The General's Garden - Chapter One: Spring
CW: Yandere Themes, Stalking
Description: You're just a simple gardener working on improving General Jing Yuan's little garden. Little do you know that the General thinks of you as so much more.
Pairing: Yandere!Jing Yuan x GN!Reader
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It is a mild spring morning when you first meet General Jing Yuan face to face.
You find him smiling between rows of hedges, posture relaxed and eyes glinting with a hint of curiosity. Months ago, when you had first been hired to help care for and improve the General’s private garden, you had only met one of Jing Yuan’s subordinates. They were quick to tell you that the General, despite his lazy attitude, was meticulous and observant. There wouldn’t be much room for error in tending to the gardens just outside of his home.
So, when you see the General practically appear out of thin air like a ghost, you can’t help but be a little surprised. No matter. Jing Yuan is quick to apologize for frightening you and reassures you that his visit is no bad omen. “I simply wish to enjoy a quiet morning amidst this beautiful scenery,” the man says, lifting a hand to gesture to lines of trellises and flowers. “You have done quite the commendable job taking care of this little garden,” he adds, the corners of his mouth upturned in what can only be described as the barest hints of a smirk; there is no malice in his expression, however. Only curiosity.
“Thank you, General,” you automatically begin, genuinely touched by the flattery.
Jing Yuan is quick to stop you, though, amusement lingering in his expression. “Please, call me Jing Yuan,” he says. “I’ll leave you to care for the flowers in peace,” he adds after a moment, turning away, and walking out of the garden, back in the house.
A peace blankets the gardens as you prune back bushes with a pair of hedge shears, and think about the General. Lazy. Meticulous. Relaxed. Observant. Through it all, though, he seems…lonely. Your home is a small affair, a simple studio apartment with low rent. You can hardly imagine what it must be like to walk through silent hallways every morning, passing closed door after closed door, empty room after empty room.
You brush the thought aside. You still have so many more shrubs and hedges to cut back, and after that in the far corner of the garden, the rose bushes need your attention. You recently planted them in the General’s garden several months ago, and this summer and fall would be their first time blooming.
As you walk off to your next job, battling monstrously misshapen plants in need of some shaping with your pruning, the shadows shift. But unlike the slow, tranquil motions shadows normally move in Jing Yuan’s garden, this shadow moves fast and with an almost calculative nature.
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Several days later, you see Jing Yuan again. This time though, he doesn’t appear out of thin air. Instead, you see him as you walk towards a small terrace walled in on three sides by trellises covered in an assortment of plants. Wisteria blankets the roof of the small patio, with ivy and clematis flowers winding themselves on the three walls. In the center of it all rests Jing Yuan, still smiling that small, gentle smile, sitting at a wooden table. In front of him is a single cup of tea, its subtle aroma spreading through the area.
“Good morning, Y/N,” Jing Yuan greets you, “I hope I am not intruding upon your duties.”
You shake your head and wipe your hands on your overalls, dirty from soil and mud and all sorts of other things. “Not at all, General. In fact-”
Jing Yuan interrupts you politely. “Again, please call me Jing Yuan. There is no need for formalities with me.” Despite his kind expression and polite tone, there is something behind his words, the weight of a command dressed up to look like a request. After all, Jing Yuan is the General of the Xianzhou Luofu. His very words carry weight that rumble like earth like thunder and split the sky like lightning.
“Alright,” you sigh a little, feeling awkward about referring to Jing Yuan–the most powerful man on the Xianzhou Luofu and your employer–by his real name and not his official title, “I’ll do my best.” Jing Yuan, to your surprise, almost seems pleased, though his constant placid expression still remains set in stone. “I just wanted to say that I hope I’m not intruding upon you,” you explain, walking a few paces a way, and grabbing a spade, along with a pair of gloves.
“Not at all,” Jing Yuan answers, the cadence in his words a little quicker, though it’s almost unnoticeable that you wonder if you’re hearing things. “In fact, I was hoping to invite you to take a break with me and come sit down with me,” he says, gesturing to the other chair with its own cup of tea in front of it.
