DP X DC Prompt.

DP x DC Prompt.

Deadserious

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>Danny had a problem. He thought he handled it well. He couldn't tell his civillian boyfriend of his half-dead status.

He definitely couldn't let him find out by being summoned by some culty wannabes who wanted to rule the world.

Easy solution: Volunteer to be the sacrifice, turn his eyes green, and act like a Royal prick and powerful being. Get rescued by one of Gothams 50 vigilantes. And claim no memory.

Boom, secret identity underwraps.

He didn't expect everyone to treat him so fragile after.

>

Damian also had a problem. That problem, being his civilian boyfriend, was obviously possessed by a spirit of the ghastly ghost king and was utterly clueless about it.

And it was all his fault.

Danny Fenton was the next June Moore/ Enchantress. Except he was hosting one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

And that lovable idiot had no damn idea about it.

Alice In Gotham Pt 4

Final Part (for Tumblr)

While clean up was happening along with evidence, Orphan sat off to the side with Scraps sleeping away in her arms. She was able to examine their face closely now. She had caught glimpses before, but hadn't been able to determine the true causes of all the scars on their face mid fight. Part of that was the fact that Scraps was wearing a bit of makeup. Robin brought Orphan a pack of wet wipes and sat down next to her as she cleaned off Scraps’ face. They both wanted to examine the same thing. The scars they'd noticed during the invites and the fights.

“...muzzle…” came softly from Cass as she traced scars from Scraps cheek, over the bridge of their nose to the other cheek. There were more along their jaw line, prongs in the bottom of the muzzle.

“And a collar… a shock collar most likely,” Robin tilted Scraps' head up ever so slightly. Revealing the rings of cuts and burns that decorated Scraps’ neck below the collar of the dress. The lichtenberg scars were still white but now they had some pink irritation around them. They managed to show ever all of the other scars, they were the most prominent on Scraps’ left arm and neck.

“... tortured…” Orphan couldn't remove the bracelets with the green glow, but below them saw the marks of cuffs on their wrists and upper arms, “New sibling.”

“Obviously. Their skills in battle are acceptable and their stealth is impressive with their abilities. We can train them to be stealthy without their powers. I'd personally rather have them as a comrade than a rogue,” Robin agreed, knowing his father would adopt Scraps anyway, “They need treatment, I'll get the paramedics.”

  Scraps started to stir as Robin left. Cass smiled below her mask and gently started coating her fingers through thick black hair. Soothing Scraps back to sleep, they needed more rest. Electrocution again so soon after the first was agony, they had all felt it. Cass knew Red Hood felt it the most for some reason. For now, she needed to focus on helping her new sibling feel safe and comfortable while they recovered.

—

It was quickly found out from the evidence that Tetch was planning a mass takeover of Gotham. The trap hadn't been set up yet, the supplies was down in the basement. Crates containing several cheap Alice costumes that had been stolen from Party City deliveries. His mind control chips were being produced by a machine hidden in the staff break room and hostages who were freed before the basement fight had started. Then one crate held diadem’s like the one Danny wore, were being made. There was one for each invitation and two more. Hatter was hoping to use Batman’s brood against him to over power Batman and take Gotham.

  Interrogations proved Tetch only risked it because of Scraps’ sudden appearance. Having a meta Alice had lead him to believe he could. The only thing unaccounted for were the last 2 invitations. It was unlikely the 2 extra diadem didn't serve a purpose outside of backup.

—

Danny's head ache horribly. It throbbed and swam in a way that was distantly familiar. The last time it felt this way, he woke up on top of a running train while one of his best friends was falling. However there was another feeling nearby. Someone was holding him, gently coating their fingers through his hair. His body was aching, he was electrocuted again… Why? The stinging on his face was a cut, from what? Who did he fight again? Everything is fuzzy… Why was he even fighting? None of his rogues had followed him- ah… right… the leprechaun. Memories slowly started making themselves clearer.

“Fuck…” Danny groaned as everything from the last 24 hrs ago came back clearest, but not as clear as he’d liked.

“She's waking up,” a voice to Danny's left answered.

“Her heart beat is still too low.”

“We can't do much until we know her physiology.”

  Immediately he tensed and noticed the feeling of a heart monitor clipped to his finger and an IV in his arm. He heard the beeping of his heart rate pick up and his blue eyes shot open.

“Hey, it's okay, it's okay!” He was surrounded by people in blue scrubs.

  Danny ripped the iv out of his arm and pulled away from the hands trying to grab him. He pulled off the clip, going intangible, and backing up until he was far away from them near some wooden crates.

“Scraps, it's okay. They're paramedics, they're trying to help you,” a familiar man in a black suit with a blue bird on the front of it, Nightwing.

  Danny hissed at him, well more like he said to back off in ghost speak but it came out like a hiss.

“I warned you the kid is feral,” Red Hood spoke up behind Nightwing and moved his shorter, but older, brother out of the way, “Hey kid, can I patch you up?” Hood crouched  down in front of Danny. Danny was tense, very quietly growling like a feral kitten as the large vigilante held up his hands in surrender, “You don't trust the paramedics, right? I've got a first aid kit. They won't touch you, okay?”

“... I'd rather do it myself,” Danny answered quietly, untrusting eyes scanning the area. Everyone was watching him… He needed to leave.

  They were still in the basement. Orphan was near the paramedics. He couldn't see her expression but he could feel her aura of sorry- mistake- trying to help- safe. She must have been the one who was holding him before. She didn't look hurt, he knew he could get aggressive with nightmares sometimes…

“Okay, can I watch to make sure you're doing everything right? Don't want you bleeding out because of a loose bandage,” Red Hood pulled out a small first aid kit from his belt. Safe- worried- coming from Red Hood. Danny could feel a sort of corrupted anger in the back of his mind. Right, this was the revenant he sensed. Danny's growling stopped, he didn't need another ghost fight right now. Danny was surprised when Hood opened the first aid kit and nothing made for an ecto entity was inside. All for humans, the kit was useless.

“That won't work,” Danny didn't take the kit, “My blood will dissolve it.”

“Shit, okay. Will it hold for a little while? I have your stuff in a safe house. You had a first aid kit in there, that one's special isn't it?” that made Danny tense again, they'd gone through his stuff. Nothing that could give him away was in there, but he could have his first aid kit at least. He'd kept the ecto-dejecto in a secret compartment in the first aid kit only Team Phantom knew about. Huh, he'd hidden something from the bats without using his pocket dimension. Bragging rights acquired.

“It'll only really hold for five minutes at most. I'd rather just,” he coated the open tear in his skin with his frost and only now noticing the blood was eating away at the skirt of the Alice cosplay he was in. He saw the red blood, and reminded himself it was from giving first aid to Batman. First aid… right. Signal had already seen his bigger first aid kit. All the Bats probably already knew about his pocket dimension.

“That works,” Hood waved off the annoyed paramedics who were trying to get close again, “Can you let someone else check over your burns and bruises?”

“Why?” Danny's left hand subconsciously rubbed at the center of the scar on his chest. He may have been asleep for the month he spent recovering but the memory of the pain was still fresh. It wasn't like that was the only injury he sustained in that basement.

“To make sure you're not dying. Your heart rate is low, as in you should be in an ICU low. Your temperature is hypothermic but we're not sure how much of that its your ice and how much is your health,” Hood answered, unknowingly emitting worry- concern- safe over that background anger that remained.

“If it's any lower than 50 bpm I'm actually dying. 55 to 60 bpm Is normal for me. Higher than 70 is not good,” Danny answered with a tone of irritation, “And I'm normally this cold. I'm fine. I have shit to do, can I leave?”

“No. We need you to answer a few questions,” Batman approached, his voice gruff as he narrowed his eyes at Scraps. He couldn't just let such a powerful unknown loose into his city, “Then we'll find you a place to stay before finding your guardians.”

  Danny’s heart rate picked up. He had bled in front of the bats. His blood was now green in his human form. They’d seen him use his ghost powers… Gotham wasn't safe anymore…. Panicpanicpanic- not safe- leave- runrunrun! Danny's eyes zeroed in on the collar attacked to Batman's utility belt. Panic was getting harder to control. Danny recalled the fight in how Batman had tried to collar and cuff him. Batman was going to turn him in, he'd be back on the lab table in the Fenton Works basement or worse, given to the GIW.

“Batman back off,” Red Hood had picked up on the panic quickly, he was standing between him and Danny, “They're scared, now isn't the time for questions.”

“She is an unknown who knows the Themyscira fighting style and has powerful meta abilities. She is dangerous to leave alone. We need to know a better way to handle the situation,” Batman glared. Danny still focused on the collar on his utility belt… a thick collar.

“Father if you attempt to collar them I will stand in your way,” Robin stood next to Red Hood, providing cover as Danny was beginning to spiral and could only think about planning his escape while having flashbacks of the lab. His green blood pooling at his knees on the ground. His arm sore from the injections of ecto-dejecto. The collar which would shock him and injection him with various drugs.

  Orphan approached quietly and knelt down to where Scraps had begun curling in on himself. She held out her hand and gently touched their knee, “Orphan, she/her.”

 Confused- wtf- Danny looked up from his panic attack, completely throw off by Orphan’s sudden introduction. He wasn't calm, but more focused on what Orphan was doing than the arguing behind them. He wasn't in the lab.

“Orphan,” she repeated, keeping Scraps’ focus on her, “She/her,” then she pointed to Scraps. Danny realized she wanted an introduction.

“... D… Danny,” his voice was shaky, his left hand was trembling. Orphan placed her hand over his, calming the trembling, “h… he/him…”

Orphan nodded and Spoiler quietly came up behind them, fully visible with a small plastic bag.

“Nice to meet you Danny. I brought you a change of clothes. They're Robin’s old clothes, they're the only ones that looked like they would fit you,” she handed the bag to Orphan who held it out for Danny.

“...It's fine, I'll… I’ll give them back… when I get my stuff,” Danny started taking deep breaths like Jazz had taught him. Jazz! “H… How long have I…”

“About a week and a half,” Red Robin answered as Nightwing finally got Batman to back off and Robin had cut the collar in half before kicking it away.

  Another deep breath, “... fuck…”

“Will you let one of us check for injuries? Mad Hatter isn't nice to his hostages. There are things we need to check for,” Red Robin spoke up.

“For your health and safety. Let someone, please?” Nightwing continued as they split off again.

  Danny considered his options. He knew Red Hood was a revenant, a sick one from the angry ecto he had. Robin and Orphan were liminal, they could sort of emphatically communicate with him. Red Hood, Robin, and Orphan were the only ones emitting protect- safe- friend… to him… Though every once in a while he would feel protect baby- from Red Hood. Which, rude. Danny was not a baby. He was technically a toddler ghost, not a baby.

“...Robin can do it… if he's trained too,” Robin had cut the collar in half. No one else made a move for it, but Robin did. That, but also something about him reminded him of Sam. Maybe it was how he was rebeling against Batman with that same dramatic flare Sam had.

“I am trained in first aid. I will do the examination quickly. I understand this makes you uncomfortable,” Robin ignored the order from Batman to stay near him and he took Danny to the other side of the crates for privacy. If they went upstairs Danny would end up being surrounded by cops and other freed hostages and both teens would rather not deal with that.

Danny checked the pocket of the apron as he recognized the faint ecto signature within it. He pulled out a batarang he'd pocketed while half mind controlled. A melancholy smile snuck its way onto his face.

“You shouldn’t have that. It's dangerous,” Robin reached for the batarang and Danny pulled it out of his reach.

“No, fuck off its mine. I'm keeping it,” Danny responded, backing away when Robin persisted.

“It's a weapon. Not a souvenir,” Robin glared, “Return it.”

“Well it's got my blood on it and it's radioactive so I'm keeping it,” Danny quickly stuck the batarang into his chest. He grinned and stuck out his tongue, “And now you can't take it even by force.”

“Why…” Robin was both curious and horrified that Danny could just put things into his body without a care.

“My body is a pocket dimension,” Danny shrugged, hand still rummaging around, “It's convenient.”

  The only seemed to cause more curiosity as there was another power to add to the growing list on Danny’s file.

