Chapter Text
Superman stood frozen, his super-brain failing to catch up with the scene unfolding behind him. He twisted his cape a little more, the flowing red fabric revealing the tiny, star-dust-covered figure latched onto it like some kind of cosmic barnacle.
"Uh..." Clark blinked, still trying to process how, in the middle of hurling Lex Luthor’s doomsday bomb into the void of space, he’d apparently picked up a glowing, child-like alien. The little being stared up at him with impossibly huge eyes—stars twinkling in their green depths—completely unfazed by gravity or the superhero towering over him.
The alien kid (teen? It was hard to tell) gurgled happily, mouth full of stardust, and let out a noise somewhere between a giggle and an interstellar static burst. He waved at Superman with one hand while the other clutched more glowing space particles, his inhumanly sharp, tiny teeth gnawing away like it was a bowl of cereal.
"Okay, um, hi there," Superman said cautiously, holding up his hands as if to prove he wasn’t a threat. "Where did you... Oh, Rao, did I just—did I accidentally abduct you?!"
The child tilted its head, the little cosmic crown on its head wobbling slightly. It didn’t seem upset. In fact, it seemed downright euphoric, as though being dragged across deep space at light-speed was the highlight of its day. Superman pinched the bridge of his nose.
---
Meanwhile, back at the Justice League’s Watchtower, Bruce Wayne was already halfway through the most sarcastic scolding of Clark’s life.
“You *kidnapped* a starlight prince?” Batman deadpanned, gesturing to the floating child now playfully tumbling through zero gravity, still glowing and sparkling like a fireworks display. “Do you have *any* idea how much of a galactic incident this could spark?”
“I didn’t mean to!” Superman snapped, tugging at his hair. “I was trying to stop Lex from nuking Metropolis, not pick up space royalty! Besides, he seems fine—look at him.”
The alien child rolled lazily through the air, emitting a soft hum that sounded oddly like distant planets colliding. He lazily scooped up a handful of stardust from nowhere and stuffed it into his mouth, sighing in delight.
“Well, now we have to figure out where he’s from,” Batman grumbled, already tapping into the Watchtower’s database. “And before you say it, no, you’re not launching him back into space and hoping he finds his own way home.”
---
The chaos peaked a week later when Lex Luthor, sick of Superman’s interference, unveiled a massive chunk of kryptonite during a battle. The glowing green rock emitted its toxic energy, and Clark felt his knees go weak—until a stoned-out Danny, drifting idly nearby, blinked at the "pretty green rock."
Superman barely managed a weak, "Wait, no, don’t—" before the alien teen snatched the kryptonite, opened his mouth, and bit straight into it.
The resulting crunch echoed across the battlefield as Lex’s jaw dropped.
Danny chewed thoughtfully, swallowing the radioactive mineral like it was nothing. He stared at the rock for a moment before taking another chomp—this time catching part of Lex’s exosuit arm along with it.
“...Oops,” Danny mumbled through a mouthful of metal, not looking remotely sorry.
Superman groaned. “Bruce is going to *kill* me.”
---
By the time the stardust supply started to dwindle, Danny had fully integrated himself into the Justice League's daily chaos. High as a kite on his celestial snack of choice, he floated around the Watchtower, providing a steady stream of barely coherent commentary and occasionally causing small, harmless disasters.
"Did you know space is like... really big?" Danny asked no one in particular, hanging upside-down from the ceiling and twirling lazily. "Like, bigger than big. It's like... *big big*."
"Yes," Batman gritted out through clenched teeth, trying to focus on the emergency reports scrolling across his monitor. "We’re aware."
Danny gasped dramatically. "Did you know Earth is just floating? Like, not tied to anything? It’s just out there vibing?"
"That’s how planets work," Diana replied with a patient smile. "Did you eat more stardust, Danny?"
The alien teen hummed, lazily plucking a stray crumb of stardust from his crown and popping it into his mouth. "I might’ve. I feel *so good* right now. Like I could wrestle a black hole! Or, like... hug one."
Superman sighed, rubbing his temples. "Bruce, please tell me you’ve found his home planet. Or any idea how we send him back."
Before Batman could answer, Danny let out a loud gasp. "Oh my gosh! Supes!" he exclaimed, zooming toward Clark at an alarming speed. "You’ve got a curl! It’s like... *boop!*" He reached out and flicked Superman’s iconic curl with a finger, giggling uncontrollably.
Clark didn’t even react anymore. This had been happening for days.
---
But when the last bits of stardust finally wore off, everyone braced for Danny to come crashing down from his cosmic sugar high. Instead, what they got was... somehow even more chaotic.