Although you don’t enjoy not doing your duties, you don’t want to offend Jing Yuan by declining his offer, so you nod. “Alright, but only for a few minutes.” Jing Yuan smiles and nods, picking up his cup and taking a sip of tea. From the color and aroma, you mentally note what tea the General seems to be drinking: oolong. But when you sit down and pick your own cup up, you’re met with a surprise.
A cup of chamomile tea rests in your hands.
When you go to sip it, another surprise: it’s quite sweet, the way you take your tea.
The sweetness lingers on your tongue while unease lingers in your heart. From across the table, Jing Yuan’s eyes are perceptive, his eyes almost leonine. But their gaze is not wild. Instead, they are watching intently, waiting for your reaction. His trademark smile, as you’ve come to know it, rests upon his lips.
“I hope the tea is to your liking,” he says quietly, taking a sip of his own cup again, before finally setting the cup down. When you nod, your mind still racing both at breakneck speeds and moving in slow motion, a pleased look seems to cross his eyes. “I wish to know, what pushed you to be a gardener?” He asks.
The question snaps you out of your reverie. It’s a question that has been directed to you many times, by family and friends alike. Your response has not changed in decades, so you shrug and say, “I like plants.” There’s a moment of silence as Jing Yuan processes this, before a soft chuckle escapes his lips.
“I suppose that’s as good of a reason as any,” he muses, his gaze far off. After a moment, it refocuses light concentrated light through a prism, the golden glow in his eyes seemingly brighter. You wonder briefly what things those untarnished pools of molten gold have seen, what murky shadows lie in their depths. But you know that you cannot even fathom to understand what this man has seen, nor what machinations make their movements in his mind, choosing decisions and actions.
Silence returns with its chilling breath, sending goosebumps shivering across your skin. You have a bad feeling. A horrible feeling, really, but you cannot point it out amongst a crowd of reasons, you cannot provide any evidence for what caused it, and you didn’t sleep well last night, so do you really feel horrible? It’s just a bad feeling. Perhaps you should have gotten more sleep, or eaten a heartier breakfast.
Jing Yuan brings you back from your thoughts again, keeping your attention on him. “I was thinking,” he begins, “about giving you a raise. Your work is…” his voice trails off again, eyes boring into your skull, pounding on your head, as though he wishes to card through each of your neurons to understand what makes them fire. And you know he could do it. “Beautiful,” he decides.
You feel a pleasant surprise settle in your bones, shaking off the ominous feeling. “That’s very generous of you, thank you,” you murmur, sipping at your tea again. Sweetness courses down your throat.
The rest of the conversation flows like a calm river, all easy small talk and quiet conversation. Jing Yuan asks you some questions, and you ask some of your own. The unease settles itself away into the shadows of your soul, waiting for a moment to strike again. After a while, Jing Yuan says he has to leave to go to the Seat of Divine Foresight for work, and you bid him well, returning to work.
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That night, you check your phone to find a massive sum of credits in your bank account. You have to pinch yourself to see if you’re dreaming. You’re not.
Outside of your window, almost unnoticeable, two golden eyes glint in the dim moonlight like stars.
You catch more doves with seeds than stones, after all.
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Ok, but for your amusement, might I suggest:
Tucker decides Danny needs a break and a shot at a love life. Tucker blackmails Danny into ATTENDING (though he makes the mistake of not specifying for how long) and Danny runs into a bored Wayne kid. Neither want to be there. Both were blackmailed with the kindest intentions. Both decide to team up to make their well-meaning but obnoxious meddlers pay.
I MIGHT HAVE GONE A LITTLE CRAZY WITH A REPLY HOLY FUCK, I'M SO SORRY. WARNINGS FOR THE END: MENTIONS OF GUNS, THREATS OF VIOLENCE, VIOLENCE. Happy ending <3
"Danny, you need a break." Tucker said, and Danny sighed.
"This again? Guys, I'm fine."
"You're not fine, Danny." Sam insisted, standing next to Tucker. She had originally struck up this conversation when they were still in Amity Park. "You're going through a lot right now and you need a distraction that isn't work or ghost related. Gardening didn't work-" Because he froze every plant he touched, "Meditation didn't work-" because when he closed his eyes and tried to relax he would have flashbacks about the countless things he'd seen since the accident. "So the next step is dating."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Hard pass."
