Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danyal sits stiffly next to his Mother in the car, observing his new surroundings. He had never been to America before, nor had he ever intended to. Too many heroes galavant around the country to carry out a successful operation. America is a suicide for an assassin. Even for those of an Al Ghul caliber. Which, according to Talia, his mother, makes it an excellent place to hide. Danyal can’t help but disagree. Posing as a random American child leaves too many unknowns and not enough advantages. Americans coddle their children. Always near or attached to a minder. Unable to wander alone without guidance. Disgusting. The country has no assigned language, yet only English is seen as acceptable. It’s stifling.  

He doesn’t want to be here.

“ Mother, must we continue with the subterfuge?” Danyal asks, exasperated. 

Talia sighs and looks at him, eyes filled with sorrow, “ shadows expand in times of grief. The Demon’s Head has set his eyes on the new world, eyes we need to keep away from you, habibi.” 

Danyal huffs, “Yet, he no longer has reason to take such glances. I see no reason for elaborate efforts,” then turns away and pulls at his collar. He’s not fond of their disguises. Talia is wearing a western blouse and skirt, while he is wearing a polo and slacks. The garments are uncomfortably restricting. 

“ He will look regardless of necessity,” Talia reminds.

“ Which is why you are offering me to strangers,” Danyal says bitterly, “ instead of sending me to Father.” 

“ It would be too obvious,” Talia says, not liking this option but not seeing any other choice. Her father’s beliefs had not advanced with the times and sees no reason to have multiple heirs. Ending the weakest link of the Al Ghul bloodline was the only “ reasonable decision” Ra’s could come up with. The Demon’s Head, sword as swift as it was in his prime, struck. The blade slid between the sixth and seventh ribs, piercing the lung– they had Danyal’s favorite for dinner, just hours before– his last supper. Ra’s gathered the twins for late-night training, he claimed. And that's all it was before Ra’s moves turned deadly. He made them watch. Made Talia hold back one child while the other choked on their blood. Danyals eyes lingered on them until they lost their spark of life. 

Danyal Al Ghul, dead, age eight. Cause? Execution.

Talia refused to let that be the end.

Late, hours after Ra’s had retired for the evening, she removed her child from his cold, shallow grave and, in between guard shift changes, released him into the Lazarus Pits. 

Hoping for another miracle. 

When Talia prepared for a child, she only intended to have one. She felt blessed when the embryo split. Two babies. Two little ones to take care of, depend on her. She was ecstatic. That was until birth. Damian was fine, with ten fingers and toes, breathing on his own. Danyal, however, was blue in the face and less developed than his brother. They thought he was stillborn. The next day, the Al Ghul family gathered around a pit to give the fallen child a proper send-off. Talia released him into Lazarus' embrace and watched him go under, only moments later for him to reemerge, face red, crying his little lungs out.

A miracle, Danyal, her miracle baby. 

She could only hope the pit had one more miracle to give. 

Danyal was once more released into the water. He went under, and she waited and waited, but he didn’t resurface. Five days later, a confused, soaking-wet Danyal knocked upon her bedroom door. Danyal’s anger, unlike others, had been drained from him, leaving him emotionally raw. He hid for a week in her rooms while she concocted a plan. He seemed the same but different like he could feel nothing but everything at once.

Even now, in a new country, about to undergo his next journey alone, he’s raw. She’s afraid he’ll say that way. “ You need to stay sharp but discrete. I will come for you, gulbi.” Talia parks the car by an obnoxious flashing sign on the side of a building.

“ Please,” Danyal asks, voice shaking, “ don’t leave me here.” 

Talia reaches over and kisses his forehead. " It won’t be forever, just until it’s safe.” 

“ When? When will it be?” Danyal asks. 

“ Soon, habibi, soon,” Talia replies, getting out of the car and grabbing his bags from the trunk. She opens Danyals door, “Come on, we can’t keep them waiting.” 

Danyal reluctantly gets out and takes his bags from his mother, “You’ll tell ahki, right, mother? Where I am?” 

“ When the time is right,” she replies, not knowing when that’ll be. They go to the porch and ring the doorbell. 

A couple comes to the door dressed… uniquely but otherwise look like any other. Danyal’s not too sure what to make of them. “ Ah, Ms. Tate,” the woman says, looking at Talia, “ we weren’t expecting you till tomorrow.”  

Talia gives a fake laugh, the one she uses when humoring a subordinate, " Last minute flight changes. I hope you understand, Mrs. Fenton.” 

“ Of course,” the man says before turning to look at him, “ I’m Jack, and this is my wife Maddie, and you’re Daniel, yes?” 

“ Danyal, not Daniel,” he corrects sharply. 

“ I see, Danyal,” Maddie says, trying to copy the pronunciation. “ Why don’t you and Ms Tate come in?” 

“ Thank you,” Talia says before leading them in. They look around, noting all the exits and possible weapons. Danyal spots pictures on their walls, few and far between, but all include a red-headed girl.

Maddie sees him looking, “That’s our daughter, Jazz. She’s at school. We’ll introduce her to you later.” 

“ How old is she?” Danyal asks, not too familiar with other children and how they should look. 

“ Twelve,” Maddie replies as she leads their guests to the living room couches. “ If I remember correctly, Ms. Tate said you’re eight?” 

“ That would be correct,” Danyal says, sitting awkwardly by himself in a chair while the couple takes the couch.

Talia remains standing, reading through their excellently forged documents, “ I believe everything should be in order; I just need some signatures.” Maddie and Jack go through the paperwork, sign where indicated, and are given a copy of their agreement. “ That’s it,” Talia says once everything is finished, “ Danyal, you have my number. Remember to call if you need anything, and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, I’ll be back in a few months for our check-in.”   

Maddie gets up and walks Talia to the door, “ he will be in good hands.” 

“ I hope so,” Talia says and walks out.

Danyal can’t help the tears pooling as he hears her drive away. He wipes his eyes and looks at the complete strangers charged with caring for him, “ Where may I put my things?” 

“ Oh, oh, I’ll show you,” Jack says excitedly, grabbing Danyals things. They head upstairs, “ Maddie-cakes and I have the room at the end,” he points down the hall. “ Our Jazzy-pants is on the right, and you will be on the left.” Jack opens the door and ushers Danyal in. The room is bare, outfitted with a bed and a tall dresser. Jack sets the bags on the bed, “ We can fix it however you like, paint the walls, posters, you name it.” 

“ I would be amenable to that,” Danyal responds. “ May I have time to… settle in?” 

“ Of course,” Jack says, heading towards the door. “ Just give a holler if you need anything. Maddie and I will be downstairs,” and leaves. 

Danyal looks around his new room and sighs, “What has Mother dragged me into.” 

“ Come on, dude,” says one of Danyals, better known as Danny to his peers, friends Tucker Foley. “ We haven’t done anything together in, like, forever.” 

“ I have a prior commitment,” Danny says.

“ You’ve been saying that for three weeks now,” Tucker complains. “ What kind of ‘commitment’ lasts that long,” he uses air quotes. “ We haven’t even had the chance to celebrate your birthday. You only turn ten once you know.” 

Danny rolls his eyes and says deadpan, “ I’m well aware. An age per finger. Next year, I’ll need to steal a hand.” 

Tucker gives an awkward chuckle. The thing about Danny, it’s hard to tell when he’s serious or not. When he joined school two years ago, he caused a variety of injuries. Bites, broken noses, stab wounds via pencil. If Danny says he’ll steal a hand, Tucker has no doubts he’ll try it. Danny… he’s contradictory. Because while he’s violent and chaos-incarnate, he’s also really sweet. Danny is the first to help when someone is hurt, as long as he’s not the perpetrator. To help with homework, look for lost pets, and walk old ladies across the street. He’s a lot, but Tucker knows he’s a good person. “ Seriously, when are we celebrating? I know Sam wants to know, too.” 

“ I’ll let you know when I figure it out,” Danny sighs as they reach the intersection. Tucker continues straight while he starts to go left. “ I can probably talk Jack and Maddie into a sleepover. Now that their portal is done, they don’t work all night; we’d actually get to sleep.” 

“ I’ll hold you to it,” Tucker shouts as he walks off.

Danny continues to FentonWorks and almost cries tears of joy when he sees a familiar rental car. He quickly walks into the house and yells, “ I’m back.” When he enters the kitchen, he finds Talia and Maddie drinking coffee. “ Ms. Tate?” Danny asks, with fake surprise in his voice, “ You’re next check-in isn’t until–” 

“ November,” Talia finishes with a smile but eyes full of worry. Looking him over for anything out of place, she says, “Surprise inspection. Everything has been checked out and cleared. Don’t worry; you won’t be moved. However, before I go, I was hoping to speak with you in private,” she looks at Maddie. " Is that okay?” 

“ As long as Danny wants to,” Maddie says, giving him an out.

Danny nods, “ We can speak in my room. I wanted to show it to you anyway when you returned. Jack helped me set up a mural of the constellations.”

“ Oh, is that so?” Talia asks, getting up and allowing Danny to pull her by the arm up the stairs. 

As soon as they reach his room, he lets go, locks the door, and sighs, relieved, “ Mother.” 

“ Danyal,” she opens her arms, and he goes in for the hug, “ I got here as fast as I could. The SOS, what happened?” 

“ Mother,” Danny sniffs and answers in Arabic, “ I’ve messed up.” 

“ What’s happened habibi?” Talia asks, holding him close. 

“ I reported to you about the Fentons studies, yes?” Danny asks, and when she nods, he continues. “ They finished the portal. It didn’t work at first. I had persuaded them to allow me to assist in their laboratory. I went into the lab alone to ascertain the issue. I underwent proper safety protocols. I was careful.” He lets go of Talia to look her in the eyes. “ I got it to work, somehow, but Mother… It– the portal, it opened on me.”  

Talia goes still, “You were inside their contraption as it ripped a hole in reality?” 

“ Yes, Mother,” Danny replies. 

“ Status report,” Talia demands, going into work mode.

“Lichtenberg scarring, from my left hand,” he holds it out to show her, “ to my sternum. Occasional pain and numbness in extremities. As well as some…side effects.” 

“ Side effects,” Talia echoes, eyebrow raised. 

Danny leans down and pulls up his pant leg; there’s no leg in sight, “ brief, uncontrollable moments of invisibility, intangibility, and flight. I-I don’t know what’s happening to me.” 

“ Who else is aware?” Talia asks. 

“ No one,” Danny says. “ Once the side effects started, I sent out the SOS and hid the abnormalities.” 

“ Danyal… this is out of my purview,” Talia admits, sighing, “ I can ask around… but there’s no guarantee I’ll find answers.” 

Danny nods, dejected, “ understood. Thank you for coming.” 

“ Of course, gulbi,” Talia says, cupping his cheek. 

Danny lets the moment happen, but once she lets go asks, “How is ahki?”

“ Progressing in his studies,” Talia replies, “ the Demon’s Head believes it is time to diversify his training.” 

Danny’s eyes widen, “ you mean–” 

“ Next month, Damian will be delivered to your Father,” Talia says. 

“ What about me? Can I…” Danny trails off, seeing his Mothers's look. 

“ Not yet,” Talia says. “ Your brother's trip is supposed to be temporary. Once he settles, where the shadows can’t reach, you can rejoin him and take your place at his side.” 

“ Does he know? ” Danny asks, “Does he know he’s going to Father?” Does he know his other half will be just an arm's length away?

“ No, it’s a surprise,” Talia says, looking away. “ This is your grandfather's birthday gift to him.” 

If it weren’t for mirrors, he’d have forgotten what he looked like by now. He can change some features around in his mind and see him, but nothing compares to the real thing. So Danny feels no guilt asking, " Could you bring him here first, please?” 

“ Danyal, you know the dangers,” Talia says, sounding defeated. 

“ Damian gets to see Father as his birthday gift. Let me seeing him be mine,” Danny pleads, wanting nothing more than to see his brother. 

“ I will see what I can do,” Talia says, sounding choked up, switching back to English.

“ That's all I ask.”

Four and a half weeks later, at three o’clock in the morning, and for the first time in years, the Demon Twins will be reunited. Danny looks at his glitching form in his mirror. Ever since he ‘ went ghost’ for the first time, his abilities have become instinctive. Helpful since he’s rusty; he hasn’t had to really fight for the past couple of years, but a pain in the butt to adjust to. The ghosts coming through haven’t really been malicious, unlike past opponents, but careless and destructive.

They’re going to kill somebody at this rate, and Danny can’t just sit around and let it happen. He’s already got blood on his hands, not that he had a say in that, but he doesn’t want to add any more, not if he doesn’t have to. 

Danny sneaks out of his room, going intangible through the wall and out of the house. He sticks to the shadows as he goes across town and heads to the park, their meeting spot. As Danny approaches, he sees Talia and Damian already there. Unable to pass up this opportunity, goes invisible and floats the rest of the way. “ Boo!” Danny yells, popping back to visibility in Damian's face.

Damian stumbles back and goes for his weapon but freezes once he sees the familiar face. 

“ You should have seen your face,” Danny giggles, floating in front of them. 

“ Danyal?” Damian asks like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. 

“ Ahki!” Danny says and hugs him, but the other boy goes stiff, “ I can’t believe you’re here!” 

“ How-how are you alive, Grandfather–he–” Damian stammers. 

Danny looks at Talia, “ I thought you were going to tell him?”

“ You’re early,” Talia says as an explanation, trying to keep her expression neutral while looking at her floating child. The uncontrollable aspect of being electrocuted by an interdimensional portal seems to be fading, leaving developing powers in place. 

“ So,” Danny says, putting his feet on the ground, “ short version: Mother put me in the pit– a last-ditch effort,” he chuckles at his pun. “ Took a few days, but I swam out. She hid me until she could get me out. I got placed with a long-term foster family of mad scientists, and Mother comes back occasionally, posing as a social worker doing check-ins.” 

“ That does not explain the floating and invisibility,” Damian says, compartmentalizing. 

“ Oh, that's more recent,” Danny says, brushing the trama off, “ got hurt by an invention–”

“ A portal to another dimension opened up on top of him,” Talia corrects. 

Danny scowls, “ I was trying to ease him into it.” 

“ An unnecessary action,” Damian says, despite knowing he will be up all night thinking about it. “ Are you coming with me to Fathers’?” 

“ No, not anytime soon,” Danny says, frowning. “ Actually… Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure if I can come at all.” 

Talia looks at her boys sad, “ Danyal, when it’s safe–” 

“ That’s not what I mean, Mother,” Danny cuts her off. “ Since you were last here, there’s been a development…” Danny looks around, just to double-check, before whispering, “ Going ghost.” Light erupts from his torso and encases his body. Replacing his clothes is a black hazmat suit with white boots, gloves, and a downed hood. His hair fades to white, and his eyes change to toxic green– all of him is glowing. Danny looks at them sheepishly and says, with jazz hands, “Ta-da.” 

Talia makes a face, “ what happened.”

“ Ahki, change back. What if someone sees!” Damian whisper shouts.

“ No one else is around, and CCTV can’t capture ghosts on film for some reason. I’ve checked,” Danny says, scratching the side of his neck while trying to calm his brother. “It turns out having a portal open on you causes more damage than I first believed. Ghosts are a lot more powerful than we were taught. They’re pouring out of Fenton's portal. I got captured by one called Skulker– I was unprepared for that level of spectral altercations,” he defends himself before they can say anything. " He's a collector of the rare. He called me a halfa. A hybrid of living and dead, a humanoid scrounger cat, if you will. He didn’t know much about my… kind. That or my interrogation failed. Besides him, a new acquaintance from the other side, Princess Dorathea of Aragon, told me hafa’s are keepers of balance, and there are few records of us.” 

“ What does this mean for you?” Damian asks, swallowing down his concern. His brother was dead, yet not, only to turn out to be both at the same time. It is a lot to work his head around. 

“ I’m not sure,” Danny admits, “ I know I need to learn more. I’m… different now. I don’t know what being a halfa means or how it changes things. I want to go with you, would now if I could… As much as I want a home again, I need to know. I’ve started fighting again, the ghosts that are coming through.. the people here don't know how to handle them, and vice versa.”

“Helping,” Talia says, “ sounds a lot like heroing to me.” 

Danny blushes green, “ I like helping people a lot more than hurting them. It feels good to fight again.” 

“ Your Father will be proud,” Talia says, then corrects, “ once it’s safe for him to find out.”

“ Would he?” Danny asks, “ I thought I wouldn’t be allowed there now. Everyone knows Batman is anti-meta, and while I’m not sure what being a halfa is, I know it’s not baseline.” 

“ I do not believe you would count,” Damian says, genuinely considering it. “ This is now your natural state of being. This is not a simple enhancement but a change in species… this, I believe, would count as a medical condition. Living on the brink of final death.” 

“ Your Father will accept both of you,” Talia says, looking at them, “ with open arms. 

“ I’d prefer confirmation than risking it,” Danny says, looking at his brother. 

“ I can provide updates and give assessments,” Damian offers.

“ That would be appreciated,” Danny says, then recites his cellphone number for him.

“ I will be in touch,” Damian says, committing it to memory. 

Danny turns back to human, “Call me when you get settled?” 

“ Of course.” 

A couple of weeks later, Danny is woken up by his phone going off at one in the morning. " Hello?” 

“ Ahki,” Damian's voice comes through, “ is your location secure?” 

“ Yeah,” Danny yawns and sits up, “ I’m in my room.” 

“ I arrived at Father's home on the outskirts of Gotham City, New Jersey. The manor is understaffed, with only one full-time servant, Pennyworth. Father is not how I expected… but I can adjust. Besides Father, the only other full-time resident is Timothy Drake, a vagabond he has taken a liking to. Occasional occupants include his original charity case, Richard Grayson, whom prefers to be referred to as Dick of all things,” disgust clouds his tone. “ Mother’s pet revenant is a welcomed guest but infrequent despite the rooms set aside for him. I have yet to right myself as one of Father’s rightful heirs and become Robin. My attempts to open the position have failed. However, the longer Drake and I duel, the openings become more apparent.” 

“ It sounds like you are settling well,” Danny remarks, “but I have some concerns. 

“ What might they be?” Damian asks, curious.

“ I have found those raised in this country aren’t as familiar with dule and honor rights. Is Timothy aware you are fighting for rights? I tried to dual the Fenton’s child Jazz to be allowed into their laboratory, but this was not received well. I was later informed that this is not customary here. From my research, duals became illegal after the American Civil War. There may be a misunderstanding or cultural differences.”

“ Is that so? I’ll keep that in mind before our next bout,” Damian says, taking the advice to heart.

“ Have you gaged their comfortability with non-human entities?” Danny asks.  

“ Father and Drake are fond of Kryptonians, while Grayson holds a similar attachment for Tamaraneans. However, none of those beings reside within Gotham but hold visiting rights,” Damian lists. 

“ Worse comes to worse. They’ll at least let me visit,” Danny sighs, seeing this as a win.

“ I apologize. I had intended to gather more information, but cementing my civilian identity had taken precedence,” Damian explains. 

“ What’s your cover story?” Danny asks.

“ The result of a ‘fling’ between Father and Mother during his ‘ playboy’ era, and our maternal family being involved in a cult resulting in my removal,” Damian says, trying to recall the wording.

“ Mother created a similar cover for me,” Danny says, “ was this one her idea as well?”

“ Some of it, Father edited some details,” Damian says. 

“ At least it’s consistent,” Danny shrugs. Have you~.” Blue mist, Danny’s ghost sense, escapes his lips. “ Oh, come on!” he groans. “ I’ve got to let you go, Dami. A ghost’s on the move.” 

“ Fight valiantly,” Damian replies.

“ Uhibbuka, ahki,” Danny says before hanging up the phone. He looks out the window to see Boxy carrying off someone's packages, “ hello, misplaced aggression.”

Danny comes down the next morning in a good mood. The only ghost to come out to play was Box Ghost, and he got to talk to Damian. Jazz gives him a look when he joins them for breakfast, “ you okay? You’re not usually this ..chipper.” 

Danny pours himself some juice, “ my brother called me.” 

Jack and Maddie whip around, dropping their newest gadget, to see his smiling face. “ Brother?” Maddie questions, “You’ve never mentioned him before.” 

“ He was still with Mother up until recently,” Danny says excitedly, “ Ms. Tate helped him get in touch.” 

“ Is that why she wanted to speak to you last time?” Maddie asks.

“ Partially. Mother also asked her to give me a message. Basically, since she’s gotten Damian out of the cult, I’m closer to being able to go home or at least join Damian. Mother is trying to figure things out so we can be a family again!” Danny says happily, but his smile drops. “ It will probably be a while, but I’m able to talk to Dami again, so a win is a win.” 

“ Where did they send your brother?” Jack asks, “We could take him too.” 

“ He got sent to Father,” Danny says. “ They could rule that this time, a placement with him is safe.” 

“ And it wasn’t when they tried to send you?” Jazz questions, not liking the sound of that. 

“ It’s not like that,” Danny defends, lying through his teeth. “ My Father is a foster parent in his own right, even having adopted a few kids. One of the kids he had was having a bad time, and it was deemed to be against ‘ the children's best interests to have two adjusting kids in the same house. Apparently, he didn’t know about us at all until social services contacted him about Damian, so it’s not his fault he didn’t take me… he didn’t know I was here. Regardless, CPS was worried about Grandfather at the time grabbing me back, and if I were with Father, it would be too obvious, so I was added to the system and ended up here.” The child in question? Jason. He was still working out his pit rage at the time. Having two assassin kids running around Gotham fresh out of the Lazarus pits, even Mother isn’t that cruel to send us both Father’s way. 

“ How old is Damian?” Maddie asks. 

“ Ten, we’re twins. He’s the elder technically,” Danny says, fixing some cereal. 

“ Oh,” the Fentons sound off as one. That explains a lot about Danyal Al Ghul’s issues. 

“ Danyal, I hope you know you’re more than welcome to stay as long as it takes, and if the placement with your Father doesn’t work at any time, you and your brother will be welcomed here,” Maddie says. 

Danny looks at her, surprised, “ I’ll pass on that message. Are you sure you’d want both of us?” 

“ This is the happiest we’ve ever seen you,” Jack says softly. “ Anyone who makes you feel like that is always welcome. You may not be our kiddo, but by this point, you’re family all the same.”

Chapter Text

Danny sits at the kitchen table, head in his hands, “ this is so stupid.”

“ It’s not stupid,” Jazz counters, flipping through a textbook.

“ Yes, it is,” Danny says, pushing away his English homework. “ Who cares if I can or can’t write a perfect paragraph? Grammarly exists for a reason!”  

“ It’s not that hard,” Sam says, working on her math homework, “ Just put your thoughts together and go from there.” 

“ No,” Tucker corrects, “ he needs to outline. Topic sentence, hook, details, conclusion.” 

“ If it’s so easy, one of you do it,” Danny scowls, crossing his arms. 

Tucker shakes his head, trying to stop himself from laughing, “ I’ve got enough work of my own, thanks.” 

“ I’ll do your math,” Danny offers quickly, “ and your science too.” 

“ Not in a million years,” Tucker refuses. 

“ Sam–” 

“ No.” 

“ Stupid English three languages in a trench coat post lobotomy piece of– ” Danny trails off, muttering in Arabic. Unlike Sam and Tucker, he’s stuck in ESL English. They get fun books and assignments, while he gets grammar, essays, and parts of speech.

Jazz raises an eyebrow, “ something you wanna share?” 

“ If I ever leave this English-forsaken infused country, I will never utter another word of it,” Danny replies. Knowing Jazz has no trouble telling Jack and Maddie he’s cursing, even if he’s not. It takes forever to get the taste of soap out of your mouth. 

“ Right,” Jazz says, not believing that for a second. She scoots her chair over anyway and helps Danny figure out the assignments. They’re just about done when Jazz quiets them, “Do you hear that?” They all pause and listen. There’s ringing coming from the other room. “ Who’s phone is that?” 

Sam picks hers off the table while Tucker checks his pockets, pulling out multiple devices. Danny pats his pockets down, “Wait a sec,” and rushes to the other room. He pulls his phone out of his backpack and answers without looking: " Hello?” 

“ Danyal,” Damian greets, “ may I have a moment of your time?” 

Danny walks back to the kitchen and puts it on speaker, “Sure, what’s up?” 

“ Who’s that?” Sam asks, knowing Danny wouldn’t answer the Fentons like that, and his only friends, no offense, are in the room. 

“ It’s my brother. Say ‘ hi,’ Dami,” Danny chirps. 

“ Hi?” Damian says, hesitant. “ Am I on speaker, Danyal?” 

“ Yeah, I hope that’s okay. It’s just my friends, Sam and Tucker, we’re doing homework,” Danny says, sitting back down. “ Jazz is supervising– that’s the Fenton’s kid.” 

“ I am aware,” Damian sighs. It’s been a few months since Damian got sent to the States and got in contact with Danyal. He is well aware of how ‘ impressive’ Jasmine Fenton is in Danyal’s eyes. “ May we speak without the entourage?” 

“ Nope,” Jazz answers. “ If he gets up now, he’ll never finish his homework.” 

“ Danyal was always meticulous about his work. I doubt a conversation could derail his concentration to such an extent,” Damian says, defending him. 

“ It’s not that. I did everything else when they handed it out yesterday. It’s just English left. A small essay.” 

“ My condolences,” Damian replies. 

“ Oh, come on, not you, too,” Jazz complains. 

“ They are abhorrent,” Danny says, looking at his papers with disdain. 

“ Reading is one skill. Writing is another,” Damian says, understanding his twins' dislike. 

“ History is just as bad! Half of Grandfather's books contradict,” Danny goes on an animated tirade. 

“ Yes! When I corrected the textbook, the teacher was stern with me,” Damian agrees, remembering the dressing down he received. It’s not the twins' fault their knowledge is seen as wrong. Ra’s, being how old he is, has seen a lot, and he owns a lot of redacted publications. The victors rewrite history. Their lessons aren’t going to add up to what the general public knows. Especially when they know true accounts instead of the cover-ups. 

“ While it’s great to meet you, Damian,” Jazz says, “ is there a reason you called? He really does have to finish this.” 

“ I can give a summary,” Damian relents, upset. 

Danny nods, “Yeah, that works, and I can call you back later. There’s some stuff I wanted to run by you, too.” 

