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.
Dpxdc Prompt #54
The GCPD has hired a new sketch artists, and as the Bats regularly hack their local police department's system, the Bats have noticed. He's a good artist, that's for certain, but there's something a little off about his sketches.
It's how they'll look almost exactly like the assailant when the witness could barely see them. In how the artist seems to know details that the victim wouldn't have remembered, or even seen, without trying. A mole, an eyebrow slit, pierced ears, undyed roots, things like that.
It's almost like Danny Fenton knows the criminals he's drawing, and that makes him suspicious.
——————————————————————————————————
Danny hadn't meant to get mixed up with the corrupt Gotham Police, but sometimes the starving artist stereo type is reality and helping identify criminals isn't the worst job in the world. Plus, its pretty obvious the local vigilantes get as much, if not more, use out of police resources than the GCPD themselves and Danny knows that vigilantes can use all the help they can get.
It didn't occur to him to use his powers to be more accurate until one of the first criminals he sketched got caught, and he didn't look too much like the drawing Danny had done. There were similarities, of course, but the details were lost in translation.
So the next time he was contacted to do a sketch he may have overshadowed the witness—only for a second—to take a glance at their memory of the assailant.
Suddenly his sketches became a lot more accurate.
He should have known that this would lead to the Bats investigating him, but he never could stop himself from helping.
The concept of Dick and Jason both having their own Brucie Wayne versions to charm the public is SO funny to me. Not even the fact that the whole idea is amusing, but Bruce's reaction to it would heal me. Like, he is with Dick on some mission, and here goes Richie Grayson :> — your local bimbo and golden retriever, or you know, whatever you want him to be. That, at least, seems obvious.
But Jason turns into Jase Todd :3, the far too innocent for his own good guy with a big heart the minute paparazzi is around? Bruce is horrified.
Bruce: alright, I know social events are not your area of work, but try just to nod and smile
Jason: yeah, whatever, old man
(five minutes later)
Vickie Vale: well, mister Todd, such a smart and diligent man like you — how come you are still single?
Jase Todd :3 : oh, well... I-i actually think I am quite unlucky in this matter... Just recently, a person I dated told me that I was rather too shy 🥹 And the previous suitor was with me only because of dad's money... 🥺 Dad tells me to take it easy... I still wish to find my perfect romantic partner, of course, but-
Richie Grayson :>, mournfully: my little wing has such a warm, big heart (slaps his chest) and, of course, he deserves the best.
Vickie Vale: awww, you are so sweet!
Bruce, staring in terror, because who the hell are these sweet boys, and where did his two walking headaches go: ...
Listen, if I had the time I would just make Justice Leauge the mockumentary, lol.
AKA "Danny becomes de-aged in Gotham and finds the only person he knows who can probably help. Bruce Wayne, the Batman. Except Bruce thinks Danny is a kid mistaking him for his dad??" prompt idea!!
HC that Bruce Wayne and Jack Fenton look super similar. Therefore, Danny and Bruce also look pretty similar!!
I love the idea that Danny already knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. Maybe it's his aura or because the amount of kids Bruce has directly correlates to the amount of bat-themed sidekicks there are. Who knows? Anyway, Danny comes into a small bit of trouble. He may or may not have insulted an immortal witch who cursed him because he's an "immature child, may as well look as young as you act!"
So. Now Danny looks a solid 3-4 years old. It's a good thing that Sam and Tucker briefed him on all he celebrity gossip before he came to Gotham, because he coincidentally knows where the Wayne Enterprise building is. He... can figure it out. Probably. It's actually alarming how many people watch what they think is an unaccompanied kid huff and puff his way in downtown Gotham. (Also, wow, Danny severely underestimated how difficult it is to run after being babified.) But he does make it to the general area of where WE is supposed to be!
