Why? Pick your poison, but Dani ends up having to take care of her "older" brother... while homeless... and traveling... and surviving by stealing food.
That's when another hero finds a twelve-year-old trying to figure out how to change a super-powered baby boy's diaper in a dark alley, and comes to some obvious (and some not-so-obvious) conclusions.
Casper High started replacing "God" with "Phantom". It started because a teacher started screeching at them for "Taking the Lord's name in Vain" whenever they would say "Oh My God" or "Goddammit" or something similar, so instead they would say "Phantomdammit" or "Oh My Phantom". It kinda started as a joke, but as time went on it became second nature.
Heres the thing though: a lot of Spiritual Entities get their power through belief. By invoking Phantom's name in a way thats synonymous with a God's, Casper High inadvertently turned Phantom into a God/God like being.
So yeah, Danny is a God now, he low key hates it, and he blames Dash. Mostly out of spite.
Danny goes to Gotham for some reason (grad school, running away from GIW, whatever) and Sam decided to play a prank on Danny, she completely replaced his wardrobe with goth clothing. Full of ruffled shirts with loose sleeves, lots of black, fun silver jewelry, the whole shebang. Danny doesn't hate it, and he needs to wear clothes, so he's walking around Gotham looking like a fabulous corpse, drinking his blood red ecto-smoothie.
But here's the thing: he's still occasionally running around Gotham as Phantom too. Maybe he can't stop himself from stepping in when someone's in trouble right in front of him. Maybe he wants to get above the layer of smog and view the stars. Maybe he just didn't feel like walking.
So the various Batlings see what looks like a vampire running around, and then also start occasionally spotting a ghost that has the exact same face. Do... do vampires leave ghosts behind? Are all vampires actually some sort of evil supernatural creature that takes over corpses and their souls are left homeless?
"#reveal gone bad (fentons declared danny dead so now the bats know “when danny became a vampire”)#reveal gone good (more lighthearted. danny just went to gotham for school. and maybe to avoid his parents embarrassing him)"
Secret 3rd option: both. Fentons declared Danny dead because they unfortunately found him taking a really long nap/hibernating/communing with Nocturn or something (and not breathing or heartbeating while doing so). But then after Danny woke up, it went okay!
Except also the Fentons forgot to declare him alive again. Or rather than forgetting outright, maybe they think Danny is deader than he is (and they support their ghost son 100%! and try to help him haunt things/people/places, be spooky, protect the town, try learn more about other ghosts so he can assimilate into afterlife society, etc). And/or they just don't understand the problems being dead-on-paper is causing for Danny. Hearts in the right place, but not actually understanding the situation and so sometimes either not helping or making it worse.
I need a reality where Jazz is forced to confront a version of herself that turned evil and destroyed the world in a prolonged fit of rage and grief.
Imagine it's a regular day in the Fenton household when Clockwork appears, and instead of bothering Danny or Dante, like usual, he turns to Jazz and explains that he needs her to prevent her evil future self from destroying all reality and continuity.
Danny isn't allowed to go with her, so she's alone in a desolate and deserted world with destruction as far as the eye can see and no hint of civilization, even if she were to walk for miles or cross the oceans.
Eventually, she finds her evil future self. And the evil self is still 'Jazz' enough to realize what's happening, especially after Danny introduced Dante and Dani to the family and came out as half-ghost to their parents.
Jazz is more liminal than anything else, but apparently, sometime 'soon' she has a near-death experience that results in a full death experience for her parents and new baby sister. The GIW are involved, and by the time she finds her brothers, it's too late to save them. She goes ballistic. The only thing holding her together had been the hope that she could save her brothers, maybe with excessive amounts of trauma, but they would still, hopefully, only be half-ghosts.
The general populace, of course, doesn't see a young girl lashing out in a fit of grief and righteous fury; they see a terrorist killing non-descript government agents just trying to do their job, and they're refusing to listen when she explains why. That's when she decided this world wasn't worth saving from the GIW and went on a 12-year-long warpath to burn it all down. The ghosts who got in her, intentionally or otherwise, for any reason, met a similar fate. Future Jazz's time with the GIW led to her becoming half-ghost too, though they weren't able to celebrate their scientific breakthrough for too long before the facility became a crater in the earth.
Now she's sobbing into Past/Present Jazz's shoulder about how much she misses her siblings and parents. How she'd be willing to accept any punishment for her crimes against humanity and ghost-kind, if it meant she could see them again.
Clockwork basically throws her into the thermos for a bit before handing her over to the Fentons for rehabilitation. Now Jazz has an 'almost identical twin sister that went to live with their aunt because their parents couldn't afford two kids at the time, and she didn't wanna come live with us when we could, but now she does for college.'
Jazz has her own Dan, but her formally evil future self has short hair instead of long, or hair that almost reaches the floor, which she always keeps in a big braid. Now all she needs is a clone of herself that is visibly younger, so she can claim they're triplets, like the Dannies are doing.
YET ANOTHER PVZXDP Crossover Idea! Featuring DeadPlants.
If you know the story of DeadPlants, then you can skip this part. But if ya don't, quick summary! DeadPlants.mp4 on YouTube tells the classic creepypasta story of a guy finding a free PVZ Game, only to find out later that it was haunted.
But unlike others where the monster attacks you - instead, the ghost haunting the game is a Mother who passed away and began haunting her daughter's favorite video game, PVZ. In the hopes her Darling will find the game, and they can have one last conversation before she moves on.
She sadly mistakes you - the watcher - as her daughter. She doesn't know, nor do you have the heart to tell them as she disappears from the haunted game. So then, I had this thought.
What if the Mother came back as a Ghost in the Infinite Realms? What if she had the appearance of the usual white-peashooter? What if she wanted to see her daughter one last time?
She woke up years later as a Ghost in the Infinite, and while she didn't initially have a form - the last memories of her daughter before her unexpected passing was playing with her favorite game, PVZ. So she took the form of a Peashooter ... well, with her form as the white-colored peashooter - and MUCH larger.
She was in the Infinite Realms, growing accostomed to the place, but she misses her daughter. She wants to talk to her, one last talk. And then she hears it - long after Pariah Dark has been sealed and Danny is the Ghost King ... and part of the Justice League.
She is that desperate to talk to her daughter one last time - and after appealing to Danny, he brings it up to the next meeting with the JL, bringing her along. When she shows up, everyone is obviously freaked out by the MUCH scarier appearance that she has, but calm down once they hear about her plight.
But once they ask who exactly is she the mother of ... they all stare at Batman.
Because her daughter was Pamela Isley ... Poison Ivy.
So, for whatever reason, the Justice League are fighting Phantom, thinking he's evil or suspicious and trying to bring him to the watchtower or whatever, but of course Phantom isn't cooperating, either not trusting the JL/being bitter they didnt show up to help Amity Park/whatever
UNTIL... One of Clockworks' notes show up, and Phantom pauses to read it, before surrendering to the JL, saying he'll follow them.
Now obviously, the JL are confused and suspicious, but eventually come to the (wrong) conclusion that Phantom is just a lackey or something, and that the person who wrote the note is the real mastermind manipulating this poor innocent super-powered teenager.
Danny finds this all either hilarious, or stupid. Probably both.
Phantom swiftly avoids yet another attempt from Wonder Woman to get him in her lasso. He doesn't think it would work on ghosts, but he's not willing to try his luck here. He low-key would like to send all of them flying. They hadn't been around for any of the crazy shit that has gone down in the last year, and now that they finally show up they want to take him in?
He knew he should have let Technus destroy all the digital news declaring him a public enemy. It must be why the absent heroes decided to come and take him down. If only the ghost wasn’t also trying to take over the school news site just when Sam was publishing her own article on plant-based meal alternatives, he would have.
“Son, I suggest you surrender yourself before we are obligated to escalate things,” Superman says.
