Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He doesn't know how long he's been here. There was once a time he'd count the seconds, hoping for a rescue. He doesn't hope for it anymore. That doesn't mean he doesn't know when something changes.

His eyes are missing again, and he doesn't have the strength to regenerate them, so he taps a long, black claw on the tile of his cell and listens to the vibration. There are new people in the building. They're hiding. Not with his captors, then.

Be careful, they'll find you, he presses. One of them is one of his, dead and alive again. They hear him and freeze. Caution. They press back, confused but understanding. They warn the others, who noticeably become more wary. Good.

He stretched his awareness, and let the Space tell him what happened to these new humans. He tapped the ground with his claws, long limbs curled into a ball. He cooed, low and soft, making sure the camera in his cell wouldn't pick it up. The not-ghost's almost-core answered it with flickering vibrations.

There's a noise that his sensitive ears pick up easily, bodies hitting the floor, and skin meeting heavy armor. Gunshots from a real gun, not the whir of the ectoplasmic blasters. From the sound, the bullets bounce oddly. Rubber?

"In here. That's where it's coming from."

Three humans took up Space outside his door, but they didn't stand like his captors. They moved like shadows and stood like soldiers. He let them in, only moving his head to look at them. He must look a mess with his stitched lips and wrapped eyes. He cooed. The not-ghost sucked in a breath.

"What the fuck is that?" He cooed. Their almost-core answered but they did not.

"Hello," another voice called lightly. They stepped closer and the stars in his chest sparkled brighter. They made their steps louder, but he knew where they were. He was Space, after all. "Can you understand us?"

He chirped, the happy noise echoing with his own death screams. Noises from his core were some of the only ones he could make with his lips stitched as they were. He, very slowly, extended his clawed hand, palm up, an offer of friendship. Human fingers skimmed his skin, though they were wrapped in something porous.

"Yes? Okay, we're going to get you out of here, but you need to trust us," they hummed, slow and loose so as to not startle. A darker voice, one that tickled the back of his head somewhere, called from the hallway, demanding they move to somewhere safe. That they had contacted someone to help move him.

"Got a name we can pronounce?" the not-ghost asked, voice toned into a modulator, though he could hear past it. He answered, something deep in his core rumbling out the spread of galaxies, the twinkling of the stars, and the dying of nebulas. He's the steps between columns, the echoing in caves. Space. "Holy shit. That's a lot."

"You understand them?" the dark voice asked, pressing. It was sharp, his aura alert.

"It's more like an impression of something." The hand that was in his wrapped around his wrist slowly, allowing him to keep track of the rescuer as he moved around him. "I think the closest thing to a translation is space. He's... like a personification?"

He settled, chirring happily. The baby not-ghost understood though it is clear he doesn't know how. Something clicks and weight is taken off his wrists, freeing his arms fully. It's a relief, and Space coos at them to show his appreciation.

"He says thanks."

--~~--

Jason is rounded up by Batman, which means Dick follows to break them up if need be. Damian and Tim split from them to look for information, the three eldest apprehending the workers. It's easy work, none of them combative. Scientist.

"There's no security," Red Hood murmurs, growling at the lack of action. His trigger finger itches.

'There is security, just not in this wing,' Red Robin pipes up through comms. 'They're surrounding the cells. Whatever or whoever is in there must be dangerous.'

'With all the lab coats around, I suspect it's an experiment. I believe they're known for capturing Meta-humans,' Robin speaks up. Hood can imagine him rolling his eyes. 'It was in the file.'

Hood huffed. Family.

His whole being stilled, and Batman tensed beside him, watching the back of his head. Jason paid his father no mind.

"Hood?" Nightwing called. He held up a hand, tilting his head like he was listening to something.

"The Pits know something is here," he breathed like he couldn't catch any air to fuel his voice. Nightwing and Batman bracketed him. Jason continued before Bruce could rail him with questions. "It feels like a warning. Whatever it is, it's not a Pit, but it has enough awareness to give me the feeling of danger. I don't think it's threatening us, just trying to warn us."

"From where? Can you follow it?" Batman demanded.

"Yeah. It's under our feet."

'The only thing down there is the cell block,' Oracle hummed. 'Maybe whatever is trapped is trying to make you leave? Like it's trying to save you?'

"We need to find it," Hood decides and pushes forward, finally running into resistance. They aren't prepared for humans, it seems, fully focused on hurting something supernatural. Jason takes one look at their guns and aims for the knees, leaving downed men in white suits for the Bats to tie up.

He can feel it in the air, something soothing and familiar. It's trying to comfort him, he realizes. I'm safe, it assures him, come find me. Hood marches as fast as he can, capping the knees of anyone in his way.

"Red Hood!" Batman calls and it's soft in his ears, hidden by the call come find me you're safe-

"Jaybird!" Nightwing- Dick, his eldest brother, the magic Robin- pops into his vision and grabs his shoulders, shaking him slightly. He's sure his eyes are green, not that they'd be able to tell with his helmet. "Can you hear me?"

"It's really loud," Jason mutters, leaning into the tight pressure of his brother's grip. Dick notices and digs his thumbs in a little rougher. So close, it calls. Be safe. Together, we're safe. "It's coming from over there. We're close."

"What is it saying?" Batman asks, his voice gentle for once. He's tense though, like a spring, and it puts Jason on edge. He counts in his head, under his breath, and he can feel the same safe findusfindme count with him in pulses of feeling.

Hood stalks it back to the origin, steady and clear-headed. Nightwing brushes him, making sure to keep him grounded.

"In here. That's where it's coming from."

