She/They. Old enough to be legally allowed to drink anywhere.
80 posts
The Justice league gets a call on their emergency hotline. The call is from a teenager who says that “he was summoned to this plane by a bunch of amateur cultists and doesn’t know how to get back to the infinite realms.” Justice League Dark is called. They are tasked with bringing this ghost kid named Phantom back home.
Wesley Weston runs a blog after getting over his desire to expose Danny's secret- primarily due to no one believing him- and no one pays attention to it since almost all of Casper high school has one too.
The difference between the hundreds of other blogs is that one of his pictures of Phantom is clear. A perfectly uncorrected image of the famous ghost, whereas nearly all other pictures are blurry due to ghosts disrupting cameras. Even Wes isn't sure how he managed to capture him so well.
Another difference between his blog and others is that one of his followers happens to be John Constantine, who followed the kid a long time ago due to the fanfiction of the Bats and found them hilarious.
John opens his phone app, expecting a new chapter to the Bruce Wayne/Superman fic, and spits out his tea upon seeing the High King of the Dead casually in the human world. Horrified that the King has not been appropriately welcomed- which could lead to a war that the humans would never win- he calls an emergency Justice League and Justice League Dark meeting.
It didn't help that they had allowed a county to pass the anti-ecto laws, which ruined any attempt to appease the Ghost King once the news broke to the public. The League still worried about a declaration of war even after they demolished the laws and the United Nations had the States apologize on humans' behalf.
They quickly discover High King Phantom has been visiting Earth for almost three years. Before his coronation, Phantom had not been outside the Infinite Realms very often though he has appeared throughout history. Cave drawings date back thousands of years before the first ancient Egyptians, but he's visits are few and short.
Life would naturally send him back to the Realms because he had too much power and ectoplasm. After taking the throne, his powers only grew, which meant someone had to summon him as the only way for him to stay on Earth longer than an hour.
Now as King, he appeared only within the small town of Amity Park daily. Why?
John sighs. "He has an anchor. Someone is tying him to this plane. Like the helmet for Nabu, which allows Doctor Fate to exist here without being launched back to the Infinite Releams, Phantom has bonded himself. And I know who that is"
He pulls up a class photo on Weston's blog and points to a boy wearing a particular necklace.
"Danny Fenton is wearing the official Royal Consort of the Infinite Realms symbol and has been since he was fourteen. Phantom's husband may be our only hope to salvage the terrible mess the USA's bloody GIW placed the rest of us in."
Danny loved the necklace he found in Pariah Dark's old haunt. He inherited Pariah's haunt and everything inside once he was crowned and hasn't taken it off since. He didn't think it would be an issue. It's not like it would out his secret to his parents or anyone else since it was in Ghost Speech. Even he didn't know what it said.
Then one morning he comes down for breakfast only to have the most important members of the Justice League sitting in his living room waiting to greet him.
Desperate to keep his halfa status a secret, Danny must convince the entire world watching him, that he's just a human who scandalously eloped at age fourteen with one of the strongest beings in the mulitverse.
Jack's horrified "We were shooting my son-in-law this whole time" became a meme that has trended for months.
( Part 2 )
the identity porn potential of Ollie and Bruce both knowing each other’s identities but not revealing that to the Justice League is SO funny to me, like you’ve got Ollie at a Founders’ meeting kicking his feet back like “oh we need someone to infiltrate the event and sleep with both married targets? B, you’re a shoo-in” and everyone laughs thinking it’s a stupid joke because yeah, Batman’s gonna honeytrap both targets?
meanwhile, Bruce leans back in his chair and the corner of his lip curls just enough for Ollie to get the unspoken “let’s not start on breaking up marriages, hm?” his friend is so clearly thinking at him.
Tim: I've come to you in a time of great need. I need Dick and Bruce to get off my back.
Danny: I see and what's it worth to you?
Tim: A date.
Danny: Deal! Show them this movie. Got it from a neighboring universe.
Tim: What's it about?
Danny: A little girl who has a chronic illness and is slowly dying while her neglectful parents abandon her to be raised by her older brother who is bearly older than her. He hates and resents her but she never hates him because she relies on him to survive and feels like that's love enough. She is treated like a burden by her parentified brother who takes care of her until she dies in her sleep after telling him that she will always love him. It's the perfect movie to fill your family with guilt and I use it on Jazz all the time. It will make you want to curl up into a ball and cry though.
Tim: That's evil. I'll take it.
For @ladydoptera, to 'Pomegranate Lips' by Derivakat,
"Password?"
Tim swallows. The eyes in the narrow window of the metal door are plenty familiar, dark violet with black makeup. But knowing who is on the other side doesn't help him in the slightest.
"Going ghost," he says, keeping his voice low. The window slides back shut with a snap - metal over metal, Tim's ears hurt - and then, there's a click, a snap, and the door opens.
A girl in a creatively ruined but still somehow stylish gothic lolita dress is standing in front of him. She looks taller than usual, and when Tim looks down, he knows why - those platforms must be at least four inches, how does she even walk in those?
"Welcome, McFly," Sam's dark red lips curve in a smirk that looks just a bit too smug on her. Also, to this day, Tim has no idea why she picked that nickname for him.
He steps inside, and the heavy door slams shut behind him, leaving them both in complete darkness. Or, Tim thought so until he looks a little closer and notices how Sam's violet eyes are faintly glowing - not enough to light the way, but enough to raise a few questions.
Questions that Tim is not going to ask.
Yet.
"Follow me," the girl says, her voice on the brink between annoyed and amused, and starts walking away through the narrow hall. Tim does his best to follow; his eyes are adjusting to the darkness, albeit slowly.
However, the walk doesn't last long - ten or so steps later Sam pushes another door, and-
The closest thing Tim can describe it as is a rave, of all things. Loud, rhythmic music that thrums through his whole body, strobes and bright green lights everywhere, and people, hundreds of them, dressed in all kinds of things. Tim freezes in the doorway, struggling to take in the sight.
A woman in a Victorian dress is dancing with what looks to be a werewolf in prison robes. A child just threw a one-eyed parrot at a man in a black tie suit. A knight of plated armor is waving a sword around, seemingly arguing with-
"Keep your mouth closed," Sam's finger taps his chin from below, and Tim shuts it back closed with a snap. Right, he's got no time to gawk, he is here on a mission. But, when he looks back to Sam, his mind comes to a screeching halt yet again.
"How'd you-" he starts, looking at how the girl's skin, usually pale and almost white, is glittering with small lines of blood red runes. They are not tattoos, or at least Tim doesn't think so because they move, like tiny snakes or vines over her skin.
"Nope, not answering," Sam clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes, her perfectly sharp eyeliner getting a deep, dark red hint as well, "I don't owe you shit."
With that, she turns around and starts weaving through the crowd, leaving Tim no choice but to follow.
The music is nearly crushing his eardrums. The crowd should feel suffocating - Tim knows it usually does in places like these - but somehow it doesn't. What's more, it feels cold. So cold, in fact, that goosebumps run over Tim's skin.
However, just as he feels like they are completely lost in this freezing, neverending sea of faces and figures, Sam stops. Tim almost runs into her back, actually, but, just as he is about to ask her why, she steps to the side and gestures for Tim to go ahead.
And Tim... Tim can't move a muscle.
There's a corner booth in front of him, with red velvet seats and more than a few dozen drinks, empty and full, on the table in the middle. Some of the liquids are glowing toxic, unnatural colors, and in the back corner of his mind, Tim still remembers why he's here. He is investigating, right. Which includes meeting the owner of 'Afterlife' face to face, yeah. Something about a new drug on the streets of Gotham, probably.
Tim can't concentrate.
The guy lazily sitting at the table, with hair so white that it's nearly glowing and his pale skin shimmering with highlighter on his cheekbones, causes Tim's mind to completely bluescreen. Because the unbuttoned black suit with embroidered stars and an open white shirt underneath, the neon blue, faintly glowing cold eyes, and blood red lips stretched in a dangerous smile - that's thankfully is not directed at him - are all... Too much.
Not blood red, actually. It's a different color, but Tim can't remember the name.
He can barely remember his own name, to be honest.
"Oi, Danny," Sam snaps her fingers in the air, and the ethereal being blinks, tearing his unblinking gaze away from the man in a white suit sitting across from him to look at her. Then, his eyes slide to Tim, and, okay, he thought he was well past the gay panic stage of his life, but apparently not.
