Far warning, I post whatever and whenever I feel like. Will it be fanfic ideas?? Random story ideas?? Just random thoughts?? Your guess is as good as mine :3 (let’s be real it’s mainly dc and dp stuff) 25y/o
It does bother me when I go to queer circles and people only look at me with skeptical eyes when I talk about Deadpool or comic book from queer lenses as if those are incredible separate worlds that can only be tied by fanfics written by straight women. It makes me frustrated and angry, why not us? Why can't they be us? And why can't queer man be part of it. I fear the demonization of masculinity is just bringing misogyny full circle. Because why does the idea of a nonbinary character that is extremely "male presentin" who's cannon btw can only be taken any kind of attention if it is a joke? It makes me think a lot about it.
Why can Deadpool as a character only be portrayed and consumed in the long format media as a joke (even on comics as well) and what does this say about our internal biases?
I think it’s even more present when it comes to fanfics themselves to. I’m a dude and every time I say I read or write fics to someone irl (even people who enjoy fanfics themselves!!) there is always surprise at best. More often than not they think it’s weird.
Specifically, ‘what if when Phantom is summoned, Danny is left behind?’
Bc if u think about it, way would a ghost summons, summons a human, even if that human is half ghost.
The big problem with this is that Danny isn’t a human and a ghost, he is both human and ghost.
Without his ghost half, his human half is left crippled with pain from the accident and slowly dying bc being half ghost was the only thing keeping him alive. Without his human half, his ghost half is unstable. Phantom formed far too quickly, in a manner of seconds rather than mouths, years or centuries it should have. His human half is the only thing keeping him together.
So imagine what happens when the justice league, for a reason of ur choosing, summons the new high King. Not knowing what that would do.
Now they r left with a rapidly destabilising ghost, one that the magic users have put into status to hopefully buy them time while they figure out how to fix this.
Danny on the only hand has no idea what happened. One moment he was fine and the next he collapsed in the middle of class in a seizure. Every moment it is getting harder to breathe and for some reason he can’t transform.
With both Danny and phantom completely helpless, it is up to his friends, family and the JL to figure out what happened and bring the two half’s back together 
Danny’s in Gotham for collage while at the same time being trained to be crowned the ghost king. One of the things he learns is that not every death forms a ghost because certain factors need to be met.
To be more specific you need an obsession to form the base of ur core, the right amount ectoplasm to fuel the formation and an incredible strong desire to keep going after death.
There r other more minor factors but those r the big ones.
The problem with learning this is that Danny coming to the horrible realisation that there r two people in Gotham that r pretty much guaranteed to become ghost.
Two people so obsessed and driven that with the high natural levels of ectoplasm in Gotham it would be impossible for them not to become ghosts.
And Danny really does not want to deal with a ghost Batman and Joker.
So he had a new mission, prevent that from happening at all cost.
How is he gonna do that?? No fucking clue.
For now he just has to keep these two alive which is easier said than fucking done.
I find it fucking hilarious that Bruce is the only person in his family that puts a lot of fucking effort into his secret ID.
Like yeah no one’s gonna think that himbo Brucie Wayne is Batman but Dick Grayson’s a cop and an Olympic acrobat, he could totally be Nightwing. People have multiple videos of Brucie Wayne falling into champions fountains whereas Tim Drake is a teenage CEO that regularly glares men twice his age into submission, it’s not a stretch to think he’s red Robin.
Which leads to the hilarious idea that there is a group of people that have worked out like 99% of the Batfams IDs but absolutely refuse to believe Bruce Wayne is Batman.
Like:
Random person: so u think Dick Grayson is Nightwing.
Conspiracy Theories: yes
RP: and Tim Drake is red Robin.
CT: yes
Rp: Damon Wayne is Robin, Cassandra Cain orphan and duke Thomas signal??
Ct: yes
Rp: ok what about Batman then?? The only family members left is Bruce Wayne??
Ct:…
Rp: u can’t seriously think that guy is Batman?? Right??
Scarecrow needs to test a new fear toxin. However he doesn’t want bats knowing he’s out of Arkham yet so instead of kidnapping someone he decided to put an add on Craigslist looking for people willing ‘help test a pet project’
Danny, having moved to Gotham for collage and thoroughly broke, sees an opportunity to make some quick cash and responds.