"Come on dude, Sam is right. If nothing else you can at least do some people watching and get to know the city better!"
Danny simply continued to scroll on Tiktok, wondering how hard it would be to do one of those dancing videos he saw everywhere. Then again he'd actually need to know how to dance for that to work. He was so busy looking at the video he didn't notice the glance his friends passed between each other before they sighed.
"You've given us no choice, Danny." Sam said, "Tucker."
Tucker held a phone out to Danny to make him see the screen as Danny's face burned red at the picture. It was a picture of him in his Phantom form after a fight with Skulker where a good chunk of his suit had been destroyed, showing off more than Danny was comfortable with.
"DUDE! I told you to delete that!" Danny said, jumping off the couch towards Tucker who was pulled out of the way by Sam who then armed herself with a frying pan. "Delete it, guys!"
"No way! And if you don't at least get out of this house and at least make a friend I'm going to make a Phantom Dating Profile using this picture!"
"You wouldn't dare." Danny glared.
"Try us." Sam said, "We'll even send it through the Ghost Zone now that the Phantom Phones are working we're bound to get some replies from interested ladies."
Danny faultered, then groaned. "Fine."
"Hell yeah, we even made it easy for you." Sam said, handing Danny a piece of laminated plastic. "One ticket to the Wayne Gala this weekend. Tucker got permission for two people to go with him. Which means the three of us are going to a party!"
"A party. A Wayne run party? You guys are just begging for trouble." Danny sighed, "Besides, I don't own a tux, remember?"
"Leave that to me."
Two days later the party arrived and the three of them walked up the drive towards the building where the event was being held.
Sam was wearing a beautiful A-Line dress that was jet black in color with a rose shaped black bracelet that was wrapped around her wrist over the back of her hand and connected to her middle finger.
Tucker was wearing a black suit with a white button up shirt with slight rose shaped patterns on it, a black tie and a thin gold chain connected to his left vest pocket. he looked very sofisticated.
Danny felt like a fool though. Silently wishing he had never let Sam pick out his clothes. He was wearing a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing the black compression sleeve on his left hand, a gray vest, black suit pants, black shoes and a black tie. He was wearing a silver watch on his right hand which served as a ghost portal maker in emergencies.
He also knew that the 'pocket watch' in Tucker's Pocket was the same kind of device, and the rose Sam was wearing would release harmless smoke out of it if they needed a distraction.
Danny still felt like this was a bad idea. No, actually, this was a terrible idea. Not only because he looked out of place compared to his friends but compared to the rest of the party he hardly seemed like he fit in. He was going to draw so much attention to himself.
They walked to the front doors, showing their invitations and id's to the guards before walking inside. It wasn't as loud as some other parties they'd seen since coming to Gotham but it also was more crowded. There were people everywhere in expensive outfits, talking about... something that sounded like rich person gossip, it was boring.
"Have fun you two, don't make fools out of yourselves." Sam said, waving as she walked over to mingle with a young woman with blonde hair and another girl with short black hair, both seemed to recognize her.
"Oh, hey those guys are from my team, I'll catch you later, Danny. I wanna talk shop." Tucker said, rushing off just as quickly as Sam did as Danny sighed.
'I wanna go home.' He thought as he began to wade through the sea of people, trying to find his way to a wall where he could make himself look as small as possible. Not that it would be hard, his body was so busy developing new powers all the time it had decided that he didn't need to grow anymore after he turned 16 and stuck him at a solid 5'6".
He finally found his way to a corner, letting out a sigh as he sat down on a chair and looked out at the party happening all around him. He started to subconsciously count the people in the room, even going so far as to closed his eyes and sensed the very souls in the room. 56 people in his room, 17 in the room Sam was in, 10 upstairs. Danny then opened his eyes and got a sense for the room in another way. 45 windows lined the entire South side of the building if he was going his math right, with two sets of double doors near the front of the building. The building was mostly open floorplan which helped keep an eye on everybody but in an emergency it would be a stampede.
