I've been playing with a no-one-knows AU where Danny has been married to Jason for years but hasn't told him his secret. Jason knows that Danny isn't human, but hasn't pressed because Danny is so terrified when he approaches the topic. The Batfamily do not know.
Presently, the GIW are in Gotham and closing in, and the Box Ghost has come to Danny seeking help.
This is not a prompt. This is a WIP excerpt.
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“You’re a ghost,” Jason said gently, pulling one of Danny’s hands away from his face to wrap it in his own. Danny let him. “Aren’t you?”
Danny’s breath hitched again.
Surprisingly, the Box Ghost looked almost as horrified as Danny.
“What? NO! I, the BOX GHOST, would not out Danny Fenton to his human family! For he is as human as I once was!” He flailed his arms in blatant panic. “There is nothing to reveal, for Danny Fenton is most certainly NOT a ghost!”
“What’s wrong with Danny being a ghost?” Box Lunch wanted to know, tilting her head up to peer up at her father in confusion. “Is it a secret?”
“BOX LUNCH!” the Box Ghost wailed, every inch a mortified parent.
“Yes, it was, or your father would not be so blatantly lying about it,” Damian told her, taking pity on the child ghost.
“Oh!” Box Lunch nodded seriously. “Danny isn’t a ghost!”
Danny let out a slightly hysterical laugh, and then started to cry, gasping quietly with tears pouring down his face, hunched down to hide from them. He didn’t pull his hand out of Jason’s.
“It is no longer a secret here, as it has become apparent,” Damian elaborated.
Box Lunch scrunched up her nose. “Oh.”
“Ghosts are not bad,” Cass said softly, “if ghosts are Danny.”
“Danny.” Jason scooted closer and pulled Danny against him, and Danny let him, pressing into him without unwinding at all. “Danny, I already knew. I’ve known for years.” Danny tilted his head up to give him an incredulous look, and Jason grinned at him. “You’re not good at hiding it, stardust. Your freckles glow when you’re excited and your eyes flash green when you’re frustrated. You walk through closed doors when you’re sleepy and things fall through your hands when people startle you. I’ve known you aren’t human since we moved in together.”
“…Oh,” Danny murmured, guilt and relief and wonder swirling together in his still-wet eyes.
“Phantom!” the Box Ghost scolded. Jason took note of the sudden change in address. “You are the worst secret keeper ever!”
“Shut up, Boxy,” Danny snapped. He pulled away from Jason and wiped his eyes, sniffling. Their hands stayed locked together. “We, we need to hide you and bitty-bite b-before we talk about this any more. I wasn’t joking about the Guys in White.”
The Box Ghost flapped his arms dismissively. “They will not find us! They are looking for YOU, and their instruments will not be prepared for such subtle spirits as Box Lunch and I!”
“They are looking for me while I am hiding,” Danny said, soft but barbed. He wiped his face again and turned around to better face the other ghost, glaring sharply. “Something I am well known to be very good at. Far better at than you.”
The Box Ghost went so pale he was almost translucent.
“You don’t look like a ghost at all,” Tim said, studying Danny. “Your skin is pink, you don’t glow… most of the time, no pointed ears or fangs. Your eyes are normal.” His eyes narrowed. “Is this… not your natural appearance?”
Danny flinched. “I… I…” He swallowed, staring at nothing, and then forced his attention back onto the Box Ghost. “Your base signatures are pretty low. If you stop using your powers and suppress your auras as much as you can, you can probably bring them low enough to hide.”
No answers would be forthcoming for now, Jason understood. He signaled sharply to Bruce and Tim, the most likely to try to interrupt. Wait. Time-sensitive, finish operation before proceeding.
Bruce didn’t look pleased, but he nodded sharply. Tim just watched, thoughtful eyes fixed on Danny. Damian was scowling, Dick frowning faintly, but Cass’ curiosity looked borderline idle. Jason watched Danny interact with the other ghost with a healthy blend of interest and concern, and tried not to wonder if Tim was right.
“Box Lunch, do you know how to land?” Danny asked. It seemed like a silly question until Box Lunch wrinkled her nose and cocked her head.
“Land?” she asked, audibly uncertain. For that matter, her father looked vaguely baffled too. “Like… with my feet? On the floor?”
