When Lex took Clark’s DNA to make a clone, none of his scientists could make it work.
Failure after failure after failure, until finally one of them went to an old lab they used to work at. It had been falling into ruin, mostly empty due to layoffs. The government agency that had been in charge of it had been long disbanded w/ the meta protections that had been signed into law.
So it was rather easy to get in; no one had bothered to cancel this scientists credentials.
There was a specimen, permanently asleep thanks to layers upon layers of security; the first metahumans ever recorded.
Can you even imagine how shocked every other hero on the team would be? They’ve just pulled this guy out of storage. He has no idea what’s going on. And he just goea, an you sure. makes sense!
The amount of looks Superman would get after that. Like Phantom never even questioned it! Phantom was frozen decades ago!
I bet other hero kids come up to him calling him Dad when pissed at their mentor. And Phantom just rolls his eyes.
“Kids, you have a new sibling for a few days!”
Ellie is beyond thrilled! She has a whole sibling now! She can teach him so much! Connor has never been so coddled and loved. And Danny and Ellie aim to make sure he feels loved every day!
Plus who big sister is also a clone. Ellie takes him off for talks about finding himself. How to feel like an individual. How to have hobbies outside of hero work.
And when Connor finally asks him an important question and gets the best response? so many fears.
Connor: Why aren’t you angry?
Danny: Kiddo I am. But not at you. You didn’t ask to be made. Why would I be angry at you?
Family Recognizes Family.
Cw: Past Human Experimentation, mentions of said human experimention Mentions of Neglect and incidental emotional abuse, Fanon Superman treatment of Superboy (past)
Our Halfas are technically at this point several hundred years frozen. The Scientist who took Phantom’s DNA was part of a tiny government team that goes in once a year to maintain the facility and keep the three subjects contained. PH11 Plasmius: 58 Looks early forties still PH13 Phantom: 34 Looks early-mid twenties PH12 Phantasm: 18 Looks in her mid-late teens
I think it makes everything more fun if there’s no record of names for them, and they are only referred to by Subject Designation. and by Fun I mean Ow.
——————————-
It had taken months to force the governments hands on the issue. They had been adamant there was no cover up, there was no underground bunker lab, and they had no idea about the documents that had been released. Attempts to save face and ease public concerns.
Finally, there was a break through and the hackers of the League had located the site. Connor hadn’t expected it to be in the middle of nowhere America under a cornfield. In hindsight, maybe he should have.
He, along with his friends, busted down the doors and searched the place. Red Robin had mobilized them the instant he had a location, and the teens were on sight before the adult heroes had even made it to a vehicle.
Kon was reminded once more of the many reasons they all would willingly join Evil!Tim in those shitty timelines.
Holy fuuuuuck, omni, this was so fucking gooooood!
Family Recognizes Family.
Part 2: Expansion Pack.
_(┐「ε:)_♡
Due to. Overwhelming delight in response to this I am adding more. and also because I have like 100k fic work of this au in my head and an excuse to slap down so much lore and twists on the table
Superman is going to show up again some point, but for now he’s being kept away from the Phantom’s and Conner. the JLA do not know the extent of Kal-El’s indifference to Conner, or how verbally hostile it could get. The Young Just Us crew are aware and only haven’t retaliated at Conner’s insistence. Even they don’t know the full devastation of when Conner learned Kal-El only gave him a Kryptonian name to keep his own appearances of ‘accepting’ him.
Also, I want you all to know vilifying Clark hurts me deeply, but I support Fandom wrongs sometimes, and he’s easy to make the primary source of friction to move the narrative.
Also, I apparently used the spelling of Connor Hawke’s name in the previous post and lemme say, disappointed but not surprised.
Dp x Dc AU: Damian and Ellie become friends, and for all his research into her ‘Guardian’ older siblings, he can’t seem to understand why they’re asking after his own homelife.
Ellie was an annoyance to him from the moment they met, and this unfortunately meant that her and Jon got along like a house on fire. She’d transferred to Gotham Academy in the middle of the year and clearly had no idea what a private school was like politically- She walked right up to him and declared them friends. He’d retorted something about preferring to be enemies, she immediately had a shark like grin and after school they had their first spat- which Jon immediately flew into town for upon hearing Damian’s typically fight related biometrics (which, yes, he always listened for).
Immediately upon Jon pulling them apart, Ellie asked again if they could be friends and Damian accepted. Jon is bewildered but hey! New Pal! And she can throw down! How Neat! (plus she didn’t ask how Jon appeared so quickly-he wasn’t caught flying because of their fight- success! Identity kept secret!)
Ellie eventually invites them over to her place since she lives closest to the school, and the apartment is meager if not incredibly well kept. Jazz is the one home at this time, makes them all some apple slices and ensures that they did their homework. Jon declares that Lois would love her. Jazz asks if Damian is safe at home, and she has a weird green color to her eyes for just a second when she asks, but Damian assures her that the Wayne family is merely a rambunctious one with too many children.
The next time they come by her older brother Danny is the one who is home, and he looks absolutely exhausted as he mixes instant coffee granules into his energy drink. Damian learns that he’s an engineer at WE and working night shifts- apparently Danny was home the last time they visited but was asleep. Danny also kind of looks at Damian funny for a second, and asks if he’s safe at home, Ellie protests that they can’t keep asking him and Damian defends his family once more.
Damian goes home after one of their visits and at the family dinner table if there is anything about him that reads as ‘abused child’ since he keeps getting this treatment by the Nightengale siblings. Tim doesn’t add anything towards Damian’s predicament but does explain that Danny Nightengale is off limits from the rest of the family- He’s not to be adopted and he’s not to be researched, this dude is his main engineer on a Bat project and Tim’s personal project to crack.
Jason, who happened to attend because it was Alfred’s Eggplant Parmesan night, voices that his new therapist is also a Nightengale. She’s great (the whole family has noticed) but he’s also contemplating dropping her as a therapist for… reasons. (The whole family understands that he’s in love with her and theres a betting pool around it.)
Bringing the conversation back to the start, Bruce suggests that Damian invite them over for dinner so that they can see he has a stable homelife. Tim and Jason protest but it gets ignored. Damian asks Ellie at school and she happily accepts with “Great! I can’t wait to haunt your house!”
The Nightengales arrive, and fit right in. The evening goes off without out any major issues or bumps in the road- although the entire family + Danny are all keen on Jason pursuing Jazz (who keeps refusing to comment despite blushing every other word he says to her). Ellie is adored by the whole family, though Damian does his best to threaten them away. Danny is incredibly loose lipped about the project he’s working on to Tim’s horror but Danny just kind of winks and says “this feels like a room of people that can keep a secret.” (Danny doesn’t know they’re bats, he just assumes this cause they’re all family and so nice.)
Eventually at the end of the night Bruce asks why they keep asking after Damian’s homelife and safety- what makes them so concerned? Danny just spills the beans:
“I’ve met a lot of undead in my day, but Damian was brought back to life in a way I’m still trying to understand. Like Jason? Easy peasy, got dipped in the green stuff. Damian? So Strange. Plus like the kid is like 15, it took me until 14 to die the first time but I had a portal to another dimension under my house and he lives in a mansion.”
Chaos.
When Danny and Jazz first walk into the Manor they freeze for a second, because Everyone Here Has Been Dead Except Tim.
Danny takes a moment to process that the one he knows from work is actually the Outlier in this family, but they decide whatever is going on, they all clearly seem supportive. And can clearly keep it under wraps, which is why he feels so comfortable chatting about classified R&D work.
By the time he gets asked to explain himself he just mentally shrugs like “what the heck, apparently they can all relate”.
The Nightingales had a great evening. The batfam all had existential crises.
Dp x Dc AU: Jason and Jazz have been dating for a while and… Danny presumes that because he knows about Jason being Red Hood that Jason knows about Phantom.
Danny got a text randomly in the afternoon from Jazz’s boyfriend. Which was inherently a strange experience considering Jason was typically dead asleep in the afternoon from all his ‘evening shifts’ and Jazz was in class. Stranger, the message just asked if Danny would be free to meet up today for a short chat. Jason doesn’t reply to Danny’s response of “Anything for my sister’s BOO <3.”
Normally, Jason would start launching into a rant about Danny’s coffee choice being too like his little brother’s when they met at cafes- right now Jason looks deadly serious.
“Look. I’ll cut to the chase of it all. I want to ask Jazz to marry me and well, your folks are shitty but it feels weird to not ask for permission.”
“…Okay?”
“So do I have permission?” Jason asks, a bit of a glare and Danny can see the RedHood’s famous attitude peeking out with the abundance of anxiety Jason must be feeling.
“I mean, Yeah! She loves you and I know she’s been subliminally messaging you to find your balls and ask her already.” Danny rolls his eyes and laughs. His brother-in-law to be sure was a strange guy, but he liked him all the more because of it.
