I Will Change The Name Later

[alien-slushie]

Joker: I brought you here because I crave the most dangerous game!

Danny, nodding: Knife Monopoly.

Joker: I was actually going to hunt you for sport, but now I want to know what Knife Monopoly is.

[spoopyyaoikingdom]

I too wish to know o.o

[mainnalle]

This will never not be hilarious 😂

[spacemammal]

[fosterchild4]

DC x DP Prompt

As soon as the Mansons heard that Wayne had obtained a child the same age as their Samantha, they rushed to Gotham to introduce her at the first possible Rich People Event. (Ages can range anywhere from WFA where Damian comes to Gotham at age 7, to the more popular trend where Damian comes closer to 12)

When left alone together, Sam resolutely ignores the boy on principle. Her parents can make her come, but they can’t force her to “network”. Damian ignores her in turn, not out of rebellion or any assumptions about her as a person, but because he’s tired of Human Interaction Where He Is Not Allowed To Stab The Humans. The silence is a nice break. Bruce notices that Damian appreciates the break, which is why he continues to encourage the Mansons to come.

For a couple years, that’s it. Two kids told to hangout stand on the fringes of a party and ignore each other. Until…

Sam wondered if she was having a weird lucid dream when, during one of her family’s visits to Gotham, she found Damian Wayne at her penthouse window at 1 in the morning. It was too weird to even question. She opened the window.

“You’re vegetarian, correct?”, he asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Yeah?”, she was too baffled to do anything except answer.

“You believe animals should not be slaughtered?”

”That’s right…”

“Are you willing to act on that?”

A razor edged grin took over her face. “Absolutely.”

Damian was still a little unsure of his place in his father’s side of the family, but he did know that the rest of his family ate beef (just as he had until he Saw). So, when he committed to this particular venture, he could only think of one likely ally.

They rescue Batcow together.

After that, they move from ignoring each other at parties to ignoring everyone else together.

Tim: *falls asleep in his food* Damian: “I can’t believe I’m legally related to that fool.”

Sam: “Honestly, I’d rather be asleep than at this party too.”

Damian: “Despite my father’s best efforts, there are still dozens of spare beds in this house that have yet to be filled by orphans or freeloaders. Follow me. If your parents notice your absence, tell them I gave you a tour of the manor.”

Later, when the Bats find out about the ghost problem at Amity Park and Damian displays an unexpected expertise in ghosts, they assume it’s because he grew up around a Lazarus Pit. But nope. It’s from his friend Manson sending him gossip and FentonTech.

OH! Damian should ask to spend the summer with the Mansons when they’re 14 or 15 without bothering to inform his family that he’s going to get some Ghost Specific training and offer Team Phantom some General Hero Training.

I think it would be funny if Damian did keep it a secret from Sam that his family are the Bats, but didn’t consider his background as an assassin Prince as the same secret, so Sam knows that he’s a ninja.

So the Bats think Damian is taking a break from being Robin to hang out with his friend this summer.

Sam knows that she invited an ecto-contaminated ninja to train as a ghost Hunter with her friends.

Damian knows that Amity is overrun with ghosts and that Manson and her friends are helping deal with it. He doesn’t know Danny has powers (not that it will take him long to find out).

Danny and Tucker know that they were talking about training and Sam said “I know a guy”, and then this kid showed up carrying an improbable number of hidden blades on his person.

Oh crud, I’m gonna have to write this now, aren’t I?

[alien-slushie]

Jon: Hey mom, do we have any candles I can take to the sleepover?

Lois: Uhuuuum here I think this is all we have.

Jon: Thanks, hopefully Damian brings some too so we have enough.

Clark: Why do you need so many candles for a sleepover?

Jon: Because Danny, and Dan are really into the occult, and ghosts and stuff and promised they'd summon a Chimera for us to play with!

Lois: That's nice-

Clark: Wait, did their parents seriously name them Danny and Dan?

Jon: No, Danny's full name is Daniel, and Dan's full name is Leodan, but he likes Dan better. They're a set of triplets, and their third is their sister Danica, she also goes by Dani, because she thinks its funny.

Clark: How....Interesting?

Jon, shrugging: Their older sister is named Jasmine, or Jazz, if it makes you feel better. Anyways, I need to go. Danny wants us to start at 12 on the dot.

Lois: Okay have fun, call me at any time if you want to come home.

Clark: Bye kiddo.

Jon: *runs excitedly out the door*

Kon: . . . So you guys are cool with him taking candles and spending the night with at least two kids who are into the occult and claimed they're going to summon a fire breathing lion-goat-snake hybrid?

Clark: . . . Gosh darn it. I'll call Barbra.

Kon: You're not worried?

Lois: He has super powers, Damian is with him, and honestly most kids who are into the occult, aren't actually dangerous more often than not. Besides, I let Clark worry and go grey, and get wrinkles for the both of us. Why? You worried?

Kon, smirking: I had Tim run background on the Nightingales the moment I realised I couldn't hear the triplet's heart beats as strongly as I should have. They're just eccentric metas, I just like making Clark go grey.

Lois, laughing: That's my boy!

[magrowette]

Clark, on the phone with Barbara: Barbara, listen, we both know eldritch exists, that's why we have JLA dark, so pretty please? Just check on them, you know I can't since Jon will know.

Barbara, for the 5th time: No Clark, they're gonna be alright, it's just teenage obsession with the dark, they ain't going to summon a chimera.

Clark, doing puppy eyes at his phone: pleas- *hears a considerable crash in Gotham's direction* -hey, what's with that crash on your side?

Barbara getting a notification on her computer, staying silent for a concerning amount of time: 😐

Clark: ...Barbara?

Barbara: ...Soooo, there are reports of a baby chimera, which, for your information is still the size of a grown lion, running around Gotham, mind helping out?

Clark, already on his way: I ducking knew it.

Meanwhile Damian, Dani, Dan, Danny and Jon, playing with the baby orphan chimera, which they summoned using a ritual Danny learned from Sam that summons any creature you want as long as they're in need of help, by destroying some warehouses in the Gotham Bay: AYEEEEEEE LETS GOOOOOOOOO

[that-one-weird-cloud0]

I have a ghost king headcannon for Danny that he’s not yet old enough to possess ALL of the Ghost King powers, HOWEVER, he CAN do anything once a deal is made. For example:

The Justice League asks Danny to destroy an alien army so earth will be safe:

Danny: cool yea I can totally do that but I’m gonna need you to do something for me in return

JL: huh?

Constantine*immediately catching on: yea sure whaddya want?

Danny: I don’t fucking know a sandwich?

Constantine: done.

*creepy evil green handshake to seal the deal*

JL: 0-o

Danny: *power boost* Sweet!! Welp, off to destroy some spaceships!! Yay space!! :D

[eternal-watcher]

OK, I’ve generally grown tired of ghost king fics, but this is amazing and I need more

[magicpiano]

Danny Fenton sends Superman a fan email in which he asks for advice. In it he says he is also a non-human hero (he is vague because being a ghost is illegal) Danny mentions that he is being raised by humans. His parents don't know about his activities or species and hate his kind.

Danny was mostly looking for advice on how to make people stop being scared of his non-human characteristics. But Clark really sees himself in this teenager's email. He knows he was lucky to get parents who loved him even as an alien, but he also recalls being young and scared that would change.

So they start regularly exchanging emails, and Superman becomes a kind of mentor even if Danny refuses to tell him anything about his identity.

[liketolaugh-writes]

Clark was embarrassed to admit it, but the first thing he did every morning was usually to check the inbox of his official Superman email. He tried not to check it too often, but in the morning, reading those emails reminded him why he did what he did. Why it was so important to keep treating each civilian with such compassion, and not allow himself to become preoccupied with other things while he worked.

There were at least half a dozen emails every morning, more after major events, and he read them all. Occasionally, one stood out.

To Superman,

I wanted to tell you that I really admire you for what you do. I'm fifteen now and you've been a pillar of safety for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine how much dedication it takes day-to-day, especially for as long as you've been a hero. I hear stories all the time about how considerate you are, and how understanding, and how unconditional your compassion is. It's something I try to keep in mind.

You haven't saved me. Not personally, I mean, and that's not why I decided to email you. I actually wanted to ask you for some advice, if that's okay.

See, I'm not human. I'm not going to tell you what I am, but it's really obvious whenever I'm using my abilities, although I can hide it the rest of the time. (My parents are human and even they don't know. They don't like my kind.) I started doing hero work about... eight months ago now. But the people in my city are scared of me, because of what I am. And I wondered if you had any advice about that. Everyone knows what you are, and how powerful you are, but no one is afraid of you. Well... no one reasonable is afraid of you.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have for me, but either way, thank you for everything that you do.

From Danny

Clark set his chin on his hands and considered the email for a while. It wasn't unheard of for young heroes to email him for advice - all of the Justice League founders got them sometimes except, amusingly, Batman, the only one with significant experience teaching new heroes. But it was rarer for those heroes to identify themselves as nonhuman.

His parents must have found him and taken him in without knowing what he was. For those same folks to be anti-alien... Clark's heart ached for the young hero, growing up without the kind of support Clark had gotten. It was admirable of him to stick to it despite an apparently chilly reception.

He set his hands on the keyboard and started to reply.

---

Danny was shocked to receive an actual reply from Superman just the morning after he sent his email. He hadn't expected a reply at all, really - surely Superman had better things to do than read emails from random civilians? But he'd been awake long past his bedtime, kept up by the aching burn on his back from Valerie, and sent it in a fit of self-pity.

And Superman had replied.

To Danny,

The more time passes, the more often I hear from kids and even young adults that I've been making them feel safe for as long as they've been alive. That is worth more to me than you could imagine, and it makes every day of hard work worthwhile. Given what you've told me already, I think you're doing an excellent job of keeping those values in mind.

Believe it or not, my reception was rather lukewarm at first as well, for much the same reason. Batman and my media contact, Lois Lane, helped me straighten the issue out over the first few years. (Yes, I'm sorry to say, it may take years for you to be fully accepted.)

Here are some suggestions:

Try to stick around for at least a little while after each incident you help with. Let people talk to you. Let them see you outside of fights or feats of strength. You are not a combat machine.

Don't be too secretive about yourself. You implied that you have a secret identity, but there are still things generic enough for you to share without giving yourself away. Work with those.

Don't hide what you are, and don't lie about the traits that you have from it. I know it might seem like a simple short-term solution, but it won't help you in the long run. It will just make people suspicious.

Let people know at least part of your motive for helping people. My planet was destroyed, and I want to protect this one. The same goes for Martian Manhunter. Starfire fled her planet and has found this one to be much kinder. Be as open as you can.

Keep yourself safe. Don't be open about your weaknesses, no matter what people say to you. Don't linger too long around people who openly hate you. Don't allow yourself to be a target for hatred.

I hope you find these ideas helpful. And feel free to contact me for further advice anytime you want. I check my email every morning and I'm always happy to help a budding hero.

From Superman

Danny muffled a delighted squeal into his arm. Sam and Tucker weren't going to believe this!

