Tumgik
#Sam and tucker: …Nah.
snufkins-boot · 5 months
Text
Dc x dp idea: time travel yaaaay
Danny, Sam and Tucker get back from fixing some errors in the time line in France just before the French Revolution.
And sure Danny got mistaken for a French aristocrat that had died the day before they got there but it wasn’t to bad, it only made their jobs easier. It won’t be a problem for them.
Meanwhile Constantine, Batman and whoever the fuck else (imma say Hal, I love that green bitch) are exploring an abandoned manor in France after there being reports of strange, violent activity, and with their latest teammate Phantom not picking up their calls Constantine had to pull these two with him instead.
“Hey guys, Phantom’s a ghost, right?”
Hal sounds hesitant as Constantine replies
“Yes, why?”
“I think I found a picture of him living.”
and there on the wall is a picture of a long dead french aristocrat, with black hair and blue eyes but every other detail the same as Phantom’s
There on the wall sits a photo of Daniel Nightingale, a teenager who was possessed by a demon and killed two servants, then himself.
994 notes · View notes
greyasinghost · 1 year
Conversation
Danny: *experiences a minor inconvenience*
Danny: ig i'll just kms
Sam and Tucker: >:O
Danny:
Danny: What? It's funny???
45 notes · View notes
faeriekit · 3 months
Text
Tucker's Computer Repair and Occult Solutions shop is a new tech repair set up in Metropolis. The shop only seemed to have a single teenager? It's weird, though, since the ad said there were at least two people on their tech team...
...and sometimes, while the named Tucker Foley was in the back, Clark would swear he heard laughter without breath in the other room. Ominous.
Meanwhile:
Tucker: so. Like. It's not the hardware?
Danny: nah.
Tucker: so his laptop is, like...literally cursed?
Danny: yeah.
Tucker: AGAIN?
Danny: *laughs* Someone really, REALLY hates this guy
Tucker: he looks like he would apologize to the stiff breeze that pushed him over!!
Danny: I mean. It's not a powerful curse. It's literally just like a random powering down every few hours.
Tucker:
Tucker: *sighs* I'll get the invocation.
Danny: I'll grab the frankincense lol
Tucker: you know I predicted a lot more playing around with tech when I opened a TECH REPAIR SHOP 🤦🏾‍♂️ in a MAJOR CITY
Danny: Sam is quite literally never going to let us live this down
Tucker:
Danny:
Tucker: was that a death joke—
Danny: *snickers*
6K notes · View notes
ew-selfish-art · 7 months
Text
Dp x DC AU: Danny didn't want to rely on his rogues, but Tucker's computer skills only got them so far and if the media black out continues... Danny knows it's not going to be pretty for them. Nightmares begin to plague the Justice League.
---
Danny gets back from a shitty conversation with Clockwork and in his frustration, accidentally sets off one of the new GIW sensors that his parents allowed to be installed in the lab. Their collaboration seemed to be going no where but when Danny had new holes blasted through him... it must be going somewhere. Damn it.
The commotion is loud enough that Jazz hears it from her room above the lab (he knows she listens to more than just the lab... it's cause she cares, even if it is a bit invasive.) and rushes in to play the distraction while Danny gets away. This time it works- the Drs. Fenton might have the worst aim in the city but they demand all shots cease if a civilian is nearby- Next time his mom might be aiming her gun at him and not the ground. Danny decides he'll buy Jazz a coffee on his way home.
But first, new holes. Yikes. That like, needs medical attention- He heads to Tucker's place and he's pretty sure Sam is already there.
"Danny! What the fuck, did Clockwork-" She starts, her meticulous cat eyeliner making her glare all the deeper.
"Nah, it's the stupid GIW sensor, the stupid one I told you guys about that has a spring lose in the back?"
"I thought we decided those weren't a concern?" Tucker looks him over, face covered in undisguised and very blatant concern.
"Yeah well, Clocky pissed me off so I forgot about them when I came back in through the lab portal-"
"you were supposed to be practicing making your own." Sam interrupts.
"-And when I did, the thing got knocked and I was swatted like immediately. Jazz launched herself into the lab so Mom made them stop shooting and it gave me enough time to get out." Danny continued to explain, ignoring his friend's 'i told you so' faces.
"Dude. We're pushing it close this week. Sam already had a confrontation with the lab guys and I already got blacklisted on my new persona accounts. We're like seriously threading the needle for getting caught." Tucker, pulls his glasses down to pinch the bridge of his nose and Danny and Sam both get what he's really saying. They need to lie low.
"What did CW say to piss you off?" Sam asks after a silent moment.
"He said nothing really, just like he always does, but insinuated I should try getting a rogue to help." Danny sighs.
"What, Like getting Ember to announce the GIW invasion on her tour? We already agreed that-" Sam is getting angry as she speaks so Tuck cuts her off- "It's a bad Idea. She is- They are all just as likely to get captured and hurt as you are if you go out of town." He comes to the same conclusion they've agreed on for weeks. No rogue involvement.
"Maybe we just need to sleep on it... Hey... wait." Danny sighs, but then his gears start to turn.
"Nocturn. We need Nocturn to help us. He can get the message out through dreams." Danny comes to the new conclusion and his friends look hesitant but at least like they're considering it.
"Isn't he an ancient? He's not going to help us for free." Tucker, ever the Egyptian god in these moments.
"Most people don't take their dreams literally." Sam, ever the skeptic in these moments.
"Yeah but, if they dream it enough times, and they're the right people to do something... they can look it up and then at least see that there is a problem?" Danny sounds hopeful and its the first time he's sounded that way in months.
"What, you're gunna give Batman nightmares?" Tucker snickers but Sam looks inspired.
"That's exactly what he's going to do. We need to haunt the Justice League. They'll see past the fake facade the GIW put up online and they'll be able to get the right legislation passed." Sam is practically buzzing.
"Okay, so lets get scheming- What do you get the primordial beast of the unconscious? Should I google 'what to get someone who has everything'? " Danny laughs.
_____
Bruce and his children rarely do feelings when they have breakfast in the morning after a night of separate patrols, but it seems as though the room is plagued with unease. Tim looks about as tired as ever, so his unease is probably attributable to WE board meetings, but its unlike the rest of his children to be so... disturbed. For some reason, after Alfred has excused them all from eating more than a few nibbles, they make it to the cave. Bruce is glad for the noise his children bring.
The nightmare's he's been having are following a dark plot. A town, a boy who looks like he was kin, and so, so much death. Bruce has had vivid dreams before in life, but this nightmare is... unreal. He tries to remind himself that it's just a nightmare.
When his JL emergency communicator goes off at the computer desk, he's not expecting it to be Dinah Lance. She and her Birds are typically wary of him in Gotham, even if they work well together in the League. He answers it like he would any Batman call, with silence.
"Bats, we have a problem. Any chance you've been having weird dreams about a kid getting experimented on or a town being burned down? Ghosts? Lazarus portals?" Dinah sounds exhausted, but Bruce snaps to her voice with rapt attention. As do all of his children.
"I-" Bruce takes a look around the room, everyone's heads except for Tim's nodding up and down with distress," We all have."
"Something tells me that they whole JL is. Everyone I've talked to this week has had a variation of the same dream. We either have a telepath trying to tell us something, or something even worse than that."
"I'll call emergency meeting, we need to collect details and try to determine the complete message."
"I'll send you what I've noted down so far, sans personal details of course, it's definitely in a town called Amity Park though. My client this morning saw the sign."
Batman grunts and the call ends. It's time to get to work.
----
When the Justice League finally arrives, the town is glowing, and everything feels like... sleep. smothering. snoring. smoking. smoldering.
And then, despite the exhaustion that echos within them, the trudge onwards. The noise of laser guns certainly wakes them up a bit.
2K notes · View notes
flamingpudding · 9 months
Text
Gaming Pal Prompt
A/N: Random Idea that was stuck in my head after reading about a Pen Pal Prompt
It all started with a simple accidentally created open lobby. Sam, Tucker and Danny were just playing Doom in a four person Lobby that was supposed to be passcode locked and private so that it was only the three of them playing. But one of them must have forgotten to lock it as suddenly a random player joined them as well as the in-game voice chat they were using.
"Sup. Mind if I join the game? My last lobby kicked me."
"Why? Too good or too bad?"
Tucker shot back, not minding the new player. The three would just have to watch what they talk about during game time.
"Don't know. I think they thought I cheated."
"Pff, sore losers. Maybe you can help these losers kick ass."
"Oh shut it Sam, we will wipe the floor with you now!"
"A challenge huh? That sounds interesting. I am Tim by the way."
"Sam."
"Tucker."
"Danny."
The friend request was sent after the game in which Tim did help Tucker and Danny beat Sam. Only for Sam to demand a rematch to regain her victory streak. From then on the random player regularity started joining in on their games whenever he happened to be online at the same time.
Of course the trio filtered their talks over voice chat. Making sure they wouldn't let anything atrocious slip. Though they did have some fun telling a non Amity Parker about the shit that goes down in their town and Tim always appeared interested to hear more about the things going on. Always curious and full of follow up questions, that strangely focus on who the attackers were ( always ghosts really they don't have any other rogues aside from maybe the fruitloop) and other times very much focused on their local ghost hero Phantom. He was also strangely interested in the whole GIW situation and sounded rather confused when they mentioned the Anti-Ecto Acts.
Aside from that Tim practically became a part of their little group. Their online Gamer Pal who knew nearly as much about their rogues and local Hero (thanks to all the questions he asked) like they did. A full fledged Team Phantom member who just didn't know the main secret of Danny actually doing the Ghost fighting as Phantom and being the one getting hunted by his own Parents and the GIW.
So of course the day came where Sam, Tucker and Danny forget to filter their words. It was during one particularly exhausting day when Danny had only had like 4 hours of sleep because he had studied all night for an English Test and then Skulker appeared to hunt Phantom and Danny's parents showed up too, making souping the Hunter Ghost especially difficult.
"Ancients, Skulker just had to decide on hunting you today, didn't he Danny?"
"Don't remind me. He is still souped in the thermos, but dodging Mom was harder with so little sleep."
"Should you like take a nap then man?"
"Nah I am fine for gaming night."
"Hey Danny, you did escape the blasters unscratched right? Your mom is the better shot after all."
"Nearly. Mom landed a couple of hits but it's almost healed already, just some small burn marks left."
"I am sorry, WHAT?! Did you guys just say that Skulker, the one that's hunting Phantom for sports, was hunting Danny. Danny was the one to Soup him not Phantom and Danny's Mom shot and hurt her own son with one of these ecto-blasters?!"
2K notes · View notes
home-of-renn · 4 months
Text
What if when ghosts - including Danny - enter that form with a ghostly tail it means they have to consciously be aware of their own physical appearance.
For actual ghosts it's not that big of a deal since most of them already have the disconnection from humanity that comes with death. Many of them have either been dead too long to remember what a human form should properly look like while others just straight up don't care, and for most, it's just subconscious and they don't have to really think about it.
But Danny's a little anxious about it.
On one hand, it means that he gets to play some really great pranks on Sam and Tucker, but on the other hand, it also means that most people end up terrified and starkly reminded that their local superhero is, in fact, just one of the many ghosts that he fights.
But I'm not talking huge differences in appearance - nah, I'm a fan of unnerving, pre-eldritch Danny.
So in the heat of the moment Danny slips up and his arms may appear just a little too long, his teeth a little too sharp, his body distorted just enough to make your hair stand on end. His eyes reflect in the dark and his Lichtenburg scars stand out a little too starkly against his bloodless pallor. His suit loses that hazmat sheen and dulls to a smokey charcoal black, looking far too tight, stretched to its limits against muscle and bone, fused with his skin.
His hands get a little too big and his victorious grin stretches a little too wide across his face.
Sometimes, in the heat of battle, if you get a little too close, you can see something reminiscent of burn scars crawling up his neck and across his jaw, wrinkling his lips and creeping higher with his anger. The flesh, web-like and raised, but just as colourless as his complexion. Scars that only those who'd been saved and clutched tight in Phantom's arms have ever claimed to see.
But only sometimes.
Most of the time Phantom isn't even scary in the traditional sense - just the extreme Uncanny Valley sense. Most of the time Phantom is sarcastic and quick-witted and almost charming. Most of the time.
Nowadays Danny's got a better grip on it. It doesn't happen often.
But when it does, the Fenton's claim that it's proof of Phantom's deceit, hiding his sinister nature and deceiving Amity Park. It's something his parents never fail to use to try and prove just how inhuman he really is.
465 notes · View notes
amaramizuki666 · 1 year
Text
Dp x dc crossover
So I like to think that the citizens of amity park especially the teens how the "meh I've seen weirder stuff" or "not impressed I've seen a ghost dragon this is lame in comparison" mentality.
And I'd like to think that persay Casper high goes on a school trip too say Gotham and see a bat vrs clown fight. Like everyone is screaming, fear gas is in the air, harleys hyenas are running wild, while the bat fam is having it out with the joker and his minions. And like one of the batfam or a random civilian says "you have to run this is extremely dangerous" to a completely unfazed Casper high student or teacher and all they have to say is "nah I'm good" and the batfam member or civilian just continues to go back and forth with them about getting to safety
Bonus if its danny, sam, tucker, or jazz
2K notes · View notes
clockwayswrites · 11 months
Text
A Broken Sort of Normal - Part 3
wc: 832 CW: Canon-Typical Violence, Self-Doubt Masterpost
Danny kept running into Flash— or rather Flashes. Sometimes it was the older Flash and sometimes it was the younger one (the ex-Kid Flash). One of them seriously needed to pick a different name. Danny has had to start making up names to tell them apart in his head and that’s just embarrassing. Not for him of course, he’s a genius, but for the Flashes who ended up as things like Westmead Lord, Ravage Again, and Secretariat for the older Flash and things like Earnhardt, Hamilton, and Bolt for the younger Flash. The older Flash really lost out, but the racing animal name had already been established with Seabiscuit.