“You're not obligated to do anything, you asshole!" Phantom screeches, sending a wall of ectoplasm their way to force them to take a step back.
A batarang makes its way around the wall, damn its boomerang properties, but Phantom simply turns intangible and glares at Batman, who only narrows his eyes in return. The dull object eventually passes through Phantom and back into its owner's hand. This is ridiculous.
Phantom was halfway to opening his mouth to tell the heroes to leave him alone again when the note appeared. It somehow managed to stop the heroes in their tracks as well. Everyone looked confused at the floating Post-it note. Phantom grabbed the Post-it, mostly annoyed.
“They'll take you to space. Also, destroy this note. :)” Phantom stared for a minute at what was probably the most direct instruction he had ever received from the Ancient.
He groaned. “Whatever.” He crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into his mouth. The piece of paper quickly dissolved into tasteless ectoplasm. He placed his hands over his head and then said, “All right, I'm all yours.” Clocky better be right about the space thing, or he's mauling him.
The heroes looked to one another, unsure. Then Martian Manhunter flew closer to him, taking cuffs from a compartment in his suit that shouldn't have been able to hold them. A bit over a year ago Danny would have been delighted to meet the man, and a part of him was still amazed by the alien, but he felt mostly annoyed right now.
“Please bring your hands to the front, young one,” the Martian said, softer than Phantom thought he would be for someone they perceived as a villain.
He raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn't it be behind my back?” he asked, slowly bringing his hands to the front anyway.
“If you're coming willingly, I see no reason not to offer you the most comfortable option,” Martian Manhunter stated simply as the cuffs clicked shut.
“I believe the most comfortable option would be without cuffs,” Phantom scoffed in return. He probably shouldn't be poking at the leniency he was being shown for some reason, but he still hated the whole situation.
“We can discuss options depending on your behavior,” Batman said before Martian Manhunter could say anything else.
-------
Martian Manhunter glanced at the teen who was glaring daggers at the Javelin's window. They had tried to ask about the note that had appeared out of nowhere, but the teen had simply looked away with pursed lips, refusing to speak a word from the moment they boarded the aircraft.
More often than not, young villains tended to be misdirected or acting out from pain. Powers rarely came without grievances, and even less so those that were visually notable. It didn't justify their actions, but it did mean that a push in the right direction and some support were often enough to help them leave villainy behind. And Martian Manhunter, despite being unable to read Phantom's mind, could feel a great deal of anger and sadness coming from him.
But what had once seemed to be a normal intervention became far more worrying once the note appeared. A teen lashing out on his own is one thing. A teen receiving directions from someone is something entirely different. Powered minors are especially vulnerable to being groomed into a life of villainy.
What's even more worrying is how readily this person not only asked Phantom to give himself up, but how easily the teen agreed. They'll have to consider whether this person holds blackmail over the kid's head, or if the kid is mentally that deep under their control.
It also raises the question of why this person would want Phantom to surrender himself. Are they hiding something bigger and using Phantom as a distraction? Or are they hoping to use Phantom to acquire information about them?
The mode of communication is also deeply troubling. None of them had been able to detect where the note had come from, or that it would appear at all. Even if none of them practiced magic, they had been around it often enough to usually be able to pinpoint it, but there had been nothing there.
Martian Manhunter sighed mentally. He's sure Batman would remain paranoid about this person spying on them, or gaining information through Phantom, until they proved that wasn't the case. He can't even blame him for this one.
So, for whatever reason, the Justice League are fighting Phantom, thinking he's evil or suspicious and trying to bring him to the watchtower or whatever, but of course Phantom isn't cooperating, either not trusting the JL/being bitter they didnt show up to help Amity Park/whatever
UNTIL... One of Clockworks' notes show up, and Phantom pauses to read it, before surrendering to the JL, saying he'll follow them.
Now obviously, the JL are confused and suspicious, but eventually come to the (wrong) conclusion that Phantom is just a lackey or something, and that the person who wrote the note is the real mastermind manipulating this poor innocent super-powered teenager.
Danny finds this all either hilarious, or stupid. Probably both.
Phantom swiftly avoids yet another attempt from Wonder Woman to get him in her lasso. He doesn't think it would work on ghosts, but he's not willing to try his luck here. He low-key would like to send all of them flying. They hadn't been around for any of the crazy shit that has gone down in the last year, and now that they finally show up they want to take him in?
He knew he should have let Technus destroy all the digital news declaring him a public enemy. It must be why the absent heroes decided to come and take him down. If only the ghost wasn’t also trying to take over the school news site just when Sam was publishing her own article on plant-based meal alternatives, he would have.
“Son, I suggest you surrender yourself before we are obligated to escalate things,” Superman says.
“You're not obligated to do anything, you asshole!" Phantom screeches, sending a wall of ectoplasm their way to force them to take a step back.
A batarang makes its way around the wall, damn its boomerang properties, but Phantom simply turns intangible and glares at Batman, who only narrows his eyes in return. The dull object eventually passes through Phantom and back into its owner's hand. This is ridiculous.
Phantom was halfway to opening his mouth to tell the heroes to leave him alone again when the note appeared. It somehow managed to stop the heroes in their tracks as well. Everyone looked confused at the floating Post-it note. Phantom grabbed the Post-it, mostly annoyed.
“They'll take you to space. Also, destroy this note. :)” Phantom stared for a minute at what was probably the most direct instruction he had ever received from the Ancient.
He groaned. “Whatever.” He crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into his mouth. The piece of paper quickly dissolved into tasteless ectoplasm. He placed his hands over his head and then said, “All right, I'm all yours.” Clocky better be right about the space thing, or he's mauling him.
The heroes looked to one another, unsure. Then Martian Manhunter flew closer to him, taking cuffs from a compartment in his suit that shouldn't have been able to hold them. A bit over a year ago Danny would have been delighted to meet the man, and a part of him was still amazed by the alien, but he felt mostly annoyed right now.
“Please bring your hands to the front, young one,” the Martian said, softer than Phantom thought he would be for someone they perceived as a villain.
He raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn't it be behind my back?” he asked, slowly bringing his hands to the front anyway.
“If you're coming willingly, I see no reason not to offer you the most comfortable option,” Martian Manhunter stated simply as the cuffs clicked shut.
“I believe the most comfortable option would be without cuffs,” Phantom scoffed in return. He probably shouldn't be poking at the leniency he was being shown for some reason, but he still hated the whole situation.
“We can discuss options depending on your behavior,” Batman said before Martian Manhunter could say anything else.
-------
Martian Manhunter glanced at the teen who was glaring daggers at the Javelin's window. They had tried to ask about the note that had appeared out of nowhere, but the teen had simply looked away with pursed lips, refusing to speak a word from the moment they boarded the aircraft.
More often than not, young villains tended to be misdirected or acting out from pain. Powers rarely came without grievances, and even less so those that were visually notable. It didn't justify their actions, but it did mean that a push in the right direction and some support were often enough to help them leave villainy behind. And Martian Manhunter, despite being unable to read Phantom's mind, could feel a great deal of anger and sadness coming from him.
But what had once seemed to be a normal intervention became far more worrying once the note appeared. A teen lashing out on his own is one thing. A teen receiving directions from someone is something entirely different. Powered minors are especially vulnerable to being groomed into a life of villainy.
What's even more worrying is how readily this person not only asked Phantom to give himself up, but how easily the teen agreed. They'll have to consider whether this person holds blackmail over the kid's head, or if the kid is mentally that deep under their control.
It also raises the question of why this person would want Phantom to surrender himself. Are they hiding something bigger and using Phantom as a distraction? Or are they hoping to use Phantom to acquire information about them?
The mode of communication is also deeply troubling. None of them had been able to detect where the note had come from, or that it would appear at all. Even if none of them practiced magic, they had been around it often enough to usually be able to pinpoint it, but there had been nothing there.