The guy - the god? because only divine fucking things have the right to look so otherworldly pretty, in Tim's opinion - tilts his head to the side slightly, a curious edge to him. And then he smiles, nice and a little sly, but Tim can't shake off the feeling of sharp danger that runs through his spine.
Pomegranate, that's the color.
Bite it once, and you will never leave the Underworld.
"Can I help you, little bird of crimson color?" The ethereal owner of the most mysterious place in Gotham asks without raising his voice, and yet Tim can hear him despite the loud music around.
...Maybe he doesn't mind never leaving, if he can get a taste.
~•~•~•~
When I put that song on for the first time, I was like, that's Sam. That's so Sam. But then I started writing, and things got weird, so it's both Sam and Danny now.
Tim is so gone, I'm sorry, RIP Tim. Funny thing is, he barely said a single word throughout the whole piece.
Danny, at 17, did not have the best love life. This is partially because two of his must haves in a partner are " Will protect me with their life" and "Will commit unspeakable acts of violence for me" or at least beat someone up for his honor.
Naturally, this doesn't always result in the most stable of partners.
His first girlfriend, Valerie, became an anti-hero and broke up with him for his safety.
He finally got with Sam in sophomore year only for the feds to come into class one day to arrest her. To his surprise, her crimes had nothing to do with ghosts but rather an incident where she went too far and committed a few acts of economic terrorism. Danny and Tucker never really learned the specifics of the crimes, and her parents hushed up as many news outlets as they could, so there wasn't much info to go around. All they knew was that she saved thousands of lives by doing it.
In the end, she was sentenced to eight years, and she broke up with him so that he wouldn't wait around for her to get out.
His third partner was a guy named David who was really sweet. Unfortunately, Danny got kidnapped one day by David's arch nemesis, who was some villain with a corny edge lord name. Yeah. David had become a a super hero after they started dating.
And if you guessed that he freaked out and dumped Danny for his own protection, you'd deserve a cookie.
Danny was noticing a pattern here. One that continued with everyone he dated. They always became some kind of hero before dumping him for his own protection, and it was infuriating. Sure, danny could defend himself, but he was never deep enough into the relationship to reveal his phantom half, and frankly, his hero career was something he left behind when he left Amity and destroyed the portals.
He met Tim at a skatepark after Tim fell off his board cause of some jerk speeding out in front of him on his own board, forcing Tim to stop or else hit the guy. The guy was unrepentant and Tim calmed him down (this did not stop him from melting the guys wheels with an ectoblast when no one was looking).
Tim then asked him to coffee. Danny, noticing how cute Tim was, agreed.
Danny was up front with his parents being mad scientists in Illinois. He always was with all the people he dated. It was better not to hide these kinds of things or worse, wait until you're already attached and afraid of losing them. So he always told potential partners as early as possible. Tim seemed a bit put off by this but was calmer about it than most, and they continued chatting.
Tim didn't seem like the type to turn to heroism or anti heroism so he felt safe on their later dates. It was only after he had known Tim for a while that he put the pieces together.
Tim was always covered in bruises that he hid with his clothes and make up, he had complained about batman over the phone when he thought danny couldn't hear, he was rich, he knew how to fight as revealed by his stances and footwork dispite trying to pretend he didn't, and lastly he held a lot of political power and influence being Bruce Wayne's son. Power he had no reservations using when it suited him or he was just feeling petty (that pettiness was part of why danny was falling for him harder than he thought he could)
No wonder Tim was so okay with his parents being rouges.
Tim was a villain!
At least Tim wouldn't leave him like all his exes. Danny doesn't think he could handle it if he did. Another good thing about this is now he can talk more freely about the more villainous and morally gray ideas and inventions when he was alone with Tim.
Tim didn't see anything wrong with Danny's idea to use something similar to cloning pods to make synthetic meats like rump roasts and steaks as a way to end world hunger and was eager to add to the conversation.
Danny turned his face up toward the sky, letting Gothams rain poor down his face. His husband, Tim, had loved this city-to the point of dying for it while wearing a mask.
The court of owls had been cowardly, and honestly Danny should have expected that from a bunch of entitled rich people. Many of the bats were there taking down the courts lackeys but there wasn't any signs of the Talons, which made sense since they seemed to act oddly around Phantom and just kinda flopped onto the ground and bared thier necks to him. Wierd.
Everyone was fighting, so no one noticed the tip of a snipers rifle poking out of a crag in the cave walls until it was too late. A shot was fired.
And Tim was on the floor
Danny didn't remember much after that. He remembers Nightwing holding his little brother while Batman came to his side. He remembers the other bats running off to find the sniper and Danny just...stood there. He stared at Tims blood splatter and the gray matter all over the floor. The bullet had went through his head had killed him quickly but this didn't comfort him. The scene was so gruesome but he couldn't bring himself to look away as his vision was consumed by green.
The next time he became aware Nightwing was in front of him, asking him to turn himself in. Confused, he asked what he had done only to learn he had hunted down every Court of Owls member like a man possessed and torn them to shreds. No one was sure how Phantom knew who was a member or not especially while he was in that state, but it didn't change the face that Phantom had killed so many people.
Danny was horrified. How could he had done this? He had never experienced the pit rage before and never thought he would. But here he was having lost almost two weeks of time and gaining more blood on his hands than he knew what to do with.
So Danny, not wanting to argue or-ancients forbid- fight his family-in-law while everyone was grieving, agreed to turn himself in.
So he did.
He never agreed to stick around for an interrogation or a trial though. So he didn't.
The cops never even learned of his true identity before he took off but he knew it wasn't safe to stay in Gotham anymore. Heck, it probably wasn't safe to stay on Earth anymore with all the heroes that would be after him if the bats so much as asked. And there was no way he could go back to his own dimensions Earth either.
...but that didn't mean all Earths where out of the question.
---
Danny had finally gotten settled in this new dimension. Starting over was always hard but he had done it before. Grabbing a gig as a freelance translator and editor for a few publication companies was pretty easy when you knew what cards to play and what people to call. Plus, Danny was really good at making false identities and translating, so that helped a ton.
At night he would keep a look out his window, trying to spot the bats of this world, as as much as it hurt him to do so, he always delighted in seeing this worlds Tim running along the rooftops.
This went on for a while until Danny started getting nauseous and intense pain in his chest and abdomen. It was bad enough that he sniffed out this worlds Dr Thomkins pretty quickly and asked her to give him a check up.
Upon doing an ultrasound she found a strange sphere in his chest, which he assured her was normal, and an embryo growing in his abdomen which was very much not. Danny laid on the examination table for a solid few seconds and Dr. Tomkins was about to start rattling off his options to him before her patient started crying. "Oh thank the stars."
Danny explained that this was the child of his late husband who was murdered and he was very happy to have this baby. Sure, he had most of his personal affects (he had cleaned out his and Tims shared home and safe houses on his way out of the dimension, much to the absolue ire of the other bats) but this was a little living piece of his husband, which was something so much more.
But this also meant he had to leave again. This worlds Tim was just like the one that he lost and he had no doubt that some way, some how, Tim would find out about this child. Could he explain this in a way that was satisfactory? Could he handle Tim coming in and out of his home to visit "his" child as he would undoubtedly do? Could he stand to see the face of a man who looked like his husband, talked like his husband, and acted like his husband, but wasn't? No. He couldn't do that to himself. He couldn't do that to Tim. He refused to replace one Tim for another. That was so callus and shallow. He would never do something like that, grief or no grief. He was strong. He'd be strong for Tim.
He paid the doctor and thanked her profusely before leaving and going back to his apartment. He hadn't even unpacked most of his stuff before he was packing it all back up again. He needed to find a world where:
1. Tim was nothing like the Tim he had known and loved
2. Tim was not old enough to take custody of thier child if he ever found out
3. Batman was not around
4. Damian didn't exist. He was usually pretty cool with the little gremlin but he doesn't think he could listen to him insult Tim and not throttle a literal child.
5. It was not impossible to raise a child
The list could probably use some work but that was the gist of it for now.
-------
Danny had finally found his perfect Gotham after weeks or interdimentional travel and countless jumps. Well, perfect probably wasn't the right word for a place like Gotham but his point still stands.
He once again found himself sitting on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the city. He and his husband had liked to sit and chat in these kinds of places when patrol was slow. Now Danny was sitting alone in the rain in one of Tims old jackets reminiscing. Suddenly hearing a grapple line connect with the building startled him out of his thoughts.
Nightwing landed nearby and for a moment Danny thought he was here to insist Danny turns himself in again before he was reminded that this wasn't the same Nightwing and Danny hadn't committed any crimes here. Well. No violent ones at least. Forging a fake identity requires much criming as it turns out.
