How to Tame An Al Ghul (5+1)

Danyal sits stiffly next to his Mother in the car, observing his new surroundings. He had never been to America before, nor had he ever intended to. Too many heroes galavant around the country to carry out a successful operation. America is a suicide for an assassin. Even for those of an Al Ghul caliber. Which, according to Talia, his mother, makes it an excellent place to hide. Danyal can't help but disagree. Posing as a random American child leaves too many unknowns and not enough advantages. Americans coddle their children. Always near or attached to a minder. Unable to wander alone without guidance. Disgusting. The country has no assigned language, yet only English is seen as acceptable. It's stifling.  

He doesn't want to be here.

" Mother, must we continue with the subterfuge?" Danyal asks, exasperated. 

Talia sighs and looks at him, eyes filled with sorrow, " shadows expand in times of grief. The Demon's Head has set his eyes on the new world, eyes we need to keep away from you, habibi." 

Danyal huffs, "Yet, he no longer has reason to take such glances. I see no reason for elaborate efforts," then turns away and pulls at his collar. He's not fond of their disguises. Talia is wearing a western blouse and skirt, while he is wearing a polo and slacks. The garments are uncomfortably restricting. 

" He will look regardless of necessity," Talia reminds.

" Which is why you are offering me to strangers," Danyal says bitterly, " instead of sending me to Father." 

" It would be too obvious," Talia says, not liking this option but not seeing any other choice. Her father's beliefs had not advanced with the times and sees no reason to have multiple heirs. Ending the weakest link of the Al Ghul bloodline was the only " reasonable decision" Ra's could come up with. The Demon's Head, sword as swift as it was in his prime, struck. The blade slid between the sixth and seventh ribs, piercing the lung– they had Danyal's favorite for dinner, just hours before– his last supper. Ra's gathered the twins for late-night training, he claimed. And that's all it was before Ra's moves turned deadly. He made them watch. Made Talia hold back one child while the other choked on their blood. Danyals eyes lingered on them until they lost their spark of life. 

Danyal Al Ghul, dead, age eight. Cause? Execution.

Talia refused to let that be the end.

Late, hours after Ra's had retired for the evening, she removed her child from his cold, shallow grave and, in between guard shift changes, released him into the Lazarus Pits. 

Hoping for another miracle. 

When Talia prepared for a child, she only intended to have one. She felt blessed when the embryo split. Two babies. Two little ones to take care of, depend on her. She was ecstatic. That was until birth. Damian was fine, with ten fingers and toes, breathing on his own. Danyal, however, was blue in the face and less developed than his brother. They thought he was stillborn. The next day, the Al Ghul family gathered around a pit to give the fallen child a proper send-off. Talia released him into Lazarus' embrace and watched him go under, only moments later for him to reemerge, face red, crying his little lungs out.

A miracle, Danyal, her miracle baby. 

She could only hope the pit had one more miracle to give. 

Danyal was once more released into the water. He went under, and she waited and waited, but he didn't resurface. Five days later, a confused, soaking-wet Danyal knocked upon her bedroom door. Danyal's anger, unlike others, had been drained from him, leaving him emotionally raw. He hid for a week in her rooms while she concocted a plan. He seemed the same but different like he could feel nothing but everything at once.

Even now, in a new country, about to undergo his next journey alone, he's raw. She's afraid he'll say that way. " You need to stay sharp but discrete. I will come for you, gulbi." Talia parks the car by an obnoxious flashing sign on the side of a building.

" Please," Danyal asks, voice shaking, " don't leave me here." 

Talia reaches over and kisses his forehead. " It won't be forever, just until it's safe." 

" When? When will it be?" Danyal asks. 

" Soon, habibi, soon," Talia replies, getting out of the car and grabbing his bags from the trunk. She opens Danyals door, "Come on, we can't keep them waiting." 

Danyal reluctantly gets out and takes his bags from his mother, "You'll tell ahki, right, mother? Where I am?" 

" When the time is right," she replies, not knowing when that'll be. They go to the porch and ring the doorbell. 

A couple comes to the door dressed… uniquely but otherwise look like any other. Danyal's not too sure what to make of them. " Ah, Ms. Tate," the woman says, looking at Talia, " we weren't expecting you till tomorrow."  

Talia gives a fake laugh, the one she uses when humoring a subordinate, " Last minute flight changes. I hope you understand, Mrs. Fenton." 