  All is as it should be, right Clockwork? They didn't seem to know about his pocket dimension yet, but Signal was most likely already telling them. Danny felt something unfamiliar and pulled out two envelopes. One was checkered red and black, Harley Quinn, the other was covered in a leaf pattern, Poison Ivy. Invitations…

“I think you need these, for evidence,” Danny handed them over to Robin.

“We do, thank you,” Robin took both envelopes and put them away, “I can look away while you change,” Robin offered as he turned his back to Danny. Not commenting on how Danny said his blood was radioactive, but still adding that information to Danny's file.

“Wouldn't it be easier if I was undressed?” Danny opened the bag and found sweat pants with a shirt that had a paw print over the pocket. There was both a packet of women's and men's underwear. Danny gratefully opened the package of boxers and phased off the cosplay completely. He pulled on the boxers quickly. Danny felt the tug of guilt as he'd forgotten the array of scars which decorated his skin, Robin was a kid who was going to see them. He should have picked Red Hood.

“It would make it faster, yes,” Robin answered, listening to be sure Danny didn't escape. Batman had wanted to collar him because he was a flight risk. Damian didn't care, Danny would never have to wear a collar or restraint again if he could help it.

“Just, don't freak out… it's still sore… you can check now,” Danny's voice became softer as anxious- sad- betrayed- hurt- waved from him, “Or trade with Red Hood. My scars are… a lot…”

“I assure you, scars will not be a problem. I've seen the ugly side of humanity plenty,” Robin's breath stilled for a moment as he turned. He hadn't known the extent of the torture Danny had endured… His desire for justice burned more than ever at the sight.

  No, Danny was an empath, he needed to calm down and stay professional. Still, Danny flinched at each touch. Feeling justice- rage- how dare they- protect- safe here- stay from Robin helped keep Danny’s focus off the memories that were starting to echo on his mind again.

—

“What the hell is your problem old man?” Red Hood could feel Danny’s sorrow, guilt, and fear as he was with Robin, “That kid just went through hell. I don't care how much you want to know everything he is my case. I will handle him, and that means no interrogations.”

“You are compromised Red Hood-”

“No,” it was a strong clear statement from Orphan that caught their attention as the fight was starting again, “No interrogation. Danny… tortured... Shock collar, muzzle, restraints. NO interrogation.”

“Fine,” Batman couldn't go against Orphan’s judgement, especially not after that tidbit of information of Danny’s past had been revealed. Orphan could read anyone better than all of the bats, her word on behavior was always final.

“Hood, you said Danny showed up about two months ago?” Nightwing spoke up.

“Yeah… He must be in Gotham to hide. Lots of homeless kids, he blended in well, no one would notice his scars as anything special. He made crime alley somewhat cheerful fixing expensive equipment for practically nothing,” Red Hood answered.

“Orphan, there's something else isn't there?” Nightwing asked. Batman had gone quiet and brooding. Listening as Cass explained.

“Panicked when guardians were brought up. Guardians tortured him or handed him over. Doesn't like paramedics. Heart monitor and IV torn out in fear. He doesn't trust medical procedures or personnel. Trusts younger adults and teens more,” Orphan sighed as she reviewed the short amount of time she'd known Danny’s behavior. She could be more detailed in her report tonight than a verbal explanation, “Recognized Red Hood while aggressive and calmed down. Danny trusts Red Hood, but only a little.”

“He can stay with me,” Red Hood said, still feeling Danny's anxious energy, “He's not gonna go back to the Batcave. I can keep him in one of my safe houses for a while and see if he wants to talk. But I'm not gonna interrogate him either. Danny can share what he wants to. As much as I'd love to shoot whoever tortured a kid, I'm not going to force that information out of him.”

“It's worse… Oh it's so much worse,” Oracle spoke quietly in coms, “Robin's mask feed… this poor kid…”

“Littlewing?” Nightwing placed a hand on Red Hood shoulder as his eyes were glowing green, “Deep breaths.”

“I'm fine, just want to kill the assholes who hurt him,” Red Hood started taking deep breaths, counting in his head as he pushed the green back. He'd review the footage when he was around some good punching bags for stress relief.

“We are finished,” Robin came back, holding Danny’s hand with the cosplay shoved into the plastic bag. The women's underwear pack unopened and clutched in the other hand. Oracle sent a picture to the family chat. Damian willingly holding someone's hand was a rare sight. After getting dressed Danny hadn't wanted to leave his hiding spot, he wanted to disappear as so as he was alone. Robin offered his hand to give Danny some comfort, they couldn't have Danny disappear on them again. Offering a hand was a suggestion Alfred had made for the hostage protocol for Robin, it was proving useful.

“Can I just go get my stuff?” Danny didn't want to be around any of the bats anymore. He felt groggy, and sluggish. He wanted a nice shot of ecto-dejecto and to sleep for a week. They hadn't mentioned the GIW yet, but whose to say they weren't already on their way. He'd have to hide out in the ghost zone for a while before trying to join Jazz in a few months. He'd be fine in the ghost zone, “And find a place to burn this.”

“Yeah, you can stay with me,” Red Hood approached them with a laughed, “Your stuffs already at a safe house of mine.”

“I'm just gonna get my stuff and leave. I've got my own place-”

“Does your place have food, a shower with hot running water, and a bed?” Red Hood asked. Safe- protect baby- care for- safe- trust was wrapping around Danny from Red Hood. All while safe- trust- protect were coming from Robin and Orphan.

  Danny sighed in defeat as he realized the damn revenant was not going to leave him alone now that they had an empathic connection. Danny hadn't accepted it yet, but he could feel the curious sense of a potential fraid bond from Hood. It wasn't as strong as when Clockwork, Pandora, and Frostbite bonded with him. More like with Ellie, or Ember. Great, a sibling…

“Fine, mostly for the shower. Lucky Charms was a creep,” Danny answered reluctantly.

  Jason burst out laughing, Nightwing and Spoiler soon followed. Robin smirked once he connected the dots. Batman pinched the bridge of his nose as he stayed back. The kid still had a sense of humor at least, but he had no where to go now. It didn't seem like Alfred needed to ready another room just yet. He needed to regain Danny's trust first.

“Come on, let's go,” Red Hood signaled for Robin and Danny to follow. 

“I can stay with you, if that gives you comfort,” Robin whispered, not enjoying Nightwings cooing over his phone in the background.

“Yeah… thanks…” Danny squeezed his hand a little as his lichtenberg scars ached a bit. He'd had so much adrenaline earlier he had been ignoring the pain. Danny added frost to the scars, the cold helping the ache.

“Can you take standard pain medicine? We have some made specifically for metas with a higher tolerance,” Robin reached into his utility belt and found his own small first aid pocket and pulled out a pill packet.

“This doesn't really work for me. I have some medicine in my first aid kit. I need two hands though…” Danny stopped they reached the lobby. Signal was guarding the hostages near the other paramedics.

“Over here,” Robin pulled Danny to a chair off to the side and let his hand go.

“What's wrong?” Red Hood followed them as they diverted from his lead.

“I forgot I had this,” Danny reached into his chest, startling Red Hood, and pulled out the same large first aid kit as before.

“What the fuck…” Red Hood stared at Danny as he opened the kit and pulled out a bottle of pills and mini thermos.

“Pocket dimension,” Danny answered before taking 2, very much glowing, blue pills and drank out of the thermos’ straw.

“That's not fucking fair.”

“It's convenient, are things organized?” Robin asked, getting a peak at the label of the bottle. It was written in a language he didn't recognize. It looked like runes.

“Mhm…” Danny took both pills and chugged the rest of the ecto in the thermos. It wasn't ecto-dejecto but it helped with replenishing his energy. Thank you Frostbite, he thought as he put away the ghost equivalent of ibuprofen. He even had ghost morphine in this kit. Frostbite was the best for giving him this first aid kit after the whole ice power development, “It's kinda categorized in my mind. Mostly I just reach into what ever body part I shoved something into to pull it back out.”

“Why is so much of your shit glowing?” Red Robin was behind them now. Danny didn't answer. Instead he shut the case and stuck it back into his stomach. “Why-”

“That's enough questions,” Hood was quick to pick Danny up in one arm, ignoring the ache in his back, before they left through the back door and began grappling through the city, back towards crime alley.

Danny felt scarily light in Hood's arm. Robin followed close behind. If Danny wanted Robin around, it was fine with him. Demon brat could use a new friend anyway. Danny quickly got down once they stopped on a fire escape.

“One more thing,” Danny tied off the bag with the Alice cosplay and tossed it up in the air before firing an ecto blast at it, cause it to burst into ashes on impact, “I feel better.”

“That's one way to burn a dress,” Red Hood wanted to ask questions, but ignored the detective side of himself in favor of Danny's trust. Besides, Danny was too light. He was absolutely going to feed the kid as much as possible.

“You should rest now,” Robin gestured toward the open window as Danny watched to be sure he didn't accidentally set something on fire. When it was all clear, he climbed into the apartment window after Red Hood. Robin followed him, also avoiding asking questions that would possibly trigger Danny.

“Here,” Red Hood handed Danny his folded clothes and a towel, “You should go wash up. I'll figure out dinner. Your stuff is by the bathroom door.”

“Thanks…” Danny went ahead to start showering. He wanted nothing more than to be clean, and then pack up to leave.

  With the privacy of the shower, he pulled the phone from his leg. Unlike before, he'd learned his lesson and kept the phone on silent most days. It had been on in his body, he was receiving messages from Team Phantom. GIW was leaving Amity park, fuck. And Jazz was annoyed he hadn't called yet, double fuck. He didn't have a lot of time. They wouldn't want him in the shower too long, there might even be a camera around.

—

Clueless1: Can't check in. Red Hood is a revenant and it's trying to fraid bond with me. I think he imprinted on me.

Nightshade: Ha! That's ‘cause you're a baby ghost!

Also, where the fuck have you been all week!

Pharaoh-Tech: Dude, ever since Ember found out you were a baby ghost she's been dooting on you. Now Red Hood is gonna baby you too. What about the rest of the Bats?

GhostGetter: Danny! You made a new friend! I'm so proud. Batman would be a good ally to get the Anti-ecto acts taken down. Use the connection.

Clueless1: Yeah, I don't trust the guy who wanted to collar me for being a dangerous meta. I'll catch you guys up when I get away from this situation.

And Tuck, Robin and Orphan are liminal too. So far they seem okay.

GhostGetter: He what?! I'm packing the creep stick 3.0.

Nightshade: I thought you already packed the creep stick?

GhostGetter: I packed the original creep stick. I'm gonna need the metal one for Batman threatening my baby brother.

—

“Danny, you okay in there?” There was a knock on the door.

“Yeah, just messing with the water temperature to get it right,” Danny quickly turned the heat down when he realized the room was steaming and it would be too hot for him.

“Okay. Use whatever soap you want,” Red Hood’s footsteps were heard walking away.

—

Clueless1: I've got to go. They're getting suspicious. Updates as soon as I get back to my workshop.

—

Danny shoved the phone back into his leg and got into the lukewarm shower and was a little grossed out to see the water turn brown as it ran out of his hair.

“Gross…” he spent 20 minutes washing his hair three times and scrubbing his body. The cut on his cheek and arm had healed without scars. He smelt food as he finished getting dressed in clothes that fit him and Sam’s sweater. He also checked his scrambler and signature dampener to ensure they were working. The GIW wouldn't be able to track them so he would at least stay in the land of the living.

“Feeling better?” Red Hood asked, he and Robin were around the table with three new guests…

“We brought food!” Spoiler cheered as she gestured to the bags of takeout from Batburger on the table. There were six bags total… why?

“These fools had the same idea and failed to communicate to one another,” Robin sighed.

“I wanted to check on Littlewing. We got launched pretty far into those crates,” Nightwing answered, “And the Night-Wings from Batburger are delicious.”

  Danny didn't approached until Orphan gently gestured for him to sit besides her. He liked her, she didn't try to interrogate him and was way better at speaking emphatically than the other two. She handed Danny a bag as he sat down. Spoiler pulled out a six pack of sprites and passed one to each person. It was a sealed can, that gave Danny some comfort. He opened his bag after everyone else and the burgers, various fries, and other items were piled into the center. Except for two burgers labeled vegan, those were handed to Robin.

