Danny: Its simple. You pretend to be human me at the Gala, while I be ghost me in the city at the same time and the Waynes will never find out that I'm a Halfa.
Amorpho: Why not just tell them?
Danny: And lose the best Foster placement I ever had over the chance they're anti-ecto? No.
Amorpho: Foster placement? No, you're a Wayne Ward. That's completely different-
Danny: Can you just do this for me!?
Amorpho: Alright, but know this. I am not entertaining whatever is going on with that Timothy boy
Danny: Tim? Yeah, he's one of the weird ones. He's dating this conspiracy theorist who is uncomfortably close to finding out my identity.
Amorpho: Really? How close is he?
Danny: Bernard thinks I'm either a zombie or a vampire. Both undead but not in the right range. Oh by the way, if a hot blond guy rushes at you with garlic, thats Bernard.
Amorpho: Alright but that doesn't explain Timothy. Is he...well? You know, in the mind?
Danny: To be honest, ever since Jazz and I were sent here, I've noticed none of the Waynes seem well. I don't know what their issues are, and frankly, I don't care to know. This manor isn't haunted, and I have retired from the hero scene. Phantom is going to be a tourist in Gotham and the Fenton Siblings are just unfortunate children who had a rich guy take them in due to a favor he owed Mom from back in college.
Amorpho: Alright but I've seen the way that boy looks at you. If he tries to dissect me or sacrifice me from some cult while im pretending to be you, all bets are off. I am flying out of there.
Danny: Of course.....how do you feel about stabbing?
Amorpho: Why? Should I be worried about stabbing?
Danny: Only around the youngest. Damian is a little...standoffish.
Amorpho: I don't like that.
Danny: And Jason, the second oldest, may catch you in a four hour rant about killing clowns when necessary just nod when he does. Dick likes invade personal space for hugs and sometimes if he smiling real big, like too big, check the right corner of his left eye. If that thing is twitching, it means Dick is mad. Which means you run.
The Horseman War was angered. Someone took his Death. He could not find him in the realm beyond, could not feel their bond thrum in his core. Every island, every small community, big fortress, and lone travelers were searched, interrogated, no grave left unchecked.
There was only one place left, one place War swore to never return to, but to find his Death, he must.
It was terrifying waking up in the box, feeling the rush of air in his lungs again after what felt like a lifetime. The wetness of his blood on his fingertips gave an unsettling feeling of nostalgia for days among rooftops.
Jason Todd climbed out of his grave, angry, and nothing would stop him from finding Danny Fenton.
Jason and Danny had been exploring the Infinite Realms for what has felt like centuries, but they knew for a certainty in their cores, that it has merely been months in the human realm. Jason had been dead for what only felt like minutes before he saw a portal open up near where he woke, and saw someone that he knew was both his, and yet... someone he had not met before.
He knew their face and name and core and who they were before they had ever spoken a word to each other.
Jason knew that they were Death, or would be in the near future, but also knew that they were destined to be his for the rest of eternity. Jason knew that his Danny was someone who he has waited for since the dawn of time, and yet he's not spoken a word to Danny yet.
Danny meanwhile, has only just awoken from what felt like an eternity from dying and being brought back to life, again and again in the same instant, only to open his eyes to find the most beautiful stranger and his most precious War that he knew instantly. They knew each others souls before they could even utter a word to the other.
After they spent what felt like millennia together, wandering the realms and trying to find the other two horsemen, who they knew they would only find after searching for a long time, Danny defeated the former Ghost King and became the true personification of Death.
When they met Clockwork and asked why they were made two of the horsemen, Clockwork replied, "Danny will always die in the exact moment that he exists, while also living in that moment. He is truly the epitome of death, and all that it entails. And Jason, from the moment you were born, you were fighting, waging a war against the world for even a sliver of a chance to survive the day. You took that war and waged it against those who harmed, and yet still kept a kindness to you that many others could only dream to have. The both of you have been prepared for your roles since you were old enough to breath. That is why you were both chosen by the Realms to be two of the Horsemen."
Danny and Jason had taken that to heart, and worked to be the best version of The Horsemen that they could be.
However, it did not last as long as they thought it would.
Jason had been organizing a way for the ghosts of the realms to get a new way to meet new friends via a sort of "Ghost Fight Club" when he felt it. His Other Half, His One Above All Else, was suddenly out of reach. He could not feel His Other Half in their connection.
Suddenly, all that Jason could feel, was rage.
Jason could not recall what he did next, but he did wake in his own coffin, with the distinct knowledge that it had been six months since he died in the living world. He dug his way out, and all he could feel was green.
Someone took His Death, and now they will find out why he was created and cultivated and prepared to be War.
(posted to AO3 btw! link below)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Everyone has a Soulmate Mark, when you are born it is in a bright color outline, just the simple shape.
Then, when you meet your Soulmate it becomes colored in, becoming a beautiful picture of something that shows you and your soulmates love for each other.
Jason Todd is born with folded wings across his back in acidic green, and when he becomes Robin he knows the wings symbolize that part of him, showing that he had always been meant to fly.