---

It soon became apparent that Danny was either mostly or completely without an adult support system, because he quickly took to emailing Clark every day, usually in the early evening or late at night. Clark continued to read them in the morning and reply to them as thoughtfully as he could, and Danny soon grew to be a constant presence in his inbox. Which also meant...

"You're worrying about Danny again," Lois pointed out over breakfast.

"I wouldn't worry about Danny if he didn't say such worrying things," Clark muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.

Because over the last year, that trend had quickly become apparent. Whatever Danny was, their reception was more hostile than any other Clark had encountered on Earth, matching more to some of the blood feuds he'd heard of on other planets. Every few emails, he slipped in the most concerning little nuggets, seemingly without noticing.

One day my parents are going to invent a shield that actually locks me out of the house and I'll really be in trouble.

I keep trying to do what you said and stick around to talk, but it never lasts for long before the hunters show up and start shooting at me, which makes things kind of awkward.

I don't know what I would have done if defeating that tyrant guy hadn't brought my city back to Earth.

I wish there was some way I could convince the hunters that I'm just trying to help.

And now, most recently:

It's illegal to be what I am now. I'm getting kind of scared.

"I think I'm going to call out of work today," Clark said at last, still staring down at his computer. "I need to do some research."

What was Danny that he had apparently just been declared illegal?

[queenofthequillandink]

Clark was ready for one of the more off-putting alien species. He was ready for something he'd never heard of before. He thought even some sort of time-traveling incident that resulted in more Martians would have been less surprising than this.

He'd combed through new federal legislation from the past two months. Danny had mentioned the ban as though it had just happened, but Clark would look back further if he needed to. He had no idea what he'd do if it was a state law; he knew Danny was in the Central Time Zone and almost certainly in the US, but he couldn't pinpoint it more clearly than that.

So yes, he'd prepared himself for some sort of Eldritch horror folded into human skin or violent race that was famed for massacres that Danny himself wasn't carrying out.

Clark had not prepared himself for ghosts.

"'-extra-dimentional ectoplasmic entities, self-identified as ghosts, hereafter refered to as ectoentities, are defined as any being with a physical makeup that includes 9% or more ectoplasm; or which needs ectoplasm to continue its existence. They have been deemed non-sapient and non-sentient threats to public and personal safety. As such, ectoentities are banned from all public and personal property. Knowingly harboring or aiding an ectoentity-' I mean, this is complete bullshit!" Lois hissed, cutting herself off and smacking the printout Clark had handed her. "You talk to Danny every other day; he's obviously sapient. And they folded it into a bunch of stuff about infrastructure, clearly hoping no one was going to read it. Clark, this says 'all necessary force authorized.'"

"I know," Clark responded, feeling sick. "They have a task force, apparently. One that can apparently harm these ghosts. They're clearly trying to prevent public panic by keeping this quiet, but if you searched the right things, I bet a Ghost Investigation Ward squad would show up anyway. There's a clause in there about the Patriot Act; it's on the third page."

Lois hissed like an angry cat, flipping the pages until she found the highlighted section. "You need to be careful what you email Danny. This is broad-spectrum permission to interfere when they even suspect someone's talking about an ectoentity."

"I need to find Danny," Clark replied. "His parents will almost certainly be on the side of this new law. If they find out what he is..." Some of Clark's worst nightmares come from the time he had just begun to understand how he was different from his peers and what that meant. Government experimentation was a recurring theme until well into his 20s. "I need to evacuate him."

"And that means you need to find him." Lois' eyes lit up with the challenge. "He's been cagey, right?"

"Yep," Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've tried to get more information out of him, to set him up with a mentor, but he clams up every time. Once, he stopped sending emails for a week. I don't think I could take the worry if I didn't hear from him after this."

"So we find him," Lois told him fiercely. "Are you an investigative journalist, or not? A young hero as divisive as this, no way he didn't make the news. What have you got so far?"

~*~

Three and a half weeks later, Lois slammed a newspaper page on the kitchen table, eyes lit up with the manic glow that she got when she was hot on the trail of a new story. "Amity Park, Illinois doesn't exist."

Clark paused, spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. "...okay?" he said uncertainly, lowering it.

"It used to exist, but they tried to erase it. But they couldn't erase everything." She jabbed a finger at an article in the paper impatiently.

Clark bent over it. A quick glance at the top told him that it was a copy of the Elmerton Enquirer from November of thirteen years ago. "'Elmerton Central Rams Face Casper High Ravens in Final Game of Season'?" he read. "What is this-?"

"In the article, it says the Casper High Ravens are the team from a city called Amity Park. A city I can't find a mention of anywhere else."

Clark finally started to catch on. "Is this about Danny?" They'd hit a brick wall on their search for the young hero almost instantly. There were no reports of unknown young heroes anywhere east of the Rockies.

They'd started smaller, of course. Clark had tentatively identified Danny as probably being in the Midwestern part of the Central Time Zone rather than Southern, based on his speech patterns and some of the things he'd said about the world around him. When that didn't turn up anything about any controversial heroes, they'd expanded it to all hero news in general, then to crimes getting stopped without anyone knowing how. They'd expanded the area they were looking at three separate times. Nothing they couldn't explain turned up. Clark was growing increasingly frantic, breathing a sigh of relief every time Danny sent another email. But he also knew that there was no guarantee the boy would keep being safe.

"Yes, it's about Danny!" Lois brought Clark back to the conversation at hand. "This is the only mention of Amity Park I've been able to find, and I had to have it mailed to me by a college friend in Chicago with an ex-boyfriend whose stepson has a best friend that moved to Elmerton to live with his grandmother who obsessively collects old papers that mention the charity she volunteered for. Do you know how hard it is to maintain that chain of communication without incurring the wrath of the Patriot Act?"

"Super hard," Clark guessed, mind already spiralling with the implications. "I'm assuming there's nothing online about Amity Park."

"Some sort of agent pair converged on the east branch public library 7 minutes and 36 seconds after I searched the town name," Lois told him, mouth tight. "I'm guessing that's our Ghost Investigation Ward. They wore all-white uniforms, so they should be pretty easy to spot."

"As long as they're in uniform," Clark replied grimly.

"As long as they're in uniform," Lois agreed. "I was able to find out that Amity Park isn't on any of the map softwares I could access. There was no mention on social media. No local paper online. I couldn't even find a parent portal for the high school."

"The agents didn't see you, did they?" Clark asked, suddenly straightening. "If we need to take an unplanned vacation to the farm-"

Lois waved him away. "I gave myself five minutes. And wore a wig. I still look terrible blonde."

"You look good in whatever you wear," Clark replied absentmindedly, scanning the article. There wasn't much information in it that helped them. "This says Elmerton and Amity Park are rivals. That means they're probably nearby each other, right?"

"I have the sudden urge to visit my old college friend," Lois said with a sharp smile. "Wanna come? We can leave Jon with Ma and Pa, maybe see what else Illinois has to offer?"

Clark was already reaching for his phone to call into work. "I think a bit of travel would be excellent for us."

[liketolaugh-writes]

It wasn't the first time Lois and Clark had done undercover work. Lois in particular was a widely-known reporter of corporate crimes and human rights violations, so the people who indulged in those sorts of activities often knew her name. Clark wasn't as well-known, but he wasn't unrecognizable either. They went to Elmerton as Lois Lane and Clark Kent, and headed for Amity Park as Lucy and Clark Taylor.

Their rented vehicle was stopped not far past the billboard that read 'Amity Park: A Nice Place To Live!'

"Names," barked the agent, a brown-haired man with sunglasses that hid many of his defining features.

These types didn't like people who knew their rights. It wouldn't be impossible to get into Amity Park without using a road, but the agents inside might keep records of who had been let in. "Clark and Lucy Taylor, sir. Have we done something wrong?"

"Not yet," the agent said darkly. He repeated their names over his comm unit, and waited for the voice on the other end to give him a tinny 'they're clean' before addressing them again. "Professions?"

"Between jobs right now," Clark said with a bashful smile. "A friend of mine told me that the high school here was looking for teachers? I teach social studies. I just wanted to have a look." It was a guess. A town blocked off by the government probably had trouble finding teachers.

The agent grumbled something indistinct. "And your wife?"

Clark smiled guilelessly. "She's my wife. What do you mean?" He could practically hear Lois rolling her eyes, but the agent bought it.

"Head on through," he grunted, waving them on. "You might change your mind about living here once you've seen it."

"Oh, it can't be that bad!" Clark chuckled, and raised the window to pull away before the agent could reply.

"Soft lockdown," Lois interpreted, frowning at the road. "They'll probably have us sign an NDA on the way out."

Clark nodded. Less red tape on the way in, less suspicion from casual visitors, less eyes on them. "Not if we don't leave that way." They wouldn't be able to take Danny out through the checkpoints anyway. It'd be best to fly out.

Once they were in, it was almost insultingly easy, considering all the trouble it had taken to get this far. He focused his hearing on Amity Park, but there didn't seem to be any fighting at the moment, so he and Lois headed to a diner for lunch and, more importantly, to chat with the waiter.

"You're from out of town, aren't you?" the waiter checked, catching both of them by surprise. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged at them. "I don't recognize you, and Amity Park is a pretty small town. What brings you here?"

"Well..." Clark dragged it out, scratching his neck in embarrassment. The kid caught on quickly and laughed out loud.

"You're here about the ghosts, aren't you?" Completely unconcerned, matter-of-fact. He hadn't been told to keep it a secret, Clark realized, which meant that the GIW probably didn't want the residents to realize how tightly locked down they were.

"Yes, we are," Lois confirmed, leaning over to catch the kid's eye. "What's your name? So I can write it down."

The kid lit up, which wasn't unusual. People loved to be in the paper. "Kwan Choi!" he chirped. "Are you a reporter?"

Still no concern. The GIW had never intended outside reporters to ever get this far, probably. People at nearby tables were starting to turn around, interested in the proceedings but not stepping forward yet.

"That's right," Lois confirmed, flipping her notebook open. "May I record this conversation?"

"Sure!"

Lois set her phone to record. "So, Mr. Choi, what can you tell me about the ghosts here?"

"They're pretty much everywhere!" Kwan told her, with obvious delight that became disconcerting as he went on. "There's attacks every day, you'll probably at least hear one if you're staying for a couple of days. Ghosts are pretty powerful too, so it's not like you'll miss it. Just follow the sound of smashing concrete. And yelling."

"You don't seem very worried," Lois pointed out mildly, exchanging a look with Clark. Danny had never really indicated how powerful he was, and had avoided mentioning most of his powers. If his rogues gallery was regularly breaking buildings...

"Of course not!" Kwan exclaimed, laughing at the thought. "Trust me, we don't have anything to worry about as long as Phantom's around." He almost vibrated with excitement, obviously waiting for them to take the bait.

Clark was happy to. This was what they'd come here for, after all. "Phantom? Is he a hero?"