“We have plenty of food. Eat as much as you want,” Red Hood grabbed the largest wrapped burger for himself. Nightwing was opening a box of chicken wings.

Danny pulled the items put of his bag. Wings, fries, and a burger. Everyone was eating around the table, no one really focused on him as a discussion about watching a movie quickly started. It was nice, he wasn't the focus.

Orphan tapped his shoulder, “Eat? Hungry?”

“...right…” now that he was somewhat aware of his memories and body, Danny recalled Lucky Charms feeding him regularly until today. He was starving, ghost fights always made him hungrier. Using his powers in human form alway had drawbacks.

  Everyone was sharing, he didn't smell any poisons or sedatives. Vlad wasn't here to slip blood blossoms onto his food. Nothing was coming back to life so far… It was okay to eat… Danny took a bite of the burger still wrapped in the paper, he wasn't going to waste anything.

  He heard a soft chuckle from Orphan as he took another bite, “Not the paper. Open, like this.”

“I knew that…” Danny was being taught how to eat a burger… Still, it was a waste. Trash kept him fuller than regular food did. He could eat less if he ate few wrappers. They'd just be tossed anyway.

“It's okay, being new to earth must be hard,” Spoiler spoke up, “You've only been here two months, right?”

“New to…” Danny blue screened for a moment, “Wait, what do you think I am?” Do they not know I'm a ghost? I don't have to leave? 

“It was hypothesized you might have been an alien, your powers are too vast to be a human meta. Please correct us if we are wrong with our theories,” Robin unwrapped his burger and opened his soda.

“Huh…” Danny didn't really know how to feel about that, aside from relief that they didn't know he was a ghost, “Well I've lived on earth my whole life.”

“But are you an alien?” Nightwing asked, “Our friends the Superboys are aliens. My girlfriend Kori is too. Knowing your species would help us find you a home.”

“I'm half human. That's all you get to know,” Danny growled and Robin glared at Nightwing.

“Let the kid eat or I'm turning on Pride and Prejudice,” Hood threatened as he reached for his second burger.

“You have an obsession with that movie,” Nightwing remarked.

“I can appreciate art, unlike you Dickwing,”  Red Hood remarked.

“Movie?” Orphan asked Danny who was still eating the paper around his burger.

“ParaNorman?” Danny suggested, he liked that movie. It displayed ghosts as the complicated species they were. Not just hostile and dangerous, but also peaceful and wanted to carry out their undead lives.

“Para-what?” That caught their attention.

“It's a good movie… This kid can see ghosts. His uncle tells him a witches curse is gonna come true and so he has to help her ghost move on to stop the zombie uprising on the town,” Danny fiddled with the box of wings as he explained. None were moving to attack or grow teeth suddenly, “I like it. It shows that the undead aren't all evil.”

“I wanna watch that,” Spoiler raised her hand. Orphan did the same.

“That movie sounds like it has an unseen perspective on the paranormal. I'd like to watch it,” Robin answered.

“Zombies, ghosts, and witches huh?” Red Hood found the movie on a streaming service and hit play.

  Danny proceeded to eat a chicken wing whole, bone and all like it was a chicken nugget. No one said anything. However Robin did insist he stop eating the paper and containers. Danny only half listened. He had no idea when he would eat again. He even froze a burger to keep in his pocket dimension. Frozen meat was no where near as good as frozen fruit but he wasn't going to waste anything. Jazz never complained about Danny's food hiding habits. She even got herself a mini fridge for her room to hide more food in for the two of them at some point. Sometimes it was nice to not fight your dinner.

  Nightwing and Spoiler were summoned to the bat cave halfway through the movie. Everyone but Danny and Red Hood had stopped eating for the most part by that time. Danny managed to hide another burger before they finished off the pile of fries that was left.

After the movie, the vigilantes changed into comfortable clothes, leaving their domino masks on. Red Hood decided to read a book instead. Robin and Orphan seemed content to continue watching TV after Danny had rejected the idea of going to bed. He was exhausted but he didn't want them to hear what he might say in his sleep. He'd fallen asleep talking on the phone to Sam and Tucker a few times. Waking up to their words of comfort enough time to know he wasn't the quietest sleeper right now. It would only make them want to dig into his background and then they'd hand him over. He didn't have enough energy to try and portal back to the ghost zone to hide if they did. So Danny had to stay awake to keep him from another tireless sleep. He doesn't deserve another nightmare. He needs a dream instead.

  Danny hadn't been winning the battle to fight sleep. He was leaning on Orphan who’d purposefully made sure he was on most of the couch. She could easily run her fingers through his hair if he let her. He still flinched a little when she'd tried about ten minutes ago. This time, he leaned in a little more. Robin handed her a pillow and she was able to get Danny to lay down fully as his eyes shut. Falling asleep surrounded by safe- rest- heal- safe. Cass continued gently petting him as Red Hood covered him with a blanket and move the backpack to lean against the couch so he could see it if he woke. They'd all noticed Danny took occasional glances towards it.

  It was only another minute before they noticed. It was quiet, only heard when it was completely silent. Robin heard it first and was immediately curious. Danny could purr. What other species was Danny that he could not only growl and hiss, but also purr. His behavior was like that of a feisty cat. He was apprehensive, and protected himself with his instincts. He'd been abused, and was displaying behaviors of it. Hiding food for later, eating trash to keep full for longer. Not wasting anything what was safe for consumption… How long was he starved? He was so thin, yet still held enough strength to rival wonder woman.  Danny knew her fighting technique well. It wasn't perfect, and his swordsmen ship was above Robin’s expectations, however the brute strength is what Danny relies on. He said he was half human, but never answered about his hybrid half. Was he experimented on because of his race? It completely violates the Meta Protection Laws.

“Robin, what do you know?” Red Hood spoke up, noticing how Robin had tensed.

“We shouldn't talk about this near Danny. You'll want to be somewhere you can hit something,” Robin answered.

“Listening,” Orphan pointed to her coms, “I'll stay.”

  With that, Red Hood and Robin left to the closest safe house without neighbors.

“It's unforgivable,” Robin spoke up as soon as the room was secure.

“Robin you examined him. What did you see?” Hood took a seat and waved for Robin to take one as well.

“He was starved long before two months ago,” Robin couldn't unsee the sickly pale color of Danny's skin or the obvious way his skeleton threatened to poke through the small layer of flesh he had, “His body was covered in scars. Some looked like they were burns, from a type of laser or small blast. Others were cuts made at random or medically… He'd been… He's been vivisected. Same scar as you.”

  The green felt overwhelming as nothing but rage and hatred for that monster to cut open a kid surged through him. Hood got up and punched the wall, easily tearing through the drywall. Robin was right, it was best to have this conversation far from Danny where Jason could hit something. He pushed the green back, grounding himself before waiting for Robin to continue.

“Another thing I noticed was on his left leg and right arm, he had a thick scar that circled the whole of his limb. Under that scar there were no other scars or very few. It suggests he may have… regrown those limbs… the cut on his face and his arm were also healed. No scars left behind this time. He has a healing factor, a powerful one for how long he's survived.”

“I can not let those assholes live. Who ever was responsible to treating him like a fucking science experiment. I'm going to kill them,” Red Hood snarled, taking his anger out on the wall. Robin silently agreeing that these people deserved death if only to be a mercy from his wrath. 

—

“Bruce,” Tim looked back towards the man reviewing the footage from Robin’s mask which Oracle had recorded, “Danny needs help…”

“Hm…” Batman agreed, disgust and disbelief that someone would hurt a child that way, “We need more information.”

“I do have this,” Red Robin pulled the vile of green front his utility belt. Robin had slipped it to him before they left, “Robin got a blood sample during the fight. We can run an analysis on it. According to Oracle the only information they got Danny to admit was that he was half human, but nothing else so far.”

“Run an analysis and we'll go from there. Robin and Orphan will get us information over time. This situation is more delicate than anticipated.”

“Yeah,” Tim responded, starting an analysis immediately.

—

  Jason and Damian returned to find Cass had cleaned up and was resting on the recliner while Danny was still sound asleep, the purring had stopped when Cass left his side but he wasn't showing signs of struggling while sleeping. It was one of the few nights he didn't have nightmares. And the first time since he'd been found out that he'd had a nice dream. Red Hood stayed in the living room for the night while Robin and Orphan slept. It wasn't just Danny who'd gotten a peaceful rest that night.

  Danny woke to the smell of food. Recognizing the ecto signature which was starting to fade, he'd have to thank Nocturn one day. At some point in the night he'd pulled the still rolled up blanket from Jazz to keep in his arms. He'd been doing that more often. He quickly put it away and found his bag with a new toothbrush and toothpaste on top.

“Sleep well?” Danny recognized the voice coming from his left in the kitchen. Red Hood was standing at the stove with a frying pan, and cooking.

“... Yeah…” Danny answered before quieting down, “No nightmares…” he whispered but Hood hear it. Orphan heard it too.

“We're eating buffet style. Grab a plate and serve yourself as much as you want when you're ready,” Hood instructed.

  He had noticed Danny was more willing to eat from the piles of food in the table than the single bag he was handed. He was going to do what ever let Danny eat more comfortable. The kid needed to eat, he was so frail looking for someone who'd managed to kick their asses into a crate. It made sense when he said he was half human. It still left the question of what his other half is. There was even a bet on it now in the family chat. Damian stayed out of it. Tim and Dick were betting on Martian. Barb, Cass, and Steph bet he was a new species they hadn't met yet. Jason and Duke had yet to place a bet. Yet, the way Danny had pinned him as undead… Jason made a bet: Danny was half supernatural entity.

  That'll caused the others to disagree in the chat because it seemed ridiculous, until Duke agreed. Raven was half demon, maybe Danny was too.

  Danny came back from brushing his teeth and washing his face before grabbing a plate and cup. He'd never gotten to eat his fill more than once before. Vald's one good trait was he always fed Danny as much as he wanted when he kidnaped him. He filled his plate with mostly pancakes. He froze and hid a few. Hood frowned a little as he noticed from the corner of his eye.

“Eat up kid,” he placed 2 fresh sausages from his pan onto his plate. 

  It happened in a second. Danny went still before the dull dinner knife stabbed into both sausages with enough force to split them both in half and break the plate. Danny suddenly took in a breath, the green in his eyes fading back to icy blue and he realized he'd just acted out of instinct. He let go of the dinner knife which was stuck deep in the wooden counter…

“Sorry…” he whispered before starting to pick up the broken pieces. He used intangibility to free the dinner knife.

“You okay?” Orphan asked. She was still in comfortable clothes with a domino mask on, “Don't like sausages?”

“N-not really,” Danny sighed, the adrenaline coming down making him feel tired again, “They're incredibly aggressive when reanimated,” Danny shuttered at the memory of the food wars fridge of Fentonworks.

“What?” Robin stopped eating and simply stared at Danny.

“Danny… What the fuck are you talking about?” Hood stopped cooking and sat down with his own plate and a cup of coffee.

  Fuck… Danny had forgotten food only reanimated in their fridge or the ghost zone. They were all liminal but they weren't radioactive enough to reanimate food. Everyone in Amity already knew food could come back, especially food near Fenton Works. Danny did not need them asking questions. He should just leave.

“I'm just gonna go,” Danny started getting up only for Robin to grab his arm.

“You haven't eaten yet and are recovering. You should stay here to rest,” Robin started clearing away the broken plate and Orphan replaced it.

“I'm not staying if I'm going to be interrogated,” honestly, Danny really wanted to eat the pancakes hot instead of frozen. The more real food he could steal, the better. 

“So long as you eat until your full,” Red Hood placed a Massive pile of steaming pancakes onto Danny's new plate. Then an omelet on the side and a bottle of syrup.

  Danny ate quietly. Actually, everyone did. It was comfortable silence. Content hummed from all four of them as they drifted from breakfast to lounging a bit. Eventually Robin and Orphan had to leave. It was just Danny and Hood. Hood broke the silence after finishing his book. 

“Danny,” Hood called him, “I want you with me from now on.”

“What?” Danny hadn't expected that. He thought he'd be dragged to the batcave eventually if he didn't leave soon. So far each time he tried to leave he was told no and to rest.

“I'm not leaving you on the street. You can stay with me most of the time,” he repeated.

