บท 13: Chapter 13
Summary:
In which the origins of Danny Fenton and Amity Park are revealed. Also, Danny joins the Fenton Family and meets his new best friends.
Notes:
Sorry for the long wait between updates. Invisobang plus RL just got in the way...and I lost my direction for this story. I found my way, and this is now Arc Two of three! So, please enjoy this long-overdue chapter. See you guys next time!
Chapter Text
CHAPTER 13
Ten years earlier: Nanda Parbat
Ra's al Ghul had always been a master strategist. He made a point of always being several steps ahead of his enemies. He took every advantage and opportunity that he could use to further his goals. He typically followed his instincts when it came to planning for the future. When his daughter Talia brought him a nearly brain-dead Jason Todd-Wayne, he knew that he had been handed the keys to something big—even if he wasn't exactly sure how he would use the boy—yet.
The first thing that Ra's did, just as a matter of course, was to have the boy cloned. If the League's medical teams were unable to restore the original teen, well, Ra's could made do with a copy. Never one to leave well-enough alone, he also had the clone genetically enhanced with the meta gene. The ancient villain often stopped by the genetics lab to check on the progress of his newest "toy"—one he was looking forward to unleashing on the Bat.
What Ra's didn't expect was for Talia to toss the original into the Lazarus Pits after six months of ineffectual treatments and training. It was an even bigger surprise that the formerly tiny Robin emerged as a giant raging hulk of a man. Talia saw to Todd's training personally. Her gifts at manipulation made sure that the malleable teen was a formidable weapon against the Detective.
So, Ra's was left with a spare.
He pondered for a bit on what to do with the rapidly-developing clone. He didn't want to waste the effort already invested in the unborn copy. After much consideration, he decided to rapidly age the clone to the age of a young boy and drop him into the great "Social Experiment" that Ra's had partnered with Vandal Savage to create nearly a hundred years previous.
The two "visionaries" wanted to see how a small area developed if it were shielded from the rest of American society. Through use of sorcery and science, the pair created a shield of sorts around two very small townships—Vandal controlled the area known as Elmerton and Ra's was the master over Amity Park. Savage and al Ghul controlled everything that entered into their experimental area. Their hands guided the media, the population, the government, the police—even the technology that was allowed to filter into the area.
As the cities grew, so did the influence of the masterminds. The two men played with the populus of their "bubble" like pieces on a chess board. It was a relaxing pastime for both of them—their own personal game, of sorts. They guided the development of the area according to their whims, and very rarely did someone escape the boundary that had been set around the twin towns. The few that did were killed ruthlessly, pursued and overtaken by a specially trained goon force, known only as "The Guys in White"—due to the "uniforms" that they wore.
"The Guys in White" were a clone force grown from the best personnel that Ra's and Vandal had to offer. The top agents were given a letters as their names—"Agent A" through "Agent Z" were the leaders, while the base group was only assigned numbers as their identifiers. The various agents and scientists came out of the vat fully programmed for obedience and carefully coded to keep the towns working exactly the way that their masters wanted.
They did their job well. The two towns were insular and unlike anything surrounding them. The populace never knew of vigilantes or heroes. No one inside the bubble had ever heard of the Justice League. It was into this environment that Ra's dropped the clone of Jason Todd-Wayne.
The boy had been aged to the equivalent of seven years, and programmed with the according knowledge. Ra's was curious to see what the influx of new blood would do to his serene little town. He was delighted when the child was given into the custody of the most brilliant minds under his control—Jack and Madeline Fenton. The couple had only been successful in birthing one child, and the al Ghul patriarch was curious as to how things would play out with another child under their roof.
The Fenton parents' intelligence was passed down to their daughter, who often took charge of the young clone while her parents worked. The three Fentons brought out the best in the child that they named "Danny"—his presence somehow enhanced their drive to create and explore. They created so much beautiful chaos in their search for the unknown that even Ra's scientists were hard pressed to keep up with the Fenton's research.
"Danny" quickly picked up everything that the Fentons taught him. From mathematics to martial arts, astronomy to astrophysics—his enhanced mind took it all in. He became a fixture in his parent's laboratory; despite his age, he was a brilliant engineer. He helped the adults in their intellectual pursuits, yet remained humble and unassuming. He was well-loved—even after the accident that activated his meta powers and created a stable portal to another dimension.
The technology that came from their lab greatly benefited the League. So much so that Vandal Savage was jealous. After the Fenton parents' success with the portal, Savage demanded that Ra's add another wildcard to the mix to "even out" the scoreboard. Thus, one Vlad Masters—a villainous meta who's influence spread much further than his private lab in Wisconsin—was manipulated into moving to Amity Park. Savage's reason for picking Masters was simple—he hated Jack Fenton with a passion and wanted to kill the brilliant scientist.
Ra's al Ghul and Vandal Savage viewed the events in Amity and Elmerton as a challenging game. To the residents of those cities, however, it was anything but. Often, it was a case of life-or-death. In Danny's case, it started off as life.
Ten Years Ago: Amity Park
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, as you know, we have only a small population of available children. If you are set on adoption as the way to expand your family, then you should seriously consider fostering an older child." The social worker sighed as she shuffled the papers around on her desk. "Please, try to understand. You already have a child. Due to the scarcity of infants in the system, you will be on the bottom of the list to adopt."