Then when Jason is fifteen, his back goes ice cold in the middle of the day, like someone dumped a bucket of water across him. His outline is no longer vibrant green of life and energy, but the soulless black of a dead soulmate.
It doesn’t take to long for him to go off the deep end and start taking risks as Robin, and even as Bruce yells at him for hurting someone to much and one guy getting in accident, Well when Jason learns about his mother, his true mother.
Well Jason Todd welcomes that blinking countdown inside the warehouse Joker has left him in.
Then he wakes up and all he can see and feel is green rage and pain.
It takes him a long time to notice the changes to his soulmate mark, but when he does it makes his pain all the more real.
Where had once been an outline when he died, was now dull color across his skin, not quite black and white, but washed out color.
Black wings, with red-orange shoulders, the wings of Red shouldered Blackbird.
Jason tries to ignore it, but the knowledge that he had met his Soulmate in Heaven or Hell, despite not being able to remember it, soothes his broken heart just a little bit.
Meanwhile, Danny Phantom searches desperately for his missing Soulmate, across his back large white and green wings beating desperately.
This started because I wanted to Draw Dead On Main with wings, and then, it kind of drew me in to creating a tiny story for it, so here you go, anyone want to write a fic for me??
It all started as a little Joke for Danny. Jazz mentioned Dan needing a place to decompress and that resulted in Danny getting a crazy idea while he sat in the Buisness Class Course of his Highschool. It wasn't supposed to become a serious business but somehow the little warehouse in Amity Park he secured, through blackmailing Vlad cause the man owns him after all he was put through. Became an official big store, once Dani put up a sign saying 'Dan's Rage Room' as joke.
People of Amity Park apparently thought it was a legit store. And damn... Danny shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when more and more people appeared and asked how much an hour costed. It was Sam and Tucker that then convinced him to make it a legitimate Business, Jazz and his mother helped him fill out the form. And so 'Dan's Rage Room' became Danny's very own Business. Though he did try to push splitten ownership onto his clones/time selves/ cousins/ clone siblings / clone kids (It's complicated okay? Danny still hasn't figured out how to categorise Dan and Dani, but hey they were family.) But Dan and Dani refused to take any sort of owner ship, even when everything originally started as a place for Dan to unwind.
Eitherway his Business grew, and Danny ended up expanding to other cities, figuring out that if Amity Park's people needed this, others would too. With a bit of help and unwilling on his part teaching from Vlad. Danny opened up more Stores, Central City, Metropolis, Star City. Unintentionally Danny made enough money so much that he didn't knew what to do with it and suddenly felt a new kind of understanding for Sam. Despite being sure his parents likely already did that Danny made money Fonds for Jazz, Dan and Dani. He didn't have much hope to go to collage himself considering his grades but that was fine with him. (According to what clockwork let slip and he hadn't told anyone, he would become King of the Infinite realms anyway, no need for a college degree for that, right?)
And wenn his sister decided she wanted to go to university in Gotham, the most crime riddled city known? None of the three D's hesitated to follow. Danny opened another branch of 'Dan's Rage Room' deciding that would finance their live in Gotham and still be an outlet for Dan.
What Danny didn't expect was the amount of people that weren't just 'goons' like he expected paying to let loose in there. Not that he recognised them but some of Danny's new regulars made sure he knew who some of the apparent Big Names showing up to his store were.
Jason at first thought that a new drug place had opened up at the border to Crime Alley, but after observation and seeing not just Goons but also regular Gothamites frequenting the place. Jason gave it a cautious shot, he wallst into the place completely geared up as Red Hood expecting some muscular unkept drug dealer or something at the reception, but what he found was a boy that didn't look older than Tim, small lanky and looking weirdly tired. That took the wind out of his sails as he stared stunned at the kid for a moment.
"Ah... I see guns. A bullet room then? You seem new too, first time? An hour costs 50 bucks added 5 for every additional half an hour." The boy looked up briefly before looking back down at the book he was reading, muttering something about his sister making him visit online classes.
Jason was just about to say something when someone walked in behind him and he blinked. A fucking dump truck of muscle walked in flaming white hair looking ready to rip something apart. The kid didn't even look up as they held up a green card and the guy stomped past him into a door, Jason assumed lead to the... rage rooms?
It took a moment but once he composed himself again, Jason opened his mouth again only to get interrupted by a little girl stomping in next, screeching about a fruitloop and stupid galas and stupid boys. Again the boy at the reception didn't even loop up, holding another green card to the girl who then proceeded to go through the same door the other guy had.
Once again it took Jason a moment to compose himself again, before he spoke, gruff and voice modulated. "One hour... gun room." He would snoop around if he could but if this really was just a rage room business... well he had some unresolved frustrations with B stocked up he could let loose.
Jason quickly became a regular at that place, he kept visiting it, even when he found out some of their big Villains frequented the place too. Though apparently the Joker was band. One day a big ass sign appeared on the side of the building spelling out 'NO CLOWNS ALLOWED'. When he asked Danny, he had gotten to know the boy at the reception desk by now and found some uncanny resemblance to his little brother, the boy had just shrugged and said "I hate clowns." Laughter barked out of Jason for no reason and he took his regular room card chuckling a "You and me, and 99% of Gotham kid."
