Dp x dc prompt cuz my head is empty, and the dp x dc tag knocks around like a screen saver.
So, I've seen a few prompts about the JL misunderstanding Amity Park's situation and inviting Red Huntress to join, or just thinking he's the villain in general.
Now, I can kinda see that happening for most of the JL. It's shown they can be pretty black and white about things. They're not dumb. They just tend to get ahead of themselves or be a little too sure of themselves.
But not Batman. He's learned to always be suspicious. Always think there's another layer to the mystery. So when this villain is presented to them, The Phantom, he's immedietly skeptical.
The worst they have on him is some burglary and one instance of kidnapping. The burglary was clearly mind control, different outfits, different eyes, and completely different behavior from what was Phantom's standard. The kidnapping was just that, kidnapping. It wasn't even long or serious. No ransom, the victim was unharmed and safely returned. The property damage they often point too aswell is usually minimal compared to what Superman or Batman have caused. Property damage is a necessary risk in the hero buisness.
Then there was the hero Red Huntress. There is no doubt she is a hero. She saves and deffends the innocent. That being said, there are instances of her getting between Phantom and other ghosts, only to result in the collateral damage being higher. Even more so, to call the Red Huntress the main hero of Amity Park's would be a lie. Phantom was fighting for and deffending the town for almost half a year before she showed up.
The most damning evidence to Batman was when the JL showed up, claiming to help fix the town's ghost problem, and in a Freudian slip from Wonder Women, "remove the threat that is the Phantom." What they hadn't realised at the time was that Phantom was watching. Batman saw him standing atop a nearby clock tower. He saw that familier look in the ghost's eyes, a look he has seen from his own children time and time again. Absolute heartbreak. A loss of all trust and hope. The Phantom was hurt and scared.
After that, The Phantom disappeared. At first the disappearance was considered a cause for celebration. The JL was congratulated on scaring the menace away. But the first ghost attack without him happened. This ghost wasn't one seen before. It was vicious, pulled no punches, and it found joy in the pain it caused. Huntress managed to defeat it, but not without a few crumbling buildings and injured civilians. Red Huntress asked it why, what did it gain? It just laughed and said, "The Phantom is gone! No one to fear anymore, no one to stop us from getting what we want!"
It was all downhill from there. Increasingly aggresive and powerful ghosts would appear. Causing more and more damage. Boasting and thanking the heroes for "pushing Phantom out of the way" now they knew their mistake. Phantom wasn't the menace terrorizing the innocent. He was the hero keeping the evil at bay. Now without him, all hell will break lose.
The one thing Batman can't figure out is that while this black-haired teenager, with tired eyes, in an oversized NASA hoodie and torn jeans, watches the fights with a look of absolute malace and sorrow.
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This isn't meant to villanise the JL. I've just noticed an interesting pattern of them having one idea and sticking to it, Batman usually being the one to tell them otherwise. I can imagine Batman tried to warn them. Superman listened and agreed that they needed to look into it more, but Wonder Women already had a speech planned and accidentally slipped up. But the chearing was so loud and instant they didn't have time to backtrack.
Meanwhile, Danny is going through it. He just kinda decided, "Yeah, I'll let them try for... mmmmm... a month. Then We'll see." The sorrow is cuz he's realising how much he actually mattered, and despite that, no one else could ever see it. Just because he lets them fight doesn't mean he is entirely retired, tho. He saves people from rubble and stray blasts, but they're all a bit too distracted by the murderous ghosts to really notice.
Everything else is up to you.
But I leave you with this, based on a personal experience with my dad. Batman finding out Phantom is Danny, looking at him so sincerely, and saying, "You have no idea how much you help. You make it all so much better." And just wrapping Danny in his cloak as he cries and sobs.