Dc X Dp Crossover - Tumblr Posts - Page 4
hear me out, danny speaking russian (dc x dp hc)
so i was just watching a video about space, right? allegedly, turns out if you (an american) wanna board the international space station you must speak russian fluently since the only way to get there is by a russian shuttle and pilot (nasa apparently ended their own shuttle program way back when??) (don’t quote me on this)
so picture danny learning russian at a relatively young age for the sole hope of going to space and such, and it coming out every once in a while when he’s mumbling or something like that (it’s basically second nature to him)
so danny ends up at gotham for whatever reason (demon twins, reveal gone wrong, idc, they’re all cool) and he wants to start anew, so he pretends to only speak russian?? ig?? it’d make for some funny/interesting BatFam interactions i suppose
i don’t know where i was going with this but i want to read prompts of danny speaking russian
Someone actually made a fic based on this @dehydratedmockingbird
Tho you can only access it if you have an ao3 account
Batman getting a case file from Jim Gordon of a John Doe found dead after a mass shooting. When Batman asked if Gordon just needed help finding out who the body was Jim’s like “no, the John Doe is Daniel James Fenton. But the thing is that this is the fifth body of his we found.”
The chaos that would cause!!!!
But like what if the BatFam try to rope Phantom into it and he just awkwardly having to explain that it’s HIS dead bodies they keep finding cuz he keeps accidentally getting shot in crossfire of gang violence cuz he lives on the streets.
[This happened a little before Batman makes it to Alfred,,whoops?]
After Jazz's "little" talk with Batman, she return to the churro stand completely fine with zero injuries. She promptly turns to Tim and offers to buy churros in which he agrees. He couldn't help but turn back to glance at the alley and watch as Batman limps away.
He couldn't help but giggle and think he has the coolest aunt in the world.
^^
Little Timmy has a new neighbor! She seems nice, but she keeps interrupting him from going out so he can do his Night Photography.
Her name is Jasmine Fenton, and she's always there. Asking him how he feels, asking if he needs anything, offering to help him with his homework; always. There.
Eventually, he sees her as his weird Aunt. Even his parents are so used to her that they'll leave him with her when they go off on their trips. She's weird, but she cares, and he can count on her at any time for any reason.
Time passes, Robin dies, and Batman starts throwing himself in impossible fights and going overboard on petty thieves.
He doesn't realize she's tailing him until he goes down to talk to Batman, in the middle of almost killing a food thief, and Batman, caught up in the haze of the moment, rounds on Tim with his fist raised.
Before Tim can even think to blink, Batman is thrown into a nearby dumpster so hard the dumpster straight up deforms and bends inward.
Above Tim is Jazz, and her eyes are glowing a vibrant, radioactive green.
"Timmy, sweetie, go wait for me at the Churro stand across the street. The adults need to talk."
[This might be a little booty cause idk, Constantine's personality whoops?? 🤷 ]
Let's say it's the GIW that de-aged Danny, Dani, and Dan. They were most likely trying new Fenton tech they altered to try and catch them. But instead of capturing them, they shrunk them.
Clockwork was most defiantly leaving the most cryptic notes motioning Constantine to help these three.
[While their kids I would imagine their abilities would be a little harder to control and a bit weaker than it previously was.]
And that lead him here, in a bum-fuck no where town called amity park. Hiding three kids in his trench coat. Because some "secret" organization thought is was okay to shoot literal infant gods??? GODS!!
Forget smoking he wants to drink, bad. Like right now. Who thought he was in any shape or form a good baby sitter?? He grumbles, he'll call the Bat. He'll take the tykes no problem, they all check the boxes. The perfect adoption bait.
Prompt 303
Constantine might be cursing everything and everyone he’s ever met because this? This is a goddamned mess that he does not want to be cleaning up, yet here he is! Three infant godlings who the American-Fuckin-Government decided to try and kill and worse clinging to his legs and huddling beneath his trenchcoat.
Look when he followed the instructions on the magic green sticky note he was not expecting this level of bullshit, and honestly do these imbeciles want to get the entire universe devoured by angry eldritch gods!?
Damnit, he needed a smoke- and to inform the League so they could deal with the government side of this shit- but mostly a smoke. Ugh. He was so not babysitter material, but none of the bloody tykes would be letting go or leaving the trenchcoat anytime soon.
PLEASEEE. THE OUTSIDERS POV OF THIS HAPPENING??? WOULD BE GOLDEN??
I would imagine them seeing a sleep deprived Danny slapping the JL.
Batfam would def laugh if they heard of this exchange. Minus Damian prob—
I mean Phantom slapped the BATMAN.
Dc x Dp prompt #07
Danny was so done with everything right now.
This past week, Danny has barely had time to sleep because he has to deal with all the problems that run into him. And now he’s standing in the watchtower, watch Superman argue with Superboy for whatever reason.
And he’ve had enough for this shit now.
“and you!! Phantom what are you--“
*Slap!*
As if time had stopped, everyone looked at him with wide eyes. Superboy's mouth wide opened. Superman put his hand on his cheek. Did he just get slapped in his face???
And then everyone walked towards Danny.
Wonder Woman: Phantom!!
*Slap!*
Aquaman: Phantom--
*Slap!*
Green lantern: Hey! Easy man.
*Slap!*
Flash: Yo everyone! I just got a-
*Slap!*
Batman: Phantom. You have to stop right now--
*Slap!*
Even the dark knight got slapped too.
Everyone who got slapped now put their hand on their cheek. Because that slap was hurt very much.
Looking for a dp x dc prompt
does anyone know about that one dp x dc prompt where the justice league finds a natural portal to the realms in space?
hal and co (some astronauts) go through and explore and encounter danny. danny doesn’t want to go into their ship without permission so he taps on the glass whilst invisible. which leads to them (hal and co) being frightened.
I literally just saw the post and proceeded to accidentally click off. So if I can get the link of said prompt, I’ll be extremely grateful. 😭
(The prompt is on tumblr btw idk if it’s one ao3)
Edit: It’s been found!! Link in reblog!!
DP × DC The Power of Names Coffee Shop AU
Coffee shops are notorious for misspelling peoples names to the point that it's a running joke and basically a forgone conclusion everywhere. Everywhere except this tiny coffee shop near Crime Alley. The new hire there, Danny, spells everybody's name correctly without having to ask. Whether it's "Carly" or "Karly," he always gets it right the first time. Heck, people give him their names in Chinese and Arabic, and he swaps to the correct alphabet, no problem (because Danny, being king of the dead, can speak all languages dead and living, so might as well be respectful).
It becomes a bit of a running joke in the community to give Danny the craziest names they can find to see if he can get them right. Some of the Bats even hear rumors about him and give it a go for fun. They make a game out of it to see who can find a language or alphabet that Danny can't get. That is until, while massively sleep deprived from a case involving cults and magic and getting nowhere, Tim accidently says one of the words that he'd been hearing in the cultist chants when he orders. Danny gives him an odd look but shrugs and writes something on the cup. It isn't until Tim has already left the shop that he realizes that the symbol written on his cup is one shown in the cultists scrolls he couldn't decipher.
Tim almost dropped his coffee. Danny wasn't just a human who knew a ton of languages, he must have been a meta with the ability to understand EVERY language. And the Bats desperately needed his help to crack this one before the cultist finished summoning whatever demon or disaster they had planned. But how to get the kid's help? From idle chatter while ordering, the Bats learned that Danny wanted nothing to do with the Gotham vigilantes. And Tim had already given his connection to this case away by spewing that word written on his cup...
(I like to imagine the name Tim gave was something like "corn field" and that's why Danny looked at him funny and not because it's one of the languages of the dead)
DP X DC: A Minor Drinking Problem
Phantom is a relatively new member of the JLA, but it's been a few months, and things are settling in well. He's shy and polite but is a master of the snark with villains.
Before a big mission, the all hands on deck kind, everyone is talking about scars and the crazy stories behind them to distract from the coming fight. Danny, finally feeling like he can join in the conversation with all these adult heroes, pulls off his right glove to show a pretty gnarly scar on the back of his wrist. “I got this one when I fought a guy from the Revolutionary War a few weeks ago! Didn't think he'd charge me with a bayonet.” He shares a couple more stories and scars, but only the ones that he can easily show off.
Because of stories like that and some historical depictions of Phantom from different time periods, they think he's this ancient and powerful immortal that just looks like a teenager, it wouldnt be the first time. He's powerful enough to go toe to toe with Superman, so there's no way he's actually a kid. He even sometimes has the haunted, world weary eyes that their most hardened members only get after experiencing too much. Danny, being our lovable, obliviously dense idiot, has not realized that they think he's an ancient being.
After the mission concludes -it was a rough one-, the JLA celebrate their victory with a couple drinks back at the watch tower. Danny is understandably uncomfortable with this whole situation and keeps asking, “Are you sure I should be here?” They reassure him it's fine as they pass around beers, which Danny politely declines several times. Danny eventually sees this as the perfect chance to pad his blackmail folders on his inebriated coworkers.
Anyway, as the night goes on, they have a good time, but Phantom still hasn't gotten a drink like the rest of them, and Green Lantern (or hero of your choice) really wants their shy friend to come out of his shell. So, he slams an open beer bottle on the coffee table in front of Phantom. “Come on Phantom! Let loose a little. Celebrate!”
“Dude! What the hell?! I'm 16! That's illegal!” Phantom squeaks in shock.
“We don't care how old you were when you died. It's how long you've been a ghost that counts.” Flash slings an arm around Danny's shoulders from where he’s sat next to him on the couch. Flash can't get drunk, but he also thinks it would be fun to see their uptight new member drunk.
“That's even worse! You'd be giving alcohol to a two year old!” Phantom is horrified that his coworkers are so casually breaking the law.
“But you said you fought in the Revolutionary War this morning!” Green Lantern said with his eyebrows knit in confusion.
“No, I said I fought someone from the Revolutionary War. As in, the ghost of someone from the revolutionary war!”
“You can't pull that on us. There's murals and stuff of you from thousands of years ago.” The Flash waves off with a laugh.
Phantom’s finger presses painfully hard into Flash’s chest. “I do not need to explain time travel to you of all people. My mentor hates you, and I'm STILL sent on missions constantly to clean up your messes.” Phantom's clear and low. Flash liked it better when he was shouting and not staring him down like a predator with narrowed eyes.
(This random idea popped into my head. It made me laugh, so I thought you might, too. Here you go!)
Soo I couldnt help myself and im going to countinue this bc is really interesting
Where we left it? oh right, Damian just observe the fae? meta? that was surrounded by snakes while Danny observe a teeneager with a weirdest smell of ectoplasm, they just observed eachother akwardly but before Damian could say anything the biggest snake (Vesper) he has ever seen tried to attack him, take note in tried because the person that was in ropes put themselfs between them and proceed to scold the GIGANT SNAKE, Damian just watched this person in such awe that he decided that they were worthy pretty
Danny just apologize to Damian, he didnt mind honestly and even if the big snake had attack him he wouldnt hurt it, Danny is just impresed by them and proced to intruduce themselfs and that was the blooming of a beutifull friendship yeah right since that day they started seeing eachother, Damian would bring many things to Danny for example: food made by Alfred (specially his cookies) or would bring books to Danny and they would do other things like Damian would play/take care of Danny snakes with him, and Danny would play with his hair or if Damian has time or has the day off he would stay until night (if Snake castle ever has time change-) and Danny would tell Damian all about the stars or space surrounded by snakes. Vesper was jealouse at first but grow font of Damian bc he takes care of Danny and my Ancients does that poor kid needs it One particular day Damian bring his art supplies and started painting everything of Snake castle but in particular he painted Danny, in many ways he showed Danny his drawing because he was curious abt what he was doing, and was so surprised and heartwarming by the beuty of the drawings that he started crying (blame hormones wtv) Damian was panicking but Danny stopped him saying something like "I never realize that someone would think so highly of me" Damian would simply watch Danny and thinking if he should kill someone but before that he comforts Danny maybe like "You are an exceptional person and if anyone doesnt apreciate him then they are not worthy of you" And they look like loverbirds The snakes meanwhile are like Snake 1: Should we do smt? Vesper: Nah let them realize their feelings for eachother in their time The "time" himslef: JUST KISS ALREDY Anyways back to the Batfamily They started noticing that Damian was acting.... weird nothing bad but weird like, the other day he returned to the manor and his hair was styled in a braid with flowers or that everytime he didnt have patrol or was free he would go somewhere and return with messier (in terms of clothes and hair) with flowers or something like hmm idk A SNAKE were did he get it??? (Danny gifted him one of his snakes, in particular a white one that would always trangle itself to Damian) but most importantly he always returned with an happy expresion They would get in the bottom of this (bc they are noisy bastars /j)
I hope I didnt bored you with this rant but i couldnt get over my head- now somethings i like to share: I think that Vesper can communicate with Danny, how? idk maybe CW did something Is Damian going to learn abt Ellie? maybe but perhaps in the future Wich of the Batfamily would discover Damian secret? YOU DECIDE :D
You all know what time it is ( and body dysmorphia is mentioned a few times just thought I would let you know!)