His legs are practically shaking at this point, sweating through his toddler-sized NASA hoodie, and searching frantically for Bruce Wayne. Because he really didn't think of it before, but it's Friday afternoon. What if Mr. Batman isn't at WE today? What if Danny gets to WE after 5pm and he's gone until Monday? Would Danny even be able to find the Wayne Manor, much less get transportation there?
Except as Danny's becoming increasingly worried (don't cry, don't cry, don't cry), he spots... his dad?? in the coffee shop windows beside him. No, not his dad. Bruce fucking Wayne! Hell, yeah! Danny smacks open the doors of the coffee shop with single-minded toddler-clumsy determination. Makes a bee-line straight to the coffee pick-up. Bruce Wayne is standing off to the side, quietly speaking on his phone, as Danny practically slams face-first into his knees. Thankfully, it doesn't take either of them down, but it is particularly embarrassing.
Especially when Danny clutches to Batman's pant leg and confidently shouts, "Batman!" Except... he doesn't. A weird jumble of words come out of his mouth that sound more like baba! It's like the world screeches to a stop because, first of all, what the fuck. Second, that bitch witch! She must've made it so whatever he says comes out in toddler-speak despite the fact that he should be able to say somewhat comprehensible sentences, being he's physically 3-4.
That doesn't stop him from trying, though, so he ends up babbling baba, baba, baba in an increasingly frustrated tone.
And Bruce Wayne, who's become used to Damian calling him baba instead of Father, can only stare down at this child who could pass as his clone. The similarities are striking. Even if the toddler is huffing, red-cheeked and clearly on the verge of crying, he looks so much like Bruce that he wonders momentarily if it's another Damian situation.
Regardless, there's a kid crying in front of him, tugging on his pant leg and calling for his dad. And Bruce is nothing if not absolutely weak-hearted against stuff like this. So, he leans down and just... scoops the kid up. Murmurs, "Shh, it's okay, kiddo. You're okay." Pats the kid's back, sways. Completely forgets he's in a crowded coffee (this is definitely going on YouTube, posted under 'Wayne Adopts Another??') and that he's on a phone call with Dick. It's like his Dad Instincts kick in and he's completely focused on Danny.
Danny is... bewildered. Because why is the Batman coddling him?? Except he notices that others have noticed, and have their phones out recording, which is really Not Good. He's not super confident that his parents would be able to recognize him while he's de-aged, but the fact that they might? That's opening a can of worms he can't handle at the moment. So his little string bean arms loop around Bruce's neck and he shoves his face into the collar of the man's suit. Much to his irritation, he can hear several girls next to him coo and giggle about him being such a cute baby. Danny's really regretting not approaching Batman privately now.
And it doesn't end!!
Bruce calms the kid down and then immediately goes to the store manager, asking if any parents have lost their child. He doesn't trust that someone may claim Danny as theirs when that may not be the case. Then, he calls up Gordon, asks about any missing person reports on a child the ages of 2-5 with average height, medium build, and black hair. No hits. Eventually, Bruce makes up his mind and takes Danny home with him. Oracle will likely be able to pull more information than the GCPD anyways.
Meanwhile, Danny zonks out. Like full on, toddler-sprawl open-mouth drooling, because it's been a long day and he got Batman. He did it! And from the way Bruce is still carrying him, Danny will likely be with him for a little while. A little catnap will do him some good. Maybe when he wakes up, he'll magically have the ability to speak normally instead of hysterically babble.
(Four hours later, Danny wakes up on the couch at Wayne Manor, bundled up in super soft blankets with Bruce talking on the phone with some woman. Bruce smiles at the way Danny says baba again. Danny's ready to throw that witch into Bruce's well-maintained fireplace because screaming son of bitch isn't as satisfying when it sounds like sa-bA-BAH!!")
Cue Danny doing increasingly ridiculous things to make The "Greatest Detective" Batman realize he's not a literal baby and Bruce Wayne so enamored with this little kid that he does not realize.