It earned him a lot of looks. It also, apparently, made him memorable. He didn’t want to be memorable. He wanted to keep his head down, help people, and be left to live his life. He had accidentally traded everything to be normal to let him just be normal and boring.
Apparently the Flashes didn’t get the memo.
No, the Flashes started to rely on Danny to keep a cool head and be able to handle the hard situations. This meant that there was the tendency for Danny to finish up treating one person only to be picked up bridal style and whisked off to another person in need.
And if Danny sometimes used his powers to phase a limb through a heavy piece of rubble or temporarily to ice over a wound? Well, he was careful about being alone and only in the very worst cases. Those saves only raised his notoriety though.
At least he was really starting to find his feet with the Speed Force. Not literally— he got the feeling he was best being fully off of any surface but whatever Flash was carrying him— but when they whipped to a stop he was quick on his feet and hurrying off to help.
“Hey.”
Danny looked up from peeling off his gloves to find Hines!Flash in front of him. He was annoyingly full of energy, bouncing on the balls of his feet. (Danny was jealous.)
“Hey, is there someone else?” Danny rasped, voice sore from screaming out orders and instructions. He’d been made a unit lead just this week.
“Nope! I um, just I got you some cold water?” Flash said, wiggling the bottle.
“Well, aren’t you my hero,” Danny said, stuffing the gloves in the medical waste bag in his kit. He was glad he didn’t have to put on a fresh pair.
“It’s, um, I just thought—” Flash stumbled over the words.
And look at that, the guy was blushing— red from the top of his head to his shiny boots.
Danny laughed as he disinfected his hands. “I’m being serious, the water sounds amazing right now, thanks.”
“Oh! You’re welcome!” Flash said with a grin.
The water bottle was blessedly cold in Danny’s hand, and he took a moment to press it to his temple before he cracked open. Half the bottle was gone in one go. That tasted good after the day’s work. “I needed that, thanks.”
“I, yeah! Of course! Do you need another or…?” Flash said, still blushing bright red and bouncing on his toes.
“Nah, I better go check in with my team and the unit lead for clean up,” Danny said, hiking his thumb over his shoulder.
“Team? Are you unit lead now?” Flash asked. He really was like a perky puppy.
But it was nice to be asked, really nice. He had sent the news to Tucker and had gotten a thumbs up in response a day later. He didn’t even bother with Sam— she was off in some country saving some animal. He had last been able to get a hold of her in two years. Jazz— right, it was Jasmin now— Jasmin hadn’t even let him finish his news before she had to leave the call. He knew she was busy with grad-school and Lacey’s pregnancy, but still…
Danny shook the thoughts away and tried to put on a smile. “Yeah, just a few days ago!”
“That’s amazing, dude! Congrats!”
That sounded really sincere. His smile got much more real. “Thanks. It’s a big step for sure, but I’m really proud. But... I’ve got to go finish that all up.”
“Oh, sure! Um, see you next attack?” Flash almost actually paused for a moment. “Wow, okay, yeah even I know that sounds awful, it’s not like I want there to be a next attack! Just, you know, it’s your job and my not job job.”
Danny felt a little bad, but couldn’t help but laugh at that. He secured his kit on shoulder, giving a little wave. “Yeah, I get you. Stay safe Verstappen!”
He could hear Flash repeat ‘Verstappen’ as he headed off in a light jog. So maybe he had looked up famous racers just to have more names, sue him. He now knew about the wide world of formula one racing— mostly against his will. That sport was a soap opera.
-----
AN: Full disclosure I know nothing about horse racing, nascar, or formula 1, but two friends have gotten into F1 and it really does just sound like a soap opera from this side!
I think I'm starting to find Wally's voice? Maybe?
Since I don't tag anymore, because of the new post editor/being shadow banned, you can instead be notified in the same way by subscribing here:
746 notes · View notes
Text
Getting kinda tired of ‘liminal’ Amity Park citizens.
Danny and Vlad had to fucking die for ghost powers and now people can get them for having the right zip code? Nah man, that’s lame.
Don’t get me wrong I can understand fandom interest in a town being constantly exposed to an unkown substance, and the longterm effects of said substance exposure. But like maybe the effects were a little more subtle?
What if exposure gave people the power to see and feel the presence of ghosts? The power to feel when something is… wrong.
Like a medium
Unlike anyone who wasn’t from Amity park who would basically see nothing but air and a bunch of people screaming at nothing.
Stay with me
Danny Sam and Tucker are the first people in the series we see interact with ghosts. They are also the first people to be directly exposed to the portal in all its glory. Everyone else’s awareness slowly awakens from there, culminating in Walker’s invasion, when Walker basically exports massive amounts of ectoplasm all over town. Suddenly EVERYONE can see ghosts.
Now that the whole town is coated in a healthy layer of ectoplasm n stuff, even visitors like the GIW can see them if they stay long enough.
But no one outside of town has a freaking clue
486 notes · View notes
britcision · 5 months
Text
So I made it 4 years without being struck down by AO3 Author Curse! But here we are. I’ll spare y’all the details but let’s just say “fuck this year” and leave it there. We’ve had the requisite Third Bad Thing and I will burn the universe down if it goes for a fourth
What this means for y’all, of course, is that there’s been a long ass break between last chapter and this one! Aaaaand this one is being broken in half because it is Longer Than Tumblr Allows
(And they’ve lessened how many paragraph breaks you get cuz this one is only about 9.5k and it made me add it in thirds, woe is me)
So, as usual, links to the first chapter, last chapter, and the link to the AO3 version is I think in BOTH, so if you can’t find it from there I can’t help you 😁
First Chapter:
Last Chapter:
And just a little recap where last we left off:
Bruce has gone to the Watchtower to debrief the Justice League about Amity Park and the Anti Ecto Acts, and been told that Jason has left the land of the living! But like, on purpose
Jason and Danny have gone to visit Frostbite and learned that they are ghost-bonded, which you should take seriously like being ghost-married, and that Jason is gonna pop out Pitty in a couple more days/weeks and have to emotionally raise a ghost-baby
Tucker, Tim, and Conner are all playing video games and hiding out from the Amity Parker/Bat Chat for Tim and Tucker’s mutual stalking ways, which Sam blew wide open by sharing Timblr, as punishment for Tucker not telling her they were all alive
(Danny’s off the hook cuz Tucker was haunting his phone with soundtracks for half the day)
And Damian’s off being Sketchy And Mysterious
————————
Well You Did Get Down On One Knee (part 1)
The evening was beginning to draw in, the sun getting low over Gotham city. Between her patrol the night before, helping Signal out with a case, and then that brief group heart attack about Jason, it had already been a really long day.
Spoiler cracked her neck a couple times and sighed, then sunk into the shadow behind a gargoyle.
It was smaller than usual… and occupied. Robin glowered up at her, leaping up to sit on the gargoyle’s head instead. He looked for all the world like he wanted to hiss at her like a cranky cat, which diffused all of Spoiler’s tension (but would only make his worse if she mentioned it. Maybe tomorrow).
Sighing philosophically she settled back against the base of the gargoyle, tipping her head back to see him.
“Hey… what are you doing out so early? Usually you lot wait until sundown to swing from the shadows,” she pointed out (rather fairly, she thought). Totally ignoring that she was 1000% usually one of “you lot”.
Robin just scowled disdainfully down at her, then twisted his head away to glare at the city instead.
“As if I needed any more reason to be out than you do,” he sniffed archly.
Spoiler grinned, puffing herself up. She did have an answer for this one, and, being generous or not, winding Robin up was always a treat.
“Hey, I was actually requested today. Signal needed a second pair of eyes on the back door of a bust. Didn’t see you there,” she added innocently, a brow rising.
It was technically possible that Robin could have suited up and left the manor in between Bruce’s message and Tim’s response. Spoiler wouldn’t put money on it though.
He’d have had to be on his way down already, and while they could all change quickly, there were no rushed or sloppy patches to her experienced eye.
His hair was even neatly slicked back into the traditional Robin spikes, one every Robin but her and Duke had used during their time as the baby bird.
Nah, he’d not rushed out in a panic, even if he was still more tense than he should have been. Every line of the kid was tight with… Spoiler cocked her head thoughtfully.
Frustration?
Definitely not unusual, Damian didn’t have Dick’s temper but he’d spent pretty much all of his first few years in Gotham unbearably frustrated with them all. It had just been a while since she’d seen it so… visibly.
And for all Steph was a gleeful little shit and loved poking at trouble, she wasn’t cruel. There was no point in pushing Robin if he was already on edge.
So she shrugged nonchalantly and looked forward instead, reaching back over her head to pat him gently on the foot. He didn’t dodge, which only cemented her decision.
“‘Course, no rule against taking a daylight run if you’re in the mood. See anything interesting?” She asked innocently.
Kid wouldn’t admit it if he had been worrying.
Silence reigned for another long moment, and then Robin huffed and dropped down to the rooftop beside her, folding himself back into the sharper shadow the waning daylight provided.
“No.” Short and sweet, unlike the kid himself.
But he also hadn’t left, and Spoiler was gonna call that a win.
“Will you be out tonight too?” She asked instead of pushing, reminding herself yet again; he’d open up in his own time.
Hypothetically.
Robin made a soft, disgusted noise, glowering at the smog filled sky. Probably even in the right direction for the Watchtower.
“I intend to be. Someone must keep an eye on things,” he grumbled, and Spoiler made an effort not to take it personally.
B had been majorly distracted with all this Amity Park business, not even breathing down their necks about the usual nightly reports. The rogues hadn’t exactly noticed yet, but the goons had.
The big Bat himself not making an appearance for a couple of nights usually attracted some comment, and an up-til-now entirely Bat-free new year?
The guys she’d helped Signal grab today had been muttering about it right until they ran into her arms. Fists.
They’d mentioned not seeing Stabby Robin either though.
Which she might as well also mention.
“Weren’t you out last night too? I saw your gear missing when I dropped by at the end of the night,” she added when he tensed again, hands wedged in her utility belt. “Didn’t hear you on comms though.”
And that was more than just rude; it was bad protocol, and Robin, for all his other faults, respected the strictness of protocol. Not being chatty was one thing, but if you were out on the town you had to call in.
He stayed silent, not looking at her. Spoiler decided he could use just a little nudge. Totally not because she was getting impatient. And nosy.
“Y’know unless you went out tech free I can just ask Oracle,” she pointed out gently, giving his shoulder a gentle bump.
It got him to glower up at her anyway.
“I was not on patrol,” he grumbled, whites of his mask narrowed before returning his glare to the city at large, “like I am not today.”
When he didn’t elaborate, Spoiler flipped a mental coin. Figured why not; they were already doing well.
Kid must be on the verge of having to, dread the thought, ask for help.
“And what would you be doing out and about if not patrolling…” she began, then stopped when a piece clicked suddenly into place.
Robin, Damian, was about as social as a feral cat. And about as friendly with anyone who got close to those he considered his.
Right now, Danny Fenton and his friends had more than half the family utterly wound up. All except Bruce in a good way, Spoiler was the first to admit, but Robin wouldn’t see it like that.
The only trick was, how to word the question.
Spoiler liked blunt. It made her stand out from the bats, who all played way too much mental and emotional chicken to be healthy. She’d always been more of a bird that way.
“Wouldn’t have anything to do with Hood’s little disappearance today, would it?” She asked instead, grinning broadly when Robin twitched.
Hit the nail on the head.
From the scowl he shot her he knew it too, and looked away quickly enough that he knew there was no taking it back. He folded his arms across his chest and sulked and fuck he was just adorable.
She’d bet anything Dick used to pout exactly like that.
Still, she tempered the grin down to a slight smile. Dropped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently and letting go when he pulled away.
“Worried me too. Were you close enough to see anything?” Because yeah, if Robin was already at least on his way into uniform before the message arrived?
Spoiler would put easy, easy money on him having been already tailing Jason and Danny around. Last night too, probably. She and Cass had left early to take the night shift, leaving Tim and Damian with the Amity Parkers.
Damian had one hell of a dose of his father’s paranoia, and Steph considered it a solemn duty to teach him about personal boundaries to keep him from turning out just like the old bat.
Just a little friendly stalking from the rooftops didn’t really count though. Not between family.
Robin had tensed right up again too, but when she didn’t push the contact or needle at him he slowly relaxed back down. Scowled at her feet instead of his own.
“No,” he admitted bitterly, both at definitely having been busted and probably at having nothing to report, “Todd… Hood spoke to the magician. They argued, he went back inside Freeze’s place and did not reappear when his tracker went through the roof and into the sky.”
Spoiler blinked, mildly surprised.
“Hood was wearing a tracker? Didn’t think he was in the mood.”
“He wasn’t,” Robin corrected with a derisive sniff.
And… yeah, they were gonna have to do a little more work on that whole “boundaries” thing. Although the odds of Hood not noticing that he’d been tagged were lower than Robin probably thought. Keeping a tag on him that he didn’t want there?