Is it shady as shit?? Yes. But Danny is like 99% sure he’s some form of immortal now so it’s not like it’s gonna kill him. Plus this means that someone less durable than him won’t take the job.
Cain is overjoyed at having a willing test subject. The only problem comes when non of his toxins seem to work on him. Not only the new one he was testing but even the old ones that he knows works.
What he doesn’t know is that ghost feed on fear. Even their own. Danny is literally eating his own fear before he can feel it. So all he’s doing is given Danny a full 3 corse meal.
Danny was a known hero to the world. As one of the first hero he was a valued member of the justice league and a good friend to many of them.
They know he’s the king of the dead. The protector of both dead and living and the ghost of space.
There’s one aspect of his job however he never told them about.
He is the reaper of heroes. Any hero, when their time comes, is faced with Danny. Their friend, their comrade. He guides them to the afterlife and ensures their peace. 
It brakes his heart every time he has to look his friends in the eye and tell them that he’s not there to save them
(Sidenote: this is inspired by the multiple fics that have Danny as the reaper of heroes. I just have never seen one where he is also an active hero and friend of the JL and I’m here for that angst)
Bruce: I haven't seen any of the boys for fifteen minutes now.
*Outside a nearby window, a car without a driver inside, and only the top of Damian’s head visible in the backseat, is seen rolling down a driveway. With Dick, Jason, Tim, and Duke running after it in a panic.*
*Bruce doesn't look outside at all.*
Bruce: That probably means they're getting into trouble.
What I love most about this is that it’s widely agree that Damian knows how to drive and even if he didn’t he smart enough to figure out how a brake works. So this little shit is just letting this happen
Danny has learnt many things about ghost over the years. The top one being that ghost r emotional beings, in a whole different way than humans r. Ghost feel thinking at 200% compared to humans. Bc of this emotions that can already be difficult for humans r completely uncontrollable for ghosts. This, along with some help from Jazz, gives him the idea to give ghost a space where they can freely let out their emotions.
So he opens a rage room. One that is far more durable that any that currently exists so that even the most powerful of ghost can go all out.
It’s instantly a hit and quickly becomes all the rage (haha) amount the undead.
Because of this, it isn’t long until deadman hears about it. He doesn’t think much of it but he does decide to mention the place to Nightwing.
Nightwing is intrigued by the idea of a rage room that could handle even the most powerful of people so decided to give it a go.
He absolutely loves it. For one the guy running the place didn’t even blink at a fully suited up vigilante walking in. Two, the place really was suited for even the most destructive of rages. On top of that, Dick had a lot more pent up anger that he realised until he was knee deep in broken junk.
10/10 experience. Would recommend
And he does. To everyone.
It’s amazing how many heroes have some serious pent up aggression. 
Dp x dc prompt: Insanity is doing the same thing over… and over… and over… and over…
Danny was unable to save them. His family, his friends, his whole town all dead and gone. He spent awhile just in shock amongst the rubble before deciding he couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t live with himself and his failure. So he flew higher than he ever had before, then turned human and started free falling. When he hit the ground, everything went black. He never expected to wake up again.
But he did. The pain all over his body was so unbearable he almost passed out again. He didn’t though, instead he was awake as his body knitted itself back together. It was the most painful thing he ever experienced.
That didn’t stop him from trying again. And again. And again.
He couldn’t keep living. Not with everyone gone. Not with everyone dead because of his failure. So he kept trying. At some point after what was probably the 100th attempt he wondered if this was what truly drove Dan to madness. If he too, in that lifetime, tried to die over and over again but couldn’t. He wondered how many times Dan tried before he gave in to the insanity of it all.
But Dan wasn’t Danny. Danny had proven that in their fight. Danny was more stubborn. More determined. He was stronger than Dan was and was certain he could succeed.
So he tried.
Over and over…
And over…
And over…
When the Justice League finally passed the Meta Protection Acts, they had learnt of the Anti Ecto Acts. They learnt of a small town in the middle of Illinois that had been cut off from the rest of the world because of bogus laws and bias science. When they went to intervene, it was with the hope of liberating the town. Of shutting down the bigoted idiots hiding behind government approval.