They back up and Batman breaks the door's coder with a decrypter, leaving it easy to open with a press of the button. Something in Jason shakes, in fear, in awe, in joy. He's found them. Hood steps in first, hands shaking and trigger fingers loose. He scans the cell and freezes.

"What the fuck is that?" Hood asks the quiet room before the thing chained to the floor coos, happy to see them. Something in his chest answers, greeting them in turn. Hood is frozen in place.

It looks like a monster you'd find under someone's bed, or how someone describes a paralysis demon. Long limbs are curled around them, wrists bound to the floor. It's a deep grey that fades to black at its wrists. It doesn't have feet, only two limbs that end in black points. There's a collar that glowed an eerie green around its neck, hissing quietly like it was trying to burn through its throat slowly. Something clicks quietly, like a rattlesnake, and Jason takes in the large shards of bone, vaguely shaped like elongated spearheads, sticking out of the long, white hair running down its back. Its tail, thin and whip-like, has a tuff at the end that shows off stars and planets he's never seen before. It's tapping, but the image of space stays still like it's just a portal to look at the stars with. It makes Jason motion sick.

"Hello," Dick greets and, like an idiot, steps closer. Something in its chest glows, but a happy chittering noise echoes the hello. "Can you understand us?" It makes a horrid noise and all Jason can hear is the screaming of someone young, someone dying. He looks to Bruce who's been in the hallway, watching their six, and notices the tightening of his shoulders. The thing offers Nightwing its hand, as far out as the short chain will allow. Dick takes it slowly, brushing his fingertips on its palm before nodding. "Yes? Okay, we're going to get you out of here, but you need to trust us."

"We need to move," Batman reminds them from the hall. "Get it somewhere safe and reconvene."

'If you've found who I think you've found, you need to get them safe,' Red Robin hisses into the comms and Jason almost jumps. Blood has been rushing through his ears for so long, he'd forgotten they'd split from the two youngest of the brood. 'He's an experiment. I'm guessing since there's no screaming, he's not trying to eat you.'

"No," Batman confirms. "No sign of agression."

"Got a name we can pronounce?" Jason asks and he's not expecting the entity to answer. He swears Robin says something but he can't hear it over we're space we're infinite with stars and space and emptiness- "Holy shit. That's a lot."

"You can understand them?" Batman presses, turning his attention to his second eldest. Jason shrugs, clenching his trembling hands into fists, trying to hide the shaking.

"It's more like an impression of something." He watched Nightwing slowly move around the long limbs, freeing them from their chains. As they uncurled, Jason noted the same portal effect behind an exposed ribcage. "I think the closest thing to a translation is space. He's... like a personification?"

He's free when Jason has eyes on it again and he's chirping something. It's shadowed by the pulse of thankyou you'resafe free that calls out to the Pits in Jason's chest. The corners of his vision are green, but there's no rage, only a sense of calm home king ringing through his head.

"He says thanks."

--~~--

Once he's fully free from the chains holding him to the ground, Space stretches a bit, showing off his eerily long limbs and chest full of stars. He cooed his thanks again and leads them out, making sure they all followed before continuing. He tapped the walls, listening to the sound in his Space before moving on.

"Do you know the way out? That's good, but we need to meet with the rest of our group," the tenor says softly, trying not to sound aggressive. Space thinks it's cute.

Safe, he tries to press on the human. The not-ghost-not-human with them picks it up. He's getting better at it. Follow.

"I think he knows where they are," he says slowly. "When Space told me their name, he implied he's aware of space. Like, the foot between us type of space. I think he knows where the birds are." He chirps, a praising sound, and nearly giggles when the almost-core titters with embarrassed pride. "Just follow him."

He led them on, assuring them with little chirps from his core. There is caution and unease in their steps, but Space leads on, and soon enough, they run into the rest of the fraid. Space chirps at them.

"Wait!" the tenor calls, moving between them quickly. The smallest of them was going to lunge, he could feel their muscles tense, squeezing together to take up less space. "Robin, this is Space. Uh, they're a captive here?"

"Nightwing," comes the tightly wound voice of the youngest, and he tilts his head, "That is a pit demon. Why is there a pit demon?"

"Not a pit demon," denies another young voice. "I think this is Phantom." At his name, he perks, cooing softly. "Hello, Phantom. I've read your file." He grumbles a low, toxic hiss. It sounds like black holes being born. "Yeah, I know. Come on, we're going to get you outta here."

Phantom follows. It's easy to read them. Familiar. They are obviously fraid, close fraid at that, and Phantom clings to the feeling between them. He lost his so long ago... how long? Time would know. He wonders if they'll answer if he asks.

Magic tickles his senses and a string of swearing flows from it. It becomes hostile, zipping across his skin, and Phantom's core flickers. He's tired, been tired for a thousand years, but his core screams suddenly, filling him with purpose.

P̷̧͖̈́̏̐̓̇̉̍̍̄̈́ ̴͓͎̭͕̩̏̾͐̿́̉̈̒R̷̮̤̗͈̄̆̑̒͋̈́́̈́̕͘͘ ̸̢̛͈̣̭̖̗̏̿O̸̺̦̩̗̱̓ ̴͎̼͓̦̻̹̝̮̈́̆͑̿̀̕ͅṰ̶̡̡͉̗͉͇͈̳̋͋̄̌́̇̈͛̈́͝͠ ̷̲̪̦̘̥͍̰̘͒͑̂̅̓͝͠͠E̷̗̼̓ ̵̱̺͚͍̈́͛͑͑̅͑̃́͛̉C̵̟̞͉̖͙̫̈́̉̑̈́̒̋͊̇͊̈́͜͠ ̴̢̼͍͛̍̀͂̋͘͘T̸̡̩̯͚̭̪͍͍̳̃͌͒̈̆̍͆͜ͅ

He growls, stitches tightening on his lips when he tries baring his fangs. He lashes, pulling the two little ones close to him, letting his spines lift from his back to rattle like a snake tail.