Snake empress Danny
Ok let’s go, So you all know the drill Danny has to booket it out of amity ( GIW, Bad Fenton) and just for a bit more angst everyone who he loves ( Sam, Tucker, jazz) got caught up in the nasty burger explosion and the GIW hit Dani and as a last minute decision Danny has to grow her in himself and because he has the organs for baby incubation ( trans! Danny let’s go! ) so now we have a heavily traumatized teen who is going to be a teen mom and just loss his whole support system and everything he’s ever known yeah we going angsty today anyway so when Danny gets to the ghost zone he a immediately goes to clockwork to help him so after Danny gets healed up a bit and calm down the best he can right now and
now let’s move the pov for a sec so clockwork can’t really take care of Danny and he needs to fine someone who can that’s when he remembers the little pocket dimension that is a little bit hard to go to if your not looking for it so clockwork brings Danny there and on a cliff top there is a abandoned castle that is overgrown and has trees all around it and a healthy population of snakes that equally watch over the place and keeping outsiders OUT and do not tolerate people who are not a part of the …. Group, pack? Wtf do you call a group of snakes { ok so I just looked up what a group of snakes is called and apparently it’s called a den, pit or nest so I’ll be using that information} den and are very picky about who is in the nest and who isn’t but surprisingly the little danger noodles decide that Danny’s friend shaped and now his part of the nest ( also before I forget to mention there is a big ass snake that is the main protection for the others and the castle itself ) and he’s mostly doing things around with the snakes wrapped limply around his neck and shoulders or his arm and or legs they just like hanging around Danny for the most part
And for the JL side of this well you remember that this place is its own little pocket dimension well it is connected to the JL universe and it sorta feels like your in a Fea area not uncomfortable just different, it has a passage in Gotham City to a overgrown manhole cover so somehow Damien finds this manhole in the garden of Wayne manner and Bruce grounded ( aka benched ) him and Alfred is shopping and nobody’s home so it’s just him and he decides to go into the manhole cover it leeds down to a large tunnel so big it is a surprise nobody has found it yet so Damian walks down it for about 2 to 4 minutes before he sees another cover and has to use a lot of force to open it and as he climbs out he sees that it was overgrown to the point that the vines were wiring the thing shut and as Damien looks around he dust himself off he sees that he is in a large forest almost to large if this place was really Gotham than this would have been cut down years before it got like this so he walks around and than he gets to a lagoon it looks like no pollution got here as well that’s when he sees them a person the person has long white hair that looks to be in some kind of braid with silver chains and their wearing what seem like a bunch of white fabric at first glance but is you really look it seems to be a dress but that’s not what really brings his attention to this person it is the snake that are wrapped limply around them one black one that hangs off their shoulders and looks some what of a necklace and they are holding what seems to be a large black marble bowl ( the bowl is for some of the aquatic plants some birds ended up eating most of the aquatic plant and there are almost none left so he’s getting some from the lagoon) 
And that’s all for the moment. Now on to the details of this bitch!
I’m thinking Danny looks a little bit like this
The reason he wears this is because it’s easier to walk around in ( not to mention the moment the rest of the den realized he was with fetus Dani ( or Eleanor I like that name better for her it gives her a bit of her own personality instead of just Danny clone) the big snake who were going to call Vesper ( you get it ) started to carry him around and while sleeping he would wrap around him to keep him warm ok got a bit off track
And for his hair I’m thinking he lets it grow out a bit and the little danger noodles like to bring him bits and pieces of things they think he might like so he ends up with this
But instead of gold I’m thinking silver
Also just some pics of what I think the castle will look like in some places
Anyway that’s all from me byeeee 
Okay, so I´ve been finishing 'Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood' the past week. And even though work threw a wrench into my reading plans nearly every day of the week I am finally at the last chapter. And I really gotta say: There is SO MUCH foreshadowing and good literary devices and some things or sentences make sense only 20+ chapters later? While writing the commentary parts it´s just so much to compare what was known at that specific chapter and what is known in the meantime. It´s a very good story to reread!
The only question is what I´ll read after this story is over, but at least I have quite a few I wanna write commentary for. Which will be fun, because I think I´ve forgotten how a few of them went in the meantime ... welp. Just means a better commentary base :D
Fanfiction commentary and recommendations: Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood Part VII (chapters 31 to 35)
The Original story by @halfagone can be found here.
The previous parts of the commentaries can be found here:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
I´m very sorry that this part is so late - this is what happens when you´re on vacation and decide to do two long-term projects at once. At least they´re going well?
Anyways. What awaits us in these five chapters is a sneak peek into the minds of some Amity Park residents, a foray into social media´s stance on our favourite ghost as well as said ghost´s birth- and death days. Quite the packed program if you ask me! Without further ado - here we go :)
○○○••○○•••○○••○○○
We begin, as is quite unusual in this fic, with Sam. And the first thing we see is her frustration about her parents, combined with all the pent-up worry and rage about Danny´s disappearance as well as all her arguments with Tucker and wow - Danny sure seems to have been the glue keeping the both of them together.
I think what fuels all that rage annoyance is the guilt she feels at 'not having been there' for Danny before he fled into the realms and the portal got him. And it´s unreasonable for sure, but in the end I´d do the same. Regardless of how senseless it seems.
And Sam can´t even absolve herself of her guilt because life had gone on. The school year has gone on and people had started asking questions, with Dash and Valerie being the most persistent. And wow, Dash must really have been having a kiddie crush on Danny for him to worry so much. If only he´d shown that sooner and to Danny though… but we always only get such apologies too late in the end. And they also don´t make any inflicted pain easier …
Sam also finds this weird, especially since Dash, after years of not even being friends anymore, can still remember what Danny had wanted to become when he was older and that Danny could do the same.
How weird it was to know that Danny and Tucker and a bunch of the A-listers had gone to the same schools since elementary and some of them had even been friends? It certainly rubs Sam the wrong way.
What doesn´t is Valerie´s behaviour. Because, yes, Val and Danny had broken up long ago but neither had seemed all too ready to let it all go. There had always been LOOKS if you know what I mean.
And yeah, Sam had been jealous at the whole affair, she´d also never really thought about getting together with him instead. Despite all the comments from the people around them. And I think that´s good. God only knows how annoying it can get when people try to set you up with your friends. It can get really awkward really fast.
But … the whole difference is that Sam at some point has begun to wonder 'what if'. And if that question comes up? Buddy, you know how it goes. There´s never any good when it comes to 'what if'. Because it is an inherently human quality to prevent those 'what if’s. Because they can hurt. Regardless of if these what if´s can really come to fruition or not.
In this case it would have probably been worse because she still feels such crushing guilt about the portal incident … it wouldn´t have been healthy. Couldn´t have been, but … yeah. Sam basically:
But she´d seen him at his worst. She´s seen how he works alone and with others, how he fights and protects and was to the town like Atlas was to the sky: always the one to take the burden. Without anyone knowing. And to know that such a devoted person? Such an ardent protector? Can love oneself? It sure is a beautiful thought.
While, yes, those are by naught the most important reasons she seems to like him, but …. They seem important, don´t they? Because if one can´t even understand that Danny, at his core, needs to protect those he loves? That he´ll even endanger himself if it means that those he loves can be save and that he´s also still just plain old Danny? The pun-loving weirdo he is? Those do seem like rather nice qualities to have, don´t they?
He´s just so kind. When Sam is … not. Sure, she´d help, but she doubts that she´d have been able to come out of the whole ordeal as strong as Danny. As free of resentment. But that´s not true, is it? He´s not free of resentment or hatred. He just chose to bury it all so deep, that you´ll need a submarine to find it. Doesn´t make it any less destructive though. And just how destructive it had gotten … we´ll see that in the latter chapters. Let´s just say: there are regrets from all the people around.
And with those thoughts we´re onto Dash. Who watches Sam and Tucker dance around each other without Danny able to defuse their arguments. And apparently the last big one was such a shitshow, that the majority of the class watched the whole thing like onlookers like to watch trainwrecks.
But as surprised as everyone was about these fights, he knows it´s because Danny´s gone. But. Why. What had happened? Danny was suddenly just not there anymore. And no, Dash´s definitely not simping for Danny. Naaaah, just imagination I guess ~
But. The trio always had attention. They each had their role and so everyone knew who Danny Fenton was, which makes it even stranger that no one seemed to know anything.
And after hearing the teachers talking about CPS because the Fenton parents’ had seemed to know something? Well … I think Dash has serious regrets. He never thought they could be abusive. Whack jobs, sure. But abusive? Hindsight is always 20/20 in the end. Regardless of how much regret we have.
It all just makes so much sense to Dash. All the bruises and injuries even long after he´d stopped getting physical. Now, we all know that his parents weren´t (the sole) reason. Sure, their chases may have contributed a bit, but in the end the ghost fights were the reason. Dash does not know that though. And he probably never will.
Apparently, Dash once thought that Danny was out there fighting ghosts after the whole debacle with Ember and Youngblood, but had stopped after not seeing him do so for years. His next thought that he was ferrying weapons to Phantom. And. That´s certainly not WRONG per se. But also, that he got roughed up trying to prevent his parents from chasing Phantom. Which is also true in a certain sense, but not really the truth.
That whole train of thought leads to him a whole thing about the Fenton parents and their bigotry and how the city had changed their thoughts on ghosts, but those two had just gotten worse. That they just continually choose to think the worst of ghosts when there had been enough evidence that pointed towards that not being the case.
Dash also thinks about Danny´s perceived fear of ghosts and how that, in the end can´t really be all that true in the end. Because Ember and Youngblood? His fights with the Box ghost? The one time he fist-fought skulker? Were all counter arguments. And very good ones at that. Also, ones that Dash kind of admired, but that´s beside the point for now.
And all of that leads to Dash noticing how the city looked at the moment. Decrepit. Because the ghosts had been more violent after Phantom disappeared, even though he´d seen him once in between (we all know that was Dani anyways). And the major had stopped caring about the town as much. And doesn´t that say many things about Vlad? That he basically abandoned the town as soon as Danny vanished?
So. Dash is wondering about Phantom and Danny and all of the change that has been happening. Understandable. Change … happens. Most of the time it´s nothing bad or nefarious, but sometimes … sometimes change is scary.
The only thing Dash was even sure of was that je missed Danny Fenton - not that he´d ever tell anyone. But it says many things about him, doesn´t it?
And then we get to Vlad, obsessive Vampire wannabe that he is, his first thought is 'where is Danny'. Quite on point, really. And to know that he´d spied on the Fentons with multiple cameras and bugs? Well. It´s Vlad.
Vlad, being who he is, had to gaslight himself into thinking that 'no, the Fenton parents would never do something to their child'. Vlad, if you know that you´re basically gaslighting yourself that´s not going to WORK.
What he also noticed was the damaged and shut down portal in the Fenton lab. And of course, he tried to redirect that to his own feelings about the proto-portal that blew up in his face. Just when is he ever gonna let go of his weird obsession of 'he´s for SURE like ME. ONLY I can understand him'? Someday, I hope. I want to say never, but the things happening in the later chapters gave me some hope in that regard.
And of course, Vlad just continues his search. Not that it´s ever fruitful, because no one will tell him anything. Deserved tbh. Especially since he apparently let the ghosts out himself to lure out Danny. And in doing so basically destroyed the town… Wow, disregarding human life like that? Really? Again? I’m not even disappointed. Just resigned. VLAD BE NORMAL FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE.