What they found instead was ruins. The solo survivor seemingly haven taken his own life moment before they had arrived.
Before they couldn’t fully process was lied before them however, the teenager’s heart started beating again.
So the JL have accepted that they r never gonna understand Batman. Wonder Woman and Superman r the closest to understanding him but even for them it’s not 100%
Sometimes bats just does things they don’t understand. He has rules and morals he won’t cross no matter what and just overall has a way of thinking that no one can follow along.
At least that’s what they thought until phantom joined.
From day one he just, got Batman. Something that most of the JL was convinced was impossible and Phantom had somehow managed to wrap his head around how bats thinks in like a day.
The league wonder just how he does it for ages before caving and deciding to ask him.
“Oh, that’s because he thinks like a ghost.”
… that wasn’t a very helpful answer but did somehow explain it
So the JL have accepted that they r never gonna understand Batman. Wonder Woman and Superman r the closest to understanding him but even for them it’s not 100%
Sometimes bats just does things they don’t understand. He has rules and morals he won’t cross no matter what and just overall has a way of thinking that no one can follow along.
At least that’s what they thought until phantom joined.
From day one he just, got Batman. Something that most of the JL was convinced was impossible and Phantom had somehow managed to wrap his head around how bats thinks in like a day.
The league wonder just how he does it for ages before caving and deciding to ask him.
“Oh, that’s because he thinks like a ghost.”
… that wasn’t a very helpful answer but did somehow explain it
In order for Danny to go ghost he has to die. Every, single, time. While it was definitely concerning at first, there r only so many times u can die and be ok before u just stop freaking out about it.
This is why when a 20 y/o Danny gets kidnapped by a cult that intends to use him as a sacrifice to a demon, he is oddly calm about the whole thing. As soon as they kill him he’ll just turn into a ghost and stop them so it’s fine.
Problem, he was expecting the summoning part of this whole shebang to happen after his death. Whatever, he’s fought demons before so as soon as they do kill him he’ll just have to kick this guy’s ass and then put a stop to the cult.
Only he’s plans r changed, get again, when some of the batkids show up before the cult can kill him. Double fuck bc it’s clear these guys r not equipped to handle a demon and with how he’s a little tied up right now he can’t really kill himself. So with very limited options he resorts to asking the heroes to kill him.
Needless to say, Nightwing is very concerned about the seemingly suicidal hostage. Red Robin is confused as fuck and decided it’s probably best to leave the guy tied up until they could drop him off at a hospital. Spoiler thinks the guy’s just joking but gets more concerned the more he insists they kill him. Hell even Robin and Orphan are thrown off by the guy’s repeated requests for death as the fight goes on.
It’s at this point that Red Hood, getting tired of the guys voice, decided to actually asks the guy why he wants to die.
Problem with this is Danny fucking sucks at explaining things and for some reason thinks “I can totally kick that demon dudes ass but like, only if I’m dead.” Is a satisfactory answer.
For most of the bats it’s not. For Hood tho? Who has a better understanding of magic than the rest of the fam and has been wanting to shut this guy up all fight?
Had the idea of ER nurse Danny and ER doc Damian working in the same ER.
Like their the same age but Danny was working there first (bc it takes less time to become a nurse than a Dr) and everyone in the ER loves him. He is the most component nurse they’ve ever had and is always cool, calm and collected even in the most stressful of times. Drs know that if shit hits the fan they can pass any patient that’s not dying right this second over to Danny and he’ll get them sorted all by himself, cracking jokes the whole time to keep everyone else from freaking out.
Then Damian starts working there and he’s basically a no nonsense Danny. Nothing fazes the guy. On his second day there he handled a gun shoot wound, spinal injury, rib fracture and stabbing all within an hour of starting his shift, all on different patients. He gets in, gets shit done and moves on as if he was dealing with a minor problem not 3rd degree burns.