" Of course," the man says before turning to look at him, " I'm Jack, and this is my wife Maddie, and you're Daniel, yes?" 

" Danyal, not Daniel," he corrects sharply. 

" I see, Danyal," Maddie says, trying to copy the pronunciation. " Why don't you and Ms Tate come in?" 

" Thank you," Talia says before leading them in. They look around, noting all the exits and possible weapons. Danyal spots pictures on their walls, few and far between, but all include a red-headed girl.

Maddie sees him looking, "That's our daughter, Jazz. She's at school. We'll introduce her to you later." 

" How old is she?" Danyal asks, not too familiar with other children and how they should look. 

" Twelve," Maddie replies as she leads their guests to the living room couches. " If I remember correctly, Ms. Tate said you're eight?" 

" That would be correct," Danyal says, sitting awkwardly by himself in a chair while the couple takes the couch.

Talia remains standing, reading through their excellently forged documents, " I believe everything should be in order; I just need some signatures." Maddie and Jack go through the paperwork, sign where indicated, and are given a copy of their agreement. " That's it," Talia says once everything is finished, " Danyal, you have my number. Remember to call if you need anything, and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, I'll be back in a few months for our check-in."   

Maddie gets up and walks Talia to the door, " he will be in good hands." 

" I hope so," Talia says and walks out.

Danyal can't help the tears pooling as he hears her drive away. He wipes his eyes and looks at the complete strangers charged with caring for him, " Where may I put my things?" 

" Oh, oh, I'll show you," Jack says excitedly, grabbing Danyals things. They head upstairs, " Maddie-cakes and I have the room at the end," he points down the hall. " Our Jazzy-pants is on the right, and you will be on the left." Jack opens the door and ushers Danyal in. The room is bare, outfitted with a bed and a tall dresser. Jack sets the bags on the bed, " We can fix it however you like, paint the walls, posters, you name it." 

" I would be amenable to that," Danyal responds. " May I have time to… settle in?" 

" Of course," Jack says, heading towards the door. " Just give a holler if you need anything. Maddie and I will be downstairs," and leaves. 

Danyal looks around his new room and sighs, "What has Mother dragged me into." 

" Come on, dude," says one of Danyals, better known as Danny to his peers, friends Tucker Foley. " We haven't done anything together in, like, forever." 

" I have a prior commitment," Danny says.

" You've been saying that for three weeks now," Tucker complains. " What kind of 'commitment' lasts that long," he uses air quotes. " We haven't even had the chance to celebrate your birthday. You only turn ten once you know." 

Danny rolls his eyes and says deadpan, " I'm well aware. An age per finger. Next year, I'll need to steal a hand." 

Tucker gives an awkward chuckle. The thing about Danny, it's hard to tell when he's serious or not. When he joined school two years ago, he caused a variety of injuries. Bites, broken noses, stab wounds via pencil. If Danny says he'll steal a hand, Tucker has no doubts he'll try it. Danny… he's contradictory. Because while he's violent and chaos-incarnate, he's also really sweet. Danny is the first to help when someone is hurt, as long as he's not the perpetrator. To help with homework, look for lost pets, and walk old ladies across the street. He's a lot, but Tucker knows he's a good person. " Seriously, when are we celebrating? I know Sam wants to know, too." 

" I'll let you know when I figure it out," Danny sighs as they reach the intersection. Tucker continues straight while he starts to go left. " I can probably talk Jack and Maddie into a sleepover. Now that their portal is done, they don't work all night; we'd actually get to sleep." 

" I'll hold you to it," Tucker shouts as he walks off.

Danny continues to FentonWorks and almost cries tears of joy when he sees a familiar rental car. He quickly walks into the house and yells, " I'm back." When he enters the kitchen, he finds Talia and Maddie drinking coffee. " Ms. Tate?" Danny asks, with fake surprise in his voice, " You're next check-in isn't until–" 

" November," Talia finishes with a smile but eyes full of worry. Looking him over for anything out of place, she says, "Surprise inspection. Everything has been checked out and cleared. Don't worry; you won't be moved. However, before I go, I was hoping to speak with you in private," she looks at Maddie. " Is that okay?" 

" As long as Danny wants to," Maddie says, giving him an out.

Danny nods, " We can speak in my room. I wanted to show it to you anyway when you returned. Jack helped me set up a mural of the constellations."

" Oh, is that so?" Talia asks, getting up and allowing Danny to pull her by the arm up the stairs. 