“ Very well… Father went on an outing with some of his affiliates and has yet to return. The current consensus is that he’s lost. Rescue efforts have commenced. However, efforts seem futile.” 

A stunned silence goes over the table, “ where?” Danny chokes out. 

“ I do not have his exact coordinates,” Damian explains. “ He and the others were taking care of a… work issue—the one I mentioned recently.” 

“ Oh,” Danny says, feeling helpless about the situation. Danny knew something was off. The infinite Realms, miss labeled the ‘ Ghost Zone’ by the Dr. Fentons, has been tense. The realm is home to more than lingering spirits: personified concepts, cosmic level entities– from all over the multiverse. Beings way above his pay grade. Damians' trickles of information help cover the gaps. 

“ What’s going to happen to you?” Jazz asks concerned. “ With your Dad being gone, how's that gonna hold up with CPS?” 

“ Grayson has completed the required paperwork,” Damian replies. " Until Father is found, I will remain in his care.” 

“ I don’t mean to be cruel, but what if they don’t find him, or worse? Will it be safe to stay?” Jazz worries. “ I can talk to Mom and Dad. I don’t know if Danny remembered to tell you, but if you need somewhere to go, you have a place here.” 

“ Danyal has informed me,” Damian says, “ however, Jasmine, relocation is unnecessary.” 

“ Just Jazz, please,” she says, “ but remember to keep the option in mind.” 

“ Your name is Jasmine. I shall continue to refer to you as such,” Damian replies, sounding aggravated. “ Just as I shall continue calling ahki, Danyal.” 

“ That’s not right,” Danny frowns. “ She introduced herself as Jazz because that’s her preference.” 

“ However, it is disrespectful to shorten names or mock. Nor are we familiar enough for terms of endearment. With there being multiple Fenton’s, given names are a necessity, but further familiarity would be a faux pas,” Damian says, reciting their etiquette lessons. 

“ That’s only for strangers, elders, teachers, or beings of importance,” Danny says. Peers speak with familiarity. So, nicknames are appropriate. Some take the place of given names. Jazz, for example, goes by Jazz by everyone. The only time anyone calls her Jasmine is for legal purposes.” 

“ And this is common?” Damian asks, unsure, only used to the League's rigid social structure. 

“ Very,” Sam replies. “ I go by Sam, but my birth certificate has me as Samantha. Most people use nicknames.” 

“It’s like…” Danny tries to figure out how to word it. “ Grandfather goes by many names. Some show position, power, and origin, but they all are him—an extension of self.” 

“ I see,” Damian ponders their words. “ Is using a ‘ nickname’ a necessity?” 

“ I don’t believe so,” Danny says, looking at his friends for guidance. “ Not everyone uses them. Tucker doesn’t usually. Sometimes, we may shorten his name to Tuck, but that is only due to close familiarity.” 

“ Is that your preference as well? I heard them refer to you as ‘ Danny’ rather than Danyal. Would you prefer I stop?” Damian asks, trying to understand the rules of nicknames. 

“ No,” Danny is quick to say. “ My name is my own. I prefer it. It’s just here; there is a name similar to my own, and most people mess it up. So, I use Danny as my English name. While Danyal works okay for that, I can’t stand the way Americans pronounce it. Daniel is just, ew. My friends and the Fentons learned to say it right, but no one else really makes the effort.” 

“ If they speak correctly, why use the English name?” Damian asks. 

“ Familiarity,” Danny shrugs, “ to them it’s an actual nickname. You should hear Sam when she’s mad at me. I swear you can hear her hollering ‘ Danyal Al Ghul’ a kilometer away.” He then has a lightbulb moment. “ Hey, you haven’t been calling Father’s other kids by their last names, have you?” 

“It is effective!” Damian defends, obviously embarrassed.

“ Oh my– ahki, no,” Danny facepalms.

“ It is too late to change this now. Regardless. It would feel improper.” 

“ Due to former teachings or lack of familiarity?” Danny asks, knowing he has similar issues. 

“ Both, I assume,” Damian sighs. “ It is difficult, being somewhere new, filled with unknowns.” 

“That's something you could bond with Dick about. Isn’t he European?” Danny asks. 

“ His official origins are unknown. The circus was on the move,” Damian says.  

“ I recall Mother saying he’s Romani and from somewhere on the European continent. His parents were on tour there at the time,” Danny says, thinking back. “ He’d know what it’s like,” he intentionally ignores the sad and sorry looks Jazz and his friends are giving him. “ You’ve gotta make an effort, ahki. Try to find similarities. Growing up overseas like Dick, we’ve met Jason before– he used to read to us. Go to a bookstore. Tim… I’m not too sure about that. I know Grandfather thinks highly of him– ask for homework help. Get to the point where you can call them by name. Baby steps.”  

“ I refuse to call Grayson a phallic object.” 

“ Then don’t,” Danny says. “ In this case, the name connotation is enough reason to refute.” 

“ Then why do you call him that?” Damian asks, confused.

“ Knowing the look Grandfather would give for lack of decorum if he ever heard me,” Danny says, smirking.

Damian huffs, “Must you be the cause of my gray hair?”

Danny laughs. 

Later that night, once the Fentons are asleep, Danny video-calls his brother. Damian answers, popping into view on his bed, “It took you long enough.” 

“ Sorry. Maddies has been working on fixing the blast doors on the portal. They keep shorting out and letting ghosts out– it’s really frustrating her– and Jack started stress baking,” Danny explains, “ It’s a whole thing– right, never mind– tell me what’s going on with Father?” 

“ He is dead.” 

“ What?! You– you said he was missing! What happened?” Danny asks, taken aback, unsure how to feel. His father is dead. He never got to meet him. 

“ Father, along with his team members, were working against an invasion from Apokolips, Darkseid’s home. This did not go to plan… outside of those directly involved, the memory of the event is…wonky? Civilians do not recall the fighting, and destruction righted itself overnight. The kill count went down exponentially… but Father remains among the fallen,” Damian says, frowning.

“ Has anyone figured out how things re-set?” Danny asks. Things don’t fix themselves for no cost. The Lazarus pits taught them that. 

“ Too much radiation to find anything conclusive. Flash, Allen, was looking into the specifics, along with Drake,” Damian informs, “ they will continue their tests, but our main concern is covering up Father's passing. Gotham can only go so long without Batman. Father and the Dark Knight can not be lost at the same time. It puts the rest at risk… We are holding a small service for Father at the Manor on Friday. Family and those in the know only. In a few months, an accident or sickness can be released about him, make it public.” 

Danny leans forward, puts his face in his hands, and fights back tears for a man he never got to know but should have. " This isn’t fair. Things were finally looking up,” his voice cracks. “ I thought… If he was good, he could take me too. I thought I’d have a home with you.” Danny rubs his eyes. “ I’m sorry. I’m making this about me when it’s Father who died– I didn’t get to know him, but I would have liked to. I’m sorry, ahki. Are you okay?” 

Damian looks thoughtful, “ I am… hollow. I did not have much time with the man, but he was kind, though he had difficulty expressing himself…I did not know him well enough to call my affections love, but I think… if given time, I could have loved him.” After a moment of silence, he clears his throat, trying to get the focus off himself. “Our sister will be returning stateside for the service. She has been in Hong Kong. I will be able to give you my risk assessment of her soon.” 

“ That’s nice… it sounds like he had a lot of people that cared for him,” Danny replies, regaining composure. “ I could look for him in the realms. Violent enough death, there’s a possibility he’s there.”

“ Would that be wise?” Damian asks, conflicted. “ You are an abnormality. Would normal, fully deceased beings like reminders of their lives before?”  

“ I think it's a case-by-case basis,” Danny says, “ Some ghosts take on completely new identities, while others stay the same.” 

“ Could you keep an ear out for any spirits matching his description?” Damian asks.

“ Not all ghosts look the same in life as they do in death,” Danny shakes his head. Others have multiple forms. It's more complicated than that. 

“ In that case, forget about it for now, but if you happen across him, let me know?” Damian asks, his grief evident. “ It would ease my mind.”

“ Of course,” Danny agrees. He couldn’t hide that from him. He then asks, “With Father gone, who’s gonna replace him as the bat?” 

Damian huffs, “I have not a clue. I am obviously out of the running. No one is speaking about it for now. It is too soon. However, with that said, most likely Grayson or Todd. The goal is to hide the fact that Father is gone. While I can not speak for Cain, as we have yet to meet, they are the only ones close enough in build to pull it off.”

“ I don’t see how either of them would work well. Dick sticks to another city, Blüdhaven, right? He can’t be in two places at once. Jason, I don’t see sticking to Father's methods– he really likes those guns. I've kept up with Red Hood sightings since Mother let it slip that it’s him– Father was shown opposing him a lot in the beginning, and even recently, things have been rocky. He’s a crime lord; the power vacuum would be crazy if he just stopped all of a sudden.” 

“ I agree, but it is not my call. However, I am hopeful Father's passing will allow me to be in the field. They are used to another set of hands,” Damian says, trying to think positively.

“ That’s true,” Danny says, sitting up straighter. “ What’s your vigilante name going to be?” 

“ Robin?” Damian says, like it's obvious, “It is our legacy. Being Robin is an honor. Something to be earned–” 

“ But Tim's still Robin,” Danny points out; “ there can’t be two; it would be confusing.” 

“ But–”

“ You do know you don’t have to be Robin, right? You can create your own persona.” 

“ It is not that simple,” Damian argues. “ They do not trust me. Still. If we are to work together, there has to be mutual trust.” 

“ Have you given them a reason to trust you in the field?” Danny asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“ We train together… they worry about my restraint,” Damian reveals, avoiding eye contact. “ All injuries have been superficial, but in the heat of battle, they worry I will go too far.” 

“ Then prove it,” Danny says, surprising him. “ Go out there on your own. Start small, alley crime– muggings, purse snatching, lost people, then work your way up. No one has to give you permission to do the right thing. Show them what you bring to the table. They can’t refute you then. It’s not like killing everyone fixes everything.” 

“ Danyal, besides Todd, they are all against killing,” Damian stresses. 

Danny blue screens, “But that’s stupid! Not ending a serial killer just gives them more chances to strike again. That’s not fixing a problem; it’s just adding to it.” 

Damian nods, “ Todd believes the same. That was one of Father's biggest issues with his work. He did not believe in having the final say.” 

“ I can understand that– being the hand to cut someone down isn’t easy. I don’t particularly like doing it, but I think at times it’s needed. The Joker, for example, is not going to stop. It’s ceaseless violence,” Danny says before asking, “Do you think you’ll be able to abstain from killing people like that?” 

“ I… am not sure, but I am willing to try,” Damian replies. 

“ You’re not gonna turn into one of those ‘ all life is sacred’ people, are you?” Danny jokes. 

“ No,” Damian replies playfully, “ but you shall be shamed.” 

“ Oh no, not shame. How can I go on,” Danny laughs. 

Once things settle, Damian says, “ You said earlier that you have something to go over as well?” 

“ Yeah,” Danny sighs and repositions himself so he’s lying on the bed, “ So, Jack and Maddie had a class reunion, and the guy hosting it was a friend of theirs, Vladimir Masters. He offered to let us stay the weekend. We ended up driving to Wisconsin, of all places, and arriving at a castle-like one you’d see in Europe. He put me on edge immediately. He was giving Maddie looks, looks no one should be sending a married woman. Jack was oblivious to it all, thinking he was an old friend. Jack got sick from dinner the first night, no one else, and his symptoms went beyond food poisoning. I brushed it off until the reunion the next day. Turns out, I’m not the first one to die via Ghost Portal.” 

“ What?” Damian asks, “But the Fentons are the first…”

“ They are, but the one in the basement is mark 2. The first one was small and made during their college years. It serged, throwing ectoplasm in Masters’ face. It broke his face out and made him really sick for a few years. Because of the radiation, he had to stay isolated. It took a while, but he gained powers too,” Danny explains, upset. 

“ That makes him like you, yes? A halfa? There is, possibly, another of your kind. Why do you sound upset? He may be a creep, but this is a good thing,” Damian says, confused.

“ He is NOT a halfa,” Danny says, eyes flashing green, “ he’s a poser. He didn’t die. He’s fully alive. He feels weird, like an imitation of a ghost– but he’s definitely not one– yet he claims to be the same as me– can you believe that?!” 

“ I can see you are upset–” 

“ Of course I am! I had a man preach to me, monologue. About how he knows what it’s like and wants to teach me. He’s never had to smell his skin charring and falling away as ectoplasm recreates the remains. He wakes up with a still beating heart, not having to remind it that it’s supposed to beat,” Danny says, full of anguish, “ to shake off rigor mortis. I hate him. He’s a mockery; being near him…it was horrible.” 

“ It sounds like it,” Damian says softly, not knowing what else to say.

“ I haven’t even told you everything yet. Part of his monologue included, ‘ Forsake your Father, join me.’ He thought I was the Fenton's kid– shows how little he knows,” Danny rolls his eyes. “ He has a broader range of abilities than me, able to make duplicates. He got one to overshadow Jack–”

“ Overshadow?” Damian asks, wanting clarification. 

“ Kinda like possession, but doesn’t hurt the body or soul. It’s like… putting someone to sleep and wearing them. It’s uncomfortable, in my opinion, but I can see how it’s useful. He had the duplicate in Jack try to make a fool of himself and cause chaos– anything to make him look bad and get him hurt in the process. It didn’t work. Obviously, we fought, but it was a standstill. While I have better technique, he beats me in experience with the powers. He only stopped the fight to save face. Heeded up threatening to tell the Fentons about me, and I threw the threat back in his face. We ended up agreeing neither of us would tell anyone.” 

“ Would that necessarily be a bad thing? While yes, it compromises your identity, it would also be a boon. A one-person crusade is limiting, not to mention dangerous. Something could happen. You may need help,” Damian replies, not seeing this as a bad thing. 

“ They don’t just study ghosts, Dami,” Danny says, somewhat muffled as he puts his face into the mattress, “ they modified their van into a barely legal tank and nicknamed it the G.A.V, or the Ghost Assault Vehicle. They’re ghost hunters. Maddie’s an okay shot, but Jack couldn’t hit a wall if he tried. They’ve been doing it since the first ghost attack, and they’re getting better. They’ve threatened to tear Phantom, the name I go by in my other form, apart. Molecule by molecule. They’ve even started talking about their plans over dinner. They won’t take it well.” 

“ And yet, you decided to stay for the foreseeable future, even after Mother gives an okay, because Father’s family may not be safe?” Damian seethes. “While they are not either!” 

“ Better the enemy you know than the one you don’t,” Danny says, going up onto his elbows. 

“ You are unbelievable,” Damian throws his hands in the air. “ Regular check-ins– our normal chats do not count. Full patrol write-ups. Saturday evenings, times are negotiable.” 

“ Fine,” Danny says, eyes narrowing. “ But once you start going out on patrols, you have to do check-ins too.” 

“ Fine.” 

“ Fine,” Danny parrots, then sighs, “ I’d also like to advise looking into Masters. He’s the owner and CEO of DALV CO. He may try to get involved with Wayne Enterprises. While he’s totally crazy, he’s one fruit loop away from Rogue status. I’d imagine Father's equipment is better suited for a full investigation than what's on the market.” 

“ I will look into him and report back,” Damian says, then yawns, “ It’s getting late.” 

“ I’ll let you get some sleep,” Danny says, sitting up, then hesitates. “ Before I go, one last thing. It might be nothing, but it’s giving off red flags. Outside of Amity's limits, both leaving and re-entering, there were some weird guys, all in white. They stopped us and showed Jack a badge. They took it back too fast for any of us to figure out what they were a part of. They wouldn’t let us go until they checked the G.A.V. over. The ghosts, they’ve– we’ve caught someone's attention, and I don’t think it’s anybody good.” 

“ Timothy,” Damian says, announcing himself, “ I require your assistance.” 

Tim looks around the Batcave, finding them to be alone, “ you’re talking to me?”

“ That is your name, correct, Timothy?” Damian asks, dragging a chair to sit next to him at the computer.

“ You’ve been calling me Drake since you got here,” Tim says warily. “ This isn’t some kind of convoluted plan to take me out, I hope?” 

Damian scoffs, “ If I meant to kill you, you would already be dead. An… acquaintance of mine informed me we may have ‘ gotten off on the wrong foot.’ I would like to rectify this. I was unaware of the intricate nature of nicknames and preferred ones.” 

“ What on earth are you talking about?” Tim asks, not knowing what all this is about. 

Damian continues, “Surnames are the preferred term of address within the league. Given names are personal. Unless there are multiples, given names are not used sparingly. They are used only by those who have created a bond. We,” He gestures between them, “ Have not known each other long. The immediate use of given names felt improper. I have been corrected that this is not how it is here. It was not my intention to be disrespectful towards anyone. I hope you can forgive me for this… while also understanding I am uncomfortable using and being given nicknames. For now, if you are amendable, I will refer to you as Timothy.” 

 “So you're not trying to be a pretentious asshole?”  Tim asks, kind of seeing how this could be a genuine misunderstanding. Being called Drake brings up complicated emotions he'd rather not tackle, and Damian calling him that all the time wasn't helping matters. 

“ That was not my intention,” Damian confirms. “ Many things are different here than with Mother. It had not occurred to me that this may be another of those differences.” 

“ Definitely a difference,” Tim says, leaning back in his chair, considering Damians' words. “ I’m okay with being called Timothy. It’s better than Drake. Was that all you wanted?” 

Damian shakes his head, “No. I really do need your assistance. However,” he looks away, a bit embarrassed, “Before that, I have one more thing to apologize for.” 

“Really? What, another one of those differences?” Tim asks, curious.

“ Yes, actually. My acquaintance referred to this as a cultural difference,” Damian says. 

“ Who’s this ‘ acquaintance’ you’re talking about?” Tim asks. There’s not a lot of options. Damian hasn’t made any friends at school yet, and besides them, the only people outside of the family he knows are League affiliated.” Do I know them?” 

“ You have yet to meet,” Damian replies, “ perhaps in the future that will change… anyways, they informed me that duels are no longer commonplace in this country… or legal, since around the American Civil War–” 

“ Duels? What?” Tim asks, wishing the kid would give context before rambling on. 

“ Our fight– my attacking you. To be Robin,” Damian sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “I intended to win the position, the honor. Not to kill you. To show my worth.” 

That takes Tim aback, “ Earn your worth? Why would you need to do that? You’re Bruce's kid. He doesn't– didn't,” his voice breaks. “ He didn't make us go out and be a hero. This life, putting our lives on the line, it's a choice. One we've all made, not because it was a condition of him taking us in, loving us, but because of our own reasons. I can't speak for the others, but I became Robin because it was the right thing to do. B. went kind of crazy after what happened to Jason. Dick created Nightwing and moved on. I was a stranger. I interjected myself into their lives. I fully expected my tenure as Robin to be temporary, especially once Jason came back. It didn't go that way, obviously. I went from a stranger to a person they cared for and family. I thought at first, the same as you, I needed to earn my keep,” Tim says, looking at Damien, really looking at him. He's just a kid, younger than Jason and him when they started. “ They rectified that quickly. Bruce kept trying to adopt me. I even hired a guy to pretend to be my uncle when he figured out stuff wasn't right at home. Dick tried to be a good big brother.. he had a lot of regrets about Jason. He made sure I knew I wasn't a replacement for Jay but another brother. Cass and Jason came about later, and while Jason and I have our issues, we got over them, someone, and became family, too. You don't have to prove yourself to any of us. You became family as soon as we met you.” 

“ But why… Why keep me if I have nothing to contribute? Father allowed me to train but kept me from the field. Was that not for me to prove myself? Why else would he let me? I am a waste of resources.” 

“ No, Damian, no,” Tim says softly, realizing he’s completely misunderstood him. “ At first, sure, it was to know you could hold back and do the job– holding back is a lot harder than it looks, but after… Damian, training, it’s all you focus on. Going out isn't an expectation. Bruce wasn’t going to stop you from training. It’s obvious you enjoy it, but he wasn’t going to let you out when you don’t know who you’re fighting for. You’ve got to do it for yourself, not because of expectations. You have the drive but no direction. That’s what’s stopping you from suiting up.” 

“ I-I see,” Damian says, taking in the words of advice. “ Thank you. I have much to consider.” Damian sits there for a moment before getting up to put away the chair and turns to leave. 

Tim calls out before he goes, “Wait, didn’t you want my help with something?” 

Damian stops and comes back, looking off-kilter from their conversation. He gulps a little and asks, “Would you look into someone on my behalf?”

“ Sure,” Tim says, not expecting that request. “ Who is it?” 

“ Vladimir Masters,” Damian replies, “ my acquaintance came across him. They have concerns regarding his character. I wish to provide a risk assessment.” 

“ I’ll see what I can do,” Tim says, mind going a mile a minute. A risk assessment about an unknown, for an unknown. That can only go two ways. “ I’ll let you know when it’s done.” 

“ You have my thanks, Timothy,” Damian says, nodding his head at him. “ I will warn you, due to you taking over WE in Father’s absence, that Masters is head of DALV CO. My acquaintance has warned me he may have interest in the family business and has closeted meta abilities–” 

“ Abilities? What kind?” Tim asks, eyes narrowing. 

“ They named nothing specific,” Damian says, lying, “ but they alluded to him being able to control others.” 

Tim sees right through that but doesn’t point it out, “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” He watches Damian leave the cave, and starts a new file. “ Okay, let's see what you’re hiding,” and falls down the rabbit hole. 

“ Hey Maddie, can I go to Tuckers?” Danny asks, yelling into the lab. 

Maddie leans away from her work, placing her goggles on her head. “ I thought you said you’re not feeling well?” She looks at the clock. It’s only 11 a.m. “ He should still be in school. If you’re feeling so much better, I can always drop you off.” 

“ No,” Danny quickly replies, “ I meant, could I go later. I’m about to take a nap,” he fake yawns, “ I’m hoping to sleep it off first.” 

Maddie looks back at her work and sighs, “Just make sure to be back before the street lights come on.” 

“ Thanks, I’m gonna go take my nap now,” Danny says, going upstairs and shutting his bedroom door firmly behind him. He goes through his closet and puts on his one button-down, black pants, and good shoes. He then transforms and flies off at a leisurely pace. It’s a little after noon when he arrives and hides from view. 

In the middle of the yard are rows upon rows of people, all facing a casket. Off to the side is a TV on a stand showing a slideshow, and in the middle, a speaker, “ – all lost someone irreplaceable. A friend, mentor, father, son– there won’t be a day we all don’t miss Bruce–” Danny settles in for the rest of the service. It lasts for over an hour. A few stick around to talk, but one by one, they leave. Some have other commitments, and others join the family inside for refreshments. Damian, however, remains in the seat. 

Danny sneaks up invisibly, in human form, and pops into view next to him. " Is this seat taken?”

Damian jumps a bit, “ Danyal? What– how are you here?”

“ You didn’t think I’d miss this, did you?” Danny asks, sliding into the chair next to him. 

“ How did you get here so fast?” Damian asks, avoiding the subject. “ Mother will be cross when she learns you left Amity.” 

“ How’d ya know I didn’t get permission?” Danny asks, tone questioning. 

“ For one, she would be here if aware,” Damian deadpans.

“ Wait, are you saying Mother doesn't know?” Danny asks, surprised.

“She would take me away. I—I am not ready to leave. I do not think I want to. The only thing that has been missing here is you.” 

 Danny hugs Damian, “  I'm sorry… you should have had more time.”

 Damian returns it, “Thank you, and you should have had the opportunity.” 

“The service was nice,”  Danny says, looking at the TV, still flipping through pictures. “ It was nice to see him outside of the press and surveillance photos.” 

“ Would you–” Damian cuts off as footsteps approach; Danny goes invisible. 

“ Young Master Damian,” Alfred calls, getting closer. “ Come on, dear boy, It’s time. The diggers will be arriving soon.” 

“ Of course, I apologize for the inconvenience,” Damian stands, using all his self-control not to look over at his brother. 

Alfred puts his arm around Damian and walks him to the house. “ I must ask, Young Master, who was that out there with you? I didn’t mean to make him run off. He was more than welcome to join us inside.” 

“ An Acquaintance.” 

Chapter Text

“ Look,” Barbara Gordons, Oracle's voice, echoes around the cave. She’s working the comms, based at the Clocktower. “ Something has to be done. Gotham knows something is up. Things are just going to escalate.” 

Dick sighs, looking at her on the monitor, “ I’ll head back out. See if I can find any leads.” Black Mask had gotten the ‘ fantastic’ idea to spring a breakout. Reports place him and his men all around the city, going after other mob bosses, notably Penguin and Two-Face, at least this time around. “ Any updates on Jason?” 

“ Last sighting of the “gun bat” was thirty minutes ago, near the docks,” Barbara replies and bites at her lip, hesitant. 

Dick notices, “What is it, Babs?” 

“ I’m not saying I agree with what he’s done, killing everyone, but taking one of B’s old suits,” she relents, “ may not be such a bad idea–” 

“ No,” Dick shakes his head. “ It’s too soon. We can do this without a Batman. Gotham’s still standing, and it’ll continue without him.” 

Barbara knows better than to argue with him when he gets like this. It’s like speaking to a brick wall. “ I hope you’re right, boy wonder. I’ll let you know when I find something– Oracle out.” 

The call ends, and Dick puts his head in his hands and sighs, then looks at Tim lingering nearby. “Are you going back out?” 

Tim nods, “ I’m hoping to find Jason– persuade him to stop. He hasn’t had an… outburst like this in a while.” 

Dick snorts, “ Is that what we’re calling it now? An outburst? He’s coping. Like the rest of us.” He looks at the monitor, a screen full of CCTV cameras. “ Go get ready. I’ll start suiting up in a minute.” 

Tim heads off to go change but stops, turns around, and asks, “ are you sure? About using one of B’s suits. Bab’s might have a point–” 

“ Come on, Timmy, not you too,” Dick complains. “ There's only one Batman– I’m not him.” 

“ But you could be,” Tim says passionately. “ Who better than you? Not Jason, that's for sure. Gotham needs Batman.” 

“You're right. It needs Batman, not you, not me, or anyone else. But he’s not here. Gothams gonna have to make due,” Dick says, walking over.

Tim’s starting to get mad. This isn’t the first time they’ve had this discussion. “ That’s not true, and you know it.” 