Danny managed a smile and nodded. Box Lunch eyed the floor, then drifted down to hover at floor level. “Like this?”
“Not exactly,” Danny said, sounding more fond than anything. He slid off the bar stool and knelt down in front of Box Lunch. Jason couldn’t look away; he’d been deprived of any open knowledge of Danny’s nonhuman side for so long that his curiosity was damn near insatiable now. And Danny teaching a kid of his species? That was doing things to Jason. Good things. “Close your eyes.” Box Lunch did. “Feel the energy in the air. Do you feel gravity? Do you sense how it pulls things down?” She nodded uncertainly. “Hold onto that feeling. Let it hold onto you. Do you feel it?” Nod. “Good. Now- let go of the sky.”
The instructions didn’t make a lick of sense to Jason, but Box Lunch dropped right out of the air and landed on her feet. Her eyes flew open, and she pinwheeled dramatically until Danny caught her.
“Ahh!” she squealed, looking dismayed. “I’m heavy!”
Danny chuckled. “No, bitty-bite, you’re still light as a feather.” He picked Box Lunch up and held her out in front of him, smiling. She squealed again, kicking her feet, her eyes bright with delight. “Good job. Do you think you can hold that?”
“Um, sure,” she mumbled, not looking at all sure.
The Box Ghost landed on the floor with a grunt - Jason suspected that he’d been listening to Danny’s instructions too. He held out his arms for Box Lunch, and Danny handed her over willingly.
“Now what?” the Box Ghost asked tentatively, staring at the floor like it would eat him. Yeah, Jason could definitely believe that he’d never landed before either.
“Now, you listen to me,” Danny said seriously. He reached out and grabbed Box Ghost’s arm, demanding his attention, and forced eye contact. From the Box Ghost’s wide eyes, this behavior was as new to him as it was to Jason. But then Danny continued, speaking as firmly as if he were willing his words into existence. “You are not a ghost. You are not a ghost.” Understanding flickered across the Box Ghost’s face, and he screwed his eyes shut. His glow started to dim. “You are solid. You are heavy. You are warm. You are made of flesh, blood, and bone. You are not a ghost. You are not a ghost. You are human.”
The Box Ghost’s glow receded and disappeared. Except for his blue skin, he almost looked human now. He opened his eyes uncertainly, and Danny gave him a weary smile and a nod, letting go of his arm and leaning back.
“But what about Box Lunch?” the Box Ghost asked anxiously, looking down at Box Lunch. She’d squeezed her eyes shut to try and follow Danny’s instructions, but didn’t seem to be meeting with the same success.
Danny sighed. “I’m not sure how to explain it to her,” he admitted, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair as he looked at the little girl with worry. She opened her eyes and gave him an anxious look, and Danny gave her a small smile. “It’s not your fault, bitty-bite. It’s just… you’ve always been a ghost, so you don’t have your dad’s memories of what it felt like to be human.”
Box Lunch stomped her feet. “I can pretend!”
“Then pretend,” Danny said seriously. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just do your best.”
“Wehh!” Box Lunch flailed her arms, brow furrowed in concentration. “I am human! My body is super solid and I crash into things a lot! And I run around on the ground and eat human food! Fear me!”
It was so cute that Jason muffled a laugh, and he wasn’t the only one. Box Lunch ran a circle around the floor, then crashed into a wall on purpose and bounced off, giggling. Even Bruce’s hard expression softened into a fond look.
“That should keep you off the sensors,” Danny said to the Box Ghost, voice low. Something about his eyes looked exhausted. “Just make sure Box Lunch maintains it. Maybe keep playing human with her.”
The Box Ghost nodded uncertainly. “Thank you, Phantom,” he said quietly. “I know that we can count on you.”
In Gotham, there was a new rogue named Box Ghost who had been stealing random things. But, as his name suggests, the random things he stole all were boxes or box shaped. He stole from stores and pharmacies as long as they had a box shape. They were all random, and it didn't matter what inside of the boxes.
To name a few, he stole food that was packed in boxes, packaged furniture, toys, clothes, shipment, diapers, blankets, fishing gear, books, bags, jewelries, etc.
Then, there came the rumors. Despite all the boxes, he had a box that he loved the most. "The Greatest Treasure".