A man walked over, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall with a growl. He was wearing clothes similar to Danny's but with a red shirt, but what caught Danny's attention was how he felt. He was luminal but not like Sam who felt like a walk through the garden or Tucker who felt like gritty sand, no the feeling that came from this man was like fire. A burning pain that also felt like grease stuck to the back of Danny's throat.
He was luminal but the ectoplasm that made him luminal was so fucking tainted that it made Danny want to gag.
Seeming to notice Danny's glance the man looked back at him.
"What?" He growled.
"Nothing, just thought your hair was cool." Danny said, noting the white streak at the front of his bangs.
The man blinked, touching his hair. He was about Danny's age if he had to guess, maybe a bit older.
"Thanks. It's a birthmark." He grumbled, but Danny could tell that it was probably a sore subject. If death turned his hair white he could only assume it did the same to this guy too. "What's your name kid? Never seen you at one of these boring as parties."
"Danny. Danny Fenton. And I'm not a kid, I'm 19."
"Same age as me, neat. The name's Jason." Jason introduced, himself. "You work at Wayne Enterprises?"
"Kinda, I'm just the janitor, my friend was the one who was invited. I'm just one of his plus ones."
"Yikes, what'd you do to deserve a punishment like that?" Jason asked as Danny laughed.
"My friends decided that going to work then living as some kind of godless cryptid that sleeps the rest of the day 'isn't healthy' so they dragged me out here in hopes that I'll make friends. Though they may have heavily implied that they expected me to either find a date or hook up with somebody while I was here. When I said no, they blackmailed me here. I'm just hoping that if I stay small and don't complain then they'll just let me exist without getting in my face for a while. What about you, what are you in for?"
Jason hummed and nodded, "Similar story. My dad and siblings are all here and said that if I didn't at least make an appearance this time that they would hide some of my books. Among other things. Plus my older brother used the whole 'you never spend time with us' whimper while my two sisters gave me puppy dog eyes."
Danny and Jason sighed before Danny looked at him. "Wanna hang out so they think we're playing nice and leave us alone?"
"Sure." Jason chuckled, "So which ones are your friends?"
"That one there." Danny said pointing to Tucker, "Tucker Foley, he works as a Programmer at WE. Then over there is Sam Mason, she works as a Gardener."
Jason's eyes widened, "Doesn't your friend Sam work at the Wayne Manor?"
"Yeah? How do you know that?"
"My dad is Bruce Wayne." He said, his eyes going to Tucker before they landed back on Danny and he laughed. "Wait. You're that Janitor?"
Danny swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't understand?"
"My dad came home one day and said that somebody told him that there was information happening at Wayne Enterprises that was above his paygrade an we've been teasing him about it for weeks. Now every time he asks anything we reply with 'that's above your paygrade, Bruce'."
Danny groaned, his cheeks burning red. "Oh my god, I can't believe this. I didn't even mean to say that, I just panicked when he suddenly showed up in storage for no reason and caught me... uh... testing stuff."
"Testing stuff?" Jason asked as Danny nodded.
"Y-yeah. See, I work as a janitor because I didn't graduate high school and unlike Tucker I can't just breeze through school and show off my hacking skills to get a job. So I've been using some of the tech that gets thrown away to make something that would help me temporarily lift some of the fragile heavy objects around the building and place them harmlessly down so I can clean under them. But then Bruce caught me, I panicked and that was my reply." Danny was quick to explain, which wasn't a lie he was working on something like that but it was for the Ghost Zone to help him move some heavy things around his Lair and hold down things that often floated off for no damn reason.
"You know, that does explain a couple of things. I can't imagine your boss seeing you mess with tech would be a fun thing to explain. But... if you're so smart why didn't you graduate?"
Danny shook his head, "I'm not smart, I mean not like Tucker or Sam or my family. My sister is in Metropolis studying Psychology and is already a good way through her degree because she graduated a year early. Tucker and Sam graduated and are both working on getting degrees in something but nah, school just wasn't something I could do. Sitting behind a desk learning from a book isn't my thing. I'm better at using my hands, figuring stuff out on the fly, and trial and error shit."