DCxDP idea #3:
The police in Gotham ignore Crime Alley on principle, but the fire department and ambulance services, extremely unofficially, give them a higher priority than the wealthiest districts.
They know that the Alley hasn't been up to code since the murder of the Waynes. The rich can afford to fix their fire escapes. The Alley can't.
More people would die in the Alley during a disaster if they didn't do that; the Alley residents know that. There's a lot of people from the Alley in those jobs. The pay is crap and the hours are worse, so why not? And the Alley sticks to everyone who has lived there, so sooner or later the Alley has more than it's fair shared of decent first responders (ACAB).
It stays with them after they die, that feeling, that memory, of knowing that the man next door might be a mugger, but he's the first one of the volunteer firefighters to run into a raging fire and start pulling out people—that he went back into one just to save a girl's ESA dog.
So, when the Portal gets opened, no one in Amity even knows when the 42 ghosts from Crime Alley bolt straight home. They don't learn about them until much later.
Was the Alley surprised when the woman who died on the table at Gotham General showed up at 4 first-aid training clasd? The one who'd been delivered in time, but who'd been bumped down the list by an aide from the Diamond District until she'd been waiting for too long to survive?
Not really.
Gotham was weird—why not add ghosts to be mix? If she wanted to save lives, good for her. Just don't let her use the paddles—they short out before she can get them out of the case.
Soon enough, Crime Alley has ghosts in the firehouse. They can go through walls and fly; the mortality rate for apartment fires drops dead.
The news spreads, slowly, to the rest of the city. Crime Alley has ghosts, and the ghosts are saving lives just like the other first responders do. The Bats start working with them, and after that, well, the city knows that the ghosts are on their side.
(A few cops try to arrest them for the usual made-up charges, but handcuffs can do nothing to stop a ghost.)
(Gordon got a gift basket from three girls he'd caught the murderer of.)
It takes a while for the news to spread out of Gotham. When it does, the JLD swings by on the down low to investigate. They're more surprised than the Alley was, but hey, these are thinking, feeling people; if they want to take the graveyard shift on call, more power to them.
All this means that, by the time the Amity Park situation gets out, the Drs. Fenton and the GIW have one hell of a time gaslighting anyone into believing their anti-ghost bullshit.
Crime Alley has a shared ACAB mindset and enough testimony and evidence to kill that shit, and they aren't the only ones that those 42 ghosts have made an impact on.
Those 42 ghosts are the reason why Amity Park doesn't become the only example of what ghosts can do. Without them, things would have been much, much worse.
Phantom comic
Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36(end of chapter 1)
Chapter 2
Page 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 (end of chapter 2).
Chapter 3
Page 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 (end of chapter 3)
Chapter 4
Page 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 (end of chapter 4)
Chapter 5
Page 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 (end of chapter 5)
Chapter 6
Page 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Sidestories
Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9. 10. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. 18. 19. 20. 21, 22, 23, 24
Webtoon link The finished chapters will go up here.
Avengers 2012
After Loki was captured and placed into the cell
Thor went into the room to talk to his brother
"Loki." Said Thor to get his attention.
"Yes, brother." Said Loki to his brother
"On a scale of Arthur to Godric, which is the stupidest at the moment." Said Thor, making those listening confused expect to those that knew about the wixen world they were wondering where Thor was going with this.
"Godric, tired to tickle a dragon, Arthur tired to kill Morgana." Said Loki with no hesitation
"Oh, your mind controlled." Said Thor as if it was as simple as asking a question.
"How." Said Loki with a broken expression to his brother and let his glamour drop to reveal bruises all over him in various stages of healing
"Because Salazar tickled the dragon, and Morgana and Arthur never tried to kill each other." Said Thor, giving his brother a look
"Oh right, that was during when you and Sif were playing Noble's." Said Loki in realisation
"We asked if you wanted to be a noble, you said, and I quito 'I want to prove myself to the meddlesome mortals,' so blame yourself for not being a nobel." Said Thor to Loki
"HEY, I proved myself they still worship Merlin to this day." Said Loki to his brother
"I heard someone say Merlin's saggy balls not even an hour ago." Deadpand Thor to his brother who shudder at Thor's words
"Why are they talking about that." Said the disgusted Loki.