"He's the best!" Kwan beamed. "He's a ghost too and he's super powerful! Don't listen to what any of the ghost hunters tell you. Phantom's casualty record is literally perfect and Dash says even Superman can't say that! Course, Amity Park is a lot smaller than Metropolis..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly while Lois and Clark exchanged a look. "Phantom beats up all the ghosts, even the ones the ghost hunters can't touch, and he doesn't cause as much collateral as the Fentons say he does! They just blame him for all the damage from all the ghosts and that's bullshit."

"So he's controversial?" Clark prodded carefully. He was startled when Kwan actually scowled at him, dropping his bouncy demeanor for a moment.

"You can't do one of those scaremongering articles on him, okay?" the kid argued, looking defensive. "None of that 'he's a scary ghost' or 'is Phantom secretly behind all the ghost attacks' horseshit. He's a hero. We'd be completely screwed without him."

"We won't do that," Lois promised Kwan, earning a beam in return. "Is Phantom the only hero in Amity Park?"

Kwan actually looked thoughtful, and he wriggled his hand. "Depends on who you ask. The Red Huntress is pretty cool too, when she's by herself, but she attacks Phantom a lot, so a lot of people don't really like her. The Fentons and the GIW are both almost as dangerous as the ghosts though, and they're not nearly as good at fighting them."

"The GIW?" Clark asked, just to see how he reacted. He wasn't entirely surprised when Kwan flinched, glancing nervously at the door.

Kwan lowered his voice. "You should probably avoid those guys, all the government people in white suits. They're, uh, pretty liberal with those guns." His nervous expression said it all. Clark's hatred for the GIW grew.

"We'll be careful," Lois assured him. "What about the Fentons?"

Kwan made a face, but he did straighten up, his shoulders relaxing. "If you're reporting on the ghost attacks, you probably want to talk to the Fentons." Another grimace. "Well, want may not be the right word. They know a lot, but they're also wrong about a lot, and they're really anti-ghost. Maybe you can talk to their son Danny instead. Rumor has it that he's where Phantom gets all his Fenton tech."

Bingo. Clark wasn't expecting Danny to fall right into their laps, but this fit perfectly: the son of two ghost hunters, already suspected of having ties to the town's hero. "And where can we find Danny?"

"He lives with his parents," Kwan shrugged. "It's hard to find him anywhere else, unless you want to catch him at school or something." Of course; if there were multiple attacks a day, he probably poured a lot of time into his vigilantism. "I don't know their exact address, but you don't really need to. They have a giant UFO on top of their house, you can't miss it."

"They have a what?"

----

They did have a UFO on top of their house.

"Well," Lois said resignedly. "I think we found it." 'Fentonworks' blinked on the sign, pointing to the door. "Now let's find your adoptee."

"Who do you think I am, Bruce?" Clark asked indignantly.

Lois didn't dignify that with a response, instead making her way toward the door and pressing the doorbell. It rang, and almost immediately, there was a crash, a clatter, and a blast on the other side of the door. Someone yelped. Clark tensed, but a moment later, the door swung open, and a red-haired woman smiled at them, unaffected by the commotion.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked, perfectly cheerful.

Lois and Clark exchanged a look, and then Lois focused on the woman. "Hello. My name is Lucy Taylor, call me Luce, and my husband Clark. Mrs. Fenton, right? I was told you were the people to talk to about ghosts." It was always best to get both perspectives of a story; even with something as one-sided as this, you had to understand what everyone was thinking.

It was also the easiest way to get in the door.

"Dr. Fenton, actually!" the woman said, with a smile that showed she wasn't offended. "Both me and my husband. Come in!"

She spun on her heel and went inside, and Lois and Clark followed. The commotion had evidently been someone dropping a large energy gun, which had then gone off and hit the ceiling; the scorch mark was still smoldering. The gun was on the floor. Clark glanced at it, and Maddie chuckled, picked it up, and put it on the table.

"Don't worry, it doesn't harm humans," she reassured them both, unconcerned. "I know it can seem a little extreme if you've never met a real ghost, but I assure you, those ectoplasmic abominations deserve no mercy."

The sudden vitriol was disconcerting with her cheerful, upbeat tone.

"Really?" Clark asked, unable to help himself. "From what I've heard so far, they sound pretty complex." Along with Kwan, who was happy to talk as long as his manager would let him, they'd heard stories from all the people at the tables around them. It wasn't just Danny; plenty of the ghosts had shown obvious signs of sapience, from dating problems to earnest chats about new music to a child ghost playing carefully with other kids, supervised by Phantom.

"Oh, this talk again," Maddie sighed, and sat down with a reassuring smile. To show she wasn't offended. She gestured for them to sit down. "Not at all. It's all in the science of it. Ghosts are very good at appearing complex; it's necessary for their manipulations. But all of the emotion and personality that they display is faked. It's an echo of who they were when they were alive. What's really happening is a mindless feeding instinct, since ghosts need human emotion to sustain themselves. The more emotion they can evoke, the more they can feed." Maddie smiled and shrugged, like 'it can't be helped.' "That's why the best thing to do is to put them out of everyone's misery. Someday, I hope, there won't be any ghosts to haunt us."

Clark couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this sick and angry. Maybe when Kon had explained exactly what had happened while he was still at CADMUS. He closed his hands gently, careful not to clench them, so as to not tip Maddie off too much.

Lois set a hand on his arm, understanding. "You want to wipe them out?"

Maddie blinked at them guilelessly. "Well, yes, of course. They're very dangerous, as anyone in this town knows. And as I explained, they're not sentient at all, so there's really no reason not to. It's like putting down rabid animals, really - after all, by rights, they should already be dead."

Clark wondered how often Danny heard his mother call him a rabid animal.

Lois squeezed his arm. "What do your children think of this?"

Maddie's smile thinned, showing that she was losing her patience. "Oh, they're quite pro-ghost, I'm afraid. Most of the children are. I try not to hold it against them; they're very vulnerable to the manipulations of Phantom in particular. It was clever of it to both take the form of an adolescent and wear something resembling a superhero costume. It even formed an emblem after a while."

"How can he be clever if he's not even sentient, ma'am?" Clark asked, quiet and even. Maddie's smile disappeared altogether.

"I see you formed an opinion before talking to an expert," she observed coolly. "One of the children, I'm guessing?"

Before the situation could escalate, the front door opened, and another energy beam fired. Clark shot to his feet, but was too late to react, caught in his secret identity; the beam hit, and the person at the door yelped in pain and reeled back.

"Mom!" they yelled after a moment, more frustrated than hurt. "You're supposed to tell me when you turn on the security system!"

With a sinking feeling, Clark guessed that that was Danny. He glanced up at the ceiling above the door. A smoking gun was pointed at the door.

"I'm sorry, dear!" Immediately forgetting them, Maddie bustled to her feet and across the room, opening a panel in the wall to input a code. The gun withdrew into the ceiling. "I really thought I got it this time, I don't understand why this keeps happening."

"Mom." Danny appeared in the doorway, giving the ceiling a wary glance before continuing inside. He hadn't noticed them yet, focused on his mother as he pleaded with her. "I'm not even asking you to stop testing it, just tell me when you turn it on, please?"

That was a pretty big concession, considering that Clark suspected it was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, and shooting a ghost that tried to come inside. Into his house, where he lived, with his parents that were supposed to be protecting him. Clark clenched and unclenched his fists, not sitting down yet.

Maddie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Every time I think I've figured out why our trackers lock onto you..." She trailed off with a shake of her head, and gestured for Danny to come closer. "Here, let me fix that up for you. And be polite, we have guests."

Despite her willingness to program the house to shoot him, apparently at random, Danny approached his mom without hesitation and held up his burnt arm for her inspection. A large pink splotch was on his forearm, where he must have blocked the beam, maybe protecting his head or chest. Most tellingly of all, his heart beat slowly, at half the rate Clark was used to hearing.

Maddie winced. "Oh, that's going to blister," she murmured.

"Mom!" Danny whined, glancing down. "Did you turn up the power too? Seriously?"

"I really thought I had it this time," Maddie repeated, contrition tightening her voice. It meant nothing, Clark thought darkly. She grabbed a first aid kit from under the sink and spread burn cream over the injury, then started to wrap it up. To Lois and Clark, she added, "I'm sorry you had to see this. If you could keep it private, I would... appreciate it. I'd rather it not get around exactly how ectocontaminated Danny is."

A hint of apprehension crept into her voice. It was telling. Even the Fentons feared the Ghost Investigation Ward.

"We understand," Lois said smoothly, pointedly not promising to keep it quiet.

For the first time, Danny glanced over at them, and confusion entered his eyes. Then they widened slightly. If anyone was going to see through Clark's thin disguise in less than a second, it would be another vigilante.

Clark wasn't surprised that Danny's only response was to tense nervously and look away again, shoulders rising. He'd gone to lengths to hide his identity and location from Superman, after all.

"Who are they?" Danny asked his mother.

"They're journalists!" Maddie said, bright and cheerful again. She finished wrapping Danny's injury, that she gave him, and took his shoulder to steer him toward the living room. "Luce and Clark. They're doing a story about Amity Park, so we're talking about ghosts."

"Great." Danny looked unenthusiastic. "Can I go upstairs, to do my homework, and like, not be here for this conversation?"

Maddie paused, studying him for a moment, and then tugged him gently toward the living room. (Truly gentle - Clark had seen people yank others and disguise it as a gentle motion before, and this wasn't that.) "No, I think you could benefit from this conversation too."

"Great." Danny looked defeated, and didn't protest further as he was pushed onto the other couch. He glanced at the gun on the table. "That's a new one. What does it do?"

Maddie beamed. Clark hated everything about this.

"It's the Fenton Ecto-Incinerator! It should cause any ghost's ectoplasm to react violently with itself and boil them from the inside out!"

The look of defeat magnified into a recognizable 'I wish I had never been born' expression, with dull, lifeless eyes and slumped shoulders. Maddie didn't seem to notice. "Fantastic." He scuffed his shoes on the floor and stared at his knees. Clark tried to figure out if there was a diplomatic way to ask 'have you noticed that your son obviously needs serious mental health treatment or are you ignoring it on purpose?'

It occurred to Clark that if Danny was a ghost, and his parents didn't know, that implied that he'd died and they hadn't noticed.

Lois, as always, rallied first. "Is that an... efficient way to get rid of a ghost?"

Danny sighed softly. With a wince, Clark realized that he'd missed the part of the conversation that indicated they were against this.

Maddie sighed too, but for a different reason, and she gave them a rueful smile. "No, not particularly. We're still trying to figure out how exactly to destroy ghosts permanently. We'd need to experiment with an intact specimen to manage it, but they keep... escaping." She glanced at Danny, indicating she had a suspicion as to how, but he didn't seem to notice. "Until then, we're trying to use pain as a deterrent."

"I thought they weren't sentient," Clark said, meeting Maddie's eyes. She pressed her lips together before responding.

"Everything dislikes pain, Mr. Taylor."

Clark had to work to retain his patience. "Do you know the difference between sentience and sapience, ma'am?"