"Space!" His growl stopped, but the clicking of his spines did not. "He's one of ours! Constantine, you fucking idiot, chill out!" The not-ghost moved out in front, growling when Phantom tried to pull him back to him. "It's fine!"

"You've got a demon behind you, and it's fine?!" Constantine barked.

"John," the dark voice called, the leader of this small fraid he's found. "We found him here in chains. I doubt he means us any harm since the only thing he's done is lead us to each other. He's not expressed any hostility." He steps up and it makes the entity visibly stressed, spines clicking nervously and rumble picking up again. Nightwing, the closest to the entity besides Robin and Red Robin being protected by the entity's exposed rib cage, grabbed his wrist and tried soothing him.

"That, behind you with your brood in its chest, is a fucking demon mate. If not one, something close enough to fucking count," John bit. "You've lost your fucking minds, you Bats."

"He's Space," the not-ghost rumbled. "He's a personification of something. He needs our help! You coming in here with your fucking panties in a fucking knot isn't helping!"

"He's in your fucking head, Red Hood! He's probably in all your heads!"

"This is Phantom, he was captured thirty-two years ago," Red Robin called from his place in Phantom's hold.

"Phantom?" John repeats slowly. His brows furrow and his mouth quivers. It's a familiar name. "You sure about that, Red?"

Phantom cooed, humming in the tune of constellations. He tapped the ground, taking in the new person. He was tall, something thick covering most of his body. A coat? He tapped again, realizing the reason they weren't rushing out. Besides the surrounding humans, everyone was unmoving. They'd cleared the place before they found him.

"You've heard about him?"

"You're looking at the King. He's supposed to be the King of the Infinite Realms."

Home, he despaired and heard Red Hood take a deep breath. My kingdom. Home! He cried out, something broken and in pain. It rattled them, their bones with sadness and their hearts with loneliness.

"We'll get you home, Space cadet," Hood assures. "Open a portal to the Watchtower. It's the best place to keep him, where all the League can keep an eye on him."

"He used to be human," Robin spoke up, nose scrunched. "His name was Daniel Fenton-"

The name seemed to trigger the creature, stitches muffling the screech of pain and Jason hurriedly took off his helmet to throw up. All he could hear was fraid dead help home imsoalone-

B is by his side, Nightwing trying to settle the creature holding their youngest brothers in its skeleton. Constine did something, an alchemic circle lighting up the air as Latin words, thick with power and purpose, and the shrieking stopped. Jason could still feel Phantom's pain, his loneliness, and loss, but he could stand, and hear himself think.

"Hood?" Nightwing called, eyes not moving from the eldrich creature crying black void. He also noticed no matter how the being contorted in its grief, his brothers were always safe. Any time they tried to duck under the ribcage, Phantom got more distressed. They stopped trying.

"Fine," he coughed, spitting out the taste of bile in his mouth. Hood rolled his shoulders to throw Batman's hand off, straightening but not putting his helmet back on. He was still dizzy. "We gotta go. He needs space, like actual space. It'll calm him down."

"And how do you know that, Hood?" Robin hissed from his prison.

"I don't know!" Hood growled, throwing his hands up. "The Pit knows! I'm just following what it's fucking telling me because it has half a fucking clue and none of us do!"

"That's enough," Nightwing bit, finally done with the arguing. "Constantine, open a portal to the Watchtower. Phantom, buddy," the tall creature cooed, sounding pained and sad, "We gotta go. We're going to take you to outer space. Want that? We can look at the stars."

Phantom let out a sound that was layered. Jason heard only joy, Batman heard a death rattle, and Nightwing flinched at the sound of a star forming.

"Yeah, buddy, but you gotta let the baby Bats go," Nightwing soothed, humming to mimic the cooing Phantom had been calming them with the entire time. He only nodded when Space let out a despairing noise. "Yep, but they can fend for themselves. There's no threat here, only friends."

There was a horrible cracking noise from the ribcage opening up slowly, Phantom reluctant to let them go. They tried not to gag at the horrid noise. Nightwing smiled crookedly, trying to relax for the entity of space.

"Come on, then," Constantine grouched, tapping the ground with his boot to open a portal. Phantom focused on it immediately, cooing before slowly moving toward the glowing ring of gold. He tapped the floor in a consistent rhythm, his ears twitching with every beat.

Once he entered the Watchtower, his body language completely changed. Phantom relaxed, cooing a soft noise as he wandered around, tapping as he went to get a feel for the space. The rest of the Justice League- the ones not fully off-world anyway- all were gathered to see the new addition to the Watchtower, only to be stunned at the huge frame of Phantom coming through the portal. Most of Batman's brood followed in after, Hood standing between the League and Phantom as much as possible.

"What... is that?" Diana whispered to Bruce and he could make out the light tremor in her hands.

"Phantom. Hood explained that they're an embodiment of space."

"Hood knows this... alien? God?"

"King," Constintine corrected, lighting a cigarette. Normally, he'd get a nasty glare from the Bat, but even Batman was itching for one at this point. "He's the king of ghosts."

Sadhomealonehelp Phantom pressed and anyone sensitive to empathic waves shuddered. Hood let Phantom 'hide' behind him, defending him to offer another point of strength.

"You are empathic," Manhunter hummed. He tilted his head, eyes glowing orange, and Phantom fully turned to give him his full attention. 'I am J'onn J'onzz.'