That place quickly became one of Jasons safe heavens. Even if he ever only went there in full Red Hood gear. This place helped him manage his rage and anger. Some of his siblings started to use that room too, he knew Damian went there too. In full Robin gear mind you but apparently they had a room where he could fully test out his swords skills. Good for the kid.
But what stung though was Bruce, that man still didn't trust the place, something about background checks not adding up.
Jason was going to refute that, that was until one day he noticed an unusual amount of white van all around Danny's store. And only moments after he entered the store guys completely and ridiculously dressed in white stormed the place holding what Jason thought was futuristic Guns at the Danny's head who appeared somewhat unfazed. Well no one could place Jason for pulling out his own gun and holding it onto the dressed in White guy's head while the man spewed some nonsense about ghosts and more. Like hell he was let these people destroy a new safe heaven.
If Jason spread the word in the underground and suddenly, villains, goons and gothamites as well as vigilantes (his overprotective brothers really, Dick was not going to let someone destroy a place his little wing and baby bat loved to frequent...) started a reverse hunt on people ridiculously dressed like them. It wasn't his doing. And he certainly loved the frustration it caused Bruce too, seeing as even Gordon and the police force, corrupt or not, were in on it too. Governmental institution or not, Jason would make sure the GIW would be going down soon enough.
Hey, I dont know if you are currently acepting asks but... Please can you write something with Clockwork/Alfred? I'll give you a cookie?
I really love how you write and i cant find fics with this ship
Danny gets a cryptic message from Clockwork the night that he, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz are supposed to go on a three-week College tour road trip.
A trip that they were going to use to decide where the three graduating students planned on going to college. Jazz was coming along to ease their parents' worry, mainly as a voice of reason. She had taken time off of work and classes just to make this happen.
It had taken months to plan.
So cryptic messages put a damper on the mood. Granted, all notifications from Clockwork were cryptic, but that didn't make this any less stressful.
He had just sat by his bed, leaning his back onto his lower bed frame and mattress, when he noticed the glowing sticker note on the carpeted floor.
"What does it say?" Sam sighs, closing her suitcase. She was kneeling a few feet away from him, double-checking their luggage. "A warning about the trip? Insight of an upcoming trial? Oh, let me guess, one of us is pregnant?."
"It's me, isn't it?" Tuck asks from where he's lying on Danny's bed. He places a hand under his chin with a sigh. "I've noticed a glow in my reflection lately. Danny, you're the Father."
"Shut it, Tuck." Danny laughs, turning the glowing sticky note over. "It just has an address, a date, and a time. Nothing else. I think he wants us to go there when the day comes."
Jazz walks in carrying a tray. She insisted they all take some bedtime tea to help them get enough rest for the drive. She recently started making her own blends after much research and experimenting. Danny loves it and always begs for a jar of her tea whenever he visits her. "What's going on?"
"We have to add a stop to the road plan," Sam sighs. She takes the black mug covered in white laughing sculls, nodding in gratitude to the redhead. "In one week, we have to go to Gotham."
"That's doable. We'll be going through Bludhaven by then. We would use the following two days to go sightseeing a few cities over, but we can sacrifice one of them to head to Gotham instead." Jazz hums, mentally going over their planned-out map that she likely memorized.
Danny groans, carefully resting the black mug with white constellations on the floor beside him. "I really wanted to see the hot springs resort, though."
"Member next time, Danny." Tuck pats his head while his own black mug- this one with little game controllers- is held carefully in his other hand. "After the baby is born, we'll go again."
"Why are you stuck on the whole baby thing?"
"Danny, that's no way to speak to the father of your children, especially while he's carrying," Sam chided from her corner. "The stress is bad for the baby."
"Please stop."
"But Danny," Jazz cuts in, sitting across from him. She crosses her legs underneath her, and her black mug with white books completes the set. "You should be supportive of Tucker in this very delicate time."
"I'm going to Go Ghost and never come back."
"I knew you be a deadbeat dad," Tucker tsks.
The four burst into impish laughter; the ease of the teasing joke and the calming tea rekindled the mood of excitement, even with Clockwork's glowing sticky note being shoved into their luggage to be revisited in a week.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Danny asks again, leaning forward to where Tucker is driving.
Jaz looks around in fascination at the large houses and spacious yards they pass while Sam sleeps beside Danny in the backseat. She just finished her turn driving for seven hours and wanted to catch up on sleep.
Personally, Danny thinks she shouldn't volunteer for the first shift- they set out at four in the morning to keep to their road plan- but he knows no one else would do it if Sam didn't.
Neither Fenton works well before nine a.m., while Tucker needs help seeing in the dark, so he always gets the day shift.
Tucker's grip on the steering wheel tightens as he grits through his teeth. "For the sixth time, Danny, this is where the GPS said to go. I am literally staring at the icon move on the map as I drive."
"It's just....look at this place! It's rich people. I think they call the cops on us for driving through here." Danny defends, knowing his consent doubts driving his bed friend up a wall but unable to stop fretting.
"I don't think they call the cops....but I think we should move as quickly as possible." Jazz advised as the houses started to grow in both size and property amount. "We're almost there."