As soon as they reach his room, he lets go, locks the door, and sighs, relieved, " Mother." 

" Danyal," she opens her arms, and he goes in for the hug, " I got here as fast as I could. The SOS, what happened?" 

" Mother," Danny sniffs and answers in Arabic, " I've messed up." 

" What's happened habibi?" Talia asks, holding him close. 

" I reported to you about the Fentons studies, yes?"Danny asks, and when she nods, he continues. " They finished the portal. It didn't work at first. I had persuaded them to allow me to assist in their laboratory. I went into the lab alone to ascertain the issue. I underwent proper safety protocols. I was careful." He lets go of Talia to look her in the eyes. " I got it to work, somehow, but Mother… It– the portal, it opened on me."  

Talia goes still, "You were inside their contraption as it ripped a hole in reality?" 

" Yes, Mother," Danny replies. 

" Status report," Talia demands, going into work mode.

"Lichtenberg scarring, from my left hand," he holds it out to show her, " to my sternum. Occasional pain and numbness in extremities. As well as some…side effects." 

" Side effects," Talia echoes, eyebrow raised. 

Danny leans down and pulls up his pant leg; there's no leg in sight, " brief, uncontrollable moments of invisibility, intangibility, and flight. I-I don't know what's happening to me." 

" Who else is aware?" Talia asks. 

" No one," Danny says. " Once the side effects started, I sent out the SOS and hid the abnormalities." 

" Danyal… this is out of my purview," Talia admits, sighing, " I can ask around… but there's no guarantee I'll find answers." 

Danny nods, dejected, " understood. Thank you for coming." 

" Of course, gulbi," Talia says, cupping his cheek. 

Danny lets the moment happen, but once she lets go asks, "How is ahki?"

" Progressing in his studies," Talia replies, " the Demon's Head believes it is time to diversify his training." 

Danny's eyes widen, " you mean–" 

" Next month, Damian will be delivered to your Father," Talia says. 

" What about me? Can I…" Danny trails off, seeing his Mothers's look. 

" Not yet," Talia says. " Your brother's trip is supposed to be temporary. Once he settles, where the shadows can't reach, you can rejoin him and take your place at his side." 

" Does he know? " Danny asks, "Does he know he's going to Father?" Does he know his other half will be just an arm's length away?

" No, it's a surprise," Talia says, looking away. " This is your grandfather's birthday gift to him." 

If it weren't for mirrors, he'd have forgotten what he looked like by now. He can change some features around in his mind and see him, but nothing compares to the real thing. So Danny feels no guilt asking, " Could you bring him here first, please?" 

" Danyal, you know the dangers," Talia says, sounding defeated. 

" Damian gets to see Father as his birthday gift. Let me seeing him be mine," Danny pleads, wanting nothing more than to see his brother. 

" I will see what I can do," Talia says, sounding choked up, switching back to English.