Maddie's brow furrowed. "I... didn't believe there was one?"

"Sentient beings are capable of sensing and reacting to stimuli," Clark told her, because everyone needed to understand this, even - perhaps especially - the most horrible of people. "Sapient beings possess human intelligence."

Maddie looked thoughtful. "Hm... perhaps we should amend some of our professional work. That's quite a mistake." She shrugged it off. "But the principle remains the same. They can't stay here, and the pain is a deterrent."

Danny didn't look comforted by the concession. It was possible he wasn't even listening, and Clark couldn't blame him.

"Dr. Fenton, do you realize that that mistake enabled the government to give ghosts fewer rights than are given to lab rats?" Lois asked, barely maintaining a veneer of politeness.

Maddie's voice chilled again. "Ghosts don't need rights, Mrs. Taylor. As I explained, they are evil, selfish creatures, manipulating humans and feeding on the resulting emotion. I assure you, I've read the entirety of the Anti-Ecto Act, and I have no problem with any of it."

Danny stared at his knees and picked absently at a hole in his jeans.

"There's a reason that animal cruelty is illegal, Dr. Fenton. No feeling creature deserves that, whether you believe in their sapience or not."

"Rabid animals are put down as a matter of course. Why should ghosts be any different? Of the two, ghosts are far more dangerous."

Danny poked his finger into the hole.

"They're not sick, they're not dying. Rabid animals are put out of their misery. What is the point of torturing a ghost?"

"By all rights, they should already be dead. It's frankly an abomination that they didn't stay that way. Whatever measure is required to make that happen, I will do it myself - for the safety of our town and my children."

Actually, Clark was starting to get... extremely concerned about Danny's lack of responsiveness.

"Danny," he said, interrupting the intensifying argument. "Can you hear me?"

"What?" Maddie asked, baffled. Lois, however, caught on quickly, her back straightening with alarm. She held up a hand, indicating for Maddie to wait, and watched Clark scoot closer to Danny.

"Danny," he repeated, slightly louder and firmer. He reached out to touch Danny's hand, and Danny blinked, lifted his head, and met Clark's eyes, tilting his head in silent question. Clark repeated, "Can you hear me?"

There was a pause. Danny hummed noncommittally.

"What is-" Maddie started. Lois shook her head sharply, and Maddie fell silent.

"Danny, do you know where you are?" Clark asked, keeping his voice calm and even while his anger with Maddie and the absent Jack Fenton rose substantially. He doubted this was the first time this had happened.

Danny stared at him blankly. It was apparent that he either didn't understand the question or he didn't know where he was.

"Danny?" Fear entered Maddie's voice, and that was all that kept Clark from snapping at her.

"He's dissociating," Lois explained, terse but more patient than Clark at the moment. "It's a symptom of trauma and a sign of extreme stress. Clark's trying to snap him out of it."

"What?" Maddie repeated, horrified, and this time was ignored.

"You're at home, in your living room," Clark told Danny, maintaining eye contact. "Can you see that you're in your living room? Two couches, a coffee table, a television, and a ceiling fan?" Danny glanced around, checking for those things. Couches, coffee table, television, ceiling fan. Danny nodded. "Can you tell me what else is here?"

Danny glanced down at the coffee table, and his eyes landed on the gun. He clammed up again, eyes losing what little life they'd gained and shoulders going limp. Clark suppressed a curse, and glanced at Lois, then at the kitchen. Bless her, she understood, and got up to look for the freezer. Surprisingly, Maddie also responded, and picked up the gun, disappearing into a door to the basement. She returned empty-handed, giving Danny a worried look.

Lois returned from the kitchen with a bag of frozen vegetables, which she dumped into Danny's hands without ceremony. Danny started, blinking down at the bag, then up at Lois in question. She gave him a tense smile and sat down.

"Danny, can you tell me what you have in your hands?" Clark asked.

"...bag of frozen peas?" Danny stared down at them again, then up at Clark, meeting his eyes on his own with visible confusion. "Why?"

Clark gave him a small, relieved smile. "It got your attention, didn't it? You were dissociating. Do you know what that is?"

Danny wrinkled his nose, handling the bag of peas absently as he tried to retrace his mental steps. "I... felt kind of floaty, I guess. Like in a bad dream. I dunno. I wasn't really paying attention." Something about his tone indicated that while he was responsive now, he was still trying, on some level, to 'not really pay attention.' "What's wrong? Can I go now?"

He stopped fidgeting with the frozen peas and left them in his hands, limp and forgotten. Definitely still out of it, Clark decided.

"What's wrong with Danny?" Maddie repeated forcefully, fear in her voice and clearly done with being ignored. As if she had a right, as if she hadn't just bandaged a burn on his arm that she'd put there with carelessness bordering on malice.

"Some people detach from their surroundings as a coping mechanism," Lois explained, clipped but calm. Danny blinked down at the bag of peas in a slightly more ominous kind of confusion, and Clark put a hand on his arm again. Danny jumped, looking up at him in question, and Clark gave him a small, comforting smile, trying to make him feel at ease. "They'll feel like they're just having a dream, or watching something happen to someone else. It's a way of dealing with stress or trauma."

Maddie blinked at her in infuriating confusion. "But... he's just at home. Did something happen while he was at school, or on his way home?"

"I imagine," Clark said calmly, "it's because he was attacked at the door, and then forced to sit and listen while you discussed beings, that at the very least he thinks of as sapient, and justified your desire to torture them to death."

"But-" Maddie cut herself off this time, giving Danny a worried look. "But that's just-" She faltered again, and it was obvious that she didn't know how to deal with the conflict of what was, to her, undeniable scientific truth, and the equally undeniable harm it was causing Danny. "Are you sure?"

"If it was something outside, he would have been unresponsive when he came in," Clark informed her.

Maddie shrank, and Danny looked at her with matching worry.

"It's okay!" he said hastily, trying to shake off Clark's hand. Clark kept it there, and Danny didn't try very hard. "I can deal, I just- today was a bad day is all, I'm just..." He trailed off, lost as to how to play this down.

They stared at each other.

"...I'm sorry, can you leave?" Maddie asked softly. "I think Danny and I need to talk."

[queenofthequillandink]

@liketolaugh-writes Tag, you're it.

Clark does the social math quickly and doesn't see how them staying will do anything but escalate the situation. It's not like he can't just listen in on the whole thing anyway and have them back here in seconds if they need to interfere.

"We'll be in the area for a few days," he says through a tight smile as he stands. "In case we have any more questions."

"Feel free to reach out if you have any thoughts to share," Lois adds, standing and leaning over to hand Danny a business card. She does not hand one to Maddie, and from the narrowed eyes, the woman notices. "Or if you need any other kind of advice."

"Yes, thank you," Maddie says frostily. "I'm sure we'll do just fine. Why don't I show you the door?" Clark slips Danny another business card when she turns, in case the woman confiscates Lois'.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Fenton," Clark says, because Ma and Pa raised him right. "Danny, it was wonderful to meet you. Feel better."

"Yeah," the teen says, eyes darting side to side, presumably looking for a way to flee before having this conversation with his mother.

That's the last thing Clark sees before Maddie practically shoves them out the door and shuts it quickly behind them.

Clark makes for the car, ears already tuned on the house, but Lois darts around the corner instead, hauling on his arm. "I don't care how fast you can get back here, we are not leaving him alone with that woman," she hisses. "Do you think you know enough to guess which bedroom is his? There's nowhere to hide out here."

"I can give it a shot." Clark shoots up, hopefully faster than any nosy neighbors can track, eyeing the second floor windows. A large bedroom, clearly the parents' by the bed. A bathroom, a study, a wildly pink bedroom. He won't judge, but it doesn't seem Danny's style.

Then, jackpot, a room decked floor to ceiling in NASA merch and teen boy mess. He remembers the kid going on and on about meteor showers and an observatory field trip and how cool it is that the Justice League has a base in space. The room is even on the back half of the building, convenient for sneaking in and out as a teenage hero and a nosy reporter.

He's back at Lois' side in a flash. "Got it." He leads her to the window and boosts her up easily, so no one has the chance to see anything super-related as she jimmies the lock. They're through in under a minute, Lois already cracking the door open so she can hear as Clark tunes back into the specifics of the conversation.

"-just don't know why you didn't mention anything sooner, honey," comes Maddie's voice. It's even, but her heartbeat is elevated and he can detect the tension in her tone that normal ears can't.

"I did," Danny snaps in reply, sounding like he's finally reaching the end of his temper. "I told you the third time you shot me that I wanted the front door guns gone and you gave me an hour-long lecture on ghost safety. I told you when the system shot me the fifteenth time that I wanted it on an automatic timer so it'd always be off when I got home from school, at least. You told me holes in the defenses were unacceptable. I told you the twenty eighth, fifty seventh, a hundred and third, and after I lost count, that they hurt, that the burns made it hard to do my chores and to focus on homework, that I got an infection once from one of the wounds. That was the fifty seventh time, if you were curious."

"...the third time I shot you?"

Lois' nails bite into the doorframe. Danny just sounds exasperated. "All that and that's what you gleaned from it? Alright, fine. The third time the house shot me with weapons you and Dad designed, you and Dad programmed, you and Dad installed, and you and Dad armed without telling me."

"Young man, I do not appreciate your tone. We're just trying to protect you from those abominations. I have no idea why the systems always lock onto you, but we're doing our best to figure it out."

Danny laughs, the grating, sharp edge of it making Clark cringe. "You have no idea? Really? No possible idea at all why I could be so ecto contaminated that the weapons can lock onto me? Mom, you make me clean the lab at least once a week and you two never make sure I have proper safety equipment. You and Dad practically live in your HAZMAT suits. Mine hasn't fit since the beginning of freshman year, right before the portal started working. And I know Jazz put it on the list of things you needed to order, but it never did get here did it? And neither did the industrial filters for the HVAC or the extra fridge so you'd stop putting samples in the kitchen. Do you know how many times I've had to shoot my own dinner?"

Lois has one hand clapped over her mouth in horror. Clark slowly opens and closes his fists, wishing anything in the general vicinity was strong enough to take one of his punches without disintegrating. This house is such a nightmare, it's shocking that the other child who lives here hasn't died. Danny's been careful not to mention a sibling outright, but Clark's made an educated guess from some of the anecdotes he's shared. And the pink room clearly belongs to a fellow teen. Though, hell, for all Clark knows, they have died or gotten sufficiently contaminated to get ghost powers.

"Sweetie." Maddie sounds every inch the exasperated parent. Clark can just picture her pinching the bridge of her nose. "Your father and I have made sure you know the rules of the lab perfectly well. We thought you were old enough and responsible enough that you didn't have to be babysat." Forget super strength, Lois looks like she's about to punch something hard enough to atomize it.

"Did you not just hear me-" Danny cuts himself off, voice shutting down into something painfully toneless. "Yes, Mom."

"We'll order you a larger suit and I expect you to wear it while you're in the lab."