And of course, the only reason he cares about Danny is, that he´s losing his chance to steal him from under Jack´s nose. Because he´ll be an adult soon …. Whyyyy is he like this … and even if he says that he feels fear for him deep down. HOW deep down are we talking? Deeper than your moral compass, that´s for sure.
He apparently needs to find Danny before Vlad basically kills himself via haywire powers. That sounds incredibly fucked up if you ask me … and unhealthy. GO SEE A THERAPIST YOU LOON.
And then we have a little cameo of Clockwork who´s just like 'Be well my child. Just wait a little longer, your old home world is not yet ready for you to come back'. Which. Okay. Weird and slightly ominous, but okay.
Now, one of my favourite parts: social media.
Social media welcomes Danny back into metropolis (after a somewhat ominous sentence that 'If you´d like to leave anonymous tip, you can go to our website at ….' - not ominous at all, nope). Good news: PR is working hard and has announced that Danny´s in good health AND the Joker’s death was rules as self-defence! Whoop!
But even though so many people are celebrating and Gotham City is planning a party for the occasion and Bruce has done some PR resulting in a memorial for Joker´s victims, People on Twitter are split into two camps. The camp that is just happy that Danny´s save and sound and the camp that hates Danny even more now, that he inadvertently killed the Joker.
And that gets even worse when the audio recording of the questioning gets leaked, because of course it does. Danny can never catch a break, can he?
I do feel vindicated that so many people love Danny for chewing out batman though. Because that, indeed, was an awesome moment :3
But now the discussions have started up again. People are calling him a killer, suddenly he´s not a 'hero' anymore? And the recording was very obviously cut, making it seem as if Danny had wanted to kill the Joker from the beginning. And people …. Don´t like that. The two camps are basically going at each other´s throats and it´s not pretty.
One of the users has a very good response to that:
There are literally places where Danny starts talking mid-sentence after a cut. They weren’t trying very hard to hide their edits #I pity whoever fell for this shit #actually wait #no I don’t
Of course, the papers are already going at it. Typical. I swear they´re like sharks. Or piranhas. Or wasps when you´re having a barbeque. Or ants when you´re having a picnic.
Danny´s also on the Later night how! His first interview there, I´m so proud of him. He handled it so well!
And the two are interacting so sweetly? Like, they´re laughing and talking about silly things even though a big topic is how Danny´s still healing. I get the impression that he, too, would like to wrap Danny into bubble wrap so that he´d be save.
He´s also impressed that Danny´s able to take his injuries so well and is … quite alarmed at the answer being his family. And his godfather and his FREAKING BEARTRAP. Fuck Vlad. Have I said this already? Anyways. Fuck him. And not in a sexy way.
We get early birthday wishes and a discussion on the logistics of being a newly adopted billionaire son. How some things are not as different as they seem at first glance.
Danny talks about how actually living with Lex has been the biggest adjustment since Lex is now a new single parent. But also, a single parent to a fucking teenager of all things. But Lex is also trying to be there and to do things better - all things that Danny´s parents never did and honestly? The more I read about how they treated Danny and how they caused him so many issues via neglect the more homicidal I get.
And that´s just cute:
Luthor: He treats me very well for a man that has no experience with children or teenagers. I can’t speak for everyone my age, but one of the hardest parts about this age period is that most people still treat you like a child but expect you to act like an adult. [Nuñez nods] But Lex- I definitely think he has expectations, or at least standards, but I’ve never felt worried about what he would do if I didn’t meet those standards. He’s surprisingly good at… just- balancing my need for independence with his own concerns- especially with more recent events- while also trying to let me… be a kid, really.
Lex just genuinely being a good parent has my heart melting as if it´s ice cream and this story is a hot summer day.
And at the question on how it´s going with so much money to spend he just goes 'well, not that different. Kinda a billionaire magnet, but still a bit different living that lifestyle' Which, yeah. Both Sam and Vlad are filthy rich after all.
And then Danny complains about Vlad on live television and makes fun of is obsession with the Green Bay Packers and his awful taste in interior design and yes, he´s a gremlin and I love him xD
The internet adores the interview. As they should. Danny showed off his adorableness (is that even a word?) and many hearts were melted. Also: he´s just a funny little dude xD
Ah yes, we also have another anecdote about Kool-Aid man jack Fenton. And how much Danny had loved it that his father did that because Danny’s been sick and he´d called for them and it´s just AWWWWWWWWWW
Of course, the interviewer is a bit confused about the parents because he´d mainly heard bad things about them. And Danny, sweetheart that he is, tells him he certainly has good ones and gives examples but also kind of realizes that:
it’s been a long time since they were parents to me. And… maybe once upon a time they had been good parents, but I don’t think they were ever good people
And OOOOOF. My baby boi :')
Then we get to the birthday! Whoop! And Lex would really, really like to know who dared to upload the questioning to twitter please.
And because he´s not even sure why good old Jim is keeping all of those corrupt officers he´s just going to sew the GCPD and throw them all out. As a treat.
We also get more introspection on Lex´ thoughts on Harley and how he´s been preparing for Danny´s first therapy session with the woman. He also says that he can´t deal with her constantly running her mouth, but that Danny likes it and it´s Ivy who has to live with her (which is lowkey a burn)
Lex also knows that Danny´s hiding something from him, but that he´s been keeping under wraps.
When Lex gets a surprise call from his PA, he did not expect that it was because people just fricking love Danny and decided he needed birthday presents. It´s a whole room full of presents and oh boy. If we take the Mac´n´cheese aside, his favourite present is this HUGE Teddy bear as well as a galaxy night light and yeah. I understand xD
Danny´s delighted so suffice to say Lex isn´t all too mad about the whole affair. Of course, the PA films Lex´ and Danny´s reaction at the whole thing. Lex gets a copy and twitter does as well.
At Danny´s question how these people even know of his birthday the dry answer to that is 'It´s in your Twitter bio'. Ah yes, we love the dry humor in this house.
Twitter also adores the part of the interview on the Late-Night show where Danny´s asked about his favourite hero and his honest to God answer is Jazz. I cried - he´s so adorable.
Also: Spiderman is his favourite comic book hero. And with how similar these two are I´m not surprised xD
Everyone dies a little inside when Danny just casually says that he and his sister had to do all the chores, because their parents just WOULDN´T. And how his sister always took care of him. But also, how she always needed to be right, even if she wasn´t and for however adult she behaved, she´d still been a kid taking care of another kid. And how he´d kept forgetting that.
After that Lex is thinking about Danny and how his powers can both be a boon and a curse. He can do SO MUCH with them. Do so much good for himself or others, but he also can´t achieve his biggest dream because of them. And that´s just heartbreaking ...
But right now. They´re in the animal shelter to choose a cat. To say that Danny´s delighted would be an understatement if I ever heard one. And of course, Danny chooses the one cat that just hates the attention and the shelter. An after learning of her story? And how she´s slow to warm up and quick to nip? Well Reminds me and probably also Danny of a certain someone and so here we go. Cat acquired! A new achievement has been unlocked!
When Lex asks Danny why he´s even wanted to go to a shelter instead of a breeder the answer is so cute. 'I wanted to give one of them a second chance for a better life. Kind of like you did to me' Gosh my HEART. I´ll die of sugar overdose. Mercy also sends a video of the tail end of the conversation on her twitter account. Which beautifully shows how amazed and soft that makes Lex.
Of course Mercy and Lex annoy each other under that video and when Lena jumps into the conversation all hope is lost lmao. Danny learns of his aunt and well. Can´t hold the boy from family if you tried - Lex has regrets.
Next Kon brings Danny´s presents like a punk Santa Claus and is surprised that Lex left a window open for him. Well, joke´s on him because Lex sees him as a son now. He has no say in it. Not that he knows that as of yet. Or that Lex knows as of yet. But they´ll get there.
Danny lets Kon meet Pepper and even though it´s a bit awkward: it´s family.
Cass also gives him her wishes and Tucker, on a tear-stained pillow, does as well. God this boy needs something happy happening to him...
Sadly that´s when Death Day happens. It happens during a press conference where Lex gives a speech and Danny´s on the podium with him, even though he hadn´t really needed to be there.
Danny’s been rubbing his chest as if in pain and his expression has slowly gotten more and more pained and paniced. Lex has gotten worried.
And then Danny collapsed, started convulsing and … while the press loved getting that footage with camera shutters going off non-stop, Lex did certainly not. Sharks.
And that´s when Danny realized what day it is and oh boy. It´s not pretty. Danny´s just miserable when Lex tells him that it´s September 30th. Lex may not understand why, but still urges Mercy to remove everyone from the facility. Just. It´s too late for that already.
Danny screamed. He screamed as if dying. Loud and drawn out, with terror and agony on his face. And everyone´s just … frozen. Because that ... That was a death scream.
Mercy recovers first, telling Lex that they´d have to move him and Lex just … numbly nods.
The scene changes. We´re now with Clark and Lois and suffice to say that Clark is not well. He says that he will be fine, but … well. He still has the scream ringing in his ears. And Lois is also still processing the whole thing. Even when Clark was the only who´d heard Danny´s heart flatlining.
When Danny wakes up Lex is immediately in caretaker mode. Instantly asking Danny how he was feeling, giving him water, the works.
Danny´s just feeling awful and Lex wants to know why things happened as they did. When Danny just raises his shirt up to show Lex his scars, Lex is quietly but quite evidently horrified. The scars are glowing an angry green. Poor boy. The scars are showing up quite horridly to be honest.
While Lex is trying not to fall into alcoholism to deal with the situation and the revelations connecting to it, he gets a visitor. Let´s just say he´s not stoked about superman visiting him.
He´s flat out glaring at the man. And everything superman maybe wants to say comes out wrong. Not surprising with all the antagonism, even while superman wants to lend help.
Lex just flat out screams at him to get out and chucks the empty glass at him. Not that him being alone again makes Lex feel any better. But why did superman think this was a good idea? They´d never had a good talk. So why? He´d had to have known that this would´ve ended badly to begin with.
And now onto the last chapter for today. And when the notes say 'Hm, how can I make this hurt more?' then you know it will rip your heart out and trample on them.
So, the press has been having a blast with Danny´s collapse. They even out the scream into the media they published. Which is more than just bad taste if you ask me.
Clark is uneasy with the whole situation being as it is. The culprit mainly being the scream. It must have sounded horrid to have such an impact. I mean. It WAS a death scream, so of course he´d be worried, but … well. Danny´s heart had stopped.
And Clark also … doesn´t really know how to break the news to Kon or Jon. And when he wants to its already too late since the news have been talking about it on and off since the day had started.
Kon seems to feel guilty because he hadn´t heard anything, especially since he´d been on babysitting duty that day. But before he falls into a hole of self-deprecation, he asks Clark just what happened. Clark is entirely unhelpful at first. 'Just what the press has released'. As if that was all that he´d heard. But after a bit of wheedling, he elaborates: The heart rate speeding up as soon as Danny had shown discomfort, how quickly it happened. How he screamed immediately after he flatlined. How the heart had restarted without assistance but had been … slower after that. How Clark visited the penthouse the previous night and heard Danny´s heartbeat being the same as usual. He doesn´t mention Lex and his reaction though.
He also doesn’t share more about his thoughts on the relationship between Danny and his parents and how they were nearly criminally neglectful. How Danny had been afraid to live under the same roof as them and all of that in addition to Danny´s health problems? Well. He´s just happy that Lex had been able to give him a better home.
Of course, Kon immediately wants to go visit his brother, as is his right. Clark just doesn´t think it´s a good idea. You know what though? Fuck Clark. Let the boys spend time together. If something like this happened to me I´d also like some visits from my family.
Of course, Clark and Kon have a quarrel about it shortly before Kon storms off. And when Jon asks 'Did you two have a fight again?' Clark realizes that maybe he should consider this problem. Another time though. For now, though he´d have to talk about Danny with his son. What I really dislike is how he uses 'Kon´s friend Danny' instead of 'Kon´s brother' because honestly? The man should have realized their relationship by now.
Kon gets to the penthouse and deliberates how he should get in when Lex just straight up opens a window for him. Kon is prepared for a fight and Lex is just too tired to care.
I mean how done must the man be if he showed himself in SHORTS? And a polo shirt? For Lex that´s downright blasphemous to be honest. Doesn´t help that he looks exhausted.