I was watching a ghost hunter show where the ‘ghost’ could only use the machine to say pre-recorded words. And I had an idea. We know that technology can’t always work with ectoplasm. So what if ghost speak couldn’t be heard over the phone? And to call for help, the Amity Parkers had to get creative to get ahold of the Justice League when the GIW declares all out war on all the ghosts and liminal in town.
“Hello, you have reached the Justice League emergency hotline. What is the nature of your emergency?”
“Hello, hello. Emergency, hello. Justice League.” A distorted male voice answered back.
“Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me? what is the nature of your emergency?” Green Lantern asked again.
“I can hear you, emergency. Hello Justice League. Hello emergency.”
“Do you need help? Can you hear me?”
“Help. Help. Can you hear me? Help.” The voice distorted again to something like static.
“Prank calls aren’t funny kid. This is an emergency line.” With an exasperated sigh, Green Lantern hung up.
“What was that about?”
“It’s just a prank call. Some kid using a voice mod thing.”
“Really? That’s annoying.”
“I know. But it’s not that unusual. Kids don’t have anything better to do during the summer.”
“I guess. What are you doing on hotline duty? You’re not scheduled for refresher training for another few months, right?”
“Food fight in the cafeteria. Batman added everyone involved to additional monitor or dispatch duty twice a week for the next month.”
“Yikes. Hate to be you. Who else got caught?”
“Flash, Plasticman, Vigilante, and Shining Knight.”
Zatanna raised an eyebrow. “Can’t imagine Sir Justin getting involved in a food fight.”
Hal shrugged with a good-humored smirk, “Vig took a salad bowl to the head, Sir Justin jumped in to cover his retreat. Right in time for Bats to break up the fun.”
Zatanna giggled, “Poor Sir Justin.”
“Poor Sir Justin?” Hal Jorden gasped dramatically, “What about me? I was just an innocent bystander.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“What are you doing here anyway?”
“Unlike you. I’m just here for one shift for refresher dispatch training.”
“Good for you. Well, have at it. The active-duty roster is on the big screen with who's suited up and available.”
Zatanna looked up at the large monitor with pinging dots in various locations around the world. “Alright. A bit better than the old system of scrolling for available heroes and asking where they are.”
“Yeah, Cyborg linked everyone’s com into the system so we can tell who is where, when their com is active.”
“Sounds good. Alright, Let’s do this.” Zatanna put headset on and clicked ‘available operator’ on the screen. Immediately her phone rang. “Hello, this is the Justice League Emergency Hotline. What is the nature of your emergency?”
“Emergency. Hello, Justice League. Emergency.” A female voice came through her headset. The connection was very poor. Interference and static came through.
“Can you hear me? This is the Justice League emergency Hotline. Do you need help?” Zatanna looked over at Hal. He was fiddling with his headset cord. He looked up at her and she gestured her head to the screen. It was the same number as his prank call.
“Hear me? Help. Justice League. Emergency Help.” The feminine voice sounded vaguely familiar. Zatanna ignored it to confront the prankster.
“Kid, this isn’t a joke. This is a serious line for actual emergencies. You can’t keep calling. I’m going to hang up now. Please don’t call back.”
“Isn’t a Joke. This isn’t a Joke. Please don’t. Hang up now. Actual Emergencies. Keep calling. Hotline. Justice League. Help. For actual emergencies.” The static under the female voice sharpened. Zatanna paused. Her finger was just hovering over the button to end the call when something stopped her. The tone of voice was sharp. Irritated. Also, strangely familiar. After a second it dawned on her. Hal was still looking at her, so she waved him over to listen into the call. Once he was listening with his own muted headset, she asked “Are you…? Are you repeating what I’m saying?”