"Why would Clockwork want us to come here?" Tucker hissed as their old beat-up fan made a turn into a road that had the trees cut into arches above their heads. It was so obviously fancy that the three got highly uncomfortable. Even Sam's house wasn't so drenched in wealth, and this was just the front entrance.
"Maybe he wants us to investigate a haunted mansion." Danny offers, "Since we're in the area and all."
Danny leans back in his seat. He glances over at Sam; upon noticing the blanket she was using had slid down, he reaches over to tuck her in.
It's just as he sits back that his enhanced sight catches the faintest outline of a man in the trees, crouched down on a branch and watching them. Danny's heart spams, but he has no time to react further as the van moves on and the man's figure disappears in the floral.
"Holy shit!" Danny swears loudly, causing Tucker to jump and tilt the van.
"Dude!" Tucker hisses, "Don't do that! You scared the shit out of me."
"Sorry, sorry." Danny places a hand over his heart, trying to calm the rapid beating. "I think I just saw a demon. Pretty sure that's what Clockwork wanted us to investigate."
"A demon?" Jazz whimpers, eyes flickering all over the trees with unease. "Are you sure it was a demon?"
"It looked liked like a one," Danny responds. "I highly doubt some guy will just go around dressed like a bat for fun."
" Great. Just great. A demon, that's going to be so much fun to deal with," Tucker complains, pressing on the gas more. They don't call him out as the feeling of being watched becomes suffocating.
The sooner they're out of the open, the better.
The end of the driveway opens up to a grand manor that would have made any noble Lord green with envy. Tucker drives around the giant fountain, pulling up to the park in front of the stairway of the main entry.
He squints out the front window as he loops before gasping. "Is that Clockwork?"
The Fenton Siblings each press their noses to the glass of their windows when they come to a complete stop. Both gasped at the exact same time and in the same volume at the man who was casually waiting for them at the door.
It's obviously Clockwork, but he's not in the form they are used to. Not the flouting child, not the sticking middle-aged man, or the aged old entity. No, the form Clockwork uses is a man in his early fifties, with the grace of a sliver fox and, oh, not a ghost.
"Hello, children," Clockwork says, walking down the stairs to meet them. The three are staring at him with slack jaws, half out of their vehicle but lingering in their doors just in case.
Sam snores.
"I'm ever so glad you have come." Clockwork continues, his green eyes flickering with mirth. A smile pulls at his lips, causing laughing lines to appear around his eyes, and it complements his warm bridge skin. He is not blue. "Not a moment too late. Punctual as ever, Jasmine."
"I- ugh, thank you, sir." Jazz shutters before getting her wits about her. "Why did you call us?"
"I will be delaying your trip for the next week." Clockwork lifts up a hand as if to stop any complaints this announcement may cause, which isn't really necessary, seeing as none of them can find the strength to speak. "I will, of course, make it possible to make up the time lost. I just need you four to act as my children for the next week."
"Why?" Tucker's voice is barely above a whisper.
"I can only keep this form for seven days, as I am not a halfa, but in that time, I hope to woo a man. He is a family man through and through, so if I can show him that I am more than capable of caring for a large family, it will help me in the long run." Clockwork then shrugs. "Plus, I need an anchor, and what better than four virgins?"
"Hey!" Danny shouts offended.
Clockwork raises a brow. "Am I wrong, Daniel?"
"No, but you didn't have to expose me like that," Danny grumbles.
"Who are you trying to woo?" Jazz asks, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
Clockwork's cheeks gain a reddish hue, and the three eyes practically pop out of their socket. They never knew the time god could be so...human. It's jarring. "Alfred Pennyworth. The butler of Wayne Manor, four houses down from our manor."
"A butler?" Tucker repeats slowly, "You, the god of time and overseer of all that is, has been, and will be, want to seduce a butler?"
"Yes. He is the love of my core," Clockwork nods determinedly.
Well, who can argue with that?
"Alright." Danny agrees. "So what's our cover story?"
"Yes, my four children- all adopted- and I have recently decided to go learn about our family roots and visit our ancestral home. Only to remodel and check out the family records, we will be out by the end of the week to our next grand adventure. We are old money but one that faded from importance due to lack of contact with the rest of high society. To remedy this, I will be taking you to high-class events." Clockwork sighs dreamily. "We were invited by the Waynes to a gala tomorrow night as a welcome-back party. There, I will see Alfred."
"Alright. And the demon?"
"Demon?"
"A man in the driveway that looked like a bat." Danny helpfully says, even though his voice wavers slightly.
"Oh, you mean Bruce. Yes, that's Alfred's son. Don't worry; he can not cross our driveway. I put a spell that causes humans to forget why they were coming here if not invited by us. Also, he is not a demon. He is a human who dresses like a bat to fight crime. Bruce's children dress like birds to help him."
There is silence that sounds louder than it should as they all take in this information. Clockwork smiles at him, mischievous and graceful in equal parts as they try to make sense of the weird kid Alfred the Butler has.
"I'm going to need a lot of stress-reducing teas for this week." Jazz sighs.