Martian Manhunter sighed mentally. He's sure Batman would remain paranoid about this person spying on them, or gaining information through Phantom, until they proved that wasn't the case. He can't even blame him for this one.
”Who wrote the note?” Wonder Woman’s lasso was around the teens wrist and the teen just looked up and tilted his head.
“Noneya.”
“…noneya?”
“none ya buisness. “
Danny watch her eyebrow twitch. The lasso as it turned out, only mildly stung him for not telling the truth and honestly? His parent’s guns hurt more. “Hey can you tell your friend to stop trying to get into my mind? It’s kinda annoying.”
Wonder Woman left the interrogation room leaving Danny to his own devices. There were cameras in every corner each pointed at him with a red dot on.
if Clockwork sent another note, Danny doubted he’d be able to read it and then eat it again.
They’d pounce.
Danny hummed the cuff s clearly weren’t designed for a ghost, his obligations for staying here no longer existed, he had seen space, Batman had actually allowed him to stand and stare out one of the large windows for hours, and now he had no reason to stay here.
his eyes glowed green as he went intangible, the cuffs hit the the table with a soft clink. The lights on the camera turn green, and the door slid open as Danny floated up and lazily drifted around in the room. Batman and Superman stood, Martian Manhunter beside them both staring up. Danny smiled flipped them off, and then vanished, fazing through the floor and shooting through space back to earth.
he reached amity in about a minute flat, and went invisible by Nasty Burger, none of the cameras in town were thermal, so Danny should’ve been fine. He went intangible and entered his room, turning human before turning the invisibility off.
Danny grumbled as he stretched and tromped downstairs. Amateurs he smirked as he opened the fridge to find…nothing. Great, ordering out it was. He called Sam up.
“hey, yeah, I’m fine, no, I’m not going to talk about it, whatever I’m ordering out you want anything?”
a heavy pounding came from the door. Danny thought maybe it was police, ever since the JLA had taken down the Anti-Ecto acts, and is mantled the GiW and put his parents behind bars, Danny had been checked on seven ways to Sunday every day.
“Sorry Sam, police are here, gotta go. “ he hung up after another moment and with a sigh went to the door. “ Honestly officers you were….here yesterday.” Danny swallowed. “You’re not the cops.”
Batman stood at the door with Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman beside him.
“no we aren’t “
I do not support JK Rowling, but I was reading a fanfic earlier and one of the characters said that the Black Madness is actually obsession, that they are all more or less obsessed with/about something.
That got me thinking.
What about a Harry Potter and Danny Phantom crossover?
What if, many, many years- maybe even centuries- back, a Black married and reproduced with a halfa (it could even be Danny, if you go the time shenanigans route)?
That Black- let's call them Celaeno- would probably have to have been an only child or that their sibling/s died before having children so that the "Black Madness" spread throughout the entire family.
So, Celaeno met the halfa, they fall in love, maybe marry, and they have children.
The children are roughly a quarter ghost, and maybe it's not super dominant in some of them.
If the halfa sticks around, they could notice that their children are showing signs of Obsessions, and help them figure out how to manage it, which could allow you to add cool lore and Black Family Traditions, such as that being how Occlumency was started, for example.
Or we could say that the halfa left or something before that and their poor management of it caused the "Black Madness" to be so infamous.
The Black family spreads, growing larger. The genetic portion of them that is ghostly is probably very small by this point, but the Blacks are rich in canon-present, and who knows how long they've been rich?
What if they bought properties and make them into Black homes, and their surroundings become ecto-infused by their liminal presence and it becomes a loop of subsisting off of their own ecto that they produced, which very well could make them more mad.
And then, when they die, they become ghosts. Whether it's the type of ghosts we see at Hogwarts or in DP, or some combination, it's up to interpretation- you could even say that Hogwarts only has "tame" ghosts and the DP-style ghosts just exist out there- but if they are DP-style ghosts, that would help infuse the Black properties with more ectoplasm (or make it scarcer?).
This could also lead to an incident of a terrorizing ghost that leads to them having specific burial rites to prevent it from happening again, and you could do several interesting things with this.
Regulus, of course. With the interaction between his liminality, the potion, and the Inferi, he could maybe come back as a full DP-style ghost.
And, the Black family gets very scarce by the end. What if, say, Walburga's funeral got handled by a non-Black, or at least an only-barely-Black-affiliated-person, and the specific Black family burial rites are dismissed in favor of more normal ones?
What if the reason they can't remove her portrait is because she's possessing it?
It could be a 5+1 in 'five times one of the phantom crew had to deal with a Black + one time they managed to do so themselves'?
This could go one of two ways: this is set before the second Wizarding war, either pre-canon or early canon, and… Let's go with Tucker… Shows up in the middle of Sirius being arrested.
He goes "what", because his Obsession is clearly revenge? And the guy he went after is right there, running away? Why aren't you going after him? Plus, the way he's supposedly admitting that he got his friends killed, that is clearly him blaming himself for something that isn't his fault. Are you all idiots?
Option two! Tucker shows up in the department of mysteries, mid-battle, groaning about how he's lost and his baby is malfunctioning, looks up to see Bellatrix, clearly insane.
That is, to outsiders. To him, he sees a starved liminal desperately trying to fulfill her Obsession.
He throws her a thermos full of ectoplasm, and she looks at him in confusion, temporarily knocked out of her rage, and he mimes opening it.
She does so, and then guzzles it down. Once she's had her fill- and everybody had stopped fighting, because Bellatrix Lestrange had done so and was acting weird- she re-caps it and tosses it to Sirius, having been interrupted before she killed him, and, well, they're cousins.
As he repeats her actions curiously, she relaxes and her hair smooths from the frizzy mess it had been in ever since she had joined Voldemort.
Sirius relaxes, too, after having drained the rest of the ectoplasm in the thermos. He looks less gaunt, the ecto having helped him more than anything else had since he broke out of Azkaban.
Everybody just kind of looks around before resuming fighting, though noticeably more playful for the two Blacks.
Tucker makes his way out unnoticed in the chaos, recovering the thermos, from where Sirius had dropped it, on his way out.
Depending on when in the main of HP canon you are, the living Blacks are Sirius, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Andromeda, Nymphadora (Tonks), and Draco, with possible cameos of Walburga and Regulus.
So like, I was vibing - and then an idea struck me. As all things do.
And then I realized, Danny is the King of ALL Ghosts. So now as I sat there with this revelation, I have come to the realization that - why haven't we summoned up to a bunch of other ghosts from other media, for at least either a cameo or a crackfic?
Y'see, I was listening to a beautiful remix of Luigi's Mansion and then seeing the artwork of King Boo, I just thought - when Danny was crowned King of Ghosts, all kinds of Ghosts showed up?
Ghosts do what they want and what they please (good or evil, what does it matter?), but at the end of the day, most of them look after each other. So when news of Danny being captured by GIW happens, I just had the most stupidest thought.
King Boo, despite being all evil and jazz, kinda appreciates Phantom. So finding out he was captured, set him off - because damnit, he knows what it's like to be captured and trapped in shit for YEARS.
Que King Boo, Master of Illusions, Slayer of the Infinite, and the guy who managed to kidnap Mario THREE TIMES - showing up and immediately wrecking the GIW Base to rescue the Boy King.
And because I can, DPXDC in it as well.
Danny runs off with Gotham, with King Boo and his own army of Boos with them, and things go your usual DPXDC Crossover. Except now they're more mischief because this place is TEEMING with hauntedness, so now Boos are going around pranking people - and scaring the shit out of them,
Meanwhile after the jumpscare, everyone sits there like, "Was that a fucking Boo?"
