The justice league was in disaray. They had failed to stop the summoning, and already the demon was stepping out of the portal. The last standing heros didn't have the manpower to stop a whole thrall army and the magic users certainly hadn't the power to deal with the demon himself. They needed a plan, or a miracle, or the earth was doomed.
Suddenly, Constantine braced himself, and strode right to the beast.
"Don't step further, or I'll have to call my dad."
The heros were baffled. The demon too.
"Your... dad ?"
"That's right," he was sweating bullets but he continued "I'm John Constantine and Phantom is my dad. He cares a lot about Earth. He will not take kindly your little invading stunt."
"Who is Phantom ?" wispered Flash to Zatana.
"I don't know."
The league didn't know if he was bluffing or not. Zatana had recently heard rumors about Constantine's father, but it was all vague, shrouded in secrecy.
The surprised past, the demon laught.
"Alright," he mocked, "Let see what your 'dad' think of that."
Constantine took a deep breath and reluctantly put out a piece of paper form his inner pocket. As he put it in fire with a spell, the cave they were in was breifly plunged in freezing cold and supernatural darkness. A thunderous ice crack resoned, that they could feel in their chest as much as they heard. The shadows sleethed into the form of a titanesque being, and suddenly big, bright, lazarus green eyes opened. And they didn't look happy.
"John."
He gulped.
"Hi dad."
"It's a school night."
"I know," the magician cringed, "I swear I have a good reason."
Now the being looked downright pissed.
"Damn, I would hope so ! Do you have any idea what time it is ?"
"He wants to destroy the Earth !" defended Constantine almost petulantly, waving at the confused demon.
The green eyes looked at the demonic being, then the leaguers in various states of injuries, then the demon again. The demon didn't seem like he wanted to be here anymore. He was proved right when he received a monstruous fist in the face.
The entity grabbed him by an ankle, threw him back to hell, then slammed the portal shut as if it was a door. Constantine visibly relaxed.
"Thanks a lot."
"Don't mention it," grumbled the being. "Anything else you need ?"
"No. And I'm really sorry, I know it's late."
"Just don't make it an habit. See you on sunday."
And just like that, he was gone. Wally had to sit down.
"What the fuck."
---
Hi everyone ! I was reminded of that post a while ago where Danny inherited of Connie's soul and decided it counts as adoption (can't find it now) and this is what came to my brain.
Still waiting for the Pretty Alpha and plain omega but your health comes first. Get well soon dear author! 🙇
Danny opens his eyes at five in the morning. He almost rolls out of bed to start working on his dough, but then he remembers he closed down his shop. He doesn't have to make donuts anymore, but it's hard to remember sometimes when his body wakes up on its own like this.
An overwhelming sense of drowsiness hits him then, and Danny wants nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep. He really does, but he can't find a comfortable position, not on his back like this.
He wants to roll onto his stomach- that's how he always sleeps- but that would be impossible in his current condition. As if sensing that Danny is thinking about him, the baby moves, pressing on his bladder. He groans, one hand on his stomach, as the baby suddenly develops an interest in kickboxing based on how fast he's kicking and shifting.
"Alright. Alright" Danny grumbles, shifting until he is at the edge of his bed. He slips on his slippers, smiling a little when they let out a squeak. They're not his, but rather something he stole from Susie. She had a fondness for anything funny-shaped, so she had to pick the only slippers that looked like rubber ducks and squeaked like them, too, when they went shopping.
Danny had a fondness for stealing items from those he loved. He liked building a nest that wasn't the average kind, because Danny hated being surrounded, so instead, his room was his entire nest. Every inch was covered in fluffy items and comfortable materials, and it carried the scent of someone he loved. He always replaced what he stole, so no one ever got mad. He thinks it helped that he was a pregnant omega, which made it seem like he wanted to build a nest, a necessity.
His parents were happy to come over with blankets and even his mom's favorite sofa couch, the large one he used to snuggle into when he first presented. Jazz brought over pillows, including her most trusted striped teal-and-white body pillow, and her favorite soft pair of pajamas that Danny wore for the first few months of his pregnancy.
Tucker sent over teddy bears he collected throughout his life. Unlike Dash, who was ashamed of them, Tucker proudly displayed his collection in the room, then at home after he moved out, always looking for ones dressed in funny outfits or customized for whatever event he wanted. Sam went out of her way to purchase him new furniture, replacing all the metal pieces Danny originally owned with a sweet, rosewood-smelling bedroom set.