"We can go buy some for you tonight," Clockwork promises, pulling out a black card and grinning with all his teeth. "We're old money now, darling."
Tim: I have to tell you something....its pretty intense
Bernard: Whatever it is, I can handle it
Tim: Okay do you remember how I was in love with one of my best friends before we met?
Bernard: Yes.
Tim: Well, I may have...done something.. that resulted in...a child
Bernard: You have a baby moma?
Tim: No...
Bernard: A baby...daddy?
Tim: No....
Bernard: ???
Tim: I may have not reacted well to Kon dying, or that we thought he had died and I sort tried to clone him to get him back.
Bernard: .....you what?
Tim: 99 attempts failed and they found my lab before I could confirm the results of number 100. I thought it failed so I had the lab go into hibernation mode and it burried itself into the earth as part of protocol and then I forgot about it because Kon was alive....but I just checked up on it again and well....This is Danny.
Danny in 2 year old toddler body with a mind of a teenager who just died in another world: Hi?
Bernard: oh
Tim: Kon doesnt know about him yet, but I couldn't just leave him there! And I understand if you aren't interested in helping me raise-
Bernard: *tearing up* I'm a dad now. This is the happiest day of my life.
Tim: I love you
Danny: How old are you? You're too young to be parents. How do you plan to financially support a toddler?!
Thinking more about the rumour if how Bruce Wayne acquired his two eldest boys because they both are carbon copies of him and everybody at first thinks that Bruce fathered them with the same woman on the side but for some reason didn't marry her or couldn't for some reason but then...
Then Superman flies into Gotham to rescue Bruce and the kids. And everybody is like, "wait a damn minute" because while Dick and Jason are copies of Bruce, they do sort of look like... And Superman is very intimate with them, hugging Dick and crouching down to talk to twelve year old Jason who looks a little wary and then there's Bruce. There's Bruce, who is smiling, not that ghastly social smile or that flirty smile but something real, and he looks so comfortable around Supes and... Did Superman just brush something off Bruce's Wayne face? Immediately rumours start spreading and Gotham has a new reason to loathe Big Blue from Metropolis:
Superman: Don't be afraid, just take my hand and we will get you somewhere safe.
Gothamite, clinging to a lamppost: How about fuck no?
Superman: um, excuse me, sir?
Gothamite: You think I'm letting you fly me out of here? Taking me off to god knows where? So you can what?
Superman: Save you?
Gothamite: Oh, like you "saved" Bruce Wayne? Got him pregnant with two babies you don't pay child support for or even visit? They're beautiful boys but I'm not having no alien baby let alone with some deadbeat baby daddy.
Superman:
Batman, deadpan: I'm mean he's right, Superman. You did me wrong like you did Bruce Wayne. Two babies and no daddy.
Gothamite, angrier now: YOU KNOCKED UP THE BAT TOO?
Batman: He won't even visit us any more. Nightwing and Robin miss him so much.
Superman:
Nightwing, holding Jason Todd, both looking like puppies in the rain: Daddy?
Don't mess with "his" Jazz or else…
People always like to learn the hard way.
Finally. A project that began back in June-July and finally it's done. Had tons of fun making this. The largest sequences I've done so far. To the point I can't upload the whole thing here either. So be sure to check part one.
Luke, Din, and Boba are investigating the ruins of a Jedi temple that was destroyed during the Clone Wars. Luke hired Din to do this because for some reason the guy always seems to get into trouble. Boba is just there to watch the chaos and laugh at Luke.
Din accidentally falls into a very old secret passage that leads them to an old room that hasn't been opened in hundreds of years. And Din lands on a rock that was sitting on a stand in the center of the room. There's a few moments of tense silence, and then the room is filled with white light.
Three people disappear and reappear in places none of them expected.
There's a sort of morbid tradition among the Robins that Jason jokingly begins. Dick makes a throwaway remark that the Robin he was is dead during a fight with Bruce, Jason, wanting to make Dick laugh, carved a tiny tombstone with "Robin I" on it and hid it in a corner of the Wayne cemetery. Dick found it funny, until... Well, you know. But after a few years and Jason gets better, Jason's actual tombstone gets removed but Dick has a second little tombstone made "Robin II". Tim thinks that's morbid, it's like they're all some sort of goldfish that keeps getting replaced over and over again, but still when it's his turn, he lays his tombstone "Robin III" next to Steph's "Robin IV". They also have a mug, thst gets passed from Robin to Robin, with Robin written on it, with 1-4 crossed out and a big bold 5 next to it.
“What, come to gloat at the fallen king, again?” The tired yet mocking voice echoed down the hall unnaturally - and Dick frowned.
They had no idea what this building had been used for. Just one day it came onto their - Batman’s - radar with a concerning number of unlicensed and unofficial military personnel… and now it was empty, hastily packed up and abandoned by the day they’d intended to check it out. They’d not gotten a clue of what this place was for, outside of automatic systems firing on Red Hood of all people. Not even giving the rest of them a single thought. In fact, Batman stepping in the path stopped the automatic machines.
“What’s the matter? Normally you’re laughing it up - lemme guess, did Boxy give you the slip again? Maybe Ember caught you in her songs yet again. The lot of you are simply incompetent, I swear.” There was something about the way the voice said the word incompetent that tickled at Dick’s brain, but he couldn’t place it at the moment.