"Where’s the glowy stuff?" Danny demanded, pacing the Watchtower’s main hall like a restless tiger. "Do you guys have, like, an intergalactic convenience store? I’m starving. I could eat a comet. Or a small moon. Or... ooh, do you have moons?"
“We don’t just *have moons*, Danny,” Superman said, exasperated. "Also, you don’t need more stardust! You’ve been high for a week!"
Danny blinked at him. "High? On what? Dude, that’s just how I am."
"You mean—" Flash started, his eyes wide, "—you’re naturally like this?"
"Uh, yeah?" Danny replied, as if it were obvious. "I mean, I’ll probably explode into star fragments in, like, 300 years, but until then, I’m all vibes."
“Explode into what now?” Cyborg asked, his voice raising an octave.
Danny ignored the question entirely, instead floating over to Diana. "Hey, Wonder Woman, can I try on your tiara? I feel like it would *complete* the look."
"No," Diana replied firmly, though her lips twitched with amusement.
"Fair," Danny conceded. "What about Batman’s cowl?"
"Don’t even think about it," Batman said without looking up.
Danny squinted at Bruce. "You can’t stop me if you don’t sleep, Batdude. I’ll just wait until you blink."
---
The next time Lex Luthor tried anything, Danny was right there—stone-cold sober yet still a tornado of chaos.
Lex unveiled a new kryptonite-powered robot during his latest scheme, only for Danny to casually float between the robot and the Justice League mid-battle. "Oh hey, it's you! Green Rock Guy!" Danny chirped, waving at Lex.
Luthor snarled. "It’s *Luthor*! Do you have any idea how much that kryptonite cost me?"
"Nope." Danny grinned. "But I bet it tastes better than your last robot. That one was kind of oily. You should really clean those."
Lex’s smug demeanor faltered. "What?! You ate—"
Before he could finish, Danny phased into the robot’s chest and came out the other side holding its glowing kryptonite core. "Oh hey, found a snack!"
"DANNY, NO!" Superman yelled, but it was too late. Danny took a bite out of the core, grinning ear to ear as green energy crackled around him.
Lex screamed in horror. The Justice League collectively sighed. And Danny? Danny just floated there, humming happily, because for him, this was just another Tuesday.
---
From then on, Danny was officially adopted as an honorary League member. Not because he was particularly helpful (though his antics did occasionally save the day), but because the universe seemed to break a little less when they kept him close. Besides, chaos or not, Danny was family now—and no one could deny that things were a lot more fun with him around.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the swirling vortex of time, Clockwork observed the chaos through his portal, a serene smile gracing his ancient face. The timeline was intact—mostly—and that was all that mattered. Besides, Danny's "vacation" with the Justice League meant one glorious thing:
Peace and quiet.
For centuries, Clockwork had endured Danny's relentless curiosity, impromptu time-travel shenanigans, and endless questions. It wasn’t that he didn’t love the boy—far from it—but being the Guardian of Time while babysitting a chaotic star-child was exhausting.
Now? Now Danny was the Justice League’s problem.
Clockwork chuckled softly to himself as he watched Danny zip around the Watchtower, trying to convince the Flash to race him.
"Clocky would *never* let me do this!" Danny said gleefully. "He’s all ‘preserve the timeline’ and ‘don’t mess with causality.’ But you, Speedy, you’re all about fun, right?”
Barry looked genuinely torn. "I mean... kind of? But—"
"Then let's *go*! First one to orbit Saturn wins!"
Clockwork leaned back in his ethereal chair, his smile widening. "It’s good for him," he mused aloud. "The boy needs other outlets for his energy. And I need a break."
---
Occasionally, Clockwork tuned in to see the latest developments. He particularly enjoyed the time Danny convinced Green Lantern to make a glowing green trampoline so he could "bounce to the moon." Or the time Danny sat cross-legged in mid-air, teaching Martian Manhunter how to make shadow puppets.
"How do you even know what a Martian shadow puppet looks like?" J’onn asked, genuinely impressed.
"Clocky has *all* the cool history books," Danny said proudly, twisting his fingers into some shape resembling a Martian life form. "He won’t let me touch them anymore, though. Something about time paradoxes or whatever."
Clockwork sighed fondly. That was an understatement—Danny had nearly caused a temporal implosion while trying to "improve" a historically significant fresco by drawing a mustache on an ancient king.
---
But the moment Clockwork truly savored was when Danny ate the kryptonite.
"You should’ve seen Lex’s face!" Danny howled, recounting the tale to the Watchtower crew later. "He looked like someone stole his lunch money and then bit his hand!"
Clockwork allowed himself a soft chuckle. Yes, Danny had caused a mild timeline ripple by devouring a piece of the universe's most dangerous rock, but the entertainment value alone was worth it. Besides, Lex Luthor deserved it.