It became a man hunt soon after as many speculated it may be expensive things inside, maybe gold bars since that's box shaped.
As people (not only rogues bc normal people also need money, duh), they started frantically searching for "The Greatest Treasure".
It was too chaotic and the bats knew that they had to act quickly. Time was against them and it was running quickly as practically EVERY gothamites were searching for it.
Idk who manages to find it, maybe a rogue, maybe one of the bats, but they managed to trick Box Ghost from being away from the box he was guarding.
He was guarding it so desperately that it made them wonder what exactly was in the box that made him go bat shit.
Inside the box were two children, one older and the other an infant, sleeping peacefully next to each other, covered in blankets and toys.
Box Ghost had to flee Amity Park alone. In his arms were 2 vulnerable children. One is his own daughter and the other is a de-aged Phantom. His wife stayed behind to give him more time.
The GIW had been capturing anyone that was 'infected' with ectoplasm. As Amity Park was full of it, a lot of people were, of course, exposed to it.
Maddie and Jack, after discovering that their son was kidnapped by the GIW otw home from school, they pretended they were on the GIW's side.
As soon as they located their son and had a chance, they broke out and freed everyone who was captured there—well, anyone who was still existing.
Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, and Box Lunch were some of the few there and were surprised when they were handed an infant version of Phantom.
There was absolutely no time for any explanation for that, so as the Fentons helped fend off the enemies, Box Ghost and Lunch Lady were both carrying a child in their arms.
They had to get separated from the Fentons as they sacrificed themselves for the sake of their now-infant son.
But, they were ambushed once more by the white agents. Lunch Lady, carrying their daughter, shoved her at him and told him to run.
Box Ghost tried to refuse, but she yelled at him so fiercely. Full of love and tears, but she would do anything for their family.
She turned into a large meat monster to be a better target and to keep eyes away from her fleeing husband, roaring at anyone and fighting against them as best as she could as a distraction.
Box Ghost fled. He had two children to protect now. His daughter was clinging to him tightly while shutting her eyes. Phantom still sleeping, dressed in rags and covered in stitches.
He didn't know where his friends were, but he had no time to think about that. He had two children to care for, so he needed to prioritise a place to run to.
The only place he knew with enough ambient ectoplasm was Gotham. It may take him some time to get there, but he needs to get to safety.
When he stole in Gotham, he may have kept stealing anything that was box-shaped, but many things are in box-shaped containers now, and he couldn't let anyone know what he was stealing. So, what he stole may have been random, but some were needed, and some were distractions. He couldn't let anyone go after his 'Greatest Treasure'.
DP x DC Prompt (That came to me while listening to Roar of Dedede)
Lunch Lady, when she was alive years ago, was a famous chef who loved to spread her food around so others could eat. She wanted to bring joy to many who couldn't eat any food daily, Gotham was one of her most frequent places to visit. She was even a mentor to one Alfred Pennyworth when the young man sought her out to learn under her.
No one knows how she died, but since she became a ghost, it had to be violent. It had become her obsession, to feed others and bring joy to them, and to make sure young ones are fed and healthy.
Danny was flying through the Infinite Realms, mind his own business, when he smelled some truly delicious food coming from somewhere. He followed the smell, and it led him to Lunch Lady's Lair, where the Ghost was making food for Boxy and Box Lunch, Food made by using Ectoplasm is one way for Ghosts to gain energy, but not a commonly used way, Boxy loves Lunch Lady too much to care, and Box Lunch will always eat the food Lunch Lady makes, that's her mother.
Danny was outed by his own stomach since he didn't get to eat at all today. His parents had overfilled the fridge with containers of Ectoplasm, again, and Jazz has been trying her best to provide for the family, but she doesn't earn enough with her tutoring to make every day filled with regular food on the table.
Lunch Lady couldn't ignore her obsession, so she allowed Danny to eat with the family, Boxy wasn't about to stop her since he would be denying his loves obsession, and that's something he won't ever want to do. Danny was surprised by how real the Ectoplasmic Food tastes. It's a power Lunch Lady has. Her food made of Ectoplasm is filled with all the nutrients and flavor of real food, but it's only for ghosts and other undead beings to consume. Since Danny is a Halfa, he counts.
