Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
I will let you know when the whole story eventually gets posted on Ao3. I'm still deciding on whether I should flush out the first 4 chapters in the full version or leave it as is. For now, I'm aiming to do around 10 ish chapters for the full story or so. When it's ready I'll add the link here.
Dick loved Jazz. He really did. She was incredible—strong, smart, funny, and probably the only person on Earth who could keep up with him in a spar without wanting to throttle him. She got his jokes, finished his sentences, and punched him in the arm whenever he got too smug.
They were supposed to be perfect for each other.
So why was he in love with Dan?
Why had his wedding day been filled with flashes of ice-blue eyes and a voice that always sounded just a little too unimpressed?
Why did his stomach drop every time he thought about Dan looking at him with something almost like affection, only to turn away like it had never been there?
It was driving him insane.
And Jazz—God, poor Jazz. She was so good, so devoted, so present, and Dick? Dick was the worst husband alive.
He’d caught himself zoning out during dinner last week, staring at his fork like it was the most interesting thing in the world, because Jazz had mentioned something in passing, and his brain had gone straight to how Dan would never say something like that. Dan doesn’t talk that much. Dan doesn’t talk at all unless he had to.
Jazz deserved better. She deserved someone who wasn’t actively fantasizing about her brother at the worst possible moments.
And worst of all?
She had no idea.
He was a such horrible person
Jazz was losing her mind.
She was in love with her husband. She knew she was. Dick was amazing—bright and loud and brilliant, always moving, always there. He made her laugh, he made her feel seen, he made life fun.
So why was Jason the one she thought about late at night?
Why was it his voice that echoed in her head when she had a bad day? Why did she find herself catching her breath when he smiled, when he laughed, when he looked at her like she was something worth knowing?
It was awful. It was disgusting. It was—
It was fine. She’d bury it. She’d ignore it.
Dick loved her. She loved Dick. Everything was fine.
Except…
Except Dick had been distracted lately. Not in the normal “up all night on patrol” way. No, this was different.
He was off.
He’d started spacing out in the middle of conversations, looking guilty when she caught him. He’d smile too wide, laugh too loud, cover up whatever he was thinking with that performance of his, but Jazz knew him too well.
Something was wrong.
She wanted to ask, but she didn’t. Because if she asked, maybe he’d ask back. Maybe he’d say why are you acting weird too? Why do you freeze when Jason calls? Why do you look at him like—
No. No, she wasn’t going to think about that.
Everything was fine.
Things got worse.
Dick started overcompensating.
Big romantic gestures, flowers, expensive dinners, soft kisses on her forehead, murmured I love yous like he was trying to convince himself they were real.
Jazz responded in kind.
Lingering touches, doting smiles, playing the role of the perfect wife because God help her, she was going to make this work.
And in their desperate attempts to fix a problem neither of them had named, they didn’t notice what was happening right in front of them.
Didn’t notice the way Dick’s eyes always strayed when Dan was in the room, how his voice softened just slightly when they spoke.
Didn’t notice the way Jazz’s breath hitched when Jason laughed, how she leaned in just a little too much when he talked to her.
Didn’t notice that they were both drowning, clinging to each other in a sinking ship, hoping that if they just held on tight enough, they wouldn’t go under.
And it was only a matter of time before the whole thing collapsed.
It all came crashing down over brunch.
Dick had been jittery all morning, bouncing his leg under the table, stirring his coffee five times before taking a sip. Jazz had been the same, shoveling food into her mouth like it might stop her from blurting out something catastrophic.
They were a mess. A mutual, collective disaster.
And then—
"Jazz, I—"
"Dick, I—"
They both stopped, blinking at each other. Jazz swallowed, setting her fork down.
"You first," she said, voice tight.
Dick inhaled sharply. This was it. This was the moment he ruined everything.
"I'm—" He scrubbed a hand through his hair, bracing himself for impact. "I'm in love with someone else."
Silence.
A long, heavy, horrifying silence.
And then—
"Oh thank God," Jazz blurted out, nearly knocking her coffee over.
Dick blinked. "What?"
"I'm in love with someone else too," she said, her shoulders sagging like someone had finally lifted a hundred-pound weight off her back. "Oh my God, Dick, I thought I was the worst person alive, I was so scared to tell you—"
"You were scared?" Dick let out a laugh, giddy with relief. "Jazz, I have been dying inside for months. I was ready to take this to my grave!"
"Me too! I literally almost repressed myself into a coma!"