Kon takes all of this in and realizes that for the longest time he hadn´t thought of the man as human. Or at least not as the sort of person to need rest and/or food.
While he still ruminates about all of that, Lex tells him that Danny would be waking up in a few minutes since he´d been sleeping in strange 57-minute increments. Always waking up screaming. God that must hit Lex hard.
But in the meantime, instead of just standing around they talk. About the noise isolation of the penthouse, Lex´ willingness to let Kon see his other son, Lex even offers Kon self-made food and that´s the point that surprises Kon the most. That Lex can cook. Lex being the way he is I’m not surprised about that though.
I mean, should he really be surprised? It´s Lex. The man doesn´t want to depend on someone for his livelihood so of course he can cook.
And in the deceptive calm that follows Kon asks if Danny´s going to be okay. Lex … doesn´t answer for some time, but when he does it´s for the bad news that this wasn´t the first and won´t be the last time. Of course, Kon wants to know how to make it stop … and Lex seems forlorn at the question. At the implication that Lex would be capable of doing it.
While Lex desperately wants to do that, to heal his son of something that causes him such a pain, it´s impossible. And that´s just another punch to the gut.
Lex, again, asks if Kon would like food. Upon the question of cereal being available Lex just tells Kon to 'pick his poison'. Kon sees the fruit loops and is even more confused at the titbit that Danny likes to crush them before he eats them (and isn´t that just a fun thought? I imagine it being quite therapeutic). Kon takes the lucky charms instead. To which I have to say no clue if it´s a good choice or not, I don´t know all of your fancy American cereals.
When Danny wakes with a scream Kon straight up zips upstairs to his bedroom, while Lex takes a bit more time, cleaning the dining area and being despondent because no medication will make the pain go away. Therefore, cursing his own uselessness. And Amity Park´s ignoring of Danny and his problems.
As Kon and Danny talk Lex lets us see deeper into his feelings by mentioning, that he´d not wanted anyone to talk to Danny, but that the emotions would help Danny heal. They´d amass and bring ectoplasm with them, which is what Danny needed to heal.
Therefore, in theory, Danny can sense any and all emotions. He´d have to focus on them though, to know what they actually mean.
So Kon and Danny talk and banter and pet Pepper and Lex is just there, basically thinking about a great many things, including both of his sons and how he may have fucked up his relationship with one of them. He´s also surprised about Kon going to school. Which. Lex. LEX. Why did you think otherwise??
When Kon is gone, they talk about therapy again and how much Danny probably needs it. How Lex would probably need it as well, but can´t considering that his board of directors as well as the public would see it as a sign of instability and therefore boot him out of the company. Yeah, he really did not make many friends, did he?
And on the question why Danny doesn´t want it despite Jazz wanting to become a therapist? Danny tells Lex about Spectra. I hate that woman, so, so much tbh. She deserves the WORST.
When Danny calls himself a freak of nature, Lex calmly explains to him that no, he´s not. He overcame nature, he lived despite the odds. He may be rare, whichever species he identifies as, but is still a person like any other. Perhaps even stronger, since Danny just keeps on fighting against the odds.
And Danny admits that he´s just afraid of being right. Lex admits that he´s afraid of many things - losing everything he built for example. But also, that we can´t be afraid forever and can I just say? Preach.
Fear is a very, very powerful thing. It can consume us until we are but a husk of ourselves in our daily lives. It can take our light and our joy and our love and leave us with nothing but itself for company. And fighting against it is hard. So, so very hard. Maybe one of the hardest things to do even. But that does not mean we should stop fighting, does it? Regardless of how hard it gets; life can still be worth living for.
And Danny does promise to at least try. I´m incredibly proud of him for that. Because it´s a hard step to take and one that takes courage. Courage that a great many people do not have.
Then we come to Lena and Lex who have a sibling talk to last the ages. That Fatherhood suits Lex, even though he has the feeling it makes him age twice as fast. But that he also looks so much happier nowadays.
And then Lena destroys the good mood by asking Lex if he´d talked to their father recently. That he´s been asking about Lex. Who would rather jump into a vat of acid than talk to the man. And in the light of what will happen later? Yeah, that´s a good choice. That man is just pure malice incarnated, but we´re not there yet. This is just the foreshadowing.
The man apparently also wants to meet Danny and Lex would rather that not happen. When Lena just looks puzzled about that, he elaborates that none of them had a good relationship with their father. So why would she even ask? For hope of a happy family? She´s known them her whole life, shouldn´t she know better? But I guess that´s the hopeful optimist that´s speaking out of her.
And in the end, Lex does admit that fatherhood, that the content feeling he has by taking care of Danny, that that is happiness. And that´s just cute. He´s a father peeps. He´s a happy father :3
The end comes upon us with Harley hugging the living daylights out of Danny and talking with him. Danny goes right for the heavy stuff with the sentence "
“When I was fourteen, I died,” Danny told her suddenly, giving her reason to pause. “I don’t think I ever really came back.”
And just ouch. True, but ouch.
And with that this part comes to its end.
A great many things happened in just five chapter. So many words, so much and yet so little time going by. Things are starting to fall into place, don´t they?
@solconbur Maybe they don't "just take him" but:
They try to talk to him about coming with them, but he strongly declines. They figure that he had formed an attachment to the trashcan for some reason, and offer to take the trashcan as well, talking about a more secure place were the trashcan would be safe.
Danny hadn't even consider moving the trashcan because his last haunt wasn't mobile. It didn't matter what he did, Amity would always be in the same place so he had always protected his haunt by being on the offensive. Now, this people in strange outfits had reminded him that his new haunt can be moved to a new place.
It's true that the alley is not the safest; he has to be always on the look for danger. He's lonely, and exhausted from trying to survive on this new world, and the promise of safety for his haunt sorta sales it for his tired ghost brain. (Later, while better fed and rested, he would scold himself for trusting that so easily.)
He still refuses to leave the trash, tiredness didn't completely get rid of his weariness. If worse comes to be, he could just fade with the trashcan, so he refuses to leave it. which ends in the situation of the drawing, with Diana and Batman carrying the trashcan with Danny in it.
So I read a prompt about how Wonder Woman found Danny in a trash can (don’t remember which one) and I was bored.
So I took that lil info and made it into an AU.
So basically, Danny get yeeted into this unknown universe and has no where to live. And no where to live means no money. No money means no food. No food means Danny can’t keep his human half sustained.
So what does he do?
Decides to not change into a human and live in a trash can.
Yes you heard that right, live in a trash can.
Because he’s a ghost, he doesn’t have to worry about the germs and stuff. But that doesn’t mean he lives in just any trash can! He lives in a clean one ☝️
AND he also decorated it with his name so other people know it’s his!
And so Danny has been here for a while now and realizes
Holy shit there’s hero’s here- you know what, why doesn’t he have hero’s back home?!
And being minorly annoyed jealous (but he’s never admitting that)he thought:
Well since there’s hero’s here already, guess I’m not needed.
.
.
.
Good. I’m tired af
And so Danny caries on his life, being content with his trash can and scaring whoever comes into his alley. It’s fun. Sure he sometimes needs to ugh overshadow people to feed his human side, but other than that.
It’s going great.
But Danny doesn’t realize that with Amity gone (or smth, you choose) which was his haunt, he slowly makes the trash can into his new haunt.
And slowly but surely, Danny’s beloved haunt trash can starts to become other worldly kinda.
Yk because of the ectoplasm.
So now Danny’s lovely trash can haunt has more space inside and- Hey Danny can actually sleep in it better!! And he got some company too!
In the form of blob ghosts.
Two actually.
They keep his trash can clean and help purifying some corrupted ectoplasm that he finds. Because for some reason this universe’s ectoplasm seems half way artificial and tastes a bit weird. Which is where the blob ghosts help out in.
Everything was great.
Danny was loving the trash can life style.
He has two blob ghosts friends. Which he named Sam and Tucker, and yea they couldn’t talk but that was fine.
He wasn’t lonely, he wasn’t. He had two very much talking friends like Sam and Tucker.
However one day two weirdly dressed people- oh they were hero’s.
Well anyway they found him, one woman stripper and one furry guy.
But it was on accident! He was just peaking out of his beloved haunt trash can, and they spotted him.
He stared, they stared back.
Then the woman stripper asked him questions, even when he said:
“Don’t mind me, have a nice day!”
But they just kept bother him and giving him weird looks and glances.
Which- rude.
Didn’t they see his mark on his haunt trash can? Obviously it means it’s his home, so they shouldn’t be bothering him still. He’s safe as can be.
Plus.
It’s not like he’s looking at them in suspicion and weirdness, I mean look at them! What kinda cheep knock off vampire fury mix and American stripper style clothing are those!
They should mind their own business!
———
Just a silly lil drawing of this lmao, don’t mind me.
@solconbur Maybe they don't "just take him" but:
They try to talk to him about coming with them, but he strongly declines. They figure that he had formed an attachment to the trashcan for some reason, and offer to take the trashcan as well, talking about a more secure place were the trashcan would be safe.
Danny hadn't even consider moving the trashcan because his last haunt wasn't mobile. It didn't matter what he did, Amity would always be in the same place so he had always protected his haunt by being on the offensive. Now, this people in strange outfits had reminded him that his new haunt can be moved to a new place.
It's true that the alley is not the safest; he has to be always on the look for danger. He's lonely, and exhausted from trying to survive on this new world, and the promise of safety for his haunt sorta sales it for his tired ghost brain. (Later, while better fed and rested, he would scold himself for trusting that so easily.)
He still refuses to leave the trash, tiredness didn't completely get rid of his weariness. If worse comes to be, he could just fade with the trashcan, so he refuses to leave it. which ends in the situation of the drawing, with Diana and Batman carrying the trashcan with Danny in it.
So I read a prompt about how Wonder Woman found Danny in a trash can (don’t remember which one) and I was bored.
So I took that lil info and made it into an AU.
So basically, Danny get yeeted into this unknown universe and has no where to live. And no where to live means no money. No money means no food. No food means Danny can’t keep his human half sustained.
So what does he do?
Decides to not change into a human and live in a trash can.
Yes you heard that right, live in a trash can.
Because he’s a ghost, he doesn’t have to worry about the germs and stuff. But that doesn’t mean he lives in just any trash can! He lives in a clean one ☝️
AND he also decorated it with his name so other people know it’s his!
And so Danny has been here for a while now and realizes
Holy shit there’s hero’s here- you know what, why doesn’t he have hero’s back home?!
And being minorly annoyed jealous (but he’s never admitting that)he thought:
Well since there’s hero’s here already, guess I’m not needed.
.
.
.
Good. I’m tired af
And so Danny caries on his life, being content with his trash can and scaring whoever comes into his alley. It’s fun. Sure he sometimes needs to ugh overshadow people to feed his human side, but other than that.
It’s going great.
But Danny doesn’t realize that with Amity gone (or smth, you choose) which was his haunt, he slowly makes the trash can into his new haunt.
And slowly but surely, Danny’s beloved haunt trash can starts to become other worldly kinda.
Yk because of the ectoplasm.
So now Danny’s lovely trash can haunt has more space inside and- Hey Danny can actually sleep in it better!! And he got some company too!
In the form of blob ghosts.
Two actually.
They keep his trash can clean and help purifying some corrupted ectoplasm that he finds. Because for some reason this universe’s ectoplasm seems half way artificial and tastes a bit weird. Which is where the blob ghosts help out in.
Everything was great.
Danny was loving the trash can life style.
He has two blob ghosts friends. Which he named Sam and Tucker, and yea they couldn’t talk but that was fine.
He wasn’t lonely, he wasn’t. He had two very much talking friends like Sam and Tucker.
However one day two weirdly dressed people- oh they were hero’s.
Well anyway they found him, one woman stripper and one furry guy.
But it was on accident! He was just peaking out of his beloved haunt trash can, and they spotted him.
He stared, they stared back.
Then the woman stripper asked him questions, even when he said:
“Don’t mind me, have a nice day!”
But they just kept bother him and giving him weird looks and glances.
Which- rude.
Didn’t they see his mark on his haunt trash can? Obviously it means it’s his home, so they shouldn’t be bothering him still. He’s safe as can be.
Plus.
It’s not like he’s looking at them in suspicion and weirdness, I mean look at them! What kinda cheep knock off vampire fury mix and American stripper style clothing are those!