“ Tim–” 

“ I told you, I showed you, all evidence points to time travel. Bruce is out there. We can get him back. You would just have to hold on until–” 

“ Tim!” Dick yells, causing the boy to flinch. “Enough. He’s gone. He’s not coming back.”

“ But–”

“ No. Enough. Go suit up,” Dick orders. 

“ Fine! If you’re not gonna fill in. I will,” Tim shoulder-checks him and heads to storage. Grabbing an older, smaller version of the Batsuit. He changes quickly, grabs his equipment, and yells on the way out. “Don’t wait up.” 

Dick goes through his breathing exercises, trying not to blow up at Tim. They don’t work. “ I swear, why couldn’t B quit it with replacements.” He gathers his stuff and starts talking to himself, “ Oh, ‘ become Batman Dick’ and ‘ take up the cowl, be his stand-in– his replacement.’ Yeah, right,” a hand goes through his hair. “Doesn't my opinion count. I don’t want to be ‘ the Batman.’ Why doesn’t anybody get that?” 

Dick suits up in his uniform and heads out on his ‘ Wingcycle.’ Stupid name. Once out of earshot, Damian dislodges himself from an alcove. He grabs his Kevlar, an older piece that was once Dicks, some thick, black, nondescript training clothes, and his old league mission boots. Once dressed, he grabs the Batmobile keys–

“ Now, where do you think you are going, Young Master Damian?” Alfred asks, standing near the elevator. 

“ I was…” 

“ You seem to have forgotten something,” Alfred says, walking over, domino mask in hand.

“ You are not stopping me?” Damian asks, surprised. 

“ I have raised many hard-headed young men. I can recognize when one has their minds made up,” Alfred says, handing the keys and mask over. “ I will launch the autopilot. It will bring you to the heart of the city. After that, where you head is up to you.” Damian applies his mask, grabs his things, and gets in. “ Safe travels, Young Master.”

“ I will return,” Damian promises, the car rolling out.  

Tim’s running across rooftops, taking care of or calling in incidents along the way. He’s in the narrows, almost in Gotham Heights, when he hears ‘ bang, bang’ and a scream for mercy. He peers over the ledge to find four downed goons. Two are tied to a lamp post, one is crouching over a body with their brains blown out, and the last is nursing his kneecaps. “ I’ll ask again,” Jason’s modulated Batman impression, which sounds like a Lovecraftian abomination, fills the street, “Where is he?” 

“ I don’t know,” the goon cries, “ come on, man.” 

Jason takes the safety off and puts it against their forehead, “ not good enough.”

“ Slow your roll,” Tim says gruffly, dropping on top of the goon, knocking them on their back. Still standing on the goon, Tim says in his best Batman voice, “ That’s not how we operate.” 

Jason belly laughs, the modulator making him sound demented. " Oh my—what are you wearing? That thing hasn’t hit the streets since Goldie was Demon Brat's height,” he continues to laugh. “ Ooh,” he wipes off an imaginary tear. “ Who sent you like that, Wing?” Jason looks up, expecting to see the original boy wonder. 

“ I sent me,” Tim growls out, committing to the bit, “ you need to stop.” 

Jason glares, “Need to stop? That’s all you’ve got?” 

“Look, tempertan–” Tim coughs. “Oh my gosh, how ‘ cough’ did he do that? ‘ Cough!’ That hurts–” 

“ Come on, baby bird, spit it out,” Jason says mockingly. He then looks over Tim’s shoulder, raises the gun, and fires.

“ Ahh–” the other free goon started running off. Jason got him in the shoulder.  

“ Stay put,” Jason growls, then turns to Tim. “ Get to the point—before I send you back with a punctured wing.” 

Tim sighs and hardens his resolve. " You can’t operate like this—not dressed like that.” 

“ Who are you to judge? I’m not the only one in the old man's clothes,” Jason taunts, stepping closer.

“ Oof,” the goon they’re both now standing on groans.

“ Ah, sorry.”

“ Sorry,” they apologize. Tim drags the goon over to the tied-up ones, attaches him to the poll, and resumes his lecture. “ You’re not worthy enough for the cowl. He had a code– you’re not even trying to follow it!” 

“ Call it an end to an era,” Jason replies, grabbing the runaway goon and securing him. “ Who do you expect to fill in? You don’t even fit the suit.” 

“ You’re ripping the seams,” Tim points out, taking out a batarang, then whispers, “ You’re tainting his legacy.” 

Jason grabs his trusty crowbar, the one he occasionally uses when out as Hood, off his back. “ You’d know a thing or two about legacy, don’t you, Replacement.” 

Tim throws the batarang and rushes him, getting in close. Jason steps back and swings the crowbar. Tim drops, rolling away, sending out another batarang, and grabbing his collapsed bo staff out of his utility belt. The first batarang went off target, hitting a brick wall, while the other tore through the cape. Using it as a distraction, Tim pops back up and swings the staff. Jason counters with the crowbar. They push against each other, neither budging. Jason kicks Tim in the side of the knee, “Woah.” 

Tim goes down, taking Jason with him, using his staff to hit him in the groin. “ Low blow,” Jason wheezes. The whole family wears similar protective gear. They know how to get around a cup. 

Using the staff, Tim knocks the crowbar away from Jason, “Stand down.”

“ You’re like a broken record. No more playing nice– baby bird privileges have been officially revoked,” Jason snarks, taking out a gun. He fires ‘ bam- bam- bam-’ Tim dodges, even knocking away one of the bullets. It continues like that till Jason needs to reload. “ Shit,” he grumbles. He doesn't have enough ammo to waste on the bird. Jason backs up, grabbing a batarang. While reaching down, Tim takes the crowbar off him and smacks him in the chin. The force sends Jason's head back, staggering, but he just comes back more vicious. Jason gets in close, swiping at Tim and slicing him up. He gets Tim cornered and is about to stab him in the chest when a rock comes flying, hitting him in the head. 

“ Get off,” Cass demands, dressed as Batgirl. “ We don’t have time for this.” 

Jason turns, “Come on, BG. We were just playing.” 

“ Tell that to A. when he’s gotta fix the suits,” Cass sasses. “ Robin, come on, we’re needed elsewhere.” She drags Tim back up to the rooftops, “ are you going to call it in?” 

“ Ah, yes,” Tim says, pulling out his patrol phone. Once he has finished with dispatch, he asks, “What about Hood? We can’t just let him go; not dressed like that.” 

“ He’s not our priority,” Cass says, readying her grapple. “ He won’t kill innocents, not like the escapees. Besides, Batman with a full mask, modulator, and gun? Obviously Hood. He’s a known copycat. The best we can do for now is clear the streets. Less casualties.” 

“ I guess,” Tim says. Putting his bo staff away. 

Cass looks him over, all injuries superficial– painful, but superficial. “ Continue? Or back to the cave?”

Police sirens go off in the distance, and Tim chuckles, “On a night like tonight? Lead the way.” 

Damian creeps around shipping containers, trying to eavesdrop. He’s got nothing. The men are Black Masks, he knows that, but besides that? Nodda nothing. They’re very tight-lipped. One by one, Damian knocks them out– restraining them. Hogtied. He comes closer and closer, then– WACK. He gets hit across his back, knocking him into a few goons. He tries to overpower them, but he’s outnumbered– by a lot . He kicks, scratches, bites, anything to try and get away. 

“This one’s feisty,” a goon jokes. 

They carry a fighting Damian towards a warehouse. Damian looks around and sees nothing to help him. ‘ Fine,’ Damian thinks, forcing himself forward, flipping over their shoulder. 

“ Grab him!” a goon yells as Damian sprints away, climbing onto a shipping container. They run around trying to find him. “ Where is that little shit?!” 

“ I don’t know, man?” says a different goon. “ Wait, where’s Joe?”

Damian jumps off a shipping container, katana in hand, “ Joe mama,” and hits a goon in the head with the butt of the sword. Every time one goes down, another gets back up. Damian is starting to tire when reinforcements show up. “ I may have miscalculated,” Damian mumbles, a bit over his head. He’s surrounded. “ Come on,” Damian taunts, slicing through whomever gets in his way. 

A goon comes from behind and goes to shoot. The clip’s empty. The goon looks at it, then lifts it and bashes it into the kid's head. Damian goes down. The goons go silent. The one with the gun says in aww, “That… worked?!” 

“ Oh my god– we did it, Joe,” the others exclaim in celebration. 

“ Oww,” Damian groans on the ground.

“ Come on, wanna be Bat-brat,” says a grinning goon. “ The boss is gonna love you.” 

“ You have got to be kidding me,” Jason groans, going into the warehouse. “ Sionis, holding a random kid hostage? I expected that from those two,” he gestures to Penguin and Two-Face, sitting at a table—looking to be negotiating. Huh, you don't see that every day. Why don’t you let him go, and we talk this out?” 

“ You know what, I don't think I will,” Black Mask says, not intimidated by Hood's cosplay. “ I think I’ll keep him. He’s young– he’d go for a pretty penny.”

A bullet flies by Mask's head. “ I won't ask again. Give me the kid,” Jason says, ready to fire again. 

The next won't be a warning shot. 

“ I think I’ll take my leave,” Penguin says, standing up, putting his hat back on, and grabbing his umbrella. “ When you can follow through, have more than concepts of a plan, you know where to find me.” 

Jason nods his head at the Penguin on his way out and asks, “ what about you, Dent? Stay or go?” 

Harvey pulls out a coin and flips it, “ staying.” 

“ Your loss,” Jason replies, pulling out another gun, this one aimed at him. 

Two-Face pulls out his own, both aimed at Jason. “ Fly away, birdie. Try again when you’re able to fill out those boots,” and fires. 

Jason dodges behind a support beam and fires back. He then turns and fires at Black Mask through Damian. The kid goes stiff and drops forward, giving Jason an unobstructed shot. ‘ Bang- bang.’ One goes in the gut, the other the knee. Joining the other one near his rib. “ Come on, kiddo,” Jason says, grabbing Damian as Sionis goes down. He looks up to see Two-Face being restrained by Dick. He never even heard him come in. “ Late to the party ‘Wing.” 

“ My invite must have gotten lost in the mail,” Dick replies, voice void of humor. He activates his comm, “ O’ alert the GCPD. We’ve got Two-Face and Black Mask in custody.” 

“ On it,” Barbara replies, “ good work, everyone. I’m logging off for the night.” They’ve been looking for Black Mask for a while; it's time for a good rest. “ Oracle out.” 

“ Night O’,” the batkids reply, all over the city.

“ Batgirl and I are headed back to the cave,” Tim says.

“ Okay, A, You still on?” Dick asks.

“ Yes, Young Master Nightwing,” Alfred replies.

“ Sending Baby Bat to you, gsw to the left shoulder,” Dick says. 

“ What? When did he get out!” Tim exclaims.

“ It's through and through,” Jason says, picking up where Dick left off. 

“ Go,” Dick says to Jason, “ take him to the batmobile– two blocks from here. South. I’ll wait for the cops– I’ll catch up.” 

“ Nightwing,” Damian calls out, starting to hurt as the adrenaline wears off, “ I was just trying to help.” 

“ We’ll talk about it at the cave,” Dick says, voice softening. 

Jason puts Damian on his back and starts the trek to the car. As the sirens come closer, they stick to back alleys and side streets. “ What were you thinking? Coming out here, no backup. You could have died,” Jason lectures. I know the move has been hard on you, but this is not okay.” 

“ I was unprepared,” Damian admits softly. “ Too accustomed to promised shadows.” 

Jason makes sure his comms are off before whispering, “ We’ve already lost Danyal, now B. Your mom and I can’t afford to lose you too. If you want to go out, let one of us know. Don’t do this again. Seeing you in that warehouse… it scared me, kid.” 

“ Alfred found me before I left and gave me approval,” Damian replies, the batmobile coming into view. 

“ He’s got a habit of that,” Jason says, setting him in the back of the car. “ Gave me ‘Wings old costume when the old man got in trouble. Started my stint as Robin.” 

“ Yeah, without asking,” Dick says, flipping off a building, landing next to him.

“ Oh my god, when are you gonna get over that?” Jason groans.

Dick slides into the driver's seat and sets the autopilot to the cave, “ when you get over baby bird being third.” He gets out, and the car shoots off, “ The kid is on the way,” he says, activating the comm. 

“ The medbay is ready,” Alfred replies. “ Are you and the other Young Master not accompanying him?” 

Dick looks at Jason, “We’ve got a detour, but we’ll be back soon,” and takes the comm out before Alfred responds. Dick just sighs and grapples to a roof.

“ What?” Jason asks, following him up. “ Shouldn’t we be headed back, too?” 

“ What the hell is wrong with you?” Dick asks, looking over the city. “ We won't stop you and your work in the alley. Your body counts lowered, and you used mixed bullets. I’m not B. I don't expect you to follow his code in the letter. I know I don’t, but in his suit?” 

“ Someone has to do it,” Jason defends, “ Robin and Demon Brat aren’t big enough to do it. Batgirl is out of the running; she’s barely here, and you’re not going to do it. You’ve always hated the idea of being his replacement.” 

“ He doesn’t need a replacement,” Dick argues. “ We’ve got this. We don’t need a Batman.” 

“ This Arkham breakout? Only happened because he’s gone. With no Bat on the street, more and more villains and run-of-the-mill criminals are gonna crawl out. Gotham needs the Bat. Or this city; it’s gonna become a whole new type of hell,” Jason argues. “ Look, it’s either gotta be me or you. There’s no way around this.” 

“ I don’t want this, I don’t want this, please , don’t make me do this,” Dick begs, grabbing Jason, holding him at arm's length. “ It’ll destroy me.” 

“ You once told me the first thing you’ve gotta learn is how to fall,” Jason says. He takes Dick by the shoulders, “It’s a Robin’s job to be Bat's safety net. We both know that doesn’t go away, even after ditching the short shorts. You’ll have a nest full of birds to catch you.” 

“ I can’t go from a bird to the Bat–” 

“ No one said you can’t be both,” Jason shrugs. “ Go back and forth– no one said you have to give up being ‘Wing to be B.” 

“ Littlewing,” Dick starts, voice shaky–he flounders, unsure what to say. 

“ Come on, Batsy,” Jason says, tone joking, and swings his arm around him. “ We’ve got a bird to check on.”

“When they get back, Alfred is still working on Damian, so they hit the showers. Once out, Dick slips into the medbay. “ Hey Damian,” he says, sitting next to him, now in a t-shirt and sweats, “ how are you?”

“ I am well–” 

“ It was a clean shot. The Young Master requires at least four weeks to recover,” Alfred corrects. “Light training permissible in three weeks, if careful.” 

“ Thanks, Alfie,” Dick says. Alfred just nods and walks out. They sit in silence, just the two of them, until Dick asks, “What made you go out there tonight?” 

“ You needed help,” Damian says, “ and I could provide it. An acquaintance of mine told me asking permission to do the right thing is not a requirement for action. This, going out there, was right.” 

“ right for who?” Dick questions. “You got shot.” 

“ I would do it again,” Damian doubled down. “ I want to be out there. I have the ability and the means to help. This is what I am meant to do.” 

“ Yo, Dickwad, you’re needed. Now!” Jason yells, poking his head in. 

The brothers rush to the cave to hear Cass going off, “ No, you don’t get to decide things.” 

“ Dick said no,” Tim argues back, near the display cases, “ we need you.” 

“ What is going on?” Dick hollers, gaining their attention.

“ She’s leaving,” Tim says, pointing at her.

“ What?” Dick asks, surprised. “ but you just got back.” 

“ I came home for the family,” she stalks towards him. “ This isn’t a family. It’s a mess. Jason attacked Tim–”

“ He started it!” Jason is quick to defend himself.

Cass sends a glare his way, “Not the point. Going after each other, now of all times– I want nothing to do with this.” 

“ Things will get better,” Dick tries to convince. “ Jason’s convinced me. I’ll wear the suit. I’ll fill in–” 

“ No. I can’t do this, “ Cass says, stepping away. “ I’m close, my mission, I’m almost done. I have to see it through. I’ll come back, but– fix yourself.” She leaves the cave rushing out, fed up with them. 

“ Wow,” Tim says, watching her go. “ It’ll be okay, Dick. You’ll have me. Batman and Robin, side by side again–” 

“ About that…” Dick cuts him off and looks around the cave. Jason is gone, probably back to the alley. Leaving only him, Tim, and Damian. “ Why don’t we sit down for this.” 

Tim and Damian side-eye each other and grab a chair. Dick takes the one from the computer and rolls it over. “ What’s this about?” Tim asks, not liking how Dick is dragging this out.

“ He’s ready,” Dick says, gesturing to Damian. 

“ You’re going to let him out?” Tim says, surprised. He playfully shoves Damian. “See, I told you you’d get out eventually.” 

“ I want him to be Robin.” 

“ What,” that stops Tim, all joy gone. “ A-are you firing me?” 

“ No, no, Tim, it’s not like that,” Dick is quick to say. “ Robin, it’s more of a training role nowadays. You–you’ve come so far. Damian has so much more to learn. I think you’re ready for your own name. To be your own–” 

“ Just because Damian needs training wheels doesn’t mean I’m ready to get rid of my own,” Tim says, standing up, voice quivering.

Dick reaches out, “ I’m not saying this is immediate– Damian has to heal up. We’ve got time to figure this out– or-or- you could share the position if that’s what you want. Take turns going out. You’re both still in school, and Tim, you’ve got responsibilities with your team.” 

“ But would that not get confusing?” Damian asks. “ What if we are both needed? How would you alert the correct person?” 

“ I–well– let's think about this–” 

“ I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to give up being Robin– nor do I want to share,” Tim shakes his head. “ Dick– what have I done wrong? Why are you punishing me?” 

“ I’m not,” Dick says. “ You’re a great hero, an equal, not a–” 

“ You know what? Forget it. I’m gone too,” Tim says, stepping away. “ I’m going to find Bruce. I’m going to get him back, and– and he’ll make me Robin again.”

“ No, Tim, no, don’t go. Please, Timmy,” Dick pleads, going after him. 

“ I was wrong; you’re not my Batman,” Tim says, swinging his leg over his motorcycle. “ I’m going to find him.” 

“ Wow, ahki, and he really left? Just like that?” Danny asks, surprised, during their next check-in. 

Damian nods, arm in a sling to reduce the strain. " He left Gotham. Last Richard heard he was with his team. Hopefully, just to cool off. He is… tolerable.”

“ Aww, Dami, you like him! Danny says. “ You’re bonding. Mother will be so proud. As long as I remain your favorite, I fully encourage this.” 

“ Shut it, ahki,” Damian gripes.

Danny falls back on his bed, out of view. “Nah. I’m still supposed to give my report. Something you’ll have to do soon~.”

“ Get on with it.” 

“ Okay, okay, Mr. Grouchy—take a Motrin or something,” Danny quips before getting serious. “ I will warn you, a lot has happened since we last spoke.”

“ That is what happens when you do not check in for three weeks, " Damian says accusatoryly. 

“ All she said was that you were grounded and unable to contact me,” Damian says.

“ It’s not my fault. There was this gothic circus, ironically named Circus Gothica.
Sam really wanted to go, and her grandma Ida got us tickets. Just my luck; the whole thing was a front for an occult smuggling and burglary ring. Almost everyone was spirit-bound to the ringmaster, Friedrich Showenhower, better known as Freakshow. He made them do things. I confronted him as Phantom, and, well—it didn’t go too well. His staff would bind the spirits, and he used it on me. Mind control– ten out of ten, do not recommend,” Danny says, holding himself.

“ Did he hurt you?” Damian asks, concerned.  

“ He made me steal things. Phantom went from unknown vigilante to villain all at once. All I’d done was reduced to nothing in an instant. He tried to get me to hurt people; that's what snapped me out of it. I couldn’t hurt them, ahki. That part of my life—hurting people for another's gain—I couldn’t do that again, not to innocents. I ended up breaking the staff, freeing myself and the others, and taking Freakshow into custody. They explained it on the local news, using Superman as an example, but it still tanked my reputation,” Danny explains. 

“ What did you do to get the truth out?” Damian asks, knowing that public opinion is fickle. 

“ Went to the cops and returned everything I took. They just about had a heart attack when I floated in. I've stayed away from them for obvious reasons. I don’t think they realized how old I am. They were disturbed,” Danny says, frowning, barely in the camera's view. “ I introduced myself as Phantom properly and explained, showing bits of the broken staff– don’t worry, I didn’t leave any with them. So, no threat is coming from there. It could have gone worse overall, but Jack and Maddie only knew I was going out at odd hours, so grounded, and Phantom doesn’t have anyone to answer to, so…”

“ I can see how that would be a concern for civilians,” Damian replies. Can’t really fault the Fentons for that. “ What else has happened?” 

“ Somebody reported Vlad to the feds,” Danny says, “ and the G.I.W showed up. You wouldn’t happen to know something about that, would you?”

“ I may have had Timothy look into Masters,” Damian turns side to side in his chair. “ What he has done with said information is unknown. However, I would not put it past him to report Masters.”

Danny sighs, “Well, that answers who sent in the tip, at least. The G.I.W. ransacked the place. They were going through his place for days. He ran out of time to change his portal filter, and the place blew up. No one was hurt, thankfully, but now he’s staying in Amity. I’m going crazy with him here. Thankfully, we don’t have enough room to host him, but he’s here a lot. ‘ Coincidently,’” he air quotes, “ the day before he showed up, the G.I.W decided the house needs an inspection.” 

“ Did they find anything?” Damian asks.

“ Just some of the Fentons tech. that was scattered around the house and the ones I’ve modified in my room. Thankfully, Sam was here. I hadn’t been thinking and was kinda out of it when I found them going through my things. She asked for proof of a warrant, which they didn’t have, and we forced them out. So, when that didn’t work, that asshole put a million-dollar bounty on my head–” 

“ He did what!” Damian exclaims.

“ Shh,” Danny rushes to adjust the volume and continues. “ It brought out a lot of crazies, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Besides the G.I.W., the rest of the out-of-towners have left. Just in time, too, because right after, my rogues decided it was the ‘perfect time’ for a team up.” 

“ We are not just going to pass by the bounty comment,” Damian says exasperated.

“ It’s not like it’s the first. There were a few put on us before. Nobody’s gotten close,” Danny says, not really seeing the big deal. “ Don’t worry about it, I’m not.” 

“ You are getting cocky,” Damian reprimands. 

Danny huffs, “ I’m telling you, these attempts, amateur hour. If they step up their game, I’ll let you know– it’s fine, ahki.” 

“ I will not argue with you. However, when things go wrong, I get to say I told you so,” Damian retorts, crossing his arms. 

“ Fine, whatever,” Danny rolls his eyes. “ Can I get back to my report?” 

“ Proceed.” 

“ Now that I’ve got permission,” Danny snarks, “ I’ll finish up. There’s only been one other notable incident. Two rogues, Ember, whose music mind controls others, and Young Blood. A child spirit with a dislike of adults and authority.” The emotions that come off Young Blood: hate–FEAR– go away– leave me alone– are very strong. That kid needs a lot of therapy. “ They brainwashed the adults using Ember's new single and a few teenagers, Jazz included, and kidnapped them. Or is it adultnap? Is that a thing?” 

“ I am unsure… I do not see why there would not be,” Damian says thoughtfully. “ I shall consult the others about this. Continue.” 

“ While kidnapping the Fentons, one of them grabbed a ghost shield– keeping me from rescuing in ghost form–” 

“ How would that work? You are both, regardless of how you present yourself,” Damian says, confused. 

“ I may or may not have messed with the tech and the blueprints…. When in human form, I don’t give off as much ectoplasmic radiation. It’s condensed in me instead of radiating,” Danny says, scratching at his neck. “ When in my other form, I’m more of a liquid than solid, if that makes sense. Ectoplasm is malleable. Because of that, I can’t really hold it in like I can when like this. What comes off me like this isn’t anywhere near as strong. However, I will be the first to admit that Fentontech is becoming more sensitive. I’ve been messing with the upgrades and sensors, but not enough to be noticeable, just enough not to get picked up.” 

“ That is not sustainable,” Damian frowns. 

“ Yeah, I know,” Danny sighs. “ I’m trying to figure out an alternative, but so far, nothing. I modify tech as much as I can, but I might end up missing something. Especially the stuff they make while I’m out.”

“ Have you reconsidered moving in with us?” Damian asks. “ Gotham doesn’t have ghost hunters.” 

“ Oh my gosh,” Danny exclaims, “ did you just use a contraction? What have the Americans done to you?” 

“ Speak for yourself,” Damian blushes. “ You sound like a… like a–”

“It's okay, ahki,” Danny smirks cheekily. “ Welcome to informal English. Stay a while, and you’ll stop sounding like a walking academic report.”

“ Do not avoid my question,” Damian says, clearing his throat. 

“Enough is going on over there. Me showing up would just add to the chaos. If– and I mean if– it gets bad, I’ll pack my things immediately and head over. Okay?” 

“ I do not want to see you hurt,” Damian replies. Please, be more careful.” He runs his fingers through his hair, “So what else happened? Since you were unable to fight as you usually would?” 

“ Fought in human form,” Danny replies, still smiling, though it's becoming more genuine. “ Ember didn’t expect that, especially when I started dueling Young Blood’s men– he’s the captain of a pirate ship– I don’t remember if I mentioned that before. Won pretty easily, though I’ll admit some skills are out of practice. Ghost fights are more instinct than form. Mind sending me some training exercises? New forms you got taught after I got,” Danny runs a finger across his neck. “ I’ve staggered a bit.” 

Damian nods, “ I can do that. Did anyone see you fight? Injuries?”

“ No injuries,” Danny says. “ As for the humans seeing me, I don’t think so. I dressed for movement and covered most of my face. And if, for some reason, they did see me, I don't think they’d remember. Ember’s mind control leaves the victim with memory gaps.” 

“ Convenient.”

Danny’s ghost sense goes off for the nth time, and he groans. He looks around his classroom, hoping nobody saw. He sighs and looks at the clock. Ten minutes until school is out. He can wait that long, right? 

His ghost sense goes off again, so maybe not. He raises his hand. 

“ Yes, Danny?” the teacher asks, calling on him. 

“ May I be excused? I need to use the restroom.” 

They look at the clock, “No, there are only a few minutes left. Finish up your work.” 