Because now there's TWO GHOST KINGS in Gotham. And Danny is liking King Boo, and vice versa. Not exactly a mentorship, but more like, "We ride, and we died. So now we keep riding."
AKA "Nightwing has a coin that allows him to see the ghost of his dead brother. Except Jason Todd is definitely not dead anymore, so who is haunting the Wayne Manor??" DPxDC prompt where Danny Fenton looks like a pre-Lazarus Jason Todd and misunderstandings ensue.
Okay, so, imagine Danny takes on a quest for Clockwork and is doing a favor for Lady Gotham. Lady Gotham, of course, graciously offers him housing for his stay in Gotham City.
Unfortunately for Danny, it's already inhabited. By superheroes. One of which is an OG Justice Leaguer, has come back from the dead like 5 times, and is absolutely terrifying; but Danny can't exactly say no to an Ancient Ghost. So, he... improvises. He can't go Ghost since Gotham doesn't have the ectoplasm to sustain him for long periods of time, but he goes intangible and invisible.
Danny has met (read: desperately avoided) Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake-Wayne, and Alfred Pennyworth. He's gotten to know their schedules fairly well. Bruce spends most of the day either out of the manor or in The Lair of Batitude, Tim goes to work, Damian goes to school, and Alfred does chores. That leaves Danny wandering around the manor during the day. (Don't ask him about his quest, Clockwork was frustratingly elusive and vague. All he said was, "Be prepared." Which wasn't ominous at all.)
Anyway. Danny's not really prepared to see Dick Grayson in the manor. Especially not when he's in the Wayne's personal library, skimming through familiar titles for something interesting to read. He may have... accidentally not been so careful as he usually is when wandering the manor. As in: he was totally visible. Thankfully, he's able to go Inviso-Bill just as Dick is walking passed the library doorway - extra grateful when Dick scrambles back into view, doing a visceral double-take that looks physically painful.
Danny can see the doubt seep in, watches as Dick's eyes desperately search the library before settling on a well-loved chair by the window. The guy looks terrified and heart-broken and confused. And Danny feels awful. He knows the right thing would be to come clean but what could he even say? An Ancient Ghost told him to bunk with her Knights, so he's been bumming off them? Invading their safe space, their ancestral home, because he couldn't say no? He feels bad, but he resolves to keep himself quiet and do a better job of staying invisible.
He doesn't expect Dick Grayson to come back the next day. Danny's curled up on the big wingback chair in the library with a copy of Pride and Prejudice on his lap (it's an assigned reading for his English class) when he hears a sharp intake of breath. His head snaps up to see Dick in the library doorway, staring directly at him. But that's can't be right?? The Waynes don't have access to Fenton tech, there's no way they could see him without it.
Except Dick exhales shakily and asks, "Jaylad?"
Danny gapes and sputters out a baffled, "You can see me?"
That seems to jar Dick out of his daze because he jerks forward as if to touch him and Danny... maybe doesn't have the best of judgement. He does the only thing that comes to mind.
He flings himself out the window.
((He's not present for the conversation that follows. After Dick came to Bruce, hysterically insisting he saw Jason's ghost in the manor library - and after Dick had been tested for hallucinogens - they began investigating. The batfam huddle in front of the batcomputer, analyzing their home security footage. Just like Dick said, there was a noticeably teenage-shaped cold spot in the library. The cold spot seemed to move throughout the manor but primarily took up residence in Jason's old bedroom and the library. Never, ever going near the basement.
Dick and Bruce look traumatized, Damian wants to confront the being using Dick's coin, Tim's theorizing how to prove it really is Jason Todd's ghost, and Jason... may be having an existential crisis. Did his body come back without a soul? No, that can't be possible, right? So, what, how...? Steph, Cass, and Duke sneak out to try and find the ghost before the others scare him.))
After Danny exposed Vlad and his corrupt dealings, the older halfa got the last laugh by getting his blacklists from all engineering jobs. Desperate for a job Danny ends up applying for a personal assistant position and he actually gets it. It only takes him a week to see how detached Bruce Wayne is from his own company. AND he has his 16 year old son running it as CEO!? No way is he letting that slide.
Bruce internally *OH thank FUCK a way to get rid of him! He is too damn good at this*
Bruce: So, if we gave you a fair shot at R&D would you be interested in changing positions?
Danny: Not until you start taking your work seriously! Or get Tim some damn help! He is 16!!!! This is NOT an appropriate work load for a teen.
Bruce: You know what, if you can convince Tim to step back, or find a better person for the job please do.
Danny: Challenge accepted!
Bruce fears he may have made a mistake, but at least Danny is no longer riding his ass at all hours of the day. Tim is quite pleased when Danny finds him decent assistants. Though he does have to question where they came from. Is Amity Park just central for competent people who don't fear man, god or anything in between.
Danny just contacted his old school mates. Asked around for who wanted that sort of job. His classmates migrate to Gotham. It's not that bad really.
The thing is Danny is the only one who thinks it's not that bad, but only because as a native he has no idea how detached Amity Park is form the rest of the world. He thinks it's normal for kids to be able to competently shoot ecto blasters and go through obstacles courses built for athletes. It's not, nothing about it is normal, but they don't think of it like that. So when Paulina Sanchez, fresh off of her modeling career and looking for a but of a side job between photoshoots, walks into the building and sees what a mess the office is she just gives a dignified sniff, remembers her training as Captain of the Cheer Squad, and immediately gets to work, firing the idiot secretary who only thinks about her hair in the process. Sure, she wasn't much better as a kid, but that's the thing... it was when she was a KID. This is a grown ass woman!
Down in Security we got Dash Baxter applying for a bodyguard position. Fentin asked and he'd been looking for a job after his short stint in the military ended so mught as well, 'Sodes he's bound to get a lot of action what with it being the Wayne's!
Tucker happily joins Danny in R&D's tech department.
Bruce knows his children are laughing at him. It how could he have predicted this. Danny managed to find a group of excellent workers. But that was the problem. They are too good. Miss Sanchez is somehow worse than Danny was. Mr Baxter has taken out three attacks by himself, just this week. Danny and Mr Foley have terrified the rest of R&D in their first few days.
What the fuck, who trained these kids? He knows they are all from Amity Park. But this is... A bit much for a small town from the middle of nowhere. That doesn't even have any crime. They have a 0% crime rate. how are they thriving in Gotham? Miss Sanchez managed to scare off the Riddler on her first day. He needs to look into their hometown.
Bruce would ask Tim to do it, but he's finally getting some sleep. And Dick is no help. HE just keeps laughing about the scary PA he has. He can't escape her! Christ he's going to have to tell her isn't he?
Really it's Bruce's own fault. He should have known better the moment Danny told him he exposed Vlad Masters as a corrupt politician and VladCo as a shady company with plenty of under the table dealings. That particular scandal had made national news and the League was still dealing with the fallout of just how deep VladCo's shady dealings had gone.
As for Paulina, she probably knows already. She knows the signs of a vigilante, she grew up with Fenton afterall. Sure, it wasn't until years after they all graduated before she put two and two together but really it isn't hard to figure out the guy with a Wayne tech running around in bat themed armor is Bruce Wayne, even if he does keep his logo off of his Bat themes gear. So when Brice finally has to swallow his pride, have her sign a ton of NDAs, and let her in on the secret she is completely unsurprised and asks how Batman affects his schedule so she can adjust it and what emergency alibi protocols he has in tbe event of a sudden attack to ensure nobody questions where Bruce is or why he's never in the same room as Batman. Brice is completely flabbergasted by how nonchalant she is.
Eventually he gets Damian down to Amity Park under the guise of a school field trip paid for by Wayne Enterprises. Officially its a trip to a small town to allow the students if Gotham Academy to enjoy a simple life in a small town known for having a crime rate of 0, far from thw usual dangers of Gatham. For Danian it's a mission to figure why the HELL everyone in Amity is so rlterrifyingly competent. The reports leave Brice very, VERY concerned when it becomes clear that it's only the kids who are competent and why.