Jason sighs in relief and his normal literature nerd, easy going and plucky ‘cool guy’ attitude comes back. They start chatting about the ring he bought for her, how they’re probably going to have to do a small wedding with his family members to appease his grandpa figure. Its all very cute and optimistic.
“Love it! She mentioned your grandpa’s rose garden before and that’ll be perfect for human family events before the big ceremony.”
“Big Ceremony?” Jason sounds unsure of where the conversation is going.
“Yeah, you know. Plus now that I’m thinking about it, it’s probably for the best that you asked me, the observants would totally turn this into like, an interdimensional faux pa or something if I don’t give them a heads up.” Danny laughs at the idea of it causing an incident, but he can see Jason straighten his shoulders and his eyes attempt to pierce through him.
“Danny. What the fuck are you talking about?” Jason looks more pissed than he looks concerned, and Danny is just confused.
“Cause… You Know.”
“If you don’t give me a real answer I’m going to-” At least Jason was taking deep breaths.
“Hey man, chill out! I guess Jazz keeps it on the DL but my night shift has-”
“Night shift? You’re an engineer.” Jason cuts him off and the fact sounds accusatory.
“And I’m the Ghost King? You knew this?” Danny relents, he hated saying it out loud cause it sounded lame, but he’s not sure why Jason is so up in arms all of a sudden. Jason looked like he might have an aneurysm and Danny knows his expression is declaring Jason is the biggest Dumbass in the world.
“Danny …what the fuck are you trying to say to me right now?”
“That you and Jazz have to have a royal wedding in the Infinite Realms or my counsel and advisors will throw an absolute fit.”
Jason doesn’t reply so Danny decides to add “You know, ‘cause my title translates to the Family’s royal lineage and if you marry Jazz you’ll become a Prince. I guess you don’t technically have to have a big wedding but if you don’t it’ll just mean shit loads of paperwork and a huge fucking headache on my end. Which I can survive but… I’m sensing that you’re frustrated. Let’s call Jazz.”
“Let’s do that.” Jason sounds like he’s being strangled. Danny thinks it’s a bit dramatic but is excited to help Jazz wedding plan.
A de-aged Danny is living at Wayne Manor. The only problem is that he is attached to Jason. Like deeply attached. He even refuses to sleep if he’s not cuddling the man. Now the bats must actually confront their feelings since they’re around each other a whole lot more.
Meanwhile Danny is just happy to help cure the stinky nasty man of his stinky nastiness. Plus he’s the best storyteller out of all of them.
Good comments
Once Jason is clean, does Danny move on to Damian as the second most Pit contaminated Bat?
Nah, Damian is not much of a snuggler with humans. Danny gets him a blob ghost buddy. They can cure him. Damian for his part loves his new squishy buddy. Learning its probably the ghost of an animal makes him give it and his other pets even more love.
Once Jason is clear Danny will start to spread the love. Jason obviously knows Danny was doing something to get rid of the Pit. Had no idea how. And doesn’t really want to ask. The rest only really realise when Danny starts to cling into whoever is closest and Jason still doesn’t go into a rage.
Dick tried to demand an extra share of hugs to make up for the offense. Danny find s this hilarious and therefore refuses to be a little shit. He will smirk and then lay across anyone other than Dick. Holding eye contact the whole while as Fuck does a dramatic betrayed act.the
Bruce is ecstatic when he realised the Pit is gone. But he has no idea how to bring it up. How does he ask Danny. Does Danny even know what he did? Can he explain it. What is happening. And Danny, please for my sake just give Dick a hug. Please. the begging is grating.
Danny still does not give Dick a hug (for awhile at least).
He *does* manage to sneak into the Watchtower (SPACE!!) though. The running theory is that he was clinging on to Batman’s cape like a little baby bat and snuck in that way but who knows.
What *is* known is that Danny immediately becomes the Watchtower mascot, everyone loves him. He’s riding on people’s shoulders. He’s getting Speedster piggyback rides. He’s excitedly babbling about space to a group of alien/space focused heroes who have all gathered around to listen to him with their full attention.
And just when Bruce is finally calming down a little (HOW DID DANNY GET HERE??? HE SHOULDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE HERO STUFF THEY HAVEN’T TOLD HIM???) that’s when Danny strikes.
He goes up to Green Arrow, all big eyes and little reachy hands and sleepy little kid pouting. And Green Arrow juat scoops him up, not really caring about the staring Bat because little guy is so cute and he’s about Connor’s age they should set up a play date and -
Danny drops his head on Green Arrows shoulder and snuggles in, sleepily saying “mm tired dad”
And with those words, he hides his smile as the War begins.
Bruce is trying, so so hard to be professional. So hard. Diana and Clark can see him trying to hold it back. But he can’t help himself. He grabs Danny and wanders off with him. That is HIS son dammit. Now, J'onn could feel the mischief emanating from Danny. He knows the little mischief did this on purpose. But, he won’t ruin the little ones fun. Nightwing keeps complaining about not getting as many hugs, or as often as the others. J'onn could tell him it’s because Mischief enjoys his reactions. But where is the fun in that. He does clue Diana and Clark in though. They deserve the laugh.
In the aftermath of a battle, Phantom, Batman, and Superman could be see talking between each other.
During a lull in the conversation a tiny girl comes running from underneath caution tape taped around the vicinity, holding a bouquet of marigolds between her small hands. She’s out of breath and seems to be embarrassed when she stands before the heroes, Batman reacts the quickest to the sudden encounter. Asking her about why shes here and what the problem is, he’s about to ask about her parents when she interrupts with “i have something for mister Phantom”.
Danny who had been only half listening was caught off guard, he looks at her and tries for a reassuring smile but his confusion must show through because she suddenly looks down shyly at her flowers.
“I heard from mommy that you put flowers on graves for people you like, ” she starts, “i don’t know where yours is though, so i got you flowers to put it wherever it is”. She’s obviously embarrassed about interrupting, but she says the words with a form of determination. Suddenly what seems to be her mother comes running from out of the crowd.
“I am so, so, sorry for Miya, i didn’t mean to loose sight of her, she slipped away, we’ll get out of your hair now. ” the woman says in a rush, gently tugging the child back from the slack jawed heroes. Danny can just make out her gently reprimanding the child for her behaviour when he suddenly steps forward. “Wait, wait, wait” he says quickly, crouching down to the child now hiding a bit behind the mother, “you got me flowers… so i can put them on my grave?” the tiny nod he gets from that has him smiling, “you wanted to put flowers on my grave?” is asked with excitement, gaining n even bigger nod in return.
He takes a small step forward, still crouched, and asks “are you alright with me hugging you?”, the nod lets him quickly move forward a spin the child around in a tight hug, laughing. He smiles brightly at the girl, holding her in his arms with enough space to make sure the flowers were safe, who is smiling back just as brightly. Danny laughs, “no ones ever given me flowers before! And you want them on my grave!” the actions have gained the attention of both civilians and other heroes, Danny could honestly care less though, someone wants to put flowers on his grave! Someone went through the effort of giving him flowers! He is so excited!
Both the mother, Superman, and Batman all look uncomfortable, “have you… never gotten. . ahem. . Flowers before?” Superman asks, “i mean, you look young so… have your parents never… ?”, the ending never gets finished but its definitely implied what he wants to really ask. Danny doesn’t care, its not exactly important, right?
He looks at the heroes and says cheerily “i don’t think my parents even know im dead!” before looking back at the child in his arms, not seeing all the shocked, pale faced staring( minus Batman, he never emotes, like, at all).
Eventually the kid has to leave due to dangerousness of the area, but not before a final hug and happy goodbye from Phantom after she hands the flowers to the undead hero. Danny says his goodbyes to the surrounding heroes, not understanding why they all look at him funny as he carries around the marigold bouquet before he flies off. He holds the flowers close to makes sure they dont get destroyed by the wind, but he cant help a few happy loops and twirls in his flight home.
The first ever flowers for his grave, how exciting!
———————————————————————————————————————
Ever since then the heroes and a few civilians make sure to give Phantom flowers each time they see him for his grave. Phantom is so excited people want to give him flowers each time a new set is given to him.
i finally actually wrote something after so long, sorry for the long break between shit, stuff happened :/
sorry if there’s any big misspellings or anything like that in here, i had an idea and wanted it down as fast as possible and i fucking ran with it as far as i could lol
y’all can continue this if you want, i just thought this idea was so cute
have a good night/day/afternoon/life
Omg yesss, gotta add!! ~~~~
_____________________
Bruce was… not sure what to do. Which was an odd feeling for him. He decides he does not like it.
He makes eye contact with Wonder Woman and Superman. Both look just as concerned. Another civilian had stopped Phantom to give him flowers.
This time, a small bouquet of chrysanthemums and lilies. Mourning flowers. Phantom looked ecstatic. A happy trill sounded from his chest, and he pressed them close to his face like they weren’t a reminder that he was dead. A teenager, barely. A child had died, a child that had never had flowers put on his grave. Whose parents might not even know he was dead.