“Repeating. Help. Isn’t a Joke. What I’m saying. Emergency. Help. Hello. Help. Emergency.”
Zatanna finally recognized the voice. “Is that my voice? Are you repeating with my voice?”
“Repeating. Voice. You. Emergency. Help. Isn’t a Joke. Help. Justice League. Don’t. Hang Up.”
“You’re using my voice to talk back to me? My words. And…You can only repeat what you hear… is that right?” Zatanna shared a glance with a horrified Hal. Him, just realizing he had hung up on an actual emergency. Not a kid playing a joke.
Zatanna’s own voice echoed staticky in her ear. “Right. Right. Can repeat. Only. Talk back. Using voice. Help. Emergency help.”
“Are you in danger?” She looked over at Hal who was typing on his own computer to trace the call origin. He looked back at her and shook his head. Weirdly, they can’t find where the signal is coming from.
“Danger. Emergency. Help Justice League. Help. In danger”
“I understand. I’m going to ask you where you are. Do you understand?” Zatanna was going to have to narrow this down. She pulled up a world map onto her screen.
“Understand. Help. Emergency.” The static in the voice softened slightly. Like relief.
“OK, we need to know where you are. What continent are you on? Asia? Africa? Australia? Europe? North America? South America?”
“North America. Help. Emergency.”
Zatanna clicked on the screen to enlarge the North American Continent. “OK, you’re in North America. Are you in Canada or America?”
“America. Help.”
Another click of the mouse to focus on the USA. “OK are you in the North, Northeast, Southeast, West, Southwest, or Midwest?”
“Midwest. Midwest. Help emergency. Help. America. Midwest.”
“OK I’m going to ask your state now. Do you know it?” Zatanna clicked on the Midwest region of the map to enlarge it more. Hal was standing up now. Anticipation making his body glow faintly green. He was texting something on his phone, but Zatanna ignored it to focus on her own echoing voice on the other end of the line.
“Know it. know it.” Her voice repeated back, “Ask.”
“Are you in North Dakota? Are you in Minnesota? Are you in South Dakota? Are you in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan-“
The voice interrupted her. “Illinois. Illinois, Midwest America, Illinois. Help. Emergency. Justice League Help.”
“Do you know where in Illinois you are?”
“Yes, yes. Where Illinois. Emergency. Ask.”
Zatanna enlarged the map of the state infront of her. The closest hero was in Detroit Michigan and they didn’t’ have any abilities to help them get to Illinois quickly. She gestured to Hal to look at the screen. He nodded his understanding. “Do you know where in the state you are? what region or what county?
“County. Know. County.”
“OK I’m going to name a few counties. Tell me yes or no if you are there, okay?”
“Yes, yes. Tell me.”
Zatanna listed off the counties on the map. Her tongue slightly tangling over the midwestern words. “OK, Joe Durres, Steffensen, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake, Cook, Dupage, Kane, Dekalb, Ogle, Carroll, Whiteside, Lee-“
The voice interrupted again. “ Lake. County.”
“OK you’re in Lake County. is that right?” Zatanna clicked over the county and enlarged the map.
“Right. Right, help. Emergency. In Lake County.”
“OK I’m going to name off some cities in Lake County. Are you in a city? yes or no”
“City no. name cities. Yes.”
Zatanna paused for a second. “Do you mean you are not in a city, but you can name the closest one to you? yes or no?”
“Yes. Name. Closet one. Name. Closest. City. Emergency.”
“Okay. I understand. Are you in Gurney? are you in Libertyville, Grayslake, round lake, or round lake beach? Are you in Lake Forest, Zion, Vernon Hills, Highland Park, or north Chicago-“
The voice cut her off again. “Park.”
“Are you in Highland Park?”