The woman looked at the anxious faces across the desk from her. "I probably shouldn't tell you this because it might not work out for you, but I will anyway. Just two weeks ago, a young boy was found with no identification and no memory of who he is or where he came from. No one has reported him missing. A search for possible parents has turned up nothing so far, and the hospital where he has been staying cannot keep him much longer. He has nowhere to go."
"What are you trying to say?" Maddie asked hesitantly. "Are you asking us to take him in?" She looked at her husband. "Jack? Honey?"
"What's going to happen to him?" Jack looked across the desk and saw the turmoil in the social worker's eyes.
"If no home opens up for him in the next few days, he'll be put into the juvenile justice system."
"What? Why would they do that if he hasn't' done anything wrong??" Maddie's emotions were churning. The thought of an innocent child being put in that kind of environment went against everything she believed in as a mother.
"If no one steps up, they'll have no choice. It's not like there's an orphanage in the area for him to stay at. The judges have never sent children out of the county, to my knowledge. If you two are willing to take him in, I can guarantee that your application will be approved."
Jack looked at his wife and saw the longing there. He turned back to the social worker. "We'll take him."
"Are you sure? It would be cruel for you to offer him sanctuary and then later reject him if he turns out to be a handful."
This time it was Maddie who spoke. "We are sure. What do we have to do?"
A week later, the newly minted Daniel ("Danny"—soon to be Fenton) rode away from the only place he had ever known. He was strangely calm about joining the family that he had met with over the course of a few days.
Jack, Maddie, and Jazz quickly fell in love with the young boy who fit so well into their household. He was strangely adept at everything he set his hands to. When they tested his intelligence and scholastic levels, he was almost off the charts. His engineering skills and mathematic abilities were genius level.
It wasn't long before he joined his new mother and father in the lab. Danny picked up things very quickly and seemed to have an innate ability to sense how things should work. The only area he seemed to be lacking was in social experience, but that was quickly remedied by his new sister, Jazz.
He made his first friends during the first summer after he was found. He was sitting alone in the food area at the local Solstice Festival, reading quietly while eating. Suddenly, a girl sat down on one side of him. A boy soon followed her. They sat down across the small table from Danny and grinned. Danny looked up in surprise when the girl spoke.
"So, you're the new kid all the adults are talking about. My name's Sam. This jerk here is Tucker. What's your name?"
Danny blinked at them for a second, then his mouth split into a wide smile. "I'm Danny—Danny Fenton. It's nice to meet you."
Tucker smiled back and held out his free hand. Danny shook it. Tucker looked at the book Danny was reading. "You into stars or something?"
"I think I want to be an astronaut. I wish I could go to space!" Danny got a far-away look in his eyes.
Sam and Tucker looked at each other. Sam spoke first. "Well…seeing as how we're too young for that right now, we could do the next best thing…"
"And that would be?" Danny tilted his head.
"Reaching for the stars!" Sam smiled at him.
Danny's eyebrow rose. "How?"
"We can hit the big slide!" Tucker exclaimed. "It's my favorite!"
Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't feel pressured or anything. You can just hang out with us, if you want."
Danny looked at the girl sitting next to him and then at the eager boy waving electronics over the table. He decided he was ready to experience a new part of life. "I think I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. Let's slide!"
"Whoo-hoo!" Tucker jumped up and knocked the table. Danny's drink fell into his food. Tucker grimaced. "Sorry, dude! I'll get you some more later."
Danny smiled. "It's alright, man. I was done anyway."
Sam took both boys by the hand. "Well then, let's go have some fun!"
Two hours later, the trio stopped for refreshments. Tucker ordered his usual meat kabob. Danny ordered a large cotton candy and a caramel apple. After he paid, both of his hands were rather full.
Sam looked at him and shook her head. "Seriously, Danny, How are you even gonna eat that?"
Danny shot her a wicked grin. "I'm ambidextrose…I eat my sugar with BOTH hands!"
Sam groaned. Tucker just shook his head. "What is it with you and puns, dude? That was, like, your fourth one in the last hour!"
Danny laughed. "I like twisting language!"
"Dude, you're killing me!" Tucker put his face in his hand.
"I guess you'll just have to learn how to take PUNishment, better…"
After the fair, the duo-turned-trio did almost everything together. Sam and Tucker supported Danny throughout his introduction to public school (and bullying). Danny—and a reluctant Tucker—stood by Sam when she decided to take a stand as an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian goth, and Sam helped Danny supply Tucker with the parts he needed to upgrade his electronic hide-a-way in his parents' attic.
Each member of the trio added a different element that complemented the others. When they weren't together, they were often found on the phone with each other, or playing games together over the Internet. Tucker's family adored Danny. Unfortunately, Sam's family barely tolerated him. The Fentons were just grateful that their son had found such wonderful friends to grow up with.
Danny excelled in school. He loved learning and even the socialization. He stood by his friends when their personal interests caused them to "drop" on the social ladder. He didn't care what others thought of him, his friends, or his family. He frequently and vehemently defended the Fenton family, despite their ever-growing obsession with creating a portal to another dimension. In general, Danny had found a very good life and was living it well. All of that changed one sunny afternoon several years later…
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