Nah. She may not exactly trust Jason, but that was how she knew how good he was at finding and disabling rogue trackers. And sure, Damian was better than her at some things, but if Cass couldn’t sneak a tracker onto Red Hood no one could.
Kinda cute that Jason let the little guy think he’d successfully bugged him.
At least the constant mild stalking was just standard for the family.
Shaking her head, she gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow.
“That’s rough. Flying’s cheating,” she commiserated with a sly look to the sky.
She’d heard a super cross Oracle’s radar. Conner, almost certainly if Robin was still out alone.
Too bad he’d not thought to call his own Superboy, though taking flight himself wouldn’t have helped if dimensional travel followed.
Robin made another disgusted little tut, then pushed off the gargoyle and stormed away. Spoiler watched him go for a moment, then shrugged.
“Hey, go get some sleep if you’re coming back out tonight,” she called after him. Grinned when he flipped her off without turning.
If he’d been off stalking Jason and Danny two days in a row, he’d need some rest.
“And don’t forget your report,” she teased and actually laughed when he raised his other hand to flip her off with both before leaping off the edge of the roof, swinging back towards the bat cave.
Stephanie Brown had never been prouder in her life than the first day Damian had said “fuck” in front of his dad. Far be it from her to demand anyone transform into a social butterfly, but she personally was pretty damn sure that nothing was gonna help Damian out of his “raised by assassins” shell than learning some good old fashioned swearwords.
And a little teenaged rebellion. The proudest day was totally gonna be when he finally told his grandfather to fuck off (or any suitable equivalent; Steph wasn’t choosy).
Leaning back into the gargoyle’s shadow, Spoiler surveyed the city below. Technically, she’d been out as long as Damian had; if she wanted to be out tonight she’d need a quick nap too.
Or, more fun, she could nip back to the manor, kidnap Cass, and they could find and bully Tim and Tucker in person. Yeah, that was gonna be it.
**
Jason was feeling good, really. Actually a little surprised at how good, considering.
That crunchy little ecto-ice chip had been better than a gallon of coffee, filling him with energy like he’d actually gotten a full night’s sleep. (Not that he knew much about how that actually felt, at least not when not recovering from serious injury.)
He hadn’t actually felt this good since the night Danny slept over, which had been the night before last. Didn’t sound all that impressive, except that it had been the best he’d felt in half a decade.
Maybe the full decade. For all Robin made him magic, skipping sleep to fight crime had done a number on him in his teens. If he’d been as willing as Dickie and Tim to slack on his schoolwork, maybe…
Yeah, no, Tim was the poster child for Do Not Emulate This Sleep Schedule.
What mattered was that even after running the docks down with Black Bat for more than half the night and then getting up to get Danny, Jason felt fucking great.
Even after three separate courses of Bruce’s bullshit, both directly and through the medium of John fucking Constantine. Not so long ago, Bruce would never even dare call him, much less try and set up a bat cave ambush. That… was probably technically a good sign?
Didn’t feel like one at the moment, but Jason actually felt almost good enough to be charitable with the old bat. A little emotionally wrung out, sure, but he felt lighter for… having whatever that had been. Like the stress that had been compacting his chest had finally eased.
Jason was self aware enough to admit he’d probably had more than one breakdown owed to him. Maybe not a “take to the bed”, “trip to the sea” full Victorian lady meltdown, but he’d had a whole baby dropped on him. Except somehow worse.
He damn well deserved that freak out, and now that it was over and he’d been given what kinda felt like the ghost equivalent of speed… He felt like his brain was finally working again.
Which… meant he was fully processing that his fucking soul was vibrating in time with Danny’s. And every other ghost could just. Tell.
That was gonna make fight club… actually, Jason had no idea what the fuck it was gonna make fight club. By all accounts Danny being the Ghost King hadn’t made any of them less likely to throw down with him.
If anything, Danny had warned Jason that him being a “young” ghost would make the others more eager to fight. It was a kind of play, bonding and teaching the new baby their powers.
Sounded fucking terrifying by all accounts and Jason was just glad he had Danny to explain it to him, since apparently full ghosts just… knew it wasn’t serious. Even baby ghosts came into existence recognising the game.
Halfas didn’t.
Whiiiich meant that all the “playful” threats of dismemberment had sounded pretty fucking real to Danny, back when he’d been a baby ghost and had half the Zone flocking to “play” with him.
Pitty let out a rumbly little growl, like a sulking dog and Jason hid a snicker. Yeah, he’d also be kicking their asses that little bit harder for that given half a chance.
Actually, if they kept holding fight club, Pitty could take a chunk out of them itself.
That thought got him a contented little purr, which was weird enough that Jason was going to focus back in on Frostbite’s broader explanation. Which… he should have been doing anyway. At least this part wasn’t solely for his benefit though.
“In the sense that you have tied yourselves together, it may be somewhat like a marriage… however, it is a very different relationship. In a true love-union, your signatures would beat in time,” the yeti explained, gesturing once more to the screen.
Jason’s blob continued to pulse and blur a fraction of a beat behind Danny’s. Definitely not quite in time.
This was a relief. Yup. And Jason’s cheeks definitely weren’t any warmer than they’d been a minute ago, before he knew that, again, his fucking soul was echoing Danny’s.
Frostbite gave his tablet a couple more taps, and a pulsing blue line linked the images on the screen.
“In your case, young knight, your allegiance is marked in both your resonance and in your aura, which now carries a link to your King. In this way, even if the Great One is not beside you, all ghosts will know that you are the chosen protector of their King. His status is what defines your role as a knight, instead of a more casual bond.”
“No one’s king yet,” Danny protested, folding his arms and leaning into Jason’s side. Letting a little more of his weight rest on him.
Jason leaned in too, frowning from the screen to Frostbite.
“And all the other ghosts can just… see this?” He asked, not really sure what he was hoping to be told.
Frostbite switched from giving Danny a fond smile back to Jason, nodding brightly.
“Oh yes. Ectoplasm is very easily influenced by emotion, and bonds can form quite quickly. I presume you took an oath?” He asked, eyes sparkling in a way that made Jason pretty damn sure he’d met Clockwork.
Which, now that he thought about it…
Jason huffed out another deep breath, running a hand through his hair. As much as John Fucking Constantine specifically could ride a cactus straight to Hell… the guy mighta had the faintest inkling of a point about one thing.
“Yeah… about that.” He pulled a face, gaze tracking away from the others and down to the floor.
Would they think he was a dumbass too? Danny had been there when Clockwork made the offer and he’d been pretty against it, but Jason had thought he understood why.
It hadn’t sounded anything like Constantine’s claims of what he’d signed up for.
In the end, it was easier to address the question to Frostbite’s large hairy toes.
“I, uh… I made an oath to Clockwork, but do I have… a contract or something? The asshole magician I mentioned earlier was going on and on about eternal fucking servitude bullshit but it’d be nice to have something to shove in his face,” he added quickly, arm slipping back and almost around Danny (but with his hand still firmly on the table).
He didn’t need to wait to feel the guilt in Danny’s aura to head it off.
Jason wasn’t having second thoughts. He wasn’t sorry for what he’d signed up for, and when it came right down to it…
He didn’t think people could lie through their auras. Even when he was trying to project something like “I’m fine” and he wasn’t, he was pretty sure Danny could tell.
He could sure as hell tell when Danny was bluffing through his, which had happened maybe once total.
He trusted Danny. He trusted Frostbite. He even mostly trusted Clockwork, because for all the guy had been a little sketchy, Jason had felt his sincerity. How deeply he cared for Danny.
Keeping Danny safe forever didn’t sound like eternal servitude. Eternal babysitting, maybe, if Danny was being a pain in the ass, but he’d never top Damian at his most bratty.
Jason woulda been trying to protect Danny anyway. As far as he knew, knighthood just made that easier.
Which was another reason he’d like a look at his contract. You didn’t make it onto the streets as Robin without learning to read for loopholes, hidden clauses, and fine print. He may have already signed on the dotted line, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find some wiggle room.
Danny, about to say something either apologetic or self deprecating, huffed out a breath as Jason’s arm slipped around him. Winded up giving him a half smile instead.
“Yeah… that’s a good point. I still need to find out if I can fire your ass.”
“Still didn’t hire me,” Jason pointed out archly, bumping his arm to knock Danny forwards a little.
The other halfa huffed a laugh this time and bumped him back.
“Yeah, and I gotta work out how to hire you so I can then immediately fire you,” he shot back.
Frostbite cut them both off with a raised hand, though he still looked fondly amused. Like they were cute little kids or something stupid.
“You will have to discuss this with Clockwork directly, young knight, but I do not believe a knighthood typically comes with a contract. It is a duty one is granted, and one that may be rescinded if you fail, but it is not a deal,” he explained patiently.
Jason’s brows furrowed a little, but at least he could feel Danny’s confusion-puzzled-not sure beside him too. He wasn’t the only one who wasn’t quite sure what that meant.
Maybe he shoulda looked a little more into magic shit while he was with the League of Assassins. That would have been the time, especially if the Lazarus Pits were the just grunged ectoplasm.
“It kinda sounded like a deal when he offered it,” he said almost as a question, glancing back at Danny for confirmation.
Danny nodded. So it wasn’t just Jason.
“He gave me a cool magic gun in exchange for keeping Danny hale and hearty. Protecting him in the living and Infinite realms,” Jason added in case the wording counted, more sure as he remembered some of the reasons.
Fuck, had that only been a week ago? It felt like it’d been a whole year.
Frostbite gave them a neutral shrug, inclining his head.
“As I said, you will need to ask Clockwork directly. All I can tell you is that it is not innate to the position; a knighthood is not usually something bought and sold,” he explained patiently.
Danny hummed an agreement, cheek resting on Jason’s shoulder again.
“It’s normally all ghost-to-ghost too, so is there a way we can check if the halfa thing has changed it?” He asked Frostbite, leaning against the table too and totally not actually putting his arm around Jason back.
Jason felt a little more tension leech back out of him. Which raised another good point, actually.
“And not related or anything, but if you gave me a buncha those ice crystals could I just chew them to get the ecto for…” he hesitated, waving his free hand at his general chest area again.
Honestly, given half a chance he’d love to get a bowl full and try and pop the pit out in one go… it’d probably be easier to train from outside his body where it wouldn’t immediately know he was so full of shit… his own aura notwithstanding.
Yeah, he was still a little worried about being anyone’s emotional guide, but if he could just get the damn thing out in the world… maybe it could have other guides too.
“To answer the simpler question first, young knight, unfortunately the energized ectoplasm is only a short term boost and will not affect either of your cores. I will provide you with a small supply to assist your emotional control whilst you stabilize, if you wish?” Frostbite offered gently, a slight smile on his face.
Jason hesitated, considering things for a moment, then nodded. Sure, it wasn’t a solid “yes here is the answer to all your problems Jason just smack it in”, but it was a concrete solution to what had actually been worrying him.
Having another one of those weird “episodes”. He’d still be waiting to get Pitty all the way out, but at least he had a backup plan until then. He could pop an ecto-crystal each morning, get some energy, and worry less about night patrols.
Shit, he’d have more energy than he’d had since he died. The others were gonna be jealous as hell, but it wasn’t like they could steal and take his ghost meds. Probably.
Jason… wasn’t quite ready to think about the panic attack itself. He felt fine now, way better, and it wasn’t like it was the first he’d had.
Just…
Just the first that he remembered. That his heart started racing, his head rushing, ears filled with rushing static and the world hadn’t just melted into a green haze of blood and violence.
His early training with the League of Assassins had involved a lot of losing himself to the Pit. He’d wake up days later, body aching with exertions he couldn’t remember, and be told how many he’d killed.
Good news: no fear of that either, apparently. Pitty wasn’t pulling for control anymore, so the green haze was all Jason’s own.
Joy.
He had a nasty feeling that Danny would notice him spiralling from anywhere in Gotham. And probably ditch class to come check on him.
Like Hell. Jason’d fucking call Harley first, put himself through some breathing exercises or whatever, he did not need an emotional support Ghost King.
He gave Frostbite a quick nod, a small smile forming almost without thinking about it. The yeti was just… so caring and helpful. Not exactly something Jason had a wealth of experience with. He’d probably be a great example for Pitty.
Frostbite returned the smile, making a quick note on his tablet.
“And of course, your ghostly parent or a mentor should also be able to assist you. Spending time with those who are important to you, especially a comforting figure will help both your control and your core formation,” the yeti added in a slightly pointed way, like he’d read Jason’s mind, and Jason had to stifle a laugh.
Frostbite might be an eight foot tall hairy yeti, but he’d get along with Alfred like a house on fire… he was even as stubborn about not using their names as Alfred was about nicknames.
And when Jason thought about someone comforting, the beacon of emotional maturity and constraint… it could only be Alfred. He was more grandparent than parent, but certainly the only mentor Jason still looked up to. And a paragon of control besides.
Alfred could help him with Pitty. Model a little actual emotional restraint and control for the both of them. The only question was if Jason could just be up front and ask him, possibly revealing the secret early, or if he’d have to come up with an excuse for them to hang out.
Stupid thought. Jason knew damn well he could just walk into the kitchen and Alfred would be more than happy to spend time together. He wouldn’t need a ruse; he wouldn’t even need an excuse.
The knowledge settled warm and soft and happy inside him, until his brain caught up with his ears and stopped him short.
Wait.
“Ghost parent?” He asked cautiously, looking from Frostbite to Danny again. Danny pulled a face but Frostbite beat him to the punch.