“Are you asking me to move in with you? Why?” There was no way Danny was trusting him.

“I don't think sugar coating this would convince you, so I'm going to be blunt. You look like shit, like a breeze is going to knock you over. Then there's Robin's report on your injuries. I want to keep an eye on you. Not just for your health. You are powerful as fuck and I would hate to have you as a rogue and I'm going to make sure that is not a path in your future,” Danny internally winced at the memory of Dan. That future was always haunting him… “Danny, you're a smart kid. We could put you through school, give you a chance reach for whatever goal you want.”

  Hood waited quietly for the kid to respond. Something in him didn't want to let Danny back out of the streets. He needed Danny near by so he knew he was okay. Still, he couldn't force Danny to stay.

“No thanks,” Danny got up and grabbed his bag. He was still barefoot, “I'm gonna go. Thanks for breakfast.”

“Danny, I know you're scared of something. Of someone. That's why you're in Gotham, right? You're hiding,” Hood got up, blocking Danny’s way, “We all want to help. I want to give you space to be safe.”

“It's none of your business,” it was better they didn't know. They could just hand him in. He still had a high bounty thanks to Vlad. 

“You're scared to trust anyone, I get it, but I'm not leaving you alone out there. Someone hurt you, and they're still after you. You don't have to tell me anything, but if you change your mind I'll help you. Until then, you stay with me. We'll move to a bigger safe house, you are going to learn how to cook and take care of yourself, and I'll give you a warehouse to yourself for whatever machine you want to build. We can even get you specific materials. Give some people jobs by delivering scraps to you and getting you your little handyman jobs. All I want is you sleeping here at night and eating when you're hungry. Sound like a deal?”

  Danny sighed as he felt the gentle nudge against his core. The fraid bond was formed, Hood had claimed him as a fraid member. He had completely imprinted on Danny as it was probably his first encounter with a young ghost. Nothing Hood said had been with malicious intent, he was being genuine when he offered Danny his own warehouse for a workshop. Danny felt his core throb in excitement at the space he'd have for tinkering… The revenant was at risk with the GIW anyway, Danny should probably make him a scrambler bracelet. Robin and Orphan may not ping their sensors but Red Hood would. He couldn't just leave him like this. Being near Danny would help filter out that gross ecto over time anyway… and that warehouse deal… not to mention he'd love to know how to cook without the side effect of necromancy.

“Fine…” Danny sighed in defeat, “But I'll have to move my stuff.”

“So you did have a home base. We've been wondering where you disappear to when you aren't criptidly lurking around, scavenging trash like a raccoon, or fixing someone's ac,” Hood smiled before removing his domino mask.

“Oh, I was not expecting an identity reveal,” Danny quietly spoke to himself as Hood stood up.

“We're going to be living together, might as well get it out of the way early. It's proof I trust, even if you don't trust me. And it’ll piss off Bats when he finds out,” Hood answered, “My name is Jason.”

“... Okay…” Danny nodded. He just stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do next.

“Let's go get your stuff. We can move to the next safe house tonight,” Jason answered, having already reset this safehouse.

—

  In the Bat Cave, Tim had disassembled the diadem while he ran an analysis on the microchips he found. They had an eerie green glow, the same glow Danny's blood gave off. Mad Hatter had infused Danny’s blood directly to the chips. Why? Was that how he got a hold of Danny? Why did he use so many microchips? Why was Danny so difficult to mind control that Tetch had to go so far?

The analysis finished…

“What the hell…” it was bizarre… Not even a trace of Martian DNA. He had a fully set of human DNA and it was delicately intertwined with another set the computer couldn't read completely. Danny had quadruple helix DNA. It was something that sometimes occurs in sections of human DNA of cancer cells or mutation areas. However Danny’s entire DNA structure followed the quadruple helix neatly and completely. The base components on half the sets were similar to Lazarus water. The pit water was similar in color, but Danny’s blood had a brighter glow and was thicker, more like a slime than water…

 Tim pulled up the scans of Danny’s scars. It was still a bit blurry but it was the clearest pictures of him they had. Especially when his face wasn't in frame. He had puncture scars in his right arm under the ring of regrowth scar. Not like a regular injection. No, it look like he'd been stabbed several times with a metal boba straw. Still… It was obvious Danny was an experiment of some kind. A half human hybrid, someone made him, then experimented on his body for results. Had he lived his whole life as a test subject? According to Orphan's mask feed, he didn't know he wasn't supposed to eat trash. 

“Master Timothy, it's time for bed,” Alfred shut his computer, Alfred's words were final in this case. Tim had been sucked into investigating after he and Batman searched the Botanical Gardens for more evidence of the trap and found nothing.

  Tim surrendered, after all, if Danny spent his whole life in a lab there was most likely no evidence he existed outside that lab. Tim would need to get information out of Danny to figure out who it was. He left his theories in a separate document for now.

—

“The fuck?!” Jason stood where Danny told him was the safe spot. Jason was only listening because every project looked like it had the potential to blow up with their eerie glow, “Danny… You a fuckin’ mad scientist?”

“I mean, nothing in here is a doomsday device if that's what your asking. Everything I built is essential to my survival. I do have some weapons, but only for my protection,” Danny slipped on a wrist ray bracelet and activated it.

“You got a gun to fit into a tiny ass bracelet?” Jason wanted to shoot it. How much power did it pack?

“Yup,” Danny deactivated it. Some blob ghosts were hanging around as usual. His main concern was the condenser he'd made out of an abandoned refrigerator. He opened the door to see exactly what he was hoping for. Ectoplasm, three 2 liter soda bottles of it. Each bottle was coated in layer of frost to keep the ectoplasm from dissolving the plastic. In the glass jar at the end, a concentrate was slowly brewing. An inch of it from the overflow of the liters cycling through a secondary condenser.

“Danny… I need you to tell me what that is,” Jason’s tone went serious. He had gone stiff when Danny opened the condenser to access the bottles.

“Jason, have you never seen ectoplasm before?” Danny took out one if the bottle and replaced it with an empty one, “Don't leave the safe zone,” Danny growled a bit as Jason tried taking a step forward, “Please…”

  Jason hadn't said anything about the blob ghosts, and they stayed pretty clear from him. Odd, they normally crowded around friendly, more powerful ghosts. 

  Jason took a deep breath, “You called that ectoplasm? What is it?”

“Exactly what I said, ectoplasm. It exists everywhere in every realm of the universes in varying densities and concentrations. This machine condenses it from the atmosphere,” Danny answered before taking a sip, “This is more potent than usual…”

“I know I said I wouldn't ask questions, but I have some serious concerns,” Jason couldn't tell if the green in his vision was the pit or the room. That shit looked like Lazarus water. It was deeper green when he looked at the bottle Danny brought closer. It was a different consistency. And Danny just drank it like it was a bottle of water. Yet, he felt more concern than rage. He took a deep breath, he could ask Danny questions when he earned his trust. The kid was still a flight risk. Even though this shit looked like Lazarus water, it wasn't the same. Danny needed it to live, Jason could get over it, “You need all this to live? How are you doing a week and a half without it?”

“I'll do better after drinking this throughout the day,” Danny shoved the bottle into his chest, “I don't need to bring the machines with me. So long as I can visit a few times a week I can survive away from it all.”

“Okay. Sure. Pack up what you're bringing home,” Jason had so many questions… it was then that his phone buzzed. The girls had won the bet according to the results of a DNA test Timbit ran without Danny's consent. Of course he did.

  Danny had put a few things into his mostly empty backpack. He just stuffed everything else he was bringing into his pocket dimension. Danny was probably going to have to explain the phone at some point… Or build a second one and lie some more.

“I'm bringing a project to work on,” Danny had a feeling it would be a few days before Jason went out as Red Hood again. Deal or no deal, Danny was well aware he was a flight risk to them since they knew his base powerset.

“Do you ever run out of space?” Jason watched as Danny shoved three discarded phones with broken screens into his chest.

“Hm?” Danny paused to think of everything in his pocket dimension. He had gotten lucky and snagged a car engine last month. He was planning on building a larger specter speeder to serve as a kind of mobile home, “I don't think so…? I've got some cool stuff though.”

“Huh…” Jason watched as Danny tore out some wires from a box and grabbed a laptop in a condition that would have Tim in mourning.

They left after Jason okayed Danny taking a smaller portion of ectoplasm for his project. As uncomfortable as Jason was, Danny needed it. They arrived at a two bedroom safe house and Jason gave Danny the master bedroom since he'd be here full time and had more stuff he needed access to. 

“You're allowed to decorate,” Jason spoke up as Danny sat in the mostly empty room. He'd already put away the things he'd brought with him.

“... Sure…” Danny glanced at him, “... You're really not going to ask?”

“I want to. I have a lot of questions, but I'm not going to ask,” Jason answered, “You seemed okay when I asked about the pocket power you have.”

“...You already knew about it. And I'd never considered having limited space before,” Danny answered.

“Hey, you always have the option to pass when someone asks and you don't want to answer yet,” Jason placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, “But there are some questions I want to know just to be sure I'm taking care of you right. You need ectoplasm, you said you had to visit your workshop a few times a week. How often?”

“It fluctuates sometimes, but I estimate two to three times for the next week before it balances out. Then I'll just have to go once a week,” the halfa sighed, he'd spent a week and a half using his powers without replenishing with ectoplasm. His core was hungry to replenish his energy. Not to mention, until last night he'd felt like he hadn't slept in a week. Did mind control sleep count as sleep? It didn't feel like it.

“Okay, sounds like a plan. It's because of that condenser right? Maybe we could eventually move it here,” Jason suggested.

“That would expose you to more radiation than you should be exposed to but…” Danny squinted, sensing the sickly feeling of Jason's revenant ectoplasm, “Maybe that'd be good for you…”

“It can't collect from inside a lead box,” Jason had to line that whole wearhouse for Danny with lead.

“No, but so long as we put a lead casing around the collection bottles there shouldn't be a problem. Can't risk exposing humans carelessly if we move the machine,” Danny had already found a solution. It was a simple fix honestly. Not all the Bats were liminal enough to carelessly be around ectoplasm.

“So long as it works, I'll get you a lead case,” Jason sent a message to one of his contacts for the case, large enough to fit 4 bottles, 2 liters each, “Come on, it's dinner time, you're learning to cook.”

“Fine,” Danny got up to follow. He'd actually been looking forward to cooking lessons. Jazz's food was edible, but he wanted to enjoy food that wasn't just burgers, milkshakes, and the Casper High cafeteria food, “I kinda need that life skill. And you're the best cook I know.”

  Jason learned a few things while they made dinner. Danny was mostly wary of chicken, not as afraid of beef, and had no problem with vegetables, fruits, and carbs. Dairy seemed to make him a little anxious. Still, nothing like his reaction to sausages at breakfast. He'd have to keep his shopping mostly vegetarian for Danny. Sausages and hot dogs were banned from the safe house. Danny was as good with a knife as he was the sword. And his aim had incredible accuracy when he tossed vegetable scraps into the stock pot. Danny was kind, genuinely kind. He was still cautious around Jason, But it was to be expected. When the cooking was done and Danny saw his work, Jason saw him smile for the first time. It was small, and melancholy, but he was happy. Sure, some things were a little burnt and it wasn't meticulously arranged like Alfred would do, but it was great for his first time.

“Good job,” Jason patted his shoulder, “Don't let your hard work go to waste, dig in.”

“I'm not wasting a bite,” Danny had a wider smile now, a bit mischievous. He quickly shoved a large bite into his mouth. His canines were more like fangs. And one of them had punctured the metal spoon in his hand. He was testing Jason's reaction, the revenant noted.

“If you're gonna eat my spoons I'm reducing you to wooden ones,” Jason sat down to eat his own portion.

“I'll try not too,” Danny continued eating, proud his own cooking could taste so good. Jazz was gonna be so proud.

“Sure kid,” Jason made a mental note to buy a box of silverware on his next shopping trip, just in case.

