back.”

Also Mr. Wayne had an imaginary friend.

Stupid.

Danny should have complimented the imaginary friend too.

“Danny, dude, what?”

Danny turned to look at Tucker, only to lean away from the tears on his Best Friends face.

“Danny. Danny? Danny, I think you’re dead,” Sam whispered, the closed off look on her face when the world became too much.

“He’s not-”

“No I’m not-”

He paused in time with Mr. Wayne, who suddenly looked very concerned and glanced over at his parent’s stupid project.

Danny thought the concern wasn’t warranted.

“I’m not dead, look, I have a pulse and ev..ery…” Danny frowned, pushing his fingers against his jugular harder.

Nothing.

Hand over chest?

Nothing.

Wait, when was the last time he breathed after the panic attack?

He couldn’t remember.

“...Mr. Wayne,” Danny whispered, staring at the only adult in the room and hoping he could help, “Where’s my pulse?”

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