"Okay." Danny doesn't sound like he believes her. Clark wonders how many times she's made similar promises.

"For now, we'll have to get back to work on calibrating the defense system, at least once we're done finalizing the Ecto-Incinerator schematics. We'll get it right, sweetie. It might take a few more tries, but you won't have to deal with this forever. And then you won't have to do this dissociating thing any more. Alright?"

"Uh huh. Can I go do my homework now?"

"Of course. I'll be in the lab if you need me."

Her voice is already getting further, walking away, so she probably doesn't hear Danny mutter, "Right, the lab I don't have any safety gear for doing a project I'm going to have to go down there and literally drag you away from to get any attention. Great." He sighs heavily and Clark can hear him run a hand through his hair. "Right, might as well actually get some homework done while I can."

His footsteps hit the stairs as Lois eases the door closed and they both back away. There's no way to seem casual in the teenager's room they've broken into, but Clark sits at the desk to make his height less imposing and Lois chooses to lean nonchalantly by the window.

Danny freezes comically when he opens his door, eyes darting from one to the other. Clark's never felt less like laughing.

"You can leave the door open if it makes you feel better," Lois says softly. "Or tell us to get out and we will, but Danny, I think we need to have a talk."

"Do we?" Danny's hand tightens on the knob. Clark can hear the metal protest. "Because from what I see, you came in here, got my mom all riled up, and bailed."

"I didn't want her to be more defensive with strangers around, but I can understand why that was frustrating-" Clark starts.

Danny snorts and rolls his eyes. "I'm not having this conversation without backup."

Lois holds up her hands placatingly. "Whatever makes you feel more comfortable."

Danny pulls out his phone, then pauses. "Am I telling them that it's a couple of out-of-town reporters or Superman and his... was the wife thing real?"

"It was. Lois Lane, star investigative journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. He's Clark Kent, slightly less good investigative journalist for the same."

"Hey," says Clark mildly. He's not actually offended; he and Lois have been playfully duking for top spot for years now. Turning to Danny, he adds, "I assume these are people who know about your double life?"

"They've been there since the beginning. Accident and everything." Danny's eyes tighten at the corners. It's clearly not a pleasant memory, but most who got their powers by accident didn't have a kind experience.

"Then you might as well tell them. It will make things easier." Danny nods and starts typing.

"You said they were there for the 'accident,'" Lois pipes up. Danny's mouth flattens, but he nods. "Were they close enough that they might be in the contamination range prosecuted by this new law?"

Danny's fingers freeze and he slowly looks up. "Oh, you really don't know, do you?"

The tone sets every one of Clark's instincts on edge, reporter and hero both. He leans forward in his chair. "Know what?"

Hitting send and shoving his phone in his pocket, Danny shakes his head. "Nine percent isn't actually that much when you live in a town with as many fights as Amity Park. At least half the town has enough contamination to qualify. Most of the Casper High students for sure; my rogues like to pick fights while I'm at school."

Clark's jaw drops as he tries to unpack multiple parts of that at once. "I'm sorry, did you just say at least half the population can be detained under this law, most of the teenagers have repeatedly been exposed to a substance that the local experts wear constant HAZMAT suits to avoid touching, and most of your rogues know where you go to school?"

"Oh boy." Danny grins, showing off larger-than-normal canines and a sardonic type of humor that Clark's only seen from the most world-weary heroes. "Welcome to Amity Park. It's a nice place to live, at least if you're already dead."

[liketolaugh-writes]

"We figured out that there was an information blockade a few weeks after the Anti-Ecto Act passed," Danny told them, settling by the park bench where they were supposed to meet Danny's friends. "How'd you get through?"

Danny's other form was interesting, and frankly, a lot less off-putting than Clark had been prepared for. He sat cross-legged in the air, more casual in his defiance of gravity than Clark was, and his glacial white hair drifted slightly, as if he were underwater. He gave off a faint glow, which cast his features into stark relief, with none of the usual shadows. His eyes were a vivid radiation green. The only thing Clark found disconcerting was that he had no heartbeat at all.

Clark felt strongly that the hunters who were so afraid of him needed to get a grip.

He wore an interesting suit, too. Clark could see why Maddie had mistaken it for a superhero costume, except it obviously wasn't - it was a haz-mat, exactly like hers. Apparently it hadn't done him much good even when it fit.

"A lot of persistence and a lot of contacts," Lois said with a rueful smile. "Amity Park disappeared extremely suddenly, and while not a lot of people noticed, some did. One of my old college friends lives in Elmerton, and Elmerton certainly noticed."

"Elmerton's so close that they're lucky it got spared," Danny said dryly. He hesitated for a moment longer, his eyes flicking warily between them, and then asked, "Why did you...?"

Clark gave Danny a gentle smile, noting that while the shocked hostility had faded, Danny was still nervous. "Well, it was obvious that you weren't safe here," he said. "And not in the normal way for heroes. When you mentioned that your species had become illegal, I combed through recent legislation, and..." He trailed off pointedly, and Danny looked away. "I consider you a friend, Danny. I have for a while now. I wanted to help you, if I could."

Danny ducked his head, looking self-conscious and a little overwhelmed. It wasn't a bad change from the defeated look he'd had during Maddie's lecture. Before Danny could figure out an answer, his friends showed up, and he perked up with visible relief. That made sense; Danny seemed like the type of kid that drew a lot of courage from his friends.

"Oh my god, you weren't kidding," the tallest girl said, eyes wide. She was a redhead, with bright teal eyes that had a touch of unnatural luminescence to them. Clark would bet money that this was Danny's sister.

"Of course not, he's Danny," the other girl scoffed, walking forward without hesitation to swing into a seat right next to Danny. There was a hint of a starry-eyed look to her when she looked at Lois, but - the mark of a vigilante's support team - she didn't let it take control. Instead, she crossed her arms and regarded them warily.

The only boy sat across from them, looking almost as nervous as Danny, and the taller girl perched on the table, uneasy and uncomfortable.

They were just kids. Untrained kids, at that, doing their best for the world.

"Jazz, my sister," Danny explained, indicating the redhead. "She helps me deal with my parents, mostly. Sam, my best friend, she's the only good shot here." Sam smirked. "And Tucker, my other best friend, tech whiz." He waved awkwardly.

"It's good to meet you," Clark said politely, giving them a sincere, if tense smile.

"So," Danny continued, with more confidence now, "you wanted to give me a lecture about how my parents are monsters, I shouldn't live with them anymore, and I should pack all my stuff and move out. Am I right?"

Pause.

"Well," Clark said at last, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "That wasn't our intention in coming here, but it was the way I was leaning by the end of that conversation." Danny sighed, and Clark hastened to continue, "I'm sure you've thought about it before-"

"No," Danny cut him off, reaching up to rub his face in obvious stress and frustration. Clark winced in guilt. He was trying to help Danny, not make him more upset.

The only other one who looked sympathetic to Danny's plight was Jazz, who explained to Clark, blushing and apologetic, "Danny's really sensitive about our parents, especially Mom. I know you got a big face-full of the bad lab etiquette and the anti-ghost stuff, but Danny and Mom used to be really close." Something about her tone told Clark that she wanted to defend them too, but knew from experience it was futile.

"As Danny puts it, he's the one that keeps getting shot, and he doesn't need to be reminded how much it hurts," Sam put in, more dry than Jazz, but with the same glance of worry at Danny.

"Of course," Clark sighed, giving Danny an apologetic smile. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Can we talk about literally anything except how much my parents hate me?" Danny pleaded, pushing his hand up his face to run it through his fluffy hair.

Clark took that as a no, and when he glanced down, Sam just gave him a resigned shrug, so clearly this was not new behavior for Danny. Clark resolved to try and approach it again later, much later, when some of the other problems had been solved.

"Practicalities, then," Lois said briskly, bless her. She grabbed her notebook and flipped it open. "So, you said most of the town falls under the Anti-Ecto Act?"

Danny looked relieved by the change in subject. "Most might be a little generous," he hedged. Tucker shook his head fervently, and Danny ignored him. "But yeah. The portal gives off a lot of ambient ectoplasm, which is great for like, me, because it feeds me, and no one else, because it settles into their nervous system." He shrugged. "I never really thought that much of it. At 5%, you maybe start to be able to sense ghosts subconsciously, and you're a bit more resistant to future contamination. At 10%, you can sense ghosts nearby and you might start to see in the dark."

"For the record, he and Jazz were at 20% before the portal even opened," Tucker put in, "at which point shadows cling to you, you develop tapetum lucidum, and your footsteps don't make noise."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you eat it from a young age," Danny muttered. "Anyway, all of which is to say: it didn't really matter until the Anti-Ecto Act passed."

"But now it does," Clark said quietly.

"But now it does," Danny agreed. "Most of the townsfolk don't know it yet, I think, but that's why the GIW is so careless about collateral damage here. You're not a person until they've tested your ecto levels, and they don't usually bother."

"You didn't..." Clark hesitated, reluctant to say anything that might be construed as an accusation against the young ghost. Danny caught on anyway and ducked his head.

"Well," Danny said quietly, "I didn't know what you thought of ghosts."

"Danny," Clark said seriously. "I will make sure you get rights if it's the last thing I do."

[bluebird8683]

Danny shifted uncomfortably and looked away, “sure.”

Clark sighed, “Danny, I know you might not believe me, but I have the wonderful Lois Lane right here with me and as soon as I tell them, the Justice League will stand with us and help us get these laws handled.”

“There is a reason Lois Lane is an award winning journalist,” Jazz adds, her arms crossed as she looks at the two adults. “Helping them out with this would be a good first step to help you with your other concerns.”

Danny stared at her a moment, only nodding in agreement when Tucker nudged him. “Come on, dude! Besides, Whats the worst that could happen?”

“they get put on a hit list by the GIW,” Sam and Danny deadpan at the exact same time.

[nerdpoe]

"Your days of villainy end here," Wonder Woman declares, leveling her sword at Phantom.

She's heard from the locals that, while Phantom favors the form of a young boy, he is far older than even she. There are records going back centuries of his existence.

Phantom, however, looks confused.

"Villain....? Oh! Okay, you want to fight Dan! Yeah, lemme just go call him real quick."

"...Who?" Wonder Woman asks, now sharing the confusion.

But Phantom already has a phone out and is calling someone, promising that it won't be but a moment.

"Hey, so...yeah, I know you don't wanna talk to me but...no but someone wants to fight you...gimme a second to specify and I'll....Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman wants to 1v1 you."

Phantom holds the phone away from his ear as what can only be described as a triumphant war cry almost breaks the speaker.

Then it's just a dial tone.

Phantom smiles at her.

"Okay, he'll be here in like, four-"

"Fight me!" Another ghosts interrupts, landing in front of Phantom.

He's huge; bigger than Superman, with fire-like white hair and excited red eyes.

He looks very, very ecstatic for the opportunity to fight her.

And, well...Diana does love a good fight.

Very well!

She will fight this 'Dan' instead!

