Chapter Text
“You know, your majesty,” Clockwork said from his seat in the office, “if you have grown bored, I have a lovely vacation I can send you on. I have been planning it since the day you became a full ghost.”
Danny sighed from the corner of the room, “372 years? I can’t believe you would hold onto vacation plans for that long. But, If you’re going to suggest another trip to the edges of the multiverse, I’m good.”
“Many would find the edges of the multiverse to be quite the sight. It is a shame you cannot enjoy it. However, that was not my plan. Instead, you’d be reincarnating,” Clockwork brought out a small black box with a bright red button on the top, “It will bring you to the mortal realm, where you will have a nice little vacation. I will take care of everything here, my king.”
“That won't bring me to my original world right?” Danny asked, hesitating to take it in his hand.
Ever since clockwork had revealed the multiverse, after his final death, Danny had really dropped the ball on his universe and the living had finally gone to war with the ghosts. The ghosts won, but left alone those innocent of that war's start and continued efforts. Now, there were so many fanatics that ran around claiming the ghosts to be gods.
The observants were kind enough to inform him that those with power in the infinite realms, not the ghost zone as they had let him believe, were above the status of a god. They were superior beings of the multiverse, the ultimate form. Gods were more mortal than fully formed ghosts, but they drew their power from the different domains of the ancients.
Not everyone meets the qualifications to be a ghost, Danny’s world was just unique, an experiment of the observants to see what would happen if the veil of death was thinner.
It resulted in a completely unique universe that did not resemble others.
You could find universes that had a Danny Fenton, ones that looked exactly like him.
None of them would ever experience Danny’s life, because the veil of death was only leaking slightly in random parts of the universe.
“This box will bring you to a world I have prepared for you. It will accept you with open arms, but the first few years will be a little bumpy and your older self might have to stop an apocalypse, but you’ll be happy. However, the young mind won’t be able to handle all of your memories, so only certain information will be passed onto this new life, and you’ll gain needed information as you grow. I suggest you travel safely, my king,” Clockwork warned, watching as Danny lit up in wonder.
Danny did not hesitate to press the button. He gave Clockwork a shrug as his body split into particles, leaving behind nothing but his core.
Clockwork took the core in his hands, being gentle as he held it close. There was a smile on his face when he looked for his destination and disappeared through a nearby portal.
Ra’s al Ghul watched over the ‘birth’ of the newest al Ghul, youngest son of Talia and Bruce. The scientists were careful taking him out of the artificial womb, but Ra’s knew something was wrong immediately. The boy was too still, like he was a doll.
The same had happened with the two previous attempts. Every last attempt resulted in children with no brain activity. It was like Damian had been a miracle child as the rest did not take.
Ra’s was ready to kill the four man team of scientists and start fresh when something appeared before him. It was a tall purple wispy figure, red eyes looking at him like he was a pebble.
It spoke in a voice that seemed to overlap on itself, “Will you accept a deal, Ra’s al Ghul?”
“Who are you?” Ra’s asked, his hairs standing on edge, like he was facing something he shouldn’t be.
Nobody else moved, breathed or showed any sign of life. Ra’s looked around at the frozen clock, and the still moving clock in the figure’s chest.
“I am Clockwork, Ancient of Time. It is my domain, and mine to wield. You mortals would better know me as Kronos,” Clockwork said, letting his powers flow through him.
Green goo-like waters fell from the figure, and Ra’s stared at the Lazarus waters that fell from him, “My kind are the ones that have allowed you to live with these waters. I wish to strike a deal with you, Ra’s al Ghul, keeper of the pits.”
“What do you offer?” Ra’s asked, a friendly smile pointed at the being. He was well aware that the being was currently threatening his pits.
Clockwork raised a brow, only momentarily before returning to his neutral self, “I offer you knowledge on your experiment here, and a blessing to the boy before you. You will continue to use the pits as you see fit. The boy must never die. He will not come back no matter what you use. He will be a part of my experiment, and I will check up on him randomly. You will allow me to ask the boy any question I want.”
Ra’s smiled, grinning from ear to ear as greed filled his eyes. His voice was unwavering and his hand was outstretched, “I can agree to these terms, but you’ll have to first tell me what you know about these experiments.”
Clockwork shook the man's hand, he looked over to a scientist with red hair and a ponytail. She looked painfully average, and for a good reason, “This one here has been sabotaging them. She has an ability that causes the brain to trap itself for a period of time. When continuously used on a being so small, it causes them to never develop what is needed for life.”
Ra’s grin quickly soured, he didn’t bother her for now. He had other priorities, “and the boy?”
Clockwork did not waste time, floating closer to the body and lowering a glowing green orb onto the child. He waited for a moment, watching the core fuse with the body. He watched as the last of Danny’s soul merged with the body. He took one last look, ensuring his King would not meet his end anytime soon.
Luckily, the body was quickly fused with the soul, and not even another ancient would be able to separate Danny’s core from this new body.
Clockwork turned to Ra's eyes, his own glowing red, “I would not suggest making another. If a third child of Talia is raised amongst the league, they will be your end, and the league will fall with it. The al Ghul line will cease to exist, and my experiment will end early.”
Ra’s made a face at that, and looked at the now glowing boy, he had a small crown of ice floating about his frozen self.
He could accept having only two viable heirs for the al Ghul name.
“His spirit has become that of royalty. He will know things that he has never encountered and understand all written and spoken languages, even long dead ones. As such, not just any name will suffice… From this moment onward, his name will be Daniel al Ghul-Wayne, second and last son of Talia al Ghul. I have no doubts you will heed my warnings,” Clockwork said, disappearing from Ra’s vision.
He didn’t leave as time started up. He had to make sure they would follow his visions and take care of his King properly.
He watched the man, Ra’s, take the now crying child in his hands like a precious gift of the gods… and the man was not far off in that thought.
Damian could hear the cry of a baby, and his mother had rushed out of the room. Ordering him to stay put.
Of course, he did not do that. He was nine. He could easily listen in from the door. Their conversation was not the least bit quiet.
“I will follow your orders, but I refuse to allow this thing near Damian,” Mother spoke, her voice was upset, “It would be a huge setback in his training if he were to develop an emotional attachment at this stage.”
“I suppose that will work. I just need Danyal to be taught and trained properly,” there was a moment of pause, Damian was about to move back to his place when he heard it, “I think I’ll train him myself actually. I just need you to look after his general well being.”
“Of course,” His mother said, sounding resigned. Like a new recruit that was being forced to clean after making a training mistake.
Damian had snuck in later on to see a baby with chubby cheeks, and black hair identical to his own. except, this one had paler skin and bright blue eyes that stared at him with such wonder.
There was a file next to him and of course he read it.
It was eye opening to read. He had a brother! One that was so small and fragile. One that he could protect.
Something unfamiliar bubbled inside him, something warm.
Damian reached out a hand, watching as tiny hands wrapped around his finger. He watched blue eyes stare directly at him, “Hello Daniel, I’m Damian. I’m your akhi.”