Now these two, despite working at the same hospital, have never met. Bc Danny works the night shift and Damian works the day and every person that works there is so fucking glad that’s the case bc non of them expect them to get alone. Like Danny’s all wise cracks and jokes and Damian is all ‘stop wasting time’ so even tho they’re both efficient as fuck, no one expects them to tolerate each other.
Then on the first Halloween Damian works there, every member of staff is on shift bc it’s fucking Gotham and all the staff r just bracing for the inevitable fall out of two unstoppable objects colliding. Only it never happens bc these two get alone like a house on fire. Like yeah normally Damian gets up people goofing off but that’s bc their not doing work and just wasting time, he sees nothing wrong with Danny’s jokes bc he’s getting work done while he jokes. It’s like working with Dick, he honestly finds it a bit reassuring bc if Danny is cracking jokes it can’t be that bad. Danny on the other hand is just so glad to have someone else that can keep pace with him. Normally by this time of night he’s juggling 8 to 18 patients on his own with only minimal help from the on shift doctors but now Damian is right there with him and the two r basically tag teaming the hoard of mass casualties that just came in.
Needless to say that night Gotham general was the most efficient hospital on the planet and every doctor and nurse on staff have the horrible realisation that while they had mentally prepared for these two fighting, they hadn’t prepared for the fucking hurricane these two form when they get alone. 
In order for Danny to go ghost he has to die. Every, single, time. While it was definitely concerning at first, there r only so many times u can die and be ok before u just stop freaking out about it.
This is why when a 20 y/o Danny gets kidnapped by a cult that intends to use him as a sacrifice to a demon, he is oddly calm about the whole thing. As soon as they kill him he’ll just turn into a ghost and stop them so it’s fine.
Problem, he was expecting the summoning part of this whole shebang to happen after his death. Whatever, he’s fought demons before so as soon as they do kill him he’ll just have to kick this guy’s ass and then put a stop to the cult.
Only he’s plans r changed, get again, when some of the batkids show up before the cult can kill him. Double fuck bc it’s clear these guys r not equipped to handle a demon and with how he’s a little tied up right now he can’t really kill himself. So with very limited options he resorts to asking the heroes to kill him.
Needless to say, Nightwing is very concerned about the seemingly suicidal hostage. Red Robin is confused as fuck and decided it’s probably best to leave the guy tied up until they could drop him off at a hospital. Spoiler thinks the guy’s just joking but gets more concerned the more he insists they kill him. Hell even Robin and Orphan are thrown off by the guy’s repeated requests for death as the fight goes on.
It’s at this point that Red Hood, getting tired of the guys voice, decided to actually asks the guy why he wants to die.
Problem with this is Danny fucking sucks at explaining things and for some reason thinks “I can totally kick that demon dudes ass but like, only if I’m dead.” Is a satisfactory answer.
For most of the bats it’s not. For Hood tho? Who has a better understanding of magic than the rest of the fam and has been wanting to shut this guy up all fight?
First up, this is set centuries into the future. Danny is the ghost king and ancient of space and has taken Ellie (I like that name for her better) in as his daughter.
As is normal for all families, Danny and Ellie don’t always agree on everything. One particular point of contention between the two is Danny being overprotective. She understands that it’s in his nature as a protector spirt but that doesn’t make it any less annoying to have him hovering over her all the time. Just because she’s eternally 12 doesn’t mean she’s defenceless.
After one particularly bad fight between the two she flies off into a random dimension to get some space. The dimension she ends up in being the dc one. After awhile a just exploring and following the heroes of this world she has an idea. What better way to show to her dad that she can handle herself than by becoming a hero?
She introduces herself to the heroes of this world and (after confirming with JLD that she is in fact a ghost and she does in fact have good interiors) ends up joining one of the younger teams (I’m parcel to YJ but teen titans works to)
Now here’s the thing about Ellie. Just like her dad she sucks at explaining things. It just isn’t her strong suit. So when one of them asks about her death, she (after explaining they shouldn’t ask that) explains that she’s a neverborn. She never died, she’s just always been a ghost. Later on when someone asks her how neverborns come to exist she gives the ‘ectoplasm forming about an idea or concept’ explaining and completely forget to mention that’s not the only way.
Needless to say, the team think she doesn’t have parents. Especially adding on the fact she’s still a little pissed at Danny so doesn’t talk about him.