'Phantom,' he cooed, the word smooth but the intention behind it muddied by stars space death life that made them up. 'You are from Mars.' Phantom came closer, rattling his spines contently as tilted unseeing eyes at the Martian.

"His speech is impeeded by motive. It's almost like he can't keep the meaning out of the word. He says his name is Phantom, but he is stars and nothingness all at once," J'onn tried to explain. "He says Mars, but there is a pang that rings with loss and violence. It is an odd feeling."

"That's what I got from him, too. There just weren't any words to go with it," Hood explained, glad someone could word it better. "He's... a lot."

"Indeed."

'In space,' Phantom chirped, stretching with another rattle of his spines. 'Free.' Hood sucked in a breath as the sunlight hit his soul and stars lit up in his vision. Phantom hissed a sad, broken noise. 'Cannot see it.'

"Can you heal?" J'onn asked slowly.

'No eyes, but yes. Need rest. Will see again.' His explanation was broken, but Manhunter nodded and relayed the message.

"Phantom," Batman called, catching his attention. Phantom cooed in answer, turning and tilting his head to show he was listening. "What was that facility? What were they doing there?" Phantom hissed, growls making stars burst into novas and black holes in his rage. His spines rattled like a threat and his tail whipped by the thin nubbs he walked on. J'onn let out a pained noise and Hood only nodded.

"We know," Jason hummed, his own anger echoing, "but we need to understand so it never happens again."

'Hunted,' Space explained as J'onn connected them all so they could all catch his meaning. They all felt watched, fear threading up their spines hearts racing. 'Power.' Images, perhaps Phantom's own memory, skittered across their vision, their skin itching with scars not theirs and machinery beeping loudly in their ears.

"They used you like a battery," Red Robin clarified. "From the files I was able to skim before we had to leave, they used ectoplasm, what Phantom here is made of, to fuel multiple things, weapons included."

"As King of the Infinite Realms, he'd have access to all the ectoplasm across all the universes," Constintine grouched, putting his cigarette out on his boot and pocketing the butt of it. "Even he's got a limit, though."

"If that is true, can he use it to heal?" Wonder Woman asked, approaching Phantom to inspect the loose bandaging around his eyes and the wires in his lips. "We should cut these loose, yes? They must be painful."

'Bearable,' is Phantom's response, a huff of frosty breath forming crystals in her hair. 'Thank you.'

"We should get you to the med bay, Phantom," Manhunter pushed. "Help you heal in all the ways we can."

'Am fine,' he assures brokenly, his posture slumping. 'Tired.'

"Then you need rest," Diane presses. "Let us look you over then you can sleep. You're among the stars now. Nothing can hurt you."

'Knight,' Phantom calls, and the meaning of it filters between them all. Hood steps up, reeling at the protector-mine from Phantom's core. He cooes, the sound comforting and echoing. 'At ease.'

Jason finds himself wanting to curl up on a rainy day with his favorite book, Alfred's cookies next to him, and a fire burning in the hearth. Batman sucks in a breath, having seen the same image. Phantom follows Manhunter and Diana to the medical unit of the Watchtower without a fuss. John, who everyone had forgotten was there, lit a cigarette and huffed, turning to Batman and his brood.

"How in the fuck do you keep finding Eldrich abominations?"

"Occupational hazard," Nightwing chirped, shrugging. Hood snorted and Red Robin shrugged.

"According to the data Robin and I gathered, he didn't always look like that. He was experimented on and at some point, some testing with something called a core, he transformed and never settled back."

"Phantom's mouth is stitched because he has a vocal power akin to Black Canary on a planetary level. His eyes were removed for their horror factor," Robin continued with a huff. "We did not have time to go through all the information, obviously. Phantom's file is long and winded."

Hood tensed, going still in a way only Bat-trained Robins did. Batman mimicked the stance and Dick brushed Jason's arm just so he knew he was there for him.

"Little Wing?"

"Phantom," Jason responds. "He's... stressed."

"Perhaps, Hood, being dead connected you to him. You are constantly joking about being a zombie, but an ecto-entity is commonly called a ghost. Connection is possible," Robin pointed out.

"He's the King of Ghosts. He probably has revenants under his thumb, too."

~~

Hood lets them debate behind them and follows Phantom. The entity being out of his sight made the rage come back.

"Little Wing?" Dick calls gently, following.

"The rage is gone when he's close by," he explains roughly, boots hitting the floor too loudly in the silence of his mind. "Just going to make sure he's okay."

"I doubt J'onn and Canary will hurt him," Nightwing reasons, shrugging. He follows his younger brother anyway, curious. When they open the door to the med wing, Red Hood can't help but snort.

Phantom has his head in Diana's lap, purring like an engine as she pets him. His lips were free of wire but the bandages around his eyes were still old. His tail was wagging from where it was on the floor. Apparently, they weren't able to coax him onto the examination table.

"What's goin' on here?" Hood asked, his smile audible.

"He won't let us touch the bandages on his eyes and it seems like the table sets off unwanted memories," J'onn explained, finishing up with the entity's vitals. Nightwing took the paperwork from him and whistled. "Indeed. Everything about him is unusual."

"Maybe he'll let Jay change them?" Dick offered. Jason knelt beside Black Canary, tilting his head at the King of Ghosts.

"We gotta change your bandages." Phantom growled, low in his chest. Jason hissed at the noise. "So they didn't get infected. I know they hurt, but we gotta clean 'em." Claws scrapped the ground as Phantom sat up, stretching and making the long spikes on his spine rattle together. He grumbled but lowered his head, clicking his nails on the tile so he could follow Hood as he moved closer.

