Thomas: Son, I Have A Dark Family Secret I Have To Share With You.

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Phantom of the Manor

AKA "The Batfam unintentionally start giving ritual offerings to the Phantom. Danny, who's been mistaken as the Phantom of the Opera, is wondering why his hoodie pockets are full of tomato slices??" prompt idea!

Headcanon that Ghosts become more powerful the more people believe in them, kind of like deities. Danny's never really had to deal with the whole "ritualistic sacrifices to Bloody Mary" or "superstitious prayers against Davey Jones" because Phantom is a Hafta. Danny doesn't need people to believe in him or worship him.

So, he's never gotten a ritual offering before.

Which is why he's absolutely baffled when he shoves his hand into his hoodie pocket to grab his phone and feels something... squishy. And cold. Both Sam and Tucker scream as Danny jolts to his feet with a squeamish shriek. He damn near Goes Ghost as he tries to tear off his hoodie, regardless of the staring mall-walkers. Danny finally manages to fling the hoodie onto their table, scrambling to Sam and Tucker's sides, trying to breath through a panicked: "There'ssomethinginmypocket!!"

Sam carefully pokes around until she finds... squished tomato slices? They're oily and salted like a tomato caprese without the cheese. Which is an interesting choice for a snack. You'd think Danny would at least use a Ziplock bag or something?

("Ancients! Of course, I didn't put them there, Sam!")

Fast-forward a couple of weeks. Danny's going insane because why the hell are there tomatoes literally everywhere? Every couple of days (or hours, depending on the day), he finds different types of tomatoes all over the place. In bed when he wakes up. In his jean pockets at school. Even in the shower, he'll be blindly trying to find the shampoo bottle and come across a handful of grape tomatoes. He can't. Handle. It. Anymore. Danny's going to become the "Tomato Man" at school from how often he randomly pulls out tomatoes from his pockets. Like he needs another reason for Dash to mock him.

The last straw was when Danny was Full Ghost and felt something... itchy in his suit. He knew before he saw it. Danny tentatively pulled the sleeve of his suit open, silently praying that it wasn't what he thought it was, and- yeah. There's V-8 smeared from his goddamn elbow to wrist. He had to fight with tomato juice in his suit for several hours. And that's it; Danny literally can't take it anymore. He goes to Frostbite, begging the Yeti to help him with his Tomato Problem.

Only to be told he's receiving offerings. Which are apparently incredibly sacred and should be appreciated. (It'd be easier to appreciate if it was, like, cash or something. Maybe a Nintendo Switch. Instead, his patrons are worshipping him by offering... tomatoes. Great.)

So, clearly, the only option is to go straight to the source (i.e., his patrons) and tell them to Fucking Stop Giving Me Tomatoes. The next time he feels something weighty in his pocket (gross!), he follows the thready connection of his worshippers through a portal.

And Danny steps out in his full Ghost Regalia (because clearly they're worshipping Phantom, right? So Danny can't exactly show up in ripped jeans and his favorite NASA hoodie). The family sits at a dinner table... which is a little weird, since he'd expected an altar or something. But even weirder is the beady, predatory that look borderline-violent staring at him from everybody at the table. There's an uncomfortable silence more tense than dinners at Vlad's mansion.

Then, Danny carefully scoops out the soupy, baked grape tomatoes from his pocket and dumps them on the table. He doesn't wait for them to question it, just points to the tomatoes and says, "I appreciate the offerings, really, but it's gotta stop. It's gross. I have to wash tomato juice out of my clothes every day. If you're gonna leave an offering, no. More. Tomatoes. Please."

The oldest man seems jolted out of his stupor.

"Excuse me, but could you please explain why you've come to our home?" The man asks cordially. (As if Danny couldn't see him carefully gripping his steak knife like a throwing dart. And that's just rude, honestly. Danny was invited.)

"Uh, I'm Phantom? You literally give me offerings every day. Again, I appreciate it, I never thought I'd have diehard fans, but I don't even really like tomatoes. I mean, they're fine in salsa and stuff, but even I won't eat pocket-tomatoes."

"I believe there may be a misunderstanding. We don't worship a deity named Phantom nor have we left any offerings." The oldest says. He seems like he's about to continue when one of the black-haired adults interrupts him with a nervous, "Uh, B? About that..."

So. Yeah. It turns out Dick Grayson and Jason Todd forced the family to watch Phantom of the Opera, which spawned the joke of offering any food they don't like (i.e., tomatoes) to "the Phantom" (i.e., their trashcan). More than half the family doesn't like tomatoes and Alfred uses it as a punishment for breaking something, overworking, etc. They'd gotten pretty sneaky about scraping their leftovers into the bin but had gotten into a habit of saying "this one's for the Phantom, a treat for the Phantom," or something incredibly stupid like that.