This lead to them being very confused when, in the middle of a huge alien invasion that they were very much about to lose, Ellie yells out “DAD!!!”
That confusion turns into terror when the night sky itself opens its eyes.
So I saw a fully dead au for Danny and got inspired and I’m about to make it y’all fucks problems.
If there was one thing the inter league agreed on, it was that they loved Phantom. Even though some would never admit it Batman the kid had a special place in all their hearts. He’d been there with them from the very formation of the team. The forever youngest amongst them always managed to cheer them up no matter what they were facing. That’s why when his death day rolled around again Flash had an idea. He wanted to do something special for the kid. Lord knowns he deserves it. The problem was what to do.
They had already learnt from a lengthy lecture from Constantine that u don’t gift ghost presents on their death days. It was seem as rude. So that ruled that out but it wasn’t the only option.
“Best thing you can do is pay respects at his grave.” John grumbled half awake after Barry finally managed to track the fucker down. “A big thing with ghost is being remembered and all that. So leave some flowers or some shit.”
“Sweet!! Thanks John.” And in a flash he was gone… and in another flash he was right back. “Wait do you know where his grave is?”
John looked at him flatly. “No idea.” Then slammed the door in his face.
Whelp, so much for this being easy. It didn’t matter to much however for the very next day was a league meeting. One Danny was off world for and so would miss. A meeting that was being held by the one man that knows everything! He’d surely know where Danny’s buried!
“I don’t know.”
The room went quiet as they all turned to the Bat. All in various states of shock over the fact he even knew those words.
Flash took a second to reboot his brain. “W-what do you mean you don’t know?!” Because surely not! Batman knows everything! How does he not know where the grave of one of his teammates are?
The man sighed, typing away at his computer before pulling up a file onto the larger screen for everyone to see. “Danny Fenton went missing in the 80’s at 14 years old.” A photo of the kid was enlarged. It was weird seeing him like this. With black hair and blue eyes. A healthy red flush on his face. He looked so alive. “A week later was the first sightings of Phantom. Years after, it was ruled a cold case.”
“And you just let it go?” Diana walked up beside them, glaring into the back of Batman’s head. “You knew that boy was probably kidnapped, most likely murdered and you let it go?”
“No.” As ever he didn’t seemed bothered by the accusation. “I asked Phantom. He didn’t say much but did assure me it wasn’t a murder. It was an accident and no one was at fault.” The silence that took over the room this time was different. Full of melancholy. They all knew Danny died. Dead young at that. It was another thing to hear this. One by one each of them coming to haunting realisation that if his death was never report, he most likely died alone.
“So what else have you found?” For the first time in this whole conversation, Bruce turned to glare at Clark. “Oh come on Bats. Your, you! You wouldn’t leave it at that. So what else did you find?”
For most the sigh he gave would have sounded the same as the others but to those in the room, those that knew him so long, they could hear slight embarrassment at getting called out. He turned back to the screen, pulling up a list of names and a map. “Nothing much. I’ve searched the area around Amity Park and couldn’t find anything. I have a list of family members and friends to question but.” He trailed off.
“But Batman can’t look into this.” Canary continued for him. “If you were to start poking around a 30 year old cold case people might figure the connection back to Phantom.” Batman nodded with a grunt.
Seemed they reached another dead end. Maybe he would have to think of a different way to celebrate Phantom’s death day after all.
“Well,” Flash turned his attention when Supers spoke up again. “Batman might not be able to. But Clark Kent can.” Everyone’s eyes turned to him. “I mean I am a reporter. I can say I’m doing a passion project on old cold cases or something.”
“Oh yeah!” Hope filled Barry’s smile. “I can help to!”
“But your a chemist?” Diana cut in.
“A forensic chemist! Who better to help with cold cases than a guy that works in criminology?” The others were reluctant to admit he had a point.
They all knew Bruce enough to know his next sigh as one of exhaustion. Without a word he printed the list of names and contacts for the two, knowing there was no stopping them now.
“Sweet!! Thanks bats!! Let’s go!” The page was pulled from Barry’s hands before he could make a run for it.