"Jesus Christ," Dick groaned, pressing his forehead to the table. "I thought I was going to break your heart."
"I thought I was going to break yours!"
They both sat there, laughing, light-headed, free.
A moment passed before Jazz smirked, leaning forward. "So. Who is it?"
Dick hesitated. And then, because there was no point in lying anymore—
"Dan."
Jazz's smirk vanished. Her eyes widened. "Wait—my Dan?"
"Uh." Dick winced. "Yeah?"
She blinked. Then blinked again. Then—
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"Oh my God, how could we not see it before?" she muttered, rubbing her temples.
Dick frowned. "Wait. See what? What does that mean?"
Jazz took a deep breath, and then—
"I'm in love with Jason."
It took a second for that to register.
Then—
"MY Jason?!"
Jazz shrugged, unapologetic. "Apparently."
Dick gawked at her. "No way."
"Yes Way."
"Oh my God."
"Right?!"
For a long, long moment, they just stared at each other.
And then—
They started laughing.
Deep, gut-wrenching, gasping-for-air laughing. The kind that hurt. The kind that felt like they were unraveling years of tension in one go.
"How did we not notice?" Jazz wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes.
"I have no idea!" Dick gasped. "I was so busy feeling guilty, I didn’t even think to ask why you kept getting all weird around Jason!"
"And I was so caught up in my own disaster," Jazz snorted, "I didn’t even see you staring at Dan like he personally invented the concept of breathing!"
They both dissolved into laughter again, until finally, finally, the weight of the past few months lifted completely.
Jazz leaned back in her chair, still chuckling. "So. What do we do now?"
Dick hummed, stretching his arms behind his head. "Well. We could get a divorce."
"Obviously."
"And then we could—y'know. Maybe—try something else?"
Jazz smirked. "Are you asking me if we should ask each other's brothers out?"
Dick grinned. "I mean. I feel like we kinda have to at this point."
Jazz snorted. "God, we are such disasters."
"Yeah," Dick agreed, still grinning.
They clinked their coffee mugs together like it was a toast and for the first time in a while didnt feel the overwhelming weight of lying to your patner.
Somewhat Inspired by EDA's beautiful art, Thank you, @demonic0angel , for being so ridiculously creative and talented that I can’t even sit back and enjoy your work in peace.
No, instead, you had to go and make me feel creative too, and now I have the unbearable urge to post things. I hope you’re proud of yourself.
Or what if the Phantom siblings were cursed into pets and the Batkids found them.
Jazz is a borzoi/Russian wolfhound, Dan is a Turkish boz shepherd, Danny is a Turkish angora, and Dani is a calico cat. When the Dannies transform, Dan’s colors get inverted, Danny is a tuxedo cat, and Dani’s fur turns full black.
Inspiration:
Sometimes I start thinking, thinking about myself, and then I realize, why do I feel like I could cry about it?
I mean, I'm not very good at acting, at least as far as I know, but I'm good at lying in the moment, I can cry if I talk like the victim, like the person who needs to be pitied, it's strange, because now I just thought about a situation where I feel like I could cry, and I felt like my eyes were getting ready to cry, actually, I'm trying to cry right now, it's working to a certain point, they're just getting watery, but no tears are coming out, I guess the words are the activator, how curious, the last time I cried for almost two days because of something stupid, once a crybaby always a crybaby, or I guess it was just me
Sometimes I like to think that maybe I'm not bad at expressing myself in words, that people simply don't understand what I said, as if I were speaking another language, which will possibly happen one day because I know 3 languages and almost all the people I talk to also know those same 3 languages.
Anyway, I'm not stupid, much less an unintelligent being, definitely distracted to my surroundings, but I find it difficult to express myself, words are like alphabet soup, if you find the right mixes you'll get one meaning, but for some reason I understand it as another, so I say a mix of words that mean something to me but not the same to others, it's complicated.
People say I'm confused, that I don't understand, I'm not confused, I understand (most of the time), but I don't know how to express it, I just can't express it correctly, thats why I like to read, it distracts me, it opens up a small world for me which writers open up for readers, detailing scenarios, characters, places, feelings. I don't have to express myself, because someone else is expressing themselves, they are sharing a piece of their mind, their soul, their way of writing is telling me about them, telling me a story that I end up becoming fond of.