It had been a few years since Vlad and Danny had stopped being enemies, years since Amity had been at peace with the ghosts. Danny spent his days teaching his children (he assumed they were his children) about well, everything.
Dan and Ellie had prefabricated knowledge, the halfa couldn't quite get it, but the point was that while they knew who was the creator of the chemistry, they had no idea how to do 2 + 2, so he made it his homework to fill in all the gaps.
No one at Amity blinked at the 30-year-boy-who-was-actually-12 and the 15-year-girl-who-was-actually-4, Danny guessed they had gotten used to the weirdness. One day, Vlad called and pointed out that someone had entered his database a few months ago (apparently he checked his digital security very little when he didn't make "evil" plans) and they had stolen the plans for the cloning capsule. Danny had a bad feeling.
Of course, it was after a month of searching that he found out about Lex Luthor's little "project." To say that he was angry was an understatement; he found the poor Superboy being mind controlled. He felt sad when he remembered Ellie's situation and well, he ended up stealing a clone child and destroying some laboratory. Like old times.
The world did not know of Phantom; Amity was suspicious, almost jealous that their protector could be taken away if they said a word, so they didn't say anything out of the city. It's not like the League did anything when they called. Danny didn't care, less tedious meetings and contingency plans for him. Besides, he wasn't excited about going back to the field if he didn't have to, as long as Amity was safe, the world could be destroyed for all he cared.
He wondered if spending too much time with Dan was affecting him, but in the end he dismissed the thought. Upon arriving home, Superboy had woken up and was being interrogated by the Phantoms. He chose his name to be Conner (sounds good apparently) and agreed to take classes to fill in the gaps of knowledge, just like Ellie, he seemed uncomfortable with the gaps.
The poor boy looked uncomfortable, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did. After finding out whose clone he was, he wondered if they would take him to Superman, but Danny just snorted. By the end of the week, Conner was a Phantom, and he was fine with that. Danny even told him that he could live normally if he wanted to, and the boy happily accepted the offer. Conner didn't want to be a hero, at least not that early, and Danny was happy with his decision.
Danny frowned thinking of all the heroes who would say that is "selfish" for someone with power to not to use it. But he believed that they were doubly selfish. Being a teenage hero wasn't fucking easy. He hugged Conner, welcoming him to the family and within days, the whole town already knew about him (they also knew whose clone he was, but they didn't really care, they weren't snitching).
Curiously, it was Tim Drake who noticed the strange family visiting Gotham (a 23-year-old seemed to be berating a 30-year-old for stealing tires, he snorted at the irony). However he froze when he saw Clark?, but much younger, speaking in Kryptonian and laughing. He called a meeting in the batcave and tried to call the family, but as soon as they saw the expression in his face they vanished from sight.
Danny saw the Wayne kid staring at Connor and knew he recognised him. Shit. He was not letting someone steal his kid. What were the chances really? Bloody Fenton luck. He grabbed Connor and turned them both invisible. Ellie and Dan followed suit. He dragged them all off to their hotel.
Once they were somewhere safe again he sat down turning visible again. His kids looked so confused.
Danny: A Wayne brat took one look at Connor and recognised him. And the Wayne's fund the Justice League. They are going to dig into this. We need a plan.
Dan: Uh, Dad? We planned for this remeber?
Ellie: Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss!
Connor: Dad. It's ok. If they find out they find out. What are they gonna do really? If they wanted a say in where I live and what I do they should have rescued me!
Danny: I mean. Yeah. But still. I meant for our holiday. Are we just going to ignore them. And just go about our holiday. Or..... Are we going to cause chaos?
Ellie: I vote chaos. But! Connor is the one affected so....
Connor: I vote chaos too. How are we gonna do this?
That would be hilarious! Rogues see a meta family on holiday. Being stalked by the bats. And just go nope! Not on our watch! Hey guys! Wanna cause some trouble! Let's keep pulling Shit and ditching. The bats have to keep running after us. Letting the poor family escape!
Brice is confused as hell because why the fuck is all his Rogues choosing now of all times to make a mess of Gotham!? It's interrupting their investigation into the Meta family with what is likely a Superman clone! It's Harley who spills the beans that it's the entire point.
"Like, so what if the kid looks like Supes!? They ain't doing anything, they're just a family on vacay!"
"It's the fact he is clearly Kryptonian that's the issue, Harley."
"I don't see how? Is he destroying buildings and shooting lazer eyes!?"
Meanwhile the Phantom's? Are just pleased to not be stalked. And may have slipped Harley and Waylon some inventions to play with. Harley loves her new mallet. She has no idea who they got it to be so light! And it's collapsible!
Waylon? Now has tazer gloves. He is a happy man. The bat brats ain't gonna know what hit em!
Throughout this all they make only one, singular mistake. They forgot to check what Joker was doing. And when the Clown Prince of Crime found out there was a family of Meta civilians his fellow Rogues were putting out all the stops to keep off the Bats' radar, let's jsut say he became very, very interested and offended that nobody even bothered to invite him.
Joker made the mistake of believing he was dealing with human metas. Fortunately for the Phantom's? They are all only half human. And well.... Danny is a very protective Father. Joker didn't get very far into his stalking before he was spotted. Which made him give up observation to attack swiftly. That proved to be a mistake. His last mistake.
After that incident? They go home. After phasing the body into the ground. Look, what Batman doesn't know, won't get Danny arrested! No body, no proof! And as ghosts? They can't be caught on camera. Gotham cameras are not Ecto proof. So any that might have been able to see? Would have been unusable static.
Getting back home is good though. Clockwork had agreed to do a special trip for Connor to connect to his Kryptonian heritage. They were going to visit Krypton years before the destruction! Danny was super excited to share it! And a few Kryptonian ghosts had been teaching them all cultural stuff anyway. It would be a great trip!
Clockwork "accidentally" arranges for Danny, Dan and Ellie to be mistaken for/become Kryptonian Gods of Balance and Death, and Connor their demigod son/ward. Both because it would give them all additional protection, and because the expression on Superman's face when he recognizes them will be PRICELESS.
Danny gets his hatred of clowns from his mother, who has taken a kill on sight vow on the Joker for murdering her father (Walker). Walker has the same vow as Maddie, because the Joker has taken him away from his daughter.
Que Phantom, tierd of both of their shit.
He picks up both Maddie and Walker by the nape of their necks like feral overgrown kittens, flies both of the to Gotham, drops the right in front of Arkham, shoves ecto riffles in their hands and goes-
Phantom:"There! Now, go work your issues out," and points towards the gates "Happy Hunting! I want his knees on my mantle when you get back!" He then proceedes to do a loopty-loop as he flies away.
~This happens after Danny has told his parents about being Phantom and things have mostly been sorted out. They are still going to therapy about it but things are worlds better.~
Honestly knowing that there is now an entire new field of study ecto-anthropology has his Mom chomping at the bit to gain a second doctorate. Jazz and her have been bonding. His Dad has taken up extreme tag and capture the flag with Skulker which is mostly just them hunting each other in with more elaborate rules each time.
All of this eventually leads to Danny taking them to the Christmas Truce party in a stroke of brilliance to avoid the annual Santa debate. Everything is great up until Walker shows up and his Mom starts crying. So turns out Walker is his Grandpa that died when he was little.
Great, great, yes, okay he can still deal with this. Huh, so a hatred of clowns can be genetic. Neat, now if they would stop alternating between arguing and crying and actually talk about their issues things would be awesome. You would thing nearly a year of family therapy would help with communication but no, throw a new issue into the mix and we have to start from zero.