“ But it’s an emergency,” Danny tries to argue. 

“ Sorry, but you know the rules. No one is allowed out this close to dismissal,” the teacher replies. 

Danny huffs and waits. No point in arguing, and it's not like the ghosts can cause that much damage in so little time– right? Speaking of– where are the screams, the chaos? Whoever came by, they’re not attacking. That’s… rare. Danny can tell there's been more than one spirit passing by. Some stronger, some weaker– his ghost sense goes off again.

The school bell rings. Danny rushes to get his things together. Tucker comes over, “ Do you want me to wait for you? I could put your stuff together so you can go?”

“ Don’t worry about it,” Danny says, zipping up his bag. “ Why don’t you and Sam go ahead?”

“ What? I thought we were all going to my house. My Dad just finished the treehouse,” Tucker says, dejected. 

“ Tomorrow, I’ll stop by tomorrow,” Danny says, putting on his bag. “ I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go.” He rushes out of the room and heads to the toilet, hides his bag in the wall, and transforms. He flies out of the building, invisible, looking for threats, but nothing seems remiss. There are no new holes in the street, downed homes–nothing. “ What on earth…” He goes back into the school, goes human, grabs his stuff, and heads home. He doesn’t run into any issues and doesn't see any friendly spirits, animals, or blobs. Something is going on. 

“ Hey, Danno,” Jack greets as he walks through the door.

“ We have a guest,” Maddie adds. Vlad is with them in the sitting room. “ He’s staying for dinner.” 

“ Great,” Danny replies, flat. His dislike of Vlad is well known, at least to Maddie. She’s not the most fond of him either. “ I’m going to head up–” 

“ Oh, may I borrow Daniel before you turn him loose?” Vlad asks.

“ Danyal,” the Fentons correct.

“ That or Danny,” Maddie says, a bit sharp. This isn’t the first time they’ve corrected him. 

“ Yes, yes, Danny,” Vlad says a bit dismissively. “ Why don’t we head to your room,” he turns to the Fentons, “ just for a few minutes?” 

“ Um–”

“ Go ahead, we’ll be in the lab,” Jack says, gesturing to Maddie. 

Danny can’t keep the scowl off his face as they head up. He lets Vlad in and shuts the door behind them. “ What do you want?” 

“ So hostile, little badger,” Vlad risks, inspecting the room. It’s a bit bare. Besides the furnishings, the only decorations are ceiling stars, a couple of model spaceships, and ‘replica’ swords. “ Not what I expected.” 

“ It’s not like you know me,” Danny remarks, sitting at his desk, arms crossed. “ At the very least, you could get my name right.” 

“ Yes, yes, concerns for another time,” Vlad waves him off. “ We have bigger issues.” 

“ Does this have anything to do with all the ghosts coming through?” Danny asks. 

“ What ghosts?” Vlad asks. “ I haven’t seen any ghosts today– don’t try to trick me– no, our concern is those scoundrels in white. Madeline informed me they’d offered them a contract. While mediocre, that could change with access to Fenton technology. They’re a lot more accurate than that oaf Jack.” 

‘ So Vlad hasn’t noticed,’ Danny thinks, ‘ interesting.’ He glares at the man, “ While I don’t appreciate the name-calling, I agree. This is a cause for concern. However, I don’t see how I can sway their opinion against working alongside the G.I.W. I can try, but I doubt they’ll listen to me.”

“ What, the little hero is in over his head,” Vlad mocks.

“ I’m a kid. This is an adult concern. They won’t bring it up to me,” Danny says, annoyed. 

Vlad straightens his bow tie. " Very well. I should have expected this. I’ll see you at dinner, Daniel.” 

“ Get out, Fruitloop,” Danny says, kicking him out. Vlad doesn't argue, and he grumbles out the door. Danny sighs as he locks the door behind him. Not that it’ll do much, but it makes Danny feel safer all the same. “ If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” he grumbles, rubbing his eyes. Danny decides to utilize the quiet and do his homework. An hour or so later, there's a knock at his door, “Hello?”

“ Danny,” Maddie calls, “ come on, dinner is just about done.” 

He gets up and answers the door, “ do I have to?” 

She huffs and comes in. “ I’m afraid so. Good manners will get you far.” 

“ Yeah…” Danny trails off. Something on her feels off, strong . “ What have you been doing down there? Is he going to stay after? Do you need an escape?” 

Maddie chuckles and ruffles his hair, “My knight in shining armor. I’ll be fine, Danyal, and I’m sorry about Vlad. We keep correcting him–” 

“ It’s not your fault he's an asshole,” Danny says, frowning. 

“ Danyal Al Ghul, language,” Maddie reprimands, then adds. “ Don’t let Jack hear you. Just this once, I’ll let it slide. You’re not alone in that feeling.”

After dinner, once Vlad leaves and the Fentons go to bed, Danny sneaks into Jack and Maddie's room. That feeling, the aura, lingers. He goes in, invisible, still in human form, and looks around. The aura has moved, no longer on her, which eases Danny’s mind a bit. At least he can rule out anything having been done to her. He goes to the dresser and sees a faintly glowing ring. The ectoplasm coming off it is gnarly. Danny picks it up, noticing the skull and red eyes– it’s giving one of Ra’s cursed relics. ‘ What are you?” Danny wonders to himself, then pockets the ring and heads back to his room. ‘ Whatever this thing is, it’s obviously powerful. What if I…” Danny asks himself and grabs a Fenton thermos. Like a vacuum, it sucks it up. “ One problem solved, who knows how many more in the making.” He sighs, puts the thermos on his nightstand, and crawls into bed. 

Too late to do anything now.

Dannys is almost asleep when his ghost sense escapes his lips. He groans into his pillow, “Whoever said you get to sleep once you’re dead is a liar. ” He transforms and slips out yawning– BOOM. He races towards the commotion, to a warehouse, and finds a tear in reality and hundreds of ghosts coming through.

“ Leave,” Skulker threatens the night shift workers. “ I won’t give another warning.” When the humans freeze out of fright, Skulker adds, “ unless you’d like to be prey~.” That gets their feet moving.

Danny waits for the humans to leave before showing himself. “ That was nice of you. You’re not usually one to give warnings.” 

“ Ghost child,” Skulker growls.

“ Woah, I’m not here to fight,” Danny says, hands up, floating closer. “ Just for answers.” 

“ Answers? We don’t have time for that,” Skulker says, watching the spirits fly off as the rift closes. “ You’d be best to scatter too if you know what's best for you.” 

“ I know something’s going on, something big, but I don’t know what,” Danny says. “ I haven’t stopped any of you. All of you know as long as you’re not causing harm, I don’t care– Johnny and Kitty let me ride with them, Ember’s been giving me lessons, Technus has been teaching me code– I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. And whatever this is has alarm bells going off.” 

“ You really don’t know?” Skulker asks, suspicious.

“ Really. I haven’t been in the realms for a week. Not since Young Blood and Ember had that team up.” 

“ Temporary alliance– just for explanations. After that, every ghost for themselves,” Skulker relents. Out of all the ghosts Danny’s met, Skulker is one of the few that act purely as a rogue ( though he’s hoping to pavlove him into good-ish behavior one day.) Skulker leads Danny into the nearby warehouse. Inside holds some of Amity’s more frequent visitors: Ember, Technus, Johnny, Kitty, Box Ghost, and Lunch Lady.

“ Baby Pop?” Ember exclaims as he floats in. “ Are you running too?” 

“ The brat doesn’t know,” Skulker says.

“ What? But everybody knows,” Johnny says, unbelieving.

“ All I know is something bad is coming. I can feel it,” Danny says, looking at all of them; they’re frazzled. “ I just want to know what’s going on. Your reactions– you’re starting to worry me.” 

“ Come here, kid,” Kitty says. Danny floats over, and the ghosts fill in a circle, “ what do you know about the King?” 

“ Of which area?” Danny asks, sitting crisscross in the air.

“ Not an area pipsqueak, but the realms as a whole,” Johnny corrects. “ Not too surprised you don’t know that. His story isn’t exactly kid-friendly,” He looks at the others, at grim faces, “ especially for your kind.” 

“ My kind?” Danny asks, confused.

Skulker huffs and takes over, “ eons ago, Pariah Dark, the current King, came into power. His predecessor is known only as the Blood King. Blood was a neverborn, with unsavory views. During his reign, planets had just started filling with intelligent life, and once they passed, some souls migrated here. He hated that, seeing the deceased as invaders. He’d break the core of any former livings he came across. It’s not like the souls had any choice in the matter, but he refused to see reason. As more beings died and filled the realms, he got worse. Pariah Dark, a former living, I don't know what planet, got fed up and gathered followers to help him overthrow the king. It took years, but they got strong enough to confront him. Nobody besides Pariah and his followers knows specifics. One thing that’s known is their fight took them through dimensions. It’s said the fight ended on Earth. The epics say Blood cursed the land– his remains scattering when his core was crushed. Making a world of undying. His last act of cruelty.” 

“ The pits…” Danny gasps.

“ Pits? What are you talking about?” Ember asks.

“ Never mind that,” Danny says and turns back to Skulker. “ If he did that, getting rid of someone that follows eugenics, what’s so bad about him? He sounds like an upgrade.” 

“ After he won the position, through single combat at that, the realms rejoiced, thinking he’d bring about prosperity,” Skulker continues. “ Sure, It was fine at first, until the power went to his head. While trying to fix Blood's mistakes, he held court and got many reports of remains being dishonored– one of the dying's worst offenses. He decided to teach them a lesson. Sometimes personally, or a general in his steed. The fighting and influx of souls under his command drove him crazy. He became a tyrant, a destroyer of worlds. There used to be other halfas back then,” he gives Danny an appraising look. “ They were said to be strong. Fueled by pure ectoplasm, the realms children, beings of balance.” 

Danny looks at him, wide-eyed, “You said used to– I know you said I’m rare, but you can’t possibly mean–I–” 

“ You’re the first in a long time. Pariah crushed their cores when they spoke out against him,” Skulker explains.

Danny plops to the floor, “all of them? I always assumed there were more– the realms are endless– I just thought I hadn’t found any yet. I mean, Vlad isn’t–” 

“ He feels different, not like you, a cheap imitation at best,” Skulker agrees. “ A human with too much exposure to our world's energy. There are no other halfas, just you.”

“ Then why hasn’t he gotten me?” Danny asks, freaking out a bit.

Lunch Lady notices and puts an arm around him. " He’s only just woken up. The halfas weren’t the only ones unhappy with his rule. He lost followers for his actions, and those who stayed did so not because of like-mindedness or loyalty but force. The most powerful of us, the ancients, got together and fought him. Locking him in the Sarcophagus of forever sleep. None of them were able to beat him in single combat, their abilities limited, leaving locking him up the only option.” 

“ And he’s woken up? How long has he been asleep? Did he just wake up and break out?” Danny asks

“ He was let out,” Skulker says, voice hard. “ Plasmius was seen rushing out of the castle, and soon after, Fright Knight, one of Pariah's old generals, flew after him.” 

“ Fright Knight? I’ve met him before, but he didn’t seem to be the type to follow that kind of person. He’s the spirit of Halloween. He likes to scare people, but who doesn’t from time to time,” Danny says, surprised. “ I can’t imagine him doing that kind of thing.” 

Lunch Lady nods, “ I remember when he came to Amity. He frightened many of the children. However, I must agree with Phantom. Wouldn’t he have gone after him for being a halfa?” 

“ Fright Knight is tied to the King, his guard. Unable to go against him,” Skulker says. “ Similar to Pariah’s army, thralled to his will.” 

“ He’s the main general,” Danny says, putting things together. “ He’s a Dullahan, right? A headless horseman?” 

Skulker nods, leveling at him, “There’s a lot more in the realms than spirits.”

“ So he’s out, that’s why you’re all running,” Danny says. “ Any idea what he’s gonna do?”

“Right now, he’s mad,” Ember says. “ That’s why everyone is getting out of dodge. One of the Items of power is missing. His thralls are looking for it. Nobody wants to get in the crossfire.” 

“ Items of power…” Danny’s mind goes to the ring. “ What was taken?”

“ His ring, the ring of rage,” Skulker says. “ It’s said to give a power boost, along with the crown of fire. It gives him absolute authority.” 

“ Somethings gotta be done about this,” Danny says, looking at them. “ If we got enough ghosts against him–”

“ Nope, not it,” Technus says, speaking up. “ We,” he gestures around, “ are leaving.” 

“ But–” 

“ You should come with us,” Kitty says, looking at him sadly.“ You’re in more danger than all of us combined. Plus, you're just a kid, Phantom. You shouldn’t be here alone.” 

“ I can’t just not do anything,” Danny says, floating up. “ The realms need help.” 

“ I’m sorry, Phantom,” Box Ghost says. “ But you’re on your own. Sarcophagus is out of my range.” 

“ I’ll figure something out,” Danny says, backing up. “ Be safe wherever you go.” 

“ Baby Pop,” Ember calls before he can leave. “ Don’t do anything reckless.” 

“ Me? Reckless? Never.” 

“ Seriously,” Johnny says. “ Watch your back.” 

Danny nods and flies out and back to the Fentons. “ Okay, so let's think about this,” he says to himself aloud, pacing back and forth. “ An enemy, a King of another world, plans to invade this one. He’s mad– been stolen from– by Vlad, of all people. He’s got an army, an unwilling one, partially… he wants to end beings like me. No spirit will face him.” Danny looks over at his phone. It would be so easy– no. No. That’s not an option. Besides Damian, the rest of the Bats don’t know him. He can’t pull them into this. Especially with Father gone. If things go wrong… Danny, he can’t let Damian watch him die– not again.

Instead, he goes on the computer and looks up a number he never thought he’d call. “ Thank you for calling the Justice League HotLine. If you know your party’s extension–” 

Danny sighs, “Speak to a representative.” 

“ I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” the automated voice replies. “ Please try–” 

“ Representative,” Danny repeats. 

“I'm Transferring you now,” the voice says. The ringback tone goes on and on until it says, “ I’m sorry, there’s nobody available to take your call. Please state your name, location, and reason for calling and one of our team members will reach out as soon as possible—*beep*.” 

“ Hello, this is Amity Park, Illinois’s vigilante, Phantom. I have been informed of an incoming attack led by Pariah Dark, the Tyrant King of the Infinite Realms, sometime within the next forty-eight hours. I need help. I have no backup. Please,” Danny begs. “ Send somebody, anybody, before it’s–” the call drops, “ too late… or just drop my call, I guess.” He sighs, puts his phone on the charger, and goes back to bed. Nothing he can do about it now. 

Getting sleep was an upward battle. Every once in a while, his ghost sense would go off. Danny rolls over, eyes still blurry from sleep, and turns it off. Once ready for the day, he heads to the kitchen. “ Morning,” he says, seeing Jack and Jazz. “ Where’s Maddie? Sleeping in?” 

“ Mom’s freaking out,” Jazz says, waiting for her frozen waffles to get done via toaster. “ Vlad asked her to hold onto something, and now she’s lost it.” 

“ What did she lose?” Danny asks, fanning innocence.

“ Some kind of ring,” Jazz says, grabbing her waffles as they pop out. “ Something he found– Mom said something about him needing help cleaning it properly and thought she could help.” 

“ Sexist,” Danny says in a sing-song voice.

Jazz snorts. 

“ What?” Danny asks with a raised eyebrow. “ I was raised by a strong single mother, then got sent here and got to see examples of healthy relationships. I can recognize unhealthy ones. Vlad has sexist views and is a bit of a misogynist. I’m just calling it how I see it.” 

“ Remember that once you start dating,” Jazz says, patting his cheek and going to sit down. 

“ Jack, I was wondering if I could stay here today. Instead of school,” Danny asks. 

Jack gives him a look over, “You don’t look sick.” 

“ I’m not,” Danny agrees. “ I just… feel like I need a personal day.”

“ Danyal, you can’t just keep skipping,” Jack sighs. 

“ It’s not skipping if I ask,” Danny replies. “ Please? I got, like, no sleep last night, and I need a day. Please?”

“ If– If I let you stay home, you’ve got to stay quiet. Maddie and I are putting the finishing touches on the Ecto-Skeleton. We have to concentrate.” 

“ You won’t hear a thing,” Danny promises. 

“ Go back to bed,” Jack says, sighing, and turns to Jazz. “ Would you like to stay home too?” 

“ Nope,” Jazz quickly shakes her head. “ I am not messing up my attendance record.” 

“ That’s my girl,” Jack says, smiling, filling up a mug of coffee. “ If you need me, I’ll be in the lab, Danno. Jazzypants have a good day at school.” 

“ Love you,” Jazz says as she finishes up, grabs her book bag, hugs her dad, and walks out of the house.

Danny makes himself something to eat– a hot pocket and chai tea– then heads back to his room and puts his pajamas back on. Before laying down, Danny checks his phone, but there are no messages. He frowns and redials the hotline– the call doesn’t go through. So he tries again and again–

Nothing.

“ A solo mission,” Danny says, getting into bed. “ I… I don’t have a good feeling about this.” 

Danny wakes with a cold, stabbing sensation in his chest. It’s 1:15 in the afternoon—somebody's coming. He can feel it, knocking on the edge of his senses. He transforms and flies into the city, going towards the center and into a hotel room. “ Fruit Loop, you here?”

“ Ah—” Vlad comes out of the bathroom, holding a piece of toilet paper to a cut. “ Haven’t you heard of knocking Daniel?” 

“ It’s Danyal or Danny,” he reminds and lands. “ You’ve gotta help me– they’re coming.” 

“ What on earth are you talking about?” Vlad asks, throwing the tissue away.

“ Pariah’s enforcers– the King you woke up,” Danny says, crossing his arms. “ Don’t you feel it, the energy building?” 

“ Child, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing–” BOOM. 

The pressure breaks, 

“ Get down,” Danny hollers as the aftershock rings out, shattering windows and throwing objects into the air. Dust is flying about. His ears are ringing, “ Fruit loop?” Danny floats up, looks around, and finds him on the floor, having crashed through a glass table. “ Vlad?” Danny picks him up, phasing him through the table and placing him on a mostly clean area of the floor. Danny gives him a look over. Cuts and bits of glass stuck in him, all superficial. He picks Vlad up again and focuses on just the body, letting all inorganic matter phase out. Once in the clear, Danny places him back down and heads into the chaos. There’s a tear in reality, splitting the sky, troops flying out, led by Fright Knight and his trusty steed.

The civilians scatter, booking it towards buildings for a modicum of safety. Danny goes around, quietly helping the trapped people get loose. Fright Knight and the troops head towards the suburbs and disperse. The ghosts break into homes and ransack businesses, not caring about what or who they have to go through. Danny… he’s not sure what to do. If what the rogues said is true, the troops aren’t really individuals but a reanimated hivemind. He can’t put an army into a thermos. It wouldn’t hold them all, and there’s no telling how many more are coming. 

The tear still hasn’t closed. Anything could come through.

Ectoplasm serges, startling Dannyu, turning around expecting an attack, just to see a giant ghost shield covering all of Fentonworks. More serges go off, shields activating to cover the schools. “ Oh, thank goodness,” Danny says. Those shields are built to last a while. The probability of civilian casualties just went down exponentially. Deciding to focus on the humans over the hivemind, Danny goes around directing and escorting civilians to safety.

“ Freeze ghost,” Jack bellows as Phantom comes close.

Danny raises his hands. “ I’m just dropping them off,” he gestures to the civilians, “ I’m not here to hurt anyone.” 

“ You expect us to believe that,” Maddie sneers as the humans walk through the shield. “ When this is going on?”

“ I’m just trying to help,” Danny says, backing up.

“ Oh yeah, I don’t see you going after your ‘friends.’ There have been no reports of fighting–” 

“ I’m more worried about sparing lives,” Danny lands and walks to the divide– startling the Fentons a bit– guess they didn’t realize walking was an option. “ Dr. Fentons… I don’t know what I can do to prove it to you, but I’m not the enemy here.” He whispers, “The troops are looking for something. They haven’t attacked any humans outright. I’m trying to keep it that way. I’m willing to throw down, but I can’t fight all of them– their portal is still open– even if I send them back, they’ll just come through again.” 

Jack lowers his weapon and looks between Phantom and the portal, “ how do we close it?” 

“ Jack! Don’t let it trick you,” Maddie warns. 

“ I don’t think he is Maddie-cakes,” Jack replies. On the ground, standing in front of them, there’s something familiar about the Ghost Boy. He just can’t put his finger on it. “ How can we help?” 

“ Take in whoever comes your way– the chance of survival is a lot higher that way,” Danny sighs. “ As for the portal, I’m still trying to figure that out.” 

“ You don’t know?” Maddie's eyes narrow.

“ I’m new at this– I haven’t been like this for long,” Danny retorts. “ The only portal I’ve seen stay open is yours– the machine stabilizing it. If I had to guess, someone on the other side is keeping it open. I’ve tried calling the Justice League, but no answer.” 

“ The Justice League? You tried…” Jack trails off.

“ The first time I called, it let me leave a message. Now, just nothing,” Danny explains. “ I’m a small-town vigilante. I’m not exactly equipped for armies and invasions.” 

“ Vigilante,” Maddie huffs but lowers her blaster. “ I’ll try calling and keep up the shields. Next time you stop by I’ll give you some items– a loan. Don’t make us regret this ghost.” 

“ Phantom, my name is Phantom,” he sighs and flies off, helping those he can. Most of Amity is behind shields when he notices Fright Knight land in the middle of the High School’s football field. 

“ Mortals,” Fright Knight's voice booms, echoing throughout Amity. “ An entity amongst you has taken an object above their station. Stolen from my Great King, Pariah Dark, who thus far has shown you mercy. Sending us, his loyal enforcers,” the dullahan’s core protests his words. “ We have come for what is rightfully our kings’ property, yet it is nowhere to be found. My King, my kind and merciful king, understands. How could mere babes, in the eyes of time, know what is not for that taking? You have not seen nor known his greatness. The slight was unintentional. However, his patience is fleeting. As is mine,” he stabs his sword, soul shredder, into the earth. The grass nearby dies on impact. “ Three days. He has granted you three days to return his property before earth, as a consequence, forfeits its rights for life.” A dome forms over Amity, allowing nobody out. “ Not returning his majesty's ring or releasing thy sword is an immediate forfeit, and you shall present yourselves to the King. Three days, humans. I bid you adieu.” 

Danny watches the knight leave, most of the soldiers going with him, a few scouts and enforcers staying behind. Once Fright Knights group goes through the rift, it closes. Danny lets out a sigh of relief and heads towards the sword– not to pull it out, only to inspect it. He can feel the power radiating from it, making his ectoplasm sputter as if shocked– in fear. ‘ A side effect,’ he supposes. Fright Knight is a being of fear. He tries to touch the hilt, but it shocks him. He’s not human enough to touch it– not enough to count for the cursed decree anyway. 

A familiar presence joins him, “ ready to surrender already, Phantom?”

Danny turns to see Vlad, “ you weren’t hurt too bad, good. We’ll need to work together to–” 

“ Work together?” Vlad sputters, “Against Pariah and his army of ghosts? Are you stupid, boy? There’s no fighting that. No. I will be doing as any sensible person is to do: flee.” 

“ Where?” Danny quirks an eyebrow, “Through the Fentons portal? Right to them? Or, oh, I don’t know, outside the city? The one he trapped us in?”

“ Pish posh, that was made to condemn them,” Vlad smears and gestures to the city. “ Not beings like us. He trapped the humans. Not us.” 

‘ How much ya wanna bet?’ Danny is itching to snark but refrains. “And leave your precious Madeline to her doom?” 

“ I– well–” 

“ Save it,” Danny says. “ Flee if you can. Remember Plasmius, when this all comes to bite you in the rear end,” at the surprised look Danny adds. “ You gave it to Maddie, didn’t you? Guess what? It's gone. We’re shit out of luck. There's no appeasing this guy.” Vlad flies off, and Danny gets comfortable, keeping vigil over the sword. He meditates and tries to plan, taking in the ectoplasm coming off the sword, stopping the curse that’s spreading into the land until the grass stops turning brown and flaking away. Danny opens his eyes when Vlad comes back a good forty-five minutes later. “ So, how was–” 

Vlad yanks the sword out of the ground.

“ What have you done!” Danny yells, snatching the sword from him as a swirling portal forms over Amity. 

“ I see no point in waiting,” Vlad says, a bit bruised up from flying and running into the shield. “ You are right, but so am I. We can’t get out, nor can we fight–” 

“ You didn’t even give us time to try!” 

“ What us, Daniel? The only one stupid enough to try is you!” 

“ I hope you’re happy,” Danny says, forming a wrap, sheath, and scabbard, then attaching it to himself. Holding the large sword in place on his back. This is not the time to get sent to the nightmare realm.“ You’ve doomed us.” Amity, the land and all, gets sucked into the afterlife, the sky now a swirling green rather than blue. Gravity falters, light objects floating in place, grass and leaves sticking straight up. Danny flies up over the city, looking for landmarks. 

“ What are you doing?” Vlad asks. “ This isn’t a time for sightseeing.” 

“ I’m–” 

“ Not even half a day,” says a tall, imposing spirit wearing black and grey with red accents, with a glowing green crown above his head. “ Out of all the beings I’ve encountered, none till now have been cowards, soft– Fright Knight, why is there a halfa in front of me? 

“ He floats before you, Your Majesty,” Fright Knight replies, rolling his eyes behind the king.

“ Not where but why, you imbecile! My decree shall not be ignored!” Pariah Dark yells like an overgrown toddler. “Get him!” 

Fright Knight goes forward, reaching for his sword, just to grab nothing– forcing him to create one with ectoplasm. He swings it, movement rigid, not his own. “ Woah, can’t we talk about this?” Danny asks, dodging as Vlad books it back to the city. 

“ My King can not be ignored,” Fright Knight says, his moves predictable. Danny nods, creates a sword of his own, and counters. Their fight is more akin to a duel. Fright Knight’s moves are more European, while Danny’s worldly– multiple influences. Fright Knight resorts to adding ectoplasmic attacks, unable to best Danny with sword skills alone. That's not to say the knight doesn’t get some hits in. Danny is slashed up, but so is he. The absence of Soul Shredder prolongs the fight. 

