Foretellers: Continuation

by BioQuillFiction

Dan's Training

"Alright, since Dan helped with cooking yesterday, his training starts today." Cript said as the Foretellers all sat in the living room the next morning. They all noticed Alex was in a much better mood, but didn't ask, the smell gave away the reason.

“Thank you, no sixth dimensional succubi to taunt me now!” Dan cheered.

Dan jumped at the sound of static, only to see Jenny smirking with a small radio in hand not tuned into a station.

"Jenny, that's not nice. Your first time with a fourth dimensional succubus is always the toughest." Alushy said. Jenny turned off the radio and put it away.

"So, today Kira will be helping me cook." Cript announced.

“Is it because Lan is going last?” Kira asked, though gulping in fear at what nonsense she’ll have to deal with.

"Yes. Now come on, we're making pizza."

She gave Cript an inquisitorial look. “What kind of pizza?” She asked, trying not to sound accusing that he might throw her into some eldritch hell as well just to make pizza.

"I'm partial to mushroom but we'll be making a bunch so if you have a preference." Cript shrugged.

“There’s…no catch to this?” She asked. “Like…no jumping into some dangerous pocket dimension world or having to hunt down giant monsters?”

"Not unless you count the supermarket for some ingredients dangerous." Cript said.

“Oh come on!” Dan and Alex shouted in pain.

"Come on now Dan. Scootaloo is waiting." Alushy said.

---

Dan looked around and found himself in, oddly, a library. Not that he was complaining, but he was definitely confused.

“Alright…” Dan started. “I expected a bit of physical training not…immediately hitting the books.”

"We're starting with your strengths." Dan jumped and turned, seeing Scootaloo was behind him.

“Please don’t do that…dad does it enough.” Dan sighed.

"So, in case you were wondering, this is The Library. Well, a copy. It's a whole planet sized library that houses every book every sentient species across the multiverse has ever written. Science, magic. Nonsense."

Dan’s eyes widened as he heard that. “I’m home…”

"For now." Scootaloo said as she walked around Alex. "Your first assignment is to read and memorize every single book to memory. Word for word, down to punctuation and context."

“Uh…every single book as in…?” Dan asked, kind of concerned she’s meaning he has to read an entire planet sized library of literally everything and to memorize it.

"Every. Single. Book." She confirmed with a nod.

“And…I can take as long as I want?” Dan asked.

"Yup."

Dan took a deep breath. “Alright…this is going to take an eternity and a half…best get started…” The snake sighed, grabbing a random book from the closest shelf and sitting down to read.

---

Dan's sense of time was long since was lost. He didn't count the days nor tried, but he read and read, at first at a normal pace, then faster, faster. Soon Dan could flip the pages of a book and know all they told. It took a long time but soon be did begin to memorize them. Sciences once beyond his understanding we're second nature. An entire Lexicons worth of knowledge sat in his head and many tales from creations far reaches were safely archived within his memory. Biology of every plant, animal, species and dimension variation are Imprinted into his brain.

Eventually, Dan finally closed the final book he had yet to read from The Library.

"Took you long enough." Dan jumped, seeing Scootaloo behind him again.

“Alright…” Dan said, bringing up a mug of coffee that one of the librarian’s were oh so thankful to give him as he gently sipped it. “Oh that’s still so good…how long?”

"Forty nine hundred million years."

Dan spat out his coffee.

“Fucking what!?” Dan asked in horror.

"Oh relax it's barely been two hours for you back time. Time fuckery is almost a specialty of mine at this point." Scootaloo said with a shrug.

“Still…” Dan said. “So…why don’t I feel or look older? Cause even if timey wimey nonsense happened…or is it because I’m a Vampire?”

"Bingo. You are a vampire, well, half anyway. You are capable of controlling your physically represented age at will."

"Huh, thought that, because I was half vampire, I had limits to all that." Dan pointed out.

"That's not how your type of halfbreed works. Anyway. Pop Quiz time." Scootaloo said, handing Dan a large stack of paper.

"Ugh…" Dan grumbled, sitting down and grabbing a pencil and casually writing down the answers, though grunting a bit at how…slow he was writing.

Dan filled out every question. When he finished Scootaloo took the huge quiz and graded it. She smirked as she finished. "Good. Not a single question wrong. Congratulations Dan, your Brain is officially a super computer."

“Fantastic…just need to work on my actions cause I felt…slow.” Dan frowned.

"Now onto practical application." Scootaloo said, snapping her fingers.

Dan suddenly found himself in a laboratory of sorts. All kinds of ingredients raw and refund as well as tools and equipment.

"Well, this looks like fun." Dan said, looking through everything quickly.

"Your goal here is a simple one." Scootaloo said. "You are going to create blank DNA."

"Uh…huh." Dan said, looking through all the ingredients. "That…well, that should be impossible but I literally read a book on how to do it."

"Exactly. Now, a recap. Blank DNA does not appear in nature but is instead manufactured. Most people would know it as Programmable Biological Material. However there are certain beings and Abilities that can create it. Can you tell me why that is?"

“Well, technically God’s of Life have the kind of ‘Blank DNA’ to be able to breed or bring to life anything and everything they want, comes with the territory of ‘Life’, and abilities…well there are plenty of ‘creation’ type abilities that, if needing to create certain living creatures, the old saying goes of ‘you can’t make something out of nothing’, so they would need to use Blank DNA to actually ‘create’ the baseline…then there’s the Bioengineers and all that nonsense that can range from okay to completely deplorable, adding in Blank DNA to living being’s and just changing that Blank DNA to fit whatever they want to add to their subject.” Dan explained.

"Yes. The main reason it does not form naturally in nature is because programed DNA and Blank DNA can not co-exist in the same body. The Programed DNA will imprint into the blank ones. Your job is to create a cell structure that can house and successfully create both Programed DNA and Blank DNA. It also needs to be able to program the Blank DNA into what it needs either through an external source or internal rapid evolution."

“Oh…so you basically want me to make Doomsday from DC?” Dan inquired. “Or…maybe 682 if you want to be extra niche.”