Danny's just... a little relieved, honestly? Because he's literally fifteen and wouldn't really know what to do with followers if he had them. Plus, now he doesn't have to worry about waking up with tomatoes in his bed or making excuses for all his tomato-hoarding while at school. (Which was not necessarily the right thing to mention to Bruce "Serial Adopter" Wayne. Practically the whole table turned to stare at Bruce when Danny mentioned he's apparently an underage deity, waiting for Bruce to sweep in with a well-executed, "Well, it's getting late. Why don't you stay the night?" Because Bruce apparently can't help himself from collecting another black-haired, blue-eyed kid.)

Short DPXDC Prompts #794

Tim tried to clone Kon again. Danny wakes up in a glass tube not knowing where he is and why he’s so much stronger.

Dick: I made a mistake

Jason: What you do?

Dick: It's bad

Tim: How bad?

Dick: I think Bruce is going to take me out of the trust fund bad

Damian: Worry no, Richard, for I shall care for you when you are old, wrinkled, and gross. I have more than enough funds for both of us.

Dick: Thanks Dami

Jason: So what'd you do?

Dick: Remember Danny Phantom? That ghost hero that saved the planet from an asteroid?

Tim: Yeah, he does good, clean work. Bruce considered offering him a spot in the Justice League before he suddenly announced he planned to retire from the hero scene.

Dick: I slept with him.

Damian: I beg your pardon?

Dick: And I left before he could wake up the following day, ignored all his calls 'cause he was my rebound when Kori and I split and haven't seen him in almost five years. I just saw him.

Jason: Alright, he's your ex, and you ran into him. He's probably mad at you since that was a bit shitty. But that's not too bad; I don't think Bruce will disown you-

Dick: Yeah turns out Phantom isn't a human ghost. I don't know what he is, but he is a different species, which means his kind reproduces differently, and he was walking hand in hand with a miniature version of me. A version that was five years old. I stole some of the kid's hair, and well.....I have a son I never knew about because I blocked Danny after our one night since I got what I wanted from him.

Tim/Jason: .....

Damian: I regret to inform you, Deadbeat, that no funds are available for you. Or ever. You will die alone. Hungry and scared.

Dick: Trust me I know I deserve that. God! What am I going to do!?

Meanwhile clear across the city

Dan: Are you sure no one will notice me overshadowing this body?

Danny: Nah, it's a failed cloning experiment between me and my ex. It never had a soul. Think of it like it's a meat suit. If anything, I can just keep telling people you're my son.

Dan: Why did you try to clone your ex anyway?

Danny: I'm bored Dan. I'm so bored, there is nothing for me to do now that I retired Phantom.

Dan: That's fair. Boredom is the worst. That's why I choose to visit the human world, though it is weird to be corporal after all this time.

Danny: Do you miss being a halfa?

Dan: Sometimes. But I brought upon myself, I did kill my human side, so I appreciate you leaning me the meat suit. Now tell me about that ex.

Danny: Ancients, where do I even start. His mullet? Blagh! His diet? Blagh!

Dan: He hot?

Danny: So hot.

Dan: Nice.

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.

Children of the Future

DP x DC Prompt

The Justice League has been tracking the movements of a person or group that's taking any CADMUS cloning tech. They need to track them down and put a stop to whatever plan they have.

When they eventually made it to the hideout they discovered, it was just one scientist who was a former CADMUS scientist, and he had already made clones with the DNA he had collected. The scientist didn't even try to put up a fight or anything. He was just happy to give the Clones to them and be put away (The scientist is one who believes that these clone children be the turning point in the world when they are older, he's happy that the Justice League found him first, and not his former colleagues).

All the clones are children, and they were raised as siblings and actual people by the scientist they apprehended. They even got to choose their own names.

The oldest clone is a girl who is the clone of Nightwing and Flash (Wally). She is smart, and the notes on her by the scientist said that she'll develop the speedster power in her teenage years. She named herself Jasmine, but prefers Jazz

The next clone was a boy who was cloned from Red Robin, Superboy, and their civilian boyfriend Bernard. The notes on him said that he'll get the strengths of a kryptonian that was raised on earth, and the mixture of the Lazarus Waters in his DNA had somehow negated his weakness to Kryptonite. He named himself Danny.

The next is another girl cloned from Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. The notes for her said that she'll have Poison Ivy's ability to control plants when she's a teenager. Her chosen name is Sam.

The next is a black boy cloned from Aqualad and Cyborg. In the notes, the boy is said to develop sand powers, unlike Kaldur, who has water and electricity related powers. His chosen name is Tucker.