Danny makes it all the way to March before he cracks. To be fair he had not slept in 72 hours after Vlad's new cat somehow manages to become a ghost and take issue with Cujo. Add in that he had just started to get the hang of making portals he is allowed to make a bad choice.
That choice being hauling his Mom and Grandpa Walker through a very unstable portal to Gotham, dumping them on the ground in front of Arkham, throws a duffel bag of ecto-weapons at their feet, and tells them to do some bonding while they work out the clown issue.
He is so tired he completely misses the weirdos in the superhero get ups and crime boss in a red helmet having a screaming match at each other. They of course stopped the moment a green portal opens up and a glowing teen dumps two people, one also glowing, and leaves through the same portal that closes behind him. They get front row seats to the chilling remark the teen makes before closing the portal.
"There we go right in front of Arkham. I don't care if you need to skin the clown alive and remove his spine to get through things. I will rescind my no killing rule just for him if it means you work stuff out. Now Happy Hunting!"
Jason goes full fan mode. Just as Red Hood. He loves this family. *fannish squeal*
The rest of the Batfam are less pleased. Especially when they see the sheer amount of damage the two did to the clown. Are they sad the clown can no longer commit crime? No. Are they sad someone tortured a person? yes. Maddie and Walker ensured he would never move again. And they worked their shit out. It was VERY therapeutic.
Danny was quite pleased that therapy was finally going in the right direction! He was less pleased for a bat infestation to suddenly appear in HIS territory. He is out on patrol and sees Batman, sighs and appears in front of him.
Danny: What do you want?
Batman: Why did you let those two people torture someone?
Danny: Because you can't keep him locked up. Next?
Batman: You can't come into someone else's town and let rogues loose!
Danny: They aren't rogues. They were two of the Joker's victims. Get over yourself. What are you doing in MY town.
Batman: Your town?
Danny: Yes, my town. The town I protect from interdimensional threats. My town. The one the Justice League ignored. What are you planning.
Batman: I need to arrest the two who tortured someone. No matter who they tortured.
Danny: Bzzt! Wrong. Diplomatic immunity for the royal family of another Realm. Try again.
Batman: Royal family?
Danny: You have the honour of speaking to the High King of the Infinite Realms. The people who were ensuring the safety of YOUR city were my Mother and Grandfather. So, Batman, as your reason is invalid. And you are NOT wanted here. Leave.
Batman: Not wanted?
Danny: Did you not read the signs? Amity Park can't stand the League. So many nearly died because of the League's inaction. They don't like you lot here. And given that Amity Park is slowly sinking into the Realms They are now dual citizens anyway.
Red Hood gets sent the video of the confrontation and is just even more fannish about it. He sends gifts and sends his thanks to the royals for dealing with the Joker. Danny eventually invites him over. Introduces him to his family. Jason is just so pleased.
Jason is not only pleased, he is down bad for the gorgeous amazonian red head that is Jazz Fenton, princess of the infinite realms and royal advisor to the king. When word inevitably leaks out that they're dating, we have the awkward situation where Batman is presented with the chance to approach Danny as something resembling equals so he can continue his investigation.
He just needs to play match maker with his adult son who he has a tenuous relationship with at best.
His furrowed brow can be seen even by laymen as he debates his options.
Jason will not let Bruce be involved. At all. Just no. He sneaks his way to Amity. In full Red Hood gear. Waits for Phantom to spot him. And formally asks for permission to approach his sister. With intent to try and woo her. Because she's clever and strong and kind, and drop dead gorgeous. Danny just sighs and drags him to Jazz. He appreciates the whole, recency era permission thing. But they ain't that old dude. She gets to agree or not. If she says no you leave! Jazz is incredibly flattered that Red Hood! Wants to do this right. So she agrees and Danny packs them off on a holiday somewhere safe to get to know one another in peace.
It would be a lie to say Bruce wasn't drained. He'd been thrown through timestream and just got back. his mind was abuzz with everything he did, his Robin is not in the right uniform, and for some reason everyone ignored his wishes for Batman to die with him. his mantel of grief was not something to carry on; apparently Gotham disagreed. he'd address this shortly with both the city and his family. he didn't make a mantel to pass down—its duty is to contain his own self-destructing cycles and ensure his mentees don't fall into the traps he did.
he'd barely seen his hoard of kids all together—Dick having him in a desperate octopus hug the likes of which he hadn't seen since the nightmares about his parents' death long before Nightwing became a twinkle of an idea—before the infamous and non-existent (he checked with the magic users several times) curse of his struck again.
Jason collapsed. Stephanie too.
the world tilted on its axis.
not again.
not again.
he can't-
everyone scrambled to get them to the medbay. Both bodies were completely comatose. neither brain showed signs of life. Vegetative state; cause unknown.
he barely managed to get a hold of Leslie as everything pressed into his chest and his family panicked.
"I don't have time right now Dick—"
"Leslie," Bruce barely got her name out.
a sharp intake of breath and something clattered to the ground. a cup of various pens, if he wasn't mistaken.
"Bruce," she whispered, breathy and hopeful and it twisted the knife in his heart all the more. He didn't know how long he'd been dead to the world. how long his family grieved him. only that Tim found his clues.
"Leslie, i, I need," Bruce took a moment to collect his thoughts. too much stormed about. "Jason and Stephanie are vegetive, all signs point to brain dead but our scans are finding no cause."
"They're not the only ones. Calls are pouring in all over Gotham, and we're getting alerts of it happening everywhere."
his heart stopped. was this because he came out of the timeline? did this have something to do with—
"Current suspect is something to do with magic. only commonality so far is all patients have been resuscitated."
something cold and numbing washed over his being. something else niggled in the back of his mind.
"How long?"
"Starting a half hour ago—kids are coming in with friends. Crossing all causes from medical intervention based or magical intervention. I have to go—See what your club finds out and Bruce? Its good to hear from you, i just," Leslie's voice wavered in that unfamiliar way that made Bruce almost wish he'd stayed gone. "I wish we could have our reunion under better circumstances."
She hung up.
Bruce ran a hand over his face and looked over how long he'd been gone. 19 months. well over a year, nearing two.
he decided to check the cases he flagged as requiring Bat Intervention before escalation first. if this is as wide a phenomenon as his gut feeling suggested, it was tied to one if these special care cases.
he froze at one of the cases, updated five minutes before his return. the text color was wrong. none of his files supported colored text in the Byline.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Veil Guard System Danny.
A vague memory of a case washed over Bruce. It wasn't too early into Tim's time as Robin—not long after he established Young Justice. He and Tim had run into a few agents from a paranormal investigation group under the US government called the "Ghost Investigation Ward" (GIW) that focused on handling various types of ghosts and restless spirits to end their interference in the earthly plane. Their guns had an issue with leaning too far to the side when shot that drove Tim insane during their mission handling a particularly nasty cult. If he remembered correctly, the GIW merged magic and technology in a fascinating combination that only low-level magic users could adequately use. Tim had rambled about the technology for a while before a new project caught his attention.
it had been a little over four years since initial contact… they usually only sent the occasional update on how containing an anomaly that caused a severe spike in supernatural activity in one city was being maintained, and occasionally asked for help improving spec designs on the mechanical aspects.
Veil Guard Danny has been Severed by white clad humans. Fail Safe Fenton and Phantom activated and returned to proper guard sides. All Ectoplamsic entities recalled to the Cradle by end of one earth rotation. Carbon aspects will remain, but ectoplasmic aspects will be recalled without exceptions. Enjoy your ecto-free existence under guard Phantom's care. All message recipients are to be aware: this is what you wanted, and the consequences are not negotiable. Seek Veil Guard Phantom for further information. End of Carbon Language Translation Services.
a pit formed in Bruce's stomach and all but consumed him.
He tried to call Zatana, but got no response.
Constantine picked up the phone to hang up while swearing.