[ailithnight]

Danny hangs around to "supervise" because Dan still has trouble remembering to stop some times.

[keepsdrifting]

After the fight, as Dan is panting and laying in a crater, Diana looking down at him as he raises a shaky thumbs up. Danny is also looking down at him from the edge.

"You good down there, buddy?"

"Reminds me of my villain era."

"Dude, fighting any hero would remind you of your villain era. And your villain era doesn't exist anymore, so you can't be saying stuff like that around people who time travel on a semi-regular basis. Time doesn't like it."

"I hate when you use Time's name like that. He's scary."

"He's only scary to you because you spite him all the time. He's just cryptic to me because he keeps trying to teach me stuff."

"Ugggghhhh! Don't remind me! His lessons sucked. And they still suck."

"Dude, you're the one who keeps earning them! Just, take after the part of you that's still me! Chill out."

"'The part of you that's still me,' mye mye myeh."

"Very mature."

[britcision]

Diana, now very confused but definitely still under the impression that Phantom is the mastermind behind all this

(And has a… very… informal relationship with this large and enthusiastic henchghost)

Does her best to hide her own battle damage, levelling her sword at Phantom again

“Now… you. No more will you terrorize the good people of this town!”

Phantom cocks his head and blinks at her, looking mildly confused (and concerned)

“You… still want more? Terrorizing… oh! You mean Dani!”

And out comes the phone again, Diana feeling a rising sense of dread

The conversation goes much the same as the first only instead of a triumphant battle cry, there’s a diabolical cackle coming from the speakers instead

This time when space rips it’s a small girl with long white hair and the exact same feral green eyes as the other two, cracking her knuckles and grinning

Beginning to regret coming without backup, Diana steadies her grip on her sword and prepares to pounce

She of all people knows not to underestimate her opponent based on size

(When she’s done fighting Dani too, Danny declares a break and brings them all out for protein shakes. Diana mildly suspects poison, but who can poison a demi-goddess?

She has her own league-supplemented protein mixes anyway, although a little less boosted than the ones for the Flashes

Dan is In Awe and begs for her seller)

[eternal-watcher]

I love how the phantoms are all Wonder Woman fanboys/girls in this

Also, I think Diana is beginning to catch on that things aren’t exactly as she believed.

But also it’s Danny’s turn to fight her and he seems so excited for it. The entire break his siblings had been teasing him for being last.

(She thinks they are siblings anyway. That would fit with how that interact and she had heard them refer to each other primarily as siblings, but also as cousins and at one point both the older boy and the girl had semi-jokingly called the called the younger boy mom. She was not one to judge tho, she is used to the family trees of the Greek gods after all.)

Anyway as she and the younger boy Phantom prepare to square off she takes in his stance. It’s familiar, the others had used variations of the same stance but it wasn’t until now that she no longer saw them as enemies (and when did that happen?) that it really clicked. They were using an Amazonian fighting stance. At some point these three had learned under one of her sisters. Likely one of her fallen sisters given the ghostly nature of her opponents.

Testing her hypothesis she said “come let’s see what my sister has taught you”

The boy widened his eyes and his stance noticeably improved as he was now aware he was being evaluated. If that wasn’t confirmation she didn’t know what was.

[britcision]

(Okay but Danny stopping and squaring up harder with the threat of “what if she tells Pandora on me” is giving me LIFE)

The only thing I need at the end of Diana and Danny’s fight is her whupping his butt so good (because obviously he’s not bringing out the Wail or god tier ghost powers, the collateral damage is a bitch) that he turns back to human form

And then Diana’s just. Staring. At a very normal looking human boy grinning sheepishly up at her and asking her not to tell Pandora he threw in a spinning kick

1) Pandora? Like.. Pandora Pandora? She has Questions

2) she asks when he learned to imitate a human form

In a move she is now very familiar with, he stares at her in confusion for a moment, then grins

(If he pulls out his phone again she will scream)

“Oh! This is my original form. The ghost one takes a lotta energy, and we had a really good fight, so I gotta rest up”

Diana is. Suspicious. But she does have herself an unaging human form, so she can also commiserate

She compliments him on how well he can imitate modern teens, given how much has changed since he lived. After all, her life would be much harder if she had to constantly keep up with teens instead of adults

Danny once again stares in confusion

Then snickers

“Okay I know we joke about trends going in and out in a week but three years wasn’t that long ago”

3) Diana is going to kick the shit out of whoever compiled the records on Phantom

[ailithnight]

At no point in this has Danny concluded that Wonder Woman doesn't know exactly what she is talking about. He keeps assuming that he's the one who doesn't understand her. It never even seems to occur to him that her information is wrong.

Because that would basically equate to her being wrong.

And Wonder Woman is a strong, competent, adult hero. One of Pandora's kin and a member of the Justice League. Wonder Woman wouldn't believe lies or make bad assumptions.

Surely Wonder Woman couldn't be wrong about something.

No, Danny must be misunderstanding her. That's all. He just needs to shift his perspective around until he figures it out.

[wisecloudnightmare]

[merchantziro]

Eventually when all is said and done, the tallest of the trio of ghosts smirked at the boy she originally challenged, and puts a hand on his other arm's muscle.

"Hey squirt, can you do me a favor and grab some Ecto Injecto? Kinda overdid it a bit."

The second eldest, a ghost she had just learned was apparently 3 years old, looked confused for a moment but nodded happily.

"Ah sure Dan, could kinda use the juice as well after that fight."

He began flying off with the younger female, Wonder Woman looked up at them confused before looking back at the eldest spook, Dan.

Diana immediately noticed the smirk at his two siblings that slowly faded into a frown, until suddenly a shadow seemed to cover his icy blue face as he turned to look at her more directly.

Only the red glow of his eyes pierced through that darkness as they glared at her directly, his arms crossed as he looked casual but ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The Amazonian seemed to recognize the hostility and went on guard, only to earn a sigh in return.

"...I know what you came here for, be thankful that HE doesn't." Dan said almost too calmly.

Diana looked back to where the two younger ghosts flew off, recognizing who the older brother was talking about.

"My apologies, there seemed to be a lot the Justice League wasn't told... As well as inaccurate data regarding his age."

Dan chuckled with a menacing grin, "Yeah... Time Travel shenanigans will do that. I should know after all... Considering I AM HIM after all."

Diana seemed to have the gears turning, "Then you and him are... But why are you...?"

The ghost's smirk fell in response as he looked away, his face a bit more visible as Wonder Woman could see a hint of regret and pain... Bad memories.

"Let's just say he and I walked VERY different paths... And mine wasn't exactly the most happy one. Not when I burned my Earth down due to anger born of grief and loss."

The Amazonian seemed surprised by the response before frowning as she looked away, unable to look the ghost in the eyes.

"I see... Did the Justice League...?"

Dan looked over a bit before looking back away as his grip on his shoulders tightened with a sigh.

"Many didn't even stand a chance... They were ill prepared when I struck hard and fast. You probably came the closest if we're being honest, if only because I won because I powered through with sheer rage from a comment."

Wonder Woman looked back. "I... I see... What type of-"

"You, along with the rest of the world, called me a villain. You blamed me for the death of my bio family, my friends, and... Well my teacher. The people I lost and started it all for." The ghost cut her off, a small tear crept down his eye. A clear look of regret and resignation on his face.

...

Diana rubbed her arm uncomfortably, "I..." Only for Dan to raise a hand.

"Save it, I don't hold it against you. Nor would it mean anything if you did apologize for her actions as you are not the Wonder Woman I fought then. She's been long gone at this point, along with everyone else from my Timeline..." Dan looked back.

Suddenly his eyes widened a bit as red flaming smoke came from his nostrils he looked over and saw his siblings in the distance. "Look... Do me a favor, don't tell him alright? He doesn't need to know your real intentions for coming. After all..."

Dan looked back at her with that same dark look in his eye as he glared at her under the shadows, his tone now certainly more threatening.

"...It would certainly almost break Danny's Core if he found out the very heroes he looked up to had been contracted to bring him in by the GIW.

The same GIW who is trying to hunt our kind down just to rip us up molecule by molecule because legally they say we're not sentient nor do we feel pain and the Metahumans Protection Acts don't apply to us.

The same GIW who have consistently proven to be a bigger hazard to the people's safety than the damn ghosts running around causing trouble, even attacking an innocent high school student just on the assumption he MIGHT have been Phantom.

The same GIW who have attempted to nuke an entire dimension and almost accidentally destroy not just our universe, but potentially every universe in existence in the process."

Diana felt her blood freeze in response, like a deer caught in headlights. The ghost got a little closer to her face as he snarled.

"So... Next time you or any member of your little gagglefuck of Superfriends comes here, it better be for much friendlier terms with Danny. Because that kid..." He pointed towards the two approaching "...has gone through so much in 3 years without any guidance on how to be a hero while living with ghost hunting parents actively hunting his alter ego. Especially since he and I both don't want him to become me. Understood?"

Diana quickly nodded before Dan relaxed and smirked again when the second eldest, Danny, finally returned as he tossed something to Dan a needle containing a green liquid. Dani meanwhile landed off to the side with a grin at Diana.

Dan injected the Ecto Injecto into himself as he flinched for a moment before taking a sigh of relief, "Thanks. Really needed that."

"No problem, what were you two talking about anyway?" Danny asked tilting his head innocently.

Wonder Woman didn't really know what to say, only for Dan to speak instead, lying so casually without skipping a beat.

"Oh I was asking her why she was here and apparently she came here and accidentally mistook you for Vlad. Though she was also meaning to evaluate your skills as a potential recruit for the Justice League or one of its teen subsidiaries. Right Miss Diana?"

The Amazon could only gulp at his silent glare before faking a smirk and nodding, "In-Indeed. I would be sure to put in a good word for you when I return to base and talk to the others, Young Phantom. I apologize for the misunderstanding."

"Ah don't worry about Vlad, he's currently on his own redemption thing and we're working things out. But it was certainly nice to fight you... I'm sure Lady Pandora would love to hear about it too." Danny smirked before and icy mist left his mouth as he looked over. "Welp, duty calls. Bye!"

Danny flew off as Dani chased after him, "Hey no fair, it's my turn to fight!"

Dan smirked, "Oh and... One more thing."

Diana noticed a toothy grin, "I look forward to the rematch."

He flew off after the two.

Meanwhile Diana simply looked down at the ground, needing to process a lot at once from just one conversation alone.

"I think... I think I finally understand why Constantine is always drinking..."

[multiversal-pudding]

Concept A: Phantom/the local ghosts being seen as cryptids to people outside of Amity Park, potentially to the point where there’s Bigfoot style merch around them for tourists-

Concept B: Danny and co visiting a cryptid museum in another state/outside of Amity and stumbling on an exhibit/display dedicated to “The Amity Park Phantom” set up right in between the Fresno Nightcrawler and Mothman

[eternal-watcher]

I don’t know how but I want the Secret Saturdays involved somehow

[alkallier]

Prompt idea - DCxDP

Where Danny is a vtuber with a Ghost/medium type of theme; He often talks about his ghost friend in his streams, but everyone who watches thought he was just doing an RP and assume he was really into the role play.