Nightwing approached him slowly and cautiously as if he expected Danny to bolt at any second. That wasn't comforting. "Hey," the big bird greeted calmly, "How about you step away from the edge? If there's something on your mind I'm sure we can talk it out, alright?"
Danny opened his mouth and then shut it again. Opening it again he blurted out, "I'm not gonna jump."
Looking doubtful, Nightwing gestured for him to come toward him and away from the edge, and if Nightwing were anyone other than a bat he would not have obliged as he did. Once Danny was safely away from falling to his doom the vigilante began asking questions.
After everything was answered and birdy was sure Danny was safe, he made a comment about the jacket and Danny told him it belonged to his late husband who past away recently. This led to Dick egging Danny on as he talked about his husband and grieved.
It was then that Danny showed Nightwing his baby bump and the vigilante was excited for him.
Somehow he and the various bats kept running into eachother around the city and one thing let to another. Before he knew it the bats where coming and going in his apartment to "check up on him"
This worlds Tim was still 16 and loved his role as Robin. He was grieving the loss of Bruce but...this version of Tim was different. Full of light. His smile was brighter and came more often. His humor wasn't as dark and...he was...smol. He began seeing this Tim more like his child than as an alternate version of his lover. Needless to say he planned on spoiling Robin rotten.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. He had a steady income, an apartment, some new friends, and was slowly unpacking.
It was smooth sailing up until his dead husband appeared in his apartment in the middle of the night staring him down with Lazarus green eyes. How had this happened? He was Tims husband and he made absolutely sure Tims body had been cremated (another thing the bats were mad about since Bruce and Tim were Jewish). Tim has specifically asked for cremation to avoid a situation like this where Ras got his creepy little hands on him.
But why would Ras send Tim here? How did Tim get here? How did Tim find him? Why did Tim show up in his apartment on random nights and then disappear into the city when he tried to ask him answers? Why did Tim barely speak? Was this a clone or the original?
Was this even real? Or was he finally losing his mind?
While Damian is surprisingly experiencing a fairytale love story with Danny, Tim and Tucker is having an enemies to lovers in the background
Danny: Why are you so angry?
Damian: How dare you speak to me, peasant.
Danny: Saying things like that, make it hard for people to approach you.
Damian: Good.
Danny: .....I like it. It gives you moxy. We're best friends now.
Damian: What?
Danny: I'm Danny Fenton by the way. Here this is my phone number. I'll message you when I get on Doom. You play viedo games right?
Damian: No.
Danny: That's okay. I can teach you.
Damian: I'll deliver you to the Grim Reaper
Danny: Oh, cool, a Goth! I had a friend just like you-
Damian: Why would I care about-
Danny: This means I know you would love to go to Dark Poetry Night and an environmental clean-up art event on the same day. *Hands over flyer* I can pick you up around three, and we can get dinner, then make it to poetry night. What time is your curfew
Damian wide eye: Father expects me to be in bed at ten pm.
Danny *nodding*: I'll get you home by nine then.
Damian breathlessly: Okay.....
Danny: Great! Later! I'll text you!
Damian: What....what just happened?
Tim: You just experienced why Brucie Wayne is so powerful in the galas. That's what happened.
Deaged Danny and caretaker (and tiny bit feral) Dani (Ellie)!!!! In Gotham!
Basicly Danny gets outed as Phantom and either by his parents or the GIW start doing experiments when he's captured by either of them. Team Phantom (Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Dani, and even Valerie after telling her everything) and even some friendly ghosts all help get Danny back.
Only when they find him the torture and the experiments were to much for him to handle and he retreats into his core. Dani is the only one that can hold his core, due to being his clone and a ghost herself, for a long period of time. Anyone else hands start freezing after a few mins.
The escape is hectic and chaotic and in order to lose the ones that hurt Danny off their trail they have to separate and scatter, each one laying false trails while Dani, whose really good at traveling, flies as far as she can.
She eventually stops in the one place she knows most people will pause and think twice before entering.
Gotham City.
She's okay with hiding there, she knows all the empty places and can just go invisible to steal food if she needs to, she just needs a place to rest for a few days until Danny comes out of his core. Dani's hid from the Bats before, never once getting on their radar, she can do it again even with Danny's core in her care. She keeps in contact with the others on a secure phone network Tucker made and they keep her updated on either the Fentons or the GIW.
During this time of taking care of Danny's core, Dani gets a little more protective over him. She may or may not punched a bunch of goons into unconsciousness when she returned from getting food and found them in her hideout, talking about showing their boss this cold orb thing they found laying around. She packed up and moved locations after that. (This incident got on the Bats radar)
Does she bite the Joker when she gets taken hostage while carrying Danny's core on her person one afternoon? Yes. Did she pick up Riddler's cane and beat him with it when she found him about to use the warehouse she was using to keep Danny's core safe for his next big 'game' for the Bats? Yes. Does she haunt Penguin for two whole days after him and his men woke her up (and woke Danny's core too she felt it (coughtheywokeupthebabycough)) when they held a meeting nearby where she was sleeping and started a small turf war in the area? Yes.
Dani is a little confused, but not complaining, on her new found protectiveness over her brother/original but everything makes sense when Danny finally comes out of his core...
Because he's a baby now, almost a toddler... the damage done to him turned him into a baby and Dani's ghost instincts knew thus prompting her to be very protective over him. And now seeing him tiny makes the feelings even more so.
She can do this. She can take care of Danny while in Gotham, she can keep flying under the Bats, the Fentons, the GIW's, and Vlad's radar while hiding out there. She can do this. She totally can.
And Ancients help anyone who tries to harm or take Danny while he's under her watch.
Daniel Manson-Foley is a perfectly ordinary guy.
He works at Wayne Enterprises in the R&D Department, goes out to the movies with his husband and wife every Saturday, can't cook but still tries, is stupidly in love with his husband and wife, and has zero ability to sense when he's in danger.
Seriously, Red Hood has had to save his ass so much it's become 'known' in Crime Alley that "Daniel Manson-Foley's spouses hired Red Hood to be a bodyguard".
Samantha Manson-Foley has no registered job, but she usually comes home covered in blood splatter with weapons hidden just under her coat.
Tucker Manson-Foley does freelance coding work, and Oracle has confirmed that he's virtually following his wife to wherever she goes and erasing all trace of her.
So Jason's pretty sure they're a hitman-couple; Tucker is the fixer and Samantha carries out the hits.
Damn does he feel bad for Daniel.
Or; Tucker is a freelance coder who writes some of the best security in the world, Sam is a heavily armed under the table Mortuary Cosmotologist who is in heavy demand, and Danny decided to have a legal paper trail so that if the GIW or his parents make him go missing it'll be easier for authorities to realize something is wrong. The resident vigilantes horribly misunderstand the nature of their lives.
Okay so there's this dp x dc tumblr post about the JL finding the Ghost King's family tree or something and lots of misunderstandings happening but I can't find it anymore and would be grateful if someone would send it to me... Anyhow I was inspired by it and this is the result!
Also on ao3 if you wanna check it out there!
The Family Tree
"So you're telling me this is just a family tree?", Green Lantern asked with a frown on his face.
Bruce could see Constantine's eyes twitching at that question. As always, leave it to Hal Jordan to annoy people.
"This isn't just anything", the sorcerer said with narrowed eyes. "It's a Class-X magical artifact. If this thing is used as a focus for a ritual, the magnitude of magical energy would rise by at least 80 factors. For those of you non-magical or unfamiliar with magic, that's fucking huge."
Beside him Zatanna nodded, her gaze still fixed on the ancient manuscript. She hadn't taken her eyes off the scroll for more than a minute since she got to the Watch Tower and first saw it spread out on the containment room table. Constantine was the same. Captain Marvel was not present, working along with Superman, Hawkgirl, and Aquaman on a case, but his reactions have always been dissimilar from his magical colleagues, so his case might be anywhere between staying the hell away from it to trying to inhale it.
It was clear to Bruce that Zatanna coveted it, but was sensible and cautious enough to stay away from it. Constantine had no sense so he was a tossup. From where he was standing between Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter, the Gotham vigilante resolved to keep an eye on the two magicians. They most likely won't try to steal the artifact, considering the heavy dose of 'not messing with that thing' overshadowing the desire to possess it, but the scroll itself might be enchanted to encourage covetous feelings on those nearby. It wouldn't be the first time. Better safe than sorry.