“No. Park. In Park. Park. Park. Park. Emergency. In Park.” The tone of the voice did’t change but the words came faster, almost overlapping over themselves.
“OK calm down. Let me understand. Are you in a park or in a place called park?”
“In a place called Park. Help emergency. In place called park.”
Zatanna scanned the list of Illinois cities called ‘Park’ in the county. “OK are you in Round Lake Park or Beach Park, Deerfield Park, Park City, or Deer Park.”
“No. Place called Park. No city. place called park.”
“So you’re in a place called Park but it’s not a city is that right?”
“ Right. Place call park. Emergency. not city. Help.”
“OK, let's go down the list. Brook Park, Mill Park, Park Barrington, River Park, Park Township, VernonPark Hills, West Keegan Park, West Deerfield Park, Amity Park, Wheeling Park-“
“Amity. Amity Park. Emergency in Amity Park. Emergency in Amity Park. emergency help help emergency.”
“OK you're an Amity Park. Is that right?”
“Right. Right. In Amity Park”
Zatanna nodded to Hal who was still texting on his phone. He nodded back to her.
“OK, I know where you are now. Now we need to know what kind of emergency is it a natural disaster? is it a villain? is it an alien?”
“Villain. Emergency. villain villain villain.” The words came fast. Static was almost overwhelming.
“OK, calm down. I'm right here. Does the villain have powers or not.”
“Villian have. No. Powers. I'm here. Powers. Help. Natural- powers. Help. I'm. kind of. Natural. Help. Powers. We. Need help. OK?”
Zatanna paused. The sentences didn’t make sense. The villain did not have powers? But the caller said “I’m. Kind of. Natural.” She shared a look to Hal. Hal typed on his computer and a message appeared on her screen.
“I txted Flash. He can be there, but he needs to know what kind of situation he’s running into.” Zatanna read the message and nodded.
“OK. You need to give me more information. There are villains but they don’t have powers? Can you tell me what kind of natural powers you mean? Are they metagene powers? Are they magic? Are there weapons?”
“Magic. Weapons. Powers magic. I. powers. magic. Help. Can you help. Me?”
Zatanna felt a rush of fear. Magic powers. ‘Villains no powers. Weapons’ must mean that the villains don’t have any powers, but they have weapons that can affect the magic user who is calling. She looked over at Hal. He nodded. “Okay. I have magic too. I am going to Amity Park to help you. Can you tell me how many villains there are? Are there more than five or less than five?
“More than five. Villains. I have magic too. Villains. Weapons. more than we. I am going too. yes. Yes going. Help.”
So, the caller definitely needed magic backup. Zatanna gestured to Hal who began to send an all-notice message to any Magic using League hero. “Are the villains after your powers? is that right? the villains are attacking you for your powers?”
“Right. Right villains attacking for powers. Help emergency. More than me. Powers. Villains attacking. We need help. Amity park. Needs help.”
Zatanna froze. ‘We need help.’ More than me…powers. We need help. Oh god. “Is there more than one of you with magic? There’s a group of you with powers that the villains are attacking?” Zatanna asked. A group of magic users fighting villains? Maybe sending more magic users isn’t the best idea. They might need some heavy hitters for this.
“Group. with powers. Magic. Amity Park. Magic. Villains attacking. Disaster. Emergency help. Villains have. More than one of you. Of you. We. villains have. More than one. Of We.”
It took Zatanna only a second. By now she was standing up out of her chair. “Do The villains have hostages? With magic powers? How many?”
Hal had linked in the call with multiple coms. On the large monitor Zatanna could see multiple heroes dots shift slightly. All in the direction of Illinois. She was grateful to see Wonder Woman, Flash, and Captain Marvel all headed in that direction. “We’ve got hero’s coming your way. They will be there soon to help you and rescue the hostages.”
“Many hostages. Many magic in Amity Park. Weapons. Villains have. Weapons. We have. Magic. Villains have Hostages. Villains have. Soon. Powers. We need help. Heroes coming. Justice league. Help. Not villains. We not. Villains. Help we.”