Someone from the DC (most likely one of the younger heroes from YJ) stumbles upon him and Phantom becomes their comfort streamer. They enjoy the occasional lore drops and what not. How Phantom gets oddly emotional if there are young/tragic ghost involve in horror games instead of being scared. Like he somehow understands them, but that can’t be the case… right?

Until one day they realize that maybe he wasn’t just doing an RP, and there was more to their favorite streamer than meets the eye.

[Illust] <- edit : The design

[Debut]

[mudwerks]

AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified

Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.

AI industry groups are urging an appeals court to block what they say is the largest copyright class action ever certified. They’ve warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic’s AI training now threatens to “financially ruin” the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement.

well…darn

[flippyspoon]

like to charge reblog to cast financial ruin of the AI industry 🔮

[novella-november]

originally posted August 8th, 2025.

Authors have until March 30th, 2026 (That is just 9 days as of this reblog, which I am posting on March 21st, 2026) to file their claim against Anthropic to be reimbursed up to $3,000 per work found in the list.

What Authors Need to Know About the $1.5 Billion Anthropic Settlement

Updated February 18, 2026 IMPORTANT: The Claims Deadline Is March 30 Background  Bartz v. Anthropic is one of the major copyright lawsuits b

Please click the above link for all of the exact details of how to file a claim and to check for your works, and share this post as far and wide as you can before March 30th, 2026!

[shi1498912]

!!!SIGNAL BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST!!!

[mudwerks]

AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified

Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.

AI industry groups are urging an appeals court to block what they say is the largest copyright class action ever certified. They’ve warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic’s AI training now threatens to “financially ruin” the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement.

well…darn

[flippyspoon]

like to charge reblog to cast financial ruin of the AI industry 🔮

[novella-november]

originally posted August 8th, 2025.

Authors have until March 30th, 2026 (That is just 9 days as of this reblog, which I am posting on March 21st, 2026) to file their claim against Anthropic to be reimbursed up to $3,000 per work found in the list.

What Authors Need to Know About the $1.5 Billion Anthropic Settlement

Updated February 18, 2026 IMPORTANT: The Claims Deadline Is March 30 Background  Bartz v. Anthropic is one of the major copyright lawsuits b

Please click the above link for all of the exact details of how to file a claim and to check for your works, and share this post as far and wide as you can before March 30th, 2026!

[shi1498912]

!!!SIGNAL BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST!!!

[eternal-watcher]

DPxDC prompt

Constantine hears a knock on the door of the house of mystery. This is already strange, but made even stranger by the fact that the house isn’t supposed to be in the material plane at the moment.

He cautiously opens the door, expecting some demon, god, or some other dangerous entity, but he instead finds what appears to be a scrawny human teenager begging for help.

Of course appearances can be deceiving so he keeps his guard up, but still he decides to hear the kid out. It’s almost certainly a trick, but on the slim chance this is real he couldn’t just turn the kid away.

Anyway the kid seems to want help getting out of some magical contract or obligation? Something about trial by combat and… “BLOODY HELL Kid is that the ring of Rage?!”

Basically, Danny does not want to become the ghost king, he doesn’t want to lead or deal with any royal pagentry. And after hearing about John, he figures that if there was anyone who could help it would probably be John Constantine. And even if he can’t the Hellblazer is at least a good place to start. (And the Observants absolutely despise the man, which in Danny’s eyes is a glowing recommendation)

[jedigreenlantern]

"I'll do it mate! Here, let me punch you once and you concede, then you're out. Na! Don't worry, I have a plan... and a plan B."

[nerdy-kitsune]

Hours later both of them covered in sweat.

Constantine: “Ok we’ve tried fisticuffs, fencing, magic duels, we’ve tried adding a witness and a formal declaration” Constantine sighs “Damn realms Magic might only count if we’re actually taking this seriously and I’m not comfortable going all out on a kid” ‘At least when there might be another option’ he adds silently. Constantine has done many things in his life that he isn’t proud of and in his line of work he will almost certainly commit many more. That doesn’t mean he’s gonna seek out those opportunities.

“But-“ Danny starts, but John cuts him off.

“Yeah I know you can take a beating, you would have to in order to claim that thing” he gestures at the ring sitting seemingly innocently on a side table. “But if the ring wants us to mean it then we would have to really mean it. And I don’t know enough about your physiology to know how my more dangerous spells would affect you. I don’t exactly have much experience with Schrodinger’s teenagers.”

Danny again tries to speak up but John continues.

“It’s also possible I might not even be eligible for the title. I’ve cheated death plenty but I’m not technically undead, and even if I was my soul is more likely bound for hell rather than the realms. Different afterlive different rules”

“So that’s it!” Danny says angry

“Hey I said I would help and I will” John says placating the ghost “Truthfully what we’ve been doing so far has been more about me getting a read on the situation rather than finding a solution. Needed to get an idea of the magic” ‘and entities’ “involved before I do anything serious” he pulls out a cigarette “not quite sure what our next step is, but I think I have a few ideas of what to look into.”

[augundy]

John wracked his brain for people he knew who were undead, who would fight the kid or could be tricked into fighting the kid and meaning it, but also who wouldn't be likely to actually kill or even end him.

Deadman wouldn't do it, and even if he would, he'd lose. Grundy? No, no... Batman's crime kid?

. . .

Oh no, it might have to be him.

He'd be okay as a leader, at least. Probably. Better than most. He was already a leader of sorts; he had experience, he had ruthlessness. He wouldn't become some puppet king for who-knows-what.

Didn't mean he'd willingly become King of the Dead, but... Best cross that bridge later.

First, how to trick him into fighting this scrawny teenager...

[the-magi-kwand]

Funny thoughts, but what if they keep trying to hoist the responsibility off onto other people. Only for them to also not want it.

In the end of the solution is something Constantine would’ve never thought of. They need to abolish the monarchy…. The reason he would’ve never thought of it is because he’s British.

[eternal-watcher]

I will admit that abolishing the monarchy or finding some loophole was more along what I had in mind when I made the prompt. But passing the title around like a hot potato sounds hilarious.

WAIT it’s like the tag game from KND where whoever is IT needs to be the leader!

[moss-covered-thoughts]

Abolish the monarchy/ hot potatoing the crown of the dead is HILARIOUS

I also love the part on the Observants hating Constantine. Like bro. Constantine should hate them too. Imagine him just ranting about "damn time keepers lettin a kid take the throne" and just immediately taking em under his wing ahahaha

[spacedace]

dc x dp prompt thing:

Elle popped a handful of skittles in her mouth as she watched the shit show that Billy had just walked into. Everyone was yelling - at him - about Elle and about him knowing she was just a child and shouting about how could you lie about something like this? and on and on. All he had heard was that she’d been attacked and was in the Watchtower. When he’d seen she was a bit bruised and battered but no where near as bad as he’d been afraid of, he had been so relieved he hadn’t even stopped to think about the fact that she was in human form.

“Dude, there’s literally never going to be a funnier time to tell them.” She advised, grinning as she poured more skittles into her hand. “It’s not like it can get any worse.”

And well.

She wasn’t wrong.

With Justice League members shouting around him and gods shouting from within him, the calm, delighted amusement of his friend was the only touch stone Billy had.

A shout of Shazam and flash of lightning later and the yelling cut off all at once.

“Oh god, there’s two of them.”

-

“Where are you’re parents?” Superman asked with the bone deep horror of a father looking at two unsupervised teenagers caught doing something extremely dangerous.

Elle blinked at him. Shared a look with Billy. Shrugged.

“I never had any.”

“I did, but they’ve been dead for awhile now.”

Green Lantern pinched the bridge of his nose. Flash looked like he was sucking on a lemon. Superman turned and for some reason gave Batman a warning look.

"Don't."

"Hn."

[hdgnj]

Batman: Do you even have homes???

Ellie: Oh! We live in Phatom's lair!

Batman: Phantom knows?

Ellie: He's my template! If course he knows! Plus he's like 18 now? Nearly? That counts as a guardian right?

Billy: Jazz is 20! She definitely counts! She lives with us too! And Tucker and Sam!

Ellie: Val only stays sometimes.

Superman: The oldest person in your place is 20?!?

Billy: Hey! It's better than living in the streets like we were ok!

Ellie: Yeah! Phantom spent ages learning how to make portals so we could get to his lair and have a home!

Batman: And when was this?

Ellie: Uh, 6 months before I joined? Or there abouts?

Batman: Get Phantom here now!

Billy: Wait? Is Phantom in trouble now too?

Batman: Is he 18 yet?

Ellie: .... Not quite?

Batman: As much trouble as you two then!

[moodycow210]

Danny *to Elle and Billy*: you couldn’t have managed to keep this under wraps for idk another week?

[hdgnj]

Superman is in the corner doing breathing exercises. Wonder Woman is just gparing out of the window. Flash is switching wildly between feeding the children and berating them. Batman? Is glaring down at Phantom. Who just shrugs in a manner that says "and?" .

Batman: Why are you all living alone. Without any adults?

Phantom: Correction! We love in my lair. The Kings Keep! It has many many beings that are older than any being currently living in Earth! We have adults! Just not living human ones.

Batman: And why do you live there?

Phantom: Cause my parents hate ghosts? So me n Ellie can hardly live with them? Jazz is strongly liminal, so she can't live with them. And Billy was on the streets so we adopted him!

Superman: Why did none of you tell us??

Phantom: Why would we?

Flash: What do you mean Why would we?????? Why would you not?!?!?

Phantom:... Cause we didn't need help. So we didn't bother to ask for any? I'm confused. Why are you being weird? Is this a living thing?

Batman: You need a legal guardian!

Pahntom: Clockwork! He is time! He can do it! Good job done. Problem sorted! Can I take my siblings home now?

Wonder Woman: Clockwork? Please tell me he isn't my Grandfather?

Phantom: Ok! I won't tell you!

Ellie: Somehow.. They seem even more annoyed now?

Billy: Yeah... Big bro! Take us home while they are distracted by Clocky and his possibly Kronos reveal!

[eternal-watcher]

I love the idea that Danny is only about a week away from turning 18 and is now desperately (and futilely) trying to avoid Batman until then. Billy and Dani are no help, if they have to go through this then so does he!

[hdgnj]

He just keeps opening portals and yanking them back to the lair. If the are in a different realm! Batman can't follow them!

Batman? Is going to have words. Even if he has to wait until Phantom turns 18 to pin the half ghost down. Oh yes.

[lolottes]

the whole castle was finishing preparing for little you's birthday when the door opens on Batman

Danny: I'm 18 tomorrow! and tomorrow is in less than an hour!

[hdgnj]

Pandora is stood next to him with Billy and Ellie held in her arms. Danny of course goes aha!

Danny: This is Lady Pandora! She is one of our mentors! And guardians!

Pandora: Young Phantom speaks true. He has been my pupil since we met. And then he brought me two new students!