“Hold on.” Clark stopped him while looking over the list. “It’d probably be a good idea to give them a call first. Ask if they’re even willing to answer questions.”
He deflated. Annoyed by how much sense that make. “Alright then.” He grumbled.
It didn’t take as long as he expected to get a response. The first two were from Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, only hours after Clark sent them an email. They were Danny’s best friends and the last people to see him alive. Unfortunate, the response was ‘no’. One using a lot more colourful language than the other but a no all the same. It was a two days later they got another response. This one from Dr Jasmine Fenton, Danny’s older sister. This time it wasn’t a no.
That what lead them here. In the waiting area of Dr Feton’s office. “You think the long wait is to psych us out?” Barry asked as it approached the hour mark.
Clark didn’t look up from his magazine as he responded. “Don’t think so little of her. She’s really busy.”
“Oh no, that’s not me thinking little of her.” He picked up one of the fidget toys on the table next to him. “She’s a psychologist, a top psychologist. This is totally her trying to psych us out.”
“Mr Clark, Mr Allen.” They looked over to the door that opened to their right. A tall, red haired woman stood with half a foot in the doorway. “Sorry for the wait. Come on through.” 
The office was really not what they expected. Rather than the clean, professional look that Canary has this office had a more welcoming feeling. It’s large armchairs and sofa paired with a light green rug made it look more like a seating room if you ignore the desk in the corner. “I apologise for having this meeting at my office. It was the only time I could fit you in.” Jasmine sat on the armchair closest to her desk, inviting the others to seat where they please with a wave at the over chairs. “Now, you wanted to talk about Danny?”
“Yes,” Clark sat up. “We have been wanting to look into cold cases for a while, as a passion project. Seeing if we can find out more and maybe even get some answers. When we saw Danny’s case it seemed like a good one to start with.”
She gave a hum of acknowledgement. “And why would that be? I understand that some people have a fascination with old cases but Danny disappeared over 30 years ago. Plus there has been nothing found since then. If your goal is to solve the case then I’m sorry but I don’t really think that would be possible.” 
“Well you never know until you try.” Clark smiled back. “And we plan to publish our findings as well. So even if we don’t solve it someone, perhaps who knows more information or can find new information, can.”
His words really didn’t seem to have the effect they were hoping for. Rather than looking hopeful at the idea of finding out what happened to her brother, Dr Fenton face took on a stone cold look.
“Mr Clark.” Barry was really happy he stayed quiet in this. Even without the dead tone turned at him, he still felt weirdly intimidated. “I am here talking with you in my free time, as myself not a psychologist. So I’m gonna to drop all pretenses and be blunt.” She learnt forward on her chair. Despite the fact that she was still seated, the two heroes were suddenly reminded of the fact that Jasmine was 7’1. They also learnt that the intimidation was intentional. “Why should I tell you anything if you have not said a single honest word since you stepped through my door?”
Barry looked at Clark for answers but got non. It was quite shocking to see the seasoned journalist and part time superhero at a loss for words. In fact Barry had never seen it before at all. He turned back to Jasmine’s cold gaze as she stared them down before shaking her head. “If that’s all. Ill have to ask you to-“
“We want him to be remembered.” Clark looked over as Barry said the words before he could even think them. “You’re right. This case is cold. There’s no way we could solve it but that doesn’t mean he should be forgotten.” He took a breath as his eyes met hers. Her face was still blank but in a less cold way. More neutral than silent rage.
“Danny was a kid. A good kid. A kid that most likely died alone and scared and…” he looked down the hide the tears in his eyes. He didn’t like thinking about how Phantom died. Didn’t like to think about how the happy, brave, strong kid just died. Alone, hurt and scared. It broke his heart. “He deserves to be remembered.”
For a moment all that was heard was the ticking of the wall clock. Clark glanced between the two, Barry stilling looking down whereas Dr Fenton looked off to the side. A moment more passed before Jazz sighed in defeat. “Our parents were scientist. Though, no one took them seriously.” She leant back in her chair, pulling her glasses off to rest them on her head. “It made sense, I mean. They studied ghost. Even if their inventions were amazing, especially for the times, no one took them seriously.”