"No. Neither of those are prime examples of what we're looking for. 682 is cursed, and Doomsday isn't even close to what we need. No, the cell you need to make needs to be able to survive and thrive like no other cells have before. Something that can add, subtract and change itself on a dime, and keep stable in one change while holding the data of the others like a recessive gene."

"Alright." Dan nodded, cracking his knuckles as he immediately went to work. “Just…might need to worry about if it becomes sapient…and thinks it’s better than everyone…”

And so, Dan got to work.

The process of keeping the Programed and blank DNA's apart was perhaps the most tedious thing he has ever done but it was finally achieved thanks to several new sections he had to build for the cell. Many samples died, unable to support themselves let alone cell division but eventually he managed a single successful prototype that was exactly as needed. It held both the sets of genetics, would swap dominant and recessive genes out at will, program new DNA strands by taking from the Blank DNA strands and could complete cell division with ease.

"Not bad." Dan looked up, surprised to see Cript there.

“Thank you, this was, without a doubt, the most tedious horseshit I have ever had to do.” Dan frowned.

"Sounds about right." Cript said, examining the cells in the dish. "Hmm, an internal membrane to keep them from touching and contaminating the blank DNA strands and several new 'organs' to allow access and pull them in for programming. Clever."

“Yes, it only took me forever and a half to get it right…” Dan rubbed his eyes in annoyance. “Ugh, seriously, one minor slip up, a membrane just a micrometer too thin and the entire thing implodes on itself…”

"Well, playing god isn't easy. Especially the hard way of doing things." Cript said as he gave the dish back to Dan. "Congratulations Dan, you just invented a living Cell the Admin of Genetics couldn't create."

“Fucking what!?” Dan asked in absolute shock. “How and why?”

"Blank DNA was a thorn in his side for eons and he usually went to Evolution by mutations of existing DNA over time. He disliked the quick nature Blank DNA could be programmed and modified and stitched into existing genetics. So he rarely used it."

“And I can see why.” Dan sighed.

"You did good Dan. I'm proud of you."

“Thanks dad…it’s what I do.” Dan shrugged, finding this tedious task just another thing that he had to complete to perfection.

"Now onto combat training." Scootaloo said, appearing behind Dan and grabbing him by the arms.

---

Dan was an intellectual. He did not, or rather, rarely work out. Even when fighting he went for swings and attacks that took minimum effort to deal the most damage.

Even after dating Rainbow Dash he didn't really train or exercise.

"It's literally two five pound weights…" Scootaloo said, looking at Dan as he was already tired after twenty lifts with two one handed five pound weights.

“Shush you.” Dan huffed. “I don’t exercise, I am an intellectual, I do all my work in my head and with magic so bite me.” He growled.

Dan yelped as Scootaloo bit him on the arm.

“I didn’t mean literally!” Dan shouted angrily, trying to get her off of him.

"Oh relax." Scootaloo said as she let go of his arm. "I didn't bite that hard. Besides, your main weakness is your physical strength. So you need to now focus on your physical strength and resistance."

“Well sorry to disappoint you, but that’s probably never going to happen.” Dan said, which honestly hurt him on a more deeper level that he had to disappoint his new family so suddenly.

Scootaloo whacked him on the back of his head. "New rule. From now on, shut that brain off while exercising. No thinking, just doing the motions."

Dan sighed. “Fine, fine…” He said, Scootaloo seeing the poor teen already deflating at that and…well, going through the motions like she asked.

After two hours, Dan was on the ground. Arms too sore to move as he laid on the mat. Scootaloo sat next to him. "So, why the perfectionists?"

“Cause that’s what my old family wanted, it’s what my new family needed, and it’s what I need to do right now after everything.” Dan answered as simply as he breathed.

"Who said we needed perfection?" Scootaloo asked.

“Cause any flaws in what you're doing will get those closest to you hurt, the smallest mistake gets you scolded and makes all your achievements mean nothing, and I’ve personally experienced what my mistakes have cost me.” Dan explained simply.

"Mistakes can also be fun." Scootaloo said.

“Only for those that can make mistakes…” Dan muttered bitterly. “That are allowed…”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Man, your parents from your old family really traumatized you."

“Nah, really?” Dan asked sarcastically. “Why do you think I’m here and not back with those assholes?”

"Armageddon and a merciful God?"

Dan rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, that all did indeed happen.” Dan sighed.

To Dan's surprise, Scootaloo laid next to him, a closeness he only felt when with Rainbow Dash. "You really need to take a mental health day."

“When the fate of the world is always teetering towards destruction because some assholes believe it’s cosher to just mindlessly slaughter everything or, and get this, when you believe one of your closest allies becomes evil because…reasons?” Dan asked. “Yeah, reasons, I do not understand a single one of their arguments besides ‘we angy, your not perfect, go fuck yourselves’.” Dan said angrily.

"Oh you mean Crow's group?"

“Yes!” Dan tried to fling his arms up but couldn’t because they were still sore. “Literally all of them blame us for not saving them against that Psychopath version of Ava, yeah, I get it, we were literally outmatched, but then…all the other arguments I heard were just…what? Why? Bulk wanted to be stronger than Jenny? Okay you didn’t need to be an asshole about it like right now. Featherweight? I’m sorry but how does becoming a villain that wants all life to end actually help in your demented sense of what heroism should be? Gilda? Well that’s just Lan’s fault for being denser than a brick wall and her just being a complete bitch…though again, happy her and Featherweight got together, they probably look adorable.” Dan shrugged. “Wallflower? Oh that’s clearly both their faults, Alex for not paying attention and Wallflower for…fuck, not being her namesake and being a wallflower? And Zephyr, oh don’t even fucking get me started on that lazy prick!” Dan shouted. “He was the best student I had, he was doing fantastic, I even thought he could surpass me in some areas and I would have been cool with it…but fucking nooo, I make a mistake, one fatal mistake, and all his hard work, all that effort, he just throw’s away to be a fucking ChronoTwister and double down on both his laziness and shity personality!” Dan ranted, panting heavily as he finally got that whole thing out.

Scootaloo let Dan breath again after that for a while before speaking. "Feel better after venting?"