Bruce sent out an emergency meeting beacon, choosing to suit up and head to the designated meeting room. They would need to do a headcount, at the very least.
Bruce was the first to arrive. he choked when he got an alert that Clark was similarly comatose and braindead from Lois.
Martian Manhunter paused at Bruce.
"You are alive." the statement smacked him in the face. J'onn paused, his face shifting before settling on an apologetic expression. "This is not your fault for coming back to us, and i am glad you un-did your role as a living timebomb before you came back to us. Those that come will be most glad for your true return, even if these circumstances are far from the best."
Bruce let his shoulders drop. Sometimes, dropping your mindshield came with its advantages when telepathic teammates were in the room.
Bruce paused when Arsenal appeared, taking Oliver's usual spot.
"He's comatose. Canary's watching him with my siblings and daughter," Arsenal explained before his eyes narrowed in on Bruce. "You're not Dick."
"Good to see you again Roy."
Arsenal opened and shut his mouth. "how?"
"long story short—trapped in a reincarnation and death cycle by Darkseid to become a living bomb to destroy the timestream. My Robin bartered his way into the timestream and tricked the energy into releasing in controlled bursts until the omega energy was depleted."
Arsenal nodded before patting his shoulder. "Good to see the right face in the cowl."
Bruce hummed in agreement.
Wonder Woman walked in next, glancing about at the unusually empty seats. "I heard from John Stewart that he is fine, but will not be able to attend as he's helping another planet with the same issue. Has anyone heard from Zatana?"
Arsenal held a finger out before sending a message on his communicator.
"Superman is out of commission," Batman murmured.
"Hawkgirl is alive, but busy helping in her city," Wonder Woman added, looking at the too empty room. "I—Bruce?"
Bruce barely nodded before his friend held him tight.
the Flash ran in, handing out cups of coffee at each seat before taking his own. "Sorry, just, lot of bodies to move in Central to hospital beds before i came in—doing another sweep in twenty minutes."
Bruce nodded slowly. "Thank you for coming Wally."
"No Biggie D—you're not—Uncle Bats!"
a smile curled on Bruce's lips.
"holy shit. Well, is it time for the meeting to start?"
"Not quite—give it a few more minutes."
"Update on Zatana—she went black out a few days ago for a magic mission according to Canary, so MIA. Stewart is stuck on off-world patrol, Supes is down, Hawkgirl is busy, Green Arrow is down, Supergirl is down if the group chat is anything to go by and being brought to the fortress of solitude by baby Superboy—really need to give him a different mantel or have the elder change his psued—and Blue Beetle is down so we get a either a very focused or very depressed Booster Gold—Not it!—Plasticman is somehow alive and helping move a lot of people, Captain Marvel is alive and well with his team in Fawcett, Fate is flakey as usual so who knows, Cyborg is likely down given the patterns, Huntress is responding to messages but too busy to attend and will accept cliff notes. before anyone asks—do not question the power of the Arrow Family Group Chat."
"So no Kryptonians, Green Arrow, Blue Bettle, and Fate, likely no Zatana and Cyborg, With Marvel, Huntress and Plas too busy to be here and no word on Aquaman?" Wally summarized.
Bruce rubbed his temples before projecting the update from earlier.
"This is an update from an unknown that occurred five minutes before Red Hood and Black Bat became comatose, and it correlates with the uptick in comatose bodies and brain dead individuals. It is from a chain of updates from a paranormal investigation branch of the US government, the Ghost Investigation Ward. I propose we do a joint investigation with whatever members of JL Dark are available to find out the true cause, and see what can be done to fix this mess."
the three present agree, with Arsenal adding "Canary, Huntress and Plas agreed to go in person to help. Marvel is not responding right now, but its around when his screen is taken from him by his adoptive family so no response until tomorrow at the earliest there.
Bruce nodded.
"Oh, and when this is all over its been agree you are getting a welcome back party," Arsenal added as he got up to leave.
"Dude, spoiler!"
"Like he doesn't already know."
—
Elsewhere, the Veil Guard Phantom examined how the bright red dried into a flaking brown on his hands. As much as Danny viewed them as gloved, Phantom knew better. It was all his own ectoplasm, all part of him.
It was strange. Knowing everything now. Halfas are limited to instinctive and experiential learning. but a core-less phantom has such a clear bond to the Veil that all information flows into his being seamlessly. Granted, he is limited to his biology and knowledge of all potential timelines on this side of the Veil, but far more than he knew before.
Fenton would be jealous if he knew.
But Fenton will never return to this side of the Veil…
should he send Fenton their former frightmates? Phantom has no use for such bonds. Fenton's duty is the emotions and decisions of if any may pass the gates, and on what terms. Phantom is merely… enforcing them with the Extreme Prejudice needed to keep the Realms safe.
Sam would be proud of his resolve. would call it heroic, even.
Phantom knew it would have made Danny Fenton happy.
Phantom doesn't need or want anything from these bonds himself. he just finds the echoing impulses an intrusion on his work. He must return to his grave, obliterate intruders, and answer questions from those not wielding weapons.
if those seeking him fail to understand that anything can be considered a weapon, well… Phantom already lost Danny and is Severed from Fenton. He is not risking the deal that birthed him too.
Danny was naive enough to.
Phantom, carefully typing a message to the omnicidal fanatics' allies out, is far from naive. If anything, Phantom knows far too much and feels far too little. A strange echo of something—the sensation not unlike apples and coffee stolen from the teacher's lounge right out of the pot in front of Mr. Lancer.
he hit send.
the corpses' lingering spirits were snapped from their anchoring points with a wave of his hand. He has many to liberate and return to their rightful place. Especially the traitors. The realms can sort them out once there.
he has more intruders to End.
---
*for my own sanity, if the omega beam caused an endless reincarnation cycle (see Bruce) i am counting this as someone excluded from the Ghost Zone/IR, and anyone revived by the White Entity of Life is given a similar exemption as the GZ/IR will count that as a weird version of reincarnation or the being moved about in time and body restored.
So. attempts will be made on this in the future but uh, which line of follow-up is more interesting:
dead DC characters trying to escape (feel free to add more in the comments, so far i have the supers, Jason, Donna troy, Blue beetle and Barry Allen.. probably Ra's al Ghul too) stuck trying to find a portal and then their body
DP characters recovering from GIW experiments in Amity for the living while the ghosts find themselves on the other side (unsure if i want Danny's fright/Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Valerie to be still on the living side despite their ecto-contamination due to bond with Danny or not) and KnowingTM that Danny (missing for YEARS at this point) is somehow gone but Not Quite
Ghosts and co realizing that the Halfa Danny was Severed (sent a vibe through the IR and everyoneTM knows now) and the fallout of realizing the human half of Phantom is running around likely with No Context radiating raw emotions from Just Before his death
POV of 13/14 year old Danny waking up in the realm unaware of anything before he died and having a plethora of medical scarring, random emotions he can't point the source of and No Familiarity/Support... and his concerns on waking up are 1)his parents must think he's dead or have no way to find him in this sea of green sky and 2) shit are Sam and tucker okay? 3)The building didnt blow up too—did it? 4) How badly did he screw over Jazz and the whole block? Fuck!'
JL find GIW base destroyed while Batman and traces the updates from when he was gone and before and starts to see A Pattern that makes him feel worse and worse as he dropped the ball with this case since Gotham was not part of the US during No Man's Land and the Clench and death of Stephanie Brown
can follow multiple and all of these, just would like a better starting point. feel free to add more dead DC characters (if they were dead anytime before Bruce returned, i am counting it. Not sure what to do with Aquaman here in either case but man's a king who may be handling that shit rn instead so he can be left out if i want/need to)
An AU DPxDC concept where a cult summons attempts to summon the Ghost King; Pariah Dark. Only to be met with Danny in his human form.