Once he was within touching distance, Phantom growled again, an aggressive, threatening noise. Hood scoffed at him, taking off his helmet to make sure Phantom could hear his returning snarl. Phantom seemed amused with the effort, Manhunter connecting them all with his powers to shower them all in Phantom's humor.

'Little baby ghost,' Phantom cooed, tilting his head.

"I'm not a fuckin' kid, asshat," Hood growled. "Imma take these off, alright? Don't move." He slowly moved his hands, letting Phantom click his obsidian nails on the tile to track him as he found the tail of the bandages, cutting it carefully when the knot wouldn't give. He unwrapped it slowly, peeling it gently when it got stuck on the sticky, green residue that Hood assumed was blood.

'Heal you, too,' Phantom suddenly spoke up, a broken churr loosening his muscles. 'You're sick.'

"Whatcha mean?" NIghtwing asked, giving J'onn back his clipboard. "He's sick?"

'Ecto-contamination poisoning,' Phantom hummed clearly. He opened his mouth and made an odd clicking noise with his tongue. Hood pulled the last layer off and Dick heard Canary gag.

Phantom's sockets were completely empty, cuts and scrapes lining them to show off how they were removed. It was yellow with infection, leaking puss, and red-dotted green blood. It was trying to heal, some of the smaller cuts knitting themselves together.

"Jesus fucking H. Christ," Hood swore, Nightwing nodding along.

'Healing,' Phantom promised, like he was trying to lessen the pain. 'Will be better in a few days.'

"That's still nasty." Nightwing offered his brother the anti-bacterial wipes and more gauze. "Can you have painkillers? That looks painful."

'Don't work,' Phantom shrugged. 'Most don't.'

"They did all this and you can't be drugged? That's fucked," Hood growled, cleaning out the gashes before re-wrapping the empty sockets.

'Can be. Not mortal drugs.' He purred as Jason tied off the wrappings, pushing into his hand when they scratched his head. 'Thank you.'

"You're welcome."

"It seems everything else is in order. You're tired, so you should rest. We'll make sure you aren't disturbed," Manhunter hummed, moving toward the door and waiting for the others to follow. He tapped his finger against a metal cabinet, catching Phantom's attention. "This cabinet has blankets and pillows if there isn't enough on the beds. Feel free to take as many as you need. If you need anything, just reach out. I am on the Watchtower nearly 24/7, so do not be afraid to ask for something."

"It's time for a nap, Space. Come on, I know the best spot ever."

Chapter Text

"It's time for a nap, Space. Come on, I know the best spot ever," Jason huffed, opening the cabinet and snattching a couple blankets and pillows before wandering out, Phantom behind him, cooing questioningly. 

The rest of the heroes in the infirmary gave each other a look, confused, but shrugged it off. 

(They would find some of the Batkids wrapped up in Space, in the nest he and Red Hood made in the common room of the Watchtower. They were all in front of the huge window in the room, the closeness of the stars soothing Space's bruises.) 

--~◇~--

Phantom has been at the Watchtower for a month. 

His eyes have grown back, the bright green of them like flashlights (like bright stars, despite their unnatural color). Finally, he can see space, the stars calling his name, the void they floated in, the planets taking up space. He also got to see his rescuers. 

The Bats and Birds, they're lovingly called by the rest of the League, have divided their time for him. One of them visit once a day, sometimes bringing another of the brood with them. Nightwing is usually followed by Red Hood, Batman by Robin, Red Robin by someone named Superboy. 

Superboy. 

He's adopted the Neverborne as soon as he seen him, cooing and chirping at him. Once he understood how the Martian projected his thoughts, he copied it, pressing his thoughts on the others. Hood, obviously, took to it the easiest, but the little detectives in Batman's brood were quick on the uptake. 

'Clones are good,' he pressed to Red Robin one day, one without Superboy following him. He knew some of it would be lost in translation. 'He seems upset?' 

"Some people aren't happy about being cloned," Red shrugged, huffing as he fiddled with the tablet in his hands. "Superman reacted... poorly, to Conner being around." The rage coming from the enbodyment of Space nearly bowled him over. "Phantom?"

'Neverborne are precious!' the King of the Infinite Realm hissed, the bone plating on his back rattling. 'How could he ever push him away? He should care for him!' 

"Yeah, that what all of us thought, too," Red snorted bitterly. "Superman is... better about it, but he certainly isn't the father figure Conner wanted him to be." 

'Fine,' Phantom huffed, slumping until his head was in Tim's lap, purring brokenly when Red ran his hands through his white mane. 'No one cares for him?' 

"He stays at the tower outside of school," Red shrugged. "Do you wanna go see him? He should be there." 

'Leave? Allowed?' Phantom hums, chuffing. 

"Well, I could call him here, I don't think he'd mind." 

'Do that,' Phantom rumbled, standing on the pins of his feet. He paced slightly, tail thrashing as Tim texted Connor. He stills, turning his head to stare at Red Robin for a moment. 'What do you hear when I speak? Hood(knight,vengence,family,dead-not) hears stars.' Tim thought about the question for a moment before he hummed. 

"It's hard to describe. Hood said you represented the space between things. Like me and you. I hear empty halls, the echo. When your angry, it's like someone dropped something heavy. It rattles really loud because it used to be so quiet," he explained. "It's not empty when you're happy. The more upset you are, the quieter the house is. Does that make sense?"