Danny spends more time with Lunch Lady and her family after that, mainly to get more food, but it's nice having others to rely on. Like with Alfred, Danny had begun to learn how to cook under Lunch Lady. Even as the Ghost King and a 19 year old, he is visiting Lunch Lady and learning some more recipes to make. Even Lunch Lady is learning some recipes with the same amount of protein and nutrients like her meat recipes, but with no meat or animal products at all.
Cue a reveal gone wrong happening and Danny escapes to Gotham. He gets settled in the Gothic City and decides to open a restaurant, Lunch Lady's stories of her time alive have influenced the Halfa to do so, she said that Gotham always seemed more happier and brighter when she cooked for the residents of the city, and it would help his protection obsession, as he would be protecting people from dying of starving.
Danny had bought a building on the edge of a place called 'Crime Alley' for his restaurant with his Ghost King inheritance, Phantom Feast, and invited Lunch Lady and her family to help him run it. Lunch Lady obviously accepted that offer since it was going to fulfill her obsession, Boxy would get fulfill his obsession with the boxes of food Danny orders.
So now Danny was running his restaurant, and he was slowly gaining regulars for it. News of his restaurant spread like wildfire when an Elderly couple got some food to eat in his restaurant, because when they were kids, their parents took them to a stand with delicious food when a woman came to Gotham to feed them all.
And now an Elderly Butler is hearing the rumors of a restaurant with food that tastes just like the food of the woman who fed Gotham because she wanted to. He is going to it to verify for himself if it's just like his mentors food.
A new wave of "Phineas And Ferb" apparel will be coming to Box Lunch later this summer confirmed by Dan Povenmire via Tik Tok and IG.
Dan Povenmire hints that the new wave of clothing includes new desings inspired by Perry The Platypus, Phineas and the Ferb-Tones, Team Phineas and more!
I'm going to be assuming most people know about the Ruby and Sapphire reunion scene in Steven Universe This one ↓ if anyone doesn't know anyway ...
What is instead of Ruby and Sapphire it's Pitch Pearl instead with separated Danny and Phantom, it could be they got separated and locked up by the GIW and while being locked up, someone maybe Box Lunch to fit the theme for Steven rescuing them? Or maybe just Sam and Tucker or even Dani, then the whole reveal of them being separate beings and being all cute and stuff, just a thought
Lemme set the scene: Amity Park, in the Fenton's kitchen. Danny is about 22-25, still living with his parents because they love him and want to support him, and heroism doesn't pay the bills. He's helping Box Ghost and Box Lunch work on a special birthday parfait for their most favorite Lady, and the kitchen is an absolute mess. None of them are very good at cooking.
Their latest attempt is a violent pink color. It smells... bad. Even by ghost standards, it smells bad. Just looking at it swirling around in the cup makes Danny queasy.
"Are you sure we got the right stuff for this? Isn't it supposed to be red?" He asks. He knows that ghostly materials can be fickle, especially those dang plants.
"Of course! I searched high and low for these leaves," Boxy said proudly, motioning to the basket that they'd pretty much emptied with their failed attempts.
"The book said, 'pink leaves with upside down hearts on them,'" Box Lunch added with a firm nod. "I read it."
"Okay, well, this can't be right. It's supposed to be a nice light red, isn't it? Not... this?"
"Uhhh... yeah."
Danny sighed and dumped this one down the drain too. He winced at the gurgle in the pipes. Right, maybe ghost foods didn't react well to human plumbing...
He looked over the mess and ran his hands through his hair.
"Okay, we're all out of leaves. Let's call it a day, meet back here tomorrow."
"But we only have three days left before momma's birthday!" Box Lunch protested.
"Yeah, and I only have an hour left before I gotta go meet Jazz and her boyfriend for dinner. I gotta get this mess cleaned up. Listen, I love helping you guys, but we can only do so much in one day."
Boxy scooped his daughter up and put her on his shoulders, making her smile a bit.
"Okay, we'll see you later Danny."
"Uh huh. Beware."
"Beware!"
The father-daughter duo laughed and flew off to head home. Danny turned to the mess and started cleaning up, unaware of the chaos he'd just caused his hometown.