Now, revealing that the new Ghost King is a halfa to a bunch of weirdos in robes is a bad idea. So when they inevitably ask who the hell he is, he comes up with a lie.
"Oh, I'm his intern. I think? Maybe secretary is a better word? You know what, it doesn't matter." His lie is unsure at first, but then he puts on his best customer service voice and tries again.
"Hello, I'm Danny and I'll be the one taking your call. Now before we start, can you give me your name and reason for summoning?"
This pisses off the cult leader. After all, the summoning circle was structured to summon The Ghost King, not some stupid intern. The leader then demands why the magic circle didn't work.
"Look, I don't know how the current king has rewired the magic stuff to have it summon me instead. I'm just an intern."
The cult then gestures to the heroes they've captured. They state that since they went through the trouble of capturing a strong hero for a sacrifice, they should gain audience with Pariah Dark.
"No can do. Pariah Dark was over thrown a couple of years back. I'm working for King Phantom. Who is very busy dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare that his predecessor left behind."
The captured heroes, whoever they are, are somewhat relieved that they didn't have to deal with Pariah Dark. But they feel new trepidation over this unknown monarch.
"I can see if I can pencil you in for an appointment in the next... Few hundred years maybe?" Danny, now married to the bit, pulls out a notebook and pen.
The leader then claims that this was supposed to be the start for world domination and glory and continues his demands to see the king.
"Do you have any idea how many people are in line before you? No, management does not care if this is about world domination. We're already in backlog hell. Ruling another realm would only add to the growing pile of paper work."
It's then that backup for the captured heroes arrives to rescue. Danny staysback and watches as the other heroes dismantle the cult. He then goes to untie the closest hero next to him.
"I swear every cult leader I've met so far has been a power obsessed Karen. But that's customer service for you."
However, Danny's lie begins to backfire on him, because now his human identity is now in the justice leagues database as person of interest.
Even after the whole summoning debacle, he now has to deal with nosy heroes, king responsibilities, diplomatic matters, and school.
Something something the JL Dark can see a connection to the King of the Realms on human Danny and think that he revived him after the portal incident, an anchor for both of them in the living world.
An AU DPxDC concept where a cult summons attempts to summon the Ghost King; Pariah Dark. Only to be met with Danny in his human form.
Now, revealing that the new Ghost King is a halfa to a bunch of weirdos in robes is a bad idea. So when they inevitably ask who the hell he is, he comes up with a lie.
"Oh, I'm his intern. I think? Maybe secretary is a better word? You know what, it doesn't matter." His lie is unsure at first, but then he puts on his best customer service voice and tries again.
"Hello, I'm Danny and I'll be the one taking your call. Now before we start, can you give me your name and reason for summoning?"
This pisses off the cult leader. After all, the summoning circle was structured to summon The Ghost King, not some stupid intern. The leader then demands why the magic circle didn't work.
"Look, I don't know how the current king has rewired the magic stuff to have it summon me instead. I'm just an intern."
The cult then gestures to the heroes they've captured. They state that since they went through the trouble of capturing a strong hero for a sacrifice, they should gain audience with Pariah Dark.
"No can do. Pariah Dark was over thrown a couple of years back. I'm working for King Phantom. Who is very busy dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare that his predecessor left behind."
The captured heroes, whoever they are, are somewhat relieved that they didn't have to deal with Pariah Dark. But they feel new trepidation over this unknown monarch.
"I can see if I can pencil you in for an appointment in the next... Few hundred years maybe?" Danny, now married to the bit, pulls out a notebook and pen.
The leader then claims that this was supposed to be the start for world domination and glory and continues his demands to see the king.
"Do you have any idea how many people are in line before you? No, management does not care if this is about world domination. We're already in backlog hell. Ruling another realm would only add to the growing pile of paper work."
It's then that backup for the captured heroes arrives to rescue. Danny staysback and watches as the other heroes dismantle the cult. He then goes to untie the closest hero next to him.
"I swear every cult leader I've met so far has been a power obsessed Karen. But that's customer service for you."
However, Danny's lie begins to backfire on him, because now his human identity is now in the justice leagues database as person of interest.
Even after the whole summoning debacle, he now has to deal with nosy heroes, king responsibilities, diplomatic matters, and school.
So I love the trope where the main three (Danny, Sam and Tucker) plus some of the other kids from Casper High rock up to Gotham for whatever reason and are completely unphased by Gotham's bullshit. There ain't enough of that shit. And so I present to you, more of that shit:
~~~
Things go a little bit differently for Danny in this AU. As hard as he tries to handle all the ghost bullshit by himself, he has a hard time. Sam and Tucker of course do what they can to help, but they're only three teenagers. So of course some mistakes happen.
Through verious turn of events, Danny accidently reveales himself to multiple of his classmates. Dash and Paulina are the first to find out after he saves their lives at a school dance. Both refuse to speak to him for a week afterwards. Danny fears that they hate him because he's a monster, when actually they are both dying of emberrassment as they both had a cruch on Danny Phantom the size of Jupiter.
After getting over themselves they kinda just start... inserting themselves into Danny's life. They offer to help out where they can with the ghosts, they run interferance with his parents, and Paulina makes it her personal mission to verbaly eviscerate Vlad every time she sees him. Somehow they just become apart of Team Phantom.
And where Paulina and Dash go, Kwan and Star eventually follow. Similarly getting swept up in some ghost nonesense and getting saved by Danny, they too just... keep showing up cause they guess this is what their friends do now. Oh well.
Valerie contimues on her Red Huntress journey. As much as the popular crowd were her friends, there was always that distence between them. So Valerie didn't get involved in things until her dad lost his job and she went looking for revenge. Things worked out between her and Danny similarly to how they did in canon (without Dani but I will get to her) and Valerie becomes part of this big group of teenagers that all work together to protect the town from ghosts.
When Danny becomes the Ghost King things get a bit harder for the group. Suddenly helping around town is less fun and more.... dangerous. The stakes were less "fight kooky ghosts and prevent property damage" and more "stop the world from endning on a regular basis."
Things thankfully balance out for a while, until the GIW show up. Then shit really hits the fan. Ghosts and human's alike are in danger from them. So with a heavy heart, Danny destroys the ghost portal, forbids any ghosts from going to the living world, and he and the gang make a run for it.
Thankfully they have the help of Vlad, who has had a sudden change of heart after the accidental/completely on pourpose creation of his daughter Danielle (Ellie), who is an adorable 6 month old.
He helps the kids get out of Amity and has them run to the place that has the most ambient ectoplasm to both lay low undetected as well as keep Danny healthy: Gotham.
He puts them up in a house large enough to house 8 teenagers but not large enough to catch much attantion and enrolls them in Gotham Academy, the one school in the city that likely has enough security to at least stall the GIW if they do show up in town.
When Team Phantom gets to Gotham they are... underwhelmed. For suposedly one of the most dangerous cities to live in in America... it's pretty boring. All their classmates are mind-numbingly normal compaired to them.
Until Damian Wayne returns from him month long suspention after getting into a fight with some of the assholes on the football team.
Finally, they have found one of their own.
What follows is a series of shinanigans where Damian finds people who think HE is the sane one and others watch on in facinated horror as Damian makes friends for the first time but they're all violent lunatics.
~~~
Again, sorry for the lackluster ending. I truly am not long for the writing world. Makes my back hurt. But I think imma write a couple more of these DeadSerious AUs cause I love this ship and there isn't enough of it plus I love dpxdc.
To add some more unhinged energy my ships for this AU are: DeadSerious (obvi), Sam x Valerie x Paulina and Dash x Tucker (cause i feel like that would be a crazy dynamic). And like in canon Kwan and Star and just chilling.
Ooh! Ooh! Edit: Alternatively (and I think I like this even better than the ships above^^) Damian gets roped into a big ol' polycule. 😂😂😂