—

  Danny didn't sleep that night. He didn't want to have a nightmare. Last night was lucky. Still, it was nice laying on a mattress that didn't reek of mold and dust. It wasn't comfortable without the green glow of his machines. He took out one of his lucky treasures from dumpster diving. A small lamp. He'd used a thumb tack and sharpie to draw the constatations and allow light to make the stars shine. He infused the bulb with ectoplasm so it wouldn't burn out. Then connected it to an ecto battery in the base of the lamp where the wires used to be. A green night light. A portable map of the stars. He kept it on as he started separating the components of the phones. Setting them up in piles to choose from later.

He'd finally caught up Team Phantom on what happened. Jazz was happy he finally found someone to stay with. Of course everyone was wary about trusting someone. Sam and Tucker were less prickly about it than Valarie since They were more familiar with ghost empathy from Danny. Though, Danny didn't tell them Red Hood had revealed his identity. It wasn't his secret to share.

  Sighing, Danny looked out his window to see a patch of smog had cleared… the moon and tiniest hit of stars peaking through. Danny’s eyes and freckles lit up, chasing the first glimpse of starlight in months. He was stuck in that basement for one.

  As the gap shrunk to only show the moon, a figure appeared. Familiar brimmed hat, and elegant gown of shadows. Jason was asleep on the couch out in the livingroom. Danny had already checked before tinkering. He transformed into Phantom and left the room silently and unseen.

“Ḧ̷͕é̶̩l̶͖̀l̶͖̅o̷̠͑ ̴͍̿l̴͓̄i̸̟͛t̸̙̓t̶̜̂l̸̡͂e̷̛̜ ̸̨̂K̵͈̓i̸̩͗ņ̷́g̴̑͜,̶͍̉ ̵̭̎I̶̡̋ ̴̧̂s̵̢̈́ḛ̶̑e̶̲͠ ̴͍̂ô̵̝n̶͎͊e̸̜͝ ̸̏ͅo̶̹͗f̷̢͐ ̵̪̔m̵̨̕y̶̪̔ ̴̫̓K̶͖̐n̸̫̾i̵͎̎g̶͉͑h̸̳̽t̵̰̿s̷̫͌ ̵̳̐h̸̘̽a̴̹̅s̷̖̍ ̶͓̄ẗ̸͚a̴͍͛k̴̐ͅe̶͖͠ň̵̪ ̵̲͘ỹ̸͚ò̷͉u̴̹͝ ̸͙̾h̸̻͝o̵̹̍m̸̫̊e̸̡̋.̸̼̈́ (Hello little King, I see one of my Knights has taken you home.)” Lady Gotham smiled as Danny arrived in the only moonlit space around them. Danny and Gotham bowed to each other, the image of a small boy and massive entity together would have baffled the bats on patrol of they could see them.

“I'm not sure how much I want to tell him. But I'm willing to accept him giving me a place to stay and teaching me to cook. I can't rely on someone forever. Especially when everyone I rely on will eventually grow old and I'll still be here, like this,” Danny sighed, feeling sorrow- safe- trust- from Gotham.

“Y̷̧͈̪̬͗͠o̷̲̩͍̾̃̃̔͗͆͝ŭ̸̫͙̈́̆͂̿̄͋r̷̛̟̗̯͒̀̑͂̚ ̸͙̘̺̖̩̌H̷̤̼̾͑i̷͎̘̞̜̜̱͙̒̓g̵̞̈́͂̑h̵̛͖̲̰̉̊̃̈́̍ǹ̶̪e̴̛̠̗͍̻̭̓̊̈́̐̚͘s̸̡̹̯͖̰̦͗͜s̸̏͂͋̆̽͜ (Your Highness),” Gotham spoke sternly before speaking the clearest Danny had heard from her, “M̵y̴ ̴k̸n̵i̸g̴h̵t̴s̸ ̸c̴a̶n̶ ̸h̵a̸n̵d̷l̴e̵ ̸t̴h̶e̷ ̴G̶I̴W̵.̵ ̵I̸ ̸u̴n̴d̶e̷r̶s̶t̶a̷n̶d̸ ̴y̷o̶u̸ ̶n̷e̸e̶d̷ ̷t̴i̵m̷e̴ ̴t̷o̷ ̷t̵r̶u̶s̷t̴ ̴t̸h̷e̷m̷.̷ ̸B̵u̷t̶ ̶l̴e̸t̴ ̷t̴h̷i̴s̶ ̶b̶e̵ ̸a̷ ̸s̶i̴g̴n̴ ̵t̷h̷a̷t̴ ̴y̴o̸u̷ ̴c̵a̸n̴.̵ ̶C̴l̵o̵c̷k̶w̴o̶r̶k̸ ̶a̵n̷d̷ ̶N̶o̴c̵t̴u̷r̷n̴e̵ ̶m̴a̷d̷e̷ ̶t̶h̷i̶s̷ ̵j̸u̴s̸t̴ ̸f̶o̸r̷ ̴y̶o̵u̴.̴ (My knights can handle the GIW. I understand you need time to trust them. But let this be a sign that you can. Clockwork and Nocturne made this just for you.)”

“For me?” Danny took note of the box in her hand. He hesitated, Clockwork was his mentor but Danny also knew that man wouldn't hesitate to laugh at his pain. Nocturne, he was a little less certain of. He hadn't caused trouble since he put Amity Park to sleep. Every once in a while Danny would feel his energy pull him to sleep when he'd been up for three days straight. Suddenly becoming King apparently made Nocturne the manager of Danny's sleep schedule. And last night he'd even had a nice dream of hanging out in Tucker's attic with Team Phantom, and Wolf.

“T̵h̸e̴y̵ ̵c̴r̴e̴a̵t̴e̴d̷ ̶i̵t̴ ̸s̴o̸ ̸y̸o̷u̵ ̷c̴o̴u̵l̵d̸ ̸s̶l̵e̸e̵p̷ ̷p̵e̴a̸c̴e̴f̷u̸l̴l̸y̶ ̵f̴r̷o̷m̶ ̶n̴o̸w̷ ̵o̵n̸.̷ ̴N̷o̶c̵t̸u̷r̷n̴e̵ ̶c̷a̵n̷n̷o̸t̴ ̸r̸e̵a̷c̸h̶ ̵y̶o̵u̶ ̴s̷o̶ ̶e̶a̵s̵i̴l̸y̷ ̶s̷o̶ ̸f̶a̷r̶ ̷f̷r̸o̶m̷ ̶a̴ ̶p̴o̷r̶t̶a̷l̷.̴ ̴H̷e̵ ̵w̸o̶r̷r̷i̸e̶s̵,̸ (They created it so you could sleep peacefully from now on. Nocturne cannot reach you so easily so far from a portal. He worries,)” Gotham chuckled, amusement- emanating from her as she pushed a shadow into the box before handing it to Danny, “C̸o̶n̶s̶i̵d̴e̴r̶ ̴i̵t̵ ̴a̷ ̴t̷o̶u̴c̷h̶ ̷f̴r̶o̴m̶ ̴m̵e̴ ̷a̸s̶ ̷w̴e̸l̴l̴.̴ ̴S̸l̴e̸e̸p̴ ̴w̷e̴l̸l̶ ̴f̷r̶o̷m̴ ̷n̷o̴w̶ ̸o̶n̸,̴ ̵L̷i̷t̵t̷l̷e̵ ̴K̴i̸n̸g̴.̴ (Consider it a touch from me as well. Sleep well from now on, Little King.)”

  Danny was alone under the moonlight now. He opened the navy colored box and found a pendant. It was made from a silver metal, with a 2 inch stone. Deep blue, almost black, with white glimmering speckles, it was like looking at the stars. The stone was called blue gold stone, but this wasn't a normal stone. Over the stone on the bottom left side there was a cog like Clockwork's symbol and silver strands in a web pattern. A dream catcher. Danny could feel both their ecto signatures and Lady Gothams as well. He clipped on the pendant and it glowed. Dark shadows pouring from it before a cloak formed around him. A black exterior with the inside a green void like that of the ghost zone.

“Cool, a costume change where Sam didn't have to kill me,” Danny smiled, then grimaced as he realized he'd technically died the same way twice.

  He returned to his room, Jason was still asleep and hadn't moved from his spot on the couch. Danny changed back to human form, the cloak returning to the pendant with his transformation. Danny smiled before tucking it into his shirt. The sun would be rising in two hours. The pendant was supposed to help with his nightmares, then he may as well see if it works.

If it didn't, at least he got a cool cloak out of it.