" That's all I ask."

~~~Time Skip~~~

Four and a half weeks later, at three o'clock in the morning, and for the first time in years, the Demon Twins will be reunited. Danny looks at his glitching form in his mirror. Ever since he ' went ghost' for the first time, his abilities have become instinctive. Helpful since he's rusty; he hasn't had to really fight for the past couple of years, but a pain in the butt to adjust to. The ghosts coming through haven't really been malicious, unlike past opponents, but careless and destructive.

They're going to kill somebody at this rate, and Danny can't just sit around and let it happen. He's already got blood on his hands, not that he had a say in that, but he doesn't want to add any more, not if he doesn't have to. 

Danny sneaks out of his room, going intangible through the wall and out of the house. He sticks to the shadows as he goes across town and heads to the park, their meeting spot. As Danny approaches, he sees Talia and Damian already there. Unable to pass up this opportunity, goes invisible and floats the rest of the way. " Boo!" Danny yells, popping back to visibility in Damian's face.

Damian stumbles back and goes for his weapon but freezes once he sees the familiar face. 

" You should have seen your face," Danny giggles, floating in front of them. 

" Danyal?" Damian asks like he can't believe what he's seeing. 

" Ahki!" Danny says and hugs him, but the other boy goes stiff, " I can't believe you're here!" 

" How-how are you alive, Grandfather–he–" Damian stammers. 

Danny looks at Talia, " I thought you were going to tell him?"

" You're early," Talia says as an explanation, trying to keep her expression neutral while looking at her floating child. The uncontrollable aspect of being electrocuted by an interdimensional portal seems to be fading, leaving developing powers in place. 

" So," Danny says, putting his feet on the ground, " short version: Mother put me in the pit– a last-ditch effort," he chuckles at his pun. " Took a few days, but I swam out. She hid me until she could get me out. I got placed with a long-term foster family of mad scientists, and Mother comes back occasionally, posing as a social worker doing check-ins." 

" That does not explain the floating and invisibility," Damian says, compartmentalizing. 

" Oh, that's more recent," Danny says, brushing the trama off, " got hurt by an invention–"

" A portal to another dimension opened up on top of him," Talia corrects. 

Danny scowls, " I was trying to ease him into it." 

" An unnecessary action," Damian says, despite knowing he will be up all night thinking about it. " Are you coming with me to Fathers'?" 

" No, not anytime soon," Danny says, frowning. " Actually… Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure if I can come at all." 

Talia looks at her boys sad, " Danyal, when it's safe–" 

" That's not what I mean, Mother," Danny cuts her off. " Since you were last here, there's been a development…" Danny looks around, just to double-check, before whispering, " Going ghost." Light erupts from his torso and encases his body. Replacing his clothes is a black hazmat suit with white boots, gloves, and a downed hood. His hair fades to white, and his eyes change to toxic green– all of him is glowing. Danny looks at them sheepishly and says, with jazz hands, "Ta-da." 

Talia makes a face, " what happened."

" Ahki, change back. What if someone sees!" Damian whisper shouts.

" No one else is around, and CCTV can't capture ghosts on film for some reason. I've checked," Danny says, scratching the side of his neck while trying to calm his brother. "It turns out having a portal open on you causes more damage than I first believed. Ghosts are a lot more powerful than we were taught. They're pouring out of Fenton's portal. I got captured by one called Skulker– I was unprepared for that level of spectral altercations," he defends himself before they can say anything. " He's a collector of the rare. He called me a halfa. A hybrid of living and dead, a humanoid scrounger cat, if you will. He didn't know much about my… kind. That or my interrogation failed. Besides him, a new acquaintance from the other side, Princess Dorathea of Aragon, told me hafa's are keepers of balance, and there are few records of us." 

" What does this mean for you?" Damian asks, swallowing down his concern. His brother was dead, yet not, only to turn out to be both at the same time. It is a lot to work his head around. 

" I'm not sure," Danny admits, " I know I need to learn more. I'm… different now. I don't know what being a halfa means or how it changes things. I want to go with you, would now if I could… As much as I want a home again, I need to know. I've started fighting again, the ghosts that are coming through.. the people here don't know how to handle them, and vice versa."

"Helping," Talia says, " sounds a lot like heroing to me." 

Danny blushes green, " I like helping people a lot more than hurting them. It feels good to fight again." 

" Your Father will be proud," Talia says, then corrects, " once it's safe for him to find out."

" Would he?" Danny asks, " I thought I wouldn't be allowed there now. Everyone knows Batman is anti-meta, and while I'm not sure what being a halfa is, I know it's not baseline." 

" I do not believe you would count," Damian says, genuinely considering it. " This is now your natural state of being. This is not a simple enhancement but a change in species… this, I believe, would count as a medical condition. Living on the brink of final death." 

" Your Father will accept both of you," Talia says, looking at them, " with open arms. 

" I'd prefer confirmation than risking it," Danny says, looking at his brother. 

" I can provide updates and give assessments," Damian offers.

" That would be appreciated," Danny says, then recites his cellphone number for him.

" I will be in touch," Damian says, committing it to memory. 

Danny turns back to human, "Call me when you get settled?" 

" Of course." 

~~~Time Skip~~~

A couple of weeks later, Danny is woken up by his phone going off at one in the morning. " Hello?" 

" Ahki," Damian's voice comes through, " is your location secure?" 

" Yeah," Danny yawns and sits up, " I'm in my room." 

" I arrived at Father's home on the outskirts of Gotham City, New Jersey. The manor is understaffed, with only one full-time servant, Pennyworth. Father is not how I expected… but I can adjust. Besides Father, the only other full-time resident is Timothy Drake, a vagabond he has taken a liking to. Occasional occupants include his original charity case, Richard Grayson, whom prefers to be referred to as Dick of all things," disgust clouds his tone. " Mother's pet revenant is a welcomed guest but infrequent despite the rooms set aside for him. I have yet to right myself as one of Father's rightful heirs and become Robin. My attempts to open the position have failed. However, the longer Drake and I duel, the openings become more apparent." 