He tapped his comm before moving down the hall, easily finding the only occupied cell.
The being looked awful. Their clothing appeared to be some sort of modified royal regalia - which, Dick realized, lent some credibility to the idea the other was a king - but had been torn and ripped to shreds. They had wounds that were sluggishly weeping a toxic green and their eyes were hazy, as if they weren’t able to see what was in front of them. If comparing them to a human would create an accurate assessment, they looked sickly and malnourished. He’d be surprised if someone told him the other had more than one meal a week for several months. “Awfully silent there, Agent A,” the being smirked in Dick’s general direction - he jolted slightly, realizing the being literally couldn’t see - and Dick grimaced at the codename. “No big, evil plans to destroy my Realms? No demands for me to help you capture my subjects? Not coming in here to make sure I don’t get any bright ideas about escaping? What’s the plan of the day, hm?”
“I’m not Agent A,” Dick didn’t know how to start this conversation, really, but that seemed like a safe starting point.
The being tried sitting up, movements limited as more glowing green trickled out of them, before grimacing and going back to their slumped position. The frown the king sent towards Dick was equal parts a misdirected glare and confusion. “No, you’re not,” the being agreed, “who are you then? Still haven’t gotten my eyesight back from your latest inane tests, fuck you very much, but I don’t recognize that voice.” Dick’s eyebrows raised and he heard Jason snort over the otherwise silent comms.
“Ah, I’m not part of… whatever this place was. I’m Nightwing,” Dick started, prepared to explain further that the Justice League was investigating this and a few other facilities like it that had come to their attention, when the king snorted.
“Sure, and I’m the Riddler.” The being stated drily. “The Justice League don’t give a damn about my people or the GIW, try again.”
Dick paused, tilting his head slightly - that tone of voice… “Why do you say that?”
The king sent as incredulous a look as they could towards Dick before they seemed almost… resigned. “Right, we’re gonna go this route, huh? A reminder that no one is going to save me or whatever? Fine, sure, might as well.” The being huffed a sigh, the sound worrisome if Dick were being totally honest. If the being were human, he’d be either getting them immediate medical attention and their lungs checked out or setting about trying to make their last moments as comfortable as possible. “Hm, let’s see, our first few calls to the JL were written off as prank calls, then I presume we called too many times - so our calls then got rerouted to you imbeciles.” Dick knows who this being was reminding him of, he knows he does, it was just on the tip of his tongue. “Tuck sent out some distress calls himself directly to a few superheroes, including Batman since you’re masquerading yourself as one of his associates.” Bruce grunted over the comm, which Dick interpreted as I never got those calls. “Then, as I’m sure you’re well aware of as Agent A gloats about it all the time, you employed one of the Justice League to help capture me. You wouldn’t have been successful in the least if you didn’t have their tech and influence. Though, the fact that you got my adoptive parents to get the drop on me helped immensely.”
There was no sound as Dick and his family processed that explanation.
The king spoke up again, seemingly unaware that they’d thrown them all for a loop, “so, did I pass? Or are we going back to the table?” Their tone was impatient, obviously wanting to dismiss whoever they thought Dick was, but with a tired wariness that came from knowing whoever it was would not leave and that they’d likely inflict pain upon the being.
“If you believe the Justice League aren’t going to help,” Dick tried wording it as carefully as he could, “then why won’t your people?”
“I’ve already told you all this,” the king growled, eyes flickering with a glow of power. The display made Dick wary - if the being could summon power while in this pitiful state, then how powerful were they actually? “I made a royal decree, telling them to avoid you lot specifically. Maybe get your head out of your asses and communicate a little better.”
“I found the power and security,” Tim said over the comm, breaking up the silence that’d permeated the device as they listened in on the conversation happening. A couple seconds later, the faint buzz Dick could hear faded and the door to the cell unlocked. “You’re safe to extract them now; medical has been set up in front of the building.”
Dick hurried to open the door, “we’re gonna need a lot more than a few bandages, Red.”
“I can see that,” Tim stated drily, likely cataloging what he could see of the being’s wounds.
“Alright, your majesty, I’m going to be moving you to a safe place to try to take care of your wounds,” Dick approached the being that was vaguely following his movements, wary of the previous power display, “so uh, please don’t attack me?”
The king frowned, had been since the moment Dick referred to them as your majesty, but didn’t protest being carefully lifted into Dick’s arms despite their confusion outside of a grimace of pain.
By all rights, the being looked as if they should be screaming.
It was a bit of a walk from the cell to the entrance, even with Dick hurrying as much as he dared, so he continued asking questions - easier ones this time. “So, what’s your name?”
The being snorted - then winced at whatever pain that had brought up, “you really have no clue what’s going on here, huh. King Phantom, High King of the Infinite Realms, Protector of Balance, yadda yadda, a bunch of titles that mean jack shit at the moment since I am, all in all, a glorified test subject.”
“And uh, how old are you?”
King Phantom didn’t respond for a moment, before weakly asking their own question. “What is the date?” When Dick responded, the King seemed to deflate even more. “I’m 16, then.”