“No…” Dan shook his head. “Because one mistake made them all go from our most trusted allies, and good friends, into our enemies because…literally out of pettiness…and it infuriates me to absolutely no end that all of this…all of this…” Dan tried to reign in his emotions, tried to stay mentally strong, trying to do literally anything not to let the one emotion out that he’s been blocking for the longest time. “All this because we didn’t believe Crow…all he did was feed into their petty bullshit, making them believe we never gave a shit, and twisting what was good about them into mere shadow’s of their former selves…” He said, Scootaloo literally seeing him shudder as he kept his emotions bottled up…his true emotions.

"And you can't let that go?"

"No…" Dan shook his head, desperately trying to ignore the truth and the pain in his heart.

"Why? Were you and Zephyr close?"

"He was my best student, he was so close…I didn't want my students to be perfect, but Zephyr was so close….all that hard work, all that effort, all the blood sweat and tears that were spent with him that I helped him through…he was the closest friend I had…but to see him…to see him die…to see him throw all of that away just because I wasn't perfect, to double down on all the negatives I tried to help him push past…" Dan explained.

"You were the only one to believe in him." Scootaloo stated.

"I mean, Fluttershy also believed in him, and the times when she thanked me for helping her brother be who she believed he could be…" Dan trailed off. "It just…hurts to see her now…that I failed both her and Zephyr…"

"One failure doesn't invalidate all your success."

“But one failure did.” Dan stated. “And that’s what Zephyr is now…one mistake that invalidated all that success…and what’s to say that one failure…” Dan trailed off, stopping himself as he took a shaky breath, trying to hold down his emotions again. ”Just…this one…this one failure…”

"Do your other students see it that way?"

“I…haven’t really talked to them besides getting some status reports on Ladybug’s world getting rebuilt and on some other spy business…after that…” Dan sighed. “They already noticed, and thankfully they're giving me space…”

"Yeah. You are a person. They know people can only do so much."

“But…I’m their leader, I should be able to…” Dan frowned, still trying to reign in his growing emotions the more he talked. “I shouldn’t have let this happen…if only they just blamed us for their death’s…told us we were too weak then maybe this would all be so much easier…” He muttered, Scoot’s seeing a very bad train of thought brewing in Dan’s mind, one that would lead to a destructive spiral for his own physical and psychological health.

"You ever think they don't blame you?" Scootaloo asked.

“Who?” Dan asked. “My students? Well, I doubt they do because they wouldn’t be my students if they did…” Dan pointed out. “Family couldn’t cause…well, we’re all in this together, no use blaming each other…”

"I mean Zephyr, Gilda, Featherweight, Bulk, do you think they blame you? Think real hard on it. Did Zephyr directly tell you he blamed you for him dying?"

“Zephyr was too busy distracting me and using an amalgamation of my dead student’s to keep me busy, Gilda…yes, she kinda did blame Lan for believing she was a ‘Crow 2.0’...with how Kira explained it, yes he does blame her for the sole purpose of ‘being a coward’ when he’s the one that immediately grabbed at the chance of ‘having fun’ with being a bad guy,” Dan rolled his eyes. “Bulk…probably not? I mean, he originally took that slice of humble pie quite well…but considering now…” Dan frowned. “So…kinda sorta yes? They do blame all of us in their own way.”

"And you're gonna let that determine your value and success?"

“Oh no, if it was just them blaming us for their death’s, that would be easy to get past.” Dan said almost instantly. “We would have been able to get past it and…at least, maybe bring them back, save them from the control of Crow and all that darkness…but as I said before, they’re blaming us for petty, spiteful reasons that…that just makes it worse for some reason…”

"And what makes you think Crow is controlling them?"

“Considering he’s our version of Vanitas…I wonder why.” Dan rolled his eyes. “Crow, at least his evil self, would be fueling their negative emotions, especially when he fuzed them with Unversed, having each of them under a leash that he would be ‘oh no, this totally isn’t something that will bite everyone in the ass later’, and giving them this sense of freedom either to spite us cause he would, or when we have a ‘final battle’, it’ll really dig a knife into us that when we’re trying to save them from the darkness, he’ll just send them into a blind uncontrollable rage that we’ll have to…put them down like rabid animals.” Dan said, immediately assuming the worst considering he has read not only worse things happening, but also…this exact situation in many other versions from all the books he read.

"Dan." Scootaloo said with authority as he looked over at her. "Tell me. What happens to a split heart, specifically one that's balanced, when it's split into two entities for so long?"

Dan quickly scoured his memory. Of the many texts he read few talked on Hearts and their nature but the ones that did were informative. A split, balanced heart in two individual forms will eventually rebuild their missing halves, just as a pure form of whatever half they are. This however also changes them as pure hearts of light and darkness are rare and their new wholeness will be a slightly altered form of the original whole heart.

“Well…the split hearts would slowly grow their opposite halves, but would be altered in minor ways that would make them different from the original, so if the light half would grow their darkness, they would be a lot more kind without a lot of negatives…while the dark half would just be a lot more spiteful but not overtly evil I suppose.”

"And let me ask you this. If Crow's light half holds all the love and care he has for you, and his dark half held the hatred and betrayal, upon the initial split this defined them. However, now that Dark and Light Crow are regrowing those missing halves, Dark Crow replaced what where love and care for you with an indifference, but for Light Crow, where Hatred and anger once rested now most likely only exists worry and regret. Dark Crow is moving on with his growth while Light Crow is more than likely becoming more and more concerned for you all. And full of self loathing."

“Please…just…just stop…” Dan said, managing to get up as he tried to get back to his very meager lifting, hoping to ignore how now outrageously brilliant mind telling him the one thing he really doesn’t want to admit, cause the negatives are…are too much.

"Dan." Scootaloo said again, pulling him back down to the matted floor. "It might already be too late to Save Crow's two halves. Once they each form complete hearts, only a willful reunion will fuse them. Dark Crow will not willingly refuse. And he, nor will his new family want your help."

“No…” Dan shook his head, desperate for something, anything to make actual sense now. “No, that…please, just stop…” The poor brainiac pleaded weakly, the cold logic at war with his faithful heart.

"The only thing you can do, is to find his light half." Scootaloo said, Dan looking over at her. "His light half is fundamentally linked to you all as it's foundation. The Crow you knew might not be able to come back but at least you can save a part of him. The part that always cared for and loved you all as family."