Pariah gets tired of waiting and orders. “Return once he’s finished– and find my ring,” he flies off, flanked by guards. 

Danny can’t help but notice how tired the king seems. Danny tells Fright Knight, “ I’m finished,” once the king is out of sight, and the Knight crumbles, trying to catch his breath. “ You okay?”

“ How did you…” 

“ His wording,” Danny replies, creating distance. “ Orders need to be specific– loopholes exist for a reason.” 

“ Very good, young one.” 

“ I try– any advice to stop him?” Danny asks. 

“ I can not betray our King by telling his adversary, " Fright Knight replies, picking his words carefully. 

“ Secrecy clause?” Danny guesses. “ Hum… so, besides the ring, does he require anything else? No specifics, just a yes or no. Does he need you to gather anything else?” 

“ No,” Fright Knight replies, letting his sword fall apart back into ambient ectoplasm.

“ Okay, okay, I can work with that,” Danny sighs. “ Thanks, Frighty.” 

The knight just blinks at him, “Thank me not, for it is not I working alone against his majesty. Be careful young halfa. It will not be long till my king tries to rip out your core.” He flies off, and Danny goes back to Amity, turns human, and slips back into the Fentons' house to patch himself back up. Due to being in the realms, he’s healing a lot faster than usual, but it's not quick enough for his tastes. He ventures out of his room and sees the people he dropped off earlier. He goes about unnoticed and slips into the lab, where the Fenton adults and Vlad are huddled around a table. 

“ Danny!” Jack exclaims, seeing him and rushing to look him over. “ Where were you? You weren’t in your room. We were so worried.” 

“ I had gone on a walk when everything went crazy. Phantom helped me get back.” 

“ I see,” Vlad says, “ how… convenient.” 

“ What’s going on? What are we going to do?” Danny asks, acting clueless.

“ Oh, I don’t know, what do you suggest?” Vlad snarks

“ He’s a child. There’s no reason to fuss at him,” Maddie says, sending a glare to Vlad. Danny sticks his tongue out at him when Maddie gives him a side hug.” Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” Maddie tells him. “ Everything will work out in the end.” 

“ Did you try calling the Justice League?” Danny asks and gains wide-eyed looks from the Fentons. 

“ Yes,” Maddie replies, arms going a bit tighter. “ No answer. But not to worry,” she crouches down and looks him in the eye. “ We’re strong. We can handle just about anything.”  

“ Do you think we’d have anything to fight the army? Phantom fought with their general. I saw them– they looked about evenly matched– and the Knight was acting stiff. I don’t think the ghosts are doing this because they want to– they move funny– like those times on TV when Superman gets controlled,” Danny says, pointing out similarities, not wanting blame to be put on Fright Knight and the others. 

“ I doubt that,” Vlad huffs. “ Maybe that's just what they want you to think, to put your guard down.” 

“ Do you always have to sound like that?” Danny glares, “You sound crazy.”

“ Danyal,” Jack warns. 

Danny just huffs and leaves Maddie's embrace. “ I’m going back up,” he snatches a vial of pure ectoplasm and inserts it into his thigh. “Let me know if I can help.” Once out of the lab, he grabs a snack and goes back to his room. He downs the ectoplasm, eats his human food, plans, and waits.

‘ I've got Soul Shredder and the ring– limiting the two biggest players,’ he thinks it through. ‘ At the end of the day, it’s just numbers. I can’t put it off for long. The more time Pariah is loose, the stronger he’ll get. I just need… an amplifier,’ that’s when it hits him. ‘ The Ecto-Skeleton.’ 

A suit made to manipulate ectoplasm, giving humans the standard abilities of ghosts along with ectoplasmic manipulation– ecto blasts, weaponry, temporary armor– the works. 

That– that could work.

If they’ve fixed it. 

The suit’s been having issues staying charged. However, in the realms surrounded by ectoplasm, that may not be a problem. Danny ends up waiting for nightfall, or whatever the equivalent is called in the realms, to head out. He puts the thermos with the ring in his thigh and another one in his chest, restraps Soul Shredder to his back, and creeps down into the weapons vault next to the lab.  

“ Daniel,” Vlad says, creeping up behind him, “ going somewhere?”

“ Danyal,” Danny corrects, grabbing the Ecto-Skeleton and extra ectoplasm cartridges. “ Out. What are you doing down here anyway?” 

“ I could ask the same,” Vlad replies.

Danny rolls his eyes and heads towards the lab door, “ goodbye, Vladimir.” 

“ You’re going to fight the King,” Vlad says, crossing his arms. “ Like an idiot.” 

“Someone’s gotta do it, and I’m not seeing any volunteers,” Danny says, turning around.

“ Think about your parents–”

“ A Father I’ve never met and a Mother that, despite her best efforts, isn’t safe to be around,” Danny says listlessly, “ and that won’t change if Pariah takes over the earth.” He slams the lab door, leaves, and, once out of Fentonworks, from under the shield, transforms and puts on the Ecto–Skeleton. Can't find Bruce’s ghost if Pariah has him executed. 

Danny flies towards Pariah’s Keep, the castle, passing lookouts with no issue. ‘ Guess fighting isn’t part of their orders– huh.’ That all changes once he gets near the lair, the hivemind swarming. Using the suit, he quickly disarms and restrains them and goes inside. The keep is cold-looking, with no decorations or signs of life. He’s seen deserted League bases with more personality. He follows the strong presence and finds Fright Knight stationed outside a set of double doors– throne room if he had to guess. He looks at the suit’s battery, three percent. He changes it out– it’s the last one. The first battery gave out on the fly over, the second while fighting the hivemind. Danny flies into the open–

“ Halt!” Fright Knight demands, “You’re trespassing out great King’s lair– turn back!” 

“ I have come for an audience with your King,” Danny replies. “ A duel. To release the people of Amity Park, my chosen haunt. To ask him to give up on his attempt to take the earth–” 

“ A large request from something so young,” Fright Knight says, amused. “ If my King wins, are you prepared to give what he demands of you?” 

Danny takes a shuddering breath and nods, “Whether it's an errand or eradication, I will fight.” 

“ Then,” Fright Knight creates a sword and embeds this one with emotion– fear. “ A rematch is in order, little halfa.” He rushes Danny, not giving him time to arm himself. Danny moves slower in the suit, causing him to get slashed in the leg and the suit cut open.

“ Damn it,” Danny huffs, then exclaims, “ this is a loan!” He creates a sword but also pulls out Soul Shredder. Duel wielding. He attacks with Soul Shredder, deflects with the unnamed blade, and kicks the side of Fright Knight’s knee in, making him kneel. Danny goes for the head, intending to stab it, but just knocks it off. 

A deep chuckle comes from the displaced part, “ having trouble? Maybe a dagger is more your size.” 

“ Oh, shush it!” Danny yells, swinging down at him. The dullahan rolls to the side after his head, making him miss.

They clash swords, and Danny uses the suit to his advantage, but it only lasts for so long. It steadily gains rips and tears. He’s becoming more and more vulnerable to Fright Knight’s blade. Each slash radiates despair. Danny goes to make a shield as Fright Knight sends black, dark ectoplasm his way. It breaks the suit's shield function and eats it away. 

“ That’s more like it. A proper one-on-one,” Fright Knight declares, delighted. 

“ Oh, Maddie’s gonna be pissed,” Danny groans and looks at Fright Knight, trying to think what weakens him besides pumpkins. There’s no running water or gold, and iron is out of the question– being a weakness all spirits have. He could try to tire him out… but he’s also got to fight the King. Danny does what he can to keep up but eventually starts to tire. A good side swipe knocking him to the floor. Fright Knight looms over Danny and brings his sword down– on instinct, Danny jabs and twists. Soul shredder sliding between the plated armor, puncturing his chest. 

Ectoplasm sloshes out.

Fright Knight drops to his knees, and Danny stands, pushing the blade in deeper and twisting. Once they are eye to eye, Danny takes out the empty Fenton thermos, “ forfeit—give up.” 

“ Yes. I Fright Knight, General of Pariah Dark, the Tyrant King, declare, you…”

“ Danyal Phantom.”

“ Danyal Phantom, the winner, having bested me, the opportunity to challenge thy King,” Fright Knight goes into a sitting position and eyes the thermos. “ Best to keep me out– I can not intervene in the fight with Pariah, as is ritual–” 

“ But he can still spend energy being connected to you,” Danny finishes. “ For an enemy general, you are very forthcoming.” 

“ Free will outside of directives and orders,” Fright Knight shrugs and winces. “ Perks of being the general.” 

“ I think you should hold onto this,” Danny passes over Soul Shredder. “ Why didn’t it send you to the nightmare realm? I thought…”

“ Forged with my essence,” Fright Knight replies. “ I am the only one with immunity besides the King.” Danny goes off to the side and breaks open the cartridge from the Ecto-Skeleton, drinks the ectoplasm, and readies himself. “ Go for his core,” Fright Knight advises. 

Danny pushes open one of the double doors, heeding his advice. Pariah is sitting on his throne, eyes closed, in some type of meditative state. It isn’t until Danny is two-thirds of the way in that he opens his eyes. " You evade my knight, yet come to me of your own volition. My, my, what an interesting creature you are.” 

“ I’m just doing what anyone would do,” Danny argues, floating a good few meters away. “ I request a duel.” 

“ A duel,” Pariah asks, sitting up straight, sounding somewhat amused– though a flash of worry goes across his face. “ And why should I honor your request? Instead of ending you halfa .” 

Danny can’t help but flinch at his tone; Pariah uses halfa as a slur. “ As if you aren’t going to try and end me regardless– if you’re going to end me, I’m not going to make it easy,” he looks the King in the eyes. “ I haven’t lasted this long for nothing.” 

Pariah gets up and stretches, stalking forward, towering over Danny. “ If we must, I accept your request—a duel, ending only once a core is crushed.” 

Danny gives a slight bow to his King—his opponent. " Thank you, Your Majesty, for honoring my request.” Pariah sends a strong ectoblast Danny’s way—it’s only instinct that lets him dodge, starting the fight. “ What? No countdown?” Danny asks, sending blasts back. 

“ Countdowns are a luxury– the realms don’t operate that way, boy. It’s survival of the fittest,” Pariah preaches. The king is slow but precise in his assault, backing Danny into a corner. “ Run, little halfa~” he grins. “ You wanted to play– now play.” 

Danny blocks with a shield, holding his ground. “It doesn’t have to be that way—violence for the sake of it.” He fires off little bursts of ecto-bullets. They take less ecto than rays but require better accuracy.

Something Danny has in spades.

The bullets make their mark but aren’t strong enough to pierce the armor. Pariah lets out a hiss as a bullet grazes his cheek. “ Not just all talk, are you? It’s a pity you couldn’t die right. You would have made an excellent soldier.” 

“ I am nobody's soldier,” Danny retorts, going invisible, throwing his voice. “ Been there, done that. Not really my thing these days.” 

“ Cheap tricks don’t work in the big leagues,” Pariah says, continuing his attack. Feeling Danny’s ghost signature nearby, Danny reforms a sword, still invisible, and readies it as the king rushes him. Danny’s back is to a wall, keeping him steady. The sword pierces the armor, going through the weak spot his echo shot made earlier. “ – Ah!” Pariah stills, ectoplasm dripping out. 

Danny becomes visible, twisting the sword. " Ya know, you’re a lot more predictable than most modern-day fighters—brute force only gets you so far.” 

“ How dare you–” Pariah coughs, ectoplasm spilling out. “ I am your King–”

“ You agreed to this duel,” Danny says, putting all his strength into skewering him. “ Though, I’ll admit this fight is anything but fair. I bet it takes a lot out of you to control all those spirits, especially powerful ones like Fright Knight. You’ve gotta be working on what? Half power? Less? I mean, you’re down that ring of yours, and you’ve just woken up from a few millennia’s long nap–” 

Pariah wraps his hand around Danny’s throat, “ I have more power in this hand than you do in your whole b-ody,” voice weakening. 

Danny yanks out the sword hard and shoves his arm through the hole. He fishes around the jello-like insides until he grabs a scorching core. “ Just because you have it doesn’t mean you should use it.” He pulls the core outside the body, burning his hand.

“ No!” Pariah bellows, trying to get Danny to let him go, but his hold is flimsy. 

Danny clenches it in his hand and digs his nails in– chipping at it, “ Forfeit.” 

“ Never!” Pariah yells, trying to keep his form together but failing. His body breaking apart. Most of it gets sucked into the core, but bits of him dissipate into nothing. 

“ Fine,” Danny says and waits until Pariah is fully in to break the core, ripping it in half. The crown of fire loses its flames, clattering to the ground. He watches as its color fades, and the ectosigniture snuffs out. Leaving an empty, oppressing void. A wave of power rushes towards the keep, the last vestiges of power colliding together– through Danny– powerful enough to make him unsteady. Knocking him down. He goes intangible, trying to evade the force, but all it does is dislodge the thermoses placed in his body–popping off their tops. The ring of rage rolls out, now just a hunk of metal, stopping by the crown. 

The objects start to change, the crown no longer bulky, turning from hot metal to intricate twisting crystal, an aurora forming at the tips, dancing around it. While the ring changes to a sliver band embedded in runes and iridescent delicate jewels. “ What on earth,” Danny mumbles, sitting up, absolutely exhausted. He can feel them reaching out for him, his core. They feel nice– pleasant, like an old friend welcoming him home. With a shaky hand, he picks up the crown and feels it connect, expanding his senses, comforting like a cool breeze. It leaves his hand to rest above his head while the ring zooms onto his finger.

He can feel everything.

The realms—they're massive. There is so much loss, fear, and restlessness. Tears cascade down Danny's cheeks. It's so much— too much. He can feel the souls cursed to remain, lingering under another's will. With a sob, he releases them. All that sorrow fades to relief, joy for their eternal rest. Their presence turns light as they fade from one plain to another. The keep transforms around him from a dark, malevolent presence, harsh dark cobblestone to white marbled stone, soft light coming through stained glass images of the cosmos. The throne is now decorated in soft silver and blues, constellations on the upholstery twinkling. The rest of the keep changes as Danny's ectoplasm leaks out of the room, marking the territory as his. The power builds and builds until it explodes– a shockwave rushing out, pushing away the last remnants of Pariah Dark's reign. Black spots evade his vision as everything comes rushing back. His eyes roll to the back of his head, and he’s out like a light. 

“ …N…!”

“ ..mag….Pri…op..!” 

“ …leave…I… why… it…” 

Danny comes to lying on his side, Fright Knight in front of him, blocking a floating eyeball from his path. He blinks a few times and pushes up onto his elbows, trying to steady himself. “ What happened?” 

Fright Knight kneels to him immediately, “Your Majesty.” 

Danny looks around for another figure he could be speaking to. Seeing no one, he asks, “What… what did you just call me?” 

“ Your Majesty,” Fright Knight repeats, and seeing Danny's confusion, explains, “ you beat Pariah in single combat; as the victor, you inherit the position.” 

“ No, no,” Danny sits up all the way, “ there’s gotta be some sort of mistake. I didn’t fight for the crown.” 

Fright Knight shakes his head. " When you accepted the terms, you did. Ghosts, beings like you and me, are long existing. There are no heirs. The only way to lose or gain a trial is by conquest.” 

“ Even it agrees,” the eyeball-looking dude cuts in. “ Give it to me. It will be handled.” 

“ Handled,” Danny's eyes narrow, “ who are you?”

“ I,” the eye says, tone full of self-importance, “ am an Observant, a keeper of time, a–”

“ A hivemind species of Neverborn that work under the high king to keep track of abnormalities and records,” Fright Knight buts in deadpan.

“ And in King Pariah’s absence, holders of court– this– thing,” the observant points at Danny, “ should have been turned over to us immediately. Now, one sits on the throne!” 

“ Wait, all this fuss because I’m a halfa?” Danny asks.

“ An abomination!” The eyeball screams, “That’s what you are. You’re kind are–” 

“ Children of the realms, just like all neverborns and former livings come to be,” Fright Knight says. 

“ Which he is NOT ! Halfas are twisted vile creatures, mistakes of nature–” 

“ Such harsh words for a child. The Protogenoi’s youngest– their first in almost an eon,” Fright Knight growls, “ I will not allow you to harm him.”

“ A child King,” the observant scoffs, “ no sane spirit will follow it.” 

“ A child of whom?” Danny floats up, going between them.

“ This is who you want on the throne? He doesn’t know anything. 

“ Which is no fault of his own. I recall the burning of records. Not to mention, he’s not even a year dead,” Fright Knight points out, then explains to Danny, “ the Protogenoi made this dimension. Not all who pass are ready to move on, as you know. So, they created a home for the lost ones. The neverborn are new souls yet to enter the cycle of life. Eventually, if they don’t become strong in their own right, they enter the reincarnation cycle. The other inhabitants are former living beings that have moved in over the years. Some are like me, ferryman of souls, others not. Halfa’s aren’t just a mixture of life and death, but more . Not many survive the transformation, either by natural or artificial portal. The ectoplasm within you comes from the very heart of the realm. The essence within you comes from Chaos, Anake, Tartarus, and Phanes– the four creators.”

Danny gets an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, “And this whole child thing of the Protegenoi, it's a figure of speech, right?” 

“ Literal,” the Observant says, annoyed, “ like human DNA, your ectoplasm will show your connection, but my opinion stands– halfa’s shouldn’t exist.” 

Danny ignores the eye, “If they’re my… parents. Where are they?”

“ All around you,” Fright Knight replies. “ They have many responsibilities, and condensing to a physical form is done sparingly. Chaos is everywhere, in the living realm, and this one. Anake weighed your fate and took you for her own. Tartarus is in the land and the darkest reaches of the land. At the same time, Phanes focuses on the living world. You have never been alone, not since your heart first stopped.” 

“ My mortal parents, they’re still my parents, too, right?” Danny asks, unable to think of a world where his Mother isn’t his Mother.

“ Of course,” Fright Knight agrees. “ Like I said, you’re now more, not less. With parents on each side of the veil.” 

Danny takes that all in, puts it away for later, and says, “Okay, I guess. The more, the merrier. Um, now what? I know you want to end me,” he points at the Observant. That’s out of the question. I'm not gonna do that. Hey, I can resend that decree Pariah made about us, right?” 

“ Of course, your majesty,” Fright Knight agrees. 

Danny looks at the age, “Consider that rescinded. No genocide, thanks.” 

The observant rushes, “ he’s too young.” 

“ How old do I have to be? To be an adult? It’s different here, right?” Danny asks. 

“ A millennia,” Fright Knight answers.

“ What?!” Danny practically yells.

“ You’re a special type of spirit, a protector of balance. Halfas become beings of legends,” Fright Knight explains. “ There’s never been a halfa to mature all the way, what you will become is unknown, but I know, whatever you’ll be, will be a sight to see. You will need help, yes, guidance, but advisors can get you there.” 

“ Would that suffice? Advisors– no, a counsel? I still have responsibilities in the living realm. I–I can’t just stay here,” Danny says, the realization of the impending responsibilities hitting him hard. 

“ The realms have gone a long time without a king. A part-time one shouldn’t be an issue,” Fright Knight says, understandingly.

“ We don’t agree to this!” The Observant argues. 

“ From my understanding, you don’t need to agree,” Danny says. “ Look, I know you don’t like me or want me in this position. But I promise to do my best.” 

The eyeball somehow manages to look at him scathingly, “This is not the end of this,” and flies out. 

Danny yawns. He’s used so much energy. " Before I pass out again, how do I put Amity back?” 

“ Leave that to me, Your Majesty,” Fright Knight replies and snaps his fingers.

Danny can feel the rift opening and the city leave the realms, “ huh.” 

“ You’ll learn in time, my King,” Fright Knight replies.

Danny yawns, “Can you open a portal for me too, please? I don’t want them to catch on to the fact that I’m gone.” Without another word, Fright Knight swings Soul Shredder and lets Danny float through straight to his room. “ Thank you,” he crawls into bed. 

Fright Knight follows through, tucks him in, and goes back to the realms.

It’s a new day.

With new responsibilities.

For a long and lonely existence.

Chapter Text

“ Of all the moronic half-ass plans you have come up with over the years, this one– ugh,” Damian muffles a scream into a pillow, cutting himself off. The screen starts glitching, cutting off, and inverting pixels as a bad connection warning pops up. 

“ Ahki–” 

“ Shut up, I'm talking,” Damian scolds, removing the pillow, “ why didn't you call me? You stupid–” he looks like he's about to scream, “ you could have died– ended– moved on, whatever the right terminology is. You have a brain. Use it. I know you got fried, but you're not a vegetable– think! Mother raised no fools, little brother, don't act like one now.” 

“ Little brother? You're only like, a few minutes older than me,”  Danny retorts, half pouting.

“ Your first breath was a day after mine. I'm your elder,”  Damian says, “ you're supposed to listen and do as you're told–” 

“ Ugh, you sound like Mother,”  Danny makes a face. 

“ I do not,” Damian glares, “ and stop trying to distract me. This is serious–” 

“It's fine. I'm still here. I won, it's not a big deal,” Danny says as the video changes to a blank screen, the audio still intact. “ I tried doing stuff officially; I called the hotline.” 

“Fine! Is that what you want to call this?” Damian asks, seething. “A whole town got sucked into the Infinite Realms. You are now a King, a child King– do you not remember our lessons? Child monarchs don't last long. Just look at what happened to King Tutankhamun! He could barely make it to eighteen, and this ‘ Fright Knight’ says you have a millennium till adulthood. You apparently have four other parents now,”  the screen goes back to normal. “ all this in a day. I should have been there. You went with no backup–”

“ I called,” Danny says once more. 

“I checked the hotline; there's no record of it from you or anyone else. I would think you were pulling a prank if it was not for the emergency dark meeting Richard was forced into,” Damian huffs. “ Not that I would not believe you otherwise… but, Danyal, you… This is a lot.” The anger drains from him, leaving him with overwhelming fear. The fear that his brother was almost gone.

“ I know. I'm sorry, but I couldn't call you. There was no way for you to explain properly or gain the right equipment. If something went wrong, and both of us were there… I couldn't do that to Mother, to you. I'm the spare. I'm already dead. There's no reason for both of us to be. I love you. I don't want you on the other side anytime soon,” Danny says, choking up. “ If this happened again, even if the outcome was different, I wouldn't change a thing.”

“ Danyal …” Damian’s lost for words.

“ I gotta go, ahki,” Danny says, eyeing the time. “ I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“ Okay,” Damian regretfully agrees, “ and I love you too. You are more than a spare, you know. You’re my brother.”

“ Bye, ahki,” Danny says, locking away his emotions and ending the call. He wipes his eyes and starts on his homework. Despite his assurances, what's going on in Amity is anything but ‘ fine.’ Ever since Pariah, more and more beings have come out of the woodwork.

To fight Pariah's successor. 

Though not all of it's been bad, the council is growing steadily. How effective it will be is anyone's guess. “ One can't lead a people without knowing the people.” It's one of the few sentiments Ra’s spewed that Danny actually agreed with. So, since the fight, the majority of his free time has been spent exploring his ‘ Kingdom.’

When they say infinite, they mean infinite.

South from the castle, hours away, lies the Far Frozen. Home of the yetis and resting place of their ancestors, the Jötunn. Danny happened upon their leader, Frostbite, who was stuck in a cave and injured, and they became fast friends. After a few encounters– and a quick lesson on how to use ice powers, he became the first member of the advisement council. As a healer and leader of his people, Frostbite has much to offer.

Others came to him. 

Undergrowth, a spirit of nature that calls the Realms home, showed up because some contractors took out a few Acres of Forest for Vlad's new home. Due to the portal and residential ectoenergy, the disturbance was too large to be ignored. Unfortunately for Danny, it didn't take long for them to notice him. The king of the Realms just has that kind of presence. Thanks to Frostbite lessons, however, he was quickly taken care of. Once things calmed down and things were explained, they were invited to join.

The next one he gained was due to Boxy. The man, for some reason, decided stealing the Pandora's Box was a good idea. She was… understanding once he returned it to Acropolis. Danny had a time working through the maze around the lair, and she decided a king should be better than that. Pandora decided to whip him into shape. She was quickly added to the council.

The latest member joining was unexpected. Nocturne. He decided to turn Amity into Ground Zero of the Sleep Apocalypse. As a test. Check if Danny deserves his new role. A sentiment that has been gaining in popularity. Turns out Nocturne moonlights as Moephus, the Greek god of dreams. Unlike others, he didn't show up with a monologue or illusions of grandeur but as a warning. The realms are full of entities older than man. Most have run amok, free from rules or limitations since Pariah's imprisonment. They aren't thrilled about the new arrangement. So, Nocturne decided that the time to visit the ‘ baby cousin’ was in order and decided to offer his services. 

All this help is great and all, but are they trustworthy? That Danyal does not know. He's only just met them, and they've all, besides Undergrowth, have done their best to get in his good graces. They're either good people or trying to manipulate him, but he hasn't decided yet. Each has power and influence in their own right, which is invaluable for his reign. It feels like a setup. Fright Knight is on the council, being head of security and around for the previous King. He and Pandora overlap on anything military, similarly to how she does with Frostbite, both in charge of city-states. Frostbite and his people are accomplished healers. With Undergrowth, they can work on agriculture, food, and medicine. Nocturne… Danny hasn't figured out his placement yet– the whole thing is a mess. It's sloppy, filled with powerhouses, and lacking in representation. All of them are mythological in some way or another…including himself, now that he thinks about it… The normal deceased humans, or neverborns, don't have a voice. Don’t get him started on the aliens– he knows there are some, but he hasn't traveled that far yet. The only possible candidate for the human seat is Princess Dorothea, but she's hundreds of years behind on the times and has enough on her plate–

But Danny digresses. 

He rubs his face as he leaves his room. The hallway reeks of garlic. Confused, he makes his way to the kitchen. “ Maddie?” he says, surprised. She rarely cooks. “  Whatcha making?” 

“Lasagna, Jack invited Vlad to join us,” Maddie says, turning around. “ Are you done with your homework?”

Danny nods and starts clearing the table, “There wasn't much. I would have been down earlier, but Dami called. That volunteer program he's in is stressing him out.” More like Danny's volunteer work, but semantics. “ Is the food fresh, or…” 

Maddie playfully whacks him with an oven mitt, “store-bought, and never touched the fridge.” 