It reminded him of her home near Yellowstone, where she was living her dream of studying botany while Tucker was on the other side of the country working with NASA. Shockingly enough, Danny wasn't as jealous as he thought he would be when Tucker told him. He was so happy with his donut shop and his independence by the warm coast that he couldn't find any reason to be jealous.
And now that was all gone.
The baby kicks hard on his bladder, making Danny wince. "Yeah, I know. I need to go to the bathroom."
He opens the door to his bedroom, walking by Susie, who is already dressed for her shift at a local cafe. She was the one keeping them afloat financially after the money his parents and Sam had lent him ran out. "Morning, Danny!"
"Morning." He mutters, rubbing at his eyes. He wobbles a little towards the last door of thier small apartment. It's a two-bedroom, one-bathroom, but it's smaller than his old home above his donut shop.
"I'm going to an interview later today for that secretary position at Disco Insurance," Susie calls over her shoulder while putting on her earrings. She always leaves them by the key bowl so she can use the hallway mirror to adjust the dangling gummy bears to face the right way. It's the part of a set her brother got her before he was murdered. "I'll pick up pizza on the way back!"
"Can you also get ice cream?" Danny yells back right.
"You got it!"
Danny smiles at her cheerful twirl that she does just as she finishes putting in her gummy bears. She matched them to the green stones she has on the curve of her ear.
"Have a good day!"
"You too!" She sings before slipping out the door.
"Yeah." Danny mutters, "Yeah, I'll have a wonderful day. Just being here."
He slips into the bathroom, doing his business so the baby can stop trying to make him explode. Once he's done, Danny washes his hands, then splashes cold water on his face. He tries to smile at his reflection, but it falls flat.
Suddenly, tears well in his eyes as sadness so strong ran through his entire body. He's sobbing while leaning against the sink, pressing a hand against his mouth to muffle his cries even if he's the only one home.
The baby chooses that moment to move, shifting so he's on the lower side of Danny's left, and it makes no sense; it's not even the right motion, but somehow he gets the feeling his baby is hugging him. Danny laughs, drying his eyes as he places a hand over his stomach. "Yeah, sweeite, I'm okay. Papa is okay. I'm so excited to have you here."
He looks at his reflection again, and instead of seeing the man who lost his dream, on the run from an alpha that might kill him in order to silence him, and now working from home by answering the chat of a countrywide shipping company, he sees a father who gave everything up so his child could have a future.
"Almost." He tells his belly. "Only two more months and you're here. We're all so excited to meet you."
His baby bumps his hand, and Danny smiles warmly, "I'm the most excited"
"Wow, you have such a beautiful omega! He's going to be a real heartbreaker," Danny's smile strains as the woman coos at his son. The toddler wasn't paying attention to the adults, far too focused on rolling his toy car on his stroller table and drinking his juice.
"He hasn't presented yet," Danny manages to say, hoping his tone wasn't as tense as he felt. "Kids don't present until they're ten or tweleve"
"Oh, but we already know what he is." She dismisses, and Danny wants nothing more than to punch her in the face.
"No. We do not." He grabs the handles from the strollers, yanking his kid back and away from her. She's a beta, but Danny is the last person to judge someone based on how they behave due to presentations. He walks away from her as fast as he can, anger and slight disgust pooling in his stomach, ignoring her offended huff.
"Slide. Slide. Slide" Sammy- his son named after Susie's late brother- demanded the moment Danny speed walked the playground. He relaxes at his baby's voice and stops, just at the edge of the sandlot. His son is wiggling about, trying to slide out of his seat, and were it not for the seat belt, Danny is pretty sure the little bugger would have escaped already. Ever since he learned how to scrim and wiggle, putting the kid in a seat has been a nightmare. Sammy hated his car seat the most.
"One second and we can get you to the slide," Danny tells him as Sammy starts thrashing, little face scrumbling into a familiar pout that would lead to demonic screaming if left alone for too long. Not that anyone who didn't know Sammy would suspect a sound like that to come from such an angelic face.
His son is pretty, and that wasn't just his Omega pride talking.
Nine months in my womb making me suffer, Danny thinks, annoyed as Sammy's slightly wavy hair falls into his eyes, making his pout extra adorable. And you came out looking exactly like your father.
Sammy Fenton was a miniature version of Timothy Drake, and that was a problem Danny would one day have to deal with. Susie was right about that.
They couldn't be in hiding forever. Drake would find them, but he would have to learn to kill something that was already dead before they could have his son.
It's why the two had moved when Sammy was born. It was best to get away from the hospital that helped him with the delivery, and Susie found a new place in the southwest, somewhere nearly deserted. It was dry, it was windy, there was nothing to do in town, and they had to drive thirty minutes away before they could even do something as basic as grocery shopping.