“How many times do I have to ask you to stop!” Dan shouted, the snake getting up even as the ground itself was starting to freeze over from his magic starting to react to his worsening emotions and thoughts. “Please, just stop…” Dan said, shaking as he tried to keep his emotions in, keep himself from breaking down.

“Dan…” Scootaloo sighed out. “Sorry…but you failed.” The pegasus told Dan bluntly. “You failed to save your friends,” She stared at the teen slowly starting to hyperventilate. “You failed to save Crow,” She stated, the poor teen’s eyes tearing up as the words crashed into him. “And you failed to be a good brother.” She said, finally seeing the final cracked wall of his psyche break as he fell to his knees.

“N-no…no I…I didn’t…” Dan clutched at his head, desperate to stop it all from getting to him. “No…I didn’t fail…cause…cause if I failed…then…then…” Dan tried to find some simple answer to ignore the pain, to stop the cascade of rage, regret, pain, and sorrow…of all his past failures slamming down into him in one tidal wave of emotions and memories. “Then why am I even here?” He asked, barely a whisper as the damn finally broke, the too smart for his own good perfectionist finally sobbing in grief and regret.

Scootaloo kneeled down, holding Dan tight as years of emotions, from well before his new life after 2012 til now all flooded out. A weight Dan had carried his whole life finally lifting as tears long since held back flowed without restraint.

When the sobbing finally slowed to a stop, Scootaloo spoke again. "Why are you here? To be loved. To be yourself. To persevere. To learn from failure and work to succeed the next time. And, most importantly, you're here to live. To find who and what makes you happy, and cherish and protect it."

“But…I failed…” Dan sniffled. “Everything…we can’t save Crow…not like how we’ve desperately tried to…we can’t save our friend’s cause they're all…”

"Then you do what you do best Dan." Scootaloo said taking Dan's head in her hands and looking into his eyes. "You learn to avoid the same mistake the next time."

“No…those were mistakes…these are failures…two completely different things that…when you're like me, question literally everything about yourself, and why you're even doing this when you’ve failed so many other times in a very painful emotional domino effect…”

"Then you open up to your family, let them in to ease the burden. They're all feeling just as bad Dan. Carrying this weight alone will crush you, but carrying it with your family, the people who know your pain just as well and who you trust more than anything."

“I mean…my pain is a lot deeper than just ‘we fucked up’...but alright…” Dan sighed, trying to get some semblance of control back. “I’ll…I’ll try…”

"Good. Now, while you're laying on the mat. Thirty curl ups."

Dan’s groan could be heard for miles. “Fine…” He muttered, starting to do some curl ups.

---

Dan focused many hours, days, weeks, ECT into some basic exercise routines. All his newly released emotions helped fuel his motivation and soon the routines became more competitive and intense.

At some point Dan actually looked himself over… he had to admit, he looked like he came right out of one of Rainbow Dash's sports posters. His muscles were firm but not oversized, and his torso held a six pack he never imagined himself with. He also beat Dash's track record. Something he'll keep to himself for now.

"Alright, you're finally in shape." Scootaloo said.

“I…didn’t expect this…and or looking this good at being fit.” He said honestly,.

"Definitely gonna make Rainbow drop her jaw." Scootaloo chuckled. "Now, in terms of weapons you usually fought with magic, right?"

“Usually, but I also like to use a sword for the special snake style of sword play I’ve been trying to master.” He shrugged. “Favorite is the Rattle Strike, basically turning my weapon into a High Frequency Blade with the sounds of a Rattlesnake to…well, stay on brand as Alex would say.”

"I see. In that case I think I know the best options." Scootaloo said, first pulling a book from thin air. "This is a Lexicon similar to what King uses. Not only does it house every magic spell in the multiverse it also grants a boost to magic regeneration, magic reserves and cuts magic spell cost by half."

“Who’s King?” Dan asked, gently taking the Lexicon. “Though…I probably should know due to process of elimination it should be ___.” Dan started…then blinked. “Oh come on, what the hell.” Dan groaned. “What happened?”

"He had to trade his name for some special immortality. You can still say the name Ben, but not to call him that. Hence their new name, King."

“Right then.” Dan nodded. “So, got myself a really good magic book.” He said with a smile, opening it and sifting through the pages.

"Up next, this special sword." Scootaloo said, pulling out a wavy short sword from this air. She swung it, pressing a button as suddenly the metal took on a rope, or whip like ability and even grew while retaining it's sharpness. With another press of the button the blade returned back to normal.

“Now that’s cool.” Dan said with a smile. “Though…gonna need to learn how to use a whip…that’s not gonna be fun.”

"And lastly. This." Scootaloo pulled up a ring. It was shaped into the image of a blue snake. "This ring can effectively make you the perfect spy. It can make you invisible, intangible, create a near perfect illusion as camouflage and alter your voice to match the camouflage."

“Wow…” Dan blinked in honest surprise, taking the ring and putting it on. “This…seems like a little overkill…”

"You are supposed to be the spy, right? Better overkill than under kill."

“And I am going to abuse this maliciously.” Dan said with a grin.

"Now, let's get to practice with them." Scootaloo said, snapping her fingers and suddenly the two were now in… a city?

"Uh, what kinda city are we in?" Dan inquired, looking around at the architecture to know where they are.

"This is one of the Playgrounds. Replica planets. Has all the buildings, landmarks and geography of the original, minus intelligent life and animals."

“Right then.” Dan nodded. “So why are we here? Gonna do some weird Spider-Man meets Indiana Jones nonsense?” He inquired.

"This is where you'll be training on your sneak, your sword, spells, Infiltration, espionage, and assassination."

“Alright.” He nodded. “What’s my first objective?”

"With them." Scootaloo pointed up with a thumb.

Dan looked up, and to his surprise, spotted Nightwing, Robin, Cat Woman, and Batman.

“Oh I’m not going to like this am I?” Dan gulped in fear,

“Bingo.” Nightwing chuckled.

"In case you're wondering, we're not part of your family. We just work as teachers and in exchange Cript makes our gear in mass production." Batman said.