The next is yet another girl cloned from John Stewart Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. The notes on her said that she's chosen to train in martial arts and is expected to be a good fighter by her teenage years. She chose Valerie as her name.

Amd finally, a boy who was cloned from Red Hood and Arsenal. While the notes on him said that he won't develop any powers, he is smart and has sharp eyes. He chose Wesley as his name.

Elsewhere, the Ghost of Time looks at the world his King and his fraid have been put in for their rebirth. They had all perished at the hands of the GIW and the Fentons, Dani was the only one to be saved, the GIW and the Fentons had her contained and were about to end her like the others, but Vlad, Dan, and the other Ghosts had overwhelmed them to save the Princess. Vlad will be the Regent for a while, with Dan as his personal guard. Fright Knight is always following his king by being in his shadow, intending to keep his oath to the Crown. While his King and his fraid will not remember their past lives, they will most definitely return to the Infinite Realms, but on much better terms than their first time.

Date night after patrol

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!

Aspiring Escape Artist (part two)

Last | Master Post | Next...

"Why don't we all head inside, yes?" Mr. Wayne suggested, waving his arm in the doors general direction.

"Yes, that sounds great," Ms. Clance agreed, turning to Danny like she was debating whether or not she should drag him inside. Danny was very against that idea and glared at her. She huffed but turned and started making her way up the stairs.

The other, he can't really say kids because he's pretty sure half the people standing in front of him were over the age of eighteen, but they still lived with Mr. Wayne, apparently, so kids it was. The other kids continued to try to stealthily watch him as they made their way into the building. (He refused to call this place a house; it was bigger than Sam's manor for Ancients' sake.)

The gray-eyed girl waited for him, the not-so-happy but happy sparkle back as she watched him approach. Pausing for a moment, Danny turned and gently patted the bush closest to him, it had been practically begging for attention for the past ten minutes and Sam would have throttled him if he had just ignored it.

She treated them like demented puppies, and it's against every unspoken law (in danny's books, atleast) to ignore a puppy.

The gray-eyed girl (man, he was going to have to learn their names, Ancients, why were there so many people here?) tilted her head curiously, eyeing the plant he just patted.

"My friend has plant powers," Danny huffed, which was true. Sam still had lingering plant control and a connection to the green because of Undergrowth. Danny was just leaving out the fact that he also had plant powers. He wasn't sure why he always got new powers after beating new powerful ghosts, but it happens, and now he needs to pet the plants because they get sad if he doesn't.

(Jazz theorized once that the new powers were due to his half-a nature, but then they looked at Vlad and decided it was probably something else.) (Also, why in the world did he get ice powers and then almost immediately plant powers? like, seriously, why?)

"Close friend?" Gray asked, turning to follow Danny inside.

"One of my best friends," Danny agreed. Man, he missed them. He'd have to figure out how to get out of here soon; there was no way he was going to just not see his friends on Tucker's birthday. Which meant he had about a week to bust out of here and get back to Amity. Oh, and stay under the radar so Vlad doesn't find him.

Glancing around the entry hall, or was the term foyer? like, the place was fancier then most five star hotels he's seen (which he wants to make clear, was against his dying wishes. fuck vlad and his not hard earned money.) like, sure, it wasn't all white modern minimalist like the hotels, but he's pretty sure the vase just sitting a little too close to the edge of a table was worth more then a human heart on the black market.

"Welcome to Wayne Manor," Mr. Pennyworth started, closing the doors with a heavy thud. He didn't lock it, though, Danny noted. Probably because Ms. Clance still needed to leave.

"may I have your coats?" he asked, holding out his arm to Ms. Clance and looking over to Danny. Ms. Clance immediately started to shrug off her jacket and dropped it onto his arm without a second glance, trying to talk to Mr. Wayne about an office or something.

Danny shook his head, "No thanks. I prefer to keep my things with me." especially in a new place, who knows what they'd do to his stuff. last time he handed anything over it had been locked up and never returned. (or well, not returned until he stole it back right before leaving, but that's getting into semantics.)

"So, Daniel was it?" the older guy from the first three asked, smiling brightly and trying to act casual. He was failing.

"It's Danny," Danny huffed, glancing around to study the others.

Gray was nice, he had a feeling they'd get a long fine. she was like an open book, all her opinions and emotions right there for him to see. Though that just meant she was awear of them and could easily hide them.

The others not so much.

Eyebags looked tired but alert, watching Danny like he was a new puzzle. Which was fine, Danny could deal with that. He probably wasn't as bad as Jazz or his parents were when obsessed with new things, so he goes lower on the list but not off.

Mr. Casual over here was watching him AND the others, which meant he was probably the peacekeeper. That or he was the one who antagonized the others into acting without them noticing. Same as eyebags, then.