Barry looked up, giving her his full attention as she sighed again. “They thought that if they could just get proof. Physically proof that ghost were real, that they lived in the dimension right next to ours, that people would finally believe them.” She looked over to a small cabaret, tucked into the corner of the room. “So, they tried to build a machine. One that would give them proof. They built a portal to that world.”
Clark was stunned. Inter dimensional travel was something the leagues still struggled with today. If they had been successful, way back in the 80’s they really must have been ahead of the times.
“It didn’t work though, not at first.” Barry was enraptured by the tale as his mind went faster that his feet did most days. What did this have to do with Danny? Why was she telling them this? The more he thought the more he started not likely the conclusions he reached. “Then one day, about 2 weeks after the failure, Danny’s friends were over and wanted to have a look. We lived in a small town, you see. The crazy scientists were the most interesting thing that towns seen in years.” She huffed out a bitter laugh.
“Danny went with them. While our parents  were never the best at lab safety, we did still know the basics.” A cold dread washed over Barry. Images of a different lab, of different lacks safety regiments came to mind. “When they wanted to have a look in the portal, he said he wanted to check it out first. Make sure it was safe. So put on a hazmat suit and went in.”
He felt sick. He always found it kind of weird that Danny wore a strange suit. Had assumed that because ghosts can alter their appearance that Danny had simply chose to wear a suit like them. It never really fit though. The suit didn’t look like theirs. To loose fitting. Made of rubber instead of spandex or Kevlar.
“Then he tipped… and it turned on.” Clark’s breath hitched in his throat. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t this. “I ran down when I heard Sam and Tuck screaming. They were hysterical. Took about an hour to calm them down enough to understand what happened.” She sniffed as tears pooled at her eyelids.
“We thought maybe he was just somewhere else. I mean it was a portal, there had to be another side. Somewhere Danny ended up. I guess we were right in a way. Just not the way we wanted.” Jazz sighed as she looked down at her lap. “We didn’t want to get in trouble, didn’t want Danny getting in trouble when he got back. So we said he just disappeared. Hoping he’d show up again and it be fine.” She voice cracking as her lip trembled. “Then Phantom showed up and I just knew. I knew that was Danny.”
She looked up at the two, a pleading look mixed with her grief. “Then mom and dad attacked him. They thought ghost were evil and I… I was scared. I didn’t know what they would do if they knew it was Danny. I didn’t know.”
Clark leant forward to place a hand on the woman’s knee. “You were a kid too. You were just doing what you thought was right.” His soft words seemed to calm her as she wiped her tears.
“I know. I know that now but sometimes.” She sighed again. “Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better if they knew. If Danny could have gotten the send off he deserved.”
The three sat there for a moment. Sorting through their emotions when one thought resurfaced in Barry’s mind. “Did you ever… find his body. You said it was a portal right? Does that mean?”
Jazz shook her head. “No. Maybe if he had just walked through it or died next to it but.” She looked over to the cabinet again. “The portal opened on top of him. Through him. There was nothing left to find…”
The three sat in the silence for a moment. Barry didn’t know what to think other than just absolute heart brake. What he had learnt from John about ghost came to mind, how important graves were, how important being remembered was. All these things that Danny never got.
“Did he ever have a funeral?” The info Bat’s gave them didn’t mention one but there was still a chance. Whatever small hope Barry had was shattered as Jazz shook her head. She sighed, before standing and walking over to the cabinet.
“Mom and Dad refused to believe he was gone. They thought a ghost took him for some reason.” She scoffed. “We did the best we could for him. Sam, Tucker and I.” She opened the cabinet to show a shrine of sorts. Danny’s photo sitting next to a small vase of flowers, a toy rocket ship sitting between them. “It never felt like enough though.”
Barry walked up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. An idea beginning to form. “Well, we can change that.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was good to be back. Don’t get him wrong, Danny loved going on space missions. I mean, it was space!! But earth would always be his home. Plus, he managed to make it just in time to. Letting out a happy chip, he flew through the walls of the watch tower into the main meeting room.
“Happy death da- where is everyone?” They should be here. For years now, ever since the league learnt of death days, they made it a priority to be at the watch tower to celebrate with him. So where was everyone?