"Yeah. Enough batarangs and utility belt gadgets to last a whole Arkham Breakout." Robin said with a smirk.

“Yeah…that makes sense.” Dan nodded. “So…this is going to be a nightmare and a half…so where do we begin?”

"Gymnastics." Robin, Nightwing and Cat Woman all said simultaneously.

“Well…it’s a good thing I’m flexible…” Dan muttered, thankful that his snake training made him rather flexible.

---

And so, over the next several years, Dan was able to keep track this time, the Bat family trained the Foreteller in the arts of sneaking, agility, and combat. Cat Woman was his teacher in infiltration, espionage, and assassination. NightWing taught Dan gymnastics, aerial acrobatics, and martial arts. Robin taught Dan all about how to utilize gadgets, the environment, and size difference between yourself and larger enemies to your own advantage.

Lastly, Batman continually pushed Dan's mental faculties. Helping him deduct from clues, formulate plans, back up plans, backup back up plans and so forth as well as thinking and keeping ten steps ahead of an appointment. And, should all plans go out the window, how to improvise on the spot.

It was grueling, agonizing hard work both mentally and physically, but Dan had to admit. He felt like a real superhero for once. Letting his inner fan and nerd out and enjoy being taught by the Bat Family.

Finally, after three long years, Dan had completed every test, bested each Bat Family member in their specified fields, and felt really good about himself.

“That…feel’s great.” Dan said with a smile.

"Somehow I knew they would be better at teaching you than me." Scootaloo said as she walked up to Dan.

“What were you going to do if they weren’t here?” Dan asked nervously.

"Call one of the others. Multiverse, multiverse of Multiverse. Odds of all of them being busy at once is really low."

“Fair enough.” Dan admitted. “So, what’s next?”

"Next, Alushy will take over. So, back to your house with you then." Scootaloo said.

Dan then found himself back home. Seeing it again after being gone for so long yet no real time had passed here was an interesting feeling. He sighed in relief. He sat outside and waited.

“This has been…one hell of a training session...” Dan grumbled, rubbing his temples as he still mentally felt like complete garbage.

"Ah, good you're back." Dan looked up and immediately fell over. Alushy was in a very thin, tight fitted two piece bikini as she walked onto the front porch. "So how was training?"

“Still…trying to process things.” Dan sighed. “Like having to pick up a freshly fallen domino set of my failures making me wonder why I’m even bothering anymore when I’m trying not to believe all my hard work means literally fuck nothing…and why are you in a that bikini?” Dan asked, now just realizing she was in a very skimpy and lewd two piece.

"We have a pool now and I was enjoying the water." She said simply with a smile. She then pulled Dan in for a hug. The skin to skin contact with his basically nude mother made him blush brightly. "And don't feel discouraged, everything will get better."

“I doubt it…” Dan said. “Existential crises don’t just disappear after one mental breakdown…” He shook his head. “Especially with how…pointless it is to try and save our friends…and save Crow…” He muttered, hating everything that he’s saying but, at this point, he felt like they had to put them down for all this shit.

"So? My life seemed pointless at one time. Now look at me." Alushy said, letting Dan go as she took a step back and snapped her fingers, now adorned in her usual attire. "I'm a badass dark goddess of chaos and blood vampire mamma."

Dan sighed, mentally pushing away that whole conversation as he shook his head. “Alright, so what are we going to do now?”

"I'm going to be teaching you about your vampire side. Which mainly consists of you killing and eating a bunch of evil people."

“That’s…not gonna help my mental state but sure, let’s go with that.” Dan nodded. “Let’s go…murder.”

With a nod, Alushy opened a portal that the two stepped into.

---

The city Dan found himself in reminded him heavily of Gotham. Dark, the stench of grime and crime was thick in the air, and police sirens went off in the distance.

"Welcome to Petrosis." Alushy said as she waved a hand around. "One of the most corrupt cities in the multiverse. They got gang violence, corruption in politics and police, drugs, super villains, and terrorist both home grown and exotic."

“This place fucking reeks, and I don’t know if it’s because of the garbage or…something else…” Dan said, his face scrunched up in disgust as he waved his hand over his sensitive nose.

"Probably a mix of lots of things." Alushy said. "Now, I know you spent time in The Library, so, tell me, what does our specific breed of vampire specialize in when we eat people?"

“We literally absorb our victim’s souls through their blood, absorbing their memories, bodies, and abilities that we later use as slaves.” Dan started. “We can also smell the sin’s of who we’re hunting, able to determine how terrible they are based on intent as well as the kind of crime…which…might explain why this place smells worse than Alex’s room after Pinkie leaves.” Dan shuddered. “Seriously…do those two not know what Febreeze is?”

Alushy chuckled. "In any case, normally I'd start you kids off with animals, but in your case, you'll be starting off with monsters and the like."

“So who am I hunting first?” Dan inquired. “And is there any other vigilante out there that I should know about or is this world just filled with assholes?”

"Sadly it's all bad people and their victims. You are going to use your newly Acquired skills and training to purge the city of these monsters one bad guy at a time. Starting with the runaway illegal genetic experiments some of these big pharma companies never bothered to deal with when they escaped."

“Fair enough.” Dan nodded. ‘This is going to be…oh so fun.” Dan sighed. “So just hunt down the genetic experiment…that should be simple enough.”

With that Dan was off. He could smell the evil in the air. It was like a miasma that dug into the air, ground and buildings. Corruption in its truest form.

As he ran across rooftops he stopped suddenly. Something… familiar caught his nose. He couldn't place it but it gave him a sense of dread. It simultaneously wreaked of evil yet also lacked major sins. From scent alone and his knowledge from The Library he could distinguish the different smells of the sins. Petty theft, transporting less than lethal items, one armed robbery…

The information set off bells in Dan's head but he couldn't connect them…

Then he saw him.

Dan stood on a rooftop across the street from a ground level cafe. Sitting there and drinking an iced coffee… was Crow.

“Im…impossible…” Dan muttered in horror, not caring if he was about to blow his cover…he…he dropped down and carefully walked towards him. “Crow?”

Crow looked over at Dan. A look of surprise hit his face before quickly being replaced by annoyance. "Fuck." He sighed. "What are you doing here?"