Jason thought about this for a moment before he smiled. "I don't blame you, school is bullshit. Just like stupid galas."
"Mhm..."
Jason suddenly smiled, "Dude, I have the best idea to get back at all of them."
Danny smiled back, "Oh, you have all of my attention."
That one choice was how Danny ended up leaning against a wall closer to the crowd while Jason loomed with one hand near his head, talking to him about absolutely nothing important just to play the position while Danny occasionally chuckled. To anybody outside of the conversation it was supposed to look like they were flirting, which in a way they were but they also weren't.
"Do you like raisins? How about a date?"
Danny chuckled, at the horrible pickup line. "Excuse me, sir, do you have the time? I would like to know the exact time when I got a crush on you."
Jason snorted, "Are you a magnet? Because you sure are attracting to me."
Noticing Tucker and Sam looking his way Danny reached up and gently touched Jason's black tie to sell it more, but he was careful not to touch Jason otherwise. "Let's flip a coin." He told the taller man, "Heads I'm yours, tails you're mine."
Jason's cheek got ever so slightly red as he cleared his throat. "Are you a parking ticket, because you've got fine written all over you." He said as Danny chuckled again, watching Sam and Tucker quickly walk away to give Danny privacy.
"If you were a vegetable you'd be a cute-cumber."
Jason relaxed again at the cheesy flirt as Danny touched the silk tie in his hands. Not because he was actively trying to flirt with Jason but because it felt really nice and expensive. Jason snapped him out of his thoughts with another flirt. "Do you believe in love at first sight, or shall I walk by again?"
Before Danny could think of another flirt another man walked over, this one about 24 or so in age. He had wavy black hair and blue eyes with tan skin.
"Little Wing! Who's your friend?"
"Ugh." Jason groaned, moving slightly as Danny let go of his tie. "Take a hint, Dickie-Bird." He groaned.
The new person simply ignored Jason though and held out his hand.
"Hi! I'm Dick, Jason's older brother."
Danny shook his hand, "Danny. Danny Fenton, it's nice to meet you."
"You too, Danny! You look a little young to be working at WE, are you here with somebody?"
"A bit of both, I'm a janitor at WE but I'm here with my friend Tucker."
"Really? That's awesome! How old are you, Danny?"
"I'm 19."
This seemed to relieve Dick in a way that confirmed any suspicion that Danny had about him checking to make sure Jason wasn't doing anything illegal though he found himself ever so slightly annoyed. Did he look that young? No, people were just blind.
"Neat! Well, I just wanted to make sure Little Wing here didn't ditch the party, so I'll let you guys go back to what you were doing. Have fun~" He said, then walked away as Danny chuckled and looked at Jason.
"'Little Wing'?"
"Dick gives everybody nicknames, it's stupid. Now, where were we?" He asked, suddenly slamming his hand back by Danny's head as his cheeks grew warm. "Oh, that's right, I was going to out cheese you with these stupid fuckin' flirts."
Danny snorted, "Do you play soccer? Because you look like a keeper."
"I'm studying to be a historian. I'm really interested in finding a date."
This continued for a long time until they ran out of flirts and by that point Bruce Wayne was about to do a speech. At least that was the plan until suddenly the doors slammed open as party was crashed by a large group of people all wearing matching masks. Masks that looked like Ghostface from Scream.
There were at least twenty of them, all heavily armed with guns that they fired into the air. Jason cursed and Danny quickly grabbed him by the arm.
"Don't." He said, looking for Sam and Tucker who were trapped on the other side of the room. They were separated, they were in a large room but with so many people they might have been trapped in a hallway. "Where's your family?"
Jason looked around, "I see my dad and youngest brother. My two sisters are with your friend Sam. I don't see the other three though."
Danny shook off the question of 'just many of you are there' and instead nodded. "Okay, my friends are together too. So we should stick together, everybody else is in groups. Rushing anywhere now might start a stampede."
Jason frowned then glared at the criminals who were pointing their guns at everybody.
"Okay~ I think it's time we get this party started. Now, let's make this easy. If you don't actively work at Wayne Enterprises or aren't related to Wayne Family via blood or adoption get on your stomachs on the ground, the rest of you stay on your feet."