They should mind their own business!
———
Just a silly lil drawing of this lmao, don’t mind me.
Phantom letters - DPXDC PROMPT
The bats wake up one day to the internet going crazy; people around the world were getting letters from they're diseased loved ones. The reactions are mixed, from people being outraged for the "prank" to people crying in melancholy at getting closure.
All the letters have something in common: They're closed with a green sealing wax that had an stylize DP and the name Phantom beneath it. Posts about the cards were using the # Phantom Letters.
The bats are discussing the viral posts in the cave when Alfred comes holding a basket filled with letters, announcing they were left at the doors. The letters had the sealing wax that they recognize from the posts. Checking the cameras they can see how they glitch before the basket appears.
Alfred starts to distribute the letters that had only one destinatary. Letters from each Thomas and Martha to both Bruce and Alfred. Letters from each John and Mary to Dick. A letter from Catherine to Jason. A letter from the Drake's to Tim, and another one to Bruce.
Once they had calmed down enough from the shock, Alfred proceeded to read the shared recipients. From Thomas and Martha to "The grandchildren we never got to meet." From John and Mary to "the family that took our little Robin in." Letters from Catherine to "My little boys family." The letters were directed to people the deceased didn't get to meet.
As much as the mere existence of the letters tugged at their hearts, they decided to not read them until they verified that the handwriting actually belong to the ones it claimed. They checked each letter, and in the end confirmed the letters were in fact from they're lost love ones.
After much discussion, each person makes the decision to read they're own letters later in private, and they proceed to read the ones that shared recipients out loud. The letter mentioned specifics like names and events that the deceased shouldn't have been able to know, including they're vigilante abilities, which had them pause each time to panic a bit. But what was more interested were certain pieces of the letters that mentioned a Prince Phantom.
"Prince Phantom said to don't mention things past our death, but it wasn't a command, so we're hoping this won't be much of a problem." - John and Mary
"I still can't believe Prince Phantom is letting us do this, but I'm so glad." - Catherine
It finally paints the mystery in a more concerning light when at the end of Thomas and Martha's letter there is a call for help.
"We're sorry for ending the letter on a serious tone, but seeing the kind of job you all get involved in, we wanted to ask: Could you please help Prince Phantom? Phantom had asked us to not give information about this, but he's so young, and has already been hurt so much. Please, check on Amity Park, Illinois."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Meanwhile, team Phantom has decided that they needed to get the news about the GIW out of Amity and ask for help. Two problems:
the GIW blocks any technological attempt made.
People might be afraid to learn that ghosts exist and side with the GIW.
As a way to deal with the public image, Phantom opens a possibility that the death have never had:
"All afterlives are open to write letters to their love ones that are still alive today. Nothing that includes threats, and don't go talking about the anti-ecto acts or Amity Park yet, we're trying to ease people into our existence first. Also, I know you all check on your love ones when the veil is thin, but please keep the things you shouldn't know out of the letters if possible. If you want your letter to be sent in the first batch, make sure to deliver your letter before the week ends."
Letters are a good way to reconnect people with the death, they aren't digital, and the GIW won't be able to intercept letters if they're send through inter-dimensional portals. Two birds in one shot.
Phantom letters - DPXDC PROMPT
The bats wake up one day to the internet going crazy; people around the world were getting letters from they're diseased loved ones. The reactions are mixed, from people being outraged for the "prank" to people crying in melancholy at getting closure.
All the letters have something in common: They're closed with a green sealing wax that had an stylize DP and the name Phantom beneath it. Posts about the cards were using the # Phantom Letters.
The bats are discussing the viral posts in the cave when Alfred comes holding a basket filled with letters, announcing they were left at the doors. The letters had the sealing wax that they recognize from the posts. Checking the cameras they can see how they glitch before the basket appears.
Alfred starts to distribute the letters that had only one destinatary. Letters from each Thomas and Martha to both Bruce and Alfred. Letters from each John and Mary to Dick. A letter from Catherine to Jason. A letter from the Drake's to Tim, and another one to Bruce.
Once they had calmed down enough from the shock, Alfred proceeded to read the shared recipients. From Thomas and Martha to "The grandchildren we never got to meet." From John and Mary to "the family that took our little Robin in." Letters from Catherine to "My little boys family." The letters were directed to people the deceased didn't get to meet.
As much as the mere existence of the letters tugged at their hearts, they decided to not read them until they verified that the handwriting actually belong to the ones it claimed. They checked each letter, and in the end confirmed the letters were in fact from they're lost love ones.
After much discussion, each person makes the decision to read they're own letters later in private, and they proceed to read the ones that shared recipients out loud. The letter mentioned specifics like names and events that the deceased shouldn't have been able to know, including they're vigilante abilities, which had them pause each time to panic a bit. But what was more interested were certain pieces of the letters that mentioned a Prince Phantom.
"Prince Phantom said to don't mention things past our death, but it wasn't a command, so we're hoping this won't be much of a problem." - John and Mary
"I still can't believe Prince Phantom is letting us do this, but I'm so glad." - Catherine
It finally paints the mystery in a more concerning light when at the end of Thomas and Martha's letter there is a call for help.
"We're sorry for ending the letter on a serious tone, but seeing the kind of job you all get involved in, we wanted to ask: Could you please help Prince Phantom? Phantom had asked us to not give information about this, but he's so young, and has already been hurt so much. Please, check on Amity Park, Illinois."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Meanwhile, team Phantom has decided that they needed to get the news about the GIW out of Amity and ask for help. Two problems:
the GIW blocks any technological attempt made.
People might be afraid to learn that ghosts exist and side with the GIW.
As a way to deal with the public image, Phantom opens a possibility that the death have never had:
"All afterlives are open to write letters to their love ones that are still alive today. Nothing that includes threats, and don't go talking about the anti-ecto acts or Amity Park yet, we're trying to ease people into our existence first. Also, I know you all check on your love ones when the veil is thin, but please keep the things you shouldn't know out of the letters if possible. If you want your letter to be sent in the first batch, make sure to deliver your letter before the week ends."
Letters are a good way to reconnect people with the death, they aren't digital, and the GIW won't be able to intercept letters if they're send through inter-dimensional portals. Two birds in one shot.
Don't eat anything else - Part 2 - DP X DC
Previous part
Masterpost
This is the only chapter where I'll tag people. Please, if you want to follow the story from this point on, follow the master post :).
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"You both should stop eating the food." Came Babs voice through the comms. "Danny asked Tim to not eat anything else. We suspect the food may content poison."
Bruce subtly shared a look with Cass before returning to nodding at Masters' proud rambling about his latest contract. They had both stopped eating long ago. The soup was good; Masters’ words about Danny being a good cook weren’t a lie. However, Bruce couldn’t identify the chunks of meat in the soup.
He initially thought it was pork, though the texture seemed somewhat similar to veal. By the fourth piece of meat he ate, he could confidently say he didn't recognize it. When he looked at Cass, he saw her using her spoon to play with one of the pieces of meat on the edge of the plate, a frown hidden behind her polite smile. He was sure then that the meat couldn't be one they had tasted before.
Bruce has tasted every kind of meat that should be available to Masters. He has even tasted exotic meats that Masters would probably never encounter, having represented humanity in intergalactic meetings as Batman. Not being able to identify the meat discouraged Bruce from eating more, and it seemed to have had the same effect on Cass. They had kept their food mostly untouched, using the excuse of waiting for Tim and Danny to return before eating. It was a good call; the meat being poisoned could be the reason it was unrecognizable.
"If any of you feel any symptoms, turn off your comm." None of them made a move to do so, and after a couple of minutes Babs continued, "I'll call Bruce in 10 minutes to create an excuse for you guys to leave."
Bruce would have liked to think that they had not yet consumed enough poison for it to affect them, but there's always the possibility of it being a delayed-effect poison. If Masters' plan with the poison was to kill them, then a delayed-effect poison would allow Masters to avoid being immediately connected to their deaths.
However, Masters shouldn’t have a reason to kill Bruce Wayne and his wards. Unless the man had discovered that they were investigating his contracts, which Bruce doubted. It was more likely that the poison was some sort of chemical restraint or chemical submissive, which would explain why Masters' contracts always seemed to end ridiculously in his favor. It would be easy to make such deals with someone who was drugged to be more agreeable with you.
Not that Bruce would be willing to take the risk to find out, especially with Cass having also ingested the tainted meat. He was glad he had brought the poison antidote kit with him. Despite this, Bruce wasn't sure about cutting the visit short, at least not for all of them. Tim had been gone with Danny for a while now, and if Danny had informed Tim about the food, they were probably exchanging information at the moment. Maybe Tim was in the process of offering Danny help, and Bruce didn't want to interrupt that.
"Renovations will be starting next week, and I'm sure the place will end up being quite popular," Masters finally finished his rambling.
"It sure sounds like it will. You certainly got yourself a great deal with Kensington, Mr. Masters. I'm curious, what is your negotiation method?" Bruce asked, hoping to gather more information.
Masters had been surprisingly adept at avoiding any conversation about the negotiations themselves, always sidetracking the discussion or giving half-answers. Drugs in the food was a good hypothesis and would be the best outcome for them, as such substances usually shouldn’t take too long to get out of their system.
Yet, it didn't explain how Masters' business partners seemed to stay committed to their contracts long after they were made. The furthest they had gotten from them was confusion about how they had reached the point where they accepted the contract's conditions. However, they all seemed convinced they had gotten the best outcome possible, despite obviously getting the short end of the stick.
It pointed to something besides drug usage. Maybe Masters got blackmail material from them while they were drugged? It would be easier to draw conclusions if Masters had even the smallest slip about it.
Masters smiled, taking a sip from his wine. "Ah, it takes years of practice, Wayne. It isn't something one can learn in a day, and only those with the capacity can master it," he said. Then, before Bruce could ask any follow-up questions, he continued, "Now, Daniel and young Mr. Drake sure seem to be taking their time."
"Oh, that doesn't surprise me," Bruce said, shaking his head with a fond smile, playing farther into his "Brucie" persona while lamenting the lost opportunities to get more leads on what Masters was doing. "They're around the same age. Surely they got distracted talking about whatever is of interest to kids their age these days."
"I would be glad if my godson got along so well with your son, Mr. Wayne," Masters said with a practiced smile, though a hint of calculation flickered in his eyes. He gestured vaguely with his wine glass, his tone deceptively sympathetic. "The loss of his family hasn't been easy for him, and building a connection with someone like Mr. Drake could be beneficial. However, it is quite rude to leave the guests waiting. As his guardian, I must address this. I’ll go search for them." Masters stated, standing up from his seat.
Luckily, Bruce didn't need to interject to stop Masters from interrupting his son's conversation with Danny, since the two boys appeared by the door as if summoned by Masters' comment. Danny visibly tensed the moment he spotted Masters standing in his place.
"Daniel, it's good you're finally back. I was about to go search for you," Masters said, throwing Danny a stern look.
Danny opened his mouth, probably about to apologize for the wait, but Tim beat him to it.
"So sorry, Mr. Masters. I had to take a shower before changing clothes."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Drake," Masters said as he looked Tim up and down, evaluating if what Tim was saying was true. His eyes lingered on Tim's wet hair for a moment, and the tension in his eyes relaxed a bit. "It is Daniel's fault for throwing the soup on you. Now, shall we continue with the dinner?" Masters sat once more on his chair.
"Should—" Danny started, slightly stuttering when Masters' eyes returned to him. "Should I serve new portions? Since the ones on the table are probably cold by now?" the intensity of Masters gaze increased with every word Danny said. In response, Danny lowered his gaze to the floor, and shifted nervously.
Danny's voice was way too small by the end of his sentence, but Bruce could sense some hidden urgency in his tone. Remembering that Danny was the one who had warned them about the food, Bruce could infer that he was trying to further prevent them from eating it. It gave Bruce the impression that Masters had also caught onto that fact, given how tense the man was.
He was grateful for the kid doing their best to protect them, but lamented putting them in a position where they had to risk confronting their abuser. Bruce really hoped Tim had convinced Danny to leave with them. It shouldn't be difficult to create a reasonable invitation for Danny after Masters' comment about how he was isolating himself.
"Good idea," Cass said with a gentle smile directed at Danny before Masters could make any move.