"Keep up the good work, Danny," Clockwork murmured to himself, sipping a cup of timeless tea. "As long as you're bothering them, you're not bothering me."
For once, the Master of Time could relax, knowing that the Justice League—powerful as they were—had no idea what they’d truly signed up for.
And Clockwork couldn’t be happier.
It started as a typical day—or as typical as things could get with Danny around. He was happily floating through the Watchtower, tossing glowing shards of kryptonite into his mouth like candy while the Justice League collectively panicked around him.
"Stop eating that!" Superman yelled, grabbing at the glowing green chunk in Danny's hand. Danny phased through his grip, effortlessly dodging the Man of Steel while munching on another piece.
"But it’s *so good*!" Danny whined, his voice muffled as he chewed. "Tastes like... fizzy green apples, but, like, with a hint of static electricity. You don’t get it, Supes, it’s *amazing.*"
Superman groaned, visibly wilting under the radiation pulsing from Danny's snack. "You’re going to make me pass out."
"Then don’t stand so close," Danny said with a grin, popping another shard into his mouth.
"Where does he even *get* these?" Flash asked, zipping around the room nervously. "We locked up all the kryptonite, right? Right?"
"Don’t look at me," Cyborg said, hands raised. "I don’t even *know* where he keeps pulling it from."
"I think he’s making it," Batman said darkly, glaring at Danny as if the boy was a puzzle to solve. "Somehow."
Danny, unbothered, gave him a cheeky wave. "Hey, Batdude! I like your cape. Super spooky. Love the vibe."
"Stop deflecting," Batman growled. "Where are you from? What *are* you?"
Danny tilted his head, as if considering how much chaos he wanted to unleash today. "Oh, that’s easy. I’m from Earth! Well, not *this* Earth. A *different* Earth. One where people aren’t all... superheroes and billionaire vigilantes."
The room fell silent. Even Diana raised an eyebrow.
"Wait," Superman said cautiously. "You’re saying you’re from an alternate Earth?"
Danny nodded. "Yep! I’m technically from Earth, but I don’t live there anymore. I’ve got a *way cooler* home now—*The Infinite Realms!*"
"The Infinite Realms?" Diana echoed, stepping forward. "I’ve heard whispers of it—a plane of existence between worlds. You live there?"
Danny floated upside-down, hands behind his head like he didn’t have a care in the universe. "Sure do! Kinda have to. I’m the Ancient of Time and Space and, y’know, the Prince of the Realms."
The silence that followed was deafening.
"You’re joking," Batman said flatly.
"Nope!" Danny chirped. He summoned a glowing green portal with a snap of his fingers, letting it swirl lazily behind him. "See? I can hop between dimensions whenever I want. Comes with the title. Perks of being me."
"You’re royalty?" Flash asked, his jaw dropping. "Like... actual royalty?"
Danny shrugged. "Yeah. My parents didn’t know about that part when I was born, though. Long story short, I died, became a ghost, fought a bunch of bad guys, saved the Realms a few times, and now I’m, like, the cosmic poster child for time and space. Cool, right?"
"That... raises *so many* questions," Superman said, rubbing his temples.
Diana’s expression softened. "You died? How young were you?"
Danny winced slightly but tried to wave it off. "Eh, I got better! And I wasn’t *that* young. I mean, I was, like, fourteen, but that’s normal for hero stuff, right? You start young here, too!"
"No," Superman and Batman said in unison.
"Right, so anyway," Danny continued, ignoring their horrified looks, "you guys are fun and all, but I should probably head back soon. My friends are probably losing their minds without me. And Clockwork’s definitely keeping track—he’s gonna yell at me later."
"Clockwork?" Batman asked sharply, latching onto the name. "Who’s that?"
"Oh, my mentor-slash-boss," Danny said casually. "He’s the Master of Time. Think of him like a cosmic babysitter. He’s super grumpy, though. I think I annoy him. But hey, now I’m annoying you guys, so win-win!"
The League exchanged incredulous looks.
"You’re telling me," Batman said slowly, "that you’re an immortal, dimension-hopping ghost prince, capable of manipulating time and space, and your primary hobby is... annoying people?"
"Yup!" Danny said brightly. "Pretty good at it, too."
---
The revelation didn’t exactly make things easier. If anything, it made Danny’s antics even harder to handle. Knowing he could summon portals, bend reality, and casually eat kryptonite like it was popcorn only added to the collective stress of the Justice League.
But, despite the chaos, they couldn’t bring themselves to kick him out. Danny might’ve been a walking disaster, but he was *their* walking disaster now. And deep down, they knew the truth:
No matter how many headaches he caused, the universe was just a little brighter—and a lot more interesting—with Danny around.