“Ah, yes. We did not discuss that last time either. Your ghost parent, young knight, is the second strongest bond a young ghost can have. They are the ghost who welcomes you into the Infinite Realms, who will guide your steps and protect you until your own haunt has formed.”
Brows furrowing, Jason twisted to frown more directly at Danny, not quite sure if he was looking for confirmation or asking a question of his own.
Cuz, y’know, other than the whole “protecting until his haunt formed” (and Jason certainly didn’t need protecting), that sounded a lot like what Danny had been doing. Which would totally make it weird if Jason was a knight to his own ghost-dad.
Clearly following the same lines, Danny raised both hands and shook his head, almost but not quite stepping out of reach.
“Oh no, it’s not me. You’ve had a ghost parent long before I came along,” he said emphatically, the sudden panic on his face making Jason feel better about his own response to surprise parenthood.
He magnanimously decided not to tease Danny about it, turning instead to give Frostbite a questioning look.
“Should I know who my ghost parent is? Who gets to decide?” He asked cautiously. He’d never met another ghost before Danny, but he had this awful sinking feeling that Ra’s al Ghul might have more to do with the realms than just the pits, and he was the closest proxy. Even Tallia would be better. Maybe even Bruce.
Reading his tension, Frostbite clapped a massive furry hand on Jason’s shoulder, smile and aura both full of comfort-reassurance-calm.
“Normally yes young knight, though yours is a special case. Usually when a young ghost first finds its way to the realms, one of the first ghosts they encounter will take them under their wing. It is an honour to care for a young ghost, and a halfa even more so,” he explained gently.
Beside Jason, Danny snorted loudly.
“Oh, yeah, they totally come running to play happy families. Super wholesome,” he grumbled, arms folded as he leaned back into Jason’s weight.
Honestly, Jason could kinda spot common threads between what Frostbite just said and what Danny had told him about Fight Club; the play fighting was supposed to be about sharing powers, right? Just, y’know, between people with shit verbal communication to actually check in that everyone was on the same page.
The yeti sighed fondly, his hand moving from Jason’s shoulder to rest proudly on Danny’s. Given the width of Danny’s shoulders respective to the hand, the last two fingers were back on Jason’s other shoulder.
“Again, Great One, your circumstances were also exceptional. You did not explore the Ghost Zone until after you had established yourself to many as a competent fighter and protector of your haunt, which along with certain… adventures led most to believe you were far older than you are,” Frostbite explained patiently, with just the faintest hint that they’d been through this before.
Danny rolled his eyes and shot Jason double finger guns.
“Yyyyup, which is why I don’t have to deal with any of this “ghost parent” business,” he agreed brightly, tipping Jason a smirk, “get good.”
Jason flipped him off, but there was something… not in his aura, Frostbite’s was still very carefully toned back all calm medical professional, but in the creasing of the yeti’s eyes. Now, ghost yetis were definitely a new species and Batman drilled them all on the dangers of extrapolating body language on new species, but Jason had done his time on alien planets.
Something in the change, something in the shift, a little quirk of the brow Jason had noted when the yeti was amused. There was something funny here, and it wasn’t Danny’s quip.
Putting his suspicions aside for now, Jason settled on the more pressing matter.
“So who is my ghost parent? When do I get to meet them?” He asked cautiously, still not entirely convinced he hadn’t accidentally imprinted on Ra’s or Tallia. Cuz he hadn’t been in the Zone before Danny either.
Danny himself, much less concerned, waved a hand vaguely.
“Oh, we’ll deal with that on the way home. Go do a proper meet and greet, that sort of thing,” he said nonchalantly, and Jason’s shoulders settled a little.
“They’re in the Zone then?” He prodded a little further, not fully willing to let the matter just drop. If he had to ghost-emancipate himself, he’d rather be ready sooner than later.
Danny grinned toothily at him.
“Usually. We’ll see if she’s around, but it might have to be another day. Gotta deal with our other list first, like if our whole halfa deal is gonna do anything to the knight thing, or your core coming in,” he added, looking expectantly at Frostbite.
Jason almost missed what he said next as his heart skipped a beat, a possibility he’d never even considered slamming home.
She.
Someone dead, if they were in the Ghost Zone.
Someone who’d claimed him as her son long ago, guided him as best she could. Someone he’d never expected to see again, not even having died and returned to life himself.
No chance, he told himself quickly, hurriedly refocusing on the conversation at hand. About his bond with Danny, about their shared fucked biology, about his whole undead future.
There was no point dredging up the past until he actually knew.
Frostbite was back in his familiar role of teacher, that same proud/warm/fond smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as he looked at Danny.
“For your bond, Great One, I am not sure what I would even test for. The young knight presently has no ghost form, yet the bond is present exactly as if he had. I am afraid we have no records of former halfas, so any problems which occurred before are long lost.”
The yeti gave the tablet another few careful claw strokes, pulling up lines and lines of scrolling numbers and data beside each of their silhouettes on the wall screen. Forcing himself to the present, Jason scanned them quickly.
Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t actually make heads or tails of it; ghost vitals couldn’t really include things like heartbeat, blood oxygenation, or anything they’d test for in the med bay.
Not until Bruce found out about all this crap anyway - Jason wouldn’t put it past him to try and buy out everything the Far Frozen had in his latest snit of paranoia. The second he got over his “oh no Jason is going somewhere I can’t supervise him”, obviously.
Frostbite clearly knew what it all meant though, highlighting a couple of different areas where Danny’s numbers were very different from Jason’s and giving him that reassuring smile.
“After your first transformation I would expect some of these to change, and it is likely that any differences in your particular bond would show then as well. Your ghost form will of course be entirely ectoplasmic, so the bond will be more present than it is even now.”
That snapped Jason from his internal flailing, and he grimaced at the reminder.
Because… yeah. They’d talked a lot about his first transformation, he and Danny. But the only thing Danny hadn’t really known was when to expect it.
“Yeah… about that. I know the basics, inversion of my moment of death crap, I’ll be able to change it eventually, yadda yadda,” and that was its own sword of Damacles hanging with the mistletoe, “but… when will it happen? Like, will it just… happen? Or will I… yeah.”
Even wording the question made him feel like the whole thing was just too complicated. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to ask; what to look for? Would there be symptoms? Would he just un-die again in the street?
Luckily Frostbite seemed much more comfortable, hitting a few buttons on his tablet. Jason’s scan took over the full screen once more, zoomed in on the two orbs in his chest.
They were pulsing too, growing brighter and dimmer along with the more defined throb of the ectoplasm. Which was actually when he noticed that both cores were throbbing, so… was Pitty also a knight?
That was going on the list of questions for Clockwork like, yesterday. If he could get it its own little fear gun…
“As you can see, your core is still fuzzy around the edges and incompletely formed; once these edges have smoothed out, you will hypothetically be able to transform at any time,” Frostbite explained, blissfully aware of Jason’s new train of thought.
Probably for the best. Jason reluctantly refocused on the screen, tabling the idea of Sir Pitty for now. Nice to have something actually positive to look forward to.
He didn’t really remember seeing much of the screen during his last appointment, but he had seen the perfect sphere of Danny’s core, and his looked… well, like Frostbite said, smaller and kinda fuzzy. Like a ball of dough after it started sticking to your hands and losing its shape.
He frowned and nodded, looking back to Frostbite and then glancing around at Danny.
“So not until the next appointment, probably? Will it just… happen out of nowhere? Or will I need to trigger it?” It kinda helped, narrowing the scope. Dealing with it one step at a time.
Danny gave a helpless shrug.
“My powers started activating randomly, but I didn’t actually transform until I was in danger. Not like, life threatening danger,” he added with a roll of his eyes, like he’d heard Pitty’s growl… or maybe Jason had echoed it. “It was just Lunch Lady, she was never gonna really hurt us. She just made a mess and tried to feed everyone meat.”
Jason privately added Lunch Lady to his “asses to kick” list. On principle.
Frostbite gave a thoughtful nod, a large hand clapping down on Jason’s shoulder a lot harder than he’d probably intended. He didn’t flinch, but before his pit-growth-spurt it might have knocked him over.
“We can experiment more once your core is complete here in the Zone, and I would recommend waiting until Pitty has been expelled, if possible. Of course, any other changes in your knighthood bond will likely make themselves known with your first change as well,” the yeti mused, quite pleased with the idea.
Jason hesitated before agreeing, worry twisting through him again before he tamped it back down.
He wasn’t that scared little boy anymore; not inside. Besides, the bond was already firmly in place.
His soul was resonating a pace behind Danny’s.
It wasn’t like that little trip back to the moment of his death was gonna make Danny suddenly reject him.
The poor guy was probably stuck with Jason for life anyway at this point, which for a pair of halfas meant pretty much forever.
**
There was not a single thing on Earth or the Watchtower that he wanted less than to stop and talk to John Fucking Constantine and Diana after the meeting.
To be completely fair, Constantine clearly didn’t want to have that conversation any more either; Bruce had not been wrong about how well the magician would take the news that the United States had declared war on an entire dimension.
He was visibly green, had actually ground an unlit cigarette into a grainy mess against the table in lieu of lighting up, and looked about ready to lick up the tobacco.
Diana did not look happy either, but she never had. Her face was as stony and grave as Bruce had ever seen it, concern writ large even as she caught his eye.
The sure knowledge that her lasso would follow if he tried to leave was the only thing that kept him from ignoring her.
But since the only thing he wanted in the world at this moment was to have his son in his arms, and there was no chance of that happening until they were in the same dimension once more…
Bruce shot a quick, questioning look at Clark as the traitor made his way to the exit along with the rest of the Justice League. The Kryptonian at least had the grace to look a little guilty as he shook his head, stepping quickly out the door.
Wonder Woman hadn’t specifically told everyone else to get the fuck out. She had simply molded herself into an immovable force, concluded the meeting, and instructed Bruce alone to remain and discuss these… complications.
Bruce considered making an argument for Superman’s inclusion. They were the original three, and they’d probably need at least his and Aquaman’s help to handle the diplomatic situation.
Possibly the Oa, and Bruce was quite sure Green Lantern wasn’t looking forward to that possibility any more than he was. Hal Jordan talked a good game, always far too flippant, but he’d been pale enough by the end of the lecture that his suit made him look frankly unwell.
Unpleasant times would be in all of their futures it seemed. It was no real comfort as he slipped into a seat across from Wonder Woman and the slumped form of John Constantine.
The magician didn’t even look up, but clearly noticed.
“Didn’t fuckin’ think anyone’d fuck this up worse’n you, Bats,” he groaned, face still pressed into the table.
Bruce grunted, uninterested in his judgement.
“There are new complications we should focus on.” A vain hope, and one Diana instantly crushed.
“One that makes the contents of our discussion all the more vital,” she corrected sharply, piercing blue eyes narrowed as she watched his face. “It seems we have already caused unintentional offence.”
Which was an extremely light way to phrase the declared genocide, but Bruce didn’t bother arguing that position. Not when Constantine would do it for him.
But the mage just let out a long, hearty groan.
“Offence. Yeah. Maybe if we saw off the United States and toss it through a portal the rest of us will be fine,” he snarked, raising his head just enough to bang it off the table. Repeatedly.
By the third bang Diana gripped the back of his head, holding him in place against the table.
“Whatever the situation,” she growled, her tone daring either of them to comment, “we must deal with it as it is. You believe we would have noticed any countermeasures from the former Ghost King?”
She released her grip a moment later, and Constantine rolled his head just enough to glare at her through one eye.
“Pariah Dark? Sister, it wouldn’ta been a single town bein’ pulled off the map. We’d have lost the continent, and probably the world. You wouldn’t miss it,” he added with a bitter laugh, clearly considering banging his head off the table again.
Diana placed a hand on the table. Constantine set his head back down gently.
“And the new king?” She prodded, all icy control.
Bruce had to admit, even he felt calmer watching her.
He knew all the follies and foibles of gods, had no delusions about the limits of her power. He also knew her strengths. Her wisdom. Her ability to cut through complex issues with sword or words.
Whatever he missed, she was removed enough from this mess to catch.
Constantine shrugged, still not rising.
“No fuckin’ clue. All I know is they’re better’n Pariah, which is the lowest damn bar I ever saw. They call them Balance, and we’re not gonna fuckin’ like when the scales come due.”
Bruce’s brows furrowed. What could be a sufficient counterweight for demanding a whole people be hunted and experimented on until extinction?
The dead always vastly outnumbered the living.
Diana cut across his thoughts, her tone as sharp as her blade.
“So you believe we’d notice.”
Constantine sighed heavily and flopped back in his seat hard enough that he nearly toppled over. Diana steadied the chair with one hand, eyebrow rising archly.
Constantine stopped flailing, went to fold his arms, and instead stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Probably’d be pretty hard to miss too,” he agreed gruffly. Diana nodded, having received the answer she wanted, and interlaced her fingers.
“Then we have time to rectify matters before word reaches his ears.” She paused, brow furrowing as she recounted John’s words. “Do we not know if the King is a man?”
Constantine shrugged again, pulling something unidentifiable from his pocket before hastily shoving it back in, coming out again with a lighter. He spun it between his fingers, eyes fixed on the metal lid.
“Nah. “King” is just a loose translation to living tongues, for what yer used to. Easier to say than “Supreme High Ruler, Core of the Realms”. Not even likely that they were ever human; not even the Ancients could take Pariah solo to take the crown, so a human ghost wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Huffing out a mighty breath, Constantine looked from the lighter to Bruce, his gaze somehow immeasurably more tired. Bruce had imagined that talking about Amity Park made the man look ancient.
