Part 4: City

I wanna push you around

Hollowing Bones Prequel Bit

Aka: Danny is not a necromancer, he swears.

The small skull clattered as it tumbled across the scattering of stone. The toe of his boot must have caught it as he walked through the secluded jungle. The rest of the skeleton, long decayed of any flesh, half peaked out of mud.

Danny crouched, cradling the skull in his hand. It was so small in the curl his palm, nestled there as it stared up at him with hollow eyes.

It watched him.

Danny scoffed, closing his fingers over the skull. ‘Necromancer’ they called him, spat at him. Usually the word came with color additions and none of them favorable. Sometimes, sometimes, it was Psychopomp or Speaker instead. But if he pissed other occult people off (which, to be fair, he did a lot), it was ‘evil necromancer’. It made Danny want to crush the tiny skull cradled in his hand.

He wouldn’t, of course he wouldn’t. It was this little one’s fault. He twisted towards the rest of the skeleton, brushing away the leaves and muck. It was a lizard of some sort— gecko maybe? It was hardly longer than his hand, tail and all.

Gently, Danny placed the skull back down in it’s resting place.

He couldn’t actually be a necromancer, could he? Sure, death magic sung at his fingertips He could feel it even now, humming under the skin and scars and tattoos of his left hand. His fingers twitched and green shimmered between the digits like a hand held aurora.

He could try.

He’d know if he tried. He’d know what he really was now.

(How much of a monster he’d become.)

Danny tilted his head, listening for any sounds of people around. Not that there would be. Danny came here specifically to get away from people. He may have not had Constantine’s talent with portals, but with enough time to set up, he could go anywhere in the world. (Just not back to where he really wanted to be.)

Bird songs and wind rustled leaves were all that answered him.

The tiny skull stared up at him from the rich brown earth.

It was easy to imagine the life the little lizard must have had, here in the jungle that was teaming with life. He could picture the lizard— gecko. Bright green like the others Danny had spotted on his walk. He could picture it scurrying up the side of trees and hiding under leaves. They would have stalk bugs and beetles slowly and carefully with their tiny blue feet. They would have drank from water pooled in a leaf as the world around them was dripped in rain. They would have feasted on fallen, fermented fruit on the forest floor.

They would have lived.

A gasp— soft, fragile, full of life— spilled from Danny’s lips as a sensation ripped down his arm. He doubled over at it, bending just enough that his fingers and the auroras that clung to the tips brushed over the tiny skull.

Danny came too staring up at a forest canopy lit golden with sunset. Everything hurt. Pinpricks of pain shot down his arm, along his Lichtenberg scars. Something was crawling on his left hand.

Slowly, hesitantly, Danny raised his arm.

Laying over it was the gecko skeleton.

The little skull tilted— looked at him with eyes that weren’t there.

The skull was moving all on it’s own.

Danny giggled, a small, hysterics tinged laugh.

Guess they were right.

He was a necromancer.

Well, fuck.

____

AN: Since you all had such a positive reaction to the post about Squiggles, meet the (re)birth of the little dear!

Danny is having a real time of it.

This is a bit of a prequel for Hollowing Bones (snippet 1 and snippet 2), so part of the Salt in the Bones AU that @mokulule and I are doing together. Or the "Danny is totally not a necromancer, back off Constantine" AU. (Endgame dead on main.) This was supposed to be part of a fic about Danny's tattoos, but Squiggles might get their own little fic at this rate to explain where they came from!

Tag list ye be warned, this is one I'll be sharing bits of entirely out of order as I'm just working on it around other stuff. LBFD and Shadow of a Bat are still priority. And Specter of Starlight will prob come before this series too- at least befor the Big Part. If that might bother you/you want to read it in order and want off the list or on the tag list when it goes love in ao3, just let me know!

@apointlessbox | @asphyxia778 | @crystalqueertea | @seraphinedemort | @meira-3919 | @mnemovoid | @mj-arts-n-stuff | @v-inari | @my-perfect-storybook-love | @satanicrutialspecialist | @avelnfear | @saltyladynightmare

Please let me do my job

Danny somehow manages to get a job working as a server during a gala event. The uniform sucks, but he wasn’t about to complain when he was desperate for any job right now. He had to flee from Amity after his parents discovered that he was Phantom with almost nothing, but the clothes on his back. So the uniform was definitely worth it with how much he was getting paid. 