And apparently, the people here were weird about his kid's presentation status despite it being a good decade before his secondary gender kicks in. The good news was that they would be moving again soon, just after Sammy turned five, to hopefully throw off any trail that Drake-Wayne may follow.
If all went well, that would be the last move, and despite not knowing where they were landing, Danny was going to finally reopen his donut shop. Susie finished her online degree, which meant she could no longer comfortably work from home, and as long as she was near Sammy, Danny didn't have to worry about babysitters. Plus, he had savings from selling his first shop and from paying back the loans his friends and family had given him.
"Slide! Slide!" Sammy giggles as Danny hosts him on top of it. He beams at his one-and-a-half-year-old.
"Again?" He asks even as the toddler wiggles around, already trying to go back up.
Danny steps back, admiring the new sign over his front. Susie, Sammy, and he had just finished setting up everything for thier grand opening, with the sign being the only thing missing.
It had been backordered for one reason or another, and Danny was afraid his grand opening would be ruined without it, but, miraculously, it arrived early that morning. The men who brought it were quick to install it, with Danny putting the finishing touches on his indoor tables.
Sammy was running around in a little apron, carrying a tiny tray of mini donut samples he was most excited to hand out once they opened. Susie was behind the register, ensuring everything was in the system to make checkout easy.
Nothing could go wrong today.
They had settled on a new coast, not as bright or as colorful as the first store, but this one could be their forever home. With five years between the lawsuit and now, there was little to no chance Drake-Wayne would find them.
"All set," One of the men calls down. An alpha who's been extremely helpful in getting everything done. He takes off his cap, tilting it towards Danny, and it's his experience in the southwest that lets Danny know this man has ranch manners.
He's sweet, but despite his manners, his rugged good looks, and the obvious interest he regards Danny with, the omega is not looking to date. It's not easy being a single omega father, let alone one who's run a business on his own; he just can't add relationships to that.
"Thank you! I have a tip for you and a box of free donuts," Danny chirps, acting like he doesn't notice the way the man's eyes gleam as he and his partner climb down the ladder. "It looks perfect."
Danny's Dazzling Donuts seems to glow despite the words not having any lights whatsoever. He's so busy admiring the letters that he misses the way the alpha lingers, attempting to make the job last longer until his partner forces them to leave.
Danny does feel it when the alpha sends him a sad puppy-eyed look from the van, but he still refuses to turn. He checks his watch, gleeful that it's time.
They would be opening late today, and only today, to give the locals a chance to try their donuts before battling it out with other early businesses. He found that the tactic worked great with his old shop and wanted to give it a chance here.
At ten am on the dot, Danny enters his store and clicks on the glowing open sign. He takes a moment to breathe in the sweet smell of fresh donuts of various flavors before starting behind his counter.
"Is it time, Daddy?" Sammy hops off the little stool he was sitting on. He picks up his tray and proudly displays mini donuts decorated like his favorite TV show. Danny and Sammy had gotten up early to work on them together. They look lovely for the blue and orange dogs they are based on.
"Sure is. Remember our deal?" Danny crouches down so he can look into his son's eyes comfortably. Sammy's wide blue eyes sparkle, and Danny is hit once more by how adorable his son is.
Sammy was the prettiest kid on the block, and that wasn't just omega pride talking. His boy made everyone aw when they saw him, which is why he would be the perfect hook.
"Don't move away from the door and don't follow strangers!" Sammy hops in place, jostling the samples. "Don't worry, Daddy! I know the rules!
"Okay, have fun," Danny tells him, watching his sweet heart twist on his heel to run as fast as his tiny legs could take him. He slips through the glass door, making the bell above jingle. He stands at attention by the door, swinging his tiny head for any bystanders he can offer his wares to.
Danny can see him through the door and the large windows, so he's not too worried, but he still makes sure to keep the little one in sight. Not even a second later, a man in a suit walks by, typing away on his phone, while hiding from the bright sun under a parasol.
Sammy's head snaps to him as he straightens out his back and likely puts on his strongest puppy dog eyes. His son realized he could get Susie, Danny, Jazz, and Jack to do whatever he wanted a while back and now uses them on any unsuspecting adult.
He took five steps away from the door in order to block the man's path, holding up his little tray. Danny smirks when the man doesn't seem to be able to resist taking on, nor does he seem able to pull his hand back when Sammy launches onto it and starts yanking him towards the shop.
The bell rings as his son manhandles the stronger inside with a cheerful "Welcome!"