  And well… of 3 ancient beings of immeasurable power were insisting Danny could trust Jason, then he could live with the revenant for a while.

~~~

Master List

Part 3

DpxDc #10

A bit chilly out, isn't it?

kind of gory? Not in a violent way.

Danny felt cold.

Not his core cold, or winter cold, more like a “walking around without clothes cold”.

Skulker was right, at the end.

He got his pelt, and now…

Well, Danny was walking around without skin. Hence, the cold.

He wasn’t really worried, it would grow back like his missing organs did when the GIW emptied him out.

Long story short, Skulker was a bitch, he should probably find a way to stop dripping with blood (and possibly a coat) and try to figure out where he ended up after taking the wrong portal while escaping.

He was doing well at this point, he thought. The city he was in was gloomy and humid, which was nice since he was starting to dry out pretty fast.

————————————————————————

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck-“

Jason stared at the walking flayed guy who was taking a nice stroll around the block.

Every step he took left a matching bloody print, and he could see every single fiber of the muscles tense and relax.

The more he stared at it, the more he hated it.

He immediately reached for the coms.

“I fucking hate it, what the fuck-“

He heard the others connecting.

“Hood, everything alright?”

“Fuck no, oh my god, I’m not gonna be able to sleep anymore, that’s the most fucked up shit I ever saw my entire life, what the fuck”

“Hood, report. What’s going on?” 

“OH MY GOD!” Everybody heard Oracle almost shout from the coms “That’s ugh- I’m gonna throw up, that- ugh-”

“Right?!”

“Hood! Report right now!”

“It’s like-It’s like this guy, walking around without skin and-“

Hood looked down at it. It was looking back.

“You know I can hear you, right?”

Do you think Clark Kent's first few major articles were about the continued presence of lead pipes in parts of Metropolis' water system

To be honest. DCxDP where the reason Danny meets the bats is Ace the Bat-hound

Like, just think about it for a second. Danny is in Gotham for college, or maybe he just moved out to find a city where having mad scientist parents isn’t actually that unusual.

He can see ghosts.

The ghosts know this.

Now he’s getting harassed left and right by spirits trying to get closure. Fine, whatever, most of them are a one-and-done type deal, and the amount of ghosts trying to get his help steadily decreases.

Except for this one very stubborn dog.

It just keeps showing up and leading him to crime scenes! He doesn’t know how many “anonymous tips” he can call in to the cops before they trace his phone! And this dog, this incredibly good boy, will not stop trying to help the city. He’s never met anyone with such a strong sense of justice, let alone a dog. Can dogs even have a moral compass?

And so Danny just accepts the fact that Ace isn’t going anywhere and becomes his reluctant sidekick/dedicated medium. He leans into the whole thing, dressing up in a mix of traditional magic-user attire and accessories that pay homage to the ghost dog.

He becomes somewhat well known. The psychopomp detective following around the shadowy figure of a German Shepard? That’s unusual! That’s weird! I mean, it’s not the weirdest thing in Gotham, sure, but he’s a new vigilante and he’s got a ghost dog that people can only see when it’s around him. Someone’s gonna notice.

Damian, as Robin, is the first to reach out to him.

Ace doesn’t know Damian but he does know a Robin, and while this isn’t his Robin, he’s still friendlier than usual. Danny’s panicking because oh god the bats are here and also is this kid gonna steal my ghost dog, Damian is absolutely delighted by Ace, and Ace is just happy to see a Robin again.

Damian decides that the psychopomp isn’t a danger to anyone, and there’s no reason to put this encounter into his reports, really, and perhaps Danny can help with some of his cases in the future.

Danny is sweating bullets because Damian basically tells him that he’ll keep him secret as long as he gets to play with Ace. Ace is happy that he’s finally getting some bat affiliated crime-fighting assistance.

And so, Danny is now both Ace AND Damian’s reluctant assistant. At least whenever he’s in trouble, he can always call a middle schooler to help him.

(Is Robin even in school? He’s out patrolling damn near every night, and he stays out late as hell. Does he have a bedtime? He should.)

Eventually it gets to the point where Damian is going over to Danny’s house. When he first sees it, he has a damn bitch you live like this moment, to which Danny responds that not everyone has the money to afford a nice place. Damian counters that he could at least take the time to clean up, and Danny replies that he’s working, going to school, and being a vigilante assistant to a ghost dog, something’s got to give.

Danny nearly has a heart attack when he checks his bank account the next day and sees that someone transferred him 10,000 dollars.

And so they get into a routine. Danny and Damian fight crime with Ace at night, and occasionally Damian stops by during the day to play with Ace and have Danny help with his homework.

(Damian is smart enough to do it on his own, but some of the instructions are written incredibly confusingly, and he would never admit to needing help to his family. Danny is just glad that the kid is in school and cares about his education, blissfully unaware that he’s basically emotionally adopted him.)

Damian is used to being in Danny’s company.

Eventually, when going over a case with the family, Damian absentmindedly remarks that he’ll have to ask Danny about some of the clues that they might be missing. Nightwing asks who he means and Damian makes a face like he just swallowed a lemon.

Cue shitstorm.

Who is “Danny?” Why is Damian willing to ask for help from anyone, much less someone outside of the family? Does he know who Damian is? Has Damian been compromised? What the hell is going on?

Damian now has to explain that Danny is the psychopomp with the ghost dog who he might have met hunted down while on patrol and conveniently not mentioned, but he’s not a bad person, really, and he lets him play with Ace, and he’s been quite helpful on certain cases due to his ability to talk to ghosts.

Bruce insists that the family meet Danny. Damian, hoping that he won’t just skip town the second he hears the news, relents.

Danny is surprisingly eager to meet the bats, considering his earlier fears.

Damian, blissfully unaware of what’s coming, sets a time and place to meet.

Once everyone is there, he gives Bruce the earful of a lifetime.

Robin is in middle school! Danny knows that there’s no way to stop the boy from going on patrol, but you could at least shift his schedule so he gets enough sleep on school nights! Does the Bat even know where he is half the time?! (No) And why isn’t he comfortable asking his family for help with both cases and homework? Did they ever even notice how much time he was spending at Danny’s house? If Danny was a bad person, he could have seriously hurt the poor boy! Shame on you!

Nightwing is mortified that Damian didn’t trust him enough to tell him about any of this. Red Hood is laughing his ass off, because yeah Danny is making good points but he’s also chewing out the literal Batman. Tim is recording the whole thing. Steph is delighted by the absolute gall of this Danger Twink™️, and already planning to add him to several groupchats. Damian is more embarrassed than he’s ever been in his entire life.

You, he points to Nightwing, did your academic life feel supported when you were a Robin? Nightwing is too stunned to speak. Red Hood, eternal shit-stirrer, says that oh, we all prioritized patrol over our education, that’s just how it is. Red Robin actually dropped out of high school to avoid distractions, did you know that?

Danny honest-to-god shrieks at this.

He finishes his angry rant and leaves, everyone too stunned to stop him.

And as it turns out, Tim wasn’t the only person recording the whole thing.

The entire internet is blowing up with Psychopomp The Danger Twink™️’s rant. People are taking sides. Things are getting messy. Red Hood literally admitting on-camera to previously being a Robin is somehow not the main focus here.

Eventually someone connects some dots from the video, as well as stories circling the internet about the psychopomp. A ghost dog named Ace, who is the literal only reason that the psychopomp is fighting crime at all, which seems incredibly fond of Nightwing and Robin.

A crime-fighting dog who wants constant attention from both the current and original Robin.

Oh my god, Ace the Bat-hound died and became a crime-fighting ghost.

And, somehow, that’s still not the strangest thing going on in Gotham.

Visiting an old friend

The whole way to Bludhaven Danny kept on telling himself that surely he’d made a mistake. He knew he could be impulsive sometimes but flying to Bludhaven on a rumor? He felt like he was a teenager all over again.

It’d been some dumb article he’d found while trying to focus on editing the design of a Fenton battery. It was a Bludhaven paper he’d forgotten to unsubscribe to that sent him a breaking news email. He used to eat up those papers, glad to have any way to see how his old friend was doing, but now it just felt suffocating to remember. He’d almost deleted it without even opening it, but some nagging feeling told him he should open it. He never would've expected to open it to a new blurry photo of a figure in blue, soaring above on the rooftops.

He barely got a couple of sentences into the article claiming that Nightwing could be back before he shot out of his apartment. Ever since that day when he watched invisibly as his coffin was laid in the ground he searched for Dick’s ghost. But no ghost this new could control their appearance that well. Colors were some of the hardest to control after all. So Dick could be… he really could be…

After that, the rest of the flight was much more nerve-wracking. He hadn’t ever met the other bats, but he knew that they could have some interesting rouges. Some kind of convoluted plan might have been behind all of this. Maybe someone was impersonating him? Or maybe some other blue vigilante has taken up Bludhaven… Was one of Dicks siblings taking over the Nightwing name? That last one was quickly shot down though. He saw how distraught the group was, he doubted if they would’ve even been able to touch the suit without breaking inside.

So all that led him to now, standing outside Dicks apartment building. Before they lost touch this was the place Dick told him he could go if he ever needed help. And seeing the lit-up rooms from the outside, Danny knew that at least someone had to have been there.

For the sake of normality, Danny decided to take the stairs within the building to Dicks floor. It definitely wasn’t because he was nervous or anything… it had nothing to do with that at all. Although the stairs seemed to reach the top quicker than he expected. 

He walked up to the apartment number that he was told about. A snarky ‘This house has gone 0 days without a pun’ welcome mat sat outside the door. The joke actually helped Danny calm down a bit, breathing in a deep breath of the slightly dusty hallway air before letting it out again. Without further ado, he rapped his knuckles on the hardwood door. Internally he winced at the loud noise. It was much later at night than any normal person would be awake. If someone was here and had a good sleep schedule then Danny probably just woke them up.

A few minutes passed by before his hearing picked up movement in the apartment. One part of him jumped in excitement, while the other sank with anxiety. Was that Dick? Or was it one of his siblings? Damn, Danny should have gone through with this invisibly, that way if it is one of the siblings he won’t have to face them. But it was much too late for that now, he knew that there had to be at least one camera facing him right now. Maybe he can just pretend to be lost? But then why would he climb up so many floors just to ask for directions? He really should’ve thought this through…

Before he could sink any lower into his panic the door let out a click of a lock. Momentarily frozen, he watched as the door slithered open without so much as a creak. To his amazement, the Dick Grayson stood staring back. He looked tired and was dressed in comfortable civilian clothes, but it was Dick. Before anything could be said Dicks eyes went down to look into Danny’s. His eyebrows creased in confusion, no doubt surprised by the random visit.

“Danny?” Dick questioned, his voice sounding a bit rough around the edges.

Danny couldn’t help the disbelieving smile from creeping up on his face.

“Hey Dick,” He spoke, his grin never leaving his face. “I’ve really missed you.”

A small breathy laugh of shock left Dicks lips as he looked down at Danny. He loosened his stance at the door, seeming to relax now that he knew who was there. Danny couldn’t help but feel bad at the scare he must have given the other. 

“I hadn’t thought we’d be seeing each other again. It’s been…” 

Years, Danny finished in his head. We haven’t seen each other in years.

They initially met on the streets funnily enough. Danny had been on the run from the GIW and Dick had been freshly fired from Robin and kicked out of the manor. Not that either one knew that much of each other at first. Danny had been hiding in a warm corner of a building when Dick bumped into him trying to find a warm place to stay as well. Danny offered for him to stay, not seeing any danger in letting someone around his age stay with him. After that things got revealed slowly, like Dick realizing that Danny wasn’t just homeless, he was hiding. And Danny noticing the odd skills that Dick had and the way the other held himself back in other situations. Slowly their secrets were shared with each other… and they found that they didn’t mind.

Eventually, they drifted apart though. Jazz and his friends finally found a way to create him a safe identity and eventually, he enrolled himself in college, deciding to take a break from Phantom for a while. Dick ventured out and created the Titans, even forging a new hero identity for himself as Nightwing. They slowly just stopped talking to one another after that. Not out of malice or anything, but just because they got busy. Life took over. It was only when a life was taken away, that Danny frantically tried to find out what happened to his friend.

But now that he’s here in front of him… He’s noticing the same things he’d seen from when they were on the streets. Dick had bags under his eyes like he was watching the candle burn at both ends and doing nothing to stop it. His clothes weren’t just baggy, they were unwashed. There was a faint toothpaste drop on his shirt that had been attempted to be rubbed off… but to no avail. His hair was shiny with unwashed grease and grime. And his face… He didn’t look like he was eating enough.

Like a truck had hit him, Danny suddenly found himself much less happy than he was before. Something was wrong with his friend. And if the crystae around the grave that Nightwing was supposedly buried were any indication… then… 

Danny straightened his stance subconsciously. It seems like he was due a serious conversation with the other.

“Can I come in? I’d rather not have this kind of conversation in the hall,” Danny asked awkwardly, looking around himself as if there was another person that he could see.

To Danny's concern, Dick’s body tensed up at the prospect of letting him in. He swore he saw Dick grimace at that for a split moment before a plastered-on smile was on his face. Nonetheless, Dick opened the door with much less bravado than he would’ve years ago and waved him in.

“Welcome to my abode,” he tried to joke, but the tone felt forced.

Danny didn’t understand why the other had looked that way until he walked through the doorway. While he may be no Kryptonian with insane super everything, he did have enhanced senses. And every single one of those senses went off like a bomb when he walked into the apartment. There were dirty dishes and clothes haphazardly left around collecting mold and mildew. He could see a portion of the Nightwing suit stuffed into a corner like Dick had tried to hide it from his sight. There were more than a few bottles of soda and coffee mugs spread across the room, some carrying a scent that Danny could live without. Then there was a shattered photo face down on the side of the room, glass still spread around the frame like a horrific halo. 

