Curate, connect, and discover
I share more glorious Cat-Danny with you, my friends.
It starts during patrol.
At first, Tim barely notices the small, white blur with eerily green eyes trailing behind him as he scales rooftops and darts through alleys. Gotham’s stray population is no joke, so he figures it’s just another cat—until it keeps happening. Night after night, the same cat follows him like a shadow, no matter how far or fast he goes.
He tries to lose it, but somehow, it always finds him. And soon, he realizes the cat isn’t just following him—it’s helping.
One night, the cat leaps from a rooftop and claws a mugger who’s sneaking up behind Tim. Another night, it leads him to a drug deal in progress, meowing insistently until Tim follows.
It’s eerie how good the cat is at finding trouble, but it’s also undeniably useful. Tim names it Phantom, mostly because of its hauntingly white fur and the way it moves like a ghost in the shadows.
He’s not ready to admit that he’s started looking for the cat on patrol, waiting for it to show up like some unofficial partner.
———
Then Phantom starts showing up at Tim’s apartment.
The first time, Tim finds the cat sitting on his fire escape, staring at him through the window. He brushes it off as coincidence. But then it happens again. And again. Every night, Phantom is there, waiting.
Tim tries ignoring it, but Phantom doesn’t scratch or meow—it just stares, patient and expectant.
Eventually, Tim gives in and lets the cat inside. Phantom struts in like he owns the place, jumps onto Tim’s desk, and curls up right on top of his notes.
“Guess I have a cat now,” Tim mutters, scratching behind Phantom’s ears.
Phantom quickly becomes a fixture in Tim’s life.
He lounges on Tim’s lap during stakeouts, naps on his keyboard, and somehow always knows when Tim needs a break. Phantom is weird, though. His movements are too precise, too deliberate, and sometimes Tim swears he’s glowing faintly green.
But Tim doesn’t question it too much. Phantom’s good company, and Gotham’s seen stranger things.
———
The family eventually notices Phantom soon enough.
“You adopted a stray?” Dick asks when he visits Tim’s apartment. He crouches to pet the cat, who immediately swats at him. Dick recoils, laughing. “Okay, wow. Even the cat thinks I’m beneath him.”
“He doesn't seem to like new people,” Tim mutters, watching Phantom hop onto his desk like nothing happened.
Steph is obsessed. “He’s adorable! Can I post him?” she asks, taking a hundred photos of Phantom lounging on Tim’s keyboard. “He’s like your spooky little sidekick.”
Jason, on the other hand, has a reaction.
“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Jason yells the first time he sees Phantom.
Tim frowns. “It’s a cat, Jason. Calm down.”
“No, it’s not! That thing is glowing green, Tim! It’s haunted or radioactive or something!”
Tim rolls his eyes. “He’s just a cat.”
Jason isn’t convinced, but Phantom doesn’t care. He just glares at Jason like he’s the dumbest person in the room and stretches out on the couch.
Damian, though, reacts... differently.
The second Damian sees Phantom, he freezes.
“This cat,” Damian says, voice trembling with reverence, “is extraordinary.”
Tim barely has time to blink before Damian has his hands full of silk-lined cat beds, imported food, and custom collars engraved with “Phantom, the Great.”
“He’s my cat, Damian,” Tim says when Damian tries to scold him for not brushing Phantom’s fur properly.
“You are unworthy of him, Drake,” Damian snaps. “This is a creature of unmatched perfection, and you’re treating him like a common house pet.”
Tim sighs, but Phantom climbs into his lap and starts purring loudly. Damian looks betrayed.
“Traitor,” Damian mutters at Phantom, who clearly doesn’t care.
———
But Phantom isn’t just a cat.
Danny Fenton—currently stuck in his ghost form as a cat and unable to shift back—has been following Tim for weeks, hoping the smartest Bat could help him figure out how to fix his situation.
At first, it was desperation. Danny didn’t know how to communicate with Tim or explain what had happened to him. But then Tim let him in, fed him, and started treating him with such quiet care that Danny couldn’t bring himself to reveal the truth.
Phantom became his escape. For the first time in ages, Danny didn’t have to fight or run or worry about anyone discovering his secrets. He could just... exist.
And, okay, messing with the family was a bonus.
Danny knew he couldn’t stay a cat forever, but with the way Tim scratched behind his ears and muttered soft compliments, he thought, Maybe I can stay like this for a little longer.
Or maybe a lot longer. Phantom had a good thing going, after all.