'Lonely sparrow,' Phantom cooes, hurt making Tim's chest ache, something bubble into his throat to cut off his air. 'I, too, grew in empty halls.' Phantom wanders over, the soft clicking of the needle-like limbs echoing in the tomb of Tim's thoughts. He cooed, a soft rumble from deep in space somewhere. Logically, Tim knew stars exploded to help Phantom make the noise, but it's a comfort. Space rumbles into the hollow of Red Robin's neck, softening the noise. 'We're both better now. Found our fraid(Jazz,Tuck,Sam,Val,Clocky,Frostbite).' 

"What's goin' on?" Connor asked from the doorway, shifting awkwardly. "You wanted to talk?"

"Phantom wanted to talk." 

'About your fraid(Ma,Pa,Robin,Star-supposed to be Superman),' Phantom hisses, standing to his full height as the plating on his back rattled ominously. Superboy hissed, flinching from the meaning. 

"Curious," Red interupted. "What do you hear when he speaks? It's different for everyone." 

"Um..." Connor narrowed his eyes in thought, fully stepping into the lounge that Phantom had made into a large nest. Everyone was allowed in, everyone but Superman, and something about that vindicated Connor's feelings. "The lab." 

"How so?"

"I hear water and it echoes like a confined space. A tube?" 

'Neverborne,' Phantom cooed as he stepped over to Conner, brushing black hair back from his face, careful of his claws, 'you are reminded of your beginning. Remember it, so you can take note of how far you've come. Even without your sire's support.' He tucked himself around Connor, tail twisting around his legs and his head settling on top of the clone's. 

Only then does Red Robin fully take in and compute how big Phantom is. Superboy, 5'10" and broad-shouldered, was dwarfed by Phantom. The ghoul had no weight, all short, black fur stretched over bones, but his ribs where just as wide as Connor, his height measuring to 6'7" when standing at full height. He was normally curled up, hunched over enough for his long limbs to scrape the ground. 

'Safe now,' Phantom assured easily. Tim's empty manson filled with the sounds of Alfred in the kitchen, Bruce shuffling papers in his office, and his brothers fighting over a game they were playing. Connor could still hear bubbling water, but he could smell clear air, feel wind, warmed by the sun. Safe. 'You're sire is not good enough. I'll sire you.' 

"I don't know if that's how siring even works," Tim snorted. "You'd be his... adoptive dad?"

'Fraid is all found,' Phantom protests with a lighthearted grumble. 'Blood creates falsities.' 

"You said you grew up in empty halls, too," Red Robin whispered gently. Phantom hissed a sour note. 

'Jazz(older,sister,fraid,annoyance,dead) and Ellie(younger,daughter,fraid,traveling,lost) were blood. The rest didn't matter,' he growled. 

"Lost? Ellie is lost?" Tim caught. "Do you think she's still there?" 

"I don't think we should press," Connor warned, leaning into the chill that Phantom naturally let into the room. "If she is okay, wouldn't you know, Phantom?"

'Lost, not wanting to be found,' Phantom growled. 'Sad.' 

"She probably thought she lost you," Tim pressed and Connor sent him a warning look. "Could you find her?" 

'Could,' Phantom admits. 'Should?' 

"I think so."

'And if she is gone? What then?' Tim's nose wrinkled, Phantom nodding and unwinding himself from Superboy. He gently nuzzled under his jaw, a purr bringing back missing constilations, before he stretched, bone spears rattling. 'Could,' he repeats, seeming wary. 

Tim suddenly feels homsesick. It's a feeling they get often from their bond with Phantom. He's been searching for his home for a while, but something is stopping them from finding it. Tim think's it's Phantom himself, watching them struggle to find a way into the afterlife without ending the world. He doesn't want to go back yet, despite how much he misses it. Connor shifts in discomfort and Tim nods in understanding. 

"Call. The worst that can happen is that she doesn't answer." 

Phantom hums, wounded, and calls. 

Tim can hear his brothers calling his name, asking if he's slept, if he's safe. Connor hears the Titans preparing for a move night, shouting for him to grab popcorn before wandering over. It's a summons to comfort. There's a tense silence as they wait for a response and Phantom is so still, they mistake him for a corpse.

The can't discribe when they hear in answer. It's desperate, an aggrivated response. 

The closest Tim can get to the feeling is like watching one of his brother's get wounded. That heart-in-stomach feeling when Nightwing doesn't catch himself or Red Hood's eyes glow toxically. It's a cry for help, for understanding, wounded and far from home. 

Here Phantom responded and they both see flickers of the space Phantom has been staring at since his eyes regrew. Whatever answered screamed, pain and hurt and rage echoing through them. Hope. 

Then, there were two.

If the king was made of Space, the princess was long car rides, wind in their hair, beaten paths under their feet. She's crying, much more human shaped than Phantom before she, too, looses her form for something other. 

Her legs turn into points, much like Phantom's, but she floats. Two sets of wings, one at her shoulders and another at her lower back, grow from her spine, her hair turning into a mane down her back much like Phantoms. Her ribcage, exposed like Phantom's, was cover in vines and flowers from all over the world, pearls made of different materials hanging from her neck like a travel guide's rosary. Her face was blank, wearing a white mask with only two black dots where her eyes should have been. A silk scarf floated around her, held by her elbows but defying the laws of gravity, dyed in the colors of the daycycle. It started with dusk, all the beautiful colors only on the tip of the scarf. Half of it was nightime, all of the moon phases shifting into dawn, the other half being the day with the sun disappearing behind an eclipse. 

She was beautiful, crying rivers and hiccuping forest trails, curling around her fraid. 

"Danny," she cooed, voice echoing like unexplored caves. "Danny, I found you. Found you, safe again. Safe." 