He looked haggard enough to be an ancient ghost himself now.
Raising his other hand, he began counting off points on his fingers.
“We know they’re young. Everything agrees on that. Could be any time in the past few centuries, but it’s still a timeline. We know they’re tougher’n Hell and all its demons put together, cuz they put Pariah down single handed. Had to to get the throne. Might not have Ended him, the Casket of Eternal Slumber’s not turned up looking for a new occupant.”
The magician stared at his two fingers for a moment, then sighed and raised a third.
“And we know ghosts like them. They’re less scared, though most of ‘em never knew shit about Pariah. Didn’t even react to him waking, which had to happen for the change in power. That or it all went down too fast for the shockwaves to reach us here; not bloody likely. Wouldn’t take more than a day, and ghosts fight for decades on a whim.”
He hesitated for a moment, considering that last finger. Finally he sighed and shook his head.
“Can’t rule it out though. Pariah waking up’d be as much an emergency for them as it’d be for us, putting his ass back down is an all hands on deck situation on either side of the veil. If this new king is Balance, Pariah’d be their opposite,” he finished gruffly, glaring at all three digits before stuffing both hands into his pockets.
Bruce nodded, drawing a deep, calming breath in through his nose and then out through his mouth. Even this much discussion had something itching in the back of his mind, a building tension that he had to Get Away.
He was in control of it though. Could tell the difference between his own unease and the burning ember of the oath.
Turn and run right away his ass. Magic could never hold out against cool, calm logic.
“And this new king, Balance, has stamped a damn mark on Jason.”
And his breath hitched.
Sharp, white hot panic flared behind his eyes, every muscle clenching with the effort of not leaping straight from the table. The only reason he didn’t was because he had no idea where to go.
What would he even do? Run to Jason’s side? The boy was in another dimension, far beyond Bruce’s reach.
Again.
He was losing Jason again. Losing him to this Ghost King, this Balance, this-
Diana’s hand clamped firmly over his, the amazon’s grip immovable steel. Bruce felt his bones grinding together before he even noticed he’d stopped breathing, before he managed to look up enough to meet her eyes.
Stern, determined, brilliant blue locked with his. Her grip tightened a little further, the ribbing on his gloves creaking with the pressure.
She wouldn’t break them… probably. They were designed to hold up against any of the supers the League dealt with. Prolonged contact was another thing entirely though.
His attention now locked on her face, Bruce managed a deep breath in along with her. Held it when she did. Let it out.
She didn’t release him for another few repetitions, until he was breathing mostly on his own again. Then she returned her attention to Constantine.
“What.” It wasn’t aggressive. Just a completely flat, completely toneless statement.
Constantine gave her an entirely hopeless smile, pulling his hands from his pockets to give her jazz hands.
“And that’s what he’s not ready to hear yet. Your boy, Jason, Red Hood, has gotten himself personally warded by the Ghost King. He’s the next thing to invulnerable right now,” he added bitterly, as if that made any of it better.
An icy hand clenched in Bruce’s chest again, but he forced himself to still. To breathe through it. To not turn and run, run until he found his child and tore him away from whatever influence had him.
The Ghost King had a hold of Jason. Jason who’d all but ordered Bruce to let him go.
“And Jason must have been in direct contact with the King to receive these wards?” Diana asked sharply, and Bruce’s head snapped back to her.
It was a good question. Important, obvious, there was a connection there that he should be making, but he couldn’t think. His head was spinning, heart pounding, and every shadow seemed black as pitch.
Constantine grunted an agreement, shooting Bruce an almost sympathetic look.
Could. Could this be the oath? Not his own instinctive, natural panic?
Bruce couldn’t tell, he’d been so afraid for so long, ever since he held Jason’s broken body in his arms. Ever since he buried his son.
It felt the same. But he had mastered that fear long ago, so this would not control him now. He had to be better.
Frowning at Diana, he leaned forward.
“Explain.” She’d probably assumed that he’d made the same connection. He probably should have.
There was just a brief flash of surprise on her face before her expression softened, her hand gentling over his.
“Jason was the one who told you of these Anti Ecto Acts, was he not?” She asked pointedly, a dark brow arching delicately.
Bruce about managed a grunt of agreement, his jaw clenched too tightly to speak. She waited a moment longer, watching his face, and then sighed.
“Then is it not likely that either he has told Balance of these Acts, or that Balance was the one that told him?”
Constantine jerked and got halfway through a bellowed curse before she cut him off with a glare. Her tone brooked no argument as she continued with a firm, frosted patience.
“Jason is a principled young man, even if not of the exact principles you prefer. Either he has warned you because he believes we have time to fix this, or because the King would prefer we handle it,” she said bluntly.
It sounded so simple, put like that. Far too simple. Bruce shook his head, leaning in.
“We can’t know for sure-”
“Batman.” There was nothing harsh in her tone. Nothing so overtly aggressive as the glare she kept giving Constantine. Just a calm, cool statement that sucked the air from his lungs.
The weight of her own mantle, the Amazon princess who would one day be Queen. Not his friend Diana; Wonder Woman.
Once she was sure he wouldn’t continue, she fixed him with a sapphire stare.
“Do you believe Jason Todd would condone the end of the world?” She asked simply, and that at least was that plain.
“No.” It didn’t even require thought; whatever he feared ever since his son took his first life, Bruce knew that.
Jason was fundamentally a good boy. So kind, so giving, ironically he had been the most well adjusted boy Bruce had ever given the mantle to.
Which was what made what he’d become so painful. It was everything he never should have been.
Wonder Woman nodded as if that solved all the rest.
“And yet you called the meeting, not him. He has known for several days already and did nothing to alert any of us. Therefore, he does not believe this is an urgent threat.”
It sounded good, and Bruce almost believed it before Constantine snorted.
“Yeah, great, except the kid has no fuckin’ clue what he’s dealing with. Didn’t even know he’d been fuckin’ marked or that sellin’ his fuckin’ service was the dumbest fuckin’ thing he coulda done,” he grumbled and Bruce’s heart fell.
Wonder Woman was not so easily swayed. She raised an eyebrow slowly at the magician.
“And could those protective marks have been placed on Jason against his will?” She asked pointedly, like she knew the first thing about magic.
Constantine hesitated. Frowned a little, thinking hard. Finally he threw both hands in the air and leaned back in his chair, scrubbing them down his face.
“Technically, yes, alright? But I can’t think of a damn reason why they’d bother. Like I told the old Bat, it’s technically a good thing; I couldn’t even get a basic diagnostic spell off, he’s completely fuckin’ magic proof an’ anythin’ that can read that ward will run like fuck.”
Something in Bruce’s chest flickered hopefully. Wonder Woman nodded firmly, then redirected her stare to him.
“Then until we have reason not to, we assume that Jason Todd has control of this situation. He has assigned us to deal with these Acts, either before his king discovers them or on their behalf. You, Batman, will defer to his experience along with that of our experts,” she declared with all the ringing command she was capable of.
It chafed. And yet… he could hear the echo of Harley’s words in her voice.
What if Jason was wrong? It was the kind of thing he always thought about, the kind of thing he couldn’t stop thinking about. The kind of thing that had the Batman able to stand and go toe to toe with gods.
But what if Jason was right? What if Harley, Diana, Constantine were right, and his usual measures would spell disaster?
He had a dozen contingency plans that any member of the League could use to take him down. He was painfully aware that the first one, the one he’d already shown to Superman and Wonder Woman, only had two words in it.
Diana’s Judgement.
She hadn’t technically invoked it yet. Had never bothered asking exactly what he meant by it; she wasn’t one to back down from hard subjects, which meant she’d also never bothered hiding how little she thought of his contingency plans.
His League-specific ones, anyway. She liked the ones he had for the rogues and various end of the world crises.
It meant moments like this, where she would give him her honest, simple judgement and reign him in.
(Technically it also meant that he trusted her to decide when she needed to snap his neck, but Martian Manhunter always looked at him with disappointment when he thought about that side too much.)
Looking back to her face, he managed to meet her eyes and nod once. It went against every instinct he had, every year of experience and loss, but…
If he couldn’t do things he didn’t like, he’d never have become Batman.
**
Head spinning with a plethora of new information, bag of ecto candies in hand, Jason deliberately slowed down to let Danny precede him out of Frostbite’s office.
That little suspicion had been growing, kindling the more they discussed halfa anatomy and bonds, and honestly? Yes, he had been using it as an excuse to think about something other than his own problems.
Danny seemed not to notice, disappearing past the doorway as Jason looked up at Frostbite. Figured fuck it; he didn’t know how much time he had. Best be blunt.
“You’re Danny’s ghost parent, aren’t you?” He asked, knowing from the yeti’s face as he did that he was right.
The way it froze for just a moment, eyes flicking to the door Danny had just left through. Then the smile that spread, knowing and secretive as he bent down for the first time to put his face on Jason’s level.
“He takes such pleasure in believing he does not have one; the Great One values his independence highly, and his history with parental figures is… complex. It can be our secret, yes?” The yeti winked.
Jason hesitated for a moment, thinking back to all he knew about Danny’s home life. It wasn’t actually all that much; Danny probably actually knew more about Jason’s, after the last week.
That wasn’t just a rarity, it was practically unheard of for any of the former Robins, and Jason knew exactly how Dick and Harley would react to that information.
They’d accuse him of growth. Gross. They couldn’t be told.
And yeah, maybe Jason had a bit of a personal understanding of why Danny wouldn’t want an overabundance of parental figures around. Their situations weren’t exactly the same, not really, but Jason knew enough verses of the song.
All teen heroes tended to have certain things in common, the biggest of which was whatever parental figure they had failing to protect them. Failing to keep them from the darkness, forcing a kid to take on a mantle and burdens that they never should have.
He’d wanted to pound Bruce’s bones to pulp for putting another kid in his cape. Wound up nearly pounding Tim’s instead, however the pit and Tallia had twisted things to make that seem like the same thing.
And Danny hadn’t just picked up the mantle of Teen Hero. He’d picked up a crown, a whole realm of responsibilities and rulership over the dead.
Personally, Jason thought Danny was missing out on an easy dodge of king duties by not finding his ghost parent; Clockwork was his regent but still apparently bothered him for work.
A parent ruling until the child was of age was behind most of the most brutal regicides in any monarchic system; the dead had to know about it.
But that’d mean Clockwork bothering Frostbite at all hours, possibly. Or Clockwork finding new excuses to keep checking on a crown prince Jason had already seen was a handful.
Yeah, he could see why no one really challenged Danny’s assertion that he didn’t have a ghost parent.
Jason spared a moment wondering about his own again.
He knew better than to hope, he really did. Catherine Todd deserved much better than an afterlife of watching over his many mistakes. If there was any justice to death, she’d moved straight past the realms and into the most perfect of paradises.
He liked to think she’d be proud of him. Of the work he’d done, the good he’d spread through the Alley even if it was on the end of a gun.
So long as it wasn’t any form of al Ghul whatsoever, Jason was pretty sure he could handle any other ghost parent the multiverse could throw at him.
Danny’s head poked back around the corner, grinning in a very worried way between the two of them.
“Everything okay back here?” He asked with some of the worst overhyped cheer Jason had ever heard.
Alright, maybe Danny would actually also have been a problem for ghost parent. Because Jason thought he was hot. Because he was an awful mother hen even as a friend.
Jason raised his bag of ecto candies.
“Just checking how many of these I can safely have in a day,” he said innocently, and kinda hoped Danny didn’t actually feel the wash of Frostbite’s approval as the yeti straightened.
That would give the game away.
“They are not a substitute for sleep or nutrition for your human form,” Frostbite told him, as if that was what they’d been talking about.
Jason sighed heavily, doing his best impression of Tim being handed decaf.
“Listen, a guy can hope?”
“Oh you’re not gonna win that one,” Danny snickered, brightening with the distraction and all but skipping in to take Jason’s arm, “let’s scram before he gets the powerpoints.”
Frostbite gave them a cheerful wave on the way out the door, and Jason managed a mostly sincere smile as Danny began regaling him on some of his teenaged attempts to persuade Frostbite to let him give up sleep for finals week.
Yeah, he might add the Fenton parents to the butt-kicking list. Below the ghosts, obviously, for whom butt-kicking was a social courtesy.
But, y’know. If he ever got the chance to have a quiet word about taking care of your damn kids.
———————
And here we have Part 1! Imma just yeet it up so you can all get started while I edit Part 2, because again, this is a Girthy One without an easier breakpoint 👀
I’ll still try and get Part 2 done tonight, but I’ve kept y’all waiting long enough
Tag List: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof f @perfectwastelandcreation @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion @redamancyardor @lyra689 @itsparadoxlacuna @alcorbearson @asphyxia778 8 @why-must-i-be-like-this @tkiesai i @greenpyrowolf @frivolous-pastel @honeysuckletook @adorkable1291
Part Two:
155 notes · View notes
sguidwards-bestfriend · 7 months
Text
Dp x Dc thoughts and stuff
New Dimension, Who's This?
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
From Danny's short experience Jason was about as trusting as he first was when Fright Night joined him. He didn’t think Frighty’s method of accept my eternal loyalty or die would work very well here. The guy, despite looking like a brick wall and a fridge had a child, seemed to have a very gooey center. Now to hope that wasn’t just the contaminated ecto.