“Better question is, the fuck are you doing here?” Dan asked.

"Having an iced coffee?" Crow questioned with a raised brow, shaking the drink in his hand. "This world is so close to the realm of darkness it's basically my next door neighbor."

Dan rubbed his temples. “Ah, yes, cause apparently the realm of darkness doesn’t have any Starbucks where you're at.”

"Sadly." Crow shrugged as he took a sip of his drink. "And what about you? What brings you to this neck of the multiverse?"

“I’m here to…basically purge the entire planet in a tidal wave of retribution, blood, and a lot of pent up rage against you and your pettiness brigade.”

"Huh. Didn't take you all for the righteous furry type. Then again your vampire half is literally called the Judgement Vampires. Not just blood but souls, memories and ECT you eat. Surprised you're all acting on that."

“We’ve been suppressing our Vampire abilities for as long as we’ve had them.” Dan answered. “We’re finally learning about what we need to do to get stronger.” Dan shrugged. “So…I have a simple question…have you regrown your light half yet?” Dan asked Crow carefully.

Crow was quiet, drinking his beverage before speaking. "I wouldn't call it a light half exactly. It's still all darkness filling in the missing chunk. But if you want a number the Doc says it's about eighty percent done."

Dan took a deep breath. “And…there’s no way you’ll ever…choose to become one after this?” He asked. “Even if we all want you back and…basically plead for your forgiveness after what you showed us?”

"I told you all already. I moved on. Can't speak for my light half though. Poor bastard is obsessed with you all and seeking redemption. It's sad really."

“It’s not.” Dan said simply. “And honestly, we should be the one’s seeking redemption from you and your light half…seriously? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

"Would you have listened?" Crow asked simply. "I tried to tell Lan when he visited me. And he hung up the phone and left the second I mentioned my boss. None of you visited after that, and until Core showed up and freed me from my other half I hadn't seen or spoken to you all till the reunion at your new home. Course back then I was basically nothing but my rage and hatred so I didn't even bother to tell you all my side of the story."

“Yes, yes, Lan screwed the pooch, we know.” Dan rolled his eyes. “But yes, yes we would have, if you just said something sooner…not literally in juvie where the first thing you say sounds like your boss is more important than us…which, again, it was just a lot of miscommunication based on Lan being denser than a brick, and you just…not saying the right thing at that moment.” Dan admitted.

"...Would it have mattered? Didn't have much time anyway." Crow said, taking another sip of his coffee. "They were going to move us."

“Yes, it would have.” Dan stated bluntly. “It would have mattered immensely, cause not only would you still be with us, as our brother…we would have understood why you chose to do something like that, we would have supported you, we wouldn’t have…we wouldn’t have let Core take you…” Dan sighed.

"Didn't you hear me dip shit! They were going to move us!" Crow yelled, making Dan take a step back. "I overheard the orphanage people talking about it. Lan and I were already too old for adoption, they were going to ship us off to some Catholic run orphanage and school in Georgia and Kira was gonna be shipped to a foster home in New York! Right after new years! Believe me, had I known we'd all end up in some other world and shit, I wouldn't have done anything but I didn't know, none of us did! I won't lie and say I don't have blame in this but I did what I did to keep us together and I'd do it all again."

“Then why didn’t you say anything!” Dan shouted at Crow, causing him to flinch at that sudden outburst. “Holy hell, if you just said we were basically being flung all across the US, you’d beat your now edgefield ass we would have at least done something to stay together, cause fuck being seperated like that.” Dan stated bluntly. “Like, jesus dude, we all rag on Lan for being denser than a brick and not asking for help, but this was literally the one time, the one time...”

"Like what?! What could we have done? If I said anything the whole group would have gone insane. You of all people should talk, or did you forget how many times you asked to stay at my little hide away to get away from your parents? How many personal items you kept there because they wouldn't approve of it? Or Jenny when she had to get away from her dad's bullcrap? Or Alex when he was sick of all his family's high society shit? What could we have done back then wise guy? A bunch of underage, unemployed and sick of our own lives kids could have done?"

Dan tried to think, a comeback or argument… but nothing came. He knew, very well, all too well that back then… they were all utterly powerless.

“We would have had each other." Dan said finally. "We would have been a family, been together…it didn't matter what the world threw at us, as long as we had each other…remember?" Dan asked.

"Yeah… until that was taken from us too. Face it Dan. We all screwed up back then, and I'm moving on. You want someone to feel like you'll be whole, go find my light half, wherever that idiot ran off to."

“We’ve been hunting for him for a while now, and of course he immediately ran…” Dan sighed. “And…honestly? No…you didn’t move on, cause hey, Gilda bitched to Lan about being a ‘replacement Crow’, why not get a replacement for us?” Dan asked.

"... Guess I still miss having a family." Crow said flatly. "And like you all, I'm making one. People are social. It's why I saved them."

“Ah, yes, ‘saved them’, that’s totally what happened.” Dan rolled his eyes. “And no, you have no argument to literally any of this after you personally lead a group to try and kill us, kidnap our students corpses, and then did terrible experiments on them.” Dan frowned. “But no, you ‘saved’ them, by fueling their negative emotions to hell and back…and making our closest friends that we trusted turn into Unversed Hybrids and fueled their negative traits to the point it’s now just pure spite that’s fueling them.” Dan frowned. “But please, try and argue how raising corpses and ‘making a new family’ is so much better…when we’ve been trying to find you, trying to save you…and bring you home…”

Crow said nothing as he took another drink of his coffee, and finally finishing the last of the beverage. "If you think that's how the process works you couldn't be more wrong. Yes it uses darkness to reanimate the bodies but so does Necromancy and it's not inherently evil or bad when used properly. First you repair the body. Darkness being used to replace and repair missing or damaged tissue. Next is pulling the soul from the afterlife and the heart out of Kingdom Hearts. Not easy but possible since the body is alive again. After that'l it's just putting the two back in and letting them acclimate to the changes in the body. While the body is made from darkness it does not actually effect them simply because it's not darkness native to their hearts. It's native to the realm of darkness. Core made it almost like a form of biogel for heartless but works just as well on people and corpses."