“Thank goodness,” he says, relieved. He doesn't want to fight noodles again. “ No offense.”

“ None taken,” Maddie replies, “ could you set the table too? I want to get the bread in before Vlad gets here.”

“ Yeah, sure,” he says, and they get into a good rhythm. The doorbell rings just as the timer goes off, “ I've got it.” he lets Vlad in and asks in greeting, “Haven't you heard of casual wear?”

Vlad enters, scowling, and gives him a look over, “That coming from a ragamuffin? However, will I cope?”

“Try not looking like a ponce and get back with me.”

“ Daniel!” Vlad exclaims, red-faced.

“ Danyal,” Maddie corrects the man and walks over. She sighs, “What happened? He's only just gotten here.”

“ I said he needs casual clothes–”

“ He called me a Ponce,” Vlad says, speaking over him. 

 Maddie quirks an eyebrow, “ a what?”

Danny sighs, “ he dresses like a ponce, a pimp.”

Maddie has to stifle a laugh, mirth shining through, “If you can't say something nice, don't say it in front of him– now, go grab Jazz. It's time to eat.” Danny nods, giving a slight smirk, and slides past them. With Jazz in tow, they sit down for dinner. 

“ So, Uncle Vlad,” Jazz asks, “ how long will it be till your new place is done? I passed by the property, and it looks like it's going well.”

“Hopefully, it should be done by the end of next month,” he replies. “ I have the best working on it. Speaking of improvements, since moving to the area, I've noticed some inadequacies.”

“ Inadequacies?” Jack questions.

“ The holes in the road and buildings, the constant attacks,” Vlad lists, ignoring Danny's glare. “ The lack of funding. Since the last mayor was voted out after the invasion, I thought I'd give a go at it.”

“What?” Danny asks, eyes wide, half choking on his food, “ you?”

“ Why not? Vlad shrugs. “ I have the funds. At the very least, I can get things fixed.” 

Jack puts a hand on his shoulder, “That's great, Vladdie. You know you'll have our vote.”

“Since we're sharing,” Maddie adds excitedly, “ we've been offered a contract by the  G.I.W– we've decided to take it.”

“Great!” Jazz says happily, “What will you be doing?”

 Danny catches Vlad's eye. This won’t be good.

“ We'll be helping with ecto-tech,” Maddie explains.

“ No one does it better than us!” Jack adds.

“ That's fantastic, congratulations,” Vlad says. “ Why don't you let my lawyers look over the offer and make sure you're getting a good deal?” 

“Oh, don't worry, we looked it over, and it's a good deal,” Maddie says. “ That, and we've already signed. We get funding, and all tech we create is on loan for a monthly rate, and we get to study anything they capture. It's a win-win.”

“ That's… Maddie, are you sure this is a good idea?” Danny asks, obviously upset.

“ Of course,” Maddie replies, “ it's what we've needed. Government funding doesn't come our way every day.”

“ Thank you for the meal, Jack, Maddie. However, I think it's time I call it a night,” Vlad says, cleaning up his plate.

“ So soon?” Jack asks.

“ I'm afraid so,” Vlad says.

“ I'll walk them out,” Danny says before Maddie can get up. They walk to the door, and once they're out of earshot, he asks, “Congratulations? Seriously?”

“What did you expect me to say?” Vlad whispers. “ I offered with the contract. There's not much else I can do.”

Danny's quiet for a moment before asking, “If you win, could you do something about the G.I.W?”

“ As the mayor? I doubt it,” he says, walking out. “ But, I'm not against trying.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“Robin!” Dick yells as the boy exits the batmobile, taking off his mask and heading towards the locker room. “ Don't walk away from me– Damian–”

“What!” he yells, turning around, blood splattered on his uniform. “ What do you want me to say? I messed up. I know. I do not need the reminder, Richard.” 

That night was a rough one. Batman and Robin were out alone, investigating a meta-trafficking ring. After the last breakout, everyone needed some air. Seeing Dick in the cowl, not as a joke, but as the second holder of the mantle, is hard, an unfortunate necessity. Most of the taken were young adults, college-aged, but some were a little younger or older. All of which had been beaten. Once the cells were cleared and people were taking the safety, Robin was told to check out the back office. He found a man standing above little girls– twins– hand raised, ready to strike– he was quickly disarmed.

Dick’s not too happy about how he went about it. He follows Damian into the locker room, “You went way too far.” He takes off the cowl, “ You cut a man's hand off.”

“He deserved it,” Damian argues, teeth bared, “ I promised not to take lives; I was given no other restrictions.”

 Dick scowls at him, “You permanently maimed a man–” he takes a shuddering breath, “ meet me by the computer when you're finished. We– we need to talk properly.”

Damian waits for Dick to leave before undressing and starting the water. He can't help but be mad at himself. But seeing that man looming over those kids– couldn't have been older than six– he acted on instinct. He doesn't regret it. Once the blood and grime is off, he puts on pajamas– something Dick’s insisted they add to the locker room and heads out. He sits in the already pulled-out seat next to the bat computer, “ I apologize if you're not comfortable with my methods…”

“ No,” Dick stops him, sighing. “ It's not your method– well, maybe a little bit– but that it was your first resort. We de-escalate and detain. Additional force and maiming should only occur once you have no other options.”

“ He'll never strike another child,” Damian says. “ That's the goal at the end of the day, is it not? To end the crime– the violence going around this city. If you cripple the opposition–”

“Damian, people make mistakes– horrible, incomprehensible mistakes. Gothamites are desperate . What they're doing isn't good, but they are out of options. Permanent injuries just take away more. Most can be rehabilitated.”

“ Rehabilitation,” Damian scoffs, “ how often does that work? Richard, he was a trafficker. This wasn't a petty criminal–”

“ You, Cass, Jason, me– we've all done things that put us on the side of the ‘ opposition’... The world Isn't black and white. There's no good or evil,” Dick says softly, placing a hand on his knee. 

“That's different,” Damian sputters, “ and you? What could you have done? You are Father's replacement, you have taken his place in the Justice League, you have your team as Nightwing– you are one of the most trusted Heroes–”

“Everyone has a limit; can be bought when the cause is great enough. I… I could have been just like you–”

“ What's that supposed to mean?” Damian glares.

“ I didn't know till I was older, but Bruce taking me in? Saved my life. Haly’s circus has, had connections,” Dick says, sitting back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Haly’s collected talented people. Everyone was a polyglot with a variety of skills. I learned to walk on a tightrope, learned subtraction by throwing knives– knocking apples off heads, and more. Skills that easily transfer to the nightlife. It's not a coincidence. Have you ever heard of the Court of Owls?”

“ The nursery rhyme?” 

“I'll take that as a no,” Dick rests in arm on the desk. “ Not surprised. Outside of Gotham, they're not too active anymore, and even here, they're mostly underground. Basically, they’re a secret society run by global elites with their own personal army. The Talons.”

“ So they are real,” Damien says, “ I do not–”

“ My paternal great-grandfather was the Talon. Every couple of generations, a Grayson is given to their ranks. I was their promised Grayson for Gotham. Under Bruce's care, I was too well known to be taken. So, they came for me once I came of age, out of the manor. I was trained to be a talon, an immortal assassin,” Dick says, voice going dead. “ It wasn't for long, but it was enough. The talons, unlike the League, aren't normal humans but experimented on to become akin to super soldiers. William Cobb, my great-grandfather, intended for me to take his place as head talon. I was their project . I was unknowingly, slowly, becoming one of them. At some point, somehow, they implanted an electrum tooth in me. I was a Eugenics project. Bruce found out and stopped what was going on, of course.”

 “ You were an heir,” Damien says quietly.

“We have a lot in common, believe it or not,” Dick half smiles. “ I was a very angry bird. Tempering my reactions doesn’t come easy. I believe in an eye for an eye. Before knowing about all this,” he gestures around, “ I was sneaking out to find my parents' killer, not for anything noble like justice, but vengeance. Bruce caught me and showed me another way. I would have unknowingly started on the path planned for me. It took time, but I like to think this special brand of rehabilitation worked for me… I don't expect you to change overnight, Damian. I know you're trying, so please think before you go through it. There can be another way– now, why don't you head on up? It's getting late. It's a school night.”

“ Ah,” Damien eyes the time and rises. “ I shall take your words and experiences into account. Good night.”    

“Don't let the bed bats bite,” Dick yells cheerily at his retreating form. Once he's out of the cave, Dick turns his chair around, “Late night for you too, isn't it, Steph?”

She makes her way out of the shadows, “ I didn't know all that…”

“ There's a lot of things you don't know about me. The ones who knew about this, though, were Bruce and Alfred. It's not something I tend to bring up, for obvious reasons,” he says with this fake smile plastered on his face. “ Whatcha doing here so late?”

“ Was hoping for a quick patch job,” she holds up her spoiler suit.

“ Oof,” Dick says, getting up, “ what got you?”

“ A good blade, only got down to the first layer of padding,” Steph hands it over. “ How's it going, being the big B?”

“ It's going,” Dick says. “ It feels like karma.”

She laughs, “ I bet.”

“You know… I could always use a second pair of eyes. He's a good kid, but he gets carried away,” Dick says in a sing-songy voice.

“Seriously?”

“ Gotham needs a Batgirl. I know you've had both Cass’s and Bab’s go-ahead for a while– sleep on it. I don't need a quick answer.”

“ No firing. I know how B was. No, taking it away when you get pissy,” Steph stipulates.

“ I would never,” Dick gasps, clutching non-existent pearls. He’s already seen how that goes.

“ Then you've got a deal,” Steph mock salutes, “ Batgirl reporting for duty, sir.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“Any idea of what you're going to choose?” Sam asks as they pack their bags for the day. “ I mean, there's just so many options.”

“ No clue,” Danny says, looking at their middle school class selection form. “ I'm just hoping this means no more P.E. with Dash.”

“ I'm signing up for tech ed,” Tucker says proudly. I want to learn how to build stuff, not just code things, and maybe get on Danny's level. " He nudges him.

Danny rolls his eyes, “If you want to learn that, just join me down in the lab. You’d probably learn more anyway. I would suggest keyboarding, but you wouldn't learn anything from that, either.”

“ If you two nerds could pace yourself, you wouldn't have that problem,” Sam says, putting on her book bag.

Danny ignores her. It's not like school does anything for him anyway. League education is far superior. When Tucker showed interest, he had no issue showing him a thing or two. If Tucker sticks to it, he'll be quite formidable in the future. “ Yeah, yeah, whatever,” they exit the school.

“ Hey, better question,” Tucker adds, “ is Danny going to be here for Middle school? You're talking to your brother a lot more. Gonna leave us for Gotham?”

“ Not anytime soon,” Danny shrugs, “ but nothing is set in stone. I know Dami wants me to.” 

Sam and Tucker exchange glances. Sam grabs Danny's arm and says, " There's no shame in wanting to go.”

“ It's complicated–” a man is lingering in the parking lot. He doesn't feel human; he doesn't feel like a ghost, either. “ Who's that?” his friends follow his gaze.

“ I've never seen him before,” Tucker says, stopping.

“ Me neither,” Sam agrees.

The man looks over, waves, and yells, “Danny!”

“ I have never seen that man a day in my life,” Danny says, taking a step back. The guy is buff and holds himself like a civilian. White with neutral undertones, black hair pulled into a little ponytail, eyes blue– Fenton blue. “ He… he looks kind of like Jack, don't you think?”

“Shh–” Sam pulls on them. “ He's coming over.”

“Danny,” the man smiles, “ Jack sent me to get you.”

“ News to me,” Danny pushes his friends behind him. “ I've never seen you before.”

“ I'm your second cousin, Dan,” the man introduces himself. “ Jack wanted me to tell you to come home.”

“ Right… prove it!” Danny demands.

Dan pulls a phone out, dials, and waits, “Fentonworks, Maddie speaking.”

“ Hey, Maddie,” Dan says, “ it's me. Could you please tell Danny I'm safe? He's really proactive on his stranger danger.” 

“Maddie?” Danny asks, ignoring Dan's surprise. “ You sure?”

“ We're sure,” Maddie says, laughing. “ Come on back now.”

Dan hangs up, “ come on shortstat.”

Danny yells back as they wander off, “If I go missing, it's his fault!” The way back is awkward, but Dan keeps giving him looks. He's never been more excited to enter the house. “ I'm back!”

“ Ah, Daniel,” Vlad says, stepping out of the kitchen.” Jack needs you in the lab.”

“ Thanks, Fruitloop,” Danny says quickly, getting away from Dan and catching Vlad’s eye. He can tell Dan’s off, too. “ Why don't you stay for dinner again? Pizza?”

“ Yes, I think I will.”

The latest Vlad could stay that night was eight. For once, Danny was sad to see him go. 

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

Danny's eyes go wide as a hand grabs his chin– on Instinct, he goes through his bed and rolls to his feet at the end of it. Dan's looming at the headboard, looking confused. “ Oh, I called it. Who the hell are you,” Danny snarls.

“Well, isn't this a surprise,” Dan's eyes flash red.

“Who are you? a friend of Amorpho?” Danny asks. “ Better yet, what are you? You don't feel like anything I've met before.”

“ Curiouser and curiouser,” Dan mumbles and lunges after him. 

“ Oi! Watch it,” Danny reprimands as Dan runs into the dresser, “ Jack and Maddie are sleeping for once.”Danny knocks him in the back of the knee, uses it as a foothold, and settles on Dan's neck, pulling him into a chokehold.

“ – Brat–I don't need to breathe,” Dan taunts, trying to throw him off, going backward, falling through Danny intangibly. Danny backs up and gets into a proper fighting stance. “ That's really how you want to do this?” 

“You're strong, sure, but sloppy,” Danny shrugs. “ You'd have to land a hit to do anything.” Dan charges and socks him in the jaw– an uppercut. The force makes Danny stumble back into the door. 

Dan goes low, in a crouch, gearing up for a punch, but Danny jumps out of the way and hook-kicks him in the head. It does nothing. “Stay still, damn it!” Danny flips out of the way. “ I don't remember being this infuriating at fourteen or that small.”

“ Good thing I'm going on eleven,” Danny snarks.

The response makes Dan pause, “ Eleven? But I didn't– no, this isn't right.”

Danny uses that moment to his advantage and knocks him out cold, punching Dan in the nose upwards. He goes down. He's not moving. Danny kicks him once more and declares, “Down for the count.” He unclinches his hand, and ectoplasmic brass knuckles appear, “ idiot, didn't even use a weapon.” He goes through his medkit and gets some Ecto line– it's going to be a long night. 

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

Dan wakes slowly, eyes heavy. He blinks sleep out of his eyes to see Danny propped up against a tree in the middle of the forest. He tries to get up, but he's tied to a tree, rope, and ecto-line, twisted and distorted into something akin to barbed wire. It's cutting into his wrists and ankles. Phase proof. Danny looks Dan over, an unfamiliar glint in his eyes, “ Have a nice nap?”

“ Where are we?”

“ Nowhere that concerns you,” Danny pushes himself off the tree. He grabs green glowing tools, some medical instruments, others mechanical. “See, I don't appreciate random attacks, especially in my room, of all places. Though, you get some points for waiting till we were alone. So, I'll give you one chance. Who are you?”

Dan smiles uneasily. “Why? Don't you recognize me? I don't understand why not. Try looking in a mirror and adding a decade or so.”

Danny picks out pliers, “Humm… I can see it– if I was looking into a fun house mirror. Now, want to give me a real answer? I’d hate to actually have to use these,” he waves the tool around. “ I'm horribly out of practice.”

For some reason, Dan believes that. “ Clockwork help me. What have those eyeballs gotten me into,” he mutters. “ I am Dan Fenton, and I’m from the year 20XX. Future you, or at least, the eyeballs, claim I am. Though, I'm starting to believe otherwise. I didn't have my accident till I was fourteen, and I certainly wasn't capable of any of this.”

“ Daniel Fenton , Dan. How… enlightening,” Danny ponders what to do with this. It's evident by how he's reacting that he isn't lying. “ And your purpose? I find it hard to believe you'd go after your younger self. Erase your own existence.”

“ Ha, I’m much more than you, Daniel. I have let go of my mortal weaknesses. I'm complete,” Dan says, leaning forward and smirking. “ I am strong . I have no opposition. Vlad is no more, the G.I.W’s in ruins, Earth under my rule–”

“ Oh, you've inherited the Fruitloop genes. That's disheartening,” Danny says.

“ Inherited, no. I am him.” 

“Dude, you're making no sense,” Danny says, putting the pliers down.

“ I absorbed Plasmius, stripping us of our humanity– I became the ultimate enemy,” Dan says, a crazed look in his eyes. “ You stopped me once, but I always come back–”

“ You're worse than Grandfather straight out of the pit,” Danny deadpans, getting up. “ You cannibalized yourself into a chimera– just wow– what about our family, ahki?” Fully believing that if he's this far gone, he could stand a chance against the Justice League.

“ Ahki? Who? The Fenton's died in the Nasty Burger explosion,” Dan says, confused. 

“Damian? Twin brother? Living with father and his family,” Danny slightly fibs.

“ What, we don’t have a brother? Mom wouldn’t send someone away– they’re still married,” Dan frowns.

“ Oh, OH– I knew we weren't the same, Danyal, I was thinking timeline, not dimensional–”

“Dimensional?!” 

“You're too white to be me– I thought there was an iron issue coming from all the ecto, or your ‘timeline’ had do you looking more like Father– this makes so much more sense,” Danny says, relieved, then asks, curious, “ does your dimension have the Justice League at least?”

“ The who?”

“ Oh, disappointing,” Danny waves that off. “ What to do, what to do. You staying in this Dimension is obviously out.”

“ Release me,” Dan says. “ I'll find a way back– no need to be hasty.”

Danny pretends to think about it, “Nah, I don't think I will. You, Daniel Fenton, are an abnormality, not to mention a self-proclaimed planetary threat,” his nails seem to sharpen under a sliver of moonlight. “ By the power invested in me, Danyal Phantom, High King of the Infinite Realms, you, Daniel “Dan” Fenton, are sentenced to core removal,” a smirk winds up on his face, “ effective immediately.”

“ No–” Dan gasps as Danny’s hand goes into his sternum, grabbing his core. His consciousness condenses, pulling inward. Danny turns his arm back to tangible and rips the core out. The force splattering ectoplasm and blood on him and the forest floor. Danny's covered in it, stained red and green. The ectoplasm starts to eat through the clothes.

Danny watches as the body starts to bloat and bruise rapidly. As it becomes yellow, skin begins to sag, and hair falls out. The body of Dan Fenton decomposes in front of his eyes to bone, fluids, and pus. “ Oh–ew,” he gags, “ that's disgusting.” Danny wipes the core off on his shirt and takes a thermos out of his thigh, and sucks it in. “ This better not become a trend,” he groans and starts to clean up.

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

After a night of cleanup, Danny was happy to sleep in. It's Saturday, a day for good little ghosts to sleep in, but no. At 7:00 a.m ., his phone goes off. He doesn't even check the caller ID. " Please say you're dying so I don't have a reason to be mad at you.”

Damian’s hushed voice comes through, “ Timothy is back. He roused us hours ago. He's got proof. Father's alive.”

Danny sits up, “ alive? Is he sure? There was a funeral–”

“ I know,” Damian says, “ but Richard looked it over too. He said it looks promising. They believe it's time travel.”

Danny gulps, “ past or future?”

“ Past,” Damian confirms. “ how far is unknown, but we believe it to be prior to the technological age.”  

“That's a start,” Danny says.

“Once we get him, will you come home?” Damian asks. Home. That's what Wayne Manors became.

He knows what his heart wants. But the G.I.W, the Fentons– they need to be handled. Both are a threat to the realms, to a people that's now his responsibility, not to mention the Gotham side of things. His paternal side doesn’t know of him– they're working on locating their Father. Moving, going public with his brother, and claiming his family lets Ra’s know he's still around– But the heart wants what the heart wants. “At the end of the school year, let them know. It's March. That gives me time to put affairs in order, and for father to recover. Transferring in the summer will be a lot easier school-wise, too–”

“Really?” Hope and relief shine through Damien's voice, “You will love it here, ahki. I'll instruct Alfred on your room– star charts, books, whatever you want. I'll make it perfect.”

“ It's best to go through legal channels. Mother made sure it was filed correctly,” Danny says. “ Just let me know when Father starts the process so that I can give the Fentons a heads up. Love you, ahki.” 

“ You too,” Damian says. “ I’ll update you on any findings.” 

“Thanks, bye,” Danny says as the call ends. He sighs and rubs at his face. Now, to awake to sleep. He stretches, gets dressed, and heads to the kitchen. It's empty. He's the first one awake. In a good mood, he decides to make breakfast.

The smell wafts throughout the house and attracts empty stomachs. “Danno?” Jack asks, coming into the kitchen. “ What are you doing up? Ooh, that smells good.”

“ Chocolate chip pancakes,” Danny turns to the side, “ want some?”

“Of course,” Jack ruffles his hair, “ miss out on your food? Never. Though you never answered my first question,” he goes to sit at the table. “ What are you doing up so early?”

“ Damian called.”

“Oh, how's he doing?” Jack asks.

“ Alright,” Danny says, flipping a pancake. “ He had some news for me, actually. They've got a lead on Father's disappearance. He should be home soon.”

“That's great!” Jack smiles, “ I know you've been worried about him.”

“... yeah, Dami wants me to move in with them this Summer. It's supposed to be safe…”

Jack's eyes soften. " Is that what you're worried about? Social Services won't approve it if you don't want to go. You're old enough that they'll consider your opinion.”

“I… I want my brother,” Danny says, passing pancakes and looking Jack in the eye. “ It's just… I've left everything behind once. I'm not too keen on doing it again. What if Father doesn't like me?”

“ Oh, Danyal.” Jack gets up, turns the stove off, and hugs him. " He'd be a fool not to. He's going to love you. I just know it.” 

“ It's just you've all been so nice– you put up with me– I don't–”

“Shh,” Jack runs a hand through his hair, “ you'll be okay. We've always known you would leave eventually. At least like this, we have a warning. Just because you won't be under our care doesn’t mean we'll stop caring. I told you before. You’re family now, too. We want you to be happy.”

 Danny can't help the tears, “ thanks.”

“ Have a seat,” Jack says, “ I'll finish the food.”

About half an hour later, Maddie and Jazz come down to join them. “ Where did Dan go?” Jazz asks.

“Oh, I forgot he was here,” Maddie says, starting to get up.

“ He left,” Danny interjects. “ I caught him on the way out. Something about a work emergency.”

“That's too bad we don’t get a lot of visitors,” Jazz says with a frown.

“ So, what are you kids planning to do today? We’ll,” Maddie gestures to Jack, “ have a meeting at 9:00 with the G.I.W. Then we're going to help Vlad put out stuff for his campaign. Would you like to join us?”

“Sorry, Mom,” Jazz says, “ going to the library. My science fair project is due Monday.”

“ I'm going to the park for a bit. It's supposed to be nice today,” Danny says, shrugging.

“ You two have fun, Jack says. “ Just remember to be home before dark.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

Danny would be having a great day at the park, if the park had no ground, green, and lacked gravity. He's in the realms. The whole Dan situation has him on edge, and he's not comfortable keeping a core on in a thermos. Dan had brought up the Observants and Clockwork– whomever that is. The whole situation screams an assassination attempt– a bad one, but an attempt regardless. He spent the better part of an hour flying leisurely towards the Observant council. He's not that far from them when he sees a giant winding tower, door open– inviting.

 Something’s– someone's, luring him in.

 He lands on the tower’s dormant and knocks, “Hello?”

“ My young king,” calls a voice above. “ Please, join us. We require your guidance.”

“ Yeah, Danyal, follow the creepy voice into the tower. Danyal, what an excellent idea,” he mutters to himself, stepping inside. The door slammed shut behind him. “ Come on, Phantom, you're a ghost. Conjuring activities are your bread and butter. It's not creepy, it's not creepy, it's not–” he mutters as he makes his way upstairs. 

“ –You had no right!” yells a being in purple. They’ve got red eyes and blue skin. “ Do you know what you've done!” They're floating next to a wall of mirrors, each one showing different people, things, places– like ghostly CCTV.

“ Clockwork–” the observant is silenced with a look.

They stare them down and say, “My king, my deepest apologies for what's happened.”

Danny goes to stand next to them, “ I'm aware of your lack of involvement, though I'd love to know how an interdimensional criminal got here. Also, I apologize for our improper introduction.”

Clockwork chuckles, “Clockwork, at your service. Ancient of time, Your Majesty. I oversee the timeline– which is how I know four observant’s dimensional traveled and stole Dan Phantom from his dimensions lockup.”

 Danny's eyes narrow. “ I see,” he says, turning to the observance. “ Have those individuals been handled internally? Or do I need to interfere?”

“ They have been reprimanded, my King,” one of the eyes says.

“ Then, in that case,” Danny removes a thermos from his thigh and takes out Dan's core. It's a mix of colors, reds, blues, and greens. He crushes it into dust. “ He will no longer be a problem.”

“ No,” an observant says outraged, “ that's a violation–”

“An inner-dimensional, planetary threat was brought here, planning to continue his ways of destruction,” Danny glares. “ I saw a threat to the realms and eliminated them. Nothing else to it. Your organization freed him. You couldn’t be trusted to handle his care. He violated the laws of balance. All I’ve done is make sure he can’t do it again.” 

“Observants, I believe we're finished with this discussion,” Clockwork says. “ Out.” They don't stay long. Once it's just them and Danny, they apologize, “ I had hoped our first meeting wouldn't be this way. Please follow me. Refreshments?”

 Danny follows, “ I'm fine, thank you.”

“ Let me know if you change your mind,” Clockwork says as they go into a cozy sitting room. “ As I said earlier, I'm clockwork, Ancient of time. I have a few other names, one of which I believe you'll find more interesting.”

“Oh,” Danny raises an eyebrow, surprised. Their attitude is a complete 180 now that business is over.

“ I am Chronus, to the Greeks, the Primordial, not the Titan, don't fret,” they smile. “ I have waited for epochs to meet you, child. Through my lovely Ananke, I'm your stepfather, but in the grand scale of things, I think you’ll prefer me as an uncle.”

 Danny is flabbergasted.