Bruce’s heart clenches at the thought. Losing Jason had destroyed him, but the thought of him just… disappearing? No trace, no way to know if he were dead or alive? Bruce can’t be sure what was worse.
Phantom happily chatters with the civilian, a young lady he had rescued months ago from a domestic assault that had turned deadly. She smiled softly at him and Bruce remembers suddenly that she’d had a child. Had. He looks away.
The thought of Phantoms grave haunts him. He sighs, not meaning to make a pun even in his head, Dick would be so proud. He can’t stop thinking about it. Where was it? If his parents didn’t know was it even a proper grave? Was he murdered? His body in an unmarked grave along the side of the highway? In a state park? Someone’s backyard?
Each possibility sends him spiraling. He knows he’s obsessing but this feels like one of those times is OK to. Needs to even. A child’s body is rotting somewhere, and no one seems to think about that. They just give him more fucking mourning flowers.
How do you ask someone where their body is?
How do you ask a child how they died?
Gods does he even know? Does he know where his body is? How he died? He has to have some sense of where it is if he knows he’s never been given flowers and-
Did- is that- Does he- Is that where he dissapears to? When they all head home and he does his little lazy finger salute with a ‘see ya next time!’ Just the image of it.
Phantom leaving here with his mourning flowers going back to his unmarked grave and laying them on it himself. Bruce thinks he might be sick.
He can’t handle it. He has to know.
He waits until the civilian leaves and Phantom floats back over to their little group.
“ You guys didn’t have to wait for me ya know? I can get to the Watchtower just fine on my own.” He smirks at them, absent-mindedly stroking a soft lily petal.
“Phantom. We-” He pauses, honestly this is mostly him and he doesn’t want to make Phantom angry with the others if the question does upset him.
“I, have wondered. If maybe you could tell me where your grave is?” He cringes internally at the question. He should have thought this through more, formulated a softer question dammit.
Phantom seems to have frozen. Literally and figuratively. He’s still in the air like a paused video and frost creeps along the ground beneath him and along his fingers, yet strangely the flowers are completely unmarked.
“My grave?”
And really. The way that question echoed and scratched like a shifty vhs tape should have been warning enough. But Bruce was a stubborn man and it’s why he’s survived fighting alongside God’s and aliens.
“Yes. You mentioned never having flowers and I wanted to make sure, if it’s alright with you that your grave is being taken care of.” He trails off Phantom seems to glow a bit brighter the more he talks. His fingers a little too long, eyes wide and unblinking their neon green glow seems to cast shadows across his face. A faint green glow lights up along the left side of his neck just under the jaw and goes under his suit, fractals like… lightning.
Bruce thinks he may have made a mistake.
The staticky stillness catapults Bruce into a memory, 2 years ago, Constantine had pulled them together for an overview of ghosts after a cult tried to summon a Ghost King, they failed obviously they stopped them. Constantine however was suddenly very nervous that they would ‘Fuck up dealing with all the bloody spirits in this godforsaken city’. So they were given a run down of dos and do nots.
Do
Give a ghost flowers
Ask if they need help
If you can, soothe their Obsession
Do not
Ask a ghost how they died
Desecrate a grave
Harm a child ghost
Ask about their Obsession
Ask where their grave is
Ask if they know they are dead
He is suddenly very present. A deep animalistic growl emanates from Phantoms small chest. His face sharpens and his teeth suddenly seem too many, and his mouth too wide.
When Constantine was asked why not to ask where their grave is, all he would say was,
'Well if you died and the only thing linking you to this plane was your body in your grave you’d be pretty bloody protective of it too.’
“Why?”
The question seemed to rip itself from his throat.
“What do you WANT with him?!”
….
….Him?
Bruce is suddenly both wrong footed and intrigued. Phantom knows he’s dead, knows where his grave is, where his body is, but seems… simultaneously detached and possessive of his corpse.
“You can’t have him! He’s MINE! I couldn’t protect him, you don’t understand they can’t find him!”
Bruce slowly raises his hands in a placating gesture, Phantom seems to be working himself up, his edges have gone fuzzy and smoky his image clipping and glitching, limbs elongating and tail whispy and sharp.
And yet. Bruce glances at the mourning flowers still in perfect condition, not a petal out of place, no frost or crushed stems.
Bruce files it away.
“Phantom I’m sorry. I did not mean to upset you.”
His flickering form stills all of his attention focused on Bruce, he feels like prey in a way he’s felt few times before. Like static raising the hairs on your neck, staring into a black hole, outrunning a volcano or being paralyzed.
He forces his shoulders to relax.
Phantom is suddenly an in from his face.
Bruce thanks all of his training it was worth every second, because even with it he barely manages to prevent himself from flinching.
His eyes are both toxic green and unfathomable pits of darkness, his teeth unhinge his jaw and his skin seems stretched over his bones like thin paper.
He’s horrifying.
He’s scared.
Bruce slowly brings his arms around him, giving plenty of time for him to pull away. Dick would call it his 'dad senses’ Bruce calls it empathy. Because no matter how scary he looks, this is Phantom, a child, a scared dead child. Who looks like he needs a hug.
So he does.
Phantom is stuff and cold bit also a bit like holding smoke, like you’re not sure if what you’re holding will keep its shape if you press on it.
He whispers to the ghost softly though he knows superman can still hear them.
“I’m so so sorry you died. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry no one gave you a proper grave. I’m sorry no one left you flowers… I’m so sorry Phantom.”
Everything is still.
And then he breaks. His body shifts back to his more known shape, big green tears slide down his face and he SOBS. Clinging to Bruce, his tail wrapped around his waist gripping him like he’s never been hugged, like if he let’s go he’ll dissappear. He gets more solid and Bruce grips him back, he wants to protect him, wishes desperately that he could have prevented his death.
He hears Superman and Wonder Woman talking quietly behind him but all his focus is on the child falling apart in his arms.
______________________
Phantom falls asleep in Bruce’s arms. If he’s honest he didn’t know ghosts could fall asleep. Phantoms always been a bit of anomaly according to Constantine.
They’re back on the Watchtower he’s sitting in one of the observatory decks, his cape wrapped around the little ghost.
Bruce had tried when Phantom had first started helping them to make a profile on the ghost.
Name: Unknown
Alias: Phantom
Age: 14-20? Fluctuates
Gender: presents male (he/him)
Obsession: unknown (possible protection?)
Place of origin: unknown (assumed earth)
Abilities: flight, strength, intangibility, 'ecto blasts’ (energy beams), invisibility, body manipulation, ice (ice core?), possible telekinesis, possible sonic attack (unproven)
Location of grave: unknown
Cause of death: unknown
Date of birth: unknown
Date of death: unknown
There was so much unknown. His age had stumped Bruce for the longest time, he usually was this sassy teenager but when he was hyperfocused on something he seemed to loose his grip on his form, getting fuzzy at the edges, expanding to an older form a young man in his early twenties. Bruce still has no idea what it means, he’s a little afraid to ask.
How long has he been dead? What age did he die? 14? 20? So many questions and so few answers.
Phantom makes a rumbly chirp and snuggles closer. Bruce adjusts his hold. A different training kicking in, not assassin skills, public relations, deescalation, but fatherhood. All the times he’s carried Dick to bed, held Jason after a nightmare, held Tim so he’d feel safe enough to sleep, cuddled Cass, given Duke piggyback rides, held Damian gently to get him used to kind touches, carried Steph on his shoulders, scooped Barbara into his arms and carried her up the stairs…
He knows how to hold a scared child.
When Phantom wakes its with stuttering half formed apologies for 'ugly crying all over your supersuit and falling asleep on you , Ancients! Did I drool-?!’
Bruce reassures him it’s no problem especially after his own social faux pas. At that Phantom stops and looks at him. Just stares for a bit, like he’s looking for something. Bruce stays still keeping his posture open and relaxed, he doesn’t know what Phantom is looking for but he hopes he finds it, that he passes whatever test he’s giving him. He wants his trust he realizes. Wants it like he wants his children’s, like something in himself will be fixed if a child can look at him and find him to be enough.
Phantom seems to come to a decision. His face hardening and then contorting.
“Do- are there any rooms where we can talk without being… overheard?” He requests getting quieter towards the end of the question. Luckily for him Bruce thinks ahead.
“This observation deck is actually lead lined and sound proofed, Superman tested.” Tension Bruce didn’t realize was there loosened from Phantoms shoulders.
“OK. OK, if im gonna do this I need a promise, a swear, a godamn oath if need be. That whatever I say here NEVER leaves this room.” His eyes flash a brighter green for a moment. Bruce considers the request.
Constantine had warned them that ghost can sometimes play by fae rules and you never want to make a promise to one without stipulations.