Danny takes that as his cue to smile and stop leaning on the counter. "Welcome to Danny Dazzling Donuts-"
His words cut off in his throat when the parasol is tilted upwards, and he can see the face of the stranger. His heart drops from his chest to somewhere near his ankles. He hears Susie gasp in horror, while Sammy's excitement melts into confusion as he senses the change among the employees, but Danny can't find it in himself to reassure his child.
Not when he's staring at that face.
It's the same as his son's.
Timothy Drake-Wayne stares back at Danny in utter bewilderment, his hand still wrapped in his son's fingers. A bitter thought flies through Danny's otherwise stunned mind.
Jon: I will do everything in my power to help you.
Damian: Do not be so quick to offer, this may be the toughest assignment yet
Colin: It doesn't matter how dangerous or difficult this is. You need help. I'm in.
Damian: Thank you. What about you two? I know you're not really trained.
Matt: Oh im definitely going to help a friend! And don't worry about me. Terry taught me the good old one-two! I can definitely handle a fight.
Maps: I can also help! You'll need a master navigator in these parts.
Damian: Very well. Then we are all doing this. Prepare yourselves mentally. We're going in.
Danny smiling at the group of kids: Welcome to Danny's Edible Sculptures. How can I help you?
Damian: I wish to acquire an animal made of sugar glass.
Danny: Sure. What kind of animal would you like?
Damian, with only his eyes visible across the counter: I would like a cow.
Jon: I want a dog, a Great Dane if you can.
Colin: Can I please have a cat?
Matt: Can you make magical creatures? 'Cause I want a dragon-and-bat hybrid! I have a reference picture.
Maps: I'll have a turkey. A pretty one.
Danny: You got it. I'll start working on them right away.
Damian: I heard you only allow one per person. Is that correct?
Danny: Only one sculpture a day. Most people want multiple pieces, and it takes time to make each one, so I limit them.
Damian: I see.....Do you have the same rule for family members?
Danny: Ha! No for them I make many and often. They have special privileges you see.
Damian: I thought so. *snaps fingers* Team! Present profiles!
Jon/Colin/Matt/Maps holding up dating profiles of Dick, Jason, Cass, Tim, Steph, and Duke: Yes sir!
Danny: Umm?
Damian is standing on his tiptoes so his chin can go over the counter: These are my siblings. Pick one. I would be honored to have a candy maker with your skill level in my family.
Danny: Oh, that's cute and all, but I'm not really-
Maps: Before you make a decision, please listen to each of our presentations on our respective candidates. I think you'll find yourself quite intrigued
Matt: Plus, ever since one of them is rich, like buy-me-an-island, rich.
Danny: I-
Colin: They're kind and protective too. You'll never be afraid within thier arms!
Jon: They're the perfect match for any young bachelor such as yourself! Just pick any that grabs your attention, and you're on your way to marriage!
Damian: Join us
Danny mentally: Is this a cult requirement tactic????? I'd better make those sculptures and get these little freaks out of here.
Danny moves to Gotham and buys an apartment building.
It was more just a fun project for him to fix up the building, seeing as how after he took over VladCo, and cleaning up operations, Danny was making more money than ever, even after donating to various charities. So yeah, he was bored and just wanted to get his hands dirty and personally repair the appartments.
Once everything was fixed up, he opened the appartments for rent. He didn't really want to charge people, especially in such an area as Crime Alley, but not charging someone rent is way more sketchy than just asking them to pay whatever they could or wanted to. He ended up just setting the money aside to use on the appartments should it need any upgrades or repairs. He doesn't only take money either, while he denies "physical" payments and/or narcotics, he'll take lessons, like the man in 2B teaching him to sew, or the woman in 5A teaching him how to cook, or the two kids who give him very interesting shiny rocks as payment, there was even a few people who paid by cleaning the appartment building's shared places. One teenager paid rent one month by giving Danny a pair of sickly black and white kittens they found outside(they're named Casper, and Specter, and they're the Building's Managers in Pest Apprehension, and Danny loves them).
Because the appartments are so close to where the working girls/boys run, they make up most of his tenants, so Danny asks them to not bring clients back to the apartments, its dangerous to let their clients know where they live, especially because there are other tenants, including children, in the building so its a safety risk. They all agree, they don't really want their clients knowing where they live anyway.
Some do get stalkers though, and Danny is quick to get rid of them. Or when burglars manage to break in, Danny stops them before they can take anything, and if he managed to miss the burglar, he'll personally replace whatever was stolen until they could get the original stuff back. (Maybe he should adopt a gaurd dog, at least for the intimidation factor. Cane Corso's are medium sized*, hes sure he could get away with getting something like that. Something to think about later.)