It was Diana that stepped up towards the two JL Dark members to seek more clarification. As both a Demigod and as someone familiar with magic, she was usually the one taking point on such issues.
She gestured to the scroll innocently sitting inside the runic circle the two mages had constructed around it. "You have told us that the artifact is not destructive, that it is merely a record, and that the information it contains is not a spell, or a runic arrangement, or a magic circle. You have also told us that the strange energy readings coming from it are mostly due to the material it's made out of than any catastrophic sorcery enchanted into it. You have at last decoded it as a record of a family tree. Yet it is dangerous, a Class-X relic as you've said. Given all this information, I suppose the correct question to ask here is this: why is a family tree capable of raising magical energy output by 80 factors?"
The two magicians looked at each other. Zatanna finally pried her eyes away from the scroll and faced the room.
"Magic is a force that simultaneously has laws but at the same time adheres to none. It's confusing to explain but for the time being just keep that in mind."
She walked to the center of the room, followed by Constantine, visibly trying to collect her words. Bruce prepared himself for a complicated explanation and activated another one of the batsuit's recorders. He felt the urge to sigh, for a supposed unchained force, Magic was needlessly complex at times, and practically incomprehensible to non-magicals.
At the front, Zatanna took a deep breath and began.
"As you know there are multiple dimensions. But magical dimensions come under a different category. Depending on the overall magical potential of a particular magical dimension, we call it the World State Stable Thaumaturgical Output Capacity, we can classify these dimensions in grades and levels, as either higher or lower, with relation to each other. These levels are dependent on a multitude of variables like space, time, gravity, Events, Proximity, etc and as such are non-linear, and unfixed. That's the first thing."
Bruce could practically see the capitals on the last two. Looks like they would need to hold another meeting to clarify a lot of these concepts. Seeing the dawning of lost expressions on some of the members however, Bruce mentally amended that to many future meetings.
Zatanna continued. "Magical objects from higher dimensions become stronger in lower ones. The inverse is also true. This is all in relation to the Overture and the same polarity orientation of course but we don't need to get into that now-"
On the contrary Bruce thought they really needed more explanation on all of that.
"-In simple terms, a child's toy from a higher dimension could become the focus for an apocalyptic ritual in a much lower dimension, while an apocalyptic artifact from a lower dimension might as well be paperweight in a sufficiently higher one. There are ways around it, but if those methods are not implemented, then this is how it generally goes. The larger the level difference, the higher the power."
Now that wasn't concerning at all. Bruce really needed to update his contingency plans regarding magic.
Constantine continued from where Zatanna left off, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here.
"The second thing is that when it comes to magic, things that are indefinable or unquantifiable become definable and quantifiable. Stuff like love, hate, happiness, despair, fate, necessity, authority? All measurable. Not always needed of course, But definitely possible and frequently used in a variety of magical fields."
The sorcerer leaned against a nearby chair. "One such thing is Significance. The magic contained in true names for instance is mostly based on significance. A true name is significant to you, its a doorway to your soul, and therefore it holds power. Significance is also what we call a positive, additive factor in magic. In the absence of interfering variables, significance as a quantity is directly proportional to magical output. In other words-"
"-the more significant an object or an event, the higher the magical energy output, and consequently higher the magical power", J'onn finished. He looked towards the scroll. "The information recorded on it, the family tree as you've said, valuable in significance, most likely in terms of whose family it's a record of. In addition, the artifact is from a higher dimension with relation to ours, and that has a cumulative effect."
"Yeah exactly", said Constantine with a raised eyebrow. "Which means that if that hypothetical toy Zatanna mentioned? If that happened to be important enough, like a first toy, or a cherished gift or something like that, its significance increases, its potential increases, and in the right hands, or in the wrong hands really, that potential could be harnessed at a lower level."
There was a bout of thoughtful silence as they absorbed all of the information.
But Bruce felt as if he had been quiet enough and took the chance to ask a question of his own. "You mentioned something called the Overture, and polarity orientation. What do they mean?"
Constantine just sighed. "For fuck's sake Batsy those things aren't really important to the discussion..."
Bruce just stared.
..."Fine", the mage said in defeat. "There are many names for it, the Overture, Exordium, Legerdomain, Nascence...but the most accepted two are the Beforebirth, and the Womb. It's not a something as much as it's a someplace, but then again it's not really a place either. Simply put it's the birthplace of Magic, where it all began and all that. It can't be accessed without the Key and that's been lost for a long time. It's actually a mission for many magicals to find it you know? A holy quest for a lot of them. Some of them are straight up crazy though."
Bruce field that information safely away. Figure out a plan to combat fanatic magicians trying to find the birthplace of magic for sinister reasons. "And polarity?"
"Well", Zatanna began, "its how magic is classified according to the nature of...magic? Or rather the essence? It's hard to put in mundane terms...Anyhow broadly speaking there are two main polarities, the Obverse, and the Reverse."
For a moment, she struggled with the explanation before brightening, seemingly having found an idea.
"Picture a number line, but like on the y-axis! Zero is the Overture, Obverse dimensions are the positive number side, and Reverse dimensions are the negative numbers! The higher up the obverse dimension, the larger its magical output! Similarly, the lower down the reverse dimension, the higher its magical output."
Bruce had hardly parsed through that when their resident speedster spoke up.
"Guys", the red clad hero said, "I feel like we missed the obvious follow up question after Ollie over here...like I feel like this is important, but where exactly is the scroll from?"
As one everyone turned towards the artifact.
Constantine grimaced and Zatanna winced. They looked at each other as if asking who wanted to bite the bullet. Finally it looked as if Constantine lost. The sorcerer cursed under his breath.
"Well which dimension is the scroll from?", asked Wonder Woman.
Constantine took what looked like a fortifying breath.
"It's from the Infinite Realms."
Silence.
"What?", the Green Lantern asked intelligently.
"It's from the Infinite Realms. As in Infinite. As in end of the figurative fucking line, number line whatever!"
Everyone stared at the magicians as understanding slowly dawned.
There was what was essentially a magical nuke in the Watch Tower.
"Now", began Martian Manhunter, "this is unfortunate".
inspired by this wonderful art made by @puppetmaster13u
So, Danny, cemented king and practically father of the Blob Ghosts and certified little shit.
Has found something new to play with.
For you see, despite his various kidnappings by the GIW Danny was never aware of there being a League of Earth's mightiest heroes at all. He off-handily mentioned them to Henry, who was now genuinely jobless because even though he never got told he knew he was jobless for helping Danny escape and Henry?
Henry did not want any part of this, he's just a civilian he doesn't want to meet the Justice League of all people!
Sadly, Danny did not care at all in the slightest.
Henry was then reminded of why Danny was valued by the GIW and why he also king class ghost entity (the only other known king class was the Ghost King who they barely have any information of). Because he easily, cleared the distance between Amity Park and Metropolis.
Henry, unfortunately, was not used to traveling at such speeds and was left hanging limply in Danny's arm as everything started spinning and thinking he might puke.
Danny, being the child that he is at heart, immediately starts calling out Superman's name. Superman, predictably and unsurprisingly, hears this and comes over questioning who was calling him.
Danny decides to be even more of a little shit by speaking in ghost speak even though just earlier he called out Superman's name in clear English. Henry, the de-facto translator, is out of commission right now so Superman is really just left guessing here.
Unless, you go with the fact that Kyrptonian is a dead language, and since Superman can speak and knows Kyrptonian, Danny's ghost speak is automatically translated to Kyrptonian.
Superman is, understandably, stumped by this occurrence and he may or may not form the idea that Danny might be a Kyrptonian.
Danny then gently places Henry down on the roof, pats him on the head, tells a few blob ghosts to keep an eye on their new littlest sibling while Dad has fun.
Then he turns to Superman, with the most feral, shit eating grin on his face. Cracks his knuckles, and then tells Superman that they're going to have a fight.
He wasn't asking, and before Superman could say anything he's already been punched through the air. Not that it hurt, really, mostly took him by surprise, but now Superman is now in a fight with what may or may not be a Kryptonian.
In their defense, it was really funny.
They've been spreading the word via Ouija boards, seances, and any other attempt to speak with the dead that Phantom is the High King of Ghosts.
Except that position doesn't really exist.
Sure, they called Pariah Dark the King of Ghosts, but that was at his own request.
The Infinite Realms are vast, with many different cultures and lands, and there are a lot of Kings. It's not a special title, honestly, it's just the title used to delegate who, in a culture, has to put up with talking to the Observants.
So they decided to get the little shit back for stopping them from playing in the Living world. They're just tryna have fun!