"They're looking for somebody..." Jason mumbled as Danny nodded.
The majority of the crowd laid down while only about a third of the crowd remained standing allowing them to see each individual person.
"Very good!" The criminal in charge praised and looked around. "Now, anybody who makes the wrong move will get one of the people laying on the ground killed. I know a lot of you are stupid enough to try to play heroes so instead of you getting shot we'll shoot whoever is closest to us."
"Shit." Danny and Jason both said together before passing a glance at one another.
The one in charge looked around again until he looked at Danny and pointed at him. "You. Step up."
"No way." Jason said as the man pointed a gun at a young woman who sobbed in fear.
"No no, it's okay. I'm coming." Danny said, patting Jason's arm as he walked carefully through the crowd towards the gunmen.
"Nice to see you again, brat." Hissed the man as Danny raised a brow. Before he could question it though the man pointed to Bruce Wayne. "You. Step up."
"Father." The young kid standing next to Bruce Wayne said going to argue but Bruce just told him to stay put then walked towards them. Bruce kept his hands up, looking at Danny with a clear look of recognition.
"Why don't you let the kids go, there's not a lot of them but those who are here don't need to be involved in whatever demands you have." Bruce said.
"Hah, no way, Bruice-Boy." Hissed the man as two of his men grabbed Bruce by his wrists, yanking his arms behind his back and knocking him back down to his knees. "We came here today for you, but damn we're lucky that this one is here. See, if it weren't for the kid here-" The man grabbed Danny by the front of his suit, shoving the barrel against his chin. "We wouldn't need to do this. This is what happens when you meddle, brat."
Danny's heart sank before he glared. "It's you. You're that bastard who boke in a few weeks ago!"
"Yeah! And if you had just minded your damn business this wouldn't be happening now. If you had just let us do what we were going to do then it wouldn't be a problem."
"You were trying to burn down part of the building with people still inside, I wasn't going to let you."
"And how is that turning out for you now, brat? Hm?" He moved the gun from Danny's chin as shoved Danny back into the arms of two more men who grabbed Danny's arms and shoved them behind his back but let him stay on his feet. "Now, Mr. Wayne, let me explain. See, you and your company were trying to find a cure for something found in the water supply that was making some kids sick, but see were were making a lot of money selling the cure at the highest price. We were going to destroy your progress but unfortunately we were stopped by another kid who thought he was a hero. So, this is what we're going to do. You're good at fundraising so you're going to help us fundraise ransoms for each and every one of these people from their own pockets. The more a person pays the more limbs they get to keep. We'll start at 20,000 per limb." He pointed his gun at Jason. "We'll start with the young man closest to doing something stupid."
Danny growled, glancing at Sam and Tucker. Their eyes met and Danny flashed them green. Sam nodded then with a swift motion told her friends something before smashing her bracelet on the ground.
In an instant their area filled with smoke that rushed out covering the men with smoke and protecting the majority of the crowd laying on the ground in a layer of smoke while only those standing could be seen. Danny reacted as well, knowing that more people would be able to see him . Dropping his full weight down he yanked the two men holding him together as they smashed their heads together and let him go. Danny then elbowed the one to his right in the crotch before standing up, grabbing the barrel of his gun and yanking it upwards, squeezing the metal so the gun would be unusable before he pulled it from the mans hand. Flipping on the safety of the gun he spun it and smacked the man in the temple with the butt.
Danny spun the gun, moving it to his left hand before disarming the man of his gun and kicking it into the smoke in the direction of the stairs in hopes of keeping it away from people. Snapping out of their dazes Bruce and Jason also seemed to react as Bruce slammed his head back, breaking the nose of one of the men before elbowing one in the center of the chest knocking the breath out of him while Jason grabbed the barrel of the gun the main guy was using and shoved it up, causing the gun to go up and break some of the ceiling plaster but preventing people from getting hit. Deciding to leave those men to those two Danny go to work again, but this time in a slightly different way.
He hated fighting humans.