“ You can call me Uncle Clocky, or just simply Uncle will do– Uncle Chronus whenever dealing with the rest of the pantheon, I hope you understand,” Clockwork says giddily.

“ Thank you for having me then, Uncle Clocky,” Danny says, deciding to take this in stride.

“ Of course,” Clockwork waves it off. “ The least I could do. Dan should have never been here in the first place. There is great darkness in this universe, but in none does it darken your heart. Dan is not you or a variant, but a Chimera of obsession. There is much good and change in your future.”

“ Thank you.”

“ Now, I believe your human family is dealing with a time travel issue,” Clockwork says seriously. 

“You know about that?” Danny asks, a bit green.

Their eyes twinkle, “ I know everything. I just so happened to be in the position to help you.”

Danny straightens, “ What are your conditions?” This kind of thing isn’t offered for free.

“ No conditions,” Clockwork says, rising and changing to a little kid. “ I hope you'll add me to that Council of yours. " They give him puppy dog eyes.

“ Of course,” Danny quickly says, “ I'd have offered it to you even without the help, though it is greatly appreciated.”

“ I'll admit, I don't typically assist in personal matters. However, time displacement falls under my domain.” they change to an old man, grab an amulet to put it on him, and hand over a glowing blue gem. “ The necklace will allow you to move through time without displacement, and the gem, once crushed, will return your Father to his proper time.”

 Danny cups it in his hands, “ I don't know how I'll ever repay you.”

Clockwork opens a blue portal. " Once you're ready to come back, call out for me. I'll hear you. Safe travels, my king.”

“Many thanks, uncle,” Danny goes through.

The land is lush and green, and the sky is clear blue. “Wow.” There's no roaming city streets or cars, just nature, “ it's beautiful.” He flies around invisible– no need to scare the locals– and starts to search. He does so for hours, to the point that it's late, almost sundown, but he has yet to find Bruce among the settlements– which are few and far between. Going through the woods, the smell of cooking fish grabs his attention. Near the mouth of a cave is Bruce. His clothes are in tatters, his face looks gaunt, and moving with a limp. Danny lightly touches down a few meters away and calls out, “ Mr Wayne?” 

Bruce stiffens and looks around, his hand reaching for a nearby batarang. He inspects the area, ready to strike. Danny stands still, afraid to move. After a few moments, Bruce drops his weapon and sits back down next to the fire, his head in his hands. “ I'm losing it.”

Danny waits until Bruce looks up and flickers to visibility, “No, Mr. Wayne, you're not–” Bruce grabs the batarang again, “Please, I mean no harm.”

“Who are you,” Bruce demands.

“ An ally,” Danny says, walking forward slowly. 

“I've never seen you before,” Bruce starts to get up.

“ No, please sit,” Danny frets, “ you don't look well, sir.”

Bruce inspects him. Danny is in his ghost form, his ring and Crown invisible, only showing the jumpsuit that Amity has come to know. “ Sit.” Danny does. “ Who are you?”

“ Phantom,” Danny says, hand going over his logo.

“How did you get here, Phantom?” Bruce asks, some of the hostility going away once he sees he's a kid. “ How did you find me?”

“ An… acquaintance of mine informed me of your disappearance. Until recently, everyone believed you dead.” Danny says, a bit antsy. His first conversation with his father was an interrogation. “You had a nice service. After I was informed of your survival, a different acquaintance offered to assist me in getting you to your proper time.”

“Am I supposed to believe that you, a stranger, and others unknown to me have figured out my identity and have decided to put in the time and effort to bring me back?” he asks gruffly, raising his eyebrow.

“ We're strangers now, but that doesn't mean we'll always be,” Danny says cryptically. “ My kind have a weird relationship with time.”

“ Your kind,” Bruce echoes.

“ Not relevant for this conversation,” Danny says. “ I really am just here to send you home, Mr. Wayne. I know your family misses you.”

Bruce takes a shuddering breath, “ how?”

“ Simple,” Danny smiles and passes the gem. “ crush this. It'll take you when you need to be.” Bruce raises an eyebrow, and Danny laughs at his deadpan expression. “ I get it if you don't trust me, but what else do you have to lose?” Danny lets himself flicker out of visibility, and after ten minutes, Bruce crushes the gem, and a portal snatches him up. “ Safe travels, Baba.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“We Believe–”

“Oof,” Bruce falls out of the portal, landing hard on a table. He looks up. He's on the Watchtower. He sits up unsteadily, seeing someone in his suit, frozen– Dick based on his build– and Tim, “Robbins,” he rasps, “ report.”

“B–” Tim's the first to move, “ we need medical,” he yells. 

“Dislocated patella,” Clark reports, helping Bruce into a chair, “ healing ribs, a cracked femur. Bruce, how–”

“ A child. He calls himself Phantom. White hair, black uniform logo on the center of his chest,” Bruce says, letting his kids fuss over him. “ Called himself our Ally.”

“Who?” Tim asks. “ I've never heard of a Phantom.” he looks around, but no one else shows signs of recognition.

“ Said he was at my funeral,” Bruce says.

 Dick sighs, “ damn it, we’ve got a leak.”

Chapter Text

It’s not that Bruce is ungrateful being back, but he’s really starting to miss the peace and quiet. Just because Leslie said he’s ‘malnourished’ and ‘ needs rest,’ everyone is acting like he’s an invalid. Not to mention, his kids are walking on eggshells around each other. 

Alfred's recap was very… enlightening. 

In the six months he was gone, Cass came home, then left, unable to handle the grief. Tim helped Dick with Wayne Enterprises and left once talks of Damian becoming Robin happened. Then, came home with evidence of his whereabouts– their new acquaintance just happened to get to him first. Jason started helping out more, swinging by the manor. He doesn't even know where to begin with Damian and Dick… Dick stepped up. He somehow gained custody of the boys and took over the responsibilities of Batman and Bruce Wayne, all while– mostly– keeping up with his own.

Dickie’s a wreck.

He’s lost weight and looks absolutely exhausted.  

Bruce has tried to lighten the load and reclaim his responsibilities—his life—but the kids have him bed-bound. Propped up in his bed, he has pillows and blankets galore and a water glass that’s never empty. It was a fight just to get his laptop back.

Going through the cave files is unnerving. To see the changes in the active aliases: Cass– Black Bat, Steph– Batgirl Ⅲ, Damian– Robin Ⅴ, Tim– Red Robin, Dick– Nightwing & Batman Ⅱ.

All of them have done well in his absence. They've grown. 

They don’t need– “ Bruce!” Tim comes barging into the bedroom, “ Tell Damian to leave me alone.” 

Bruce just raises an eyebrow, “ what’s he done?”

“ He keeps trying to fight me!” Tim says, exasperated. “ I’ve got homework–” So much homework. Acting out– going off the grid for a month– is good for working through grief but not for a productive civilian life.

“ Have you considered he’s trying to play with you?” Bruce asks. Knowing Tim going from only child to youngest to middle– especially in a span of a few years– could be daunting. None of the boys have reacted well to younger siblings. “ He’s ten. You both train; perhaps he’s trying to bond with you–” 

Tim makes a face and flops onto the bed, “Whatcha do? Eat a parenting book?” 

“ Timothy.” 

Tim rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“ Oi, brat,” Jason calls, coming through the door with Bruce's dinner, “ leave the old man alone. Go bother Dickie bird.” He places a tray with soup and bread on the bed. 

“ He always takes the demon’s side,” Tim complains.

Jason rolls his eyes, “Get used to it, baby bird, youngest privileges.” 

“ Is everyone still home?” Bruce asks suddenly.

The boys give each other a look. “ Yeah,” Tim says, “though Steph's gone home already. Her mom has the night off. Why?”

“ Family meeting,” Bruce says, straightening up. “ I’ve been catching up on lost time, and I’ve got a lead on Phantom. There’s another problem.” 

“ Another?” Jason frowns, “ Okay, I’ll go grab everyone, I guess,” and leaves the room. He’s been much more agreeable since Bruce came home. 

“ What did you find?” Tim asks, now sitting at the foot of the bed in the middle. “ Dick, Babs, and I couldn’t find anything besides a cave painting or two, and that doesn’t tell us much since they can time travel.”

“ Hum,” you’ll find out soon enough , says Bruce. The family starts coming in, Damian sitting on the edge of the bed while Cass gets comfortable next to him. Jason and Dick claim half the bed for themselves, Jason by Bruce, Dick by Tim. While Alfred stands, leaning against the wall.

“ So, whatcha got?” Jason asks, leaning on Bruce.

“Better yet, why do you need us?” Cass asks. “ Jason just said you wanted us, not why.” 

Bruce sides-eyes Jason and sighs, “ I have a lead on Phantom.” 

“ What have you found?” Damian asks, leaning forward, gaze intense. 

“Timmy, Babs, and I started a file,” Dick says, but Bruce waves him off. 

“ I’m aware,” Bruce frowns, “ and the lack of information is startling. I was going through the league's call logs and found an abnormality. Outside interference, from the G.I.W, a subdivision of the D.E.O, known as the Ghost Investigation Ward.” 

“ Ghosts?” Tim asks, confused, “ Like Deadman and Secret?” 

“ That remains to be seen,” Bruce says, turning his laptop around. “ There’s not much on them or their operation.”

“ At all?” Damian asks. 

“ There’s nothing besides an outline of the recently passed Anti-Ecto Acts, claiming anyone exceeding ten percent ‘ecto contamination’ as non-sentient or sapient, and are to be turned over for experimentation and disposal.” Bruce recites, watching his children become increasingly concerned– Damians turned a bit green. “ Their division was recently created, from what I can see.” 

“ Ghost invasions?” Jason asks incredibly. 

“ Is it really an invasion if they originated here?” Damian muses. 

“That’s what we need to find out,” Bruce says. “ Months ago, hundreds of calls, claiming to be from Amity Park, Illinois, called the emergency line. Only one call made it through. He turns his computer back towards himself and starts a recording:

[ “ Thank you for calling the Justice League Hotline. If you know your party’s extension–”

A voice sighs, “ Speak to a representative.”] 

Damian freezes. He’d know that voice anywhere. He watches as Jason’s eyes widen– It’s been years, but he’s been around Danyal enough to recognize his voice. Damian stares him down. The message is clear. Don’t say anything . 

[ “ I’m transferring you now,” the automotive voice says, and the line starts ringing. After a moment the voice comes back, “ I’m sorry, there’s nobody available to take your call. Please state your name, location, and reason for calling, and one of our team members will reach out as soon as possible– *beep.*”

“ Hello, this is Amity Park, Illinois’s vigilante, Phantom. I have been informed of an incoming attack led by Pariah Dark, the Tyrant King of the Infinite Realms, sometime within the next forty-eight hours. I need help,” Phantom's voice cracks. “ I have no backup. Please, send somebody, anybody, before it’s–” ] the call drops.

An eerie silence hangs between them. Dick takes a shuddering breath, “ I’m guessing no updates?” 

“ Nothing,” Bruce agrees. “ Since Phantom brought me home, we can infer he was able to handle it. Whatever happened, he survived. Online maps show no sign of ‘ Amity Park’ ever having existed. Though older ones, photographed, place Amity next to Elmerton. Whatever’s happened, the Government is covering it up.” 

“ I thought they couldn’t do this kind of thing after what they did to J’onn,” Dick trails off.

“ Somehow, they’ve convinced lawmakers these ghosts, or ‘ecto-contaminants,’ aren’t feeling beings, which, based on Phantom, is anything but the truth,” Bruce says, obviously frustrated by this. 

“ Get Lois and Clark in on this?” Dick suggests. “ They’d eat this up.”

“ I was thinking the same,” Bruce confesses. “ Whatever we do, it needs to be discrete. Going against the Government unprepared never goes well.” 

“ But that still doesn’t explain our leak,” Tim says, grabbing the laptop for a better look.

“ About that, Damian,” Cass stares at him expectedly, “ anything you need to share?”Everyone turns to him. “ Young Master Damian,” Alfred comes forward, “ out with it, lad.”

“ He’s an acquaintance,” Damian says, picking at his skin, nervous. 

“ Would this acquaintance be the same one that told you to warn us about DALV CO?” Time asks. 

“ Who?” Bruce asks. He hasn’t heard of them before. 

“ Owned by Vlad Masters,” Tim explains, “ think Lex with hair and mind control abilities. They’ve been blacklisted from working with us– you’re welcome– so?” 

Damian nods, “ I… I told him about what we thought happened. He wanted to look for you,” he looks at Bruce. “ I asked him not to. If dead, I hoped you were at least at rest. He came to the funeral. He… he didn’t want me to be alone.” 

“ Master Bruce,” Alfred looks between them. “ After the service, the Young Master was with a boy by the graves.” 

“ It was Phantom,” Damian confirms. “ We keep in touch. After Timothy came about his suspicions of time travel, I told him about it, that there was a chance… I just never expected…” 

“ To me,” Dick says, “ It sounds like you have a good friend.” 

Bruce lets out a breathless chuckle, “When I asked him how he knew, he said an ‘acquaintance’ told him.” 

“ If he’s in trouble, I want to help him,” Damian says, determined. 

“ We’ll do what we can to help Phantom, you have our word,” Dick says, reaching out to him, pulling Damian into a hug. After some hard-to-evade questions and planning, Bruce releases the family. 

A rudimentary plan is now in motion. 

Everyone is quick to go their own way, and Damian rushes off to his room. He’s not alone ten minutes before Jason barges in. “ You knew! And you never told me! How dare you!”

Damian shushes him, “ It’s not what it seems.”

“ I mourned him– for years,” Jason’s incredibly hurt. “ You’re not the only one that lost a little brother– you should have told me. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“ It’s not like that,” Damian says.

Jason joins him on the bed, “ then explain it. What happened to our baby brother? He was buried after the duel– I helped bury him– how on earth does his spirit end up in the Midwest United States?” 

“ Mother interfered,” Damian says quietly. I was not told until I reached the States.” 

“ Does Ra’s know?” 

Damian shakes his head. “ Grandfather can not find out—not yet. Mother directly disobeyed him. She took Danyal from his grave and put him in the pit. He sank and, somehow, came out days later. She hid him in her rooms, and once he was well enough, she snuck him away to a foster family in the Midwest. Danyal was her first go at getting us away from the league.” 

“ What? All of us? I left when I was ready,” Jason says, eyebrows furrowed.

“ One doesn’t just leave the league,” Damian says like he’s stupid. “ Mother let you, against Grandfather's wishes. She stuck her neck out for you.” 

“ Look, I know the league has a lot of issues, morality aside, but get all of us out? What’s going on, Damian?” Jason asks, turning to look him in the eyes. 

“ I don’t know,” he admits, “ Mother won’t tell me, but something upset her. She wants us away, safe. Danyal… he’s hesitant to come here. He was in an accident. It’s not my place to go into detail, but he’s changed.”

“ But, a ghost?” Jason asks, still trying to get his head around it.

“ He’s a hybrid, dead and alive simultaneously. The ghosts call his kind a halfa. He’s not human anymore. He’s afraid he won't be welcomed home. Father is known for being anti-meta.” 

“ That’s ridiculous. He’s our brother, his blood. Who cares what he is? Bruce wouldn’t turn him away,” Jason says. “ He works with metas all the time.”

“ Works with, not live with,” Damian points out. “ It’s different when it’s family. I’ve seen him as Phantom. It’s not just powers. It’s biology, his needs. Human morals and ideals no longer fully apply. There’s no frame of reference of how Father will react.” 

“ Neither of us will let anything happen to him,” Jason says, determined. “ Once Dick finds out, he’ll be on board. He loves you little fuckers, and I don’t see Timmy or Cass going after him for something he can’t control. Worse comes to worse, he can live with me. I have the room. He’s more than welcome there. He’s wanted.”

“ After this school year, Danyal’s permitted me to tell Father about him– not as Phantom, but him . He’s got things to settle, but he’s coming.” Damian says, grabbing onto his arm. “ But with the Anti-Ecto Acts, I’m worried.” 

“ How often do you talk?” Jason asks, pulling him into a side hug.

“ Every couple of days,” he says. “ Tomorrow, after breakfast, meet me up here? I know he misses you.”

“ You told him I’m hood? How’d he take that?”

“ Mother did, actually. She sneaks over as a social worker every once in a while.” 

Jason cracks a smile. " Of course she did,” he sighs and gets up. “ Make sure to wait for me, demon. Baby brat and I are way overdue for a chat.”

“ Eleven.”

“ Eleven,” Jason echoes, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. 

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

Danny stomps up the stairs into the mayor's office, newspaper clutched in hand. “ Fruitloop!” he yells, barging into his office. Have you read this?” Vlad won the election by a landslide. There may have been some tampering on his end… but let's be honest here. Vlad was the better candidate. 

“ Yes, come in, Daniel; make yourself at home, Daniel,” Vlad snarks, looking up and away from his paperwork. “ It’s not like I’m doing anything–” Danny shoves the paper in his face. The headline: Anti-Ecto Acts– The Ghosts Gotta Go. Vlad scans the article; it explains the acts and the G.I.W’s continued presence in Amity. “ Genocide, this is governmentally approved genocide,” Vlad says, shocked, horrified. 

“ Danyal,” he corrects, sighing, “ You didn’t know?” 

“ Of course not,” Vlad puts the paper down, “ though I’m hardly surprised.” 

Danny takes a seat, “ humans fear what they don’t understand… Vlad, what are we gonna do about this?”

“ Do?” He raises an eyebrow. “ We aren’t going to do anything. This is above my pay grade, above yours.”

Danny makes a face, “ about that…”

“ I’m aware of your… position,” Vlad says as if it hurts him. “ But you’re a child. You’re in no position to take on one of the top militaries in the world. You got involved because of an invasion; this isn’t an invitation to start one.” 

“ Rude,” Danny grabs his paper back, “ but I meant contacting the Justice League or something. I tried before, but my calls aren’t going through. I’m not just gonna sit around while people are getting hurt. Couldn’t you try calling? You might get through. Yours is a government line.” 

Vlad huffs and pulls out a phone book, looking up the non-emergency line, “And what do you suppose I say? Help, you’ve stripped me of my rights? Get myself in trouble?” 

Danny rolls his eyes, “ Amity’s a high ecto area, especially since the portal opened. Based on the act's parameters, a lot of people could be affected; ten percent isn’t a lot.” He grabs the phone, dials, and puts it on speaker. The call doesn’t go through. “ Damn it, I was afraid of that– we’re cut off.” 

“ No, that shouldn’t be possible,” Vlad says, confused, then dials the senator's office– nothing. “ Fiddlesticks.” 

“ Told you,” Danny frets. “ What if there’s an emergency?” 

“ My Packers, my fantasy league– I’ve got money riding on them!” Vlad exclaims. 

Danny, looking disgusted, says, “Your priorities– huh–” he stands up. “I can’t say I’m surprised.” 

“ Maddie and Jack are supposed to be taking your kids camping, I believe, for spring break. Maybe you’ll get through once away from the city,” Vlad thinks aloud. 

“ Yeah, we’re supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon,” Danny says. “ His last trip with the Fentons, he’s determined to make it good. “ I’ll check and let you know when we get back.” 

“ Much appreciated,” Vlad says, getting up to walk him out, “ Have a good break, enjoy yourself, be safe, and get the hell out of my office.” 

He snorts, “Yeah, yeah, see you later, Fruitloop,” and walks off. It’s late when he gets out, almost ten. He should have been at the house, but he couldn’t risk not speaking with Vlad. The Anti-Ecto Acts could affect a lot of people, unsuspecting people.

He doesn’t have a good feeling about this. 

Once out of view, he turns invisible and flies back to his room. He's ready and packed for his trip– sleeping bag, fishing pole, clothes, medkit– and his homework is done. It's gonna be fun. He goes to the bathroom and gets ready for bed. He stares at himself in the mirror and huffs. Since the accident, he hasn't grown a centimeter. He doesn't feel any older. He's a hot mess. When Fright Knight said he has millennia till adulthood, he hadn't really thought about what it meant. How he’s gonna explain this to everybody, he doesn't know. He'll have some time once he moves to Gotham, a clean slate, but his baba is Batman . He'll figure it out, and if not him, then somebody else. Gotham's looking more and more complicated.

Danny’s half asleep when his ghost sense goes off. Whoever it is, they’re weak. He contemplates just turning over and going to sleep, but what if they’re not? Hiding your ecto-signature is hard, but not impossible. 

Better safe than sorry.

So, he transforms and sneaks out. He’s in his usual hazmat, crown, and ring hidden– monarch look, only for monarchy things. He does a loop around Amity, looking for anything out of place. He lands gently in the park. “ What on earth?” he mutters. There’s a bunny– a green little bunny. “It’s okay,” Danny says, going over to soothe it. He picks it up– BOOM.

The bunny blows up, releasing a torrent of electricity, throwing him back into a tree. There’s screaming, boots rushing forward. His head hurts, eyes heavy, black spots dotting his vision– weapons pointed at him.

The G.I.W– he’s surrounded.

The dots overtake him. 

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

*–Bark– Bark– Bark– Bark—* Maddie rolls over and grabs her phone. " Hello?” 

“ Dr. Fenton,” Agent O’s gruff voice comes through, “ we have a situation.”

“ Hum?” She yawns, sits up, and checks the time—9 A.M. “What’s going on?” 

“ We have Phantom in custody.”

That wakes her up, “ really? How long?” 

“ A few hours, we need you to come in.” 

“ Of course,” Maddie says, already rising. “ We’ll be there within the hour.” She wakes Jack up and gets ready to go.

Once downstairs, Jack starts on a note, “How long do you think we’ll be? We can’t keep the kids waiting,”

“ Well,” Maddie thinks, starting a quick breakfast, “ it depends. Maybe four? Clean-up’s probably going to take a bit.” 

“ I’m just worried about daylight. We might not have enough time to set up,” Jack frowns. “ This is Danyals' last trip with us; I want it to go well.” 

“ It’ll be fine,” Maddie says, passing a bagel. “ Come on, we’re going to be late.” 

“ Yes, dear,” Jack says, finishing up his note, putting it on the fridge, and heading out the door.

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“You're early,” Damian remarks as Jason slips through the door.

Jason shrugs and sits on the bed, “Don’t have all day.”

“ Patience is a virtue,” Damian snarks, pulling up Danny's contact information on his laptop. “ Let me do the talking, you finding out…” they wince. 

“ His mini Bruce tendencies do come out when he’s stressed,” Jason relents, running a hand through his hair, lying back onto his arms. 

Damian tries to call, but it doesn’t connect. “That’s... odd.” He tries again, but nothing. The connection is good, so why?... He tries the phone. 

“ We’re sorry, but ​​the phone number you dialed is no longer in service–” the message cuts off, and the call drops.

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“ Oh, this is so exciting,” Maddie says, giddy as they enter the G.I.W. base. “ I still can’t believe they caught it.” They pass through security and head toward the labs.

“ It was bound to get caught eventually,” Jack says conversationally, not really paying attention. They’ve never been allowed to go by themselves before, always escorted. They turn a corner to find crowding around an observation window. 

An agent looks up and sees them, “ Dr. Fentons,” they nod in greeting. “ Agent O and K are ready for you in conference room three.” 

“ Oh, which way is that?” Maddie asks.

“ Follow me,” They say, leading them away from the window. The conference rooms are closer to the entrance. They knock on a door, open it, and usher them in, “ The Dr. Fenton’s, sir.” 

“ Dismissed,” Agent K waves them away. “ Have a seat, doctors.” Jack and Maddie sit, and K starts a presentation. “ At 12:03 AM, Phantom was successfully lured by subject B13 to Amityville Park, where it was promptly captured.” 

Maddie nods, “ when can we get in there?”

“ Before that, unfortunately, there has been an incident,” O says grimly. He starts the security footage: 

[ “ No,” Phantom pleads, being strapped to an exam table, struggling against them, ectoplasm oozing, body burning from the ecto-ranium.] 

“ It woke up during prep,” K says, monotone, explaining. 

[ “ Stay still,” an agent orders, “ force it down.”

“ No– stop– you’re hurting me–” Phantoms frantic, eyes wide.] 

‘ Scared,’ Maddie thinks, shocked. They’ve seen Phantom show ‘ emotion,’ worried about territory disputes… not to mention the invasion. ‘ It’s terrified . Those eyes…” she looks towards Jack– he sees it too. ‘ Those are Danny’s eyes.’ 

[ “ Leave me alone!” Phantom's scream turns into a wail. The force sends the agents flying, crashing into walls– one through a window. Phantom’s shaking– crying– the wail isn’t voluntary. Once he’s out of breath– shaking– more agents come in, inject something, knocking him out.] End of footage.

“ We’ve muzzled it,” K tries to reassure the Fentons. “ There’s no chance of it happening again.” 

“ Okay,” Jack's voice is shaky, “ when can we get in there?” 

“ Right away,” K says, getting up, ready to head out.

“ Oh, before that, could we have a moment? I just realized we forgot to let the kids know we’d be out,” Maddie says, taking out her phone. “ It’s spring break, they’ll be worried.” 

“ Oh, um, we’ll give you a moment,” O and K awkwardly shuffle out the door.

Once they’re gone, Jack leans over, whispering, “You don’t think–” 

“ I don’t know,” Maddie says hoarsely, “ but we saw what we saw.” 

“ But how– when– if it happened since we got him,” Jack’s on the verge of a freak-out. “ We never– we would have noticed.”

“ Jack, Danyal was the one that made the portal work– honey did, did we kill him– oh my god, Jack,” tears drip down her face. Jack takes the phone from her hand and calls Jazz, putting it on speaker. 

“ Hey, Mom,” Jazz says cheerily, “ I saw the–”

“ Jazzy, baby, I need you to go upstairs and check on Danny,” Jack cuts her off. “ It’s important, hurry.” 

“ Dad? Uh, yeah, sure,” Jazz says, sounding confused. They hear her knock on a door and open it, “Give me a second. He’s not in his room.” 

“ Okay, Jazzy, I need you to really look good,” Maddie sniffs, wiping her eyes.

“ Mom, what's going on?” Jazz asks, going down the stairs, “ Danny! Mom and Dad want you,” silence, then footsteps, “ Danny? Wait, let me check the lab,” they can hear the door open, “ Danny? Mom, Dad, I don’t see him. What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

Maddie sobs into her hands while Jack goes numb. “ Jazz,” Jack, barely holding it together, says, “ I need you to clean up the lab table, clean weapons, put them in the vault, and grab the emergency kit– we’ll be home soon.”