And destroy stuff.
But destroying stuff is fun!
As is telling a shit ton of flesh puppet idiots that Phantom, that scrawny kid, is the "High King" of the Realms.
This resulted in him constantly getting summoned to cult summonings, running him ragged and giving them, his rogues, more time to play.
But uh.
Ember is starting to think they may have fucked up.
Because babypop just broke down into a sobbing, heaving panic attack at the sight of her.
She manages to get out of him that he hasn't slept in three days.
And like.
He's half living?
He's supposed to sleep more than that?
Yeah they fucked up.
Ugh.
She's gonna have to go talk to them, isn't she?
So that's how a meeting between Justice League and Justice League Dark gets interrupted by the ghost of a rock star, with a living teenager having one of the worst panic attacks any of them have seen in awhile cradled in her arms, asking Justice League Dark to invent an amulet that prevents Summonings.
Little idea wiggling about in my brain...
So like *holds Danny and Billy up by the scruff of their shirts* these two bastards won't leave my brain, and for punishment I will make them kiss...
Just, the Rock of eternity technically is Shazam's (the wizards) haunt? He has been dead for a long time, living only though his champion, what if Ghost King Danny gets slapped with a post it note that reads like
"Daniel, you're required to assist the Champion of Magic as the High King of the Realms, even Pariah helped the previous Champion Black Adam."
And Danny is like, "Sure, why not, Magic is real and so are ghosts."
And like....
Sparky Danny meeting Literal Sun Beam Billy, they are both 14, it's puppy love at its finest. Danny doesn't know what to do with gay panic and Billy is just straight up "This man is my soul mate, he shall be mine." (Call iy Zeus bestowing more than just lightning)
The leauge is very concerned why Captain Marvel seems to have a seeming underage partner.
Superman squinting very hard and trying to figure this out: So...just how old is Phantom?
Billy, unaware how bad this looks: Oh I don't know honestly, it's kinda hard to tell with beings from the Realms! Though he died when he was 14!
Superman, gripping the table (which cracks a little) :And how exactly long has he been 14?
Billy, taking out his phone and flipping out pictures: Like I said, I don't really know how old he is, but there is Egyptain hieroglyphics of him! Look!
Superman, blinking at the very real looking pictures: Ahh. Fun cool cool cool...a-and how are you again Cap?
Billy mindlessly swiping the photos, excited to show off his boyfriend:Never said it, but he is definitely older than I am.
(Danny is older by a month, Billy calls him an old man for it.)
Billy gets to live full time in Danny's haunt in the Zone, Danny built him like the best house, Tucker and Sam get to meet Billy and they just are flabbergasted that Danny "I can't get a girl to date me or else she ends up wanting to kill me" Fenton has a boyfriend that has been going steady for a few months.
My brain sees like, Maddie and Jack are 100% backing Danny, they are fully supportive of their bi/gay/pan son, but in no way would they support him if he was a ghost, like they are organizing Amitys first ever Pride parade, but there is a shoot ghosts on sight order.
And just the reveal is like...
Danny gets finally tells them he is a ghost: if you start shooting me, your shooting the only Gay person you know, not very ally of you mom and Dad.
Maddie mouth open in horror: Oh no...Jack are...are we homophobic?
Jack sharing her look of fear: Great Scott...Dann-o a-are you sure...its...it's a life style right? Y-you chose this?
Danny, trying very, very hard not to laugh: It's not a life style dad! I didn't choose to Die!
Anyway, thank you for coming to my brain word vomit, I haven't slept in 20 hours.
DPXDC prompt: Identity Reveal or What makes a Fenton a Fenton?
Riddler catches 'birds and bats' and Phantom. Disarming them and putting Specter Deflector on Danny Nygma offers to pass his obstacle course if they want to live.
However, he does not take into account one fact - Danny not only Phantom but also Fenton. And his family is well known in Amity Park for their strong genes and attendant economic damage. So of course the boy does not follow his rules of the game but simply runs away:
Dead Tired x Reincarnation
Reincarnation is a documented phenomenon, if an uncommon one. It’s been recognized and recorded for years, with around 0.03% of the population being reincarnated. Out of that percentage, only 0.05 were important in history. Most reincarnate’s memories are triggered by reading history books of important events during their first lifetime or seeing items from their past in museums.
Tim didn’t remember his past life for a long time, but he knew he had one. He knew he was a reincarnation, just because certain things were too easy to do. He knew his first life was to thank for his knowledge of sneaking and battle strategy (not that he didn’t expand on it.) He knew his hatred of the ocean wasn’t normal, and that it wasn’t normal for his mind to move so quickly.(He couldn’t remember his dreams, but he would wake up reaching for someone who wasn’t there.)
Danny hadn’t realized he was a reincarnation until he was told by Frostbite. Frostbite explained how it was part of why he was so strong, that ghosts of reincarnates often are. He didn’t know who he was, but he didn’t care to know. (Danny tried to ignore the unnatural anger and fear and frustration when he saw Vlad flirting with his mother, of the memory of hot breath and a man glaring down at him, acting as if he had to choose him, that tugged at his mind)
Danny wasn’t interested in remembering who he was, and shoved the fragmented memories away.
Tim was always curious about who he was, but his fragmented memories were frustratingly dim.
However, at a gala Vlad dragged Danny to, their eyes met, and everything came flooding back.
Waiting... Waiting...
So... This was inspired by listening to EPIC (FREAKING LOVE ALL THE ALBUMS, SO GOOD) and by @noxcheshire post of Tim being Odysseus reincarnated and Danny (maybe also reincarnated) being his Penelope (Here) so I had to turn it into a Dead Tired idea.
The song The Challenge is the main one here. (Cause I LOVE that song... along with Would You Fall In Love With Me Again)
So WHAT IF Danny IS the reincarnated Penelope, after becoming the Ghost King Danny's memories of his past life as Penelope returns and remembers how before dying/ or being reincarnated both Penelope and Odysseus promised to find each other in their new lives, no matter who they are, what new form they take, they will find each other.
So Danny/Penelope, just like before waits for their Odysseus to return to them, but also tries to find him in their new life (CW is laughing whenever Danny asks for hints and gets a 'In due time, just wait' answer, ugh Danny wants to smack CW for that)
However just like in his previous life with being in a high position of power, Danny is being pressured to marry/take a spouse (now its not just men/males though so its a huge headache, I head canon Ghosts don't care much for gender preference) mostly by the dang eyeballs that Danny is still trying to find a way to get rid of without upsetting the Infinite Realms delicate (but slowly healing) balance even if Danny wanted nothing more than to punch all of the suitors out.
So Danny decides to play the long game again.
And waits for their Odysseus return.
Danny's wait is over when they suddenly feel the Realms shift one day, as if welcoming someone familiar home, and the same feeling Danny had when he had been Penelope and saw the storm that was sign of Odysseus coming home, Danny decides its time to bring out The Challenge once again. (CW gifted Danny a few things from his past as Penelope as a coronation gift, like Odysseus's bow (now enchanted to be unbreakable), a painting of when he was Penelope, with Telemchus, and Odysseus, and the Marriage Bed/Olive Tree, AND the Palace Odysseus made that Danny takes to being in over being at Pariah's Keep)
-x-x-
Meanwhile
Tim Drake, aka Red Robin, always had strange dreams as a child.
War, Death, Monsters, Gods, Goddesses.
His dreams were more like nightmares, haunting him and he sometimes woke up in cold sweat.
He hated storms. Hated being in the water for to long. Hated how he felt both tense but also at home when around Greek heroes, as if he was afraid to 'disrespect' them (Cassie was the only one he didn't feel that way around, mostly cause they had been somewhat friends before their heroing since their parents knew each other) but also knew how to appease them should he insult them. He also had a strange hatred for the CoO with a burning passion because he felt like they were mocking real Owls.
The worst part of nightmares that always pop up are of what feels like should be his home is being invaded by unwanted guests (they aren't guests), how they are angry over trying to string a bow and shot an arrow through axes, of the terrible terrible things he hear them saying they were going to do to his loved ones (two names that keep getting muted out).
How it ends in bloodshed with echoing of begging, pleading, mercy, and screams.
However in those nightmares at the end. He also finds himself looking for something in them.
Or rather he always found someone waiting for him at the end of the nightmares. Calling him by the wrong name but it sounds just right coming from them.
The dream always ends with the person asking 'How long has it been?' and before he can answer he wakes up.
So yeah Tim has horrifying nightmares/dreams he could never explain.
And the urge to find someone. To go home to them.