What wasn’t worth it though was the amount of rich fruitloops that have approached him. Everytime he turned around someone was there and wanted to ask him questions. Asking things like why he was dressed as a server, and calling him by the name of Tim. It wasn't hard to figure out that everyone thought he was Tim Drake-Wayne. 

He knows that the Waynes are known for black hair and blue eyes, but for him to be getting this much attention for it is just getting ridiculous at this point. Danny would have just brushed it under the rug as it being a rich people are just weird thing. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Dick Grayson, the oldest Wayne child, had grabbed him coming out of the kitchen and into a secluded area. 

“Tim, what are you doing; why are you dressed as a server? Everyone here knows your face, now is not the time to be going undercover!” Dick whispers while looking for anyone that might be watching them. “Go change back into your normal clothes. Well talk about whatever this is back in the cave ok?” 

The fact that Tim Drake goes undercover was probably not something Danny was supposed to know. Also, did he say cave? As in the Bat-Cave? A rock settles in Danny stomach as he realizes that the Wayne's are the bats. Which is definitely not something he should know.

Before Danny can think of anything to say that will get him out of this situation without any problems a voice is already calling out, "Dick! What are you doing back here?"

The owner of the voice is of course none other than Tim Drake himself. This wasn’t going to end well Danny thought to himself as he watch Dick looked between himself and Tim.

How did this become his life.

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

So I decided to mix my post where Marvel accidentaly convinces the public that he was raped and @wonderjanga's post about divorced Marvel and Black Adam having a custody battle

Also i'm gonna include trans Marvel because why not (also ✨drama✨)

A year prior to Marvels talk with the press, during a pride parade, he showed up with a trans flag on his cape, people went crazy over that

Then the talk happend, everyones hearts bleeded for their hero

And a few weeks later Adam came along, trying to take a Billy- most likely another child of Marvels- to Khandaq, away from him

People started to slowly connect the dots

Marvel being trans, being raped in which results in his children, Adam and Marvel being divorced

It all made sense now

Marvel and Adam used to be married (there are theories that Marvel was forced), Black Adam performed marital rape, THRICE, MINIMUM, Marvel was forced to keep, and give birth to babies he did not want and now Adam wants to take his kids away from him

Black Adam gets jumped that day

Sam: *slams hands on table* You're a YA protagonist!

Danny: *confused* I'm.....not?

Sam: *points at Jason reading in the corner* That's your boyfriend?

Danny: Yes?

Sam: Your Crime Lord Boyfriend?

Danny: That doesn't mean that I'm a-

Sam: Your crime lord boyfriend that is also the child of this citys billionaire and could buy you anything you wanted?

Danny: *flustered* Well, i-

Sam: Your crime lord boyfriend that's loaded that's also a revanant, and constantly around you because he "feels himself when he's around you"?

Danny:....

Sam:.....

Danny:.....Oh Ancients, I'm a YA protagonist.

Sam: Glad you've noticed.

Sam:..

Sam: Also he growls alot.

Danny: *flustered* Sam!

The Titans set out to investigate a town rumored to be haunted. There they find a ghost boy tirelessly defending his town alone.

DCXDP Young Justice and Phantom

I love Danny Phantom and DC crossovers but I think there is a very overlooked possibility there would be so good and I don't think I ever saw it being done. Danny being in the og Young Justice from the 90s. He would just fit there so well and match their own brand of chaos perfectly. And they share the same lack of respect for authorities and lack of adult supervision.

We have a teenager ghost hero who was kidnapped by the USA government for experimental purposes. I Really need to see Secret and Phantom bond, maybe they were held in the captivity by the GIW and the DEO at the same time and meet there, maybe they can runaway together.

LOOK AT THIS! it look like it was made so they can have a crossover! I KNOW I'M NOT CRAZY

The DEO saying Secret has no rights because she is dead, the potential for angst.

Secret having a hard time because she was the only one there without a mentor or being a legacy, but here she could bond with Danny because they have so much in common, and they can understand each other.

I just want to see Danny being besties with Secret (maybe even more? I can see they have a more romantic relationship too)

Is just... There is so much potential and Danny and I couldn't stop thinking about it

Okay usually I don't post headcanons or ficlets about dp x dc (only art lol) but I read one of many a fic where Danny was Bruce's bio son (I think in that fic he was the kid of him and Selina but they thought he died or smth) and like, there's so much good stuff out there for it even though I prefer the adoption route myself but it got me thinking.

Bruce and Danny meeting and finding out they're father and son and Bruce just...