I'm not a fan of life, but reading makes me feel alive, I will cry, I will laugh, I will feel sorry, I will change my perspective, a lot more, and all because I simply love it. I'm not very expressive, I don't know how to communicate properly, probably won't for a long time, but I can read, I can see how someone else expresses themselves, and that makes me happy.
I want to scream and cry so bad, my mom just told me that my cousins are coming to be the afternoon with me, and I swear over my life that I love my cousins, but I am tired, and I feel that my mom is trying to push my limit, I'm not the most social person in my circle, I actually would love a lot more to just stay in my room, sleeping, and doing nothing but stare at the ceiling for hours, my mom knows that I don't like to talk, but noooooo, I have to fucking socialize, and my social batery is already fucking empty, just trow me to the floor with a plushie and I swear I'll be more happy than a clam in high tide! And in general, I would be happy to talk to my cousins, but this week I have had to socialize more than usual, it is annoying to have to talk when I don't even have the energy to get out of bed.
Klarion the witch boy sees Danny and goes: That’s a whole xss baby.
Then treats him as so. Doesn’t help that Danny gets huffy like one when he’s with him. Danny throwing things at him or biting him is just ‘cute’ to him and he takes it upon himself to guide this infant.
He also makes his “hero friends that don’t play right” baby sit Danny while he goes on a date. That he enlisted their help in asking. Jazz is a very pretty liminal.
Danny pouts until nap time and cuddles with Cujo.
Klarion and Danny get along well enough and he handles when Danny “throws a tantrum” okay.
He doesn’t want to have a play date with his sister, Child, between his new little friend. She would be too rough for Danny.
Danny is super frustrated at Klarion only treating him as his ghost age and not his living age. He’s not just two years old! He’s also fourteen!!!! He is not apposed to free candy however.
The heroes looking at him as he takes candy from Klarion without a thought and get worried as they watch him follow Klarion. His hissy fits are cute if not panic inducing as they hope Klarion doesn’t hurt him.
Klarion is surprisingly patient with this civilian he is ‘baby sitting’. The civilian girl that comes to pick him up and pay for the service…. Yeah he not very subtle with his crush but she’s dense enough not to pick up on it right a way.
I will somehow make this dead serious!!! Somehow!!! Maybe???? Probably not I guess I haven’t watched young Justice in forever.
Danny- 14 (2)
Jazz- 18
Klarion- ….. looks 19
Jazz’s tall xss looming over Klarion as she tells him how to take care of Danny and he’s only half listening and Danny is chewing on his arm in an attempt to make him leave. He does not care, he just lets him and pets his hair.
Jazz is going to a conference that lasts until late in the night so that’s how long Danny has to drive this sister stealer a way. Nothing he does work and the weird costumed friends keeps following them!!!!
Danny had no idea what a meta was, but appearently he had something called a meta-gene. One would think a mutation that can cause people to manifest superpowers from lab accidents would explain his disastrous career as a superhero, but they would be wrong. Dannys meta gene was never activated and the whole ghost fiasco was just eldrich shenanigans at its finest.
No, Danny's meta gene activated just two weeks ago on his fifteenth birthday where he was celebrating at Sam's place with Tucker. They had gotten into one of thier usual fights about food and Danny just did not want to deal with it and went into another room.
Sams cat didn't love him per say but it usually didn't hate him either. Today was not his lucky day. The kitty scratched him and wouldn't you know? His meta gene wasn't activated by an interdimentional portal opening up on top of him, it wasn't activated by the numerous energy blasts he had been hit with nor the various electric shocks.
No, it was activated by a freaking cat scratch.
He stared at himself in the mirror, glowing green eyes with slit pupils stared back at him. His kitty ears were folded back to show his shock and displeasure over the situation but it was still rather obvious what they were. The tail wagging slowly behind him was the same snowy white as his hair and ears.
He looked like Phantom. He looked like Phanton as Fenton. Ancients. There was no way he was going to be able to hide this. Transforming brought about no change other than the hazmat suit. He was so screwed. He couldn't go home like this.
Breathing heavily and on the verge of a panic attack he called Jazz once, twice, three times, but she didn't pick up. Danny knew he couldn't stay in the human world, it was too dangerous.
But if he wasn't there to protect the ghosts than it would be too dangerous for them to stay too. He knew for a fact Dani was staying with Dora while she taught her how to read and write so he had pretty much no qualms about destroying the portals and outing Vlad through a pre-made video of him transforming and boasting about his crimes to Phantom, courtesy of Tucker and him filming it all.