Masters' eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded. "Very well. Daniel, go ahead."
As Danny hurried to the kitchen, Bruce shared a subtle glance with Tim, who was retaking his seat beside Cass. Unfortunately, instead of the nod indicating that they could get Danny to leave with them if they created the opportunity, Tim just shrugged. It wasn't the sign for Danny refusing help, but the one for things being more complicated than they seemed. Bruce sighed, and before Danny returned from the kitchen, his phone rang. He excused himself to answer Babs' call, lamenting not being able to take Danny with them.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Bruce came back from his brief call with Babs with a worried face that Cass knew wasn't the one he made when actual "family emergencies" happened. It was exagerated and dramatic, it screamed "something terrible had happened," and was perfect for this kind of situations. Bruce quickly ushered Cass and Tim out, apologizing to Masters for the hasty departure. They barely had time to say goodbye to Danny, who had hurried back from the kitchen after Masters had shouted about seeing off the guests.
Cass noticed a subtle shift in Danny’s demeanor as they prepared to leave. His shoulders dropped slightly, and there was a fleeting look of relief in his eyes. However, that relief was overshadowed by the palpable fear that clung to him; his tense posture betrayed the anxiety he was trying to hide. It was hard to leave him behind, and Cass almost ran back when she caught sight of Vlad’s possessive hand on Danny’s shoulder and his venomous, angry eyes as she was walking out the door.
As soon as they were in the car, Tim immediately began checking the vehicle and himself for hidden microphones, with Bruce and Cass following his lead with little more than a raised eyebrow. Tim’s decision to search for bugs made sense once he explained that Danny’s room had been bugged,
"Honestly, Danny's so careful with his actions and words everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole property is bugged."
The drive back to the house they had rented was tense, the atmosphere in the car thick with unspoken concerns. Tim decided to use the ride home to update them on what he had seen. In turn, Bruce spoke about the dinner with Masters, detailing their regrettable failure to extract any additional information from the man. The evening ultimately boiled down to the suspicion that the food had been poisoned. Cass remained silent, not feeling up to talking.
She had her doubts about the food being poisoned; even if the poison hadn't shown any symptoms, her past training should have allowed her to identify it if she had consumed it. It seemed unlikely that Masters possessed a poison so sophisticated that she couldn’t detect it, and the thought only deepened her unease. She though back to how their hosts acted at the start of the dinner.
Danny looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His eyes darted nervously between them and Masters, his hands trembling slightly as he served the food. The guilt and fear radiating from him were almost palpable, as if he believed he was committing an unforgivable sin by offering them the meal.
Masters, however, didn’t seem like he was planning to poison them. He behaved more like Damian’s classmates had when they once tried to trick him into eating non-vegan food at a gala. His smile was too easy, his gestures too casual, like someone who thought they were pulling off a harmless but cruel prank. It felt like he was purposely feeding them something he knew was outside their comfort zone and ethical beliefs, testing their reactions with a detached amusement.
From the very beginning, Cass had felt a deep discomfort about the food. The way Masters and Danny acted around it had set off her internal alarms. When she took the first bite of the meat, something immediately felt off. The texture was unfamiliar, and the taste was oddly unsettling—not in a way that clearly indicated poison, but in a manner that was subtly disturbing, she didn't know what she was eating. It made her skin crawl, and she couldn’t bring herself to take another bite.
The car coming to a stop in the house’s garage jolted Cass out of her thoughts. They all exited the vehicle, and Jason’s motorcycle was parked beside them as he opened the door. tightly clenched jaw. Like the rest of them, he was frustrated by their inability to take Danny with them, but he wasn’t vocalizing it because he was also worried about what they had eaten.
Once the door was opened, Bruce was ready to rush into his bedroom to get the poison antidote kit, but Jason stopped him,
"Hold on old man, I want to know what the note the kid gave Tim says. It may even say what poison was used; save us time."
"Mnn" Bruce said with a slight nod, and Tim started unfolding the paper in response.
The folded paper was as small as a pinky, but once unfolded, it revealed a full letter-sized sheet, and the text filled at least half of it. Tim skimmed the text as he usually did before reading aloud, but his face quickly drained of color. His eyes widened in horror and disgust. Instead of reading aloud, he kept running his eyes over the first line repeatedly, his gaze darting between Bruce and Cass. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he struggled to keep his composure, fighting against the bile rising in his throat. Cass couldn’t help but frown deeply, a growing sense of dread settling in as she wondered what the paper could possibly contain.
"Forgot how to read, replacement?" Jason said, his tone lacking its usual edge. He stood beside Tim, his expression a mix of uncertainty and concern, unsure whether to reach for the paper or not.
Tim takes a shudering breath, and Cass herself can't help but shift in her place, her anxiety growing, as they all wait for Tim to gain back his voice and finally read what Danny's note says.
"The meat on the food is human meat." Tim finally says with a strained voice.
There's a moment of silence in the room. Cass keeps her eyes on Tim, hoping, pleading, to find any signs that what she heard is wrong, but Tim only repeats the sentence. Her stomach churns violently as bile rises in her throat. Without effort, she sinks to the ground, her legs giving out as she begins to vomit. The pounding of her heart fills her ears, as black dots fill her sight and her hands tremble uncontrollably. She is dimly aware of Bruce doubling over beside her, and the sound of Jason hitting the wall.
She ate human meat. It may have just been a bite, but she ate human meat. The dinner had been made from human meat. Her mind recoiled at the abhorrent thought. The thought of the soup they were served makes her vomit once more. She gasps for air, her body shaking as she fights against the rising tide of revulsion, desperately trying to rid herself of the lingering taste and the horrifying realization of what they ingested. She feels Tims hand doing smalls circles in her back and realizes that tears had been falling from her face.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Danny's hands trembled as he injected himself with another dose of ectoplasm. The shaking made the syringe jab painfully as he withdrew it, causing drops of blood and ectoplasm to fall to the floor while the injury quickly healed. Ten minutes of continuous electrical shocks wasn’t the worst punishment he had received from Vlad, but it had the most severe drawbacks. His body had a harder time recovering from electrical damage than from any other kind of harm, and Vlad often exploited this weakness.
He took a deep breath as the last of the Lichenberg marks disappeared from his legs and arms, leaving only the ones he’d gotten from his death. He sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the ceiling, his legs and arms still trembling. He wasn’t sure if the tremors were from the electrical aftershocks or his own anxiety. Vlad had been furious about his little stunt with the soup and had once again reminded him that they weren't eating Danny’s friends because he was such a "compassionate guardian."
The reminder had thrown Danny into a couple of panic attacks once he was allowed to return to his room. He thanks he's advanced dissociative abilities for not having those panics attacks in front of Vlad. He doesn't wan't to know how the man would try to exploit that.
But even as his whole body trembles and aches, he doesn’t regret his decisions. This is his only chance for things to change. The Waynes are a powerful family with connections to the Justice League. While the League has not interfered with what has happened in Amity Park up till now, they might get involved if the Waynes reach out to them. It’s wishful thinking, and he’s risking a lot, but this gut-wrenching dinner has become the first glimmer of hope he’s had since his family’s death, and he’ll hold onto it with his half-life.
Once he's body stops trembling and he's head feels a bit clearer, he needs to text Sam and Tucker. He'll depend on them for this to not backfire on all denizens.
Don't eat anything else - Part 2 - DP X DC
Previous part
Masterpost
This is the only chapter where I'll tag people. Please, if you want to follow the story from this point on, follow the master post :).
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"You both should stop eating the food." Came Babs voice through the comms. "Danny asked Tim to not eat anything else. We suspect the food may content poison."
Bruce subtly shared a look with Cass before returning to nodding at Masters' proud rambling about his latest contract. They had both stopped eating long ago. The soup was good; Masters’ words about Danny being a good cook weren’t a lie. However, Bruce couldn’t identify the chunks of meat in the soup.
He initially thought it was pork, though the texture seemed somewhat similar to veal. By the fourth piece of meat he ate, he could confidently say he didn't recognize it. When he looked at Cass, he saw her using her spoon to play with one of the pieces of meat on the edge of the plate, a frown hidden behind her polite smile. He was sure then that the meat couldn't be one they had tasted before.
Bruce has tasted every kind of meat that should be available to Masters. He has even tasted exotic meats that Masters would probably never encounter, having represented humanity in intergalactic meetings as Batman. Not being able to identify the meat discouraged Bruce from eating more, and it seemed to have had the same effect on Cass. They had kept their food mostly untouched, using the excuse of waiting for Tim and Danny to return before eating. It was a good call; the meat being poisoned could be the reason it was unrecognizable.
"If any of you feel any symptoms, turn off your comm." None of them made a move to do so, and after a couple of minutes Babs continued, "I'll call Bruce in 10 minutes to create an excuse for you guys to leave."
Bruce would have liked to think that they had not yet consumed enough poison for it to affect them, but there's always the possibility of it being a delayed-effect poison. If Masters' plan with the poison was to kill them, then a delayed-effect poison would allow Masters to avoid being immediately connected to their deaths.
However, Masters shouldn’t have a reason to kill Bruce Wayne and his wards. Unless the man had discovered that they were investigating his contracts, which Bruce doubted. It was more likely that the poison was some sort of chemical restraint or chemical submissive, which would explain why Masters' contracts always seemed to end ridiculously in his favor. It would be easy to make such deals with someone who was drugged to be more agreeable with you.
Not that Bruce would be willing to take the risk to find out, especially with Cass having also ingested the tainted meat. He was glad he had brought the poison antidote kit with him. Despite this, Bruce wasn't sure about cutting the visit short, at least not for all of them. Tim had been gone with Danny for a while now, and if Danny had informed Tim about the food, they were probably exchanging information at the moment. Maybe Tim was in the process of offering Danny help, and Bruce didn't want to interrupt that.
"Renovations will be starting next week, and I'm sure the place will end up being quite popular," Masters finally finished his rambling.
"It sure sounds like it will. You certainly got yourself a great deal with Kensington, Mr. Masters. I'm curious, what is your negotiation method?" Bruce asked, hoping to gather more information.
Masters had been surprisingly adept at avoiding any conversation about the negotiations themselves, always sidetracking the discussion or giving half-answers. Drugs in the food was a good hypothesis and would be the best outcome for them, as such substances usually shouldn’t take too long to get out of their system.
Yet, it didn't explain how Masters' business partners seemed to stay committed to their contracts long after they were made. The furthest they had gotten from them was confusion about how they had reached the point where they accepted the contract's conditions. However, they all seemed convinced they had gotten the best outcome possible, despite obviously getting the short end of the stick.
It pointed to something besides drug usage. Maybe Masters got blackmail material from them while they were drugged? It would be easier to draw conclusions if Masters had even the smallest slip about it.
Masters smiled, taking a sip from his wine. "Ah, it takes years of practice, Wayne. It isn't something one can learn in a day, and only those with the capacity can master it," he said. Then, before Bruce could ask any follow-up questions, he continued, "Now, Daniel and young Mr. Drake sure seem to be taking their time."
"Oh, that doesn't surprise me," Bruce said, shaking his head with a fond smile, playing farther into his "Brucie" persona while lamenting the lost opportunities to get more leads on what Masters was doing. "They're around the same age. Surely they got distracted talking about whatever is of interest to kids their age these days."
"I would be glad if my godson got along so well with your son, Mr. Wayne," Masters said with a practiced smile, though a hint of calculation flickered in his eyes. He gestured vaguely with his wine glass, his tone deceptively sympathetic. "The loss of his family hasn't been easy for him, and building a connection with someone like Mr. Drake could be beneficial. However, it is quite rude to leave the guests waiting. As his guardian, I must address this. I’ll go search for them." Masters stated, standing up from his seat.
Luckily, Bruce didn't need to interject to stop Masters from interrupting his son's conversation with Danny, since the two boys appeared by the door as if summoned by Masters' comment. Danny visibly tensed the moment he spotted Masters standing in his place.
"Daniel, it's good you're finally back. I was about to go search for you," Masters said, throwing Danny a stern look.
Danny opened his mouth, probably about to apologize for the wait, but Tim beat him to it.