“Just in time Danny!” Looking off to the side he saw flash. Well, Barry he guessed, as the man was out of uniform. “Come on, we’re gonna be late.”
“Late for what?” He asked as the speedster grabbed his hand and lead him to the Zata tubes.
“A surprise! Just for you.” Barry smiled, really hopping Danny did like this and he hadn’t made the wrong decision. A bright flash later and they were stepping out into the streets of Amity. A car waiting for them just ahead that Barry coaxed Phantom into.
Danny had no clue what was going on but just decided to enjoy the ride. Looking out the window at his haunt. The closer they got to the destination the more people he spotted. Dash and Paulina, Wes and Mikey even Mr Lancer were all there. Dressed in black and heading to the same place.
“It’s alright if you want to stay invisible for this.” Barry’s voice pulled his eyes way from the window. “Or if you want to reveal yourself, that’s fine to.” He smiled at the kid.
“I still don’t know what ‘this’ is.” He gestured as the car parked.
“You’ll see.” Was the only response he got. Deciding to be safe, he turned invisible as he followed Barry out of the car and into the graveyard. A small flicker of hope building in his chest.
It was a hope he had given up on a long time ago. When it became clear his parents would never accept the truth. He tried to push it away. Not wanting to face the hurt and disappointment again. Part of his wanted to leave, not wanting to sit through someone else getting what he never did. Just as he was thinking that however, they came up to the gathering of people and he saw it.
A closed coffin above an empty grave. Flowers adorning every part of the lid around a single photo frame. A frame with his face on it. Tears weld in his eyes as he looked at the photo, then to the people around him. There was so many of them. His old classmates, grown with some of them having their children standing beside them. His neighbours stood off to the side next to a woman he recognised as the owner of the corner shop near his school. The now retired directive he followed years ago when the man investigated his ‘disappearance’. A man, which he now recognised as one of the kids Jazz used to babysit, stood with his wife. All of them mingling amongst each other and various league members. A icy breath drew his eyes up, revealing hundreds of ghost, hidden from human eyes. Old enemies and friends alike all gathered around. Johnny and Kitty, boxy and lunch lady, even Skulker was there.
As he fought to hold back his sobs a voice cleared from beside the coffin. Looking over he saw his sister standing at the head of it in a black dress suit. Sam to her right, looking right at home in her gothic inspired funeral gown and Tucker on her left, tugging at his uncomfortable tie. A hush fell over the crowed as everyone turned to Jazz as she began to speak.
She spoke of him. Of his life. Tears weld in her eyes as a bitter sweet smile graced her face. She spoke of the boy who wished to see the stars. Of the brother she lost to soon. The one she will always hold in her heart and memories for the rest of her days.
Danny sat on the coffin, His coffin, as he listened. A wobbly smile on his lips and tears ran down his face as he listened to her. He sat and listened as Sam stepped forward and spoke as well, then as Tucker did the same. A sense of peace, one he didn’t know he was missing, came over him as he heard their goodbyes.
He looked over the crowd as the speeches came to an end. His eyes finding Bruce, tucked away in the back with sunglasses on. They must have had thermal vision as Bruce was able to meet his eyes. A small nod was given to the young man. While Bruce wouldn’t reveal someone else secret, he trusted Danny to make his own choice.
Look back at his sister and friends. He knew the choice he had to make. With barely a thought he dropped his invisibility. Hushed gasped was heard throughout the crowd as the thing they all suspected was confirmed. The ghost child that had save all of them more times than they could count was the very child all of them had knew. The boy so many of them felt they had failed was the same as the boy that had protected them for decades.
Their hero was their Danny.
Jazz smiled through her tears at her brother. Her arms lifted in a silent invitation that he quickly accepted. Flying into his sister’s arms as his core sung out in joy. A breeze chilled the air as snow began to fall.
Pulling away from his sister, he caught sight of a covered stone behind her. Seeing what had got his attention, Jazz stood to the side as Sam removed the black cloth draped over it.
It was beautiful. Black stone polished to a shine with white flecks scattered about it in a way they reflected the night sky. On the face of it, caved with the utmost care was his name, along with a simple message.