“What about if whatever you tell me could save your afterlife I can tell who I deem absolutely must know to ensure your survival?” He hesitantly proffers, Phantom looks surprised he had a counter argument but seems to ponder the question instead of immediately dismissing it.
Finally he nods, “that seems fair, do you swear?” Bruce nods once sharply with an 'I do’.
“Good!” Phantom claps his hands with a big smile, “First things first my really name is Danny Fenton. I’m actually twenty one years old, and I’m half dead-” He waves at himself, “and half alive.” A bright light erupts from his waist splits and travels up and down his body. A black oversized Nasa Hoodie and blue jeans with holey knees replace black and white rubber.
Bruce does not gape, but it is a Very close thing.
“What?“he says
"And when I half died, I left behind a half corpse.” Bruce couldn’t help the small flinch from the thought of his corpse.
Wait, HALF a corpse???
“I didn’t know what to do with him at first. So I buried him in the backyard and then mom wanted to do a garden so I had to move him and then there was-” he keeps going, and Bruce is committing them all to memory.
He ends with -“so I just had to put him in the base of the dried up well in town, it’s so deep you can’t see the bottom he’s been there for a while.”
Bruce’s mind is struggling to keep up.
“Are- Is he, uh- happy? Where he’s at? Are you?” Danny tilts his head, animal like and it’s off to see on a human.
“Nnnnno.” He seems hesitant to answer, “But no one can know I’m dead, so he stays hidden.” Bruce nods.
“Would you prefer a private plot so that you have a safe place for him? One with an actual gravestone?” Danny blinks rapidly pausing to think it through.
His voice has a echo when he whispers an affirmative.
_____________________________
Bruce presses flowers to the gravestone tucked away. Wildflowers bloom around it and he smiles softly before walking away.
cw: bad parents Jack and Maddie Fenton, mentions of neglect/abuse, social services
As a teacher in the US, Lancer would be a mandatory reporter. This means if he reasonably suspects abuse, he has to report it or lose his job/be fined/etc.
And suddenly Danny is in his class. Danny, who after the accident, is suddenly doing poorly in school. He always seems tired too. And Lancer knows Danny was injured the other day. And then injured again and again and again… more than a ‘active teenager’ should be.
Unable to find any reason anymore but abuse, Lancer reports the Dr. Fentons.
They fail before the social worker is even in the house when the defensive weapons (what do you mean defensive weapons) target Danny. And then there are the guns and experiments and dubious food. When Danny is taken, despite his protests, to the doctor, they find the scars.
Danny, haltingly, half honestly, admits there was a lab accident.
Now the thing is, Amity Park doesn’t have a lot of foster families and none of them have room. Aunt Alicia can’t even be contacted- she’s off in the wilderness- and some past legal trouble (protesting can get a bit extreme sometimes) excludes her anyways.
Lancer doesn’t know why he’s doing this. Oh gods is he really doing this? But he’s always had a soft spot for the Fenton kids. He dosen’t know everything, but he’s heard there were scars- signs of serious trauma. And so suddenly Lancer has two foster kids, which he… doesn’t know how to handle. Staying in the town where their abusive parents regularly make the 'weather’ report seems cruel, so Lancer moves back in with his mother… in Gotham. He could use the help and his mother always wanted grandchildren. She accepted him, Lancer knew, but him being aromantic had still come as a bit of a blow in that department.
Jason, for his part, really, really likes the new English teacher at Gotham Academy. The guy curses in literature. Jason is so stealing that as Robin!
It’s the new kid in his class makes Jason flustered in a way he doesn’t understand. Just why can’t he stop thinking about Danny?
Assuming Danny and Jason become friends….
When Jason comes back to life, Danny could sense something is happening. He gets a weird semi-ghost sense going. Similar to Vlad (would he have met Vlad yet?) but not.
So, as the kid with zero self preservation instinct, he follows it.
Danny finds Jason before Talia can. Helps him heal. Maybe gives him some clean ectoplasm (Jason has never been in a Lazarus pit in this AU) to solidify his resurrection.
Jason can still be pissed about Bruce getting a new Robin, but Jazz so has notebooks on notebooks describing how bad Batman was getting after Robin’s death. She’s been fascinated by hero and villain psych since Danny’s short stint as a teen hero.
Danny borrows (read:steals) these notebooks and shows Jason. The news story about Dick killing the Joker is in there, too. (And Bruce saving him does send Jason into another anger spiral.) But Jason is much more stable without a dip in the pits or Talia whispering in his ear.
But maybe he still needs some space away from Gotham. From the place where the Joker still lives. Away from the home that (he thinks) doesn’t have a place for him anymore. So he still gets his extra training. Has a chance to grow up and beef up. Danny, of course, won’t let him go alone and they travel the world together. (If Danielle is around, she’s there, too. Maybe Danny and Dani trade off so Danny can still attend school and stuff.)
And this time, when Jason returns to Gotham for good, it’s without a mask and with a boyfriend.
Having been declared legally dead and without a cent to his name, Danny arrives in Gotham desperate for any job. So when he gets hired by a rich couple to babysit their kid while they’re away (which apparently is quite often) without them even doing a background check on him, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot.
Until he finds out just how neglected this kid is. Danny knows from personal experience just how that can mess a person up so he decides to shower this kid with all the love and attention he could ever dream of. And maybe figure out a way to stop him from sneaking out at night.
#double adoption bait #there’s two now
Danny is acting as a live in nanny, which saves him so much money. Sure he has had to learn how to cook! But, Tim is a sweet kid. Only 8 and so so used to being on his own. no, Danny won’t stand for it. Tim is his family now, and he will look after him. His first few pay checks were saved up till he could buy a decent fake ID, paper trail and all. Look, Gotham is shady a fuck. Danny made himself a distant cousin of the Drakes. Was pretty easy. Of course he is looking after Tim.
Tim was very wary of him at first. It didn’t help that Danny caught him sneaking out at night. Look, if he won’t look after himself Danny will make him. Danny did out his foot down. Tim is not allowed out on school nights. And he has to pass a basic amount of dodging and stealth training to be allowed out for more than 2 hours.
Tim was not happy, but as Danny pointed out he was there to look out for him. And dammit he would! Tim took to his training scarily well. Kid was so damn smart. Danny still wasn’t letting him out on his own though!
So, here they were, the two of them following Robin 2 who he been running off on his own more often lately. Oh well, it let Tim get some great photos. Danny was pretty damn sure Th would come back as a ghost. Boy was obsessive enough.
Danny wasn’t expecting Tim to help him make and perfect his fake ID, but honestly he remembers Tucker at this kid’s age and it’s not all that far off
Kid knows Gotham, helps Danny pick a branch of the family, and really seems keen to have him join the fold once they’ve had a couple months together
Sure, that first time Danny caught him sneaking out led to a pretty rough patch, but Danny was a teen vigilante; he knows just how futile it is to ban the kid
So when Tim screams “you aren’t the boss of me” after Danny brings it up, Danny just nods sagely and says “yup, but I am your guardian so I’m going to guard you”
Tim: *susface* you can’t stop me sneaking out
Danny: you can’t stop me sneaking after you bitch
Tim: WHAT NO HOW DARE YOU you’ll get me caught!
Danny: I’m the one catching you, who is anyone gonna tell? But if you can beat me at hide and seek I’ll let you keep going out
Tim thinks this will be easy
No problem
Even Batman doesn’t notice him
Danny finds him in five minutes flat
Tim would be SURE Danny cheated, but Danny gives him the security footage that shows him not moving an inch and then walking right to Tim’s hiding spot
(Danny doesn’t mention that Tim’s intense emotions might as well be a homing beacon)
Tim is INTENT on finding Danny
He cannot be beaten
He knows every hiding spot in Drake Manor, and which ones Danny could fit into
He even cheats and uses the cameras once an hour has passed with no luck
He gives up The Next Day
(Danny made him dinner, rung a bell, and rehid before Tim saw him)
He’s got a lot of new respect for his minder and when Danny promises to teach Tim how to do it, Tim is ecstatic
Years later when Tim has muscled his way into being Robin, Bruce is fucking STUNNED by how little stealth training he needs
Tim is a shadow’s shadow
His hand to hand is also damn good but low on actual technique
Danny comes back from a TWO DAY vacation to visit Jazz and Tim cheerfully informs him he’s a vigilante now
Danny shadows all his patrols and commentates as punishment
Danny has prepared for this day. He knew it was coming. So he ALREADY has his own new persona sorted. He is NOT letting Tim out with just Batman as backup. No way. That idiot already got a child killed. Well it’s not happening to HIS BROTHER!
So, two days after Robin 3 hits the scene Mockingbird arrives. And seems to be following Robin 3 around and giving him tips and tricks, even as he mocks the local thugs. Batman seems to dislike him, which the thugs were pleased about. Until they realised, if Batman can’t get rid of this one, no one can.