A lot of his tenants say Danny is really kind, but thats not how Danny sees it, and its something he loudly denies. He's a bored rich person who was taking advantage of his wealth. Him providing them a safe place to live, and a little bit of comfort isn't kindness, its basic human decency. He's not some saint who is doing this of his own kind heart, he's a normal guy who was bored and just decided to do something helpful opposed to harmful, and he shouldn't be praised for that.
*Danny's idea of Dog sizes is skewed, to him Cugo is a big dog, anything smaller than that is medium to small to xsmall.
Bonus
-Red Hood(or the bats in general) thinks the appartment building was suspicious. Maybe it was some rich guy just being nice, but outside of Bruce, stuff like that doesn't happen in Gotham. Maybe its money laundering, or its acting as an underground brothel, or the owner is actually a massive creep. Either way, they want to be discreet, they don't want to ruin a good thing for people in need if everything happens to be clean happenings. So, they go under cover, Jason acts like a working boy, Damian is a abused kid/teen on the run, Steph is hiding from a abusive ex, maybe Alfred gets in on it and acts like an old man whos boss just fired him because of with no severance pay?
-Everytime Danny starts to get bored, he buys another building to fix up. Not always appartment building's, maybe a hotel, or an auto garage, or an abandoned building he could gut and turn into rec center. You'd think Danny would be burning through money, but no, somehow Danny's happenings leaked and it was good press because people are buying things from VladCo more and more.
AKA "DILF!Danny owns a coffee shop in Gotham. It quickly becomes the batkids' favorite hangout." DPxDC prompt idea!
Steph finds the coffee shop first. (Finds is a strong word. She accidentally misses her grapple mark and swings into the wrong alley, nearly smacking into a half-rotten wooden door. She winces at the resounding bang that echoes in the alley.) She's about to grapple away, very glad that she bribed Babs to keep any mishaps between the two of them, when the door is yanked open.
Standing in the door way is a four-foot gremlin in an oversized hoodie, pig-tails, and pink spiked Converse.
"Well?" The kid grumbles. Steph opens her mouth to apologize for waking the little girl when the kid beats her to it with a, "You gonna order anything?"
So, it turns out Phantom's Keep has been open for a total number of 28 minutes before Spoiler almost breaks down the door. The owner Danny Fenton and his daughter Ellie moved from Illinois a little over a week ago and converted a foreclosed shop into a "late night" coffee shop.
It's not entirely in working order, but the shop plays soft rock and it smells like coffee grounds. The vibe is very... calming. There's something about the mismatched furniture and warm lamps that feels homey. Danny offers a smile at Spoiler's costume, complimenting it in a way that feels very earnest and dad-like, and gives her a free pre-packaged muffin. Tells her to be safe on her way out. Steph leaves with a warm coffee, muffin, and a messily hand-drawn map that Ellie gave her with a stern instruction to "bring more customers." (Endearingly, Ellie drew Phantom's Keep as a castle.)
True to her word, Steph came back with Cass and Tim. Who then came back with Bernard and Duke. Duke brought Damian, who brought Dick and Jason. They both like Danny a lot - he's soft on Ellie but has a sharp sense of humor. Ellie and Damian also get along surprisingly well; Ellie, despite being younger, has a special interest in swords. She's very passionate about the macharia and xiphos. ("Her great aunt is Greek," Danny says with a tight smile. "She's gotten super into ancient Greece because of it.")
Ellie is probably the batkid's favorite part of Phantom's Keep. She's a spitfire, has very loud opinions about their costumes and vigilantism, and is clearly a meta. Both Danny and Ellie are, they're sure, but Ellie tends to... float. Often. Although Danny will typically give her the Dad Glare and remind her with a curt "feet on floors indoors" or sometimes just "floor, Ellie!"
And well... The batkids can see when a good person is just trying to make a living. Danny is a good dad to a good kid. Usually when the second-hand TV plays re-runs of Grey Ghost and Ellie's head starts drooping, he'll disappear for a few moments to put her to bed in their apartment upstairs. Danny mentions off-handedly to Red Hood that he's going back to college during the day and the coffee shop's open from 8pm-8am so it doesn't leave him with a lot of free time. If the batkids quietly and unanimously decide to keep Phantom's Keep as their own little shop... It's not like Batman has any reason to investigate a small business owner who may or may not be a meta, right? He won't find out.
(....Bruce does, indeed, find out.)
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