Contact was the easiest way to get the bad ecto (Becto?) out and he was NOT one for cuddling. Just mentioning it made the man squirm, well not outwardly, but his core shivered.
Danny didn't see a big deal in it, but maybe it had been the years in the ghost realm, where personal space wasn't really a thing when you can phase through people... his human half was also used to Tucker and Sam, whom he'd shared a bed with so many times Jazz ended up giving him a pamphlet on "healthy polyamory".
Alfred, the name of the butler, had convinced Jason to take him on a tour of the manor. There were about a million rooms, way too many living spaces (no one needed that many seating areas), a whole barn, and a really nice kitchen with food that didn't fight back.
As they walked Danny kept close, either a hand on his shoulder or floating close enough to be up against him.
Although Jason seemed stoic externally Danny could feel each and every emotion he had. He never seemed uncomfortable with Danny, but he was guarded. Some feelings, like nostalgia, became volatile from the corrupted ecto and quickly turned into anger.
One of these times was just seeing Tim, his brother, came out of his room with about 12 empty coffee cups in hand. The feeling, for just a second, started as care that switched to anger quicker than Danny had been expecting. There had been an emotion between the two, but Danny hadn't caught it. The anger seemed more ghostly than the first part, it was shaky and unstable.
With that shift came a surge of ecto that sounded like a screaming child, Danny placed a second hand on him to help filter it out. His eyes flickered green then went back to the light blue with a grayish outline that they had been before.
Tim had stopped in his tracks, frozen in place with his mountain of dirty cups. No one moved. Then, as if nothing happened, Jason continued walking, leading Danny to what he’d come to find was the library.
Danny loved to read as a kid, but he died, had to stop the ghost coming through his parent's portal, save the world, pass high school, become king, and give up a more human life to dedicate to ruling an entire dimension that he never got back into it. Especially once he'd established peace throughout most of the realm: a majority of his work consisted of paper work. Very boring paper work.
"You can grab a book if you want." Jason sat on a comfy looking chair, leaning into it and slouching down. He looked a lot less intimidating like this.
"Nah. I have to read a lot for work, but thanks for the offer." Danny floated above him, one hand anchoring him to the man.
"What do you do for work?" Jason asked, not putting the book down.
"Lot of people sell their soul." Danny watched his own hair flowing in the air like it was underwater, he's not sure when it started doing that, but it looked badass so he wasn't complaining. "It’s depressing paperwork when you have to define the worth of a soul in numbers."
Jason hummed and continued to read. They sat there like that for a while before Jason spoke up again.
"How did you know the pit rage was taking over, when we were in the hall."
"Ghost speak isn't translatable exactly, but your core kinda babbles like a baby." Danny looked down at the man, he'd closed his book. "It cries when it's angry and cries when it's sad, but your human emotions come first and are amplified by your core."
"So, what, you just heard a ghost crying?"
"More like I heard your human emotions through a megaphone and then ghostly crying right after."
Jason picked his book back up, but Danny had a feeling he wasn't actually reading it.
They stayed like that for what felt like hours to Danny. He didn't think it right to ask any questions. Besides, he was being vague about his own answers too.
Through the years he'd gotten the hang of being cryptic enough while still giving an answer from Clocky.
Clockwork!
Danny sat up, accidentally pulling Jason up with him a bit. "I need to get in contact with Clockwork!"
Jason grumbled and fixed his jacket, "Who's that?"
"The ancient of time, he'll know how to get me back and how to fix you... if he answers or wasn't behind this."
...
Jason did not seem happy about contacting the hellblazer/detective, but he was in town. What luck.
Danny no longer felt very lucky when the blonde detective with a strong English accent started yelling.
"This is the fucker wreaking havoc with the lazarus pits?"
Jason sighed, "Can you help us or not?"
The man breathed out a puff of smoke and mumbled to himself. "Yeah, yeah. I can help." He sat on the nearest chair and looked down at his PDA, or well, Jason said they were phones. This universe seemed a few years past his own. "The infinite realms aren't easy to get a hold of. You need to be pretty powerful to go in between the realms. How did you get stuck here anyway?"
"Was practicing with my dimension hopping dog, I went through a portal, he didn't. Now I'm stuck here." Technically that wasn't a lie, he was with Cujo when he himself had made the portal.
"Dimension hopping dog, right." He took another hit from his cigarette before grunting and standing up. Danny wasn't a fan of this type: arrogant bastards that believe you aren't worth their time. "Only thing I can think of is a summoning."
"Okay sure, how do we do that?" Danny asked floating behind Jason, a hand on his back. John looked at him skeptically, so Danny shot back. "I've never done a summoning that would be ridiculous! That's like standing in the same room with someone and calling them."
"Fine, let’s go down to the cave."
Once in fruit loop 3.0's basement the hellblazer pulled out a book and started drawing out patterns on the floor. Danny recognized a few words, which gave him confidence that the summoning would at least bring someone from the infinite realms.
The wording was very old, but from what he could read it was about summoning the most powerful being in the infinite realms.
Danny assumed it would be Clockwork, and just hoped its wasn’t some manifestation of Pariah Dark.
John finished, then turned to stand at the front as if he'd rather be anywhere else but here, and started to chant. The circle glowed a familiar homely green when he feels a pull in his gut.
"Fuck."
...
Jason watched as Constantine drew out the circle with strange hieroglyphs. He'd read that book when trying to find ways to remove the pit rage years ago. This summoning was meant for the strongest being in the entire realm. It could be any kind of monstrosity.
His stomach dropped when the sickly green glow filled the room. The shadows danced unnaturally and the room dropped a few degrees.
Behind him Danny made a blip of a noise and disappeared. For a moment he assumed the man was scared, making himself invisible to hide from the creature crawling out from a hell dimension.
Only he didn't feel Danny behind him anymore.
"Welp... didn't expect that. Definitely an ego boost I tell ya." Standing in the center of the circle was Danny. He didn't look anything like the man he'd spent all day with. He was a few feet taller, had pale green skin that shone almost white and six lanky arms with pointed nails. The fangs and slightly pointed ears he already had were pulled longer, his legs were just as unsettling as his arms, it almost looked like he'd been pulled through a black hole. Stretched through time and space.
His hair was longer as well, it floated above him like it wasn't experiencing gravity. Floating above that was a ring of a green aurora borealis. His face was hard to look at directly, it shifted. It was just the outlines, it was all eyes, it was empty, it was a black hole.
Around him shone little starts that twinkled occasionally, Jason had been part of the Justice League when a solar flare nearly killed half the planet. This being had the power of hundreds of those and was moving them around absentmindedly. one hand seemed to burn slightly, but it was too bright for him to focus on it.
He looked ethereal and terrifying.
Constantine broke the silence first, "State who you are!"
In a million voices that echoed through the cave and into Jason's chest Danny spoke.
"I am Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms, Champion of Pariah Dark, Bringer of Peace, Ancient of Space, The Great One." Da... Phantom looked down at the circle. There was amusement in his voice, "I see, the words I didn't recognize were a binding of truth, that means I can only communicate in ghost speak."
Constantine looked more fed up than scared, but he knew when the con-man bit off more than he could chew. He turned to Jason and whispered to him, "He's the bloody king. I'm not helping you fuck the king."
"I do not need help with that." Phantom said before shining brighter, a green tinge covering the edges of his body.
Constantine turned back, most likely expecting the creature couldn't hear them. "I met Pariah Dark, your magical essence is..."
"Ghosts have cores." Phantom corrected, crossing the central arms as the rest continued moving stars around.
"Yeah, yeah. Your core is different. Since when are you king?"
"Time moves differently between realms. On my earth it was about a decade ago, but by the zones standards it was nearly 50. When did you last hear about them?"
Constantine huffed, pocketing the cigarette that had gone out when Phantom appeared. “Three years ago, but I don’t delve into the infinite realms often.”
“Zatana helped me a bit with the whole being dead thing. Maybe she'll know?” Jason hadn’t talked to her much in the years that followed, she’d not been able to help him. Though now looking back he hadn’t given her much of a chance.
“Yeah, that might…” Once again Phantom interrupted Constantine.
“Wait, wait. I know this magical signature.” The two looked back at the being, “You're the bastard who keeps selling bits of his soul. Do you know how many disputes I've had to settle, how much fucking paper work I've had to do because of you!”
Constantine, ever the survivalist bolts. An act Jason hadn’t been expecting in the slightest. The hellblazer threw the book at him when he left, muttering something that changed the green color to something softer, less toxic.
Jason goes to stand in front of Phantom, the man he’d spent the entire day with was an eldritch being of unfathomable power. He excused the summoning with a wave of his hand, as the book showed.
Although he did shrink down to a more human size, only his face changed in appearance. The rest of him was still pale and lanky, the pointy ears looking cuter than they had before, whe they were as long as a sword.
Jason stayed silent. How was he meant to go about this. What had he promised to this being that it was willing to stay with him. What had he sold to the creature that dictates the value of a life.
 “Oh sweet!" Danny/Phanton did a strange squat and wiggle like he was trying his legs out for the first time in a while. "Wanna go for like a walk or something?”
Jason’s brain seemed to skip a grove when he heard Danny’s voice coming out of the blueish creature.
“A walk sounds nice.” Jason said, ignoring how his mind was racing with the possibilities of this being really curing him… and of what he’ll ask in return.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
@bjurnberg, @skulld3mort-1fan, @akikkobara @undead-bi-dinosaur, @amyheart19, @phoenixdemonqueen, @not-your-average-url, @seraphinedemort, @theywontletmeusetheoneiwant,  @satisfactionbroughtmeback, @kyrianclawraith, @i-always-say-yea, @gin2212
(sorry this took forever, im certain being a fanfic writter curses you or something. So many fucking things were happening at once gah. I've had this plotted out since i posted part 2, but never got around to turn it into a realish fic)
182 notes · View notes
faeriekit · 5 months
Note
#attempted murder for the ask game! 🌱
"...So I'm dead now," Danny ends his story, face in his hands.
"You were dead before this," Sam points out. She takes a bite out of her perfectly carved celery sticks.
"I know, but now I'm dead dead," Danny groans, earning a pat on the back from Tucker. "Like. Dash pushed me off a bridge. And sure, it was an accident, but come on! There's no way I could survive that if I wasn't...me! I can't, like, reappear after that! I should have been a goner!"
"I mean, it was probably an accident," Tucker adds encouragingly, continuing the patting. It's well meant but not helpful in the slightest. Danny groans.
"Congrats on faking your death by accident," Sam says through her celery. She offers Danny a celery stick in commiseration. He eats it, but it tastes like nothing. "Have any big plans?"
"I dunno. Die?"
"You did that already," Tucker and Sam point out.
Danny puts his face in his hands. "I... Did he even report me? Did he even report that he probably killed me? Like...to anyone?"
Tucker pulls out his newest PDA, Pollyanna. A few taps of the stylus. Some scrolling "...Nah, dude. No news, no cops. Legally, you're still alive."
And they sit there, in Sam's room, in silence, wondering how one of their classmates managed to mostly get away with murder.
"...Think he'll cry if you show up to school tomorrow like nothing happened?" Sam mutters, more out of spite than anything.
Everyone looks at each other.
"...Ten bucks," Tucker says.
"No bet. I do the scary eyes and he probably pisses his pants," Danny snorts.
"It's a deal," Sam decides. "All in on making Dash have a mental breakdown?"
Hands go in. One, two, three— Danny and Tucker whoop as their three hands go up, the two high-fiving as Sam holds in her cackle.
"Jazz is going to kill us," Danny snickers, almost guilty.
"After Dash killed you? Please. If anything, Jazz might fetch the Jack O' Nine Tails and kill him first."
4K notes · View notes
phantomtwitch · 9 months
Text
For angstfest! I'm a little late, but here's one for a No One Knows AU.
They’re already moving as soon as he’s gone. 
Tucker grabs Danny’s legs while Sam picks up Danny beneath his arms and shoulders. He’s long past the point of being embarrassed about Sam being stronger than him, and they have to move fast as they drag Danny’s body into an empty classroom nearby. He mutters curses under his breath as the heavy classroom door bounces off his side, and Sam huffs and rolls her eyes. “Drama queen,” she accuses, and he sticks his tongue out at her as they carry Danny’s body the rest of the way inside and the door shuts with a too-loud slam behind them. 
But they’re not worried about the noise attracting attention. Most of the students are staying within their own classrooms, ignoring whatever odd sounds they might hear as the ghost alarm goes off in the background. The harsh, blinking lights cast odd shadows on Danny’s face, making Tucker queasy for a minute as they prop his body up against the wall below the whiteboard. 
“How long?” he asks, panting heavily and trying to catch his breath. 
“Two minutes and forty-five seconds,” she says with a grin as she sits down next to him. “Pretty sure that’s a new record.”
“Nah, we did it in two minutes and thirty-eight seconds last month, remember?” he says as he sits down beside her and starts to unpack his backpack. The defibrillator is buried at the bottom, tucked beneath his things. It’s the smallest one they could find that’s still effective, even if they’re not exactly using it for its intended purpose, and Sam carries another just in case. For a normal person, it wouldn’t be possible to restart their heart and lungs with an electric shock, despite what the movies claim, but for Danny? Electricity is the only thing that works, the only thing that will bind his spirit back to his corpse as it infuses and activates the ectoplasm flooding his blood stream. 