Dick hesitated, “and… how old were you when you were captured?”
“It was a week before my 15th birthday.” More than a year. More than a year, this kid the same age as Dick’s baby brother had been in captivity, being treated as a test subject - worse than, considering their wounds weren’t even treated and they were left to die in their cell if Dick hadn’t checked that floor.
Dick could hear crashing and cursing on the other end of his comm, certain Jason was trashing whatever he could in a rage, before the sound was abruptly cut off as Tim filtered the loud noises out of the connection.
“I’m sorry,” Dick said sincerely - and the king just stared at him, despite the lack of vision.
Similar to what I've said about The Riddler, Poison Ivy has probably such an up and down relationship with the Robins because they are all such different personalities and she's just never really sure if they're fucking with her.
Dick: *strung upside down with vines*
Batman: *strung upside down with vines*
Dick: Holy Hydrangeas Batman!
Ivy, grinding her teeth: For the last goddamn time. It. Is. Mint.
Dick:
Dick: Holy Minty Fresh Feeling Bat-
Batman: For the last time, shut the fuck up, Robin. She's going to bust my other rib.
Ivy: It's too late Robin, Batman is under the control of my lilacs. He cannot hear you, so twitter away, little bird.
Jason: Oh that's what lilacs looks like.
Ivy: what?
Jason: It's Jane Austen's favourite flower. I thought they were just purple, you know, lilac. But these are blue and pink?
Ivy: Uh, yeah. Lilacs can be white too.
Jason: So cool. Do you know they belong to the olive family? And they symbolise first love?
Ivy: You know what, you can have Batman back for that. I'm actually impressed.
Tim: Hi, Miss Ivy, look I get that you're doing a whole thing here, drowning Wayne Enterprises in moss and yeah, total respect but could you maybe do this tomorrow?
Ivy: I'm reclaiming the earth one high rise at a time here Robin. Mother Earth is dying.
Tim: Again, total respect but I got this science test tomorrow and I still have zero idea about the difference between thylakoids and chloroplasts in relation to photosynthesis-
Ivy, sighing: Have you a notebook?
Tim: What?
Ivy: Mother Earth doesn't have all night, Robin. Do you have a notebook?
Tim: I have a paper one if that's-
Ivy: Just... It will have to do. Now, chloroplasts-
Steph: You're an icon
Ivy: um, thanks. But like I was saying, if the city won't stop the production of aerosols, I'm going to let the vines drop Bruce Wayne from this high rise.
Steph: No, I get that. It's just, I'm so glad somebody else gets it. Like men do not have to wear deodorant that strong or in that high of a quantity. Really you're doing us all a favour.
Ivy: So, OK, you get it. So Bruce-
Steph: He's the worst culprit! I mean, I'm guessing because I've never met this random citizen.
Damian: You have gone too far, witch
Ivy: If my only have to kill every CEO to prevent the poisoning the habitats of Bog Turtles and save them from extinction-
Damian: Hold up
Ivy:
Damian: Batman, she has a noble cause.
Batman: Buddy, didn't we talk about how murder wasn't the answer?
Damian: But the turtles have no champion, Father. They are as innocent as the civilians we save on a nightly basis. Don't we dish out violence and threat to protect them?
Batman: I...
Ivy:
Damian:
*later*
Batman, talking into comms while lugging Damian back to the Manor under his arm: Oracle, make a note to not allow Robin to have any contact with Poison Ivy while on patrol.
Bruce and Damian have a deal that if Damian can keep an animal hidden from everyone in manor—meaning he can't ask anyone else in the family to help him—for 1 month he'll be allowed to keep it. There are a bunch of other rules and amendments that apply, but by the end a contract is signed by the two of them.
Damian starts to pretty quickly regret agreeing to the deal when it becomes clear that he won't be getting anything past Alfred. It also doesn't help that the rest of his siblings have made it a game to see who can catch him the most. Because of this no animal has ever lasted more than a week.
This leads to Damian planning the ultimate animal hide-a-way plan for the next time he comes across an animal he must have. The problem is that no plans he comes up with works; until now!
It happened completely at random, he had been walking down the street when he noticed a boy around his age laying down in the alley, his arm outstretched under a dumpster. The boy clearly doesn’t notice Damian’s approach because when he starts to question what the other is doing he simply vanishes from view for a second before reappearing.
The boy just as quickly is pulling his arm out from under the dumpster and in his hand is now a small, fluffy gray kitten. Damian knows the little kitten would be the perfect friend for Alfred the cat.
After a bit of discussion Damian learns that the boy’s name is Danny, and is currently living alone in a run down building in Crime Alley.
Now Bruce said that he wasn’t allowed help from anyone in the family. Danny is NOT family and can turn himself and an object he’s holding invisible. Damian hires Danny to live in the manor for 1 month and to make sure no one sees either Danny and the kitten.
He’d normally be more invested in finding out more about this unknown meta, but he has a kitten to take care of now.
Some people would call gothamites petty, but given that most of the USA population treated them as scum, they believed that their behavior was justified.