It isn't until he and his friends from Young Justice are hit by a spell from Klarion (who may or may not had a visit from a certain chaos encouraging Time Keeper) and sent to a place called the Infinite Realms in the middle of their fight, that Tim is hit hard with déjà vu when he spots a certain Palace in the distance and overhears some of the 'people?' (they glow and float and some don't even look human?! where are they?) talk about how the 'King' has issued a new 'Challenge' for his 'suitors'.
A Challenge involving a bow, and axes.
And Tim, feels like he knows this all too well and needs to do it.
DpxDc AU: Tim as a child was never given a lot of information regarding the scribbling messy handwriting that appeared over night all over his arms- naturally he came to his own conclusions.
Tim Drake was home entirely alone at 9 years old and was about to go out for the night to test his brand new long exposure camera lens when he sees the writing on his arm. It’s not English, like he assumed it was at first, but it was using the alphabet to represent… Tim isn’t bad at math but this formula is complex for his little genius brain.
Looking at his camera, he decides he can spare a moment to look it up, solve it, and get back out into old town Gotham in time for Batman and Robin’s final patrol lap. He does just that, finding the problem to relate to some aerospace engineering and then quickly deduces what laws and theorems need to be applied. He finds a pen, writes down his findings in much neater handwriting onto his arm, and goes out. It’s barely a remarkable night at all. He gets a much more memorable photo of Robin roundhouse kicking a hench person.
Things just continued on that way. Tim would find some complex math, physics or chemistry prompt on his arm (surrounded by various question marks or notes or sad faces)- he’d answer it as best he could and move on with his life. Perhaps his parents were manifesting these pop quizzes? Perhaps his subconscious felt guilty about abandoning his studies for more Bat related pursuits? Tim really didn’t care to think much about it once he became Robin- there was too much on his plate and too many peoples problems for him to fix.
Notably, however, after the attack at the Tower, the pop quiz appeared and Tim wrote back that he wouldn’t be able to find an answer to this one. It was the only time Tim questioned the markings appearance and it was because the next thing that appeared was “Hope you feel better soon.”
… his parents wouldn’t include that on a pop quiz. Cursed then. Tim decided it must be a curse, whatever, he’d deal with the implications later in life.
Tim then has the worst year of his life, hes 15, no longer Robin and the questions from his curse are getting less math oriented and more… philosophical. A lot of mentions of death that, in hindsight helped him actually grieve, and a lot of theories about dark matter and souls. Tim answers back as best he can but he’s drained and his answers aren’t very good in his opinion. He gets minimal feedback.
It all comes to a point that he’s at a family dinner, Bruce is at the head of the table, Jason has promised just to stay for dessert, Damian hasn’t thrown a single insult his way and Steph was laughing at him- when a new theoretical model appears on his arm.
“You’re just as bad as Bruce, Timberly. Hiding a soulmate from all of us, how fucking typical.” Jason points out, while watching Tim scribble back some math with a question mark onto his arm.
“A what? No, this is just a curse. I get pop quizzes every now and then.” Tim bats away Steph who rapidly approaches and began to analyze his arm (the rest of the family isn’t far behind).
“Drake. Explain how you came to this conclusion.” Damian seems more curious than anything, if his lack of insults was anything to go off of.
“Since I was young I’ve had at least weekly math check ins, I never had a parent or anyone else around so I assumed my parents had me cursed to ensure I stayed on top of my studies. Sometimes it’s physics or chemistry, for a while there it was a ton of philosophy and behavioral psychology.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Master Tim, I believe the lack of adults in your life has led you towards a false conclusion. That is most certainly a soulmate mark. The individual to whom you are responding is undoubtedly your other half.” Alfred attempts to calm the room before explaining to Tim. Tim isnt sure if he believes the butler, though Alfred only very rarely lied, so he grabs the pen once more. He writes his first question back: “Who am I to you?”
The room waits in anticipation and within moments a brand new line appears on Tim’s arm and he is vindicated: “We do math together???”
——
The reason Danny is failing English is because his built in homework helper sucks ass at metaphors and has apparently never read any classic literature. The tutor on his arm is great at puzzles and math tho.
Danny gets a reply back one night that he wasn’t expecting (Who am I to you?) and he mentions it to Jazz. Who goes insane that Danny didn’t even question it and just went with “meh, probably haunted” as his explanation for the phenomenon for all these years.
Apparently, if Jazz was right, he had a soulmate who was uh, super fucking smart. That was an overwhelming thought.
The next day Danny is in crisis mode and writes back “Wait, WHAT AM I TO YOU??? Can I help on your homework??”
Danny gets vindicated when the writing on his arm presents a shit ton of dates and information for an unsolved Gotham cold case. See, Haunted.
———
Eventually between Danny becoming the top candidate for astrophysics at Wayne Enterprises and Tim Drake being outed as having contributed tips to the GCPD that solved cold cases- they meet and realize just how dumb they’ve been.
Epic the Musical has come to a close but the way I went absolutely FERAL when Odysseus came in just taking people OUT. Absolutely no mercy, not even an ounce of remorse in those red eyes. He had gone through hell and back only to hear his own people wanting to hurt his wife and son.
Like, the amount of anger and relief he must have felt coming onto those shores after fighting Poseidon. The feeling that must have come from entering his castle’s halls, running a calloused and aged hand across the walls that have withstood the test of time while he had been away. The tension slipping from his shoulders as he makes his way further inside only to hear the noise, the rattle, of suitors plotting destruction onto those he loved.
If he had been any later, any longer — how pained did it make him to know what could have happened? What could have been had he allowed himself to slip into the cold embrace of death down into the waters?
But also, I immediately got shot back to a one shot here on Tumblr about Tim being Odysseus’ reincarnation and how Danny is the new Penelope that he loves very deeply.
Do you know how much I want Tim to do the same? How relieved he is that he is returning to Danny, that all the pain and suffering he had endured just to come home to him, to once more breathe in his scent and feel the loving weight of Danny’s arms around him? Only to stop dead in his tracks, ears ringing with the sound of discontent, of others planning harm to Danny, of slobbering eagerness to pull him down, and take Danny from Tim?
Tim who feels as if he has gone through something like this before.
Tim who feels that weight of a blade in his hand as he stalks the halls and tears through the dark, like a memory howling to be resurfaced.
Tim whose eyes are cold, without mercy, or second chances didn’t he say that ruthless is mercy upon because Danny is so very, very loved.
If there’s one thing Tim Drake knows, it’s patience. He’s spent his whole life waiting—for approval, for recognition, for love. And when Danny Fenton crashes into his life, wild and untamed like the storm Tim never knew he needed, Tim feels like he’s found the one person who makes the wait worth it.
It’s funny, really. How Tim’s life echoes that of his past. Odysseus had Penelope, his constant, the woman he loved with every part of his being. She was his reason to fight, to survive, to return. And now, in this life, it’s Danny. Danny, who smiles at him like he’s the only person in the room, who pulls Tim in close with his easy laughter and gentle teasing.
Danny is Tim’s Penelope, his anchor in a world of chaos.
Tim doesn’t even realize how much of his past love has bled into this life until he’s sitting next to Danny on the couch one night. Danny’s head is on his shoulder, their hands loosely intertwined, and Tim just knows. This—he—is what he’s been fighting for.
It’s not the missions, or the victories, or even the Bat family’s approval. It’s Danny. He loves Danny with a quiet, fierce devotion, the same way Odysseus loved Penelope, with all the yearning and determination that had kept him alive through countless trials.
Tim would do anything for him.
And it’s not always easy. There are nights when Danny’s off fighting his own battles, and Tim waits, holding his breath, just like Penelope had done for Odysseus all those years ago. He knows what it’s like to wait for the person you love, to wonder if they’ll come back to you. But the thing is, Tim knows Danny will always come back. Just like Odysseus returned to Ithaca, no matter how long the journey or how hard the trials.
And when Danny does come back? When he wraps his arms around Tim, pressing a kiss to his temple, Tim feels that same relief, that same overwhelming love that he remembers Odysseus felt the moment he saw Penelope again.
It’s not just that Tim loves Danny. It’s that he waits for him. Fights for him. Lives for him, with the same depth and determination that had driven Odysseus through years of war and hardship, all for the woman he loved.
Tim may not be Odysseus anymore, not fully, but the love? That kind of love transcends lifetimes.
Because Danny is Tim’s Penelope, and no matter what this life throws at them, Tim will always find his way back to him.