But the worst was probably the energy of liminal surrounding the whole place. The emotional energy within it was heavy, grief and desperation covering every inch. Everything just screamed pain pain PAIN PAIN-

Danny had to close his eyes, steeling himself against immediately answering the cry. It went against his very core to go against the cry for help but he knew he’d only make things worse if he dived straight in. Dick wasn’t one to accept help easily. He’d shown that multiple times in his various rants about Bruce’s attempts to help as Robin. Instead, he had to go about this differently.

“Man, you almost outrank me in the messy department,” Danny tried to joke instead.

He turned to look at Dick who finished locking his apartment back up against intruders. Hopefully, his eyes weren’t glowing from the intense cries his core was trying to fight against. Dick seemed to attempt to go with the jab, his smile not looking all there.

“I doubt that. I'm not the one who lost his phone and found it in his shin,” Dick replied, settling himself further into the apartment. 

Danny scoffed, waving his hand in the air like he could physically wipe away the comment. Slowly they started to migrate to where the couch was. There were blankets and pillows at the end like Dick would fall asleep there. Judging by the open case files on the table in front of it, he didn't sleep on purpose. 

“I actually keep it in my arm now. Much more convenient,” Danny winked, hopping on the couch and letting himself bounce on the spring underneath. “Although I do keep everything else in my haunt. I can make little portals now!”

Without further notice, Danny opened one of the said portals with his hands. As he hoped, although in any other circumstance, he normally wouldn't, a group of blob ghosts were near his things. A couple of them filed through the gap, chirping up at him. However, that sense of play quickly left them as they felt the energy around the place. Silently they flew away, off to do what they do best. 

Danny saw a twitch of a real smile for a second on Dicks face. Although it was quickly shut down like a sour memory. Like he was trying to escape it, Dick joined him on the couch, sitting a whole cushion away. 

“Should I be worried about them?” Dick motioned his chin towards the silent blobs making their way into his things.

Danny waved them off, still playing into his old impulsivity. He wasn't nearly as bad as he was as a teenager, but Dick didn't have to know that yet. Dick gave a skeptical look at him, watching as one of the blob ghosts swallowed one of the dirty cups whole.

“They're like bottom feeders in a fish tank. At most, you'll just find less dirt around. At the least… you might gain a cuddle buddy,” Danny hummed, watching the same blob from before sneeze and drop a perfectly polished cup back out.

At that, Danny could see Dick turn to look at him in his peripheral vision. Turning to join him in looking right at one another he could see Dick staring at him. Dick held a look on his face that Danny couldn’t uncover. His eyes wandered over Danny’s face like he was searching for something. But the rest remained perfectly blank. It reminded Danny of when they were still teens, trying to see if they could trust one another. Dick had given a similar look then before he'd nodded and sat down to talk. Hopefully this time it'll be no different. 

Although, Danny doesn't know how to feel when Dicks face shuts down a little. He can feel the exhaustion in the air. Somehow he feels like he just failed whatever Dick was searching for.

“Danny, why are you really here?” Dick asked finally.

The question was so out of the blue, and the answer so obvious. Danny couldn’t help the way his head tilted in confusion, not understanding why such a thing had to be asked. This wasn’t at all how he had planned for their conversation to go. He had wanted to keep things light so that the emotions wouldn’t make Dick clam up… or lash out. His next words need to be chosen carefully…

“Because I was concerned. One of my good friends just came back from death and I needed to make sure you were ok. Dying isn't an easy thing to process,” Danny spoke carefully, his own experience trickling into his mind.

The words seemed to make Dick even more defensive. It was exactly the thing Danny had been trying to avoid. But despite everything his efforts still led him to this moment. Dick had his guard up, his eyes glaring into Danny’s core.

“Well I'm alive,” Dick spoke with terseness, “so why are you still here?”

“Because I care about you,” Danny reiterated, his confusion turning over into concern. “Dick, you died. That type of thing sticks with you. I'm not about to leave you to deal with that alone.”

Dick scoffed. He readjusted himself on the couch, sliding a bit farther from Danny. At this point, he was almost leaning on the edge. The physical representation of the distance between them hurt more than Danny was willing to admit. He hadn’t had Dick run from him before.

“Ignoring me for years is one hell of a way to show it,” Dick bit back.

A wave of annoyance hit Danny from the comment, but he instead closed his eyes and ignored it. Dick used to do this constantly when they were young. He'd use a healing mental wound to pick at to bring the other person away from his own hurt. Except Dick made the mistake of using it too many times on Danny in the past. He was old enough now to stop and learn from what he was trying.

Letting out a breath of air, Danny looked up into Dicks eyes. He could feel the pain all around him. The wails of someone touched by death echo all around. This wasn't something he could let go. No matter how much Dick tries to push him away, he isn’t going to go anywhere.

“Dick, I'm not asking you to tell me what happened… or even how you came back. I would know more than anyone how painful it can be to relive those memories. I'm just asking for you to let me stay and help you. You're not okay.”

If Danny's words made an impact on Dick, he sure as hell didn't show it. He looked away from Danny’s eyes, instead staring at something far off. His movements seemed almost robotic. Like there was some kind of memory playing in his head that Danny couldn’t see.

“Whoever said I died? I went undercover Danny. Nothing happened. Nothing to talk about.” Dick spoke with a scarily devoid tone of voice, almost like he was reciting someone else.

Danny couldn’t stop the scoff from coming out of his mouth. Dick looked his way again, seeming to be surprised at the action. As if he could simply lie his way out of death. Danny tried the denial shtick. You can only tell yourself it was nothing for so long before you realize that not breathing in your sleep is probably a sign. 

“Dick I saw your grave. I don't know the details because I wasn't exactly invited, but I saw the crystae flowers blooming around the dirt. Those only bloom around memorials for the dead,” Danny explained carefully, watching as Dick looked more and more like he'd panic. “Even now I can feel death's touch on you. Your place is soaked in liminal energy… I can feel that you're in pain.”

Danny was a little hesitant to reveal that last bit but knew that Dick would pick up on it eventually. Especially with Danny sticking around, that liminality would only get stronger. That's just how ectoplasm is. It won't stick onto a healthy person unless they've already been exposed to it. Depending on how long Dick had been dead, it might be more attracted to him.

Although now Danny couldn’t help but feel awful about it as he saw Dick flounder. He at least took his time in coming to terms with his death, he should've known an emotionally repressed bat wouldn't be able to handle it all at once. Danny tried to reach out a hand, as something for Dick to physically hold onto to stay in the present. But in a moment of fear, Dick slapped it away. He jumped up from his spot on the couch, never looking at the same spot for more than a couple of seconds. 

“Dick I'm sor-” Danny tried to apologize but Dick started to do a panicked angry rambling right over him. 

“No! It doesn't count. I didn’t die. My heart only stopped for a couple of minutes. I was fine. Everything is fine!” He tried to reason to himself, his pacing taking a hysterical turn.

Danny winced at that. It doesn't matter how long you die. Ectoplasm doesn't care about that, only that you have some kind of exposure to it. Even in the first seconds of death you already create the energy for ectoplasm in the body. How much was created, and how much was in the air already, is what determines if you become a ghost. It's a natural part of life.

“Dick please,” Danny began again, but was stopped by Dicks piercing stare.

“I didn't die, Danny. I didn't die because that would mean he was right and I can't-” 

Dick let out a noise somewhere between a gasp for air and a dry sob. It tore at Danny's core to hear but considering how Dicks reaction to the last time he tried to reach out went, he stayed in place. One of the blob ghosts must have felt his pain, rushing over and chirping into Dicks chest. It caught the other off guard long enough to stop and take a few ragged breaths of air. The blob continued its chirping assault of cuddling into Dicks chest while the other refused to look at Danny. But in that moment Danny couldn’t have felt any more thankful for the blobs and didn't mind if Dick needed a moment. So they sat there for a moment, Dick sitting in his emotions and Danny waiting for him to calm down. 

The air was charged with a tone of sorrow. It was the kind that Danny was all too familiar with. It was the kind that left you feeling that there was no chance for your life to be happy again. The kind where everything felt like it had fallen apart all around you with no hope of it being repaired. It tore at Danny’s heart that Dick of all people was left to feel this way. Where were all the people that should be here supporting him? Where was his family in all of this? Surely Danny can’t be the only one to see the pain Dick is in.

“How…”

Danny looked up at Dick who seemed to be at a loss of what to say. He wasn’t looking up at him at all, only absentmindedly playing with the blob curled against his chest. 

“How did you get over it?” Dick spoke again, now looking up at Danny with an unsure gaze. “How can you just go on with your life without it constantly playing in the back of your head?”

Danny pursed his lips, knowing that his answer wasn’t one that Dick would like. Just at the action alone, he could see the little hope in the other's eyes die out. He once again turned his head to the blob ghost. With a gentle hand, Dick pets the back of the ghost's body.

“I’ve never gotten over my death. With help from my friends and sisters, I was able to accept it and heal from it… but I can never forget it,” Danny spoke solemnly.

He couldn’t help but notice the way Dicks petting movements momentarily paused at the mention of his support. It sent an alarm of concern through Danny. While he was here he couldn't believe that things could get so bad around here. There was just too much time in the layers of sadness and grime for this to be new. So why hasn't anyone tried to stop it and help? There was a disturbing painting being made before his eyes. For the sake of the heroes on this planet, he sure hopes his suspicion is wrong.

“But I promise you, Dick, that this is not the end. It might not seem like it, but things will get better,” Danny promised, something he didn’t take lightly. “I will be here to do everything I can to help you heal.”

Dick didn’t say anything back for a long time. He simply played with the blob on his chest, flicking its tail side to side in between his fingers. The blob certainly didn’t seem to mind, blubbering little chirps to itself. Neither did Danny, who could see that this was a bit too much at once for Dick. 

“Are you still retired?” Dick asked eventually, looking up at Danny with a begging look.

It was one that Danny could recognize. One that was asking for them to try and pretend that nothing was wrong. To give him time to break away from reality and think things over with himself. So Danny let the conversation lead off. It would just be more damaging than helpful to continue on this path. So, conceding to Dicks wordless pleas, Danny let it go.

“Technically. But I wouldn’t mind going back out again if it means I can work with the great Nightwing,” Danny smiled, hoping to bring back the light atmosphere of before.

It seemed to work if the small smile that Dick gave was any indication. Danny hadn’t realized how happy he would be to see a real, albeit small, smile from the other again. Giving a last pat on the blob ghost's head, Dick walked over to where half of the Nightwing suit was discarded.

“Then I hope you still have your spirit,” Dick quipped back, stepping away towards a hallway. “Cause I won’t be going easy on you old man.”

Danny scoffed at the old nickname, jumping off the couch in fake offense. Although it was much too late to say anything about it before Dick scampered down the hall. He could hear a door open and close, signaling Dick is putting his suit on. Danny doesn’t envy the suit that Dick has to put on. Who would’ve thought that putting on a skin-tight suit might take someone a bit?

Luckily Danny didn’t have to even lift a finger. Letting out a breath he let the cold of his core take over, feeling a rush of weightlessness hit him. Knowing that he still had plenty of time to wait for Dick, Danny turned and opened another temporary portal. This time he had opened it directly to his keep, spotting Fright Knight in the distance.

“Frighty,” Danny called into the portal, half laughing to himself as the said knight nearly jumped. “I need a favor from you.”

After years of beating up multiple ghosts, quite a few of the citizens of the realms held respect for Danny. Honestly, it was refreshing to be able to just talk with half of the ghosts he used to fight. While he still held fights with them, cause it’s a form of affection apparently, things had cooled off for the most part. 

Which means it allowed Danny to get to know a lot of them better. This is how he found out that Fright Knight was cursed to serve the king. Thankfully with a little help from Jazz studying the books in Ghost Writers library and a surprisingly life-or-death adventure, Danny freed the ghost. This led to Fright Knight giving his servitude to Danny… which kinda undermines the whole point of the adventure in the first place but it wasn’t Danny’s place to judge.

“What can I do you for, Sir Phantom?” Fright Knight asked, getting closer to the portal and standing guard right outside it.

Oh yeah, and had he forgotten to mention the nickname? Yeah, it bothered Danny too. Although he’s learned that there's not much he can do to change it.

“There are some mortals I’d like to keep an eye on. They are the vigilantes of Gotham,” Danny proposed, making it a suggestion even though he knows Fright Knight will just do anything he says anyway. “Could you look over them for me?”

Fright Knight gave a deep bow before stepping through the portal. His extremely tall frame still absolutely dwarfed Danny in size. Which means it was kinda funny to watch him step through a portal that was sized for Danny's height. He's just so used to making a portal no bigger than that that he hadn’t even considered it.

“I would be honored,” The ghost replied, to which Danny nodded with a thankful smile.

“Thank you Frighty. I’ll check in with you every once in a while,”

And with those last words, Fright Knight nodded and disappeared. He tended to be less on the wordy side anyway.

Was it smart to send someone to spy on the bats? Probably not. But chances are, Dick isn’t going to say anything. Unfortunately, Dick had a mentality that he had to deal with things that are hurting him on his own. Whether from a sense of guilt or fear of not being enough, Dick would rather lead himself into the deep end than call for help. So to figure out why he’s been left so hauntingly alone, Danny is going to have to investigate. Thankfully just him going ghost had already scrambled Dicks security cameras, so the entire conversation wouldn’t be noticed.