The Fentons could no doubt provide a scientific explanation as to why and how it works, but to Tucker, it’s an odd kind of magic, of horrifying necromancy as they forcibly, painfully force the electricity to run through him again, so similar to the accident that caused this problem in the first place. It’s only by chance that they know it works, having tried the defibrillator hanging on the lab wall in the basement after he came out of the portal and his body fell to the ground as his ghost hovered over it in shock. He didn’t give it much thought the first time. Tucker merely assumed the movies were right and that they restarted Danny’s heart. It wasn’t until later that they learned the truth. 
With practiced ease he pulls Danny’s old NASA t-shirt off, and then scowls as he notices that Danny’s wearing a new necklace with a constellation on it that Tucker probably should know the name of after being Danny’s friend for so many years but doesn’t. “Great. More stuff to take off. Wonder who gave it to him,” he grumbles, twisting it around in his fingers until he finds the clasp and removes it. He checks him over for any more metal and finds none. “How long now?” 
“Four minutes,” says Sam, and he nods. They worry one day it’ll be too long, that there will be no forcibly stitching his soul and body back together, that all will remain is a ghost and the body of a boy who’s been dead for longer than anyone knows. The longest Danny’s ever gone is thirty-three minutes, yet they were still able to bring him back that day even as it seemed to take longer than usual. But there’s no one they can ask for help or advice, no one that’s dealt with this before besides them and Jazz, and none of them trust the Fenton parents enough  to not shoot their own son in the face if they learn the truth. Because so far, at least, when Danny’s back he is alive again. He’s grown a few inches since this started a year ago. He’s been forced to get his usual haircuts, to trim his nails when they get too long. His heart beats within his chest, and he breathes and smiles and laughs like there’s nothing different, nothing wrong, and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about him.
They shift Danny again, laying him down flat on the floor on his back as Tucker kneels down beside him and sets up the defibrillator and sticks the pads to Danny’s chest. There’s nothing they can do until he returns, so they wait, Tucker drumming his fingers against the side of his leg as Sam continues to glance at her watch every few seconds. “Did you hear that they’re remaking the first Nightmerica movie?” he asks, looking for any distraction he can. 
“Ughh, yeah,” she groans. “Which completely misses the point of why it’s so good in the first place. I don’t want a modern version with modern effects. I want cheesy 80s costumes and music and horror and the chance to cheer as stuck-up cheerleaders get murdered. I mean I guess there’s a chance they’ll keep the original charm, but I doubt it.”
“Yeah, there’s already rumors that they’re casting, like, Scarlett Johanson as Nightmerica,” adds Tucker. “Doesn’t really bode well.”
“Seriously? If she gets cast, I’m just going to nope right out, pretend it doesn’t exist, and hope everyone else does the same,” she says, and then goosebumps erupt across their skin as the temperature in the room drops precipitously as Phantom enters the classroom, phasing through the wall. 
He looks rougher than usual as ectoplasm drips from his arms and chest, deep claw marks gouging through the thin black and white hazmat suit he wears even now. His eyes are consumed with green light, his hair floating over his head and flickering like sparks, and there’s a faint hint of white beneath the dark suit, of the shape of bones even as Phantom is nothing but ectoplasm. “Rough fight?” he asks.
There’s heavy static behind each word. Talking to him like this is almost useless. They can’t understand the ghost speech, the odd echoes and noise and whirring, and trying to teach Danny sign language or morse code or any other method of communication when he’s whole again is worthless, none of the knowledge transferring to his ghostly self, the wall between his two halves too solid for even Phantom to phase through. They don’t know why Phantom is one of the only ghosts that can’t speak without the noise and distortion, that can’t make his words understood, but it’s a truth that’s held fast for as long as Danny’s been like this. 
But Tucker’s gotten better at reading his unnatural body language, the way he twists upside down and curls his tail around himself as his sharp, pointed teeth flash. “Sorry, man,” he says. “I wish you didn’t have to do this.”
They don't know why he feels compelled to fight the other ghosts. They don't even know what triggers the transformation, even as they've come to recognize the warning signs, like the odd vacant stare that sets in, the way Danny’s hackles almost seem to rise as he silently snarls. And it's not as if Danny can tell them.
Phantom whispers something in response, the words still lost in the static, and then he floats over to himself, putting a hand over his own corpse, because as hard as it is for Tucker to think of it that way, he knows, on some level, that’s what Danny's body is without Phantom. There’s no life in it, no presence, no spirit. It’s merely flesh, an empty vessel, and he shudders to think what could happen if another ghost found him like this, if he might be able to possess him somehow. 
"We're at nine minutes," says Sam, and Phantom lets out something like a sigh as he floats back into the corpse. Danny's eyes snap open, green and glowing, and they move quickly.
Unlike the one in the lab that was old and lacked the safety features of most modern AEDs, they had to make a few modifications to this one to get it to work. A modern defibrillator won't let someone shock a body with no heartbeat. Messing with the tech felt dicey, but they couldn't find any other methods to safely deliver a shock to him that wouldn't risk their own safety, too.
The pads are already placed, and he pushes the button, biting his lip as he waits. It delivers the first shock, but aside from a twitch in his shoulders and a confirmation from the AED, there's little to no sign it happened. 
A hiss of soft static, and Tucker understands the meaning despite the noise, a bitter plea for them to do it again. It takes three shocks before they see it, the strange white light around his midsection, and Tucker turns off the AED as he and Sam scramble a few steps back.
The light spreads, eventually too bright for them to bear the sight of it as little arcs of electricity dance along Danny's skin, and when it finally stops he's sitting up, staring vacantly. The daze won't last, but they take this moment to put away the defibrillator, removing the pads from his chest. Tucker puts the necklace back on, his fingers shaking as he snaps the clasp together. Much as he tries to act like this doesn’t bother him anymore, he can’t contain his relief at seeing Danny sitting up again, his chest slowly moving with each breath, his pulse steady beneath his wrist and neck. 
They've just pulled his shirt on when he blinks, and Danny looks down at his hands, wincing as he touches his chest. "I feel like I got run over by the GAV," he groans, and Tucker forces himself to chuckle.
"You might as well have. You hit the floor hard when you fainted," says Tucker. The injuries are never there, but some phantom pain always seems to remain as his ghost heals. "I'm sorry we never manage to catch you, man. I know it’s gotta hurt."
"It's fine," mumbles Danny. "How long was I out?"
"About ten minutes," says Sam. She doesn’t point out that they time this, now, down to the second. It’s not as if timing it changes anything, but it makes them feel better when they revive Danny in under twenty minutes. More than that and they start to worry. Tucker’s still not sure how Danny doesn’t have any brain damage at this point from the lack of oxygen. 
Danny hums, flexing his fingers for a minute as the ghost alarm shuts down. "I . . . Doesn't it seem like this is getting worse? I can't even remember seeing a ghost. I . . . I never can."
"You know this messes with your memory–"
"Yeah, but that makes this seem more like I'm having seizures or something, not fainting. And it's always one of you or Jazz when I wake up, which seems weird, maybe? I just  . . . Maybe we should tell my parents," he whispers, and Tucker's heart aches.
"I don't think that's a good idea–" begins Sam, but he cuts her off.
"--why not?" He looks between the two of them, scowling, his fists now clenched. "What aren't you telling me?"
He and Sam exchange a long look. It always comes to this eventually, yet despite their best efforts, it's pointless. Some part of Danny refuses to hear the truth, to acknowledge that he died or at least half-died in the portal, and within an hour he always forgets they even discussed this at all. They don't know why. They've proven over and over again that they accept him and love him despite how he’s changed. But the wall is still too solid to break through.
They should explain it to Danny again anyway. Tucker knows that. But he's so tired of repeating himself, and he knows Sam is, too. Jazz says his psyche needs more time to process and accept the truth, but it's been a year with no sign of things changing. 
Sam eventually sighs, forcing the words out. She's always been the strongest of the three of them in more ways than one. "A year ago, you had an accident. You were hurt badly, and we saved you, but–"
The door swings open suddenly, and he sees Mr. Lancer there, the relief evident on his face. "Lord of the Flies! Is everyone okay?" he asks as he takes in the sight of the three of them on the floor. At least the AED is back in Tucker's bag and out of sight, since Tucker doubts Mr. Lancer would be willing to ignore what that might signify if he saw it. 
"We're fine," says Sam. "We thought we heard the ghost and hid. I'm sorry we worried you."
"Somehow that always seems to happen with the three of you," he says with a frown, clearly questioning it, but thankfully he doesn't push it further. "But I’m glad that you’re safe, at least, and now that the ghost is gone you three need to get to class."
"Okay." They stand up, and Tucker can see the worry and distrust as Danny clenches his jaw and refuses to look at them as he heads out into the hallway. But that’s not the worst part. No, it’s knowing that by the time lunch rolls around, Danny won’t remember his suspicions or his fears. They’ll be pushed down, slowly hidden beneath the protective part of his mind that refuses to let him know the truth, and instead of questioning why he constantly faints whenever there’s a ghost, why he has strange aches and pains, and why he often sets off his parents’ equipment even when he’s human again, he’ll talk to them about the latest video games and movies and gossip and homework. 
He desperately wants his friend to know the truth. It hurts, even as he knows they’re not lying to Danny about what’s happening, that they’ve tried to explain it before. And despite how naturally taking care of his body comes to him and Sam now, despite knowing the signs that herald Phantom’s emergence, Tucker knows they can’t keep this a secret forever. Inevitably, they won’t be there one day, they’ll miss an obvious sign, or someone like Lancer will walk in a little too soon. And once they learn the truth, he and Sam and Jazz know that Danny will be taken from them as he’s locked away in a lab by the GIW or his parents and becomes some gruesome science experiment, tortured as he can’t even remember the reason why. 
More and more Tucker’s beginning to think they’re running out of time. They need to find a way. They need to get Danny to understand who and what he is so he can protect himself, because Tucker’s not sure how much longer he can keep up the lie, too. 
EDIT: I wrote a Part Two, it's here.
237 notes · View notes
yetanothergreyjedi · 1 year
Text
Ghosts of Our Pasts: Part 7
DPxDC Crossover
Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne Sibling AU
Masterpost Previous Next
Part 7
"I saw you!"
"Good morning, Wes."
"What were you doing with Bruce Wayne?"
"...nothing?"
"I know he's Batman. And I saw you on the roof!"
"Whoa! Fentoina met Batman? Where you swapping super hero secrets? Did the Butts match?" Dash interjected, not believing a word Wes said.
Danny rolled his eyes as hard as he could, threw a few extra sausages on his plate and went to sit down.
"I think Wes is dreaming of me," Danny informed them.
"Oh no," Sam said, oh so helpfully.
Tucker stared down at his breakfast plate containing various meats. "Uh, creepy? "
"Maybe it's more like astrial projection, he was definitely asleep when I left, and when I got back, but he knew what I was doing."
"Oh, no."
"Sam!"
"You realize he probably already had abilities, and we just didn't notice because Amity Park?" She pointed out.
"Well, I'm realizing. It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
"Can we not trauma dump over breakfast?"
---
Edward Lancer had assumed that the lack of 'I'm technically an adult so's were because his students understood the dangers of Gotham. He was wrong, they had simply been waiting for the most effective moment to utterly crumble his argument. That was how one group was split into 4, one for each chaperone.
His group had been in a former supervillain's lair (and it was a lair, even Edward knew what a lair felt like.) for hours. Technically rehabilitated, sure, Edward wasn't going to judge the doctor for past actions, but he wasn't going to feel safe until he left the gardens either.
Ms. Manson didn't seem to mind as she regarded the next plant in the line. She would consider it for a few moments, say some things to the friends that trailed behind her and either move on, or have a one-sided? conversation with it. Tucker and Daniel had their hands clasped behind their backs like young children, they had not touched anything since arriving at the garden. Wes was regarding them all suspiciously, but seemed to be growing tired. The rest of the group had left when another Casper High group arrived, finished the garden tour in a normal hour, and had decided to go somewhere else.
Edward was not suprised when Dr. Pamela Isley strolled purposefully down the aisle, directly to where Samantha stood. Lancer missed whatever the two women had said to each other in his rush to get closer.
"Nah, I fall closer to winter than anything. The Green tends to take offense to my existence." Mr. Fenton told the Doctor. She nodded agreeably and looked to Mr. Foley.
"Same as him but with Tech. I've never tried doing something with plants and I don't plan too."
She looked to Edward, he froze.
"He's just a teacher." Said Ms. Manson, and the lair's owner turned her attention away from him. He it would probably feel offensive if he didn't feel so relieved.
---
Damian should not have his phone on him; he was in class. His phone buzzed, and Damian was glad he'd chosen to ignore the rule.
Dany had sent a picture, a selfie. In it he was clearly trying not to laugh as Condiment King rampages in the background.
Dany: do I do something? With a little thyme I'm sure I can mustard something up.
Damian almost double checked that a sibling hadn't rearaged his contacts, but the selfie proved this was all Dany... who was facing Condiment King as a civilian...
He did not have time to alert Signal before the next text was received.
Dany:kszkksskmssbsh
Damian: Dany?! Do you require medical assistance?!
Dany: I'm good lmao
Dany: the man sauced Lancer
Dany: one sec
-Dany sent a video-
Damian raised his hand, asking to be excused. Far too much time passed before he reached a place he could watch it in peace. He could not be interrupted if he was to coordinate a plan of action. He pressed play.
The Condiment King sat shamefaced in a restaurant seat as Dany's teacher lectured him on life choices. It was hard to hear exactly what was being said over the snickers from his classmates. The video panned over the briefly before ending. Wait... was that... ?!