They were too fleshy and not durable like ghosts so he chose not to fight and the smoke provided the perfect cover as he froze the feet of the enemies who were still posing threats while mysterious snake like shapes wriggled under the smoke and yanked the men under to where they would later be found wrapped up in plants or ice. One by one the men were taken down until there was a pained cry that made Danny turn when he heard Bruce shout.
"Jason!"
Danny turned, seeing Jason rubbing at his face. There as a cut above his brows from a knife. He had managed to get the gun from the man but he had pulled out a knife.
Protect.
Danny snarled, taking a step forward as the man went to stab Jason. Danny and Bruce moved at the same time with Bruce covering his son. But Danny made it to them before the man could make contact and he got in the way of the attack. Danny held the wrists of the man as he barred his teeth.
Danny shoved the mans hands upwards, knocking him back slightly before he spun and did a roundhouse kick. An attack that he might have put just a bit too much power into as the man was thrown a good ten feet backwards towards the stairs and the doors that he had broken down. Danny could hear the man wheezing and coughing, seeing him flailing desperately under the smoke but not getting up.
No sooner did Danny relax and turn back to the Bruce and Jason then did Batman (who seemed shorter today for some reason), Red Robin and Signal showed up with the police and a verity of confused looks.
"You sure you're okay?" Danny asked Jason who nodded, his forehead bandaged.
"Just a scratch, headwounds bleed a lot. I'm more confused what the hell just happened. Normally the bats react more quickly than that when they send in a smoke screen."
Danny chuckled, "You have a lot of experiences with the bats?"
"I'm a Wayne, it comes with the territory. Are your friends okay?" He asked as Danny looked towards Sam and Tucker who were mostly just waiting for Danny to finish but Tucker was also hacking on his phone to erase whatever data he could from the security cameras as he possibly could.
"They're fine. I'm going to get an earful for being reckless though."
"I don't think you were reckless. But... how did you learn to fight like that?"
"Uh... long story. Where we come from though the saying 'fight or die' was serious and there were daily reminders of it. But again... long story."
Jason nodded, looking drained. "Well... I know that this whole thing was just a way to get our groups off of our backs but how would you like to get dinner together some day? Just as friends, I mean I'm not against maybe trying some day but right now I kinda wanna get to know you. Besides, I'd like to thank you for protecting me and my dad."
Danny thought for a moment before he smiled. "Sure." He reached into his pocket and handed Jason his phone. Jason typed in his number then handed the phone back. "Get home safe, Jason."
"You too, Danny."
Danny started walking away when Bruce suddenly called out.
"Danny." Danny stopped and turned towards his boss, shrinking down slightly before Bruce smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"All good."
"Are you sure? You did really well out there but if you're hurt you should get looked out."
"I'm not hurt, Mr. Wayne, I promise. Just really tired."
"Alright, if you're sure." Bruce moved his hand and smiled, "Thanks for saving us, Danny."
"Any time, Mr. Wayne, but let's not make a habit out of it, okay? I moved to Gotham to get away from craziness like that." He said, waving his hand as he walked to his friends as he wrapped his arms over both of their shoulders and they made their way home.
"So, you guys have fun?" Sam asked as Danny looked at her.
"You know what... kinda, yeah. At least until the end."
"Did you get his number?" Wondered Tucker.
"Of course I did."
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Pariah Dark. Ghost King. Master of War. Tyrant. The Breaker of Worlds.
Currently found himself... perplexed and at a loss.
He had assumed he would never be free once more, the one-time his punishment was cut short he wrote it off as the mistake it was. A pitiful fool who believed he could claim his crown from his prison without consequences.
The second time.
Well.
He would not have thought himself to be so lucky, assuming that no other would be foolish enough to free him once more.
He most likely should have learned not to assume a lot of things, when one is more than acquainted with the Master of Time. There was a lot he would do and did for the other before his eternal rest, and a lot of things he could've wrapped his mind around, found out the reason for, even so long as he had the clues no doubt left by Time.
But this.
This.
He was not exactly sure what his expression was, he could not even decide what exactly he was feeling, even. "Dearly belo-" Pariah Dark hid his mistake by clearing his throat. "Master of Time, what exactly do you intend for me to do with... these."