The messed up parfait was making its way through the water supply now, getting its grubby little atoms all in every pipe. Ghost food really does not play well with humans. Especially ghost food that was prepared wrong, using the wrong ingredients. Just one mistake on the type of leaf- they needed red with a normal heart on it- and now a very potent love potion was making its way through Amity Park.
Citizens all over the city were taking drinks, and restaurants were even serving water from the tap. It didn't take long for a news story about awful tasting and smelling tap water to pop up. Danny had just started the dishwasher and was passing by Maddie on the couch when he heard the news.
Maddie tutted.
"Must be another algae bloom. We get those from time to time, I'm sure people are just being dramatic."
She flipped her goggles back down and got back to work welding.
Danny let out a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, algae bloom. Uh, I'm gonna go meet up with Jazz."
"Say hi for me!"
"Sure will mom."
He tossed his jacket on and jogged out of the house, heading for Nasty Burger. Jazz's boyfriend used to be a manager there, so he hooked them up with free or cheaper meals.
Box Lunch was poring over her mom's cookbook, trying to figure out what went wrong, when she squinted at the picture on the page for the parfait.
"Uhhh... Daddy?" She called, suddenly very worried. Boxy came into the room.
"Yeah sweetheart?"
"I think we used the wrong leaves..."
She pointed at the image, and as Box Ghost read the description and peered at the diagram a bit, his eyes went wide.
"Uh oh."
"Uh huh."
"That doesn't say what those other leaves do, does it?"
"Nu uh."
"...Let's go ask your mother," he said hurriedly. He took the book and rushed to the bathroom, where Lunch Lady was putting in her curlers for the night.
"Heyyy, honey bunches?"
"Yes dearie?"
"What would, say, a drink made with pink heart leaves do to someone?"
"Well, that depends. What color pink? And what kind of heart?"
"Uhh... like, let's say, a... kind of rosy pink, and upside down hearts?"
"Oh, those make love potions, silly. I thought I taught you the ones to look out for."
"You did, you did."
He shuffled awkwardly, and she finally looked over at him with a pleasant smile.
"Are you teaching Box Lunch about them?"
"Well... Uh... we were trying to make you a birthday parfait-"
"Oh, that's so thoughtful!"
"And we might have used the wrong leaves."
Her smile dropped.
"What?"
"We uh- Used the wrong leaves. And we enlisted Danny Phantom's help, and-"
"Oh, please don't tell me you dumped it down the drain."
He cringed.
"Yeah..."
She got up and rushed toward the door.
"Come on! If we hurry we can make the antidote!"
"Antidote?!" He cried as he flew after her, tossing the book on the couch.
"Yes! Bell, come on!"
Box Lunch hurried over and took her mom's outstretched hand.
"The only way to save those who've drank the love potion from an eternity of gross, sappy puppy love is to either get them an antidote, or to have them kiss their true love. And I doubt humans find true love as easily as ghosts."
"Well-"
"Come on!"
She flew out the door, her husband worriedly following her. He just hoped Danny hadn't drank any.
When Danny got home late that night, it was after hours of searching for some kind of 'Cupid' ghost. He was sure there was one. After all, why else were there so many googoo couples all over the place? Ugh, the puppy love made him sick. They were just- ew. Tiny smooches and cringe little pet names, holding hands and cupping faces and rubbing cheeks. It was weird. And gross. And everyone who wasn't like that was weirded out.
He finally came home and headed for the kitchen to get himself a nice cool glass of water before bed.
"Cupid... Cupid... more like 'stupid,'" he joked with a snort, shaking his head. That joke was stupid, he could do better.
He turned to lean against the counter, full cup in hand now, as he heard heavy footfalls down the stairs.
Jack came into the kitchen, yawning, and gave Danny a bleary-eyed smile.
"Hey kiddo. How was your dinner with Jazzy?"
"Oh, good. She told me all about how her thesis is coming along."
He took a sip of his water as Jack opened the fridge, and promptly spat it right back out.
"Oh, ew! Gross, that's awful!"
He shook his head and dumped the offending liquid down the sink.
"Oh, the water? Good thing I got bottles!" Jack said, as cheerful as ever. Danny looked over toward him and froze. Woah... When had his dad ever looked so... well, 'daddy?'
Jack looked over at him, and as soon as they locked eyes that effect took over. Lids drooped, goofy smiles spread.