“Wow, that’s very informative if I didn’t already know how to do that in eighty trillion different ways.” Dan admitted. “And boy howdy does Core sound like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

"If that was the case then you'd know the process doesn't fuel any negative traits in them. They're no different than before they died mentally."

“So about the part where you literally fused them with Negative Emotions made manifest?” Dan deadpanned. “That’s the part you seem to forget here, Unversed aren’t just that…they are literally Negative Emotions given physical form, and hey would you look at that, all of them are hybrid’s with the Unversed.”

"They asked for that." Crow said simply. "Yes I manifested their negative emotions into physical mutations but that was it. It's not like I'm linked to them."

“So…to prove my point…you said they agreed to this procedure…” Dan took a deep breath. “You said they agreed to have negative emotions mutate them…and then it fuels their negative traits to god knows how much after the fact.”

"Yeesh, when did you get this bitchy?" Crow asked as he picked his ear.

“It happens when I’m talking to an idiot that thinks they know better, especially after having an existential crisis to the point I was wondering why I’m still even alive due to all my failures in life.”

Crow rolled his eyes. "Then get over them. Or don't, go find my light half and leave me the hell alone."

Dan sighed. “That’s not going to happen, cause your still Crow…we still want to save you and make thing’s right…but one more question…do they blame us for their deaths? Or…is it just their negative emotions making them all sound…like that?”

"... You of all people know how bottled up emotions can erupt in ugly ways." Crow said. "For them, it had already been years since they died and came back. When I asked if they wanted to come along it brought up old memories they suppressed for all that time. Call it pettiness or call it trauma, they're alive and living well back in the realm of darkness. Not that you'll take my word on it but… I know Wallflower does blame Alex. The others either don't care or are just trying to get on with their new lives."

“Listen, Wallflower’s whole bit, that’s just both of them not saying anything.” Dan rolled his eyes. “I mean come on, does no one write love letters anymore in highschool? Hell, just give him a flower and he’ll come running for the hill’s…though he really should have noticed as well.” Dan shook his head.

"To be fair I think Alex dodged a bullet, no pun intended, with that. A new resident to our growing city and Wallflower have been dating for a while and we'll, let's just say not even Alex is that perverted…"

“No…no he is.” Dan said. “Cause he found Multiversal Pornhub and boy howdy is Pinkie and her sisters excited…”

Crow simply pulled out a phone and showed Dan a picture. Den then threw up. "That was when we installed heavy magic soundproofing and made them close all blinds on their house."

“That’s not perverted, that’s just disgusting.” Dan coughed.

"Told you."

“Ugh…but again, no…I’m sure Alex is more perverted…I think dad once said ‘don’t look up Rune’...I don’t know why, but I’m sure Alex did anyway.” Dan shook his head.

Crow flipped some images and showed Dan. Who immediately got a nose bleed then also looked away as one of the images has his mother in them, Alushy. "You do know your family makes and sells like, a Fuck ton of porn right? All kinds too. Apparently it makes up a whole ten percent of your kingdom's income."

“One…no idea what Kingdom your talking about, we’re still out of the loop for…a lot of things, two…porn of my mother not withstanding…also uh…who’s the giant sexy anthro wolf lady uh…doing all that?” He asked, not knowing how or why they got on the topic of porn in general but…he’s now down this rabbit hole.

"King. You knew them as that white coat wearing Nobody user. Yes, it is them. Yes, they also make a lot of porn. How are you all so out of the loop?"

"We've been busy, not having much time to go off world after Daybreak literally exploded and…well, nobody visited us…" Dan sighed.

"Yeesh. The fact I know more aboutyour own family, kingdom and their now so little fetishes is actually depressing. Granted that last part is because Wallflower literally owns the city's only porn and adult store for… all that. Anyway, I'll be off before you see what happened to Eclipse and Heart, er, Zeke."

"We…kinda know about him, cause of the whole…Daybreak exploded thing." Dan said.

"Ah, so you know about their whole giant wolf Naga thing and also being King and Eclipsa, Eclipse, kid cause King screwed an alternative future version of themselves?"

Dan was still and silent.

"I'm…I'm just gonna…" Dan started as he got up. "Yeah…but can you tell your new group something?" Dan asked.

"Doubt they'll want to hear it when I say it's from you but go ahead."

"We're sorry…but You wanted this." Dan said simply, but somehow to Crow, he honestly felt a chill run up his spine when Dan said that vague statement. "If they understand or want to care…at this point, who gives a shit….but whatever happens to them…they asked for it."

"Sure. Don't know what you're expecting, but given you all you think everything I'm building is bad."

"Oh, was the charity for cancer done before or after you slaughtered a quarter of a planet?" Dan asked pointedly.

"And like what you're about to do here is any better?" Crow asked, making Dan look away. "Believe me or not, but my motives are not based on revenge. Not anymore." Crow snapped his fingers, opening a DTD behind him. "I just want a home of my own now." And with that, he walked into it, the DTD closing behind him.

Dan sighed, rubbing his temples bitterly. "Why can't shit be simple anymore?" He grumbled. "Be done with this, beat Crow and his 'family' in ways that would make them regret their choices, showing them that their choices have intrinsically dangerous consequences…but no…way to try and make me feel even more like shit universe."

Dan ran, letting his mind blank as he followed his nose. Quickly he found the first bunch of mutated monsters… and got angry. So much anger… and two targets to throw it at.

Dan immediately cast a stasis spell on one of them, the spell so strong that they were practically frozen in time as the mutant witnessed the other get tackled to the ground in an instant, a monster biting into it's flesh and turning it into a prune rapidly.

Dan rapidly hunted down every mutant monster in the city. Leaving not even a corpse behind. When he couldn't find more, he moved into people.

His first victim, the stench reaked of human trafficking and murder. It was all a blur of wrath and anger as each sinner was slain and eaten. When Dan was finally done, only a few thousand people remained in the city, most children, victims or travelers who were passing through.

"That was impressive." Alushy said as she walked up to Dan, who was caked in blood of countless. "You're a natural berzerker."