"So sorry, Mr. Masters. I had to take a shower before changing clothes."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Drake," Masters said as he looked Tim up and down, evaluating if what Tim was saying was true. His eyes lingered on Tim's wet hair for a moment, and the tension in his eyes relaxed a bit. "It is Daniel's fault for throwing the soup on you. Now, shall we continue with the dinner?" Masters sat once more on his chair.
"Should—" Danny started, slightly stuttering when Masters' eyes returned to him. "Should I serve new portions? Since the ones on the table are probably cold by now?" the intensity of Masters gaze increased with every word Danny said. In response, Danny lowered his gaze to the floor, and shifted nervously.
Danny's voice was way too small by the end of his sentence, but Bruce could sense some hidden urgency in his tone. Remembering that Danny was the one who had warned them about the food, Bruce could infer that he was trying to further prevent them from eating it. It gave Bruce the impression that Masters had also caught onto that fact, given how tense the man was.
He was grateful for the kid doing their best to protect them, but lamented putting them in a position where they had to risk confronting their abuser. Bruce really hoped Tim had convinced Danny to leave with them. It shouldn't be difficult to create a reasonable invitation for Danny after Masters' comment about how he was isolating himself.
"Good idea," Cass said with a gentle smile directed at Danny before Masters could make any move.
Masters' eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded. "Very well. Daniel, go ahead."
As Danny hurried to the kitchen, Bruce shared a subtle glance with Tim, who was retaking his seat beside Cass. Unfortunately, instead of the nod indicating that they could get Danny to leave with them if they created the opportunity, Tim just shrugged. It wasn't the sign for Danny refusing help, but the one for things being more complicated than they seemed. Bruce sighed, and before Danny returned from the kitchen, his phone rang. He excused himself to answer Babs' call, lamenting not being able to take Danny with them.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Bruce came back from his brief call with Babs with a worried face that Cass knew wasn't the one he made when actual "family emergencies" happened. It was exagerated and dramatic, it screamed "something terrible had happened," and was perfect for this kind of situations. Bruce quickly ushered Cass and Tim out, apologizing to Masters for the hasty departure. They barely had time to say goodbye to Danny, who had hurried back from the kitchen after Masters had shouted about seeing off the guests.
Cass noticed a subtle shift in Danny’s demeanor as they prepared to leave. His shoulders dropped slightly, and there was a fleeting look of relief in his eyes. However, that relief was overshadowed by the palpable fear that clung to him; his tense posture betrayed the anxiety he was trying to hide. It was hard to leave him behind, and Cass almost ran back when she caught sight of Vlad’s possessive hand on Danny’s shoulder and his venomous, angry eyes as she was walking out the door.
As soon as they were in the car, Tim immediately began checking the vehicle and himself for hidden microphones, with Bruce and Cass following his lead with little more than a raised eyebrow. Tim’s decision to search for bugs made sense once he explained that Danny’s room had been bugged,
"Honestly, Danny's so careful with his actions and words everywhere, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole property is bugged."
The drive back to the house they had rented was tense, the atmosphere in the car thick with unspoken concerns. Tim decided to use the ride home to update them on what he had seen. In turn, Bruce spoke about the dinner with Masters, detailing their regrettable failure to extract any additional information from the man. The evening ultimately boiled down to the suspicion that the food had been poisoned. Cass remained silent, not feeling up to talking.
She had her doubts about the food being poisoned; even if the poison hadn't shown any symptoms, her past training should have allowed her to identify it if she had consumed it. It seemed unlikely that Masters possessed a poison so sophisticated that she couldn’t detect it, and the thought only deepened her unease. She though back to how their hosts acted at the start of the dinner.
Danny looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. His eyes darted nervously between them and Masters, his hands trembling slightly as he served the food. The guilt and fear radiating from him were almost palpable, as if he believed he was committing an unforgivable sin by offering them the meal.
Masters, however, didn’t seem like he was planning to poison them. He behaved more like Damian’s classmates had when they once tried to trick him into eating non-vegan food at a gala. His smile was too easy, his gestures too casual, like someone who thought they were pulling off a harmless but cruel prank. It felt like he was purposely feeding them something he knew was outside their comfort zone and ethical beliefs, testing their reactions with a detached amusement.
From the very beginning, Cass had felt a deep discomfort about the food. The way Masters and Danny acted around it had set off her internal alarms. When she took the first bite of the meat, something immediately felt off. The texture was unfamiliar, and the taste was oddly unsettling—not in a way that clearly indicated poison, but in a manner that was subtly disturbing, she didn't know what she was eating. It made her skin crawl, and she couldn’t bring herself to take another bite.
The car coming to a stop in the house’s garage jolted Cass out of her thoughts. They all exited the vehicle, and Jason’s motorcycle was parked beside them as he opened the door. tightly clenched jaw. Like the rest of them, he was frustrated by their inability to take Danny with them, but he wasn’t vocalizing it because he was also worried about what they had eaten.
Once the door was opened, Bruce was ready to rush into his bedroom to get the poison antidote kit, but Jason stopped him,
"Hold on old man, I want to know what the note the kid gave Tim says. It may even say what poison was used; save us time."
"Mnn" Bruce said with a slight nod, and Tim started unfolding the paper in response.
The folded paper was as small as a pinky, but once unfolded, it revealed a full letter-sized sheet, and the text filled at least half of it. Tim skimmed the text as he usually did before reading aloud, but his face quickly drained of color. His eyes widened in horror and disgust. Instead of reading aloud, he kept running his eyes over the first line repeatedly, his gaze darting between Bruce and Cass. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he struggled to keep his composure, fighting against the bile rising in his throat. Cass couldn’t help but frown deeply, a growing sense of dread settling in as she wondered what the paper could possibly contain.
"Forgot how to read, replacement?" Jason said, his tone lacking its usual edge. He stood beside Tim, his expression a mix of uncertainty and concern, unsure whether to reach for the paper or not.
Tim takes a shudering breath, and Cass herself can't help but shift in her place, her anxiety growing, as they all wait for Tim to gain back his voice and finally read what Danny's note says.
"The meat on the food is human meat." Tim finally says with a strained voice.
There's a moment of silence in the room. Cass keeps her eyes on Tim, hoping, pleading, to find any signs that what she heard is wrong, but Tim only repeats the sentence. Her stomach churns violently as bile rises in her throat. Without effort, she sinks to the ground, her legs giving out as she begins to vomit. The pounding of her heart fills her ears, as black dots fill her sight and her hands tremble uncontrollably. She is dimly aware of Bruce doubling over beside her, and the sound of Jason hitting the wall.
She ate human meat. It may have just been a bite, but she ate human meat. The dinner had been made from human meat. Her mind recoiled at the abhorrent thought. The thought of the soup they were served makes her vomit once more. She gasps for air, her body shaking as she fights against the rising tide of revulsion, desperately trying to rid herself of the lingering taste and the horrifying realization of what they ingested. She feels Tims hand doing smalls circles in her back and realizes that tears had been falling from her face.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Danny's hands trembled as he injected himself with another dose of ectoplasm. The shaking made the syringe jab painfully as he withdrew it, causing drops of blood and ectoplasm to fall to the floor while the injury quickly healed. Ten minutes of continuous electrical shocks wasn’t the worst punishment he had received from Vlad, but it had the most severe drawbacks. His body had a harder time recovering from electrical damage than from any other kind of harm, and Vlad often exploited this weakness.
He took a deep breath as the last of the Lichenberg marks disappeared from his legs and arms, leaving only the ones he’d gotten from his death. He sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the ceiling, his legs and arms still trembling. He wasn’t sure if the tremors were from the electrical aftershocks or his own anxiety. Vlad had been furious about his little stunt with the soup and had once again reminded him that they weren't eating Danny’s friends because he was such a "compassionate guardian."
The reminder had thrown Danny into a couple of panic attacks once he was allowed to return to his room. He thanks he's advanced dissociative abilities for not having those panics attacks in front of Vlad. He doesn't wan't to know how the man would try to exploit that.
But even as his whole body trembles and aches, he doesn’t regret his decisions. This is his only chance for things to change. The Waynes are a powerful family with connections to the Justice League. While the League has not interfered with what has happened in Amity Park up till now, they might get involved if the Waynes reach out to them. It’s wishful thinking, and he’s risking a lot, but this gut-wrenching dinner has become the first glimmer of hope he’s had since his family’s death, and he’ll hold onto it with his half-life.
Once he's body stops trembling and he's head feels a bit clearer, he needs to text Sam and Tucker. He'll depend on them for this to not backfire on all denizens.
Literally whipped this up in like 10 minutes, so it's terrible. Anyway;
At age 8, it was like all of the barriers that had been erected had come down in one fell swoop.
He was Damian Al-Ghul Wayne, son of the Bat, Ibn Al Xu'ffasch. He was Danny Fenton, the hero Phantom of Amity Park, King of the Infinite Realms.
He was both. He was neither.
He was an assassin. He was half a ghost.
He was both. He was neither.
Wait. Where was Phantom? Where was his other half? Where was his counterpoint, his soul mate?
He didn’t have time to worry about him though – his personality change had been noticed, despite utilising the rigorous training that had been taught to him in this life. His Mother – Talia? Maddie? Which was his? – chalked this up to his father citing his soft heart.
Ha. What would she think if he told her that he remembered another set of memories? What would Grandfather think if he told them he was half a King?
No, best to hide the information, until he could reunite with Phantom.
He was sent to his Father, the Bat, to receive training. Who was his father? Bruce, with his mission of cleaning up Gotham? Jack, with his mission of hunting down ghosts?
Both. Neither.
Gotham, with its shadows, with its violence was as different to Amity Park as it could be. One man, and his sidekicks cleaning up the grime and the despair that seemed to fill it up to the brim. The rogues here were so different to what he was used to, to what he remembered. Joker, instead of Freakshow. Poison Ivy instead of Undergrowth. Mad Hatter instead of Nocturne.
They were so similar yet so unlike.
He grows up, looking for a moment where he can finally look for Phantom; where he can hunt down a natural portal and embark on a quest to find his wayward partner. He waits, biding his time. Phantom had waited thus far; he can wait a couple more years.
He walks through the Zone, hearing from other ghosts of a ruler who reigns over the Realms with an iron fist; a ruler who although isn’t violent isn’t kind. It makes him smile to think that he – Damian Wayne, titled ‘Demon Brat’ – is the one who was essentially the moral compass of the two.
As he gets closer to Phantom’s Keep, there is so much nostalgia, so many mementos of his old life. A telescope that he loved, a constellation that he was particularly fond of. The love that Phantom had for Danny Fenton was quite literally palpable here.
And then they meet. There is still a bond between them, despite the many years apart, despite the burden of kingship on Phantom.
They were different, sure – unable to fuse as they once could before, but they still knew each other, inside and out. They embrace, talking, crying, laughing. Something that Damian didn’t know was missing was filled in, a perpetual ache gone.
He was Damian Al-Ghul Wayne. He was Danny Fenton.
He was both. He was neither. He knew who he was.
He was one half of Danny Phantom.
Dcxdp #22
Danny's human half dying as collateral during a fight. That human half goes into reincarnation and is reborn as Damian Wayne. He isn't born with all of his memories but he definitely feels that something is wrong. they would get their Memories Back at about 8 and have a horrible time dealing with being an assassin. Danny would try to stick to the personality they already had before but there's definitely slip-ups of them being like yeah this is wrong and Talia thinks they take after their father because of it.
The first thing Danny does when they're not being monitored by their mom or the bat family is to look for Phantom. Phantom to have run away to the ghost Zone and has built a reputation as a merciless ruler. He's a good ruler and he's not a tyrant but he doesn't have the reputation of kindness. Damien as the moral compass of the duo is really funny to me.
There's a situation later that involves ghosts which is where Danny/Damian and Phantom meet again. I want there to be a very big misunderstanding that heroes think Phantom is obsessed with Damien but in reality they are literally other halves of a soul. Phantom keeps doing and saying things that no one else would get away with around Damien. Phantom would be saying things like making fun of his height or giving him nicknames but as far as anyone else sees Davian doesn't even flinch.
Danny/Damian and Phantom have lived Separate Lives for a while so they don't automatically fuse into one person. I think they would fuse for a few hours just to feel themselves be one Soul again but they have Separate Lives so they can't stay that way. The bat family is very concerned with Damien continuing to talk to the obsessive ghost that keeps possessing his body.