They didn't like tourists, to put it mildly. Therefore, after learning that in their city were people on a field trip from Amity Park who could not leave Gotham for several days due to weekly escape from Arkham, the news channel immediately decided that a short interview from the guests would definitely amuse the locals. The reaction of outsiders never ceases to be ridiculous.
Reporter: ~Good afternoon~ Gotham News! May I ask you to share what you liked most about our wonderful city?
Mr. Lancer*still in a cold sweat and looks at every passerby as a potential villain*: Uh, no, me..It's so unexpected. Well, first of all, people here are very…
Danny *is high after the tasting samples Dr. Crane gave him for free and is extremely eager to share his happiness with others*,* picks a microphone*.
Danny: Gotham is the best city in the world! Like seriously, damn, I'd like to die here. Although there are constant shootings somewhere, half the time people don't even shoot at me! I haven't been this relaxed since middle school! And in the evenings, there is often such a pleasant scent of fear and despair on the streets. This fear toxin of yours is a real miracle! It's sooo good!
Sam *decides to take the initiative in her own hands before Fenton says too much*: Personally, I am very pleased with the number of green spaces you have in your city. It's nice to see that here eco-activists are really being listened to. Also, the fact that most restaurants have a thoughtful menu for vegetarians left a very pleasant impression.
Dash in his favorite T-shirt "it's not gay if he's dead": Four words. Hips of Red Hood. The fact that it is not marked in the guidebook as the main attraction of the Crime Alley is a real crime. This dude clearly never skips leg days. My respect.
Tucker: What can I say? The speed of internet here, even during villains attacks, is absolutely unbelievable. I don't want to leave this place.
Jazz: I love Gotham! Finally, I was able to buy all the works published by Dr. Harleen Quinzel. *girl picks up an impressive stack of books* For some reason, they are not available online.
The camera points at a red-haired guy with a twitching eye.
Wes: I'm 85% sure Bruce Wayne is Batman. I have a proof and I am ready to provide it.
A girl with a "Good Guess" pin from Riddler enters and takes camera away from conspiracy theorist.
Star: Sorry, he slipped out at night and went to look for problems. Again. Don't pay any attention to him. He's always like this when he drinks more than two energy drinks in a row.
Danny has found out that he tends to stay awake for weeks, if not months, at a time.
However, when he does sleep, he needs to sleep for a way longer time than people sleep.
Usually about one or three thousand years.
I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS OR THEIR WORLDS. I DO NOT INTEND TO MAKE MONEY WITH THIS POST. IF THIS POST IS ON TIKTOK I DID NOT CONSENT TO THAT. IF THIS DISCLAIMER IS MISSING THEN THE POST WAS EDITED TO NEGATE IT.
Clockwork and he figure it has to do with his body starting to absorb the Time Amulet that he shoved into his chest; his core, still growing, started to think that this foreign power source was supposed to be taken in, and has started to do so.
Danny's core is still ice, but it's also adapting the power of the Time Amulet to that; basically, Danny is mostly immune to time shenanigans naturally, and the other side effect is a huge influx of power to his core.
Problem; that is a lot of power, and Danny's body needs a lot of time to rest in ghost form to handle it without destabilizing.
So because he doesn't want to miss living his life with his family, he and Clockwork figure something out.
When he gets sleepy, and it's time for him to Sleep frfr instead of just an 8 hour catnap, Clockwork sends him to a different dimension that works on a different timeframe.
He gets a room especially made, hidden from the denizens of that world, full of never-rotting timeless comforts like pillows and blankets, and he gets to sleep.
They repurpose some of the Skeleton Army he won from Pariah Dark to serve him while he rests; they make sure he's clean, that the sheets and pillows are clean, and that snacks and drinks are available for his brief moments of wakefulness.
In this particular world, however, his sleeping chambers have been found, and he's being worshipped as the god of a cult.
They've carved a hole above his chambers, and for the most part haven't been too obtrusive, so the Skeleton Army lets them keep that hole. The cult has been sending food and treasure down, and since the Skeleton Army's primary purpose is to ensure Danny is well-fed whenever he wakes up and comfortable, they allow this.
Then the cult drops Bart Allen in the sleeping chambers, deliberately angling him so that he lands on Danny's pillow-bed, fully intending to use him to both wake up their sleeping god and be a sacrifice.
By the time Wally gets down there, ready to save Bart and defend him, the Skeleton Army is gently trying to pry the sleeping gods arms off of Bart, who has apparently become a living teddy bear for this thing.
"Uh..."
"I think they're trying to save me? This god likes to cuddle, I guess."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think he's just super tired. He might let go if you find a good enough replacement."
"Why can't you just phase out?"
"What if I wake him up and he starts searching for me? We gotta find something else he can cuddle with."
So Wally leaves on a quest, darting all over the world and bringing back huge stuffed animals in an attempt to find one that the god will accept as a substitute for Bart.
Bart, meanwhile, is living it up.
The Skeleton Army makes sure he's fed, there's like, a lot of video games that the cult threw down here, and while he is antsy cuz he can't move, at least this is actually the most comfortable bed he's ever been on.
But he is getting kinda bored, and none of the stuffed animals Wally is bringing in are working.