Blondie looked like she was planning how to prank him right then and there, but also like she was evaluating him for something. Like he thought earlier, she'll probably stick around until she gets bored. So, hmmm. Keep an eye on more than eyebags, but probably not a problem.

there was a kid maybe two-three years younger than him trying to hide on the stairs out of view, he looked pissed off and annoyed. Something was telling Danny he should stay away from him. So, definitely going to the top of his list right next to butler man.

And finally, Mr. Wayne. He was smiling and chatting with Ms. Clance like he didn't have a care in the world. And it would have been believable if it wasn't for the fact that the man was easily steering the conversation away from the stuff Ms. Clance wanted to talk about, without Danny around, before leaving. Which means Mr. Wayne wanted Danny to be part of the conversation, probably to get both sides of the story.

He was smart and knew how to manipulate situations without people catching on.

Also, top of the list, then.

"Only people who want to kill me call me Daniel," Danny added, watching as Ms. Clance tried to bring up his file and fell for another diversion.

"Really?" Eyebags asked, actually surprised for some reason.

Oh, wait, murder isn't normal. Ha, to live a normal life. It must be boring. Couldn't be him, even if he wanted it. There was nothing normal about growing up with mad scientists, and nothing normal about being half dead and a vigilante.

"Yeah, my friends and I made a chart and everything. Granted, we didn't have many people to add to the list to compare with, but it's checked out so far." Danny admitted, turning to face Eyebags.

Honestly, it was just Vlad, his parents, a few GIW agents, and those very few times his friends almost killed him. But come on, they all called him Daniel at some point. Therefore, it totally checks out.

"Huh," Mr. Casual blinked, glancing at his siblings before shaking his head. "Right, so uh, why do people want to kill you?"

"Because they're Fruit Loops," Danny grumbled, finally deciding to approach Ms. Clance. Might as well get this done and over with. The longer she stayed, the less time Danny would have to scout the place by himself later, after all the introductions.

Next (to be written)

Danny is panicking.

Not to say that he isn’t usually in this state of mind but it has became very clear that he had fucked up as he looked down at the two unconscious vigilantes in his living room.

He had just moved to Gotham for a scholarship.

He can’t go to jail!

Glancing around Danny threw the creep stick behind the sofa.

‘Think Danny think! Fuck who to call?Should I even call?? I can’t loose my scholarship, I’ll have to move back to amity!

“Uuhhh-“

Dragging two unconscious men into his bedroom was not how is Thursday morning would go.

But here he is!

He gently plopped the two on their sides and closed the door.

“Fuck.. fuck.. ah fuck.”

Grabbing his phone he scrolled through his contacts and pressed call.

“Pick up pick up come on don’t be the first time you sleep in-“

“Yo man what’s up?”

“Hey- Tim! This Danny from film class!”

“Kinda figured man, caller ID and all. Why are you awake anyways you said we would continue our call tomorrow?”

“Yeah.. about that uh this going to sound a bit odd but I’m a transfer so I don’t really know much about Gotham rules and stuff so there might be a code for this or something but-“

“Danny, you’re rambling. Just spit it out and-“

“IMAYHAVETWOOFTHEVIGNETTESONMYBEDPLEASEHELP!”

.

.

“Come again?”

Danny took in another deep breath,

“I was getting a glass of water, and someone broke into my apartment so I knocked them out. Turns out it was a vigilante. And he was not alone. So now I have two vigilantes in my bed. Please help.”

There was another pause and Danny heard what he thought was a snort through the speaker before Tim cleared his throat.

“Ok, don’t panic, I know a guy. He’ll come over and take them out of you hands. Just need an address.”

~~~~~~~~

There was a tap at his fire escape half an hour later.

Danny unlatched the window to let in Batman and Red Robin.

“Birdy retrieval system; you bag em’ we drag em’. How may we help you?”

Danny scuffed his slippers against his rug with a weary chuckle,

“I am so sorry I-“

Batman gently rested his palm on Danny’s shoulder,

“The two of them were supposed to do surveillance in the area and had the wrong complex. You did nothing wrong, this entire situation is on their fault and they will be properly dealt with for their actions.”

Before swiftly walking into Danny’s bedroom and slinging Red hood onto his back.

Red Robin for his part was holding back laughter as he shouldered the larger nightwing like nothing.

“Yeah man, it’s not everyday someone gets the jump on one of us let alone two.”

And before he could even begin to comprehend how weird his life was, the four left Danny to his own.

With a shake of his head, Danny grabbed to creep stick and leaned it against his radiator before locking his window once more and headed to bed.

“It’s too early for this..”

~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile in the batcave:

Tim: YOU GOT TAKEN OUT BY A TWINK!!