[gothfoxx]

I love the Batman has an adoption problem but given that Wonder Woman could potentially have familial claim via grandpa Clockwork I’d like to see Bruce and Diana working together to p̶a̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ catch these kids.

[hdgnj]

They can try. But not one of them will give in. Between all their ghost guardians, Jazz being 20, and Danny just 18? They have a whole bevy of adults! They don't need Batman! They are allowed to be ain't and uncle. But parents? Nope! Never again! Deal with it!

[hdgnj]

Batman: How are you paying for everything? Surely you need financial help!

Danny: Dude. I'm the Ghost King! I inherited Pariah's treasury. We just take out something worth lots and auction it off. We have plenty cash!

Billy: We make sure it's not magical or ghostly or cursed first!

Ellie: Yup! Pariah was always taking over dimensions and shit. Plus all the cultists. So we have a VERY full treasury. Plus cultists still give offerings.

Danny: I made it very very clear that sacrifices were no longer acceptable. So they resorted to money and expensive things.

[akemi2003]

Fic prompt #72

Dpxdc

For Danny Fenton (aka Danny Phantom), the problem was never having powers.

The problem was paperwork. and government agencies. and his parents.

So naturally he coped the only way a feral teenage ghost hero could: by committing identity fraud. repeatedly.

—-

Danny Fenton – The son of eccentric ghost-hunting scientists, publicly perceived as an average teenager, privately navigating the consequences of his parents’ experiments.

Danny Phantom – The town’s resident superhero, a half-ghost meta-human who protects the city from ectoplasmic threats.

Dennis Nightale – A fabricated civilian identity used to anonymously report criminal and paranormal activity to law enforcement without exposing his true nature.

Dr. Den Vale – A constructed academic persona presented as a parapsychology researcher who publicly challenges and debunks his parents’ more extreme ghost-theory claims, serving as intellectual damage control.

Devin Fonton – An occult and interdimensional specialist occasionally consulted by the Justice League for cases involving spectral anomalies and liminal-realm breaches.

Darian Voss – A private paranormal security consultant who operates internationally, investigating hauntings and containing ecto-biological threats under corporate contract.

Denton Raye – A media-facing paranormal analyst and podcast guest persona used to influence public perception about ghost phenomena while subtly steering narratives away from his own activities.

Derrin Holloway – A low-profile archival researcher embedded within historical societies, specializing in ancient spectral lore and forgotten interdimensional incidents.

[eternal-watcher]

Dang there is a very specific potential DPxDC story I’m thinking of, but it’s based around a very specific DC storyline that I’m not sure how well known it is.

Scuffed summary:

There was a point in somewhat recent DC lore where there were two Clark Kents and Lois Lanes living on earth. Two of them were from the (at the time) current canon (I think it was new 52 but can’t remember off the top of my head) and the other two were from the previous canon.

To put it more plainly Clark and Lois survived one of DCs reboots and found themselves in the new DC universe. They had realized that the world had reset and decided to lay low going under the Aliases Clark and Lois White. Lois wrote a few best sellers to support them and Clark occasionally helped out his counterpart from the shadows. Eventually they had a kid, Jon (yes that Jon).

Anyway things happen and the Superman from the current reality dies and this Clark becomes Superman again. And then to tie this confusing mess together there was some reality altering event involving Mr. Mxyzptlk and two Clarks and Lois’s merge.

That is a very scuffed summary of what happened and I highly recommend you fact check me cause I was going off memory.

Anyway, here’s the actual story idea:

Lois and Clark White are still living under the radar. They want to go on a date night and need a babysitter for their 10 year old son Jon. The problem is that while Jon has been a perfectly “human” kid so far his kryptonian genetics could kick in at any moment. This could both be potentially dangerous and would almost certainly reveal their identity. They need someone who they can trust, can be discreet, and who could survive a young kryptonian.

When Clark sees Ghost vigilante Phantom pass out and become human he sees the perfect candidate. With the added bonus of giving the young hero some much needed support.

Anyway, I probably won’t write it but it’s been bouncing around my head for a while

[nerdpoe]

Jor-El may have been labeled a heretic for saying the world was going to end, but that didn't mean everyone believed that label.

There were others.

There was, actually, a whole group of people.

Those selfsame group of people spied on Jor-El long enough to know his hair-brained scheme to save his son.

They didn't have access to the same kind of tech Jor-El did, but they could still hobble together...something. Something similar.

Instead of just Inter-Stellar pods specifically designed to take care of a baby, they would have to go for Cryo-pods; their pods would be slower, and they didn't have a lot of material to work with, so the baby would need to stay baby sized.

Other than that, they managed to spy on Jor-El long enough to figure out where, exactly, he was sending his boy.

The programmed the pods to stick together, and released them almost too late.

They'd been right, those pods had been slower.

Hundreds of pods, carrying babies, landed outside of Amity Park. Some were further than others, but all of the babies survived.

The US military, faced with a bunch of babies and realizing they were aliens of some kind, decided to...make sure. That they knew how to handle this particular type of alien.

They got normal people to agree to adopt the babies with far more incentives than normal. The ones they couldn't adopt out, they used soldiers posing as civilians to adopt.

The kids started displaying powers of flight? The military worked to figure out how to mute that power.

Laser eyes? Same.

Over and over, Amity Park became a testing ground to research various ways on how to contain aliens.

By the time Superman made his appearance, the kids were six and the Military already had a pretty good idea of how to subdue him.

But.

Superman was beloved.

They couldn't strike him down, it would be a PR nightmare!

So they just. Kept going on.

Kept monitoring the small Kryptonians, taking notes, and giving out new "vaccines" when powers started to manifest.

Then a pair of entirely human mad scientists managed to tear a hole in reality, and bit by bit, those serums they'd been giving all those Kryptonian children were starting to wear out.

They could not risk any of them bringing this operation to Superman's attention.

The teens would need to be detained if they showed any signs of their Kryptonian given powers. But they couldn't just...arrest the entire populace; there was still plenty of data to mine!

So they rebranded.

Called themselves the GIW.

Started looking for any, any signs at all, of those teenagers displaying Kryptonian-like powers.

~~~~~~

A few states over, a retired soldier full of guilt sits down in front of Lois Lane and her husband.

"...There's a city being used to house a bunch of Kryptonian child refugees, and they're being drugged and experimented on constantly. They have no idea about any of it."

Or; Kal wasn't the only baby shot to earth in a pod. Other concerned parents did the same thing, after forming a secret group that kept their mouths shut around authorities. Their pods were slower and Cryo based, but would be going to the same planet as Kal. Those pods were Danny, Sam, Tucker, and also their entire grade in Amity Park. Being turned half-ghost burned the experimental meds out of Danny and altered his powers to be, quite frankly, insane even by Kryptonian standards. On a much slower pace, those same meds are being burned out of everyone in his age group in town.

[spekulatiusmuffin]

... Does Wes know? Local conspiracy theorist believes himself to be an alien?

[bianca-hooks123]

I think it’s funnier if he DOESNT know. Like, I want Wes to be fully blindsided by this.

[eternal-watcher]

OK, a few things

1. Clark developed his powers overtime so if the kids are six around the time he starts to become active then the government probably only knows how to deal with one or two powers at most. They might not even realize that Superman and the alien kids are the same species for quite awhile. (And of course by the time they figure it out they definitely don’t wanna tell Superman. Who knows what he would do.)

And second, what if Danny was one of the only human kids in town? (At least until he becomes a halfa) It’s also why the GIW don’t realize he’s Phantom. He’s one of the only teens they don’t have under surveillance.

And finally #3 Wes not knowing is amazing. Him trying to expose Danny as nonhuman when he isn’t even human is funny in a dark way. Additionally what if the ‘vaccines’ start wearing off on Wes first. Leading to confusion when someone sees him displaying superhuman strength or maybe even hovering.

[eternal-watcher]

OK was thinking about it more and couldn’t get this idea out of my mind.

The government legitimately has no idea how the Fentons got here. They set up the Amity park experiment to observe the alien kids having carefully screened every single resident, not just the ones adopting. Everything was going smoothly… and then suddenly the Fenton family moves in.

The government isn’t even entirely sure how it happened. There was some oversight and a property listing accidentally went for sale outside of their approved channels. The Fentons bought it and instantly their chaos was introduced into the quiet town of Amity. While the Fentons aren’t the only non involved family in the town, it’s nice to have a control group, their eccentricities posed a direct threat to the experiment. Initially, they tried to subtly remove them. Every single attempt was a resounding failure mainly due to Jack’s obliviousness (same way, they don’t realize Vlads mercenaries attempts at Jack).

They were about to resort to more drastic measures before they realize just exactly what they are dealing with. The Fentons were true honest to goodness MAD scientists. At that point the government feared that disrupting them could create super villains and quite frankly, they were scared about what would happen if the Fentons went rogue. At least in Amity they are contained.

[fanfic-prompts-from-the-depths]

DP x DC Prompt - Civic Duty

Nightwing is pestering Red Hood on a roof one night. It's been slow and Dick hasn't had a chance to spend any sort of leisure time with his brother in uniform for a while. Jason is bearing with it, but slowly losing his patience.

Suddenly, there's a tear in the space only a few feet away from them, and then there's a glowing portal of swirling green that makes Jason freeze. When something steps through, Nightwing and Red Hood both have weapons aimed at the arrival. It's someone in a suit of armor, only the armor is impossibly black with green seeping from the edges, and the being is floating a few inches off the ground.

They pull a scroll wrapped in twine out of… somewhere and hand it towards Red Hood. Then, they began to speak in a tilting, echoing voice.

“Jason Peter Todd of Earth, by order of the Infinite Court, you are hereby summoned to appear before the High King for the purpose of serving his majesty and witnessing the trial of an accused. You will appear at the gates of Pariah Castle in ten Earth days time. Failure to appear will result in an arrest, seizure of one's haunt and/or lair, and incarceration. If you are unable to enter the Infinite Realms, a liaison will be assigned to escort you. Reply to your summoning in a timely manner.”

Jason stared at the being, not sure what to make of the little script they had just recited. Slowly, the gun still trained between the beings eyes, he took the scroll. The knight gave a nod before doing an about face and floating back into the tear. There was a strange wobbling, hissing sound as the tear slowly closed back up, almost like a zipper being pulled closed.

Jason ignored Dick's initial “What the hell?” in favor of picking the twine loose and unfurling what he could now see was parchment. He read the contents over. Then again. Then a third and fourth time.

“What is it? What the hell was that thing talking about?” Dick questioned, stepping closer to try and get a look at the written missive. Jason was quiet for a moment, just staring at it, before slowly looking over to his brother.

“I think I just got summoned for fucking ghost jury duty.”

[fandomwandererer]

Crucially, this shouldn't be for the joker. Oh maybe he'll have his day in court but going to the court only for it to be someone you have to excuse yourself from being the jury on is a lil boring. So let's make it I dunno. The zombie flash. Close enough that Jason is aware of them, but not so personal as to need him to step away from being in the jury