AN: This is one I actaully added to a piece of fanart made by Promsien. Amazing artist on tumblr, and this photo was actually one of Clockwork crying.

Drabble 7: Sometimes it Rains in the Clocktower

The trick with time is, Clockwork thought, I can see all the paths it can go, but I will never know which one will be chosen. He floated there in front of his large screens of the never ending footage of the universe. With recent tragedies in Amity Park, Clockwork had taken a little more time out of his day to check up on the young Halfa. In normal time, it had been about seven months since he Amity Disaster that the GiW had caused. He had seen many, many paths, and still more, that Daniel could go through.

One that always hung in the back of his mind was similar to what led up to Dan. Slightly different, but either way it ended with Daniel dying. Mostly by his own hand, sometimes by Vlad's, sometimes by the both of them. He would never admit it, but that was always the one that hit Clockwork the hardest. Given his time, Daniel would make an excellent king with a kind heart but he needs to learn a few lessons first, make a few friends, maybe have kids if he so chooses...But Daniel taking his own life...He couldn't bear the thought.

He closed his glowing eyes, and refused to acknowledge the tears that started falling from his worn eyes. He saw so many things go wrong and there was nothing he would be able to do to prevent any of them. All he wanted to do was keep the boy safe. The Halfa felt almost like an apprentice. A rather stubborn, bullheaded one, but his apprentice all the same. Except for the fact that he wasn't.

Luckily, for every bad path there was one that showed promise. Clockwork saw Daniel going through a natural portal and meeting a woman in red, white, and blue, who was with another man wielding a glowing, green ring. He saw him traveling through time, working with his world's Steven Rogers and the Howling Commandos. But what made him smile the most as he cried was what he was up to now.

The sixteen year old had grown. Had made peace with his loss. He now had many friends, including Steven Rogers, but also Anthony Stark and Natalia Alionova Romanoff, and an aspiring scientist by the name of Bruce Banner. He watched the screens as Danny met up with a few mutants, old friends reuniting while making new friends at the same time, all in a single breath. He saw Doctor Strange teaching him to meditate, and to control the emotion that tied into his powers like a finely stitched suit.

There was a loud bang far off in the distance, and he didn't have to look at the screen to know who it was. Clockwork wiped his eyes and schooled his face as he shifted from a child to a young, strong man.

"Yo, what's up, Stopwatch?" The all too familiar voice of Daniel rang through his chamber.

"Daniel. James. It's nice to see you again," Clcokwork replied smoothly. He turned around to find the grinning, green-eyed Halfa floating around a stringy-haired man with a large, metal arm. His face was perfectly schooled, but he had seen what time did to James Barnes more than anybody else. He knew James was a curious cat who was obsessed with science. He floated towards him.

"How do you know my name?" James asked in a hoarse voice.

"I, young man," Clockwork said with a smirk, "see everything. Your story is one of the most interesting compared to the boring life of a halfa." He didn't have to look at Danny to know that he was crossing his arms in a defiant matter. "I am Clockwork, Master of Time." He shifted from a young man to an old sod with a long, wispy Gandalf-beard. He smiled as he placed both hands atop his staff.

"So, what can I do for you boys?"