Zatanna felt sick as she understood that message. ‘The villains have hostages and weapons. The caller and the others have powers. But then… villains have…soon…powers. Did that mean that the villains were taking powers away from whoever was calling? She paused at that last sentence. “You’re not the villains. what do you mean by that?
“We. Not. the Villains. Villains have hostages. Villains have weapons. Isn’t a joke. Isn’t. Isn’t Right. We. Not Villains. We Natural. We not weapons. We not villains. Help. Rescue hostages. Rescue. Me. Help Me. Help we have Powers. Help.”
“You’re not the villains, I know. You say you are natural. Do you mean that when the heroes get there, they might think you are the villains and get confused?” Zatanna knew that multiple heroes were silently listening to the call.
“We not the villains. Heroes might think. Powers. Are the. Weapons. We Amity Park. We need help. Justice league get here. Rescue Hostages.”
Hal messaged her again on her screen. Zatanna read off the message.
“We’ve alerted the Illinois National Guard as well. They’ll be there soon to help.”
“No. No. No. National Guard. No help. Villains. Guard villains. Help we. Help Amity Park.”
Zatanna looked confused. “What? No the national guard is coming there to help.”
“National Guard. The.Villains. They guard. The villains. No help. They’ll. Weapon. Amity Park. Powers. Justice League Rescue Amity Park. Help. Help. Help.” The static became so prevalent that Zatanna had to fight the impulse to rip the headset off. She tried to decipher the words.
“Okay. Okay we’ll help you. But we need to be able to find you. Are you in a house or a building? Can you get to a rooftop?”
“Building Rooftop. Heroes Find Me.”
“How can we find you? Can you wave a flag or give us a sign. Are you a woman or a man? What do you look like.”
There was a long pause. “I can. Wave. Kid. Kid. Woman. Kid woman.”
Zatanna wondered for a long moment where the word ‘kid’ came from before remembering when she first accused the caller of prank calling. She said ‘Kid, this isn’t a joke.’ The she felt bile flood her throat as she understood what they meant. “Are…are you a child?”
Zatanna’s own voice answered back. “Child. Kid. Woman child. Rooftop. Help Justice League. Find. Me. Help Hostages. Help. Amity Park.”
Flashes voice came over the com line. Muted from the call but clear in Zatanna’s other ear. “Oh my god. I’m here. It’s a war zone. There’s…We’re going to need back up. Medical units. There are tanks and fires everywhere. There’s been some kind of artillery shot at different buildings. It’s a war zone.”
There was a silent horrified moment as all the heroes listening absorbed the information. “I think I see our caller. It’s a little girl. Maybe eight or ten. White hair. She’s floating. She’s on the library roof with a giant phone. I think she sees me.”
In Zatanna’s other ear her own voice repeated. “Heroes find me. Rooftop. Help.”
“The man in red is called Flash. He’s there to help.”
“He’s there. Man In Red. Help. Flash. Find me.”
“I’m on my way too. Just stay with Flash and tell him what you need, okay sweetie?” Zatanna’s voice was infinitely softer now that she knew it was a child on the phone.
“Okay. Stay with Flash. Help. On. You. Way.”
The line shut off and Zatanna flinch at the sudden silence in her ear. She glanced over at Hal. “I’m going to Zeta down to Amity.”
“I’m right behind you. Flash said a war zone. I…I need to be there.”
Zatanna nodded at his guilty expression. “Right. Let’s hurry and get to Amity Park.”
Sorry for my broken English. So I've had this thought for months at this point, just Danny being the chocolate guy from Infinite Realms, and by chocolate guy, I mean the one who makes edible sculptures out of chocolate or other things, but chocolate, after all.
Just imagine a couple of the bats who were mistakenly sent to Danny's lair and they go in and see a real-time recreation of the solar system (made of chocolate) or something.