Phantom connected them all, showing his fraid how he spoke to the humans. 'Ellie(younger,daughter,fraid,Travel,found), I've missed you.' 

'Danny(father,fraid,Space,King,foundyou), I found you!' 

"You're Ellie?" Red Robin asked and she turned to them, taking in the human and the half-Kryptonian. "I'm Red Robin, and this is Superboy. We found Phantom in a lab in the middle of nowhere, Montana." 

"Montana?" she asked, pulling back to look at Phantom. He whined, trying to stayed curled into her collar, but she pressed on his chest to take him in. 'Why?' 

'Ecto-energy,' he hissed. 'Battery.' 

"I'll find them and kill them myself," she hissed but Robin hummed, getting their attention. 

"We already did, kinda. Minus the murder." He tilted his head at the Phantom pair. "Not that Hood didn't want to." 

'Not-dead baby ghost,' Phantom explains excitedly. He chips, practiaclly vibrating when she chirps back at him. They have a conversation in gentle chirps and purrs, so Tim turns to Connor. 

"He's been calling Hood a baby ghost and the entire Batfam is having a riot over it," he huffs, adding context. "Apparently, some of the stuggles he's been having since he came back are a lot better now that Phantom's here. I think he said something about cleaning it? That he was infected?" 

'He's sick,' Phantom agrees, startling them. 

"Well," Ellie hums, sounding pleased, "I suppose I have you to thank for finding him." She stepped forward, shifting into a more human form. She had a black and white hazmat on, long, white hair in a high ponytail. Her eyes were bright green like Phantoms, smile wide and showing off fangs. "I'm Ellie, or Phantasma. It's a pleasure to meet you!" 

Chapter Text

Phantasma, Ellie, has been helping Phantom return to something that resembles human. 

"It's like... a god mode?" she had explained, pulling her knees up and taking a sip of the orange juice box Wonder Woman had given her. She was laying in the middle of the loop that Phantom had made of his body. Both were in the nest Phantom had made, seeming much more at ease now that they had each other. "It's not this eldrich form, but it's... something between looking human and eldrich? Something like that." 

"So," Manhunter hummed, settled into one of the armchairs with his legs crossed at the knees, "small steps." 

"Yes," she agreed, floating up and out of the Danny donut. He grumbled, chittering his dispeasure, and she cooed at him. She sounded like a bird, like cartoonish twinkling, and he settled. Ellie stretched, her black hoody showing a bit of pale skin, before she exposed her sharp teeth in a grin. "I can show you mine, if it'll help visualize." 

"A demenstration," Batman monotoned, nodding. "It'd be greatly apprechiated." 

Ellie hummed, letting her form morph. She was human-esque, her blank mask in place. She was wearing a loose, black dress, a white belt right under her breasts, her pointed nubs that her and Danny shared hovering above the ground. Her scarf, dipped in sunsets and night skys, hovered between her body and the two sets of feathery wings. 

They very tips of them almost looked dirty, the white turning ash grey. Her white hair, which also faded into grey at the tips, was held in a high ponytail, like her 'human' form, but her hairtie was replaced with a golden clip. She was much taller now, even with the floating. She was more Batman's height, around 6', but too more insperation in Wonder Woman's accessories. Both wrists had golden bracers, a golden band on her right bicep. 

"Like this," Ellie chirps, birdsong and crunching leaves in her voice, making it pleasant. Phantom stood, dwarfing her even with his feet clicking on the ground, and his form morphed like he was trying to follow her example. 

His eyes dimmed, the streched, cracked smile slimmed to only slightly too-wide. His skin tried to cover his ribs, the stars seeping through too much for it to fully do so. He shrank only slightly, the spines on his back going to lay flat, not quite making it there. He chittered, sounding stressed, and Travel sang at Space to soothe him. 

"Don't panic if you can't, Danny. Slow and steady," she reminded, getting a nod from Diana. 

"She's correct. Do not push yourself passed your limits. Testing them is wise, breaking them is detrimental," she agreed. Danny loosened, shaking slightly and letting his features settle back into the beast they were used to. He huffed before trying again. 

His mouth shrank, claws retracted, limbs became a natural length. When skin started stretching over his chest, the stars spilled out again. 

"There," she huffed, listening to him growl lowly. "The stars. Your Space is eating you. Keep it in your chest, like a heart, and your core with keep it there." Her hands hoved around it, even as he relaxed to try again, but never touched the small patch of nebula in his ribs. "Do you need help?" 

He growled again, clicking his fangs together in a chitter, but tried again with a nod. Limbs, facial features, ribs-

Ellie hummed, rearanging the stars as they spilled into recognizable constellations and pushing them into the seams with gentle, guiding hands. Danny was crying, void falling from his eyes, but he was so close- 

It clicked into place, his muscle filling out and loosening as he sighed with relief. Ellie cheered, cooing happily with birdsongs and crickets. The nubs stayed, his face fleshing out into a human one with constellation freckles and cracked lips. He still seemed skinny, like he hadn't eatten right in months, but his human propotions made him easier to look at. 

Black fur turned into a black catsuit, the pannels on his ribs white with his matching boots and fingerless gloves. Some of it was covered by purple armor, shimmering mimicking stars, on his chest and thighs. His tail stayed, a view into stars, and claws were trimmed down to pointed nails. His smile was still too wide and his eyes purely green with white dots to indicate pupils. A moon, dangling from a silver circlet, rested on the bridge of his nose, made of black opal that shimmered in a rainbow of color. 

"Welcome back," Ellie chirped, placing her flat, white mask into his neck, nuzzling the white fur  that rimmed the hood of the thick cloak he was wearing. 