Absolutely denies it. Full stop. Ignores the glaringly obvious evidence and doesn't want to talk to Danny, holes up in his office or the cave to find evidence of the contrary

Danny doesn't quite understand why he would be so adamant about him not being his son. He kinda feels really guilty because obviously he didn't want him, that's why he was put up for adoption / presumed dead anyway. Right?

Yet it stings a little because Bruce has a LOT of kids. Like so many. What's one more? What did he do to be so unwanted? He knew the ghost part was unsettling to say the least but for someone like the Batman to refuse him? Damn he must be really rotten then

He's ready to pack his bags and dissappear when his new brothers pull him aside cause if he thought he felt upset or angry, he wasn't ready for his brothers to be absolutely furious.

Even Damian, annoyed at not being the one and true heir, decides that this behaviour is unacceptable because Bruce didn't act that way towards him when he revealed himself, so what honor is there in refusing another son?

They assure Danny he is more than welcome in the family and that they'll find ways to work with his ghost half but not before they talk to Bruce.

So they walk up to his office, ready to tear him several new ones when they notice the door slightly opened. Bruce is talking to someone, Alfred, Selina take your pick.

They notice a Bruce they have never seen or heard before.

His voice is strained and tense, like Dick when he's trying to stay calm and keep any worry hidden.

He paces around, heels heavy on contact with the floor, like Jason when he's frustrated and needs to let it out without destroying anything.

He's rambling, jumping from one thing to the other, coherent or not like a waterfall unable to contain the flow of the river just like Tim when he's stuck on a problem and needs to look at every possible angle to find a solution.

Through the crack, they can see him tugging at the fabric of his sleeves every so slightly, rubbing it between his thumb and index finger, just like Damian when he's nervous and on edge.

They don't see Bruce, or Batman. They see their mentor, their father, their dad on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

"He can't be mine!" he cries out. He repeats it several times and Danny feels himself shrivel inside. Tears start fighting to be released while one of his new siblings, Jason? Probably? He doesnt notice who it is at first, puts a hand on his shoulders, and pulling him closer is Dick while Tim and Damian look ready to kick in the door until Bruce huffs a reply to the "Why not" hanging heavy in the air.

"Because if he is, then I've failed another one of my kids."

He sits himself against his desk, hands on his face.

"If he is my kid, then I have failed as a father by not being there to talk to, to find solace in. I pushed him away without even being there like I did with Dick"

"If he is mine, then I let him be in a situation where his parents didn't look out for him, where he was alone without someone to give him a real home, the only thing here that makes it somewhat better is that he at least had a sister looking out for him unlike Tim"

"If he is mine, it means I had to miss out on yet another childhood. Yet another son of mine forced to grow up too fast, to be a warrior, to be fighting for others, to survive while he should've had someone fighting for him!"

He's choking back tears and Jason feels his heart break, a split between feeling sad for his old man and guilty about feeling relieved that he does care when he finally speaks again"

"If Danny is mine, it means, I let another one of my children die. Not only that, but to have them not be able to rest in peace but be puzzled together again! Jason had it so rough already, but Danny has to deal with more than just being half dead and it's more than I know how to properly handle."

He doesn't want to, but he's shaking as he speaks.

"How can he be mine when I'm such a terrible father?"

He never noticed someone coming in. He didn't hear a sound save for a sob breaking through the silence as this kid, his kid wraps himself around him.

"You're not" he assures him as the doors open up and the rest of his siblings walk in.

"But the things you went through-"

"Weren't your fault" he mutters through silent tears.

"But could've been prevented"

"So many things could have been, B" Dick says softly. "But you know it doesn't matter what happened, but how you move on from it"

"Not gonna say you're perfect or forgiven for every wrongdoing", Jason grunts, although it sounds more like a huff without malice, "but, you're here. You try. That's a start if anything"

Bruce glances at his kids, wondering where the time went as he takes in their worn expressions accompanied by warm smiles.

Maybe he isn't such a terrible father after all. He just needs to prove it. Starting fresh with his ghost child still clinging to his sides.

Arthur: So you have magic?

Merlin: Uh… yeah?

Arthur: for how long?

Merlin: Since birth.

Arthur: And you’re a dragon lord?

Merlin: Yeah my father was and it gets passed down.

Arthur: Sounds like royalty.

Merlin: No? I don’t think so.

Arthur: Yes it is, that means you’re a noble, a lord. We can get married now.

Merlin: WHAT???