Danny takes great joy in sneaking up on the Bat himself. Thugs are now extra wary when they see the newest Robin. Look it was bad enough before. You saw the baby bird and knew Batman was probably somewhere close but you had a chance to get in and out right? And sure a lot of the time Batman would appear out of nowhere but there was only one of him! And now there is Mockingbird. Who for all his loud quips and banter is actually really freaking stealthy. Stealthier than the Bat!
And Mockingbird seems to pretty much exist as Robin 3’s minder. They don’t go out solo, they don’t appear if Robin 3 doesn’t. They exist to look after one dumbass teen. And well, the goons can respect that sort of care. Bat’s on the other hand looks like he is losing his goddamn mind about it.
It doesn’t take the goons long to work out the rule either
Mockingbird has one job, and one clear berserk button: Robin 3
And let’s be honest, none of them enjoy the part of gooning that is “try to beat up a literal child”, even if they’ve come to terms with it and the child kicks their ass every time
(Well, some of them do, but their numbers wane EXTREMELY fast after Mockingbird’s debut. Some are found still alive but usually they seek alternate employment far, far from children
Danny doesn’t allow risks to his loved ones)
But while there was always the “fuck Robin’s here get him restrained” for 1 and 2, Robin 3… you don’t want to get your hands on Robin 3
Yeah, the Bat is also much touchier about his new boy and will go Extreme Prejudice if he’s in danger, but the Bat is the nice one
The Bat knows they’re all criminals, and gets that this is part of the vigilante thing, they’re gonna try and knock out or incapacitate his trainees. Vengeance is swift, but the Bat is merciful
This comes into clear contrast once Mockingbird joins the scene
He doesn’t stop Robin from fighting or get in the way; the kid’s as hands on as both predecessors, there’s the exact same frantic scrabble to take him down and get the weapon out of his hands so you can tie him to something
(Any rogue who wants Robin dead wants to do it personally anyway, so you double don’t want to be the one that ruins that)
But you point a gun?? At Robin 3?? Your hands are empty before you know it, and that sly, mocking voice comes from just behind your ear, where you know no one could be
“Now that’s not fair is it?”
Other things disappear too. Sometimes it’s as mild as your belt, or your shoelaces are suddenly tied together, and yeah Mockingbird will ABSOLUTELY steal your pants and you’ll never know how
If you get a shot off though? Things appear places they shouldn’t, and you realize just how nice Batman is that he only kicks your ass and restrains you for the cops
Danny doesn’t want Tim to find out about all the background stuff he does, because Tim’s a competent kid and would hate to be undermined, but now the goons are all a lot more careful about what might accidentally seriously maim a child
(Part of this is in response to Batman’s wave of violent fury after Robin 2 died. Self preservation. But finding jagged edges of ice between your toes, in your ears, up your nose?
You only fuck with that once before you start wondering where else Mockingbird could get that ice. How much bigger the chunks could be
Penguin is desperately trying to hire Mockingbird to maintain the Iceberg Lounge)
Red Hood’s return is correspondingly extremely different. Jason’s furious another kid got put in the suit, but it takes about 30 seconds to realize this kid has Protection
Serious Protection, and it ain’t from Bruce
There’s a lot more jealousy, a lot more “why does he deserve this when I didn’t”, it’s still anger and bitterness as he plans, takes heads, taunts Batman
But Danny never forgets a soul
So Jason gets a visit before Jason gets anywhere near Tim (who is very upset that Danny is definitely keeping a secret from him, but Danny will make it up to him)
Danny apologizes that he didn’t save Jason. That he and Tim were watching over him, but Danny couldn’t protect him too
It’s not what Jason wanted, it’s not even close to Bruce admitting his failure. But Danny’s so obviously relieved to see him alive, explains that dying can be a much less binary scale than people think, notices the pit
Danny won’t tell Bruce if Jason doesn’t want him to, cuz Jason gets to come out in his own time, but he offers help. Kindness. Tells him how Tim got started, got caught, and got ghost training to keep going
How much Tim worried when Jason disappeared
And he asks Jason to at least tell Tim he’s okay, because Tim thought he could stop if Jason ever came back
(Tim doesn’t fucking stop, he lied to himself and also to Danny)
And Jason asks where the Joker is, because there’s been hide nor hair of him since about a week after Robin 3 debuted
And Danny goes real quiet
Because he can tell Jason where the Joker is, but Jason won’t be able to see him. Not without one of those body finders that can see through rock
Danny doesn’t. Allow. Risks. To his loved ones.
He couldn’t save Robin 2, but he can keep Robin 3 from being anywhere near the same danger
(Jason solemnly swears never to lift a finger against Tim because holy fucking shit nope nope nope his plans are now Bruce And Bruce Only)
(He does sign one of Tim’s favourite photos of him as Robin though)
Jason is also so relieved to know that someone saw. That someone cared enough to keep a Robin safe. And that Robin 2 was avenged. It hurts, so badly, that it wasn’t Batman. But gods, Jason could come to adore Mockingbird and Robin 3. Danny admits to Tim.He is keeping a secret for someone. But, don’t worry, you will know soon. They just want a bit of time first ok?
And then Jason comes round for dinner. And Tim lights up. His Robin is alive! He’s angry, and hurt, and bitter, but he’s here! And he’s letting Danny help him!
Red Hood spreads the word as well. No one in his gang goes after kids, Robin 3 is included in that! “You can disarm him, and move him away from a fight, but nothing worse than a bruise. Mockingbird is not playing around. I do not want hassle with him! ”
And you know what, his people get that. Boss hates hurting kids anyways. And yeah, they’ve seen what Mockingbird does to people who hurt Robin 3. Word spreads fast after all. Everyone knows it was probably Mockingbird who got rid of Joker. Is there any proof? No. But within a few weeks of Robin 2 dying and Robin 3 starting up Joker vanished.
Jason is slowly healing but by bit. The pit madness has been dulled, so he can control it now. He’s still so angry at Bruce. But why would he involve innocents? And damn, but little Robin 3 is so smart. He’s honestly a regular genius. And Jason is so glad he has someone looking out for him like the Bat should have.
And for some reason they are willing to let him into their lives? He can go over to eat, and get medical care? Mockingbird reminds him of Alfie so much it hurts at times. And then they slowly become Danny and Tim. Somewhere between fixing the pits and Timmy begging training in guns from him, they start to feel like family.
And Jason gets told what Danny did. To Joker and a number of other idiots who went to far on Tim. And yeah, he is glad he didn’t go there. But, while speaking with Danny he comes to realise, wait. Talia set him up, she wound him into a rage focused on Tim. That makes her a threat to Robin 3 and he needs to be warned. This includes a pretty in depth discussion of the LoA and their ways of working. Jason won’t let them be unprepared. He owes them more than he can ever repay. He won’t let Ras and Talia hurt them.
When Damian arrives it is to a very different family dynamic. Jason still hasn’t told Bruce he’s alive. Dick has been brought in, as has Alfie. Babs knew, but kept quiet. In case he needed to be taken in. Then Danny stepped in and mediated for him. He’s got his brother back, and another two as a bonus prize.
Damian tried to assert his place as the ‘blood son’ only to be smacked down entirely. Tim isn’t Bruce’s kid. He has a great guardian thankyou. Why would he need Bruce for that? And Danny won’t allow that sort of behaviour to go unpunished. Yes he is a child. That is why he is not being hurt. But he will face consequences! For a start, if he can’t be trusted to not attack allies, no weapons.
No Batman, he attacked my ward, I will NOT give them back until he learns. Control your son, or get out of my way. Damian, why do you believe Tim is a threat you need to dispose of?
Damian is not pleased by this, interloper! Drake is bad enough, but his older cousin? A nightmare to deal with. Nothing phases him. You can’t hit him, he is more stealthy than anyone Damian has ever met! And somehow he calmed Todd from the rampage Mother tried to incite. And, on top of that, there is nothing in his background that would account for any of this! It’s infuriating. And Father can’t even do anything about him! He is starting to feel like perhaps Mother and Grandfather have overestimated Batman.
If this Mockingbird can flit around Gotham’s skies as he pleases with no repercussions, then surely Father is not all that impressive. It is either that, or Mockingbird is indeed that powerful. Even Superman caves to Father. What does that say about this person?
Danny’s still a little shit though
He takes all of Damian’s weapons
(ALL of them. It takes HOURS. Damian is furious)
But he won’t leave the baby high and dry, clearly Damian needs weapons as emotional support
So Danny replaces them with nerf weapons
He has Bruce’s credit cards and nerf has a lovely array of “bladed” foam weapons
Damian sulks when all his weapons disappear
DAMIAN RIOTS DAYS LATER WHEN FOAM IS FOUND IN THEIR PLACE
He rants and yells at Danny, Danny watches impassively (he’s in his 20s by now, he’s a little shit but he did grow up)
Then Danny shoots Damian in the forehead with a nerf gun, tells him his true training begins today, tosses the gun to Damian and disappears
Completely confused, Damian turns to Tim for an explanation
Tim shrugs, shoots Damian with his own nerf gun, and explains how Danny trained him before he became Robin
Bruce is just happy they’re all getting along, because that’s definitely what the screams of rage and pitched nerf battles means
Dick adores Danny and Tim. They are not only good at the work they do. They are also good at communication. Danny will not let B do his growly bullshit. At all. He looks after Tim and Damian. Sure he seems intent on driving Damian up the wall. But honestly Damian seems to respond well to the implied challenge. The fact that Danny said he lacked the discipline to be allowed real weaons? Oh it burned at him.