Been laughing at the idea of Tim and Danny in a miraculous ladybug style love square. Let me explain: Phantom loves Red Robin. Red Robin loves Danny. Danny doesn't notice Tim. Danny has major crush on Red Robin. Tim commiserates with Phantom when their crush doesn't reciprocate.
(Somehow, even when I come up with an angsty scenario it turns into zany comedy hijinks. Send help.)
Cassie, Tim, Kon and Bart are hanging out, just chilling, when a glowing green minotaur pops out of nowhere and yoinks Wonder Girl into another dimension.
Obviously, Cassie is so not down with the whole kidnapping thing, so she starts beating up all the Greek mythological monsters in sight. Soon enough, Pandora pops out of the woodwork and orders everyone to stand down.
Pandora: *sigh* I ordered you to escort her here, not drag her kicking and screaming. Ugh, it's impossible to hire competent help these days. Come child, we have much to discuss.
Cassie: Uh, it's an honor to meet you ma'am, but why am I here?
Pandora: It's quite complicated I'm afraid. To make a long story short, a few years ago the tyrannical ghost king was defeated by a young ghost hero, and by right of conquest the crown passed to him. However, since he has not yet reached the age of majority a regency council was put in place until he is old enough to be formally crowned.
Cassie: What does that have to do with me?
Pandora: You see, your father, Zeus, wishes to make an alliance with this new power...
Cassie: Oh no
Pandora: ...and so he has offered your hand in marriage to the young prince, as he once did Persephone's to Hades.
Cassie: That fucking asshole!
Pandora: And the regency council has accepted on the prince's behalf.
Cassie: *cracks knuckles* So, what's your opinion on patricide?
***
When Cassie meets Danny, she fully expects him to be some pompous asshole.
Danny: I am so fucking sorry!
Cassie: Huh?
Danny: *wrings hands* I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess! This was not my idea! But the council are a bunch of stuck-up jerks who think this is for the good of the realm and...
Cassie: So the wedding is off?
Danny: Well... unfortunately Clockwork is the one who floated the idea? And he only gets directly involved if it's like, end of the world kind of stuff...
Cassie: Who's Clockwork?
Danny: The Master of Time. He uh, helped me prevent a potential future where my soul got merged with that of my arch-nemesis and I miiiight have wiped out all life on Earth. But uh, that timeline is gone and you don't have to worry about it!
Cassie, muttering: Chronos?
Danny: So I think we might be stuck with each other, unless you have an idea on how to get out of this?
Cassie: Well my friends are bound to come rescue me, so...
Danny: Stall?
Cassie: Stall.
Queen Dora, popping in with a dozen handmaidens, a measuring tape and hundreds of dress and fabric samples: ~ Who's ready for a makeover? ~
Cassie: Oh gods just kill me now
***
Cassie and Danny both go full Bridezilla in an effort to delay the wedding, nitpicking everything from the clothes to the flower arrangements.
Cassie: I am not wearing some poofy monstrosity to my wedding. I want a tux! If anyone's gonna wear a dress it's gonna be him.
Danny, posing in front of a mirror: What do you think, can I pull off a mermaid cut?
***
Eventually, they can stall no more and the day of the wedding arrives. Zeus is there to give her away as the father of the bride. Cassie tries to stab him with the cake topper.
The wedding proceeds, they are standing in front of the Observant who is officiating. Cassie is glaring murderously at Zeus. Danny just looks resigned. Suddenly, there's a loud screech and a bang. The team has arrived to crash the party...!
...by literally crash landing the stolen Specter Speeder on top of Zeus.
*smash cut to a flashback of Tim reading the Drs Fentons' research and breaking into Fentonworks*
Tim, Kon and Bart pop out of the smoking wreckage.
Tim: We object!
Observant, outraged: On what grounds?!
Kon: Wonder Girl can't marry the ghost prince, because... because I'm marrying her!
Tim and Bart: Wait what?
Danny: Oh thank fuck *rips off his veil and dress and chucks it at the Observant* Cassie, do you want to marry Superboy?
Cassie: I do!
Danny: Then by the power vested in me by the Crown and Ring, I now pronounce you Super and Wonder. You may kiss the bride or whatever.
Cassie dip kisses Kon in front of the assembled ghost citizenry. Tim and Danny disappear into a broom closet during the wedding reception. Bart demolishes like 90% of the buffet by himself.
***
In a dark room, Clockwork is repeatedly watching Zeus get pancaked in slow motion and chuckles to himself.
Roll Credits
Danny: Ugh, they're back again
Jazz: Don't make that face at paying customers. Do you want to make a portal back home?
Danny rolling his eyes: Yes
Jazz: Then we need to get enough money to buy the parts. If that means waiting tables at a barely legal dinner, where idiots hit on us, then we wait those stupid tables. Now go over there and get the Waynes to leave us a 200 tip.
Danny: Fine, but only if you do too!
Jazz: *Tighten her apron straps into an hourglass figure* Way ahead of you.
Danny: *Rolling eyes but does the same*
Meanwhile with the Waynes
Bruce: It's so nice to go out to eat with you all
Alfred: Indeed. It's a nice change, don't you agree, children?
Wayne kids: *hyperventilating*
Bruce Not looking up from his phone: The Fenton siblings?
Alfred: Indeed, sir. It seems like Master Dick, Master Jason, and Miss Cass are going to attempt to speak to Ms. Fenton today. Master Tim, Master Damian, Master Duke, and Miss Steph don't seem mentally ready to look Mister Fenton in the eye. Bets?
Bruce: Dick chokes on his fork again. Tim face plants on the table, and Steph once again speaks in gibberish after forgetting the entire English language.
Alfred: Very good, sir.
i've officially reached the link limit for my masterlist, so here's the second one !!
updated on 3/13/25
tim doesn't kill , tim works hard to nap harder , tim drake: temporary asset , tim does not hold grudges ,
tim never liked valentines day , tim vs. the ouija board , tim makes horrible life decisions ,
valentines in gotham ,
all of my prompts can be found here!!
updated on 3/4/25
tim leaves the bats , silent rebellion , a haunted hero , athena's soldier , you can't outrun the gods , tim drake turns 18 , tim drake is danny fenton , the camera crisis , the immortal weight , heartthrob conspiracy , heartthrob with loser rizz , always the almost ,
the reluctant savior , buried beneath laughter , accidentally taking over the world , the making of joker junior , nail artist by night , the day gotham let him go , never anyone's favorite , tim works hard to nap harder , tim drake: temporary asset
the forgotten robins , the ultimate problem solvers , the underrated duo , tim and damian bond over pancakes , bonding over pancakes pt.2 , dad of chaos and protector of twins , tim drake is a fenton pt.1 , tim drake is a fenton pt.2 , tim drake is a fenton pt.3 ,
tim and danny as frozen , tim's most unhinged power move , unwilling favorite brothers , between healing and fear , finding their place , damian believes tim , shared custody with a rogue , tim gets adopted by green arrow , everyone wants to be the favorite ,
jason todd: dad mode activated , resident alley cat , christmas list tradition , tim's unreachable heart , taste of home
tim loves like odysseus , eternal bonds , obsession meets devotion , famous danny and his secret boyfriend , gotham's most feared power couple , unspoken bonds , campus couple: football edition , campus couple: cheerleader edition , danny has fangs—tim's obsessed ,
tim drake turns 18, brain dead version , red hood vs. red robin, a boyfriend's dilemma , tim drake responds to thirst tweets , everyone wants to be danny's favorite , falling for the one you can't have , two lost souls , the makeup stream , from vigilante to royalty ,
ra's and his matchmaking skills , letters in green ink , first thanksgiving , tim moves to amity park , love and obsession , the weight of protection , a love that hurts , everyone knows they're dating , take my heart, take my name , the marriage pact ,
doomed together, doomed apart , tim doesn't believe in ghosts , tim drake is a halfa , what could have been , sleep-deprived tim , what they have, what they'll always be , the forms of love , curious case of phantom , learning to be someone's favorite , legends in the realms ,
tim and danny vs. la llorona , the tomorrows that won't come , love, scribbled in the margins , consumed by love, blind to the truth , love like a gothic novel , reincarnation of romance , tim likes painting danny's nails
jason's lost voice , damian's favorite movie , duke isn't the normal one , october shenanigans , the bats go to hamilton , damian's LPS collection , halloween special , training the bat-way , conditional love
percy and his technology curse
Batman was sneaking around the Riddler's hidden base for the sixth time this week. The riddler has been quiet for 1 year straight, and his paranoia believes he is up to something big.
Scarecrow doesn't know where he has been. He has been missing out on the monthly meeting since February last year.