'These' referred to the small beasts currently amusing themselves on his body. A pitch-black chick with red eyes currently nesting in his hair, a snake trying to loop itself-and failing at looping- itself around his neck, a puppy currently resting on his arm and a cub currenting trying to get said puppy's attention only to be zapped away by the pup's foot.
Yes.
Zapped.
Despite this utterly befuddling situation, he was amused by it nonetheless.
"Your parole," The Master of Time said, all-knowing smile on his face. "Surely you would know what to do with children, would you not?"
Pariah Dark blinked. "What in the infinite is a parole?" Pariah tasted the word on his tongue, as if it was foreign to him. And, well. It was. "And what, exactly, would that have to do with children?"
The Master of Time's smile eased into faint amusement, as if aware of some joke the king himself was not.
Which happened more often than not, actually.
"Take good care of these children, and you shall be released from eternal sleep." He said, as if that explained everything. But Pariah Dark was staring at him in clear and undisguised puzzlement.
He then raised an eyebrow. "You would leave me alone with children? Truly? With no qualms?"
The personification of Time nodded, and Pariah could blink slowly, as if he had trouble wrapping his head around this. "Dearly beloved, surely you would not think that this-" If Clockwork noticed his slip of the tongue, then he didn't point it out as Pariah Dark continued. "Would be the best of ideas, no? Surely, you should be worrying for their safety."
Clockwork's eyes filled with mirth as he inclined his head slightly. "Well, do you currently hold any thoughts of harming these children?"
Pariah Dark's face gave away his faint confusion. "Not particularly, no."
"Then that is that." The ancient ghost nodded, as if everything was already decided and done as Pariah could only stare at him in unsurprised exasperation before shaking his head.
Perhaps, he should have expected this.
"The one currently making a nest of your hair goes by Vlad, the Pheonix King." Clockwork pointed his staff to the chick in question, who squinted open an eye before nestling further into the king's hair. He then pointed to the snake. "The one currently trying to strangle you, is Danny. Our prince as well as what humans would call an eastern dragon."
The way Clockwork pronounced our had Pariah feeling like it held another meaning and not just him being known as the prince.
Was there something he was not aware of...?
The staff then pointed to the pup dozing off in his arms. "That one," Clockwork said with faint amusement. "Goes by Dan, a fusion between the phoenix and dragon resulted in his creation and he soon became his own entity after becoming secluded from his timeline after its erasure." He said this casually, as if it weren't something that would cause questions. "He is also a Raiju."
How a bird and snake gave way to dog, Pariah does not know.
The staff then pointed to the last child in his arms, trying to bother Dan and being kicked away and zapped for its efforts. "That is Dani, formally Danielle. She is a Mishipeshu who is the only successful clone of the phoenix and dragon, making her our technical princess."
Again, the emphasis of our left Pariah feeling like there was something he should know. A missing piece to a puzzle he didn't even know he had started.
"You said this one was a king, correct?" Pariah asked, shifting around his arms to better support the pup and cub. "Would the phoenix's not take offense to me of all people being the one to raise their ruler?" As soon as the words left his tongue did he remember who exactly he was talking to.
He was met with a vicious smile, one that he did not see until the days of yore. His non-existent heart skipped a beat.
"Well, if they would like to voice their... displeasure." The Master of Time practically purred that sentence out, and Pariah felt something odd shift inside him. "Then they are surely allowed to do so."
Pariah grunted, silent for a few moments. Clockwork moved towards him in that time, and Pariah stood still, only tracking the ghost with his eyes. "I am quite certain you would make a wonderful father, dear-"
Excuse him, dear..?
"-So why not prove me right as you always have, hm?" Pariah Dark blinked, opening his mouth to speak before his mind screeched to a halt as he felt a pair of lips upon his own before they moved away in the next moment.
A ghost of a kiss.
"Now, run along now why don't you." Clockwork had a mischievous glint in his eyes, before Pariah found himself surrounded by a wide pasture, spanning as far as his eyes could see (and he could see very far) and at the end a forest with a house behind him.
But he could not react, even as he felt pecks upon his head, a bite at his ear and most surely the scratching of claws against his form.
His hair burst into green flames as he stood stalk still.
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