Add in the need weapon training, pranks as tactics nd evasion drills? Well Dick has never been so entertained while keeping up his training. The fact that Danny is making it so Damian has to play to train as well seems to be helping the baby bat.
Damian can admit that he respects the interloper. He does not like him, or Drake. But he can respect their skills. Daniel is more than happy to train his skills, in weapons and in tactics. That he uses juvenile methods does not matter when the results speak for themselves.
And, privately, he can admit that perhaps he should have relied less on his Mothers knowledge. It was clearly outdated. He overheard Daniel and Drake discussing the Robin title the other day. Robin was deemed a training title. Once Drake felt ready he could take on a new name. Had he known that sooner he would have been less likely to attack Drake.
Daniel has been slowly allowing him access to his weapons for training again. Until g proves himself tempered enough however they ’re kept locked away. Apparently he can not yet be trusted. It burns, but also made him realise something. While he was allowed to harm any when with Mother and Grandfather such behaviour is deemed barbaric in Gotham.
His Mothers family means less than nothing in this city. His Fathers legacy is important. But for very different reasons. Daniel is making him speak with his sister. She can be trusted to keep anything he says confidential. She works with many heroes apparently. And the children of heroes. Father still refuses to go, which Daniel called a weakness. Failing to meet ones own demons and fight them head on. Damian can reluctantly understand Daniel’s viewpoint. It is why he agreed. She will appear you be able to explain how people expect him to behave. Which should be useful.
He has already made mistakes basing his behaviour on Mother and Grandfather. He will take as much Intel as he can get so he can ensure he makes no more.
Mother foolishly discounted Pennyworth as beneath attention. any who know the truth know he is the true patriarch of the house. How his Mother missed that he shall never know.
At least his skills are being tested and expanded here. Richard has taken to joining them as well. He and Daniel between them have a wealth of knowledge he can put to good use. Now, he will figure out how to trap one of them. These pranks are indeed juvenile, but Daniel insists they are good for training tactical thinking and spatial awareness. He plans to test Daniel and Richard. It only seems fair. Perhaps Drake would help. It might ensure their continued acquaintance is pleasant.
Tim gets sacrificed in a ritual to summon “the ALL powerful conqueror, Phantom”. And by sacrificed, I mean Tim really dies and Danny is forced into his body forcefully.
There’s no coming back from that. Not even after the cultists are stopped.
The bats arrive to find Tim crying and unresponsive in the center of the summoning circle, the cultist all knocked out around him.
Danny is absolutely devastated at the turn of events, he is trapped because the moment he leaves the body it will die for good. His only hope is that the soul manifests as a ghost and that ghost fuses with the body, which will lead to a new halfa.
Tim’s spirit was charged with enough ecto during the ritual to guarantee he comes back as a ghost, but not enough to immediately manifest. He needs time, his spirit follows Danny unconsciously to gather more ecto to form a ghost, even if Danny can’t see him yet.
The question is, will the bats let Danny stay in the body long enough for that to happen? or will they try to banish him first and ask questions later.
Phantom blankly stared at the blood surrounding him. His hand reached up to absentmindedly touch the gushing wound across his throat, feeling the slow healing begin as his ectoplasm fused with the body’s circulatory system. It was not a pleasant feeling; there was blood and dirt mixing and drying on his skin. He took a breath (and wasn’t that a novel feeling after years of not being able to?) and looked at the kneeling cultists surrounding him.
Feeling the weight of his stare, one of them hurriedly spoke: “Your Majesty! We’ve not dared to hope that you would answer our request, but you have graced us with your presence. For that, we are humbly grateful. We have—”
“This was a child,” Phantom noted. His voice was hoarse, the vocal chords repairing themselves as he spoke. He knew that the body was young, fresh and soft in a way that spoke of inexperience. It was nothing about a physical feeling—the actual physical state of the body, but it was a feeling nonetheless.
The cultist blinked. “Ah, we do not know the exact age of Red Robin. But, surely you are pleased, Your Majesty? The younger the vessel, the more time you may have to guide the world.”
“A vessel,” Phantom repeated, rolling the word around in his mouth, tongue feeling foreign. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard a tinny amalgamation of voices. He forgot how limited hearing was. (Forgot how quiet it was when the Infinity in his head was muffled.) “Vessel. Ves-sell. You have given me a child for a vessel.”
There were shifts among the cultists. “We are aware it is not the most dignified vessel for you, Your Majesty,” a new one said. They faltered for moment as Phantom turned his gaze towards them. “But he is one of Gotham’s most significant vigilantes! Surely, his body is fit enough to contain you?”
“You slaughtered a child… to contain me.” Phantom’s voice was cold, a quiet danger in his voice. “You thought you could contain me, the High King of the Infinite Realms? The audacity you have rivals the king before me. I do not require a vessel. You slaughtered a child for something I did not need.”
The air grew heavy. Out of the corner of his eye, Phantom saw one of the cultists fall limp. A flinch went through the rest, and multiple people started quietly gasping as it got harder to breathe. “Your—Your Majesty,” the first cultist choked out. Phantom made sure to keep his own breathing level, consciously keeping track of every breath the body needed. It would not be good if it died just because he forgot to breathe.
Phantom continued: “The only reason this body has not died is because I am now inhabiting it.” Distantly, he realized that all background noises had stopped. It was now only him and the quiet wheezing of cultists. “To assume that I, the High King of the Infinite Realms would require a vessel, would condone a child vessel, is a crime worthy of death. This child’s blood stains your hands, and so your blood will pay it back in full. Only out of respect of this child, I do not use my own hands to do this.”
The average human body was not able to withstand a high level of power. The most it could take would be the power of a Being. Frost started to cover the floor, and the cultists began pleading Phantom to stop. He did not; the child probably pled for his life too. The cultists did not stop, and so neither would he. Just as the last person dropped to the floor, hair frosted over and blue in the face, Phantom heard a window shatter. He did not look away from the cultist, but he did hear a deep voice start to talk.
“Red Robin.” More footsteps from the window area, all different levels of noise, all different people. “Red Robin, report. What happened?”
Slowly, Phantom turned to look at the people who just came in. All were regarding him with caution, the closest being a large man in an all black vigilante suit. After Phantom took note of their outfits, he looked at the body he was inhabiting, seeing the suit he had ignored earlier. He looked back up. “You are his team,” he said. After a moment, he corrected himself: “You are his family.”
“And you’re inhabiting my brother’s body,” a man with a black and blue suit stated, smiling. It was not a nice smile. “We heard over the comms.”
“Comms,” Phantom said slowly, rolling the word around like he did with ‘vessel.’ “Comms. Comm. Com-mun-i-cation. C—”
“Who or what are you?” a man with a red helmet harshly interrupted. His hand rested on a holstered gun that Phantom eyed in idle interest.
“I am Phantom, of the Infinite Realms.”
“Why would they summon you? What is your purpose here? Is Red Robin still in there?” the black-clad man from earlier asked. On the last question, a note of desperate urgency bled through. Ha. Bled through.
“Red Robin is your son?” Phantom asked.
There was no hesitation. “Yes.”
Phantom looked at him. Looked at the sweat lining the man’s exposed jaw; he could easily imagine the man running towards the warehouse as he listened to his son bleed out. “I am keeping his body alive.” He tilted his head up, exposing his neck and therefore the blood caked slit of his throat. It was wide enough that they could see a sliver of muscle throbbing beneath. “My ectoplasm is bonding to the body, accelerating the healing. Once the body is fully healed, I will leave.”
“You will not!” a child demanded. Another child, his mind crooned, a young one.
Phantom paused and looked at the people staring at him with grief barely hidden in their eyes. He took in their ready stances, the determination filling their frames. Oh. “You misunderstand,” he soothed. “Once the body is healed, your Red Robin will inhabit it again. While I heal this body, I will have Fright Knight search for his soul. It might take a while.”
“Fright Knight?” the child asked.
“A friend.” Phantom smiled at him. It only seemed to anger the child further.
“Why?” the blue-clad man asked. It was not a question. “How long will it take?”
He thought for a moment. “The body can be healed relatively quickly,” he informed them. “Red Robin’s soul will be the real determinator. Newly departed souls are… fragile. Some do not form at all. The time it takes relies entirely on their willpower, resilience, purpose. What is the time dilation here relative to the Realms?” Phantom mumbled the last sentence to himself.