"Good to... be back," he said slowly, voice rough from disuse. He rumbled, a deep noise from his chest, and extended the cloak, which turned out to be a set of wings resting on his shoulders, to around his fraid's shouders to pull her in. The black outside hid the vortex of stars on the inside, the flat pannel of it making it look like cloth. "Arms... short." Ellie snorted, cuddling into him. 

"Glad to have you with us, Phantom," Manhunter hummed, standing and offering a hand. He took it in a shake, purring contently. 

"Human... ish," he chuckled, the humming of stars in his deep voice. Like ship rockets taking off to chase the moon in it's orbit. He streched, his limbs looking slightly too long and his teeth too sharp as he yawned. 

"It must be better than it was," Wonder Woman huffed, getting a nod. "You can speak now. I call that success." 

"Vocal... cords are," he paused to cough, one harsh bark that sounded sharp and painful, "not working. Stars." 

"We could go out if you think that'll help," Ellie proposed, tilting her head to the large window. 

"Maybe. Not now," Danny huffed. He mimed drinking, a sound coming from his chest that was closed to the atmosphere being breached than a laugh as she tilted her head. 

"Oh! Right!" 

She vanished, seeming to disappear in strips, like a TV going out, before she completely faded. Phantom keened, a high-pitched noise that made their skin itch. 

"Will you be able to keep that form?" Batman asked, giving a small nod to Flash as he wandered in. 

"Now? Yes," Danny assured. He wrinkled his nose, the moon chiming with metallic clinking and the lines of his freckles creasing. "Feel... squished." 

"You're much smaller," Flash chuckled, offering the Ancient of Space an apple. He took it, careful of the sharp points of his nails and bit into it carefully, minding his canines. "Not all human, but much better! Now, you kinda look like a manniquinn that isn't proportioned right." 

Danny nodded, smiling, purring a deep rumble of contentment. Ellie appeared in her previous spot, chirping a hello to Phantom. She was in her more human for, her hoodie weighed down by something cylindrical in her pocket. 

"Here ya go, Rocket! Gramps says hi and Frosty demand you see him when you can. Gramps says that you won't for a while, though, so don't feel bad." He hummed, stars forming as he took what looked like a thermos from the Patron of Safe Travel. He cracked it open, making them all stiffen from the familiar, green glow from the bottle. 

"Is that... Lazarus Water?" Flash asked slowly, leaning away slightly. Batman was completely still, lips thin. "Isn't that stuff, like, mega bad?"

"Not for us, and that's not that gross, runny stuff. Lazarus Water is mixed with chemimcals and emotions that make it toxic and nasty. The stuff Danny's chugging like he's dying again is the pure, goopy stuff. It's more like... slime than water," Phantasma explained, watching Danny tip the thermos back and slurping up the last of the ectoplasm. "It's called ectoplasm, but whatever you call it, that shit Ra's has been cooking is fucking gross."

"Better," Danny sighed, capping the thermos and handing it back to Ellie. "Pools are gross. Agreed." His voice had leveled into a warm tenor, smooth and syrupy. He streched, his wings fanning out to show off nebulas that mankind haven't found yet. The fur, which Batman was theorising was actually organic instead of just attached, rustled and let of little shimmers of stardust. "Vocals better. Gotta get used to it." 

"Yeah, not talking for that long has to kill your vocal cords," Ellie huffed. 

"Our fraid?" he asked, leaning on her. 

"Jazz is... forming, still," she hummed. "Sam is off somewhere, leaning how to do occult things. I think she found a mentor? Anyway, Tuck... Tuck is still lost. I haven't found his soul anywhere." 

"Core?" 

"Safe! She's been in the Crypt of Stars and Frostbite has been watching out for her! She's an emotion core, like you thought, and she's gonna be a beast of a ghost. So excited," Phantasma hummed, chirping out a noise that sounded like rustling grass fields. It was a comforting noise. 

"Good... good." Something, sounding different to all of the present heroes, hissed through his teeth. Loneliness, something broken, caved in with no escape and no air. The comfort Ellie gave was a wave of fresh, clean air. A clear path to a better destination. 

"I am glad you are feeling better, my friend," Manhunter offered, smile soft. "Is there anything we can do? Seems like the ectplasm Ellie gave you strengthened you quite a bit." 

"I feel much better. Less... stretched. Closer to human," Danny agreed. He turned to his clone, smile watery and stretched. "Come on, Ellie. Wanna go star surfing?" 

"You bet! Beat you to Orion!" 

"I have dominion. I'm already there." 

"Cheater!"

Chapter Text

To my dearest readers,

For everyone that wanted the art for Danny and Ellie (coming soon, I'm not done yet lol) can now go see it! I've posted the book on Wattpad and have the images on the chapter art. Also, thank you for the comments and love on this book! It's been wild to read them all!

Also, quick shout. Thanks Juubi_mage0327 for some inspiration! <3 For Jazz, I already had a few ideas and from what I've read (and thats a LOT), this idea hasn't been made yet? So I'm really excited. She will appear, I promise!

Again, thanks for the patience. I really wanna write and watch the comments freak out over it, but my hands hate me. I've been struggling with the nerves in my arms for a couple of years now and it makes typing really hard. They cramp, so even when I wanna write or make art for my books, it's not the easiest. Thanks for waiting on me. <3

The Space Between Pillars is now available on Wattpad! Maybe FanFic... maybe. I'm still thinking about it :). 

Yours, 

Devil's Court

P.S. 

Yes, I read all the comments. Yes, I know about the Diana/Dinah mix. It was autocorrect and I'm working on fixing it lmao.