The sound of a door closing took Danny out of his thoughts. He turned to the opening of the hallway, feeling himself smile at Dick. It’s been a very long time since he’s seen Dick in costume. The last time he saw the Nightwing suit in person it had honest-to-god tassels. He’s honestly really glad that Dick had changed the costume since then. This new suit in front of him was much more sleek. 

As he nodded to himself he could see Dick raising an eyebrow at him. He stood much more relaxed than before, a smile that didn't look entirely fake on his face.

“At least you’ve gained some sense of style after all this time,” Danny hummed, finding delight in Dicks scandalized gasp.

“I thought you loved the old costume!” Dick said, trying and failing to smother his amusement with an upset face.

Danny shrugged and folded his legs underneath him. It felt so easy to use his powers like this again. While he wasn’t exactly shy to use his powers normally, his range of them was muted in human form. As he hovered in place, he tilted his head teasingly at the other.

“Sorry, I was so busy staring at your chest that I missed what you were wearing,”

Dicks off guard laughter was the best thing Danny had heard in years.

Danny and Damian are related, with a twist.

Danny is the son of Talia Al Ghul, however he is NOT the son of Bruce Wayne. Ra’s has had his eyes on various people across the world that have either impressed him or show a unique skill set that he’d like to have. One such person was under the both categories and he got Talia to collect a DNA sample and as a result Danny was born.

This was before Bruce’s time with the League by a few years, but very quickly Danny was not meeting expectations. And by the time Bruce did show up Ra’s had lost all interest in Danny, moving on to better things.

Talia always hated Danny because she was forced to have him with a man who she never liked in the first place. Furthermore, because his skillset was lacking she found that even more reason for her distain. In her eyes, he wasn’t worth even considering her blood.

Danny, knowing that he was doomed if he didn’t make an escape, left the league sometime around when Bruce was moving up the ranks and was making waves within the organization. Perfect timing honestly, any attention he might have had was quickly gone when this prodigy showed up.

Danny escaped the League and went into hiding quickly after, settling on a rural area of the United States after bouncing around countries for a few months. This was mainly because Jasmine Fenton saw a young boy pick pocketing strangers while her family was visiting Chicago and scolded him. Her mother and father saw the boy and also lectured him to which Danny responded it was his only option (he was trying to get this loud family off his back so he could sneak away). Eventually the Fentons decide that if he has nowhere to go he might as well go with us, and Danny decides blending in with a Nuclear Family is the best way to ensure that his peaceful life away from the League stays that way. Oh how little did he know.

Flash forward a few years, Talia, who was visiting Gotham to check on Damian, sees a glimpse of a boy (now man) she thought she had forgotten. Her blood runs cold, if this abomination is in Gotham then her son is likely in danger and she would never let anything happen to Damian.

Bart Allen, after getting semi-lost in a place a clockmangod called the Infinite Realms, has just been hired to be a thief. Then he was tossed back to his own world.

But looking at what, or rather, who, he is supposed to steal, he's wondering if the job description was inadequate. This is clearly a rescue.

The other teen is trapped in a metal cage, with a muzzle around his face and shackles on his arms and legs.

There were a bunch of dudes in white suits Bart'd had to knock out to get here, and maybe he should have been harsher with them?

First things first, though, he has to get this other guy far, far away from here.

Dp x dc: batshit crazy driver au.

Bruce hired a new personal driver for the Wayne's. He was a nice enough guy. His grades weren't great, but he was a great driver and very patient. Like, really patient. Like, he is so unbothered by traffic, stupid drivers, and villain attacks, its kinda scary. But all the background checks came back clean. Minus his mad scientists parents, of course.

Daniel (Danny) Fenton. He could relate to any of the Wayne kids and hold an intelligent conversation with Bruce. Bruce feels that he doesn't need to be all Brucie Wayne around the young man. He doesn't know about their nightly activities yet, though. They're not quite sure if he even needs to know.

The first sign there was something more to Danny happened when Tim was sitting in the passenger seat. Tim was struggling with a math problem. It was driving him nuts. It only took a quick glance for Daniel to solve it, though, "it's thirty-six"

"What?"

"The answer is Thirty-six. You forgot to carry the three."

"Huh..."

He was right, Tim made a simple mistake, sure. But that was advanced college level math. Danny was a straight c student and never went to college. It only took him a momentary glance to solve it. Tim, though suspicious, chalked it up to a simple case of gifted kid syndrome. He related to it and began to consult with Danny on some of his math problems. Danny was more than happy to help, for a price, of course.

Then, there was a villain attack. The villain's goons ran rampant through the city, terrorizing anyone unfortunate enough to be outside at the time. But not Danny, they'll tried, oooh they tried. But those goons swiftly found themselves zip tied, in the trunk of a car, and on their way to jail. All while Danny blasted some music by a small artist named 'Ember'.

Alright. He is in Gotham, and his mother was a black belt, so maybe he was just well trained. Its good to know how to deffend yourself.

Then, Damien was kidnapped. It was so fast they barely saw, but a white van sped by and grabbed Damien as he made his way tawords the car. Initially, Damien expected the chauffeur to panic and call the police. But when shouting and cursing were heard from the front seat, and the men in the back slipped the van door open to check behind them, it was revealed Danny had followed them and he had a gun.

What could only be described as an action movie chase scene ensued. Every corner they swerved, every shortcut they took, Danny was right behind them. Driving like a bat out of hell, he shouted and fired at the wheels of the van. Knocking one out, the van swerved and was forced to come to a stop.

A kidnapper grabbed Damien by the hair and held a gun to his head, but before the threat could even leave his mouth a bullet flew through his hand. He dropped Damien and fell to the ground screaming, clutching his hand.

The kidnapper in the van already took off running but was swiftly stopped by Redhood arriving just in time to see Danny helping Damien up and checking him over, profusely apologizing for "letting this happen."

When asked why he did all of it, his simply answered, "I don't think I would get paid if I let Mr. Wayne's kid die! I can't let a kid die in general!"

Bruce, of course, gave the young man a bonus and a few days off for the stunt. Accompanied wlth a few stern words about safety. What was truly remarkable was that there was not a single scratch on the car. Untouched, meaning he never hit anything during the whole ordeal. "I just learned what not to do from my dad!" He joked, but Bruce felt that, despite the clear joking tone, there was some truth to the statement.

The family is suspicious, very suspicious. The man they previously viewed as their simple and humble driver turned out to be a monster of a fighter, and they have no idea how or why.

----------------------‐------

A/N: Feel free to add onto this in any way you would like :3

Fountain of Youth

Dcxdp ficlet pt 2 HERE for pt 1

"Just tell me. Please." Superman sighed. He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved. He should have just told Bruce to tell his kids that Phantom was off limits. He remembered a conversation he, as Clark Kent, had had with Danny Fenton back when the topic of hero/civilian identities had first come up and Phantom had finally trusted them enough to let them in on the secret of halfas. He hadn't gotten into the specifics, knew that even Batman knowing how it happened could bring risk. but the fact that he had trusted them enough to tell them any of it at all was still huge. Especially given all they learned afterwards.

The two had met up at Clark's place as civilians in Metropolis. Just to pretend they were normal for a little while and hang out with someone that knew what it was like to be utterly alone in the universe. Danny had managed to home-brew something that would actually get the Kryptonian drunk and carefully added some to each of Clark's drinks. Ensuring that they both got fairly tipsy.

It hadn't been as obvious then. Sure, Fenton was taller than Phantom was but Phantom rarely had legs, so it was impossible to compare. and Fenton was a little broader than Phantom but Phantom radiated power and authority, making it easy to overlook. Phantom had a tendency to speak with an echo and modify his voice so the voices weren't comparable either. They were both chaotic and sarcastic and willing to do whatever it took to help someone in need. No matter the personal cost. One could miss it. They were supposed to be different people. They were supposed to miss it. And back then, they didn't have the trust or the rapport with the hero to ask about it.

They had been in the living room of Clark's shoe box apartment. Each a few drinks in. Still sober enough that they would remember the conversation but not so much as to not have it. Clark didn't remember how it came up. But he remembered a barely 18 year old Danny staring into the distance and saying "sometimes I think they're right you know? And I really am just a dead boy pretending at being alive. I heard Constantine and Batman talking when they first found out. I know he didn't mean it like that. and it's not like I haven't heard it before. And it's not true. but sometimes, I believe them. Just a little bit. And I am dead. But then I see myself in the mirror and I see that I'm aging. I step on a scale and the numbers are higher than last time. The dead can't manipulate their own density like the living can. Just change the shape of it. and I'm taller than I was. not as tall as I would've been had the accident not happened, but taller than I was at 14. and I know I'm still alive. Even if I am barely breathing. But I still can't help that part of me that believes them. ya know?"

This was unforgivable, what he was about to do. He shouldn't have gotten involved. But this was his friend, and he was a reporter, he needed to know what had happened and make sure his friend was alright. But Danny was giving him THAT look and he knew he couldn't stop it now.

His ma was going to kill him.

"Kal." The Man of Steel sighed, held up a finger and left the room, he came back shortly thereafter with a small mirror in his hands. He stood in front of Danny.

"are you sure?" a small nod. He gingerly placed the mirror into the waiting hand, "I'm sorry."

Phantom gasped and gently touched his face before hightailing it out of the room. Superman close behind.

Clark found him in the bathroom, staring into the larger mirror the room held. He watched as something in Phantom broke, his tail- two legs planted solidly on the ground. His left hand gripping the counter top for dear life as his right traced the nonexistent lines on his face.

The Watchtower wasn't the place for this. He needed to get Danny out of there. He pulled the ghost gently away from the sink, listened for nearby heartbeats to find a clear path to the zeta tubes, and gently led him away, out of the bathroom, down and around hallways and stairways, and to the room that held the zeta's. He typed in their security clearances and a destination and squeezed them both in. Glad that no one was around to see them flush against each other. They arrived, the door opened and they both stumbled out.

"You're alive. Danny. Look at me. You're alive. You're not pretending or lying or anything like that. You are as alive as you are dead. They're wrong. You know they are." Clark held the man by the shoulders and looked directly into his eyes while speaking. Not so much as blinking. There was a flash and Fenton was before him once more. "See. Still alive. 250lbs of solid muscle. The dead can't change their density. You're heavier than you were all those years ago. You are still you."

Danny closed his eyes as tears started falling and a sob rocked through him. Clark pulled the man in and held him. This was different. This was grief. Clark wasn't sure what was happening exactly but his friend was grieving. So he did what he did when any of his friends were grieving and held Danny tight. Let him process whatever he needed to processes. Understand whatever Clark was unable to. In that moment they weren't two hero's, or a ghost and a Kryptonian. Or an astrochemist and a reporter. They were just Danny Fenton and Kal-El.

"I really did die. I mean. I knew I had. Obviously. but, I dunno. It never really felt real? ya know? There wasn't a funeral or anything. I just...went to school the next day. Like nothing had happened. And obviously I could 'go ghost' but 'going ghost' was...different. I didn't die. Not like Dead die. I got better. I died ya. but I wasn't DEAD. not dead-dead. Even when I kinda believe that they're right about me pretending to be alive. That's different. That's like....Saying I'm an imposter or a liar or something. But. I died. like actually died and stayed that way died. I can be alive. But when I'm dead I am actually. I'm actually dead. Forever stuck celebrating my 14th birthday. Just like all the other ghosts. I'm dead. and I don't get like resurrected and then die again but I'm dead the whole time. and Also not dead at all. Completely alive, growing, changing, aging. Both completely disregarding the reality of the other. yet still able to be influenced by the other. Which also shouldn't work." Danny started crying again.

"I died Kal. I died and no one noticed." Danny's voice cracked as he choked back a sob. His grief palpable in the air.

"Danny..." He didn't know what to say. What was there to say? it's okay? it wasn't ok. He was processing a nearly 2 decade old trauma that everyone in his life had had a loud opinion on while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge what the base of all those opinions meant. A truth too terrible to name.

Danny had died. Horribly and tragically. A 14 year old had had an interdimennsional portal ripped open on top of them. Probably the most painful death to have ever occurred in the multiverse.

Happened to a 14 year old.

And then he got 'better'.

So the world shrugged and moved on and told him he was 1,000 things he wasn't. and never gave him so much as a condolence card let alone a grave. Something Zantana had made clear were sacred places for ghosts. Unthinkable for even the greatest of foes to tamper with or disrespect. Celebrating death days was more than a sacred tradition, it was foundational to the fabric of ghost society. Which is why JLD had been so stilted when no one would tell them Phantom's. They had thought that he would take it as a grave offense. But he had danced around the topic too, had sworn all who knew to silence. They could never figure out why everyone agreed. Not asking a ghost about their death was fundamental. But so too was acknowledging the day itself. So, asking others was a normal way to obtain that information. Even after being asked not to share it-that too was part of the complicated system ghosts had created since reality began. Adhering to the request was something none of them had been able to figure out or understand.

And now Kal knew why.

They didn't realize he was deaddead.

To tell them would be to say that their friend died on his 14th birthday. and then celebrate that fact.

And their friend couldn't be dead.

So they dug no grave.

Held no service.

Shed no tears.

Just moved on.

He moved them to a couch. Sat Danny down, squeezed his hand and stepped away. He found the kitchenette. Made two warm beverages, sent a text, and made his way back to his grieving friend. He couldn't change the past. But he could rectify the future.