" It sounds like you are settling well," Danny remarks, "but I have some concerns. 

" What might they be?" Damian asks, curious.

" I have found those raised in this country aren't as familiar with dule and honor rights. Is Timothy aware you are fighting for rights? I tried to dual the Fenton's child Jazz to be allowed into their laboratory, but this was not received well. I was later informed that this is not customary here. From my research, duals became illegal after the American Civil War. There may be a misunderstanding or cultural differences."

" Is that so? I'll keep that in mind before our next bout," Damian says, taking the advice to heart.

" Have you gaged their comfortability with non-human entities?" Danny asks.  

" Father and Drake are fond of Kryptonians, while Grayson holds a similar attachment for Tamaraneans. However, none of those beings reside within Gotham but hold visiting rights," Damian lists. 

" Worse comes to worse. They'll at least let me visit," Danny sighs, seeing this as a win.

" I apologize. I had intended to gather more information, but cementing my civilian identity had taken precedence," Damian explains. 

" What's your cover story?" Danny asks.

" The result of a 'fling' between Father and Mother during his ' playboy' era, and our maternal family being involved in a cult resulting in my removal," Damian says, trying to recall the wording.

" Mother created a similar cover for me," Danny says, " was this one her idea as well?"

" Some of it, Father edited some details," Damian says. 

" At least it's consistent," Danny shrugs. Have you~." Blue mist, Danny's ghost sense, escapes his lips. " Oh, come on!" he groans. " I've got to let you go, Dami. A ghost's on the move." 

" Fight valiantly," Damian replies.

" Uhibbuka, ahki," Danny says before hanging up the phone. He looks out the window to see Boxy carrying off someone's packages, " hello, misplaced aggression."

~~~Time Skip~~~

Danny comes down the next morning in a good mood. The only ghost to come out to play was Box Ghost, and he got to talk to Damian. Jazz gives him a look when he joins them for breakfast, " you okay? You're not usually this ..chipper." 

Danny pours himself some juice, " my brother called me." 

Jack and Maddie whip around, dropping their newest gadget, to see his smiling face. " Brother?" Maddie questions, "You've never mentioned him before." 

" He was still with Mother up until recently," Danny says excitedly, " Ms. Tate helped him get in touch." 

" Is that why she wanted to speak to you last time?" Maddie asks.

" Partially. Mother also asked her to give me a message. Basically, since she's gotten Damian out of the cult, I'm closer to being able to go home or at least join Damian. Mother is trying to figure things out so we can be a family again!" Danny says happily, but his smile drops. " It will probably be a while, but I'm able to talk to Dami again, so a win is a win." 

" Where did they send your brother?" Jack asks, "We could take him too." 

" He got sent to Father," Danny says. " They could rule that this time, a placement with him is safe." 

" And it wasn't when they tried to send you?" Jazz questions, not liking the sound of that. 

" It's not like that," Danny defends, lying through his teeth. " My Father is a foster parent in his own right, even having adopted a few kids. One of the kids he had was having a bad time, and it was deemed to be against ' the children's best interests to have two adjusting kids in the same house. Apparently, he didn't know about us at all until social services contacted him about Damian, so it's not his fault he didn't take me… he didn't know I was here. Regardless, CPS was worried about Grandfather at the time grabbing me back, and if I were with Father, it would be too obvious, so I was added to the system and ended up here." The child in question? Jason. He was still working out his pit rage at the time. Having two assassin kids running around Gotham fresh out of the Lazarus pits, even Mother isn't that cruel to send us both Father's way. 

" How old is Damian?" Maddie asks. 

" Ten, we're twins. He's the elder technically," Danny says, fixing some cereal. 

" Oh," the Fentons sound off as one. That explains a lot about Danyal Al Ghul's issues. 

" Danyal, I hope you know you're more than welcome to stay as long as it takes, and if the placement with your Father doesn't work at any time, you and your brother will be welcomed here," Maddie says. 

Danny looks at her, surprised, " I'll pass on that message. Are you sure you'd want both of us?" 

" This is the happiest we've ever seen you," Jack says softly. " Anyone who makes you feel like that is always welcome. You may not be our kiddo, but by this point, you're family all the same."