“Red Robin has high levels of all three,” the black-clad man informed him, clearly wanting Phantom to give them a specific time frame.
“Mm. Then, at most—considering the time dilation—three months. At least, two weeks. Time here moves faster,” Phantom politely told them.
“And how do we know you’re not just trying to save your own skin?” the red helmet demanded.
Phantom blinked at him. “If you know a magic-user, they can verify. Anyone who knows more than the basic magics know this: an Ancient has no reason for a vessel.”
This is so goooooood, oh my lord
They didn’t want to leave him to his own devices, but they also didn’t want him in their business. Result? They found him a small apartment. It had been a little closer to Dr. Freeze’s lab than they liked, but it was also in a spot where a member or two of the Batfam could keep an eye on him at all times.
Alfred was the first to visit- it hurt everyone else to see Tim’s body and know it wasn’t really him.
So Alfred came with cookies, finding the young man staring in bewilderment.
“Is there a problem?” He inquired.
“This vessel. It has distress. Distress? Not the word… p… Pain!” His expression lit up as he remembered what he was trying to say.
“There is Pain here,” he indicated his stomach, rubbing the region.
“When did you last eat?”
“Eat? Eat. I know this word. I do not know when this body last ate, but I consumed nutrients three days before being summoned.” He paused to consider. “Maybe that is why we do not feel well?”
Alfred wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. For a family of geniuses who surrounded themselves with those new to Earth everyday, he surely wondered how they got through a day without him.
“Very well. You inhabit the body of someone I care greatly for, so I shall ensure your ability to adapt until you can return him to us. First lesson: eating.” After a quick sniff, he wrinkled his nose. “Second shall be the importance of good hygiene. Particularly baths.”
He gave the basic walkthrough of things Fen would need to know (the Ancient wasn’t sure where the name came from, only that names have power and the last thing he needed was to be giving that power to others regularly. Thus, he chose the name Fen, which seemed to stick in his consciousness for some reason).
Upon his return to the manor, he had a word for them on the fact that apparently this Ancient didn’t know enough about being human to understand that he needed to eat and if they wanted the body to remain intact long enough to get Tim back, they needed to help this confused individual. Just treat him like Tim with amnesia.
He had one further “request” (which was Alfred speak for a direct order).
They were to do everything in their power to keep him from being introduced to caffeine. Perhaps by the time Tim was back, the body would have cleared the addictive substance from his system and he might actually sleep sometimes without shenanigans.
They’d have to research things like good sleeping habits too XD
And maybe when Tim comes back he’ll have it engraved in his being and get sleep!
I’m really curious about the timeline @mango-forest brought up. Like - how old is Danny now!! (Also the time dilation idea is a lot of fun!)
The only thing separating Bruce from his son was a two-inch thick wooden door and the high ranking magical being currently possessing Tim’s body. In a futile attempt to do anything but knock on the flimsy wood, Bruce called Alfred:
“I’m about to enter the apartment.”
“Hello to you too, Master Bruce.”
Bruce didn’t know why niceties mattered at that moment. Those were for normal situations, situations where Bruce had everything under control. That was not today. Couldn’t Alfred see that this situation was irregular? Bruce did not have anything under control, the only control he had was the flimsy attempt at keeping the thing in his son confined in Gotham.
After a moment of no response, Alfred sighed. The sound of it made Bruce grimace. “Master Bruce, treat this as Master Timothy having amnesia.”
But this wasn’t Tim. Tim would not have made twenty-seven cultists asphyxiate and lower their body temperatures into the negatives. Tim would not look at them with green eyes (God, for a second, Bruce thought—). Tim would not try to soothe them like they were children, Bruce included.
(Tim would not have been able to live with his throat slit, nonetheless talk and stand.)
(This was not his son.)
“… I will talk to Phantom,” Bruce responded, a bit too late. “Goodbye.” Without waiting for a response, he hung up. Normally, he wouldn’t even try something like that with Alfred, but this was not a normal situation.
He did not knock on the door, instead using his own key to the apartment to turn the knob. After a few seconds of waiting—for what exactly, he didn’t know—Bruce walked in, closing the door behind him. They deliberately chose a small apartment with an open floor plan, so Bruce could immediately see Phantom laying on the couch. For a second, he thought that maybe the being was sleeping. However, a second later, there was a “Hello, Bruce Thomas Wayne.”
“I will ask that you do not use my full name. Us humans find it… unnerving. How did you know it was me? You didn’t look.” Bruce did not like how he asked. It was a childish sounding question, but the being in his son’s body made him feel inexplicably young. It left him off-kilter.
“You invoked my name.” Tim’s head lolled towards him at last, clean bandages that Alfred forced contrasting starkly with his skin. “When you invoke a name, you invite their attention. Call me… Fen, like I told Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth.”
Bruce took a moment to observe Tim’s body. The chest rose and fell in uniform intervals of five seconds, always blinking every ten seconds. It was too perfect, an uncanny valley. It made Bruce feel like the thing in front of him was a poor mimicry of the human race, like they knew how humans functioned, but fell short of actually understanding.
“I only said your name,” Bruce responded.
“Names have power no matter the world they were created. Like Bruce Thomas Wayne. In this world, there are a few sharing your name. In the Infinite Realms, there are thousands of versions. Each world, dimension, universe flows back to the Realms. It goes on for Infinity. When I had Fright Knight search for your Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, I had to specify the time and date of his death, and the dimension for good measure. He is close to finding him, by the way. Be thankful no other Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne’s have died recently. A few more days and he may cross from the Infinite Realms to here.”
“You did not address us by name in the… warehouse.”
“I did just get shoved into a vessel. There was a lot on my mind,” Phantom commented lightly.
Bruce pushed for more information: “And you, as the High King, keep track of all of the Infinite Realms? How?”
“All in here.” Phantom idly tapped a finger to his temple. “Don’t worry. It’s muffled enough that your son will not become brain dead.” Phantom then laughed like he said something funny. It only caused Bruce to look away as Tim’s familiar voice produced an unfamiliar laugh. “That’s one good thing to come out of this: my mind hasn’t been this clear since I died the first time. When they say Infinite, they really mean it.”
“If there are thousands of universes and dimensions intersecting, then—”
“Intersecting is not accurate,” Phantom interrupted. “Ah, sorry. There are… sections in the Realms, depending on afterlives. Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Elysium, Reincarnation lines, every type of afterlife you can think of. All are further separated by dimensions.”
“So the people are unable to cross afterlives? They’re trapped?” Bruce did not imagine that he would have a talk about afterlives this morning, and he was a bit too overstimulated to even think about the theological implications of what Phantom was describing.
“They’re technically allowed to. No one’s stopping them. I get notified, but really everyone stays within their designated… bubble… area. For one, we don’t exactly tell them about this little system. And the areas can get a bit weird with each other too; time dilation can vary drastically, even with neighboring afterlives. I live in the basic Ghost Zone—like the capital of everything. Cap-it-al. Cap. Capital.”
“Why do you do that?” Bruce asked. “You repeat words but not for the lack of knowing them. You have no trouble correctly using them, but there’s a delay. Are you translating in your head as you go?”
Phantom shifted. “Not exactly. I know modern English, but it’s been a long time. In the Infinite Realms, the closest we have to a uniform language is Esperanto in the Ghost Zone. Otherwise, it’s either just understood or it’s more feelings than words.” After a moment, thinking over his words, Phantom added: “Also, having a physical tongue with a solid mouth takes getting used to. Physical forms are more of a preference matter in the Realms.”
“You are very upfront m, providing us with a lot of information,” Bruce noted. He felt like he was continuing to state the obvious, but all thoughts went away when Phantom smiled with all the teeth Tim’s body had to offer.
“Think of it as compensation for this whole accident.”
As the (for a lack of a better word) god of balance and space, and being a halfa that is arguably immortal, Danny has the rare opportunity to reincarnate. Live again. Start over.
When Clockwork had originally told him he was immortal, he (understandably) assumed he meant he, Danny Fenton, could not die. He was wrong. As usual. Instead, it was that he, his soul, could not parish or cease to exist. Two very different things that he was forced to learn through experience when Danny Fenton died at the age of 64 from a car accident as mundane as that is, and ended up in the Ghost Zone to, presumably, ‘live’ the rest of his afterlife. It wasn’t until later when he fell asleep in his lair (first sign something was happening, ghosts don’t need to sleep) and woke up with his head fuzzy and body clumsy. He was a baby and it wasn’t until his mind was old enough to comprehend who he was that he understood he was living life again, this time as child in a different universe and different time.
And when he died again, this time very young from a sickness traveling through his village, he ended up in his lair again, as if he never left. The other ghosts understood after a brief explanation, but the process was still disorienting. Even if it happened again and again.