“ What?”

“ No time to explain. Don’t let anyone in– we love you, Jazzy,” Jack says and hangs up. “ Mads,” he hugs her, kisses her, “ come on, we’ve gotta go get our boy. No one messes with our kids, not on Jack Fenton’s watch.” Maddie nods and pulls her goggles down, obscuring her eyes.

“ We’re done. Sorry about that,” Maddie says as they exit the room. 

“ Kids are disappointed, but they understand this comes first. No ghost escapes Jack Fenton!” He exclaims, trying to act normal.

K nods. “My niece gets like that sometimes. It’s understandable. " They head back toward the lab.

“ So the ghost is fully prepped? Ready to go?” Maddie asks; they’re outside the lab. 

The agent's exchange looks. “ After what happened, some of our scientists became overzealous ,” O says. “ Nothing permanent, you’ll see.” They go in, and it’s clean and pristine– white. Phantom– Danny – 

“ What have you done?” Jack asks, hollow. Danny’s strapped down, muzzled– which they expected, but the rest– he's covered in hives, blisters, burns– his suit is ripped. His hands, they’re gone . Crudely cut– ripped, not clean– halfway through the hand. The insides are oozing, jelly-like meat is exposed, and crystalized bones are cutting through. Next to the table is a cart of instruments– scalpel, bone saws– things Jack’s never seen before. Next to the tools is a jar. Nails, fingers, whole hands, floating in embalming fluid.

“ The burns are left over from capture,” O explains, walking towards the ghost, “ the other stuff, we’ve come to learn, is a reaction from the blood blossom extract. Boils the fuckers from the inside out,” he gives a manic smile. “ Helps keep it down.”

“ The hands?” Maddie asks, trying her best not to puke.

“ Started with the nails, it did it to itself, trying to get out,” O says.

“ The nails grew back,” K continues. “ We’re trying to see how much is too much. Healing gets slower each time. Well,” they clap Jack on the shoulder, “ we’ll let you get to it.” 

The agents head on out, “ Have fun, Docs,” O says, shutting the door behind him.

“ Oh god,” Maddie rushes to the table, Danny looking at her, terrified. He should never look at her like that. “ It’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispers, so her voice doesn’t get picked up. 

Jack grabs a scalpel and goes to the other side, “We know. It’s okay.” Danny’s eyes follow the blade.

“ Danyal,” Maddie's fingers go over the muzzle, feeling for a latch, “ we’re going to get you out.” 

“ Mmph,” Danny sobs, green tears escaping.

“ It’s gonna be okay, baby,” Maddie tries to soothe. “ Can you slide your arms out?” Danny tries, but they’re a smidge too tight. Maddie discreetly loosens the restraints by one notch. It’s just enough. 

“ Jack?” Maddie asks.

“ It would be too obvious– I don’t,” Jack frets. 

Danny lets out a sob and reabsorbs his legs into a ghostly tail. Ectoplasm dripping from the extremity.

“ Home, we’ll follow,” Jack says, rushing him. 

Danny flickers to invisibility, and Maddie rushes out of the room. Running to the entrance, startling agents, “ It’s gone. It was there one second, then nothing. Phantom’s escaped.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“ Jazz!” Jack hollers, coming into the house, “Do you have him?” It took an hour to get back, the worst hour of their lives. 

“ Mom, Dad,” Jazz comes bursting out of the lab, going straight for a hug. “ What happened? Phantom’s downstairs. He looks bad.” 

“ We know we’re going to help him,” Maddie says, pulling out of it, “ Jazzy, Phantom, he’s Danny.”

“ What– what? No, that’s not possible.” 

“It is, we just– we just don't know how yet,” Jack says, “ come on,” he opens the lab door. The Fenton's head down to see Danny curled up on his side, like a snake, eyes alert. 

“ Danny,” Maddie goes over slowly, “ can we help? Let us get the muzzle off you, yeah?” 

Danny rolls his eyes and sits up, tail turning to legs, and nods.

Maddie makes sure her movements are gentle. “There we go.”

“ Water,” Danny rasps.

Jazz grabs a bottled one from a mini fridge and passes it over. “ Uh..” Danny holds his hands up, now regrown to the knuckles.

“ Oh,” Jazz blushes, opens it, and helps him drink. 

“ Thanks,” Danny says, done after a few mouthfuls. He looks over to Jack and Maddie, “Thank you for getting me out. I’m still me– not an imprint–” rambling to justify his existence. 

“ It’s okay, we’re not gonna hurt you, you’re okay,” Jack quickly reassures. “ We don’t know how, but we understand. You’re you.” 

“ Could you tell us?” Maddie asks, “We can try to fix you up in the meantime.” 

Danny is a bit hesitant but nods. " The suit, could you?” he motions to the zipper. Jack helps the suit off, revealing a cartoon astronaut shirt and khaki shorts. The Lichtenberg scar glows bright green, along with smaller scars and marks, too, to a lesser extent. “ Thanks,” he looks down. “ I forgot it was this one,” he says, looking down.

“There’s not much we can do about the hives, but we can at least cover the burns and blisters,” Maddie says.

“ Yeah, the blood blossoms are really slowing down my healing,” he says, looking anxious as the Fentons go through their medkit. This,” he gestures to himself, “ isn’t your fault, just so you know. I... I think this was a long time coming.” 

“ Danny–” Jazz starts, upset.

“ No, I mean,” he huffs, “ I grew up with something similar to ectoplasm around,” this catches Jack and Maddie’s attention. “ A sub-variant, technically.” He’s not telling them about the family tradition of bathing in ghost blood– no siree. “ When I fixed the portal… there was an incident. I’m dead, but not. Think Schrodinger’s cat, but humanoid.” 

“ We are so sorry,” Jack says, crying. “ My baby, Mads, we killed one of our babies.” 

“ No, no, it’s okay,” Danny says, choking up himself. 

“ It’s not okay, we’re so sorry,” Maddie’s crying too.

“ I’d turn back, but,” Danny holds up his healing hands.

“ They’re growing back?” Jazz asks.

Danny nods, “ should be fine in a day or two. They gave me a lot of blood blossom extract. Please, don’t be upset,” he says to the Fentons. “ I’m okay, just different. You’ve got a lot of stuff about ghosts wrong. There are multiple forms of government, cities, and rich cultures. Morals and values differ– greatly in some cases, but they’re, we’re a different species, it tends to be that way.” 

“ Okay, thank you, sweetheart,” Maddie says, finishing bandaging him up.

“ What now?” Jazz asks. “ He can’t be hurt again. I,” Jazz starts crying too, “ I can’t lose my baby brother.”

“ Ukhti, you’re not losing me,” Danny says, trying to comfort her.

 Jack and Maddie exchange a look, “ Danny, it’s not safe, we–”

“ I know,” he sighs, “ and I have a plan….Just because the G.I.W. lost me doesn't mean you shouldn’t go on your trip. " His eyes shine mischievously. 

“ Well, I guess that does simplify things,” Jack says slowly. “ The G.A.V always sets alarms off; they won’t think twice about it.”

“ But are you even going to be okay? You don’t have hands,” Jazz frets.

“ I’ll be fine. I just gotta grab my things. Speaking of Jack, Maddie, would you do me a favor, please?” 

“ Of course, anything, Danno,” Jack says.

“ A copy of the portal semantics? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’m of both realms now. I can’t survive without the other.”

“ Done,” Maddie says, downloading everything onto a flash drive. “ Grab your things. If we’re going to do this, we need to do it fast.”

Danny nods and flies through the ceiling. He quickly grabs things from in the walls, by the palms of his hands, and adds keepsakes to his go bags. He’s ready. Jazz helps him put on a hoodie, and he goes to the G.A.V. invisibly. The others followed suit. 

Maddie adds the flash drive to one of Danny’s bags, and they drive off. Thirty minutes later, they’re at the checkpoint. Danny and Jazz are covered by blankets. “ Good afternoon,” Maddie greets as an agent comes to the window.

The agent gives the van a look over, “You’re free to go, Dr. Fenton.”

“Much appreciated,” Maddie says, then drives off. It’s not till they’re fifteen minutes out that they start to relax. 

“ That couldn’t have gone better,” Jazz says, relieved.

Danny nods, “I was worried they’d check anyway because of today.” 

“ We’ve got it handled,” Maddie says, pulling over and turning the car off./

“ Thank you,” Danny says once again, grabbing his bags. Jazz helps to secure them. “ I know how much you’ve risked.” 

“ Of course, you’re family,” Jack says. “ I told you once before that you may not be our kiddo, but your family all the same. That hasn’t changed.” 

Danny goes through the front seats and hugs him. “ You’re the first father I’ve ever had. I’m not yours, and you’re not mine, but I love you all the same. Thanks for being my Dad, even when you didn’t have to be.” 

Jack hugs him tightly and kisses his temple, “Thank you for being ours. We love you too.” 

After a moment, Danny switches to Maddie. “ I’ve had a mother, and you could never replace her. I just hope she understands that now, I have another.” 

“ Oh, come here,” she holds Danny tight. “ Be safe. Shower regularly, keep up with school, and remember to eat. Remember to call once it’s safe.” 

“ Of course,” Danny smiles sadly at her. “ I’ve gotta introduce you to Dami. Who knows, maybe I’ll convince him to visit with me.” He goes back to Jazz, “Come here, ukht.”

“ That’s twice you’ve called me that now,” she says, hugging him. “What does it mean?”

“ Sister,” Danny squeezes her. “ That’s what you are, after all. Love you.” 

“ Love you too,” Jazz says, letting him go. 

Danny goes intangible through the car and flies off.

The Fentons watch till he’s out of sight, filled with mixed emotions. Danny may have said goodbye, but they all know in their hearts. It’s a see you soon.

Chapter Text

The way to Gotham was a lot longer than Danny remembered, though that might be the blood loss talking. He may have gotten turned around a couple of times, but that's not really his fault. It's not like he had a flight path planned, which made entering Gotham's airspace all the more relieving. Though, that feeling doesn't last long. Starting with the fact that he can physically feel the city. 

The air is different, toxic, to the point it's sickening. Saturated in dark emotions, trying to latch on to everything. To spread the city's madness. Heavy clouds loom in the sky, blocking the sunlight, on the verge of breaking. Ready to pour ink-stained rain on the smogging city below.

Danny's too tired to really care. Allowing the city's ecto to boost his own. It's about 1,500 km between Amity and Gotham– a trip under normal circumstances he could do no problem, but right now? He’s struggling to keep his invisibility up and running. 

He sticks to the clouds, following the major roadways, till he hits Bristol. Flying a hair's breadth above the cars. Following along the familiar winding roads to Wayne Manor. He lands just past the property line and turns visible. Hobbling past well-manicured lawns and flower beds towards the house. He's almost to the porch when a Great Dane comes sprinting from around the corner “Oof,” knocking him off his feet. 

“ Titus! Titus! Come back here, boy!” Damian hollers, causing the dog, Titus, to get off. “ Titus!” The dog huffs and drags Danny across the grass by his shoe. Damian comes from around the corner, exasperated, “Really? After all–” that is, till he sees what he’s got. “ Danyal!” 

“ Damian,” Danny pants, “ you look taller.” 

“ Oh shut– Titus, drop,” Damian says, kneeling next to him and pulling him into a hug. “ What happened–” 

“ I don’t feel too good, Dami–,” Danny says, adrenaline dropping, the pain coming back full force. Eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“ Alfred! Alfred!” Damian screams, watching the ectoplasm ooze out of him. His hands are gone; what’s left is only exposed muscle. He’s covered in bandages– crudely done, but an effort has been made. Damian holds him tighter, “You’re home. I have you, Danyal. Alfred!” He screams again. 

“ Young Master?” Alfred calls out, opening the front door. 

“ Alfred! Help,” Damian yells, undoing Danny’s bags and getting him ready to move. 

Alfred dashes down the stairs, “ what happened?”

“I’m not sure,” Damian says, trying to situate Danny into a fireman's carry. “ Titus went ballistic and ran to the front yard. When I caught up, Phantom was here.”

Alfred grabs the bags, “ can you carry Mr. Phantom to the medbay?” Damian nods, and the three head inside. Alfred puts the bags by the door. “ I shall alert your father and meet you downstairs.” 

“ Hurry, please,” Damian says, heading for the clock entrance. He kicks the office door, “ Richard, open up.” 

“ Huh?” Dicks voice comes through, “Give me a second.” For convenience's sake, while Bruce was lost, Dick took over his office. He opens the door, “ Woah, what’s happened?” 

Damian brushes past him, and when Dick doesn't follow, he growls, “ open the clock.” 

“ Is that Phantom?” Dick asks, still by the door, “ Pass him, I’ll take him.”

“ Open the clock,” Damian demands.

Dick opens the clock.

Danny groans as they go down the cave, “ Dami…”

“ Good. Stick with me. No more fainting. I forbid it,” Damian says.

“ Don’t think… help it,” Danny mumbles. He looks over to see Dick, “ ‘M Phantom. Nice to…” 

“ Shh, pleasantries later,” Damian fusses. 

“ Nice to meet you, Phantom,” Dick says. “ Wanna tell us what happened?” 

“ Tried to help, trap,” Danny slurs. “ Dami, make it better.” 

“ You will be fine; we will fix you right up,” Damian reassures him as they reach the main level, startling Tim, who’s at the bat computer. 

“ What happened? Who’s that?” Tim asks, getting up.

“ This is our new friend, Phantom– grab the meta-medkit, would you?” Dick asks, helping Damian settle Danny onto a gurney. “ Our regular stuff might not work on him.” 

“ Kryptonian or speedster,” Tim asks.

“ Both,” Damian answers. “ He’ll need a mixture. His metabolism will burn through standard medication, and his… fluids are corrosive at best, radioactive at worst.” Tim nods and starts pulling things out. 

The elevator dings and Alfred comes out, ready to get to work. " Thank you, Young Masters. Now, move, please. Let me see my patient.” 

“ I am not leaving him,” Damian says, staying by his side.

“ Young Master, if I’m going to help–”

Danny doesn’t want him to leave either. “ Stay…Dami,” he begs. He’s in no hurry to be worked on by a stranger– in a room of white –

“ I’m not going anywhere,” Damian reassures, seeing the frantic look in his eyes. He then looks at the others. “ I will stay out of the way, but I am not going.” Alfred sighs and starts taking off the bandages. They haven’t held up well. The inner layers are falling apart. 

“ How far up were the original wrappings, Mr. Phantom?” Alfred asks, picking off soaked remains. 

Danny winces, trying not to cry, “Halfway up my arms. Had to scoot them down. Keep pressure. T-trying to keep everything in.” 

“ Were you treated for the hives?” Alfred continues, giving the rest of him a look over.

“ No,” Danny says. “ Just the hands, a-and the burns,” Danny says, voice shaky. The bandages are fully off now. Exposing his slowly regrowing limbs. Patches of skin reforming near his wrists while his fingers are starting to take shape. The openings look like textured gushers, crystalized bone cutting through. 

Damian pails, seeing the true extent of the injuries, “You flew here like that?!” 

“ I think I’m gonna be sick,” Tim rushes out, gagging.

“ I.. this is outside my capabilities,” Alfred flounders. 

“ You– you can’t leave him like that,” Damian exclaims, standing up, “ we have to–” 

Dick pulls him back, looking a little green, “We have contacts. His physiology is too different–”

“ It’s not, it’s really not,” Damian says, upset. 

“ Dami,” Danny’s voice starts soft but grows urgent. Dami, rewrap me.” 

“ Mr. Phantom, I can’t advise that. I’m not even sure if epinephrine can help your allergy,” Alfred tries to explain, but Danny is looking more upset. 

“ No, no, no, NO– Dami– give me the shot– rewrap me,” Danny demands, “ I’m running out of ecto.”

“ You mean–” 

“ Yes! Now, please,” Danny says, gesturing to the supplies. 

Damian starts wrapping– fast. “ Richard, you have an extra set of hands– wrap his.” 

“ Young Master–” 

“ Help me,” Damian pleads. “ Help me help him. I’m asking– begging you to help me–” he’s frantic. “ he’ll regenerate, he’s already started to–” 

“ Time, all I need is time, please,” Danny continues. 

Dick grabs an Epipen from the medkit, “ are you sure this will help?”

Danny nods, “ Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh.” 

Dick injects it, then grabs more bandages, “ these aren’t going to last long.” 

“ I see you have things handled here,” Alfred says, a little putout, taking his gloves off.

“ Ow, ow, ow,” Danny exclaims, unable to hold back the tears as the bandages pull at his skin. “ Dami, I can’t hold it, I can’t. ‘M gonna– ‘m gonna–” Danny’s eyes roll back, and a ring of light passes over him. Switching out the ghostly form for his black-haired, pajama-clad, living body. The ectoplasm turns to blood, and it’s flowing. 

“ Oh my god,” Dick exclaims as Danny goes limp, blood soaking through everything. 

“ Bandages,” Alfred demands. “ Young Masters–” he takes over from Damian, who is frozen. 

“ Damian– Damian,” Dick shouts, trying to snap him out of it. Call Leslie– this is– damn it. Tim! Get in here.” 

“ Young Master, who is this,” Alfred asks, “ what is he–”

“ He’s my brother,” Damian says, lifelessly. “ My little brother.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

“ We were able to stop the bleeding,” Alfred reports as the family gathers around the meeting table. Once Danny’s connection was revealed, everyone got called in. “ The burns and blisters have been tended to, and epinephrine has been administered. With his altered status, the odds of a complete recovery, I am unable to say.”

“ How did this happen?” Bruce asks.

“ I’ve got nothing,” Barbara says, frustrated. “ He just appears on the manor grounds.” 

“ One of his abilities is invisibility,” Damian says, eyes red. He’s been crying. “ He probably kept it up till he arrived. Danyal, he’s always been cautious. He wouldn’t want to be seen.” 

“Bruce, whoever did this,” Leslie peters out, “... there's going to be scarring. Danyal…he was struggling. He was awake when this happened. His body's composition is like a wire figure encased in jelly. There's no telling what kind of complications that could arise.”

“ He should be fine. Eventually,” Damian says, all eyes going towards him. “ His healing factor is strong– since Richard applied the EpiPen, he's begun healing faster, and when Leslie redid the bandages, his fingers were up to the first knuckle.”

“ Just because his body is regrowing doesn't mean it's coming back correctly,” Leslie says. “ Nerve problems–”

“ He already has those,” Damian grumbles. 

“ We’re, uh, gonna table that for the moment,” Dick says. “ When Danyal wakes up, we’ll go over specifics–” 

“ I know what my brother's medical problems are; we do not need to wait. He can be treated–” 

“ Damian,” Bruce says gruffly, “ enough. There’s a lot that goes into treating someone– beyond medical history and current injuries. We’re not even sure that he is who you claim him to be.” 

Tim pulls up a lab report on his iPad, “ his blood work is a mess. Only half of it is carbon-based, and the other half– the closest component we have on file is Lazarus water–” 

“ Danyal is… different, but he is Danyal,” Damian says earnestly. “ I know it.” 

“ Why didn’t you tell anybody?” Cass asks quietly. 

“ Yeah, you hid a whole person,” Steph adds. 

“ It’s complicated,” Damian squirms. 

Jason groans, head lolling back, “Don’t be too hard on the brat. He wasn’t the only one who knew,” he sighs. “ Though, I wasn’t told everything until recently.” 

“ You… you knew,” Bruce’s voice breaks, “ you knew, and you never told me?!” 

“Like the brat said, it's complicated– I thought Danyal was dead. I helped bury him!” Jason says, snapping up, hand banging on the table. “ I'm sorry, but I thought I'd save you the hurt of mourning a kid you never got to meet,” he sags back into his seat. “It wasn't till we heard the recording that I knew he was alive– this is hard for us, Bruce.” 

“ What happened?” Bruce demands, voice emotionless. 

“Father, you must understand, Danyal, he's always been… different. When we were born, he did not come out right. Stillborn. Until Mother put him in the pit. He was always sensitive to it and those freshly out of it. A few years ago, Grandfather gathered us for training. I-I don't remember why, but it was supposed to be a reward. We had Danyal’s favorite for dinner that night. Which wasn't that odd– we alternated reward dinners,” Damian Rambles. “ The training went wrong– right maybe, in Grandfather's perspective– he killed him. He killed my brother,” he sobs, shoulder shaking.

“He made us watch,” Jason continues, moving to hug him from behind, chin resting on his head. “ He choked to death on his own blood. Ra’s wouldn't let us revive him. Talia and I dug his grave… It was shallow. The ground was too hard– it was winter. She sent me back to Gotham a few months later..” 

Damian snubs, regaining some composure, “ I didn't know till we came to the States, but Mother disobeyed orders. I don't know how long she waited, but she dug him up. Danyal sank to the bottom and then crawled out days later. Confused, no signs of pit rage. After a few days, she snuck him out and placed him with an American Foster family. Which is where he stayed for the last two to almost three years. Mother took me to see him before she dropped me off with you. His foster parents are scientists.. something– he was in an accident. He's not human anymore. It wasn't his fault–”

“ A living ghost,” Tim mumbles, realizing.

Damian nods, “The other ghosts call him a halfa. Half ghost. Half living, half dead. Halfa’s are an endangered species, technically… he’s all alone. Before, he couldn’t wait to meet you. He’s always wanted to meet you, but after… he was scared to come home. As Batman, you’re known to be anti-meta. He’s scared that he’s close enough to count. Please, don’t send him away.”

✴❀✿❅✿❀✴

Danny wakes up in fresh pajamas– a matching stripe set, just slightly too big– bright lights overhead. The guard rails on the gurney have been put up. He looks around to see Damian asleep in the chair next to him and Jason reading in the corner. “... How long have I been out?”

Jason startles and puts his book away. “ Hey, kiddo,” he says, pulling his chair over. You scared us.”

“ Jay.”

He sighs, “ It's about,” he glances at his phone, “ 3:00 a.m. The security cameras spotted you on the grounds a little after 6:00 p.m., so about nine-ish hours.” Jason brushes hair out of his eyes, “We've been changing out your bandages every couple hours. Your right side is regenerating faster than your left. Last we checked, your nail beds were forming on the right, and skin regrowth is up to your fingers. The left skin and regrowth rate are more in sync. Up to the joint.”

“ That.. makes sense, I guess. Their tests started with my left,” Danny thinks back.

“Really? I think the left would be further along then,” Jason frowns.

“They kept cutting off the regrowth,” Danny says emotionlessly, detached. “ Put the parts into a Jar full of embalming fluid.” 

“ Shit, Danyal,” Jason leans back, unsure what to say.

“ You left evidence?” Damian asks sleepily, stretching. 

“ Sorry, ahki,” Danny says; he hadn’t meant to wake him. “ Once detached from me for a couple of hours, the parts will liquify and lose anything viable.” 

“ Still…”

“ You scared us showing up like that,” Jason says, wanting to get them back on track. The twins lose focus easily, especially when playing off each other's nonsense. “ What happened?” 

Danny gives him a look, “ You’re taking me being back a lot smoother than I thought you would.”

The boys give each other guilty looks. “ About that,” Damian says. “Father was looking into you– into Phantom. He found your call to the league and had us listen to it.”

“ I recognized your voice, of course,” Jason says. “ Dame’s planned on telling you during your next gossip sesh, but the calls weren't going through.”

“... did the others know who I was when I showed up? Or–”

“ No. Not until you turned back,” Damian reassures, understanding Danny's fears. “ And it's okay. Ahead of schedule, but okay. Father will handle things. All you have to worry about is getting well… but we do need to know. Mother will need to know..”

“... I fell for a trap set by the G.I.W. It was stupid. The Fentons– my foster placement,” he clarifies for Jason's benefit. “ Got called in. They're the best Ecto-scientists on this side of the veil. They've never liked ghosts. We've interacted before like that– as ghost and ghost hunter, and I had gotten them to start rethinking their stance on my kind. I don't know what I did, but something about my mannerisms gave me away. They recognized me. They helped me get out– at their own expense. They did a rough patch job once safe enough and smuggled me out of the city,” Danny yawns. 

“Remind me to send them a gift basket,” Jason mumbles, then looks over at Damian. “ We should go up. Danyal, you need to sleep.”

“ I'm fine,” Danny yawns again.

“ Yeah, that's what I thought,” Jason huffs, leaning over and kissing his forehead. “ No more dying on us, short stack.”

“ I'll do my best,” Danny snarks as Jason walks out. “ Are you leaving too, Dami?”

 He nods, “ I'll return in the morning.”

 Danny pouts but accepts it, “Wrap me up?”

“ Do you want me to tuck you in too?” Damian asks but does it regardless.

“ Night, Dami,” Danny says, turning to the side. Damian turns the lights off on his way out, leaving him to sleep. About an hour or so later, the pitter-patter of steps wakes him. His eyes opened just in time to catch his latest visitor, “ Good morning.” Startling his father.

Bruce looks over, surprised, “Oh, I didn't…” his body language is awkward.

“It's okay. Damian and Jay stayed till I woke up; they left just a bit ago,” Danny reassures Bruce, who slowly sinks into a visitor's chair. “I'm sorry for dropping in unexpectedly. I had hoped when the time was right, Dami could help smooth over our introduction.” 

“It's okay, anytime,” Bruce says, drinking him in, trying to commit his image to memory. “...When you said we'd meet again soon, I expected a Battlefield– not that this isn't bad too, um, good–” 

Danny can't help but laugh at him, “Sorry– it's just– Mother's stories of you– a lot more accurate than I expected.”

“ Oh?”

“ She called you a blubbering technician– said she was better off heading your actions and not your words,” Danny replies, finding Bruce's floundering funny.

“ That's… not what I expected,” Bruce decides. “ Especially with your brother's expectations… Did she tell you stories often?”

Danny yawns, then hums in agreement. " Whenever she could. Usually, as a lesson to be learned, but sometimes… she'd complement your laugh, the real one, not the one that you give to the press. How you’re free-hearted, how you would give the shirt off your back to someone who needed it. I think that's what always stuck with me. More so than Damian. He was always more taken with the persona the mask creates than the person underneath it… I think Mama got you to a tee, Baba. It's nice to meet you—officially.”

“ The pleasure is mine.”