Damian: Dany...
Dany: I spell it with 2 n's
Damian: Danny...
Dany: yes?
Damian: that is Poison Ivy at your table...
Dany: She took us out for lunch :D!
---
This guy was an idiot, Dash thought. He and Kwan had cut through an alley, and now this guy was trying to rob them; at knife point! Them! Two burly football players from Amity Park, and this guy was trying to rob them with this little 4 inch knife!
"Uh, no thanks," Kwan said in disbelief.
"I said hand over your—"
Dash tilted his head, "Buddy, the Box Ghost is more threatening than this,"
"I'm pretty sure the box knife is sharper too," Kwan added. "We need to be on the other side of this alley, so if you could do this later?"
The man sputtered and aimed at Kwan, taking the polite dismissal like fighting words. Kwan rolled his eyes, sidestepping, and Dash snatched the knife out of his hand.
They kept walking, continuing the discussion on how football would be different in college.
The man didn't try to stop them again.
---
Lester: Great news!
Mikey: ?
Lester: My greatest fear is no longer failing the STAs!
Mikey: makes sense, since we already took it. Mikey: What made you realize?
Lester: Oh, some guy with a bag on his head gassed the street.
Mikey: that's why my parents said I couldn't go.
Lester: Fright's sword was worse to be honest, Our group is heading back to the hotel to sleep it off.
Mikey: How's that?
Lester: Not the first time I've been in a vehicle with shadow monsters.
Lester: Did you see they're making a Doom the Movie?
---
"I disarmed it,"
"You disarmed it," the officer repeated
"Yeah," the young woman sounded more like she was saying 'duh' . "Wasn't even that complicated! I didn't even need Star's help."
"It was a lame bomb." The blond, Star, agreed.
"Super lame! Everyone always makes Gotham out to be soooo dangerous, but a toddler could dismantle this!" The Latina woman kicked some electrical components with a high heeled foot. "Let's get out of here, find some place interesting!"
---
* group chat created *
Danny: A group chat with 47 people, delightful
Dick (this is his name lol): It's not that bad...
Tim: sibling groupchat
Danny: Cool, can I add my sisters?
* multiple people are typing *
-
-
-
Only 2 of 4 chaperones still have adequate knowledge of where their group has split off to. Lancer because he is hypervigulant and half his group went joined another group.
Group 2's chaperone because they got gassed and decided it was a good day for a midday nap and their students agreed.
Everyone else is in the wind and will show up at dinner.
STA stands for school testing acronym, I'm so creative!
@shyrebeldonutpickle *bonks you on the head with my creep stick* no threatening in my replies!
Tag List
(I will add this to Ao3 when I have my computer again, it will be a while)
(some of you will be added to a reblog, if you are tagged please do not request to be tagged again it's confusing me)
@spectralstardustandphantomnights @avelnfear @idfk-man10 @blackroserelina @candeartist422 @mur-ururu @luer-mirin @insufferablecatenthusiast @skulld3mort-1fan @alonedustspeck @voidbornposts @meira-3919 @marshmello @aethernorwood @mimilikey @undead-essence @cloudminder @markus209 @everything163 @latheevening226 @roman4517 @moobloomrights @battybatbat @lumosfeather18581 @werv @ahyesanerd @pyramaniac @lexdamo @princessbelix @bun-fish @deeannthepan @edgyboi10000 @thatrandomsarahchick @busterkeel @aconitewolfsbane @spoopyspoony @bright-shade @spidey29phangirl @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @keimiwolf @u-a-wizard-jamie @gay-puff @bicerise @itshype @blackfoxsposts @icanneverdecide @lolottes @chubbypotato @jovialherringtacoghost @saltyladynightmare
547 notes · View notes
wolfjackle-creates · 9 months
Text
Bring Me Home Arc 2 Part 8
Time for another WIP Wednesday! Hope you enjoy.
Story Summary: Tim and Danny are both neglected by parents who care more about their work than their families. They deal with this by spending too much time online and find each other playing MMORPGs. They keep up their friendship as Tim becomes Robin and Danny becomes Phantom and don't bother keeping secrets from each other.
First, Previous
Word Count: 1.3k
-----
Bart grinned. “Well, we’ll just have to take those odds! So, now that we’ve got the basics down, we’re going out there to help, right?”
Sam snorted. “Not like we could keep Danny out of it if we tried. But you guys don’t have to. You can just go to bed.”
Danny sighed. “School tomorrow is gonna suck.”
Tim shook his head. “Aren’t you gonna call out?”
“No?” replied Danny. “How could I? Mom and Dad would never let me call out just because of some ghosts and they won’t know I’ll have been out all night.”
“Would they even notice if you call yourself out? Or ask Jazz to do it?”
Danny snorted. “School is about the only thing they notice. Look, I’ll be fine. I’ll fall asleep in English. Probably get another detention. I’ve A plusses in algebra and chemistry, so those teachers don’t care when I fall asleep. I’m a known slacker in gym. History is after lunch, so I’ll be able to stay awake for that. I’ve got this. It’ll be fine.”
“Danny…” And here Tim had thought his schooling was a disaster.
“Don’t, Tim. Now,” Danny forced his voice to be more cheerful as he changed the subject, “if you’re all joining me, we’ve got three thermoses. I get one. The rest of you can fight over the other two.”
Tim waved his hand. “I want one!”
Tucker sat down on the floor. “I’m out. Unlike someone, I need to sleep before class in—” he checked his PDA “—seven hours.”
Sam let out a yawn. “Yeah, I’m with Tuck on this one. We’re taking your bed, Danny. When was the last time you changed your sheets?”
Danny shrugged. “Dunno. I think Jazz got to them last week. Or was that the week before?”
“Right. We know where the spares are. Come on, Tuck.”
“Wait, if you’re staying here," said Danny, "any chance you can fix up Cassie, Bart, and Conner’s phone before you go to bed?”
Tucker shrugged. “Sure. Should be able to do at least two of them. You haven’t moved any of the tools, have you?”
“Left some of them out on the desk, but they’re there.”
“All right. Everyone! Pass me your phones. I’ll get at least two of them working tonight.”
Conner passed his over, but said, “Focus on Cassie’s and Bart’s. They’ve more people who will be worried about them and I’ve no doubt Bruce told Clark where I am and he has Tim’s number.”
“Will do!”
Bart handed his over. “Thanks, dude. You really don’t have to if it’s too much trouble.”
“Nah. After how much Danny and I messed with ecto-contaminating electronics, I could do this in my sleep.”
Sam snorted. “Well, if you don’t get started, you’ll be putting that claim to the test. Come on, tech boy. Let’s get going.”
“Sleep well!” Cassie called out after them.
“Don’t let the ghosts bite,” added Danny.
Sam huffed a laugh in a way that told Tim she’d heard the joke more than a few times before. Tucker didn’t even react and just kept walking.
“So…” started Conner once they were alone, “should we suit up?”
Danny hesitated. “If you do, Sam and Tuck will know your identities.”
Everyone looked to Tim. He chewed his lip. On the one hand, Sam and Tucker had known and kept Danny’s secret for months. But they did tend to get in arguments and make problems worse based on storied Danny had shared. But his friends had bonded rather quickly with the Amity trio and Conner, at least, definitely needed more friends their age.
“Our goals for tonight are evacuation and limiting property damage. Ambulances still can’t get into the downtown area and victims can’t escape. They’ll trust us more if we’re in costume. And at the end of the day, people’s safety is the most important. Danny, can you promise me Sam and Tucker can keep our secrets.”
“I promise, Tim. They’ll keep it as well, no better, than mine.”
Tim really hoped he was making the right choice even as he nodded. “Then let’s suit up. Where can we do that unseen?”
“Oh, that part’s easy!” said Danny. “You can change in the spare bedroom and I’ll just fly you all out invisibly and drop you off downtown.”
“Can you carry all of us?” asked Tim. “Have you ever tested your super strength?”
“Kon and I can fly ourselves,” added Cassie. “What do you need to transfer your invisibility?”
“Indirect contact should be fine. So I can carry Tim and Bart and if you each hold hands with one of them, it should work.”
“I don’t like ‘shoulds,’” said Tim. “Let’s test it.”
“Fair enough.” Danny moved until he was standing between Tim and Bart and wrapped an arm around each of them before lifting them into the air.
“Holy shit,” whispered Bart.
Tim couldn’t help but agree. He’d flown many times with Conner or Cassie or even Clark. But it never felt like this. The pull of gravity was always present and something he could feel. Yet with Danny? There was no gravity. Being in the air felt as normal as being on the ground. And Danny’s arm around his chest was warm and solid.
“What?” asked Danny. “Haven’t you flown with one of your teammates before?”
Tim couldn’t hold back a laugh. This was amazing. “Their flight doesn’t entirely cancel out gravity like yours does. Can we go out for fun before we leave? This is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”
“Sure thing, Secrets. Whatever you want.”
“Thanks, Polaris.” The news report still playing on the computer brought him back to the present. “But that’s a discussion for later. Sorry for getting distracted. Kon? Cassie? Grab our hands. Let’s see if this works.”
Turned out that not only could Danny make them all invisible and intangible, but his anti-gravity style flight would apply to everyone as well. Apparently flight wasn’t something that required super strength and Tim was definitely updating Danny’s power profile because this was unbelievable. He wanted to run so many tests.
It took five minutes to strip out of their protective gear and turn off the computer, then another ten to change into costume. Most of their bags had been stored in the guest room already.
During that time, Bart claimed the last thermos and they split into teams of two. Robin and Superboy would help ambulances and emergency vehicles get in and out of downtown safely and Impulse and Wonder Girl would help evacuation downtown. Phantom would stay downtown and try to figure out if the portals could be closed preventing more ghosts from crossing over.
Danny went back to his room to grab earpieces that could be used as communicators and ask Sam to turn the ghost shield back on in five minutes, then they were flying back to the scene of the attack.
It felt so much better to be back in costume and ready to do something. Though he was definitely going to have to ask Danny for the specs to the ghost weapons. Next time he came to visit, they’d be in Robin’s colors.
The chaos in the downtown area had gotten much worse in the time they’d been gone sorting out weaponry and plans. Most businesses sported broken windows and cars were overturned on the street. Half the people appeared to be overshadowed and the other half were cowering and hiding.
Danny set them down carefully and Bart immediately disappeared to find those who were trapped.
“I’ll go check out the portal and let you know what I find.”
“Very good, Phantom. We’ll do what we can on the ground. If you see something that needs our attention, let us know.”
Danny gave him a salute. “Will do, Robin.”
“All right, you two ready?”
“Always,” said Conner.
“We’ve faced worse odds,” added Cassie.
“Then let’s get going.” This was going to be a very long night.
-----
Next
Hope you enjoyed! The plot is moving forward slowly but surely. We're still only in the first, like, 3 minutes of the DP episode, so yeah. I may have to speed some things up. I'm just bad at that.
This will be the last week I tag people for updates to this story. There's three reasons for that. Tumblr is making it more difficult to tag users and splitting the list over two posts is kinda a pain. Many people I tag don't seem to interact with the post and I don't know if everyone is still interested in following this story. And I'm nervous about being shadow banned since that's happened to at least one writer in this fandom as I'm sure we all know by now.
So! I've set up a subscription post. Follow the link and set up notifications and I'll make a comment every time I update. That way only those who still want notifications will get them and you can change your mind whenever you want.
Tag List Part 1
@gremlin-bot @bonebrokebuddy @britcision @lady-time-lord- @welcometosasakiworld @akikkobara @phoenixdemonqueen @dolfay @skulld3mort-1fan @we-ezer @markus209 @sjrose1216 @onyxlightdragon @dragonsrequiem @jesus-camp-the-sequel @spidey29phangirl @kyrianclawraith @evilminji @introvert-even-on-the-internet @emergentpanda-blog @lexdamo @v-inari @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @longlivethefallen @undead-essence @xye-chan @liandrin @seraphinedemort @kisatamao @schalensitzbucket @caelestisdreamer @runfromthemedic @nutcase8691 @channajen @tonicmii @ambiguouslyominous @vythika96 @addie-lover-of-stories @ironicvixen @violetfox2 @pickleking8 @mysticalcomputerdetective @ark12 @mygood-bitch99 @squirrel-wolf @satisfactionbroughtmeback @sometimesthingsfallapart @automaticsoulharmony @d4ydr34min9 @revnantdpxdclover @midigeria @raginblastocyst @feral-bunny31 @lunaria618 @ghostreblogging @ace-aro-as-shit
313 notes · View notes
kinglazrus · 1 year
Text
Danny had only just sat down when his ghost sense went off. He almost ignored it. The only reason he wasn’t in bed right now was because his need for food just barely overwhelmed his need for sleep, and he wasn’t in the mood to fight. Until he heard a distant cry of “Beware!”
“Be right back,” he muttered to Sam and Tucker before leaving. He was too tired to bother with the door and went straight through the wall instead, meeting the Box Ghost outside in his human form.
“The ghost boy! Are you prepared to cower in fear of my corrugated vengeance? You might have bested me for the last three nights but now I–“ Danny punched the Box Ghost in the face hard enough to send him flying out of sight. Shaking out his fist, Danny returned to his friends the same way he left, and rested his head on Tucker’s shoulder with a sigh.
“Should we tell him?” Tucker asked.
Sam shook her head. “Nah. Let him sleep.”
All around them, the Nasty Burger had fallen completely silent.
534 notes · View notes