This time he was born into an odd place. He awoke from a large tube of green liquid. He had a mother named Talia and a Grandfather. He also had a father and older brother named Damian, but they lived in a different country and weren’t really on speaking terms it seemed. It also appeared he was born into a cult of some kind. Mother called it the League of Assassins and Grandfather called it his Legacy, the organization he built from the ground up. Oh and it all revolved around the green, bubbling pit below their home that had resurrection powers that may or may not make someone insane.
A connection to the dead in the basement, a family business, and a Frootloop with too much power. This was turning out to be a lot like his first life.
Daniel Fenton, who punched the Joker one (1) time, and acts vaguely eldritch, having convinced 75% of Gotham that he’s Batman’s secret identity on accident: what is happening.
The Batkids, certified little shits, hanging around him to fuel the rumors and throw people off Bruce’s scent: Hi dad! :)
Danny, already sort-of a single parent, accidentally playing along too hard: oh. Guess I’m a father now.
This would be so fun. I’m imagining Danny is is at least late 20s here, moved to Gotham after he got away from his dangerous parents as soon as possible but not before permanently disabling the portal. Jazz, Tucker, and Sam all moved on to follow their dreams and get away from Amity Park, but they still keep in touch. Maybe Jazz is working at Arkham now. Danny didn’t need to stay somewhere with ambient ectoplasm because he can make a replacement portal with the tech he smuggled out of his parent’s house, but he’s more comfortable somewhere that has it.
So, he conned/stole Vlad out of some money (a lot), moved to Gotham as soon as he could, took a new last name, bought a small mixed use building (like business on main floor, residence above, basement below) to put a mini lab in the basement to refine ecto and have a portal.
I’m placing his new Haunt probably in Newtown, placing it just north of Crime Alley, east of the Botanical Gardens, just south of the entertainment pier, and relatively close over the river from the Wayne’s manor and Arkham.
He then opens a coffee shop called The Haunt on the main floor. The ceiling and walls are painted like a green/blue nebula, and have some of his best ghost friends hidden in the designs. He gets a reputation for making coffee strong enough to raise the dead.
His core has settled at this point, further blending his two halves, so he’s always got teeth just a bit too sharp, ears a bit too pointed, hair wild (he’s absolutely blaming that on the ecto, not his habits), skin a bit too pale/green, and he tends to exude a chill in the air, like a new frost. His quirks make some people suspicious, but it’s Gotham, they’ve seen weirder, and his coffee is amazing so they don’t think about it too much.
That is, until Danny is running some errands for the store, maybe doing a catering delivery late one evening, and the Joker appears, taking the crowd hostage, grabbing Tim, who just happened to he on his way back to the manor from work and can’t do anything in his civilian guise. Danny sees an evil clown and just decks the Joker, knocking him out like a light before realizing he’s late with the delivery, not having been in town long enough to realize just who he knocked out, and books it.
Everyone is shocked, wondering who he was, and not a few minutes after he leaves, Batman swoops in from the same direction to clean up the mess. A few people recognize Danny from his store and start to speculate about how they’ve got a similar build (the butts match), both kinda weird/off, and isn’t it strange how Batman showed up right after Danny ran off after punching the Joker?
Tim decides he wants to thank the person who saved him and maybe investigate a possible meta/person of interest who he’s never seen in Gotham before. Especially one that’s apparently been seen with Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Danny’s therapist). Imagine his delight when he finds The Haunt that serves The Coffee that he loves and becomes a regular. The batkids hear the rumors and decide to play along and start meeting up on his roof during patrols or stopping in after patrols. Danny, oblivious to the rumors, sees a bunch of young vigilantes, some of whom are clearly liminal or have partial cores, that keep stopping by and calling him Dad, and adopts the lot of them. The kids just think he’s playing along too well, but when he’s genuinely caring for them, feeding them, and listening to their concerns, they get comfortable. One day they’re in a particularly difficult encounter while Bruce and Alfred are out of town for an important meeting and are too injured to make it all the way back so Danny ends up finding them on the rooftop. He patches them up the best he can and worries over them. When he drops the, “You did the best you could, I’m so proud of you.” They’re like, oh shit, new dad. And this one isn’t nearly as emotionally stunted after years of talking to Jazz, therapy, and trying his best to parent Ellie, when she’s around.
The league summons Phantom (as the ghost king, perhaps) for something or other, and afterwards, Phantom just starts to pop in to meetings at the watchtower to hang out.
Danny, to Batman: “Hey, you’re Bruce Wayne, right?”
Everyone freezes and looks at Phantom in horror. Danny just looks back at Batman, unblinking.
Batman: “How did you know that?”
Danny, ignoring the question, as usual: “Right, your parents asked me to pass on a message.”
Batman: “What”
Danny: “They said they love you and are proud of you. They also said that, as much as they love their grandbabies, child acquisition is not a replacement for therapy.”
i love this idea that “yeah batfam seems scary to other superheroes at first but theyre all actually nice” but give me more “batfam are almost all regular humans but theyre also complete freaks in different ways”
like yes. justice league and other teams are full of aliens, cyborgs, magic users, fish people, etc, but:
nightwing can bend his completely human body like its laffy taffy
red hood got stabbed and was barely phased in the midst of battle
red robin has been awake longer than any league-er has even attempted and seems fine, along with solving and completely so many cases some heroes think he has a meta human brain
robin has been found completely still for incredible lengths of time and knows things about league members that no one told him until he casually mentions it in conversation
black bat can appear so silently in a room that even those with heightened senses dont notice until they turn around and jump at her standing right in front of them
batman is BATMAN
and its like yeah these teams are glad that gotham vigilantes are there to help but also they are side eye-ing each other because gotham vigilantes are complete and utter freaks in the most HUMAN way to the rest of the superheroes
So Jonathan is either Maddie’s Half brother or Cousin and was really close with the Fenton family until he went a little crazy.
His obsession with fear is driven partially by the idea that ghosts feed on fear and partially since he’s ecto contaminated and also feeds on fear to some extent.
Eventually word gets out to a few people that Danny is Phantom and the GIW managed to destabilize him in a way that he doesn’t look as human and needs a large amount of fear and ecto to look even somewhat normal.
Maddie and Jack send him off to his Uncle Jon knowing that Gotham has ecto and fear in abundance. Jon digs deeper into his fear gas and figures out that it can work as a stabilizer for Danny if he inhales, drinks, or gets it injected into him.
The Bats get suspicious when Scarecrow breaks out of Arkham and just isn’t seen for weeks. They manage to track him down and see him with his mask off in a lab with Danny and Bruce, Tim, and Cass listen in:
“Are you sure this will work, Uncle Jon?” A boy with white hair and Lazarus green eyes asks looking just a bit too inhuman to be comfortable. (“Uncle Jon?)
Crane spins around
"It has to work, Danny and I’ll keep working until it does.” He approaches Danny with a syringe full of fear serum. The Bats get ready to intervene but the boy doesn’t seem scared
“So this chemically causes fear and hallucinations. Right?”
“Exactly. Since you’re half human I’m unsure how much fear you’re supposed to ingest to stay healthy but we’re going to figure it out. Your parents entrusted you to me so I’m going to make sure you’re okay.” The boy sighs and gestures for the needle. As the Bats shift, this child has to feed on fear to stay healthy?
“I’m pretty sure they sent me to you because of ecto levels in the city and the amount of fear I’d be able to consume naturally Uncle Jon.” He states as he jams the needle into himself. Above him Bruce and Tim want to intervene but Cass stops them
“Not hurting him.” She states. Danny shivers for a moment before shifting into a much more human form with black hair and blue eyes as they watch on.
“How human do I look?” Scarecrow grins widely
“You look great kiddo. How stable do you feel? What effects are there? How is it interacting with your biology?” Danny thinks for a moment
“I feel like I watched a horror movie in theatre and absorbed enough fear to last a few days.” Scarecrow takes note of that.
“Eventually we’ll find something that’ll work more permanently.” Crane vows
“How much fear do you need to eat weekly?” (The Bats listen closer if one of their rogues literally has to feed on fear that rewrites several prior assumptions about him)
“Not as much as you. I’m still mostly human and I tend to stock up on a bunch at once. I’m thinking about making a weak strain to inject myself with so I won’t have to go out as much.” His Nephew seemed surprised
“Really? Family tradition means that we need at least one Supervillain a generation and my parents have stopped doing vivisections in their basement so really it’s just you?”
“Family tradition?” Tim questions but Bruce is almost as confused. He’ll need to look into Jonathan Cranes background more after this if it’s a family tradition. He’s also concerned about the vivisections the boy mentioned.
Scarecrow let’s out a bit of a laugh below them.
“Who will be the villain from your gen then?” He mused
“Any one of us really,” Danny laughed “According to the Government I’m breaking the law by existing. Ellie is half raised by Uncle Vlad and he’s enough of a villainous fruit loop, Dan is on probation for murder, and Jazz wants to be a psychologist.” He explained.