He felt bad about ditching his friends one last time, and at his own birthday party no less! But he knew if he tried to say goodbye they would guilt him into staying and it would end horribly so he left a note explaining what happened and bounced.
Destroying the portals hadn't taken much time or effort nor did destroying over 20 years of research between the three. It was exploring the Ghost Zone that was giving him problems. He was always warned by Wulf not to open portals in the Ghost Zone unless you were very experienced cause if you screw up theres no telling when or where you will land. He thought back to Wulfs lessons and tried to conjure the image of lush wildlife and abundant food.
The place he ended up portaling to had neither of those things. In fact if felt like the opposite when he landed in a grimey alleyway in the dark of night.
A spotlight was pointed toward the sky, painting the clouds above in a yellow light holding a stylized image of a bat in the center. Danny wondered what that was about for only a minute before he heard the tell tale whoosh sound of someone landing in the alley behind him.
Dannys new instincts reacted before the logical part of his brain took hold causing him to whirl around with his ears flattened to his head and he hissed so furiously that the man with the red helmet (mask?) back up several paces while cursing furiously. The man also mentioned something about a "Pit" but Danny wasn't paying attention, he was scared out of his mind and bolted down the alleyways and out of sight before phasing into a dilapidated building and hiding under some rubble.
Later, Red Hood told Nightwing about the Lazarus Pit catboy demon and described it as nightmarish as possible before adding that it was kinda twinkish. He also added "for the love of God dickwing, don't let demon brat adopt that thing"
In Damians defence, he found Danny asleep next to Alfred the cat in Batcows barn and just decided he was thier new cat. In other news hes far more concerned with hiding Danny From Catwoman than from father.
IT'S BATMOMA TIME!!
As I said, Batmom promotes long hair, so the birdies use them
Duke doesn't know what's going on
Everyone knows who Phantom is. He was one of the very first heroes though he inexplicably chose to dedicate his life (metaphorically) to micromanaging the hell out of some random town no one has ever heard of. He's a specialist hero, only really useful for ghost stuff. He comes every time someone contacts him for help but it's only happened a few times in all of his years of operation.
Then, kid heroes become a thing. Robin, once perpetually hidden beneath the shadow of the bat emerges into the metropolis sun just in time to make the front page.
When Batman's child-raising skills are called into question, Kid Flash is brought out at a press release by Flash to show that these exceptional children are around. They just aren't common knowledge for their own health (aside from the villains - being a child star wrecks your brain).
A few villains do come forward and say "no, the sidekicks will go out on their own if their hero doesn't let them. And they have all the powers and none of the restraint. Please don't separate them."
(Batman and Robin are both very flattered that all their rogues think they have powers. Robin is ✨glowing✨ with pride.)
Cyborg calls Robin at 3am. He asks if he's seen the new 'BooTube' page.
Phantom has set up his own website. It's a dark and moody ripoff of YouTube with 1 channel. His.
Introduction Video: Transcript Hi guys, I can't lie to you, I was as up-in-arms as anyone when I saw what people are now calling "The Robin Reveal". But then I remembered that I started my hero work when I was mentally and physically fourteen years old...
Danny doesn't mention he was also chronologically 14 at the time. Secret identities and all.
...and I had no mentor, no training and no backup. It was just me and two humans, neither of whom even had powers at that time. I understand the call, in a way that none of the non-hero people criticising you could ever hope to comprehend. I'm glad to see most of you fellow child-heroes have an experienced adult watching your back. But if you don't. If there's even one of you out there who need a mentor, consider Amity Park open for business, and consider adding my number to your speedial. I'm not like those people in interviews saying "Oh, someone needs to help the children!" I am helping you, I am helping you whenever you need with whatever you want.
The ghost swallows and seemingly forces down his brimming sincerity.
And for those of you who do already have backup? Consider checking back here. I'm going over my old reports from my first few years on the streets to see what I most needed to hear, and what I wished I knew sooner. Hopefully no one else will have to learn what I know the hard way.
You know how to fight, this channel won't be for that. This is about coping with secret identities, and the messed up situations that can only happen to a vigilante or hero.
Anyways, the first video is already ready to be edited so in a few days I'll be back here to discuss what you do when you've been cloned. How to deal with that emotionally and physically. My clone isn't very well known outside of my town but I think she'll add a great perspective!
Within weeks, without his knowledge, Danny is somehow remote-mentoring heroes of all ages.
The thoughts of me, I and myself. The profile pictures does not belong to me, and I don't know to who.
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