"This fucking sucks mom…" Dan groaned. "And not just because I saw porn of you…"

"Oh, you saw the videos? Now don't feel bad about that, but, I'm guessing you still don't feel better huh?"

"No!" Dan shouted. "Why in fucks sake would I be okay! Yet again Crow acts like he's on some moral high ground and acting like 'i'm totally not doing pure evil things', and acts like half of everything that's going on isn't his fault!" He snapped. "Because he acts like that…because I care too fucking much…"

Alushy sighed, taking her son into a tight hug. "I know it's not easy, but remember, he is only half of the Crow you remember. And, with his condition he's becoming more and more an independent entity. I know it hurts, but that isn't all the Crow you remember. It's half."

"But he acts like me doing all of this is pointless, like how dare I try to stop that bastard from hurting more people….that our friends wanted to be literally their worst selves by choice…"

"If they chose to be that way then you don't have a right to force them to be different. All you can do in the end is, maybe one day talk to them and set boundaries. Or, if worst comes to worst, just let them go. Cause if you don't like who they choose to be, then maybe the version of them you knew was never really the real them.*

"Maybe…" Dan muttered. "But…probably didn't help that I gave a vague threat to them…" Dan said nervously.

"People make mistakes Dan. And that's okay. We learn from them, and grow."

"Hopefully…" Dan sighed out. "Everything hurts…" He sniffled, feeling tears brimming again.

"It's okay, it's okay, mamma's here." Alushy said as she pat Dan on the back, rubbed his head and held him close.

Dan's birth mother was strict, and not affectionate. He hugged Alushy back, feeling like a little kid again but finally feeling accepted, imperfections and all.

---

Back home, Dan took a good long shower. His clothes were basically ruined but thankfully he knew magic to undo all the damages.

He entered his room, a personal library and laboratory all in one. In a chair by his bed sat a board looking Rainbow Dash, eyes reading over a Daring Doo book she'd already read several times before.

"Hey Dash." Dan said to his girlfriend.

"Oh, hey Daaaaaaaaamn…" Rainbow said, looking up and seeing Dan.

It was at this moment Dan reminded all he had on were his tank top and boxers.

"Uh…yeah, sorry." Dan blushed a bit. "Forgot how I was…dressed…"

"What the heck happened?!" Rainbow asked as she bred up, circling Dan in shock at how much he changed. She then poked his arms chest and legs. "Woah. And just when I was all used to your old squishy body."

"A…lot happened…" Dan sighed out. "A lot of painful things happened…."

"You… wanna talk about it?" Rainbow asked. Dan knew neither he nor Rainbow were very good at talking about deeper emotional issues. The fact she offered surprised him a little.

"Yeah…" Dan said. "I would…so you ever felt like the entire world comes crashing down on you in waves of past failures?"

"Oddly, kinda." Dash nodded. She and Dan took a seat on the bed.

"Really?" Dan asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, my one thing my parents want from me is to get Into a good college. Now, they don't have the best jobs in the world so their savings for my college fund are minimum. I was hoping to get in on a scholarship. We both know Academics is out of the question, so sports was the best option. I spent every season on pretty much every team hoping to impress some scouters when the end of senior year comes along."

"And…it hasn't worked out so far?" Dan asked nervously.

"Basically." Rainbow sighed. "Before the break some scouters were here. I put all my effort into the sports and I didn't get a single one to talk to me."

"Yeah…yeah that would do it." Dan said sadly. "Don't know why they wouldn't talk to you, you're amazing."

"Me neither, but I didn't let it bum me out too much. My parents said they wanted me to get Into a good college. They never said when I had to." Rainbow said with a smirk. "I can work to earn the money for a decent school. Heck the Unversed help since they usually drop pure gold."

"There you go." Dan smiled. "But for me? Well…my birth parents wanted nothing but perfection from me, to be the smartest and greatest kid around, no distractions…so you can see where this is going immediately."

"I'd have run away as soon as possible." Rainbow said.

“Which I did.” Dan nodded. “Found my family and thing’s went about like I told you before…but why I had an existential crisis was because I had to face the fact that I failed Zephyr…I failed Crow, and I failed my students…and boy would you not believe how all my other past mistakes and failures were magnified by a million that…well…”

"Dan, you can toss Zephyr off your list of failures. He's not worth worrying over." Rainbow huffed.

“He was, when he was actually being better than the sack of shit he once was…” Dan shook his head. “I believed in him, that he could be better, that he was getting better…Fluttershy was so excited to her brother finally being…well, being at this point.” Dan shook his head.

"Dan." Rainbow cut him off. "You didn't know Zephyr before the Unions and all that. I can tell you personally that he has always been a lazy, arrogant, and self obsessed sleazeball. Was Fluttershy happy he seemed to be doing better, yes, but what we found out after… dashed that happiness away." Rainbow said, taking a deep breath. "Dan, after Zephyr died, some people came to Fluttershy saying he owed them Keyblades. He was SELLING that inheritance oath thing to randoes who'd pay him. You didn't fail him Dan. He failed you."

---

“Does anyone else feel like they’re gonna die all of a sudden?” Zephyr asked, an honest shudder of fear running through him.

“Dude, shut up and quit hogging the bowl.” Some rando weed junkie grumbled.

---

“Oh the moment I fucking find him…” Dan growled in absolute ungodly rage. “There is nothing in this multiverse of bullshit that will save him from the pain I have in store for him.”

"Save a little bit of him for me will ya? I owe him for a year of stalking, three stolen bras and several times I found him in the girls locker room." Rainbow added.

“I think I will be able to redefine what pain means when I get my hands on that rat bastard.” Dan growled.

"See? You were upset over someone who was so not worth your effort." Rainbow said, pulling Dan back down onto the bed. "Feel better that you never let him down cause he was always a creep?"

“Yeah…that honestly helps me feel incredible.” Dan nodded. “Still sucks that Crow acted like he has some moral high ground in all this bullshit.”

"You can worry about that later. For now, I wanna see if these new muscles of yours are just for show or come with perks~"

Dan, feeling a lot more bold and confident after their talk and…literally all the pain he had to deal with today, reached around and grabbed Dash’s rump. “Oh trust me, one thing I got was a lot of stamina.” Dan said with a cheeky grin.