Or maybe Danny making a themed gift for Pandora's birthday. The videos of Danny making a scale recreation of Clockwork's lair. But mostly, the fact that Danny has access to super rare ingredients due to the portals to other realities makes his creations even crazier, cooler, and with interesting effects. Imagine Constantine fighting at an auction to buy a basket of chocolate apples just because one of the ingredients in them is precisely an apple that is said to cure 99.9% of diseases for which no cure has been discovered. So many possibilities for misunderstandings and chaos right there.
(Your English is perfectly fine! The funniest part is that I think I know exactly which chocolate guy you’re talking about XD)
“And this is… made of chocolate?” Bruce asked, looking at the sculpture.
“It’s amazing,” Damian breathed.
It was an enormous sculpture of the Solar System, all floating in the air. Asteroids and space rocks were made of crystal candy, with moons being sculpted from cake and brownies. Planet rings were made from fruit and gummies all clustered together in floating circles.
Everything was beautiful and well made. Everyone looked at it in awe.
Damian was especially excited, nearly bouncing from sculpture to sculpture to see the delicately formed chocolate and candy put together into a hyper realistic rendition of the Solar System. He dragged along Stephanie with him too, looking overjoyed by everything.
Danny looked back from where he was leading them even deeper into his lair. He gave a small smile and said, “Yeah, it’s all candy and chocolate.”
Jason leaned in closer with a grin, face to face with Jupiter’s chocolate imitation.
“Is it edible?” He asked, looking ready to take a bite the moment Danny gave his confirmation.
“Not sure. I could eat it, but I made everything using the ingredients I get from the planets themselves.”
Everyone took an incredibly long step back, even Jason, his grin quickly falling off his face.
“Say again?” Stephanie asked, staring at Danny in horror.
Danny was still grinning. “Everything’s made with ingredients I procured myself, including stuff from the planets themselves.” He tilted his head and said, “I could eat it just fine, but I’m not sure if you want to eat the dust from other planets.”
Jason grimaced. “I’ll pass, thank you.”
No one wanted a bite of sulfur dioxide, methane gases, or silicon particles. Even if it was covered in chocolate.
Danny shrugged, “Your loss! Neptune’s gases tastes pretty good.”
Everyone gave each other a weary and exasperated look.
How on earth did they forget that he was a crazy space fan and a ghost?
In their line of work de-aging is not an uncommon occurrence.
Tim wouldn't say that it's a monthly occurrence but definitely a yearly one. What is unusual is the fact that it's a villain specifically Ras. Seeing him experience the consequences of his actions is always a fun experience, but having a de aged version of one of your main nemesis is a little bit of a problem.
They've never seen him younger than the about 60 that he usually runs around us. In front of them was a 6 year old with a mix of black and white hair, with heterochromia that gave him red and green eyes. He wrapped himself in his original clothes that were way too big for him and glared at the heroes in front of him.
Nightwing is the first one to snap out of the shock.
“hey there buddy” Nightwing says in his usual victim tone as it's very obvious that the kid has no memories.
“don't come near me” The kid seems to look around, probably trying to figure out where he is “where's my mom?”
that breaks their hearts, with how old he is originally is there's no doubt in their mind that she's long dead.
“Something happened to you buddy that we're trying to figure out and if you could help us that would be great” Nightwing tries to gently ignore the question and stare off into another topic.
“Mom doesn't leave me” he seem to be trying to make themselves seem brave but they can see the tears forming in the sides of his eyes ”did something happen to Ellie”
“how about you tell us your name, who Ellie is and what your mom's name is and we'll see about how we can reunite you. Is that okay?”
The child then looked around the room again. This kid version of Ras was trying to figure out if he could trust them.
“it's Dan, and that's all you're getting until you tell me where I am“
The thoughts of me, I and myself. The profile pictures does not belong to me, and I don't know to who.
98 posts