There was only one odd clue he found so far, and it was an almost burnt up letter with the word millberry st- in the fireplace.
It took Tim a total of 2 weeks and 4 days fueled by the dangerous coffee, monster energy, and redbull mixed concoction that Bruce willing made to find which exact street that was in Gotham city.
Batman roam the night on Millberry Street 3190 in the middle class of Gotham city, where he spot Riddler, not in his usual green question outfit, but casual clothes and a hat to cover his red hair, holding a sleeping toddler in one arm, a baby girl and boy in a double baby sling on.
Speaking to a 14 year old girl with red hair just like him, with a bundles of groceries on thr floor leading into the apartment door.
A black teen with a beanie along with a goth teen picking up bags of groceries. If it weren't for the interference in his spy com in this area, Batman would've been able to hear what they were saying.
Part 2 -> here
For one reason or another, Danny is now living in Gotham and working in a coffeeshop. For one reason or another, Tim frequents the same coffeeshop.
Now, both of them are honest to god messes who treat sleep like a grave enemy. Meaning they both survive on coffee, spite, energy drinks, and their respective hyperfocuses.
They don't even talk, really, they just see each other from time to time: Tim knows the barista who looks like he's been dead for weeks is named Danny, and Danny knows how to make Tim's Death Wish with his eyes closed, but other than that, they are just strangers who largely don't care about each other.
That is, until one time after his patrol, Tim comes to the said coffeeshop in his Red Robin gear. He doesn't even think about it, he simply needs coffee. He comes to the counter. He orders. His voice is tired and emotionless. He just wants his coffee and maybe stare at a wall for a few hours until his brain reboots. Danny takes his order without even looking at him. He has been sitting and staring at a wall for a few hours, night shifts are literally killing him.
They are both so done.
Red Robin waits for his coffee. Danny makes it almost automatically, his mind elsewhere. The coffeeshop is empty, save for them two. It's four in the morning. Nothing feels real.
Danny sets the cup on the counter.
"One Death Wish for Tim," he says out of a habit, not fully registering they are alone, and he doesn't need to do that.
Tim takes the coffee without thinking, nods a silent 'thank you'. Brings the cup up to his mouth-
And notices a glove on his own hand.
He is in Red Robin get up.
He freezes and looks at the barista, who is cleaning the coffeemachine. Danny, noticing him looking, also looks back at him. Did he make the wrong order? He knows Tim's soul, he's seen it a lot, he couldn't have mistaken him for anyone else, but maybe he forgot to add syrup?..
There's a domino mask on Tim's face. A vigilante domino mask.
They stare at each other. No one moves. No one blinks. The sun is rising somewhere over the city.
Tim takes a sip of his coffee. Danny goes back to cleaning the coffeemachine.
They never speak of this again, but Tim becomes a regular here in both of his personas.
Here you go a masterlist for those who ask and if I hear anyone else ask I will cruisfy them.
Batboy Au (First >) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Beholder AU 》 Ghost Beauty Standards (Tim x Danny) 》 Deathday Party 》 Ghost Courting:Dangerous 》 Beautiful Ghosts 》 Loving Spirits 》 Pre-wedding Blues 》 Engaged...In Conflict
Interdimensional Babysitter
》 Field Trip 》 Entropy
Just your average (eldritch) coffee shop AU 》 part 2
Two Soul 》 After Image AU 》 Two for One deal
Mixed Signals 》 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Movie Night 》 part 1 》 part 2
Talents
Ghost Nests
Ghost Diet
Ghost Emotions
Lazarus What?!
Danny adopts himself
Incomprehensible Horrors
Ghostlight
God's TV
God Summoning 101
Danny lives in a Horror Movie 》 part 2
The Nightingale Family
Danny Can't Taste
Space Fae
Wild Caught Ghosts
Lay Me to Rest
New Cats
Overworked
Horrible Creatures
Do NOT touch a god
Is it mine?
It's in the crontract
The Bridge
Kiss of Death
Behold the Oracle
Supernatural Dating
Alfred's Apprentice
The Green Ribbon
Health Code Violation
Little Crush
Manic Pixi Dream Ghost
The Phantom Midwife
Everyone loves a Villain
Ghost Haunters
DpxDc AU: Tim as a child was never given a lot of information regarding the scribbling messy handwriting that appeared over night all over his arms- naturally he came to his own conclusions.
Tim Drake was home entirely alone at 9 years old and was about to go out for the night to test his brand new long exposure camera lens when he sees the writing on his arm. It’s not English, like he assumed it was at first, but it was using the alphabet to represent… Tim isn’t bad at math but this formula is complex for his little genius brain.
Looking at his camera, he decides he can spare a moment to look it up, solve it, and get back out into old town Gotham in time for Batman and Robin’s final patrol lap. He does just that, finding the problem to relate to some aerospace engineering and then quickly deduces what laws and theorems need to be applied. He finds a pen, writes down his findings in much neater handwriting onto his arm, and goes out. It’s barely a remarkable night at all. He gets a much more memorable photo of Robin roundhouse kicking a hench person.
Things just continued on that way. Tim would find some complex math, physics or chemistry prompt on his arm (surrounded by various question marks or notes or sad faces)- he’d answer it as best he could and move on with his life. Perhaps his parents were manifesting these pop quizzes? Perhaps his subconscious felt guilty about abandoning his studies for more Bat related pursuits? Tim really didn’t care to think much about it once he became Robin- there was too much on his plate and too many peoples problems for him to fix.
Notably, however, after the attack at the Tower, the pop quiz appeared and Tim wrote back that he wouldn’t be able to find an answer to this one. It was the only time Tim questioned the markings appearance and it was because the next thing that appeared was “Hope you feel better soon.”
… his parents wouldn’t include that on a pop quiz. Cursed then. Tim decided it must be a curse, whatever, he’d deal with the implications later in life.
Tim then has the worst year of his life, hes 15, no longer Robin and the questions from his curse are getting less math oriented and more… philosophical. A lot of mentions of death that, in hindsight helped him actually grieve, and a lot of theories about dark matter and souls. Tim answers back as best he can but he’s drained and his answers aren’t very good in his opinion. He gets minimal feedback.
It all comes to a point that he’s at a family dinner, Bruce is at the head of the table, Jason has promised just to stay for dessert, Damian hasn’t thrown a single insult his way and Steph was laughing at him- when a new theoretical model appears on his arm.
“You’re just as bad as Bruce, Timberly. Hiding a soulmate from all of us, how fucking typical.” Jason points out, while watching Tim scribble back some math with a question mark onto his arm.
“A what? No, this is just a curse. I get pop quizzes every now and then.” Tim bats away Steph who rapidly approaches and began to analyze his arm (the rest of the family isn’t far behind).
“Drake. Explain how you came to this conclusion.” Damian seems more curious than anything, if his lack of insults was anything to go off of.
“Since I was young I’ve had at least weekly math check ins, I never had a parent or anyone else around so I assumed my parents had me cursed to ensure I stayed on top of my studies. Sometimes it’s physics or chemistry, for a while there it was a ton of philosophy and behavioral psychology.” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Master Tim, I believe the lack of adults in your life has led you towards a false conclusion. That is most certainly a soulmate mark. The individual to whom you are responding is undoubtedly your other half.” Alfred attempts to calm the room before explaining to Tim. Tim isnt sure if he believes the butler, though Alfred only very rarely lied, so he grabs the pen once more. He writes his first question back: “Who am I to you?”
The room waits in anticipation and within moments a brand new line appears on Tim’s arm and he is vindicated: “We do math together???”
——
The reason Danny is failing English is because his built in homework helper sucks ass at metaphors and has apparently never read any classic literature. The tutor on his arm is great at puzzles and math tho.
Danny gets a reply back one night that he wasn’t expecting (Who am I to you?) and he mentions it to Jazz. Who goes insane that Danny didn’t even question it and just went with “meh, probably haunted” as his explanation for the phenomenon for all these years.
Apparently, if Jazz was right, he had a soulmate who was uh, super fucking smart. That was an overwhelming thought.
The next day Danny is in crisis mode and writes back “Wait, WHAT AM I TO YOU??? Can I help on your homework??”
Danny gets vindicated when the writing on his arm presents a shit ton of dates and information for an unsolved Gotham cold case. See, Haunted.
———
Eventually between Danny becoming the top candidate for astrophysics at Wayne Enterprises and Tim Drake being outed as having contributed tips to the GCPD that solved cold cases- they meet and realize just how dumb they’ve been.