Part 2 with the misunderstandings:
Tim was suspicious. He was inherently suspicious – how else did he get to live so long in the superhero community? But he was suspicious for a good reason here. He swears.
Damian was smiling. At a joke. There was something so deeply disturbing about that image – his stoic, 13 year old brother smiling at something someone else said – that he had to pinch himself, to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. The sharp flare of pain proved he wasn’t.
He looked around at his family, in their superhero personas, and sees his disbelief mirrored in their faces. Nothing as large as a dropped jaw or anything resembling a physical reaction. But it can be seen in their widened eyes, the drop of their shoulders. Good. So he wasn’t the only one seeing this; not a hallucination made from a sleep-deprived mind.
He turns back, catching Damian throwing his head back as he laughs. That’s when his curiosity snaps.
There had to be a spell here, a chemical gassed somewhere. Yes, this was the Watchtower, but the chance of something happening was low, but never zero. Seeing that no-one was going to do anything, he braced himself, preparing himself to save the demon brat from something he wouldn’t thank him for.
Marching himself towards Damian and the unknown, he slips into his Wayne persona.
“Robin! What’s happening over here? We could hear the laughing from the other side of the room!” Jerking his head towards the other Bats, he looks him over, looking for any sign of mental manipulation, any sign that he was feeling unsafe.
His face drops into a scowl, and the unknown laughs at him. “Aw, little –” and here he speaks something in a language he doesn’t understand, “doesn’t like people checking up on him?” he asks, green eyes still laughing at Damian.
The scowl is aimed at the unknown now, and Tim breathes a little easier, knowing that he wasn’t so far gone as to be unable to give anyone a murder glare.
Damian looks back towards him, scowl still in place. “It’s none of your business Red Robin,” he says, chin tilted up stubbornly. Tim internally sighs, knowing that talking to Damian when he was this obstinate was a no-go. He looks to the unknown, deciding to pursue another avenue.
“So, I’m Red Robin, as you heard the brat say,” he says, fake smile fixed in place. There’s a beat, where the unknown doesn’t say anything and they’re staring at each other. Measuring the other up. The moment stretches on for too long, and Tim thinks that the unknown won’t give the courtesy of giving him a name.
“Phantom,” he says finally – but only after his eyes flick over to Damian. Interesting.
And then he’s back to smiling, but not before his demeanour slips for a second. Not enough for a normal person to catch, but someone obviously affiliated with Robin, and a Meta to boot?
He sees Phantom give a ghost of a smile, fangs peeking through, and internally curses himself.
“So what brings you here, Phantom? It’s not anyone who’s able to be invited into the Justice League’s headquarters,” he asks, doggedly keeping up with the persona.
“Oh, a rogue of mine was able to leave my – kingdom? I guess you’d say, so I had to return her,” he replies, utterly relaxed. In fact, so relaxed that he floats up, white hair billowing around him. It pisses him off, the fact that an unknown was able to be so relaxed in space, amongst the highest calibre of heroes – including Batman. He tunes back into the conversation, compiling the information for a profile.
“Did you have to take her to Walker?” Damian asks, a small frown in place.
Phantom sighs, crossing his arms behind his head. “Yeah, but it’ll only be for a couple weeks at most.”
Damian rolls his eyes, frown disappearing “You know Walker’s a stickler for the rules,” he says, and Tim watches the conversation with bated breath, hoping that they don’t notice him. “She’s going to stay there for at least a couple of months.”
“That was before,” Phantom says, face losing some of the good humour. “It’s my kingdom now; I can say that she doesn’t have to stay for even a day. I’m just giving Walker some goodwill here.”
“Our kingdom,” Damian mutters under his breath snidely. Tim’s stomach drops. Their – kingdom?!
He must have made a noise, because Damian catches his eyes, and his eyes widen.
Phantom looks at him too, and smiles a toothy grin that does nothing to belay the panic he’s feeling.
“Not your kingdom until you’re dead Da-,” he cuts himself off then suddenly, and Tim whips his head to stare at Damian. He’d given out his civilian identity?
But Damian isn’t even looking at him, instead looking at Phantom. His face softens suddenly, and Tim feels his heart drop. He knows he’s not going to like what comes out of his mouth.
“It’s alright نصفي الآخر,” he says, hand going up to catch Phantom’s wrist. “I know you’re still adjusting.”
Tim feels suddenly like he’s intruding on a private conversation, but the panic he’s feeling roots him to the spot. He tunes out the rest of the conversation, translating the Arabic that Damian had spoken.
“نصفي الآخر,” he hears on a loop in his head. “My other half,”
What the fuck?
Dcxdp #22
Danny's human half dying as collateral during a fight. That human half goes into reincarnation and is reborn as Damian Wayne. He isn't born with all of his memories but he definitely feels that something is wrong. they would get their Memories Back at about 8 and have a horrible time dealing with being an assassin. Danny would try to stick to the personality they already had before but there's definitely slip-ups of them being like yeah this is wrong and Talia thinks they take after their father because of it.
The first thing Danny does when they're not being monitored by their mom or the bat family is to look for Phantom. Phantom to have run away to the ghost Zone and has built a reputation as a merciless ruler. He's a good ruler and he's not a tyrant but he doesn't have the reputation of kindness. Damien as the moral compass of the duo is really funny to me.
There's a situation later that involves ghosts which is where Danny/Damian and Phantom meet again. I want there to be a very big misunderstanding that heroes think Phantom is obsessed with Damien but in reality they are literally other halves of a soul. Phantom keeps doing and saying things that no one else would get away with around Damien. Phantom would be saying things like making fun of his height or giving him nicknames but as far as anyone else sees Davian doesn't even flinch.
Danny/Damian and Phantom have lived Separate Lives for a while so they don't automatically fuse into one person. I think they would fuse for a few hours just to feel themselves be one Soul again but they have Separate Lives so they can't stay that way. The bat family is very concerned with Damien continuing to talk to the obsessive ghost that keeps possessing his body.
Part 3 with Phantom's POV and more misunderstandings:
Updating on AO3 as well;
He struggles sometimes, even now. He’d lost himself for a long while – he couldn’t be sure for how long, decades or centuries. Time was weird in the Realms; a minute in one region could be 3 days in another.
But he knew that without his star, without the literal other half of his soul that he’d go into a spiral. A spiral of hate, of despair. He’d be just, but he couldn’t muster the emotions needed to be kind.
And then he’d come back. Phantom had known it was going to happen – had gone straight to Clockwork when his human side had died, and had been reassured that he’d be reborn. That had been the only thing keeping him from going on a spree, taking the Realms with him.
He’d known the instant that Danny had gotten his memories back. He wanted to tear through the realms, tear through countless dimensions to find him, but Clockwork had stayed him.
Told him to wait, to make sure that the timeline could reach the most favourable outcome. He’d wanted to snarl, wanted to say ‘Fuck the timeline’, but one pointed look at the shrunken core of Dan was enough to stymie him.
So he waited. And waited. And waited. It felt like centuries. It felt like days. Time was weird in the Realms.
But they’d reunited, had laughed and cried and talked about what each of them had missed.
It was weird.
Dann – Damian, had been apparently bought up as an assassin? His retelling wasn’t the most coherent, and there were clearly some things he skirted around, but imagining his human side, who’d been bullied and shoved into lockers by Dash Baxter, as a sword wielding assassin was surreal.
He looked mostly the same – lithe, and the impression of wiry muscles under a ridiculous costume. He laughed when he heard that that was a vigilante costume, and that Damian was meant to be working during the night.
He tracked the other changes too - darker skin tone, but piercing green eyes – the exact same shade of his own. Facial structure was different but not too dissimilar to what he'd looked like before. They looked like siblings now, rather than the exact same. He found that he liked it, despite the changes.
He could feel emotions coming back to him; emotions that he had thought had been gone forever. Laughter, sadness, anger. He’d been numb to all emotions except protectiveness, and justice. He could feel a part of him that had been missing filled in, a perpetual ache gone.
Damian had had to leave then, their reunion too short. But he looked more settled, younger even – as though his trek had aged him, and seeing his other half had soothed him.
Desiree had escaped then, trailing into the natural portal that Damian had found. She found herself in that dimension, wreaking havoc and granting wishes everywhere.
Phantom had gone after her, intent on dragging her back. He’d done it too – but not before they’d been noticed, a hoard of heroes after them.
He’d acquiesced to their questioning, even when they had become pointed and rude.
Who was she? What was she? Will she be back? Where did you both come from? What species are you? How did you get here? Are you dangerous?
He answered the bare bones, before a drunken man had come in, blonde hair swept back and a 5 o’clock shadow. One look at him, and he paled, dragging Batman – and really what sort of name was that? – away, before he came back apologising profusely after a whispered conversation.
He heard the zeta tubes announcing people coming up, and then were far more people in the space station than had been before.
He’d seen Dan-Damian, and he smiled, a soft thing that he wiped after seeing other members of this Justice League staring at him.
Time passed, and he was getting bored. Damian must have seen it because he walked towards him, and they started talking softly about the past few days. They must have deemed him as not too much of a threat, because aside from a few glances their way, everyone went back to their own conversations.
That was – until Damian had laughed at something he said. He laughed loudly, head tilted back, and he saw from the corner of his eyes the shocked looks of his family. It wasn’t obvious, but with what Damian had told him of the family, he could pinpoint it – the widened eyes, the sudden drops of shoulders, the pause in conversations.
He’d seen one of them square his shoulders as though he was volunteering to be shot. He walked over; false smile plastered on and had grilled him, trying to make it look as though he wasn’t.
Red Robin, he called himself. There was a beat where he had contemplated what to say to him, and his eyes had flickered over to Dan-Damian, where they had a conversation in a glance.
Red Robin was smart – the smartest of Damian’s siblings. If there was anyone who had worked out that they were two halves of a soul, it had to be him. He’d come forward, volunteering, so he likely already knew, and was just trying to confirm.
He saw the mask fall, and was delighted by it; it was a subtle sign, but to Phantom, and to Damian, it meant that Red Robin knew and trusted them!
He continued the conversation, and he heard even more hints – RR definitely knew, but was trying to keep it under wraps for now.
He was so happy that he started floating, relaxing slightly as his hair billows out.
Damian gave out another titbit – and Red Robin makes a small noise, to which Damian widens his eyes. Their little game of hiding true answers beneath normal ones reminded him of politics in the Realms.
And then he messed up, almost calling Damian by a name he no longer had. He’d stopped himself in time, but the speed that Red Robin had looked at Damian said it all – he knew.
So when Damian had gripped his wrist in a gentle grasp, with a furtive glance too quick for Red Robin to notice, he nods slightly; Damian then gives out the biggest clue, enough to have Red Robin confirm his suspicions.
“نصفي الآخر” “My other half”
Phantom sees by the way his mouth falls open slightly that the clue had reached its mark. He congratulates himself, and knows by Damian’s expression that he’s doing the same.
One day in this dimension and his first couple of steps in helping to reveal their bond was already done.
What a job well done!
Dcxdp #22
Danny's human half dying as collateral during a fight. That human half goes into reincarnation and is reborn as Damian Wayne. He isn't born with all of his memories but he definitely feels that something is wrong. they would get their Memories Back at about 8 and have a horrible time dealing with being an assassin. Danny would try to stick to the personality they already had before but there's definitely slip-ups of them being like yeah this is wrong and Talia thinks they take after their father because of it.
The first thing Danny does when they're not being monitored by their mom or the bat family is to look for Phantom. Phantom to have run away to the ghost Zone and has built a reputation as a merciless ruler. He's a good ruler and he's not a tyrant but he doesn't have the reputation of kindness. Damien as the moral compass of the duo is really funny to me.
There's a situation later that involves ghosts which is where Danny/Damian and Phantom meet again. I want there to be a very big misunderstanding that heroes think Phantom is obsessed with Damien but in reality they are literally other halves of a soul. Phantom keeps doing and saying things that no one else would get away with around Damien. Phantom would be saying things like making fun of his height or giving him nicknames but as far as anyone else sees Davian doesn't even flinch.
Danny/Damian and Phantom have lived Separate Lives for a while so they don't automatically fuse into one person. I think they would fuse for a few hours just to feel themselves be one Soul again but they have Separate Lives so they can't stay that way. The bat family is very concerned with Damien continuing to talk to the obsessive ghost that keeps possessing his body.